Catching Up!

Okay, I know I haven't blogged in many months now and it's been hanging over my head! My lack of blogging I guess is an indication of how busy our lives have been the past several months. Not only have we been busy with twins, we've also recently purchased a home, moved and remodeled our kitchen. Needless to say, there hasn't been much time for blogging. So, I've added a few pictures to help get caught up. This blog is dedicated more to Ethan's activities so I'll try to make the next post more about the babies.


A guilty face: This is Ethan with a butter knife that has a big chunk of it missing because he decided to try to saw the computer plug (which was plugged into the outlet). I was sitting at the computer sending an e-mail when suddenly I saw sparks shooting into the air and heard Ethan scream. The electricity burned a hole in the knife and burned halfway through the prongs in the computer plug. You can see the black on the outlet from the sparks. Amazingly, Ethan didn't get shocked - he was pretty freaked out though! What makes kids do this sort of stuff?!

Ethan started preschool this year. Yay for Ethan! Yay for Mommy! This is him on his first day of school. He and a couple other kids sat for the story while others worked on a craft. So cute!

I love the East in the fall. It's my very favorite season of the year. We went apple picking at a nearby orchard and then went home and made the YUMMIEST applesauce. If anyone needs a terrific, easy, homemade applesauce recipe, let me know!

In October we went pumpkin picking at Ort Farm. We go here every year to enjoy a hay ride, pumpkin picking, apple cider, apple cider donuts, petting farm animals and playing on all the fun hay stations. This was Grant and Addie's first pumpkin picking outing. I think they liked it!

A month or so ago I decided that Ethan and I needed a Mommy/Son date. So, I took him to see his very first movie in a theater. It was a double feature of Toy Story 1 & 2. I was amazed that he sat through both movies! Next time I'll come more prepared to smuggle in snacks. I think I spent more on treats than I did on the movie tickets!
A few months ago, we found out that the Imagination Movers were going on tour. Ethan is obsessed with these guys so we splurged and got 3 tickets to take him. So, we went to their concert last weekend and had a blast. Here we are getting ready for the show to start.
Ethan is sporting his Imagination Movers t-shirt and gets a great view from daddy's shoulders. Luckily we had a wall behind our seats so we could stand up and get a great view. I'm not sure who enjoyed the music more, Ethan or Blake. You should have seen Blake's excitement when they played, "Nina's Song." Yes - he loves it so much it he has it on his ipod. Scary, right? :)
Imagination Movers Rich, Dave, Scott and Smitty (or Smoothie as Ethan calls him).

4th of July Weekend

We had a super fun 4th of July weekend this year. It was full of everything you'd think it should be.

It started out with attending the local carnival and letting Ethan go on ride after ride after ride...Then we watched the annual parade through Randolph which Ethan loved. It was filled with fire trucks, Army tanks, clowns and children throwing candy, What's not to love, right?

Enjoying the parade...

The next day Aunt Nic came over with a few little fireworks for Ethan to try. A few of them were much louder than we thought which left Ethan covering his ears for several minutes even after we were done.

Aunt Nic & Ethan (with ears covered)

That night we attended a bbq hosted by our good friends the Teeples. Afterward, we went with a bunch of friends from the bbq to go watch fireworks.

Watching fireworks...

Here are the kids in their festive outfits before church.

Catching Up

Wow, I can't believe the last time I posted a blog was back in APRIL! I guess that shows how crazy life has been for us lately. Honestly, the past couple of months have been some of the most challenging in our marriage. We've had some huge life events happen all at the same time so I wanted to take a minute to write about them.

