A face to remember

Shawn splurged our first year of marriage to buy me an over the top, overly complicated amazing camera. He passed out as a result of giving plasma too many times to get this camera in my hands. I love it. Time just goes so quickly I haven't taken the time to learn how to properly use it. When Coop's bday rolled around I decided we might as well try our hand at photographing him ourselves, I had what I wanted in mind. It was a team effort, my goal was to make it not stressful, and I failed. But we did our best, and we got a few pictures that will forever remind us of the way our handsome little boy's face looked during the week of his first birthday. That's all we really wanted. Here are some of the favs! Beware of the picture overload!

Last night I was gathering up clothes for my cute little nephew to be. They were Cooper's old clothes and I can't wait for them to be used again. I was surprised how much I loved every single item. I had promised myself I would never forget how cute Cooper looked in each and every individual one. To my horror, I pulled out some shoes and said to myself, I forgot he ever had these! I started to cry, and Shawn put his arm around me and laughed. This is why I drug him through the stressful wind storm to capture pictures of Cooper before his birthday. It's not so I can throw them on my blog or fb like Shawn loves to jokingly suggest (although showing off a cute boy is always a nice side bonus). I insisted on taking these, because I don't ever want to forget these two little bottom teeth, that appear with only an extra big smile. The little blonde curls at the base of his neck, and the big sparkly brown curious eyes. We have to remember forever the chubby hands and his massively thick feet that can hardly be smashed in a shoe. All I really want is to remember every single detail just exactly the way it has been.

I love this face, and it won't look this way for long, I swear it actually changes everyday. It's a face to remember...he is one special boy. What a blessing to spend a whole year learning how to be his parents and enjoying his company.

Summer Days

Phone picture [crappy quality] and way too long upload from our few and far between stay at home days of the summer..

Cooper got a new car for his bday! I don't know what's been more fun, watching him use it, or going to pick it up with Shawn and seeing how excited all three of us were pushing it out to the parking lot to take it home. He knows how to get attention when he wants it-which is not hard-he pushes it up and down our driveway waving and shouting to everyone who walks by. Our goal is to capture it on video it's so entertaining to watch-he truly believes everyone cares about it, and needs to see it-which they do! He pushes this thing all over the house, it has definitely saved me when I need him entertained for a minute!

Cooper is a lover of food. He probably gets that from both sides of Allen. I promise I'm not starving him but he seriously dug in my bag for this strawberry and was determined to eat it, after almost a whole PB and J and then some..don't worry I put them in his chubby hands and let him go to town right after this picture.

Shayna and Dean have been our most frequent little seven peaks buddies. We sure love them. Cooper loves other kids! He likes them too much and always wants to touch their faces and their hair and get maybe too up close and personal-Dean is such a little trooper and just let's Cooper explore!

Someone has learned to say "DAD" and it's the most hilarious thing. He has said Mama for a while and it took us a long time to be able to tell if he actually knew what it meant. There is no doubt he knows what DAD means. It's so funny because he yells is with such urgency, usually when he is messing around with stuff and wants Shawn to join him. We get snow shacks after work with Dad about 3 times a week and they are so completely delicous..delicious meaning comparable to Bahama Bucks which is a big statement.

Little chat before bed, these two love eachother

First baseball game, Mr. Curious the whole night..

jogging stroller therapy. Shawn usually pushes him, and I just try to get myself and baby #2 up the hills and around the park. It is the most quiet and peaceful that Coop can possibly be while being awake. It is so refreshing this time of year for all of us, to enjoy a short run (or jog, or walk) at Sugarhouse park. Ironically we usually follow it up with a bed time snack in front of the tv..
Look at this content little face..and chubby little hands and legs.

This is what Cooper does about 17-18 hours of the day! The other 6-7 he is absolutely CRAZY every single second and he cracks me up. He lets me know clearly when he is tired and his mood usually flips a 180, then he wakes up ready to go crazy again. What a sweet lil boy.

We just had his one year check up and shots, ironically it coordinated with my six month check up for our girly girl..who would have thought! Cooper has never cried much with shots and seriously the second we walk out the door he never acts like he cares or thinks twice about it again. He definitely didn't get that pain tolerance from me, and it's pretty darn likely our girl will not be the same way!

