IT WAS COLD BUT WONDERFUL.....

Another fantastic weekend! It almost seems like they are getting better and better. Friday night the kids were better than good. It was cold out and we came home and just played and snuggled. We had our favorite cold weather meal, soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with hot chocolate. Raelynn is such a great cook! She helped me all night from cooking to playing with Cooper to just making me laugh. Saturday we got up and headed to Manhattan to visit Aunt Steph and watch Aunt Karli in a marching band competition. We were so happy to see Aunt Steph. It has been awhile and we miss her. Not only were the kids happy to see Aunt Steph but they get just as excited to see Cody. Around 1pm we headed to the stadium to watch Karli's performance. IT WAS FREEZING! We were all bundled up and even took blankets but it was windy and crazy cold. I wasn't sure we were going to make it and then it was Karli's bands turn. It was so neat to see. I have never seen her perform and band has been a big part of her life. When they first came out I started to panic because it occurred to me that I know she plays drums but I had no idea what drums and therefore had no idea which person was her. Thank goodness Steph figured it out. We watched her performance and a little later we were able to pick her up.
Karli's Performance

We hung out at Steph's for awhile and then headed to dinner and then back home. Raelynn cried for about 15 minutes after we left because she wanted her Aunt Karli. She misses them all very much.

Today was our friend Cayman's 3rd Birthday. They had his party at the pumpkin patch which was a lot of fun. It was incredibly cold but fun.



Terry didn't have to work all day and just hung out with us at home. While Coop took his nap Raelynn and I did a little cleaning and laundry but most of the day was spent warmly inside just being around each other which is by far my favorite place to be. I love hearing Raelynn and Cooper's laughter and even their occasional wines. I wish everyday was Sunday! Cooper is repeating everything and Raelynn is trying to teach him to count and spell words that she has learned. Tonight when I was giving him a bath he wanted to wash his hair. Amazingly he did a great job. Then of course he wanted to wash his body by himself too. It was so cute to see what a big boy he is becoming. When we were out of the bath and putting lotion on he started identifying his body parts and pretty plainly was saying, "arm"....."leg"......"finger"......"body". I was blown away. I guess I realized he knew what his body parts were but I certainly didn't know he could say it. I am getting the feeling he could say a lot if he just wanted to. I am pretty sure, just as he has been over the past 2 years, he will do and say what he wants when he wants. The truth is though that is fine by me. I am so in love with him and his cute smile and the way his head fits perfectly on my shoulder with mine cuddled right in next to him. He is so laid back and very rarely too upset. I guess he used up all his crying in the first 6 months of his life. I just love every part of him.

Raelynn is struggling with getting dressed and finds something wrong with almost everything. They are either too scratchy or too tight or too big or.....the list goes on and on. Although, I think I may have finally found a way to avoid a complete melt down.....distraction! I told her that I was done trying to reason with her because she was being difficult and starting to irritate me. So now I only talk to the body part the clothing is bothering. For instance, if the seem under her arm is bothering her armpit, I talk to her armpit. I know it sounds crazy but her body parts are much easier to deal with when she is giggling hysterically. Anyway, this technique is working for now and we have had a few days and nights without clothing disagreements which is wonderful. Other than that the girl is amazing. Everyday she does something to make me so proud of her or taken by her wittiness. I love our conversations and I love to watch she and Coop's relationship grow. I still wake up every morning anxious to see what the day holds for them. We have many fun things this week from the pumpkin patch to family reading night to Dad's football game at Free State. Lots of fun things and of course looking forward to the next "spending the whole day together" day!