A Tribute to Gemma
On Monday, May 11th, Blake's beautiful mother Michele Cooper passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Neither of us have ever lost someone close to us so this was really a difficult time. I guess no one ever knows when your time is up but we were really hoping we'd have more time with her. I know she was trying to stay strong so she could meet our little babies but her body was just worn out. Taking her off of life support was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever experienced. Blake's whole family was amazingly strong through the whole thing and in a way, it really was a spiritual experience. I am going to miss calling Gemma to tell her about the funny things that Ethan did that day and laughing about all the funny things husbands do. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful mother-in-law! I am glad at least that she isn't suffering anymore and that she's in better place. Part of me thinks that maybe she got a sneak preview of our babies up in heaven before the rest of us got to meet them. When I think about Gemma's life (by the way, she chose that name for herself because she didn't want to be called grandma:), I think of the scripture in 2 Timothy 4:7 which says, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." We love you Gemma!

Gemma and Ethan (her first grandchild) on Ethan's blessing day (March 2006).

The Twins FINALLY Arrive

Yes, the babies have finally come! All through my pregnancy, the doctors told me they wouldn't let me go past 38 weeks. So, when they scheduled me for a c-section at 39 weeks, I wanted to cry! Take a look at the picture below and you'll understand why...
Luckily they were able to move me up to my 38 week mark so on May 22nd, we welcomed Grant Alan Cooper and Addison Michele Cooper into our family. We chose to do a c-section because even though Grant was head down, Addison was transverse and that didn't sound like a very fun way of delivering a baby. The doctors were afraid they would have to knock me out completely because my blood platelets were really low (they thought I might have blood leakage from a spinal which could cause back problems). But we went forward with the spinal and it worked out fine.

The best news we had was that both babies were born completely perfect and healthy. Grant weighed 5 lb. 12 oz. and Addison weighed 6 lb. 15 oz. I still can't believe I was carrying almost 13 pounds of baby! Early on in the pregnancy, the doctors feared that Addison had some major health problems and told us that there was only a 15% chance she'd even make it to birth. If she did make it, they told us that there was a very good chance that she would have a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's or Turner's syndrome. Every day of my pregnancy I was afraid that it would be the day I'd lose her. But, day after day she grew stronger and stronger and when she was born, she had no problems whatsoever. What a miracle! We know that the many prayers and blessings I received allowed both of these beautiful little babies to come into our home.

So, now they are 7 weeks old and as darling as ever. We don't get much sleep these days (3-5 hours a night on average) but somehow we're functioning (thanks mostly to my mom who helps me SO much). I figure, someday they will learn to sleep through the night, right? :)
Big brother Ethan with Grant on the left and Addison on the right (One day old at the hospital).
Grant (left) and Addison (right) snuggling in the swing. So sweet!

Soccer!

Recently I've been feeling guilty that I can't get out and do much with Ethan because I feel like I'm as big as a house! I'd do anything to take him on a walk or something but between feeling big and uncomfortable and being restricted with exercise because of the twins, we have few options. So, I decided to enroll him in Kiddie Soccer to give him a chance to get some energy out and have something fun to look forward to each week.

Well, class #1 was quite interesting. Ethan clung to the backs of my legs for the first 5 minutes but I gradually walked him out to the field. He finally started getting involved in the drills if I stayed within a few feet of him. But, by the end of class, he was running around on his own just fine. It was a little tough at first for him because he is the only 3 year old in the class and most of the other kids had taken the class before. The whole concept of soccer was completely new to him. At one point the ball came rolling to him and I yelled, "Get it Ethan! Kick it in the net!" He obviously heard the urgency in my voice and threw himself on top of the ball and held it so the others couldn't kick it. Luckily coach Dave prevented the other kids from trying to kick it away from him and gave Ethan a chance to try to make a goal. It was pretty hilarious!

During yesterday's class, coach Dave had set up small cones all over the field and the kids were supposed to kick them over with their soccer balls. So, Ethan would pick up his ball, walk it over to his cone of choice, sit it down right in front of the cone and kick. Many times however, it wasn't a hard enough kick to knock down the cone so Ethan would just whack the cone over with his hand. I was crying with laughter! Anyway, he's enjoying it and I'm having a blast watching. It will be interesting to see how he's doing by the end of the season!