We had to wait for the doctor for about an hour, so for the first 30 minutes Cooper was all over the place, after he had explored every corner he was not happy to be waiting around in a tiny little room staring at the same four walls. I enjoyed that he was forced to actually give in and sit on my lap for a few to read books.
He currently likes to open every single cupboard and try to fit into the teeny tiniest places he can. He loves talking to himself in the mirror, and touching things that he shouldn't, with a look that follows like, "oh am I not supposed to touch that? oops." Cutest face ever.

He is a busy, happy, darling, growing boy- 70% in weight and 95% in height..he easily keeps us entertained and time is going so fast we can't even believe that we will have another one in about 14 weeks! The three of us are big fans of water and sunshine..life is finally slowing down and we are taking advantage of enjoying every last second before we are stuck inside for the winter. My work has reminded me over and over, that life is short. I am so grateful for everyday that I get to spend with these two fun friends of mine who just so happen to be my own little fam. There is nothing better then being the Mom- good thing, since there is a whole lot of Mommyness coming up in the semi-near future.

Quite the lady..

I have taken a long hiatus from blogging. Okay, long is a relative term. To me, over a month is long! I like to come here and write about all the happenings in our life, since Cooper's scrapbook is far from finished and my journal looks like it has been thrown in a garbage truck and recovered from dragging it around over the years. Blogs are a wonderful thing!
We have been so busy!!! Summer really is just one of the best times of the year, along with the holidays and fall and parts of spring :) I have lots to catch up on.

FIRST and foremost..On July 3rd we went to my sweet great grandma's funeral. She passed away in Ashton in a rest home. I regret the fact that I didn't know her better. However, everything I remember about her is 100% good. I remember feeling the same regret at my other great grandma's funeral a few years before, and also at Shawn's nana's funeral. I do remember birthday cards in the mail every year up until well into my teens. If anybody else knows how hard it is to actually get a letter to the mailbox..that's quite the accomplishment for all of her grandkids and great grandkids! We listened to stories about her and heard people reflect on how wonderful her life was for the afternoon. I realized that I met her just at the very tail end of a fulfilling life. Look how cute she was!

I sort of wish I had known my great grandma when she was my age making her friends laugh, or that I had been around when she packed my grandpa up for an afternoon outing, just the same way I pack up my Coop. I was not lucky enough to see her house as a young mom, but I heard it was perfectly kept-I didn't taste her breakfast, but I heard it was delicious. I learned that she taught my grandma how to sew, and keep a garden, and keep a cozy house. My grandma taught my mom these things, and my mom has (tried) to teach my sisters and I. Apparently I can thank her for having sore knees from weeding my two rows of the garden, or until a spider was seen and then we all quit. As I was cleaning my bathroom last week, in the specific order my mom taught me, I wondered if my grandma does it the same way, and if it all came from my great grandma-and I was grateful for the family that she started that I eventually was lucky to become a part of.

I know blogs didn't exist back then, but I wished she had kept one. I wish I could read about her day to day life, and about my Grandpa when he was as young and crazy as Cooper. I learned from what she did leave behind that she loved her family, and being the keeper of her own little home, and that was what made her life complete. That is something that I have taken note of the women in my family for. My grandma, my mom, my aunts, and my older sister are all mom's who take such pride in their job. I am grateful that she started us off with a good example of motherhood to follow. Apparently she was quite the lady.

For the past month my mind has been telling me to sit down and blog about the little details we have going on, if only so that someday Cooper's kids will read it and see just a tiny bit about what their great great great grandmother was like. Then they will laugh as they keep reading about how excited Cooper got when he realized he was actually walking on his own with no help, how he was too tired to dig into his cake on his birthday, and how he loved the parade, the sirens, and the fireworks on his first 4th of July. I also need to blog about the cradle I found at a garage sale for Coop's little sister that with a little TLC is going to be very darling. I need to blog about Shawn's final internship and the fact that last night was the first Sunday evening in our whole marriage that we didn't think about preparations for a week of school starting the next morning..and it felt wonderful!

