Sam ba Jam

I really don't want to miss the opportunity to talk about this little dude, and since tomorrow is going to be a busy day, I am going to write about him now.

It is one day before his birthday and I am just all nostalgic for his birth and him being a baby. He is not a baby anymore, and it is hard for me to digest that.

So let's discuss what it means to be a Samuel James Cooprider.

It means that you love trains (Thomas, Edward, and Henry...) and cars and airplanes and the color purple. You got it folks, Sam loves the color purple.

It means being super strong willed and really good at ignoring my voice when he is running towards the road or into the neighbors yard.

It means being able to climb into incredibly strange and unsafe places. Like the counters using the knobs of the drawers below, or the kitchen table, or two bins stacked on top of each other. Or my favorite non-dangerous place, underneath the fitted sheet of his bed. He actually fell asleep that way last night.

It means communicating more with your body than with your voice. It means being able to repeat actions of a song only after seeing it once. For example he does the actions/dance to "Follow the Prophet" really well! It means singing "Let it Go!" in a really deep little boy voice along with his sister.

It means being a big helper when it comes to cleaning. Today he helped me mop the floor -- moving around the kitchen saying "Mop! Mop! Mop!" for 10 minutes.

It means being feisty with everyone in the family. He likes to say "stop" with his hand help up in front of him, just to look really intimidating.

It means being a snuggly person -- which is nice for mom and dad! It is also nice for Lucy when he gives her hugs.

It means trying to spend a lot of of time in the bathroom trying to brush his teeth. Even when no one is around, he takes every opportunity to brush his teeth and suck the toothpaste out of the tube.

It means being so darn cute that is hard to be mad at him. Once he smiles with his big toothy grin you kind of can't think ill of him. He is one super and spectacular kid, and we are glad he is two!

Daddy day!

Happy Fathers day! Here is the father of my children. Isn't he the coolest?! Especially because it was taken when we ran the Ragnar together. Did I mention we ran a Ragnar together? Probably not, I am so behind. So in honor of fathers day, I am going to catch up bit with some pictures...hopefully with some dads.

 

 

Back in May, the early part Jimmy and I participated in a 200 mile team relay down along the Cape. I ran close to 21 miles and Jimmy somewhere around 11 miles. We were in a van with some friends and my brother Poul. It was fun and not super stressful. We used our van and my brother who is the most competent driver out there drove a good deal of the time, especially when the traffic was a little overwhelming.  So here are some pictures from that adventure.

At the end of the race of the race in Provincetown we climbed the large tower. Inside the stairwell where several of the names of town in MA. Poul and Jimmy joined me as we hiked to the top.

Here is the finish from way up high!

And on to other aspects of our lives.  We did a spring share at our local farm for the April and May months. Basically we got to go to the farm and pick from their greenhouses that were filled with all sorts of greens. We always take time to play with the tractors outside and say hello to the chickens, goats and pigs. Now we are starting the main share, with all manner of veggies. And our garden is actually doing something productive. Hooray summer abundance!

Lucy is also taking her bike for rides outside rather than just in the basement. She is one of the most cautious bike riders I have ever seen. But I am grateful she doesn't just zoom away and shows some patience in this sport.

Recently Jimmy took Lucy on a Daddy-Daughter camping trip. It was an activity the branch doesn't sponsor, but definitely puts on the calendar. A good group went and Lucy had a great time playing with all the older girls. I will have to get some more pictures from Jimmy, but here is prep hair and some cooking they did while there.

Just last week we went strawberry picking at a local farm. The strawberries were not huge, but we got a few pounds. Lucy had to go potty right as we got out to the field so we made quick work of the picking, and then ran back towards the restrooms. The farm also has a great sandbox and playground. We took advantage of that as well!

Lastly, life around here the over the weekend has been pretty low key. We did go to a graduation party for two of Jimmy's cousins yesterday. But that was after what happened below. Sam decided at around 9:30 am that it was naptime again. He wrapped himself in a blanket on the couch, turned sideways and feel asleep. We were all talking and playing around him, but he was out for 2+ hours. Needless to say he didn't nap in the afternoon, but in general he still had a pretty good day.

 

I have a lot more pictures and updates on my other device, so sometime soon I will have to do another update. But at least I have some of May on here.

 

Someday I will become an effective blogger again -- but until then Happy Fathers Day!!!

Birthdays

Did you know that Lucy turned 4?! It is a little surreal to me, but it happened. And Lucy talked about it for months -- maybe even since she turned 3, and I still feel like it crept up on me. Well, it has come and gone and we are closing in on Sam's birthday, so I think it is about time that I document the weekend of Lucy's birthday. It was pretty epic.

Here is Lucy on her birthday. She dresses herself which makes almost all of her outfits quite memorable.

Jimmy and Sam were out camping the night before Lucy's birthday so we had a little girl's night. We had just recovered from a week of the stomach bug, so Friday evening we basically painted finger nails had English muffin pizzas and hung out. But on Saturday, her birthday I took her for a hike. She had to be motivated the whole way, but we got to the top and it was a beautiful.

On Saturday we had her cousins over for dinner. It was A LOT of fun! Ada, Alice, Clara and Peter are quite lively people. Well, Peter is a little baby, but he is awesome even if he isn't running around yet. Aunt Heather made Lucy a cape and she now matches all her girl cousins. It was fantastic! Then we had spaghetti and meatballs per Lucy's request and then strawberry cake. The frosting did not turn out as well as last years, but because it was all butter it was still quite tasty. See video of Lucy blowing out candles below.

Lucy got this cute dress from our wonderfully nice neighbor Nancy.

Sunday we went to church and then we headed up to Nelson for a party. My cousin Caitlyn was back from her mission and her brother Ryan had been married recently, so they had a shindig and we went. We got to see lots of family and friends.

Then on Monday Lucy had a little friend birthday party. We did a scavenger hunt and then painted small pots and the kids took home some starter plants. Then some of our friends stayed for a picnic at the park. I think the day was a success.

 

 

 

So that was Lucy's birthday in a very quick summary. We love our little Lucy. Except she isn't too little any more. She is now 34 pounds and 38 inches tall. She is a ball of energy and some one who loves to give really great hugs. Happy birthday Lucy!