Coach Dave gives instructions to the kids (this happens to be a day where Ethan was the only boy who showed up).
Ethan takes a moment to catch his breath and figure out which way to run!
During each class, the coach has a huge pile of soccer balls for the kids to use. For each exercise, coach Dave would tell them to get their soccer ball and do a certain drill. Ethan kept looking at the pile of balls and yelling over to me, "Mommy, is this my ball?" It was hilarious!
Kicking the ball! (It was the wrong direction but I was just happy he was getting the concept of using his feet rather than his hands!)

Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday was wonderful. Ethan woke up and crawled in bed with us around 6:30 a.m. After a few minutes I asked him if he knew who came to our house during the middle of the night. His eyes immediately lit up as he remembered who had come. Within seconds he was off the bed and telling us to hurry up and go downstairs!

The first thing he noticed, before the baskets, were the eggs. They weren't exactly hard to miss. The Easter Bunny had them in pretty visible places like the middle of the floor, on the stairs, on the couch, etc. He went crazy looking for them and opening them up. The funny thing is that they all had pretty much the same candy inside but he was equally excited with each egg he opened. It was so much fun!
During the course of the egg hunt, he stumbled upon his basket which was filled with treats and a Handy Manny tv repair kit which was a big hit.Blake and Ethan take a few minutes to read about the resurrection of Jesus while I fixed breakfast. Ethan just loves these scripture picture books. They have been a wonderful addition to our family scripture reading now that Ethan can see some pictures that go along with the stories.
After church, we took a few minutes for some Easter pictures. These two pics of Ethan are my favorites. He looks so "GQ" in his little seersucker suit!

Handsome boy!Ethan with his Daddy. Aren't they cute?

Mommy and Ethan. Ethan is sitting pretty awkwardly on my lap since there isn't much of a lap these days!

After church and naps, we headed up to Blake's parent's home for Easter dinner and fun. They had gone all out putting an Easter basket together for Ethan and hiding eggs in front of the house. Ethan was in heaven. Honestly, that kid could do an egg hunt every day and he's never get tired of it. He had a blast!
After a wonderful dinner, we visited and Ethan wrestled every male in the group. Here he is trying to take down Pepe! I can't remember the last time I saw Ethan laugh that hard!

Pre-Easter Festivities

We had so much fun with Ethan this year getting ready and enjoying the Easter holiday. Below are some pictures from various activities we did with him before Easter.
Ethan coloring Easter eggs. He had one egg in the red dye and every time we asked him if he was ready to take it out he'd reply, "nope, just a little bit longer." By the time we finally convinced him to take the egg out, it was practically blood red!!

Our "oh so fancy" decorated eggs!

We went with some friends to do an egg hunt in our town only to find out that they canceled it. But, by then, Ethan was so worked up about looking for eggs, we had to come up with a quick plan B. Luckily my friend, Melanie, knew about another egg hunt nearby that cost $6. So, we grabbed a quick lunch and went over to a golf course to do the egg hunt. Even though they tried to divide the children up by age, it was still madness. Unfortunately Ethan was just too little to be able to keep up with the bigger kids. At the end of the egg hunt (which lasted about 45 seconds), he had two eggs in his basket. I have to admit, I was a little annoyed...$6 for two peanut butter cups! The women running the egg hunts had extra eggs prepared so they gave us a few more. The funny thing was that Ethan really didn't care. He just enjoyed running around looking for eggs!

This is a picture of Blake and Ethan after the egg hunt. Cute boys!

Jen and Ethan after the egg hunt. I was having a hard time getting Ethan to cooperate enough for a picture. They had a guy there dressed up as the Easter Bunny who was freaking out all the kids. The problem was that he had the bunny costume on but there was a hole cut out for his face to poke through so all the kids knew that it was just some random weird guy in a bunny costume. Ethan was't interested in getting anywhere near the guy!

