The Coop Loop

Lady Hoosiers 08-09

2009-03-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

Daddy-Daughter Date Night

2009-02-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Greg took several very short clips of Maddie dancing. I must say this one is quite tame compared to some. He claims no one asked if she was in the special classes. I was surprised. =)

Seriously though, there is something very precious about the little 'princesses' getting dressed up and going out with their daddy's.

2009-02-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is Laila's FIRST attempt at dress-ups. She has Maddie's Illini skirt over her head.
Eating cheerios and watching Yo-gabba-Gabba

Sword fight with hangers
This was funny...Grayson was LOVing having mittens on. He wore them all afternoon.

Peek-a-boo

2009-02-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

Laila's Weakness

2009-02-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

We were going down the cereal aisle at Walmart the other day and Laila started shrieking. It's getting quite easy to figure out what they are saying. She had spotted Reese Puffs (which we had bought ONE other time and shared with the babies)

Indeed-when there are Reese Puffs in the house...she won't eat any other cereal. I have to take her to the cereal cabinet and SHOW her when they are gone.

2009-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Grandma reading to the wiggle wormers...Grayson REALLY likes to read.
Laila's piggies and polka-dot dwess
Who are the twins here?

Mood Ring? Not needed...

2009-02-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Snow day # 2

2009-01-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know what time they announced there was no school for district 118, but I put Maddie to bed and set her alarm as usual.

About 10pm I turned the tv on and saw there was no school, so I crept upstairs, turned off her alarm and left her this note...hoping to get an extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning...

"Thanks for the note. Wow-wee! No school!"

So big that she can read and write. : )

What we do in Moderation....

2009-01-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Maddie's Fat Lip

2009-01-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

On one of the freakish warm days during Christmas break Maddie was able to go outside and play with some of the neighborhood kids. She came inside just like this and told us that Mackenzie had kicked her in the face. Well, the real story is that she got too close to the swing set and indeed got kicked in the kisser.

She wanted pictures and a blog post out if it. : )

2009-01-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

Laila's Bell

2009-01-05T05:52:00.000-08:00

Laila is quite funny about scavenging for items and claiming them. You never know exactly what it will be. On Christmas it was this doorbell (like the kind you hang on the doorknob). For a 14 month old with a short attention span, she stays surprising loyal to the item once it is claimed.

Pre-Christmas Excitement and Dancing

2009-01-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

"from our family...to yours"

Christmas Jammies

2008-12-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

There IS a daddy under there somewhere!

The babies definitely are communicating these days.

For instance, Laila whined, and repeatedly shoved Graysons hat onto her head looking at us the whole time, until we put it on for her.

This isn't unusual, just a REALLY funny combo with the nightgown.

Funnyness

2008-12-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

This is Grayson's perch.

He sits/stands in this window much of the time. Look at his face he's like, "Yeah. I'm the king of the window."

Here he is watching Maddie get on the school bus in the morning. And below: Both of them watching her get home.Maddie came home from school with a friend. Hey, at least he's educational.

7 Years and counting

2008-12-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

Happy anniversary to us! I just wanted to 'dedicate' a post to my wonderful hub (I refuse to say hubby...as it is a horrible word that sounds too much like 'cubby', yet 'husband' is too serious for me).

I am honestly thankful to the Lord on a daily basis for Greg. He is such a good man, and spiritual leader to our family. He always puts me first above himself, and I try to do the same for him, however putting Christ first above all is key. I know that the Lord has blessed our marriage, family, and lives, and we are grateful.

Have I mentioned what a good daddy he is? Just talk to any of our children and they can tell you...or they will someday!

Seven years seems like so long when you say it, but looking back its really not long at all. Greg has gotten over his fear of me putting on eye makeup in the car. When we were first married he was SERIOUSLY afraid I was going to poke my eyeball out....which was SO funny to me cause every woman in the world does this, but he firmly insisted that I not do it. As he very rarely tells me ANYthing firmly, I agreed. Apparently in the last seven years he has become indifferent to my eyeball, since he doesn't have a problem with it anymore. Oh well.

Haha, from Beej

2008-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

Reindeer...?

2008-12-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Went to get something out of the car the other day and discovered visitors in the back yard.

School Christmas Program

2008-12-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

The girls in their purdy dwesses with Mr. Delvillano. Maddie has told me she wants to marry him...(even tho he is already married...)

Maddie's Program was really good...save a few MAJOR sound issues that got us out of DHS about an hour later than last year. Her music teacher is great, VERY enthusiastic...the kids love him.

