Lunch

We went to eat lunch with you the other day, and it was so fun. We got to eat outside on the picnic tables and Ivy crawled around (and barely missed the fire ant pile we found later-thank goodness!!) while we talked and ate. We played I spy and talked about your day. You told us when your class had your block class you were at the counselor's office and you talked about emotions. That day you talked about being angry and how to cope with it. I asked if you had ever been angry, and that led to talking about times that you have felt all different emotions. It was a fun talk. Here is what you said:

-I felt angry when dad wouldn't let me have more water when it was bedtime

-I felt sad when Cole got the chocolate cupcake at Ivy's party

-I felt excited when Santa brought me blister

-I felt happy when Santa rearranged the treats we left for him to make a snowman

-I felt scared when we went on a family bike ride with a tandem bike

I LOVE talking with you. The older you get the more insightful, funny, and bright you are. I sure love you Cooper!!

Golden Birthday!

Here's the run-down of 1-6-15 at our house....Cooper's big 6th birthday!

January 6th wasn't just your birthday, it was your first day back to school after Christmas break.

We filled your room with balloons.

We let you open a couple presents before school. We tried something different this year, and let you pick your own presents, because you really enjoy browsing through toys. You loved it. Before school you opened your new clothes, one of the switch and go dinos you picked, and the honey nut cheerios we got for you. (Your favorite cereal)

I brought donuts and chocolate milk for everyone in your class to celebrate your birthday. Your teacher had a baby around Christmas, so this was your first day to have a substitute. She seemed nice, but you said she didn't do a lot of the special birthday things Mrs.Fernandez does. You were a good sport though, and said "it's ok" I met you for lunch and brought Subway, your favorite.

After school, you played with the toy you had already opened, and then dad took you to basketball practice. While you were gone, I made your cake and pizza. I made a basketball cake, and pizza in the shape of a 6. Emmett brought over some toys when you came home. We ate, and you opened the rest of your presents. Mimi and Papa bought you an ant farm and a book about ants, a game, and and walkie-talkies. Grandma and grandpa bought you a remote control car and grandma sewed you a special pillowcase. (We face timed grandma when you opened it and you said "what in the world?!" when you pulled it out) you loved it though, and slept with it that night. You also opened the present you picked out from mom and dad the remote control switch and go.

I think you had a great birthday. I hope you felt loved!

6 years old!

Cooper-I cannot believe you are already 6!! You are such a strength in our family, and we love you so much. Here are some things about you at 6 years old:

-You LOVE animals. You will rotate between favorites, and when an animal is your favorite you learn everything about them and are obsessed for a month or two until you pick a new one. Your current favorite animal is the eagle, you started loving it after watching the Rescuers Down Under.

-Your favorite color is still orange.

-You love basketball, and you are really good at it! You are one of the only kids on your team that can run down the court while dribbling, and can do it with either hand.  You are still learning how to be aggressive.

-Your favorite shows are Wild Kratts and Rescue-Bots

-Your are very picky about what you wear. Your favorite outfit is a Captain America shirt with blue warm up pants.

-Your favorite foods are pizza, chicken nuggets, meatballs, and chicken tikki marsala. (An indian dish) You are very picky about what you eat, but if you like it you will eat a lot of it!

-You beg for lunchables for school lunch every day.

Some things that we love about you:

-You are so GOOD. You have your moments, but you generally are trying to do the right thing, even if you aren't being asked.

-You make friends easily.

-You are talented, it seems like you excel at almost anything you try.

-You are confident. Even in new or uncomfortable situations, you do what you need to do and do it bravely.

-You are observant.

-You have a strong testimony and knowledge of the gospel already.

-You are organized, and you love to plan things. (Like family night)

-You are a self-starter.

-You have a great sense of humor.

-You know what you want.

I will probably be adding to this list for the next couple of days as I think of more things. We love you SO much and our family wouldn't be the same without you! You are such a special, special boy, and we are so grateful that you are ours.

What does the fox say??

Your current obsession is with foxes. I'm not sure how it started, but when you got a Ranger Rick Jr with a full size poster of a fox that sealed the deal. Out of true love, I downloaded the "what does the fox say?" song for you and we have been listening to it a lot!

You know everything about foxes, and want a real fox for Christmas. While we were in St.George, we went to a wildlife museum and there were a couple foxes there that you loved looking at.

I love the obsessions you get with things, and can't believe how much you are able to learn about them! You are one fun+smart boy!

Primary Program

Cooper-

The day we left for St.George, you had your primary program. You did awesome, of course! You spoke big and loud, right into the microphone and had your part memorized. Your part was "Because God created our bodies to be like His, I can take care of mine by eating healthy foods and playing outside." (You came up with the last part).  You also knew most of the songs, and did a great job singing. You were well behaved most of the time, but turned around to whisper to your buddy Will a couple of times. You make us so proud, Cooper. You are a great boy and we love you!

General Conference

Cooper-

Today was the first day of General Conference. You blew me away. Let me tell you about why...
We have been having more contention than we should have in our home lately. Everybody has been in a bit of a rut I think. But you have picked up on this. On Monday, we had a lesson on General Conference, and I told you boys that when you listen to General Conference, Heavenly Father tells the speakers what to talk about. So I told you boys to think of a question that you would ask Heavenly Father if you could talk to him. Your question was, "how can our family be nicer?" Then I told you boys that if you listened to the talks, you would get an answer to your question.

We haven't talked a lot about our questions since then. Today we watched conference. As I was putting you to bed, I wanted to share my answers with you, but first I asked if either of you had received an answer to your questions. I was surprised when you said, "Yes!" When I asked you what your answer was you told me "during one of the talks, someone said that if you want to have a better family than you need to read scriptures, so we need to read scriptures". I was speechless! The crazy thing is that this was one of the things that I was prompted to improve upon while listening to conference today too.

You are such a blessing to our family. Thank you for sharing your goodness with us! We love you so much!

xoxo Mom

Basketball

You played basketball for the first time this summer! You loved it! You say it is your favorite sport. You are pretty good, especially since we didn't practice much before you started the season. You are a great dribbler, and scored a basket during one of your games.