This experience with the Easter Bunny at the mall went a little better. Ethan was still a little unsure about the whole thing, as you can see. But, when he saw his friend Dallin do it, he got brave and sat on his lap. They gave the kids bunny ears which you can see below.

Dallin Teeples and Ethan as little bunnies!

Nursing Cover

Lately I've been feeling the pressure of getting everything ready for babies while I'm still a little bit mobile (well, barely). A month or two ago I noticed that my friend, Kristy, had this darling nursing cover that made nursing in public so much more convenient. It's basically a large piece of fabric with a neck strap (like an apron) but it also has boning at the top so you can peek down and check on baby and still be modest. No more trying to keep a blanket over you while the baby pulls it off!

I went home and looked them up at Bebe Au Lait and they were selling for $35-$40 and I thought, "I can make that!" So, here's the result of my little project. I'm really happy with how it turned out. You can't see from the front but on the backside of each lower corner, I sewed in little pockets where I can put binkies or nursing pads, etc. The entire project cost me around $14. Yay!

Bebe Au Lait version...

My version....

Our Disney Vacation

Last week, we went to Orlando to attend the wedding of Blake's sister, Nicole to her fiancee, TJ. They were engaged over a year ago at Cinderella's castle so it only seemed right that they get married at Disney as well (Nicole is a HUGE Disney fan). So, it gave us a chance to take Ethan down there for the first time. Although the trip was packed solid with activities, we all had a blast. The whole trip between the plane ride, the rides, the pool, and seeing Mickey in person just blew his little mind. So, I'll apologize now for all the pictures but I didn't know how to narrow them down any more than this. These are some of my favorites from each day.

Day 1: Plane Ride/Magic Kingdom

Ethan's first time on a plane. He literally had to use the bathroom 4 times in a 2 hour trip. How is that physically possible? I'm thankful at least that the doctor gave me the "okay" to travel being 29 weeks pregnant with twins! The whole time we were sitting on the plane before leaving Ethan kept saying, "Are we ready to fwast off yet?" I think he thought we were in a rocket ship!
After arriving at Disney and waiting for our luggage to arrive, we decided to join Nicole and TJ at Magic Kingdom for a few hours (we were able to get reduced tickets after 4 p.m. because we were there for the wedding). We were able to hit the tea cups, Dumbo, Peter Pan and a few others. While we were up in the air riding Dumbo, the fireworks started going off right over our heads. It was so cool!

The fireworks were being shot off from two different directions. Ethan practically got whiplash up on Uncle TJ's shoulders trying to catch a glimpse of all the fireworks. This is a picture of Blake, Nicole, TJ and Ethan watching the show!
I can't remember which ride this was (maybe It's a Small World) but I thought it was a cute picture of the gang.
Ethan crashes after a VERY long, full day of travel and Magic Kingdom. Poor little guy!

Day 2: More Magic Kingdom

Our second day there, we started out at a hotel for the wedding rehearsal. Afterward, the guys hit the links for a full day of golfing at a pro course nearby and Nicole and I took Ethan back to Magic Kingdom for more fun. Since I don't have any pictures of Blake's golf outing, these are the pics of our day at Magic Kingdom.

We took a train ride over to Mickey's house which Ethan loved (anything with trains is great in his book). I wasn't sure how Ethan would react to seeing Mickey and Minnie in person but it didn't take long for him to warm right up to them. By the time we left, he was giving them hugs and kisses. I love this picture!
The Goofy ride was Ethan's first real roller coaster experience and he loved it! I tried to go on with him but they basically kicked me off because I was too pregnant. Bummer. I have always loved roller coasters so it KILLED me to not be able to ride any of the more adult rides. I couldn't even ride the kiddy Goofy ride. So depressing! The perk was that I was able to drive around a scooter (as embarassing as it was) so I didn't have to walk much and I had a handicapped pass which got us to the front of every line. So cool!
Ethan and I went on this ride and had a blast. I let Ethan steer and I controlled the gas pedal. But, after some pretty large bangs back and forth, I decided I better help out at the wheel a little more before the kid put me into labor. Ethan was convinced that he was Lightening McQueen from Cars. He was in heaven!