2008-11-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after a few years on blogger, I'm finally changing my blog title. Referring BACK to my first post ever when Josh and Gretchen gave me tons of creative ideas, I'm finally settling on 'The Coop Loop'. It's kind of fitting for the types of posts that I do.

So anyway, thanks Josh...it was between that and "Blogging will never catch on". Hehe.

She's a hat Girl

2008-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

I'm big too

2008-11-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

I was putting Maddie's curlers in last night, and Laila was fascinated with them. Eventually I gave her one, and she toddled around the house with her precious curler, repeatedly putting it on top of her head. We got the message and put one in for her.

Then, of course, Grayson wanted one.

All Aboard!

2008-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

So we went on the annual Polar Express trip to Danville's festival of trees. It starts at the Mall where they do the pajama contest. They had a winner for girls, boys, and families. Then we loaded onto our buses...school buses (they actually didn't smell horrible) and made a pit stop at McDonalds where they had our hot chocolate ready for us in spill-proof cups. The paper had boasted of "hot chocolate and chocolate candy with nougat centers white as snow" aka: bite size Charleston Chews! : ) AND we sang Christmas carols all the way there.

When we got to the 'North Pole' there were dozens of elves ringing bells and greeting us. Covington had a group there (Kennedy Fye was with them!) and they sang the songs off of the movie. It was really well done!

Then the Mayor read them the Polar Express and Santa made an appearance.

Death of the Pumpkins

2008-11-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

Greg enjoys destroying things, so every year after Halloween he takes the much-labored-over jack-o-lanterns and throws them as hard as he can, far as he can, high as he can.

This picture was taken just before the annual smashing of the pumpkins-(see pumpkins to the right)

This picture was just after Greg hit Maddie in the face with a piece of pumpkin(ok, it was an accident). Very Hard. If you click on the picture you may be able to see the welt on her face...
she really didn't care...she enjoys destroying things too.

Hats

2008-11-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Election Day, Everyone!

2008-11-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

This is it! God is sovereign. He has the right, power, and wisdom to do whatever he will do/allow.

I must say I am ready for it to be over! The back and forth on BOTH sides. I want to watch the Today show again without wanting to send them emails about their UNfair and NOT balanced coverage.

Anyway...happy voting!

Shrek, Dronkey, and Gangster-mania!

2008-11-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Maddie was SO excited about her gangster costume...I don't think there was anyone we ran into that didn't already know what she was going to be!

Laila's head piece was a little big and kept falling over her face...she didn't care...she just kept going. Grayson's big head filled his out fine. : )

Kyle and Grayson

I love Kaylee's rubix cube! Homemade costumes are hands down the best!
Annual pumpkin carving...

This one just shows the back of Dronkey...her tail was cute wagging behind her.

This is 'pumpkin man'. We got him at Cracker Barrel a few years ago...he has a motion sensor on him and when you go by he says, "would you like a treat from my bowl?", "I hope I didn't scare ya, I'm better at handing out candy than scaring crows!", etc. Anyway...we put him on the front porch in our absence and all the candy is gone when we get home.

This is Laila and him on the kitchen counter.

Getting in trouble...Together

2008-10-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

So last night I was giving Maddie a bath and the twins discovered some cheetoes that were left by the lazy boy. They were ENJOYing them!

Grayson was stuffing them in by the handful...
I took my sis-in-law Kimmie's idea. She has a designated cabinet in her kitchen for her kids. Just for them...they can get in it, put their stuff in it...its all theirs.

I do keep a big box of garbage bags in ours...they love to pull EVERY bag out...here's some other things they get into together....
Maddie's crayons and markers...she uses them EVERY day, so there are lots of opportunities there....
I love this picture...if you look close you can see they are both SCREAMing their heads off! They both crawled under diaper changing table and got very stuck....

Grayson got so desperate for markers he CLIMBED on the table...

And of course...the NON baby cabinets...until two days ago when Greg finally got the cabinet locks on this was a DAILY occurrence. They haven't quite learned yet...they are still going around to every kitchen cabinet trying to open it...and (yeah!) getting shut down!

2008-10-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

Whenever Laila climbs in/on something Grayson ALWAYS feels the need to sit ON her. : ) He is SO ornery...just look at that face...
notice the newly tiled shower Greg completed....nice!
Peek-a-boo

Zack

2008-10-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

Zack Cooper came and visited us this weekend. Maddie is his #1 fan, and he tries to be a good sport. : )

We shamelessly made fun of him for bringing his 12 pack of tea with him. (He explained to us that he is training for wrestling and is not drinking soda)

He is a really good kid, and has actually enlisted in the army for after he graduates. His fam is proud of him.

