Look who made his own grilled cheese sandwich!

Cooper is becoming a little chef : )

Made with Love

The other day Sarah and I took Andy out to eat because it was his turn to have a special date with mommy and daddy (Cooper had his special date 2 weeks previous).

While we were at the restaurant we ordered him a hot chocolate.

I asked Andy which hot chocolate was better, since Sarah makes an awesome homemade hot chocolate mix at home.  Andy's response was so sweet.  He said, "Mommy's is better, 'cause it's made with love.  This one isn't."

A Risk Worth Taking - When You're 5

The other day we were waiting for a bus where there was a patch of grass nearby for the kids to play on while we waited.  Soon, Andy came running up to show us the $5 coin he found in the grass, very happy.  Then he let us know how he found it.

"I saw something on the ground and maybe it was chocolate and maybe it was poop.  So I picked it up to check it out.  It was money!"

Lesson: When you're five years old, it's clearly worth the risk of touching poop if the potential payoff might be free, abandoned-and-left-on-the-ground-and-to-the-elements-for-who-knows-how-long, chocolate.

I actually shudder to think what would have happened if either of his original theories had been correct.  I'm just really, really glad it turned out to be a grungy coin.

Buzz Joke

Our kids are starting to come up with their own jokes; and while they are not quite roll on the floor knee slappers, they recently came up with one that was pretty good.

Our kids asked Sarah, "What's infinity plus infinity?"

Sarah, "I don't know, what?"

Kids, "2 infinity . . . and beyond!"

What Andy Wanted, A Lot

I should have put this up weeks ago.

On Cooper's birthday Sarah allowed him a special privilege by letting him crack the eggs for his birthday brownies all by himself (anyone with small children will know this runs a high shell risk). Andy wanted to try to crack an egg all by himself, too, but Sarah informed him that this was a special thing just for Cooper on his special day. Andy tried to understand and, as it has now become apparent, solidly locked the desire away into his heart to crack an egg someday.

A few weeks later I was making cookies. Andy saw me get an egg out as part of the process and, recalling that firm desire, said with much enthusiasm, "I want to crap an egg! Can I?"

It is quite unfortunate for Andy that the amount of laughter traced back to that question has locked that memory in our minds for YEARS to come.

But truly, God help us all if he ever really does crap an egg.

Double-O Cooper

One day last week, shortly after walking in the door from work, Cooper comes up to me and says, "Dad, I'm a secret agent."

I said, "Cool."

He followed up with, "You know why? It's 'cause I'm very secrety"

On the way to church pt.2

One more, with a fun color effect.

On the way to church

I took some shots of the boys. Enjoy!

I could be invisible, wouldn't matter

It's Saturday and Cooper's happy today, which is a big step up from the grumpiness of the past couple of days.

Perhaps digging for a little love, I said, "Cooper, are happy today because daddy's home?"

"No."

Lion Dancing

Our kids decided they wanted to put on a traditional Chinese New Year lion dance for Sarah and I. They were SOOOOO excited to do it, and so I wanted to record the experience to share with everyone.

Just for some reference, the lion dance is done every year all over Asia by different troupes to celebrate Chinese New Year. Here's what it typically looks like:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=964pG9YDe2w

And here is our kids version:
(please note: the white kid is Kale, Cooper's very good friend and classmate in kindergarten)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwn0dc5YaP4

A Classic Andy Face

It doesn't get any more Andy than this.

Wisdom from Andy

Andy gave Sarah some 4 (almost 5) year old wisdom today.  He said that you shouldn't eat your friends, because then they will be all gone.

I think it's a great tip, and worth remembering.

Corn on the cob

I love the things my kids say. Cooper wants "cob with the corn" and
Andy wants "corn in a cup." Awesome.

Andy's Marriage Meltdown

The other day Andy was having a huge meltdown. It was the usual,
screaming, kicking, beyond irrational. Most of the time we can discern
what triggered the meltdown, but Sarah had no idea what the source of
this one was, so when Andy had finally calmed down enough to talk
Sarah asked him why he was throwing such a huge fit.

His reply, "I just want to be married!"

Cooper is a sweetheart

We've been sick for the past few days, except Andy. On Saturday, I
went to the shopping plaza to run a few errands and took Cooper with me. On our way, Cooper says to me, "Daddy, can we get mommy some flowers? I think it will make her happy."