Day 3: The Wedding

The day started out very early with hair, make up and breakfast and Ethan was in a mood. I think the poor little guy was just exhausted and I was worried that he'd never make it down the aisle with the ring pillow. However, when he met his new friend, Rori (Blake's aunt's daughter -not sure what that makes them), he suddenly came to life. He was so happy to have another little person around to hang out with that I began to think that him walking down the aisle might actually work. I told him that I had to go ahead of him but that he was supposed to follow Rori until he got back up front to me. So, I nervously watched Rori and then Ethan walk out. As soon as Rori started dropping flower petals from her basket, Ethan immediately stopped in his tracks to pick them up. She dropped a few more and he walked forward to try to get them off the ground. I should have known that my little OCD child would be bothered by this! After she continued to drop flowers, he had this look of total frustration on his face when he realized he just couldn't keep up with her. He gave up and started walking over them. By this time, however, the entire audience was cracking up. It was so funny!

He finally made it up to the front to stand my me but it wasn't long before he discovered the big fountain of water behind us (the ceremony was outside at Epcot Paris). By the time I saw him, he had already managed to climb up on the edge of the fountain and get his pants all wet. People kept snickering in the audience and I ran over to snatch him away from the water. I was mortified that he was taking away their attention but I guess there's only so much you can do to control a 3 year old!

This is a picture of Ethan and his darling little friend, Rori at the pre-reception just after the ceremony.
Ethan and Rori walking to the bus that will shuttle us over to another part of Epcot for the reception. They look like a little bride and groom. So cute!
Nicole and TJ, the newly married couple, dance to the first song at the reception. They look so happy!
How cool is this cake? It's called the Mad Hatter cake. Love it!

The reception was a blast (though my feet and ankles looked like tree trunks by this point). Nicole had lined up a babysitter to help with Ethan which actually worked out really great. She kept Ethan busy so we could sit and eat in peace for once. Nic also had the DJ play Ethan's two most favorite songs (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun & Highway Star - he learned this one on Rock Band) and he couldn't help but hit the dance floor all by himself and show everyone his moves!

After the reception, we went home and napped so we had some energy to get back to Epcot. That evening, they held a dessert party at Epcot on the water where we could sit and watch the fireworks. It was a beautiful setting and a fantastic show. Ethan LOVED it!

Day 4: Animal Kingdom

Here we are with our bug glasses on as we get ready to watch "A Bug's Life" which is a little 3D film. During part of the show, a large bug decides that he wants revenge and tells all the bugs to get us. Smoke starts coming in as they "spray the insect killer" and large spiders drop down from the ceiling. Suddenly you can hear kids throughout the room screaming and crying and mom after mom had to leave with their little ones. It was pretty hilarious in a sad sort of way. Ethan did well with it though and didn't get worked up over it.
Another perk to being in a scooter - front row parking for the parades! Ethan LOVED this parade with Donald, Mickey and other friends.

Day 5: Chef Mickey's, Downtown Disney and Home

On our last day, we were able to snag a very early breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's (which books up at least 3 months in advance). Everyone wants to come here because all the main Mickey characters come by to your table and visit with you for a minute. So, we were able to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. Ethan as in heaven!

Afterward, we had some time to kill so we hung out at Downtown Disney and rented a pontoon boat for 30 minutes. It was so much fun. The weather down there was amazing. It was so hard to leave paradise to come back to New Jersey's 30 degree weather!

We got a little swimming in before we had to get on the plane. Ethan was asleep almost immediately after take off and slept for the entire flight. It was awesome. All in all, it was a wonderful and busy trip. I wouldn't recommend doing it when you're this pregnant but it's definitely one of those thing you have to do with your kids. I hope Ethan will remember it!