Pancakes

2008-10-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

The birthday gifts are still rolling in....

2008-10-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

We got these super cute Georgian outfits in the mail today from Aunt Michael and Uncle Brian. Ahhhhh! They are so cute!

Greg's brother Brian and fam moved to Tifton, Ga in July with many other Heatcrafter's. We sadly missed them Sat. at the BD party.

I was going to post a picture of them from their going away party, but was afraid to without consent. : )

Police Dept. Applicant Test

2008-10-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

A man, having applied to join the Clovis, New Mexico,police force, is being interviewed. The Chief says, 'Your qualifications are first-class but there is one test that you must pass before I can recruit you.' Sliding a small bag across the desk, he continues, 'Take this gun with 13 bullets, and go out and shoot six illegal immigrants, six Obama delegates and a rabbit.' The man asks, 'Why the rabbit?' 'Fantastic attitude!' says the Chief, 'When can you start?'

Author unknown

Posted by Greg

Big Mama

2008-10-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is me one week before delivering the twins. With their birthday this week, I have been thinking about this time last year. I remember it was SO hot still. I was SO tired of people looking at me pathetically, and wanting to know how long I had left. I will NEVER do that to poor HUGE pregnant women.

Happy 1st Birthday to you....

2008-10-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

It took them quite a while before they finally dug into their cake.( In fact, we had to cut Laila's up for her)

Grayson was LOVing the attention....AND the cake!
Favorite birthday toys

After everyone had left Uncle Chaddy and Aunt Manda brought their new baby over....Gator. Can it get any better?

Happy #@nd Birthday Gran!

2008-09-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are, wishing we were with you on your Birthday! But since we aren't.....
Maddie wishes you were here to help her put the dishes away....
Grayson would give up his red chair during Wiggles for you if you were here...
Maddie would show you her new monkey bar tricks....
Greg would....actually Greg is, of course glad you aren't here, BUT wishes you a Happy birthday anyway! : )

Love you! Happy Birthday!

2008-09-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Laila LOVES little balls. She carries them around ALL day...will not put them down. She has even learned to roll/crawl. It is so funny to see. If you've seen 'Return to Oz', she looks just like the wheeler's.

Grayson, Grayson, Grayson!

2008-09-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Grayson hasn't had many posts lately...

this one's all you, bud. : )

Laila Needs a Bath!

2008-09-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor got a new puppy and so far Laila squeals with delight when she sees any kind of animal. She squeals quite a bit in this one....maybe not all with delight, either.

Labor Day Parade!

2008-09-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am catching up with my posting today. Look for more posts in the short future!

This was Danville's annual Labor day parade. We look forward to it every year. The girls usually get enough candy to compete with their 'Switch' loot! This year, they rode/walked with their ice skating group.

We asked them when it was over if next year they would rather be in the parade or sit out and get candy.

Surprise! Maddie wanted to sit out and Livie wanted to ride. : )

Laila's Mad Face

2008-08-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Greg taught Laila to do this, and I can't get her to stop now! Shades of Aunt Dara as a baby, only she really was bad!. : ) hehe.

Grayson roughs up Laila...(she loves it)

2008-08-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

So its nothing new that Grayson can be a bit of a bully. Taking Laila's toys, using her for a step-stool, taking her patsy. On this particular occasion, he was laying on her, sitting on her, etc and she was CRACKING up. Of course every time I went to video they immediately stop, but I got a couple seconds of the frolicking.

*can you name the show playing in the background?*

Turkey Run

2008-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Maddie's school had teacher's conference's today, so she and I took a 'mother/daughter' trip to Turkey Run for some hiking. We had a great time and made some friends along the way who took a few pictures for us. Every time I am there I am in awe of God's creation. I think it is nearly impossible not to be.

Ps. 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Summer Program '08

2008-08-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Maddie enjoying some hard-earned popcorn.

(You had to play a game to get a ticket, to get popcorn, cotton candy, etc.)
"Which way to the bathroom, little girl? "
"I just don't see what all the fuss is about."
" I want to sing and dance! Can I, dad? Can I?"

We have a TV watcher!