Life is good, there is no better place to document that then right here in this little corner of the web that is ours, and that we are more then happy to share with the people we love. Happy Summer..more updates soon!

3 becomes 4..

I have had a hard time wanting to put Cooper in anything more then a swimsuit or basketball shorts lately because his legs are just so chubby I hate covering them up! We have been having so much fun outside, and Cooper has little baby tan lines, and a few scratches on his knees to prove it. There is nothing in the world more bittersweet to me then watching your own baby grow up! Sometimes I want the whole world to notice Cooper and the cool tricks he can do-watch him try to walk around and explore every cupboard, try to make up his own little words and try to be the center of attention. More commonly, I just want to run away with him, take away all of his tricks, and strip him down to his little white onesie and rock our little rocking chair pretending that we are back at square one and he is my little babe forever!

I have to say it makes it easier for me knowing that I have another baby on the way! As nervous as I am, I am not ready to be done with a little baby just yet. When I get anxiety about how we will ever manage it all, I remember my own siblings who were just 2 and 1 when I came home, and the childhood that they created for me by being there every second to play with. I remember waking up early to play all kinds of random things with my brother Josh-including street hockey, softballs to the face, ninja turtles and water games in the canal. There really is nothing like the friendship that siblings can develop, I can't wait for Cooper to have that. I have to say I would never be the same person I am today without the influence of siblings that I am very proud to call mine.

It is our pleasure to say that the three of us are becoming the four of us. We are nervous but we are excited. I am saving the boots that Cooper's legs have been much too fat for, in hopes that her legs might be just a teensy bit more lady like.

That being said, it's all official-welcome to Team Allen, sweet girl. There's always more room in this place for someone new to love. Cooper is waiting to show you his world. And we are waiting to meet you, and kiss you, and bring you home to be the privileged parents who get to watch you grow.

For now, we are counting our two biggest blessings..

The land of the in between

This is a place I feel like we have been living for a while. We are undecided about the next move. Every plan depends on something, which then depends on something like test scores, which then depends on something like application timing, which then again depends on something annoying like financial status, which then again depends on interviews and who knows what else. When you are someone who has always had somewhat of a plan, this can drive you crazy! We feel like we have exciting plans in the future, but we just don't know exactly when and how they are all working out. So here we sit, in the land of the in between.
Today I found a little garage sale rocking chair, that I think I will love more after a paint job. I have a huge pile of wonderful things in my basement waiting for a paint job, and an actual home to be displayed in. I was cleaning during nap time this morning and realized for now, this pillow matches this chair perfectly. A young women's leader of mine made this pillow for me, I wonder if she knows how many times I have read the words, and they hit me like "why hasn't anyone reminded me of that lately??" It is only another quote by my favorite lady sister Hinckley.

"The trick is to enjoy life, don't wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead"

Truthfully, unless I think about all the headache we have solidifying a plan for the next year, life is not at all hard to enjoy. Mostly because I have good company. Cooper has found a pathway taking laps around the house. He starts in his bedroom by his crib, he walks around the whole room, opens the bottom drawer and throws everything out, and then heads into the bathroom. In the bathroom we purposely leave the shampoos and soap bottles on the outside rim of the tub with the lids closed. He walks along the tub and pushes every bottle in separately listening to the loud bang. He opens the bathroom cupboard under the sink a few times, not to touch anything inside, but just to open and slam it for a while. He then walks down the hall and into the kitchen where he opens the drawer under the stove and bangs a few pots and pans. He moves over to the tupperware drawer and follows the wall around the whole kitchen. He ends up in the living room where his toys are and if he is lucky there are a few treats at the end of his route and sits for a while and eats them before getting up again. The whole route can keep him busy for about 20-30 minutes. He can walk around the whole house a million times as long as he has something to hold onto, but he definitely is not brave enough to step out on his own. It cracks me up to watch him explore this little place time and time again.

We have had plenty to do to fill our time in this nice weather. My best bet for a happy boy is to keep him as busy as possible during the day.

He does this major cheesy smile all the sudden it's so funny. It's almost like he is making fun of the smiles I make at him.

