January is about Cooper...

I mean not all about Cooper but he had a few big events this past month and so he is the main character caught on camera, the rest of us were there we just didn't make it into print!! So Cooper turned 8 years old this month- Wow I now have 2 kids who have done that - I feel like I am still 25 yrs old but these kids keep reminding me that is impossible and would be really, really wrong. At our house you get streamers, balloons- the whole works every birthday! You wake up and it is party time - I do it for each of them and they stay up until I can't take it anymore and must clean the clutter (the longest was 4 days- I was about to lose it!!) But this year Cory thought it would be more fun to decorate his room so that is what we did:

Cooper is asleep in bed here and yes we did it all while they slept!

Having his birthday right after Christmas always presents the same problem every year- what do you get a kid who just got a whole bunch of stuff but won't get another load of stuff until next Christmas? I always plan to have one great thing that I know he wanted for Christmas saved for his birthday but I get so excited about Christmas morning I just haven't been able to hold out even once! So this year a family friend of ours got a Kinect for the X-box for Christmas and they seemed to enjoy it so that's what he got. It was quite cute b/c we had him open a new game that can only be played on the Kinect first and he was a little confused b/c he knew you couldn't play it on our system w/o the Kinect...

So he was overjoyed when he opened the last gift and lo and behold a Kinect was received

The family party cake - his choice- pudding cake!

Friend party cake- DQ!!

Playing Kinect

playing Wii

So what do you do with 13 boys on a Friday night - set-up a projector with the Wii, the big screen with the X-box, order a load of pizza, provide buckets of candy and head upstairs and let them loose- great party it is so much easier the older they get!

So if you are a little crazy and enjoy feeling uber-stressed have both the family party and friend party and baptism in the same weekend!!

Cooper and Nana and Papa

Cooper and Grandma Grace

Cooper and the CrAzY parents who thought better to get it all done in 1 weekend!

So with turning 8 also comes the chance to become a Cub and with Max still in the program they get to go together for a few months which I know Cooper loves and is teaching Max patience!

Cooper being invested (kinda weird stuff this Cub business!) He totally froze he knew all the stuff motto, law all of it- oh well thanks to Bro. Oliver he got it all out.

I was going to throw in some snapshots of the rest of us - who am I kidding of just the kids - the cute ones anyway but I think I will leave this post all about Cooper- its never all about Cooper. I wrote a note to him recently and it helped me to sit and think solely about him and I got the chance to tell him a few of the things I love most about him, He has always been easy, he was my easiest delivery, he was an easy baby, he was an easy toddler and he is an easy kid and I take total advantage of that. I love him for so many reasons but most of all I love him for knowing when I need it to be easy - he always delivers. He is such a tender hearted kid, he is happiest being around people and his smile is easy to find. He helps me when he sees I need it, he knows that he is loved and I think because of that he can sit back sometimes and just watch it all play out instead of trying to put himself in the front. He is so talented and he loves to be a part of the show- not the front just a part. For his baptism I had 7 boys his and Max's age sing a mash-up of 2 missionary songs - We'll bring the world his truth and I hope they call me on a mission- and when they sang it I felt so touched at what those boys' futures hold and all the promise they have. These moments keep happening and the rate at which they are coming now I realize that time is marching on in spite of my wishes.