2008-08-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

2008-08-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

This video is almost 2 months old now...but watch for the following:

1) Grayson and Laila's ventriloquist act: Laila talks and Grayson's lips move

2)Grayson standing with no hands (by now an everyday occurance)

3) Laila getting PETTED like a puppy dog

4) Laila's 'evil' snicker at the very end

2008-08-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

2008-08-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

First day of First Grade

2008-08-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

July 28th Maddie headed back to school with her newly purchased HSM lunchbox, proudly diplayed below.... she also made the paper....AGAIN http://www.commercial-news.com/archivesearch/images_sizedimage_211101827/resources_photoview

Maddie's teacher for 1st and 2nd grade is Mrs. Houpt, a believer who told us in her introduction letter that she had been praying for each student and their families. What a blessing!
On her 3rd day Maddie got her wish she had been wishing for a year now. She got to ride the school bus. Here we are at the end of the street waiting.
The second day she rode the driver brought her right to our front door, and asked if I would like her to pick Maddie up AND drop her off at the house from then on. Um...yes PLEASE! Another blessing!
Bye' sissy! Have a good day!

Holiday World '08

2008-08-14T06:58:00.001-07:00

6 kids, 6 adults, and 1 'tween' at Holiday World for 2 days...great time! Did I mention NO babies? (thanks mom!)
'The Voyage' is supposedly the 'world's BEST roller coaster'. It was Rae's VERY FIRST roller coaster and she rode it a total of 7 times! Personally, having a decently varied coaster resume, I definitely think it is the best roller coaster I have ever been on.
It's hard for me to get many pictures at theme parks. The water park is almost impossible to get pictures of, but pictures or no, we had a great time!

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighbor boy took about 15 pictures of us with no heads, but this one turned out ok. :)

Hanging out under the crib...but how do I get out? Ah....head room!

We fly thru the air with the greatest of ease...

2008-07-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Maddie's high jump

2008-07-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Various summer activites

2008-07-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Laila taking a break from the stroller at the fair
Cousins from Springfield come for a visit
Laila and Grayson's dedication
Maddie and Carly stuffed into a toddler ride at the fair
Grayson chillin' in the stroller

Annual Fishing contest @ Kennekuk

2008-07-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is the second year Greg has taken Maddie to Kennekuk for the Kids fishing contest and I'm quite sure it's a tradition from now on.

She didn't place this year (last year she got a TROPHY for 3rd, proudly displayed on her dresser :) ), in fact she didn't catch any fish at all, but she had a FUN day!

Racing Mondays

2008-06-10T11:41:00.001-07:00

Livie, Maddie, and Carly cooling down after their first race of the summer. Maddie got 8th out of the 6 yr olds.

http://tmarriage.zenfolio.com/p730470496/?photo=588544730

( a still-shot of her run)

We are SO BIG!

2008-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Maddie Mae!

2008-06-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Maddie wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese for her birthday party this year...quite a bummer that the CLOSEST one is an hour away! It was, however, a great experience...I had no prep work to do, we had a host the whole time we were there who treated the birthday girl like she was IT!

We went to Avon, In and the store was really nice! All of the games WORKED, and were fairly new. The kids had a lot of fun and actually...Greg and I did too!

Happy Graduation Bryce!

2008-06-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

Some of his artwork on display

Last weekend we went to Peoria for Bryce's graduation party. We got there twenty minutes before the party and he was in pajama pants. He and I were playing Guitar Hero when dad hollered down and told his guests were arriving...'Oh, I got to change.' he said. He disappears into his room for like one minute, comes back out wearing a different pair of pajama pants. They were apparently his DRESS pajama pants as opposed to his LOUNGE pants. : )

Seriously tho Bryce, when you get out into the 'real' world I pray that you do not change who you are. That you stay steadily planted on the firm foundation of Jesus and that you keep Him first. As much as we joke with you about the time you spend playing video games, I pray that you will be a man of integrity that puts his family before himself and has his priorities straight. And that you will seek out what God's plan for your life is.

love you!

ps: go to college! : )

Babies, babies, babies

2008-06-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

2008-05-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

Grayson really wants to play too! Uncle Bryce would be proud. *note: this is NOT posed...he did it on his own!*

My Grandpa Edgington made this doll crib for my aunt Linda when she was a little girl. She told us she would put dad in it when she was playing...

Maddie climbs the tree at Grandpa's new house on KING St.

Greg went fishing and.... had a great fall.

Happy 6 months! (& tax day!)

2008-04-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Greg and the Clothesline Post

2008-04-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

The few warm days we've had Greg has spent alot of time trying to dig up two clothesline posts in our backyard. They've been there like, a hundred years. He soon found out they were stuck in about 3+ feet of concrete. After digging them out he had to break up some of the concrete with a sledge hammer, then eventually pull it out with the Chevy.