I told him it was a good idea. So we went to pick up dinner. "After this we will go get the flowers for mommy, right?" Cooper says.

"Nope, next is the grocery store."

We get the groceries and go to the flower shop. Cooper strolls right in, glances around for a few seconds, and points to a bundle of bright yellow flowers and says, "That's a good one."

He paid for the flowers and we headed home. Cooper kept a careful hold of the flowers the whole time. He kept saying, "Do you think momma will like them?" and "Will this make her happy?"

When we got home and I told Sarah that the flowers were, in fact, completely Cooper's initiative, she was quite touched.

At 4 years old Cooper is a sweetheart.

Phrases never before said

As a parent you sometimes find yourself saying things you never thought you'd say to another human being. For example, today my wife actually admonished my son with the following words: "Don't put Thomas up your butt." As in Thomas the Train. Don't quite know how to follow that.

Cooper's Preference

We have just returned from a two and a half week trip to the US to visit our closest friends and family. It was busy, intense, enjoyable, and full of memory moments. One of the funniest occurred during our 7 hour delay at JFK airport:

After the 4th announcement that our flight would again be delayed Sarah and I decided it would be worth it to rent a car and simply drive down to our destination (Maryland) instead of facing longer indefinite delays. At about 11pm we took an airport train to the terminal where the car rental places were. We were tired, our kids were tired, and we were all struggling with rolling grumpiness.

When we got to the car rental area we found that we were not the only ones with the idea of renting a car in the face of everlasting delays. Without an existing reservation there were no cars available to be rented anywhere.

Defeated, resigned, and with simmering frustration we got back on the airport train to go back to our gate and wait for the delays to finally be over.

Up to that moment neither of our children had been doing things that I would say bring me joy as a parent. But then, in that dark hour (literally) Cooper chirped up and announced, “I like this train. It smells like french fries!”

He was absolutely right. Somewhere on that train was someone with a fresh, piping bag of McDonalds food.

Sarah and I experienced our first smile in a few hours, and agreed, “Yes, Cooper, this train does smell like french fries.”

Bribery

The other day I was putting Cooper in bed. I don't remember if it was because it was nap time, or because he had done something wrong. In any case, though, it was daytime and I was putting him in his bed.

He did the usual pleading to not put him in bed, to let him out and play, etc, etc.

When it became obvious to him that I wasn't going to budge and that he WAS going to bed he stopped and, suddenly reaching for his pocket says, "Wait, I have money!" (a coin he had picked up during the morning)

I was already on my way out the door at that point, but I had the disctinct impression that my 3 year old was trying to bribe me.

Don't quite hardly know what to think about that.

Prayers

I just wanted to make a record here of a nice milestone.

We have always had family prayers with out 2 boys. We encourage them to kneel properly, fold their arms, remain quiet, and say 'amen' at the end.

For quite a few months now, Andy has been following Cooper's example and saying his own prayers (with help). Sarah or I will whisper into his ear and he will repeat what we tell him. He is getting better and better at it.

Cooper, on the other hand, is saying his own prayers, but by himself. It usually starts with him being thankful for his family, then our Heavenly Father gets a grand rundown of the day's events. Super important stuff.

Third and Fourth Genders

Sarah and I have been trying to help Cooper recognize the difference between boy and girl lately. In doing so, Cooper has now identified additional genders. Yes, that's right, there is more than just 'boy' and 'girl.' The other day we had a conversation that proceeded as follows:

Mom: "Cooper, are you a boy or a girl?"

Cooper: "um, girl"

Mom: "Nope, you are a boy. Mommy is a girl"

Dad: "Cooper, am I a boy?"

Cooper: "No"

Dad: "Hmm. Am I a girl?"

Cooper: "No. You're old"


Yes, I have transmorphed into that gender that gets us all over time, old.

Not content with just one extra gender, however, yesterday Cooper identified yet another. The conversation went like this:

Mom: "Cooper, are you a boy or a girl?"

Cooper: "A girl"

Mom: "No Cooper, you're a boy. Mommy is a girl"

Cooper: "No, you're a friend"


I think that's how we should introduce each other from now on.

"Hi, nice to meet you. This is my wife, Sarah. Since we've had kids we aren't male and female any more. Sarah's a friend, and I'm old."