NO ONE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS.....

I don't know what made me think about this, but last night I could not help thinking about the time, a long time ago, before I had kids. I remember when we were pregnant with Raelynn and everyone told me how things were going to change. They said no more time to yourself, no more quick trips anywhere, no more rest and on and on. They would all end it by saying things are going to be so different but it is all good changes. Really, can you simply say that everything Raelynn and Cooper have brought to us is "good". How generic. I decided that if I am ever engaged in a conversation with someone who is expecting their first child I am going to tell them exactly how it is.

"Your life is about to change in a way you cannot even begin to understand right now. From now on you will get to experience everything with someone else and not just experience new things but old thing too. Even every day things like eating, talking and walking will become amazingly exciting. Cold and hot, jumping and crawling, bugs and dirt, birds, wind, trees, snow, rain.....it will all take on a new meaning and will be so much more exciting then your can ever remember. You will no longer have to jump in your car and rush off to a store to pick something up last minute. Now you will get patiently in your vehicle, make sure everyone is safely buckled in and then talk about what you are getting and answer a thousand why's on the way. During that time you will be amazed at how smart your little one is getting and want grand words he or she is starting use. They will challenge you to explain things in great detail and even explain things you never knew needed explaining therefore giving you a much better understanding of the meaning and purpose of everything. You will experience tiredness in a way never imagined but in your most tired moment you will see a smile or hear a giggle or feel a touch and magically you are no longer as tired. When you go to bed at night you will walk past their rooms and some how you will be drawn in to steel one more kiss goodnight from their sleeping bodies even though you cannot imagine what would posses you to do something that may wake them. And you will never again have to make plans with someone else to have something to look forward to because you will now have everything in the world you could possibly want wrapped up in one cute body and will simply look forward to the next time they smile, speak, laugh or even cry."

Ok so maybe I wouldn't get all of that out but I know that I will tell them it is the most amazing experience and you are just now beginning to live.

Last week we received a note from Raelynn's preschool concerning some safety issues. I was a little taken back by it because quite frankly it never occurred to me that something terrible could happen here. Terry and I talked and we decided we should probably say something to her about talking to strangers etc. A few days later I was reading my Parents Magazine and they had an entire article about how to talk to your kids about strangers, getting lost in stores, taking things from strangers, etc. So last night instead of a bedtime story for Raelynn I brought my magazine in and we read the article together. I paraphrased things so she could understand and then we role played. I was so taken by her attention and participation in the role playing. She understood exactly what we were talking about and at one point even made sure I knew that she would also watch after Cooper since he wasn't big enough to understand this important stuff yet. Once again I found myself beaming with pride at her way of discussing and dealing with things.

I am equally proud of Cooper but in a little different way. :) Cooper is starting to remember little games we play like putting coasters on each other's heads or chasing him around the living room and then trying to instigate the game again another night. It is so cute. He is also obsessed with remotes to the TV and Wii. We gave him an old remote that didn't really go to anything anymore but that lasted a total of 2 seconds. There was no cause and effect. He would push the buttons and nothing would happen. With the real remote he would change the channel and hear us all yell "Cooper!" or he would blast the sound or with the Wii remote he likes seeing the characters move as he moves. It is quite comically to watch him and amazing that he grasps the concept already. He has started to say many more sounds now and I love hearing him babble. He says Momma but I still am not convinced he is actually saying it about or to me or whether it is just a sound he is making. Either way it is good that he is expanding his "vocabulary". Coop's color is still not great but his SAT level is staying above 75 where they want it. So everyone is doing good and we are all just waiting for it to warm up. Like Raelynn says, Christmas is over, why is it still so cold?"