Finally...success...and a DEEP hole in the ground.
This is the funny part. I look out the window and he's hammering the concrete. I then yell at him to put on some safety glasses before he loses an eye. I then look out and he has on his scuba gear.(couldn't find his safety glasses) He said they worked pretty good, but it was kind of hard to breathe.

2008-04-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

Ice Skating Program

2008-04-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Keeley is Maddie's skating instructor as well as OUR #1 babysitter. She also totally reminds me of Rory off of Gilmore girls. We will be very sad when she leaves for school next year. : (

Can't you just see them 10 years from now...

Our 'Wicked' Trip

2008-04-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Greg, Maddie, Aunt Dara, and I got to go to Chicago a couple weeks ago. Our main reason for going: to see the Broadway hit, Wicked which aunt Dara had already seen with her theater class and LOVED. It was SO good, and sadly it is ending in Chicago in April. We would definitely go again if we could!

We got there that afternoon, went to the Sears Tower...very expensive, not really worth it to me but Maddie was hyped about it. We also visited the American Girl store, Hershey's, and ate at Cheesecake Factory. Yum.

We walked pretty much everywhere we went (except for one very frightening cab ride) and talked about how the Chicago natives look like they are...well, from Chicago. By the way...the McDonald's don't put out ketchup, napkins, or salt and pepper (you have to ask for them)....AND refills cost 75 cents! Anyway...Dara got accepted at Moody, so she will soon be living in the midst of it all starting next fall. Yes....we are a little scared. : )

Sears Tower Trivia: not really home to anything Sears
Yes, I made her pose that way
This is a natural shot
like kids in a candy store

Little cutie heads

2008-03-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Cute animal outfits from the Fye's.

Love the butts!

Thanks you guys!

Easter Duds

2008-03-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

Maddie is reading really well, and trying to spell ALL the time. It's very cute the way she sounds things out. The above picture says 'Love Pop rocks, Easter bunny'
Laila wants some candy too. Her dress was really full, she looked like a little cotton ball.
Maddie's $78 dress I got 3 years ago for $12!
Little man...his outfit is a slightly big...even though it is 3-6M. His shoes were the CUTEST. Steve and Marie T. got them shoes for their 'baby' gift...they are SO cute. They both wore them for their Easter shoes.

Hurry Summer!

2008-03-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for summer yet?
Here are a few MORE reasons I am:

no more warming up the car
1/2 the laundry to do
say goodbye to socks for 4+ months

fresh air floating through the house
no snow boots, gloves, hats, extra blankets...
grilling out
looking at your neat, green yard after mowing and smelling the fresh cut grass

the races at Lincoln Park
dirty kids playing outside from sunup to sundown
vacation!
getting in the BURNing hot car after church on
Sunday
I'm hurrying through this, and I know I missed some good
ones...feel free to add!

Rock and ROLL Grayson

2008-03-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

He's been trying so hard for about 2 months now. I recorded this on his third time over. Maddie and I were clapping and cheering and she kept saying 'Mom, can I just help him a little bit?'

Sis's have a laugh

2008-03-04T06:31:00.000-08:00

Miscellaneous Fun

2008-02-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Maddie dresses up

Chad thinks he can pull the look off better

Yet another picture in our bear suits

Grayson tries on Granny's bi-focals...his eyes gave been crossed

ever since.

7am: Laila's had a hard day already...she kicks back for a nap

Finally...the tooth fairy can visit

2008-02-28T06:24:00.000-08:00

Maddie informed me she had a loose tooth recently...let me preface this by saying, she has 'cried tooth' before. She SO desperately wants to start losing them. I finally felt for myself on Sunday and *surprise* it actually was decently loose. Well being my child, she couldn't leave it alone, so by Monday when I picked her up from school, she had wiggled it out of there!

Greg was out the night the tooth fairy came. He asked me the next day and i told him she had left Maddie $2. I knew he was going to tell me the tooth fairy was cheap...which he did being the over-indulger that he is.

Here's the thing... you have to start out small. Otherwise when they lose their molars they're going to expect a twenty!

I figured up with my parents having 7 kids, and giving an average of $3 a tooth...thats about $500! Kind of crazy.

So what is the going rate...?

We're getting better at this picture-taking thing

2008-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

100 Day Celebration!

2008-01-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

Maddie had been waiting for this day all school year. The 100th day of school! The Kindergartner's did '100' projects for 2 days leading up to it.

They had to bring a freezer bag with 100 items of some sort in them. Most kids did cereal, marshmallows, etc. Maddie brought cards.

On the big day the parents got to come and watch them have a parade around the whole school. Their cereal necklace's...you guessed it....have 100 fruit loops exactly. Very cute.

Also the day after they watched 101 Dalmations. Kindergartners have all the fun.

Bryce the Artist

2008-01-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

I have not got an 'artsy' bone in my body. I am not creative. I can draw a stick person, however Maddie does a far better job than me.

My brother Bryce is a senior this year at Illini Bluffs in Glasford, IL. He has been taking pottery for a couple years now, and I am always SO impressed when he shows me what he makes...I just had to post it.

These pictures do not do them justice, so click on the pictures to enlarge.

This one is actually a cookie jar, or whatever...basically the roof is a lid!

That is Bryce on the right. Other than pottery his latest passion is guitar hero. He started playing around Christmas and is now on the expert level. Very impressive

Seriously Bryce, if you tried as hard at school you would be valedictorian too. ;) love ya.

Christmas pictures and such

2008-01-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

ok, these were not necessarily on Christmas...but were more than likely taken sometime in December... :) whose child is this?

Whats all the fuss about?
Even on Christmas Laila can't behave

Is it time to open presents!?
Livie, Samantha, Maddie and.....Felicity!

listening to a story before bed

This pretty much says it all...

2007-12-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

School Christmas Program

2007-12-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Thursday night was Maddie's first school program at Danville High School. It was really well done, with a few songs in Spanish, a really cute 'big band' sounding song and they even did 'We Three Kings'. Pretty good for a public school!

Of course Livie Loo came and showed her support.: )

Laila thought it was a good time for a nap.
Grayson however enjoyed it greatly. He danced and talked to Grandma B during the whole program. Grandma brought over Monicals for us that night and helped me get the kids there. Couldn't have done it without her!

1,2, tie your shoe!

2007-12-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Maddie has been on the brink of being able to tie her shoe for a few months now. In fact, if I hadn't been so busy with the twins, she would probably have had it down before now, but as of last Monday she's an official shoe tier! Yeah Maddie!

My Sweet Mama

2007-12-04T09:55:00.000-08:00

WE MISS OUR GRANNY!

" Where'd that funny woman go?"

"Which one?"

"You know..the one that always had a diet pepsi in her hand..."

"I don't know, but the house was alot cleaner when she was around."

"She always picked me up when I was screamin."

"Yeah, or you could just spit up, or poop your pants and she'd get ya too."

"I don't think daddy liked her very much."

"Yeah he does..he just calls her the wicked witch of the west to be funny."

"What's funny?"

"Funny? Hmmm...it's like this...."

"Mommy's trying to do the dishes...do what I do"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"if you say so: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Mom and Rae were here for two weeks after Greg went back to work. I don't know what I would have done without that extra two weeks to catch up on sleep and continue recovering.

It was like having a live-in nanny/housekeeper. You could also add entertainer to the resume. As you will see in the pictures below. : )

Thanks mom for always being positive, for advising but not being a know-it-all, for being encouraging, and for being my best-est friend ( after Greggy, of course). Love you.

Making a dummy in the hospital bed has become a tradition. When Maddie was born, the day we got released we packed up our stuff and mom made a head out of a blown up latex glove, drew a face on it, and stuffed the bed to look like a person. So when we left, house cleaning had a little surprise waiting for them!

This time she used the witch mask Greg got for her as a joke.

Can you tell which one is real? : )

What was funny was when she bundled it up and put it in the crib facing the wall. Then when the nurse came in, mom asked her to check on Grayson. The nurse didn't have the same sense of humor.

3 Little Pumpkins

2007-11-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Maddie showing off her mad skills. (First year she was brave enough to pull the guts out of the pumpkin)

Toting two...she's got mommy's muscles : )

'mummy loves me & daddy's little ghoul'

(almost) All Cooper the cousins getting ready to trick or treat. Except the cat...she stayed home.

You asked for them...more pics!

2007-11-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Grayson taking after daddy, but....
he's got a way to go before filling out the Lazy-Boy!
Laila catching up with her 'O' mag...

Laila smiling admiringly at brother
Happpy babies
Laila screaming and sitting on Grayson, while he sleeps.

This is very telling of their personalities so far. ......
screaming....
screaming

Friends and Fam

2007-10-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Laila and Grayson say...Thanks for all the visits from everyone, near and far!

2007-10-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Bright eyed...at the same time...it's a miracle!
*note: yellow and white blanket made by Grandma Cooper*
Maddie Mae making a 'general store' complete with price tags! She has been doing alot of entertaining herself while mom and dad are busy with brother and sister.
The Dr. said to put them in the window on a sunny day...I rather think they enjoyed sun bathing. You'll probably find them at Florida Tan soon. :)
Too much skin on skin, Laila started sucking of Grayson's head! (He retaliated later while she was sleeping, however) I did feed them right before...
How cute! If Maddie had a favorite it would probably be Laila...the whole girl thing. However she told me yesterday that she looks like the guy that says "my precious..." -aka Gollem, off of Lord of the Rings! Hilarious!

Little man
Maddie...kind of looking like Gollem herself!
We got them all dressed in one of their matching outfits, but couldn't get Laila to stay awake. Still precious!

Many thanks!

2007-10-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for praying and for all the well-wishes! And thanks Manda for posting for us...it was so fun to come home and look at all the pictures without having to do anything!

Babies are doing really well...they are a little jaundice, so we are supplementing them with pedialyte... and they go back to the Dr. Monday. Apparently their chances for getting it were high because of the combination of their blood type, and mine.

Other than being pretty exhausted, I am recovering SO quickly from surgery! Alot speedier than with Maddie Mae. I know it is the Lord giving me strength and an extra boost. For all whose kids have been praying for us, please tell them that the Lord has answered prayers already because Miss Mandy is feeling great! ( Julie, please tell Logan that the babies are being good too! )

I plan to post again when we get pictures downloaded, but am definitely not having alot of freetime, so it will probably be short and sweet!

Jungle Animals

2007-10-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

*Note: I had this post ready except for one picture last week, but didn't get to posting it before the hospital stay, so here it is now*

Yeah! We were able to get the nursery decorated and furnished before the arrival of it's new occupants. Here's a few pics.

Aunt Manda got the ride on animals for us. So CUTE! Thanks aunt Manda!

Jerry and Mary Martin passed this crib down to us. It is really nice quality, and we're thinking it looks like baby boy's crib. Kind of masculine-ish. : ) Thanks Jerry and Mary for holding it for us for so long until we had a place to put it!
This one is actually a Pottery Barn crib. I LOVE Pottery Barn, but cannot afford much other than the catalogue. Amanda called me a couple weeks ago and saw there was going to be one at a rummage sale the next day. Greg looked up the address of the sale online and called the people, asking if we could please possibly get a preview sale...? They were super nice, and let us come out that evening. We got it for $50 bucks!

We had not saved many baby items from Maddie, but have gotten alot of 'seconds' from ALOT of people! Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Can you guess what this is?

2007-10-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Is it a pumpkin cookie?

Is it a candle?

No, it's a huge, stretched tightly as possible tummy holding TWO wiggling babies!

Greg really wanted to paint my belly because its so large and round. It's really shaped more like a watermelon, but clearly pumpkins are more in season. :)

(Maddie showing her pick of the patch)

Babies are scheduled to arrive Oct. 15, at noon, if not sooner! Thanks to everyone for praying. We feel blessed to have gotten this far along (38 weeks on birthday). From the beginning of this pregnancy my primary concern was that the babies be able to come from the hospital with me, and it looks like that will probably happen. Thank you Lord!

Snow Day Vacation

2007-02-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

Sunday night I started thinking how full my week was and how I was not necessarily looking forward to the business of it. That was before we got over a foot of snow on Tuesday, and the whole world basically stopped for a few days. Thank you Lord, for this mini-vacation. I don't know that He sent the blizzard just for me, so that I could have a leisurely week instead of a busy one, but I am thankful for it anyway!

Maddie and I colored, cooked, read, and watched movies. As a family we got to sled, shovel snow, and play games. (You can see from the above picture Greg kicked my butt all over the place in Monopoly!) And Maddie got to play Mario for the first time in a while.

Blizzard '07

2007-02-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

Greg's truck...poor old thing, probably couldn't get out of the driveway with this load in it!

Swing in the back of the house...not going to be moving much for a while!

Ready for a fun day in the snow! By the time she was completely bundled up, she reminded us of the little brother on 'The Christmas Story" waddling around with her arms straight out.

Harrison Park was transformed into a ski-resort type of atmosphere. There were tons of people there, parents and kids, and everyone was in such good mood because of having no school or work for most.

Say Cheese Girls!

2007-02-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying, I would much rather have natural pictures, than posed ones. They are just...more natural! Anyway, I never seem to get good natural pictures, so the majority of mine are posed. For example, the picture above.

I waited at the bottom of the slide trying to get a picture of smiling faces, air blowing their hair back, and sheer delight. Instead, they ran into each other on the way down, and were not even in the mood to smile for a posed picture. Little rotten girls! (Amanda, I know you are feeling me on this subject!)

I actually think the picture is quite funny, however, and was able to get a couple of pictures later, more to my liking. If you have any tips on picture taking, please comment!

Ice Princess

2007-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Maddie has been going to skating lessons this year on Monday nights. We've had a few bumps on the noggin, but she is really doing good. This last session she moved up to Keeley's class (her favorite babysitter) so she was quite excited. They have a big show in the spring with costumes and performances...which will be the most exciting thing ever!

This week after practice Grandma took us out to 'La Potasina' to eat. Really yummy authentic Mexican restaurant. Of course Grandma comes equipped with a new and exciting 'treat' every time she knows she will see her grandchildren. This time it was a very cool 3-D book. Here they are trying it out together.

Can I just take a moment to say, I have the best grandma anyone could possibly have. She always makes us a priority, and will drop whatever she's doing to listen, play, or read. She's also very cool, and doesn't act her age. She is addicted to computer games, cranks her music up in her car (yes, you've been caught!), and surfs the web. More importantly she is a prayer warrior. I know she prays for all of her grand kids daily. What a great example!

Oh Happy Day!

2007-01-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

As some of you know my husband Greg got too many traffic tickets in a year, and his license was suspended last September. It was suspended for four months, which is a problem for us since his occupation is 'truck driver'.

As of today, he is once again a licensed driver, and we are both quite excited about it. I am excited that I don't have to drive us everywhere, and he's excited to have his freedom back. He also apparently does not think I am the greatest driver...however, I have indeed managed to keep my license all this time, so I guess that speaks for itself! (hehehe)

Ladies, don't take for granted your husbands driving! Here is what I discovered:

You can't finish doing your hair/make-up on the way.

You can't read, look through the mail, or balance the check book.

Forget that precious sleep time on long trips. He gets to do the sleeping now.

No preparing for your Upwards practices/games on the way there.

If you are both being stubborn about where to eat, you are indeed forced to make the ultimate decision.

When the weather/roads are bad, you've got to suck it up, and do your best. (ok, different times on the way to Mom and Dad's we had to go through blinding sheets of rain, fog so thick you couldn't see, and a winter blizzard where the highways were 50% ice.) I do not advise traveling to Peoria. It's a death trap!

Now you have to listen to the back seat driver.

You cannot clean the car while traveling.

You cannot Sudoku.

You can't drop yourself off at the door at Walmart.

One PLUS is that you don't have to deal with the children while driving! Yeah!

Seriously though, Greg has been sensative to me about the situation, and tried to make it as easy as possible on me. I appreciate him so much. Those of you who know, please pray for his job situation, that he will get back to driving as soon as possible.

Abc's

2007-01-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

ABC's
a: available or single?: isn't that the same thing? married
b: best friend: my Greggy
c: cake or pie: strawberry rhubarb pie
d: drink of choice: Diet Dr. Thunder (yes, Sam's choice)
f: favorite color: blue
g: gummy bears or gummy worms: worms
h: hometown: __Danville
i: indulgence: food...I 'live to eat, not eat to live!'
January or February: February...it's closer to spring
kids and names: Madelynne Mae
l: Life is incomplete without....: knowing Christ
m: marraige date: December 21, 2001
n: number of siblings: 6
o: oranges or apples: apples, mostly because they are cheaper than oranges
p: phobias or fears: snakes, being kidnapped
q: favorite quote:
r: reasons to smile: Maddie crossing her eyes at me (she started this at 24 months! that's a smart kid, there)
s: season: summer !
t: tag three or four people: Johanna, Christen,
u: unknown fact about me: I used to like N'sync
v: vegetables you don't like: cooked carrots
w: worst habbit: leaving the kitchen cabinet doors open
x: Hey, there's no x!
y: favorite food: texas roadhouse...yummy ribeyes
z: zodiac: Leo

My First Post (!)

2007-01-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm officially a blogger! (Gretchen, are you beaming with pride?) Well, I officially have a blog, anyway. Sadly, the only family picture I could find was our Christmas picture from last year. We'll have to work on that!

Part of the reason it has taken me so long to join the growing trend of bloggers, is that I can't think of a good blog title. If you have any suggestions, please post them!