This is the cutest picture of Cooper and Sophie. Little by little, they are actually starting to interact with each other and just yesterday at lunch Cooper reached for Sophie's hand and she reached back and thought it was the funniest thing. She used to not love it when he always wanted to touch her! They are so cute and surprisingly sometimes are starting to look a little bit a like on the right day at the right moment. Cooper gets the cutest look in his eyes when he sees Sophie and watches everything she does. I'm grateful we have had these years by Sophie, she will always have a special little place in my heart!

I love seeing Cooper start interacting with little people about his age. It is even more convenient when I love their moms so it is happiness for everyone all around. These are two of his little friends that he has started trying to interact with in the past few weeks. It's cute because Lincoln thinks that Cooper is such a little baby, and Cooper thinks that Dean is just such a little baby!

And just so I never forget..Cooper has finally been okay with sitting down by us for a minute, and he especially is learning to love books. Coming from a family of summertime bookworms every year, I am so happy that he actually acts like he cares about the books we have! His favorite book right now is "Time for Bed". We read it every night and he gets so excited to see the animals on every page. He also has been a little more cuddly then usual due to teething (but I'll take it!) and he finally will give kisses, which is the cutest thing! Shawn took these on mother's day he was so sweet that night before bed.

I suppose this is not a bad place to be living the in between life. I have never been so grateful for good friends and family who make my free time with Cooper so fun. Summer is my favorite time of year, I know I have said that about fall and I probably will say it again in September, but right now- I just want Summer! Here's to hoping that before the summer is over, we actually have a plan for a new chapter! Until then, we will be trusting my favorite lady, and thinking ONLY positive thoughts, in the land of the in between!

Hello, World.

This weekend should be all about my boy. No, not the boy I talk about in every single post, whose pee and spit up and sleeping patterns I want to share with the world. But, the other boy, the one who is responsible for creating team Allen in the first place. Only my best friend, my best example, my best half. This weekend he should put on his cap and gown, and march across a stadium with pride, looking handsome and becoming officially grown up. I have the ceremony pictured in my mind actually going very well. I would probably shed a tear when the first few notes of pomp and circumstance began, because that's what I do whenever I hear the first few notes of that song, even if I don't know a single soul in a cap and gown. Graduation is a tender subject for me.
Graduation brings change. I don't always love that about graduation, the way you feel the morning after, when life as you know it is all something new, and there is no classroom on your schedule that teaches you exactly where to go.

I am fairly positive my camera would be in the grad's face all day long, capturing every detail of the hat, the gown, the red and white field, the expressions on the accomplished face. I think I would sit in the sunlit stadium and reflect on our years as students. I am certain I would feel that no wife in the place could be quite as proud as I. I would feel privileged, that I am the one who gets to be the number one fan. What fond memories I have. Student memories, where what we do and how broke we are doesn't matter, because we are not really part of real life yet. An excuse to just let unsettled futures be okay, and be exciting. I will miss these days. For that reason I am grateful that one lingering summer class is still tying us to that "student" world for just a few short months. It is in those quick months we have to decide where a more grown up life will actually be taking us.

For a few reasons, my boy is not putting on his cap and gown this weekend. One being that he just doesn't care for stuff such as that. Another being that for him it would feel like a fake out, since he still has that lingering class. But that doesn't mean that this weekend is still not significant to me. As long as we have been married we have lived life this way, and I'm excited to see what life holds now that this phase is coming to a close. The butterflies are starting, because whether we are present in the crowds or not, Shawn's tassle is being moved over to the other side of his cap this weekend, and we have one foot out the door. This side of the cap means big adventures are right around the corner, we just don't know quite what they are yet. I will be playing the graduation scenario out in my mind this weekend, while we are holding hands and sipping a soda, or sitting by a campfire in the canyon-and I will be extra proud of my boy, whether he knows it or not.

I am grateful that he deserved his cap and gown this weekend, and that he would have worn it so well. Grateful knowing that he has worked himself ragged between full time school and full time work. Knowing that he is someone I admire, look up to, and am privileged to be next to day after day, just hoping his awesomeness rubs off on me. He will not appreciate this post when he sees it, but 20 years from now that will be different. Then he'll look back and he might be a tiny bit grateful to me, that I documented this monumental moment in some way. And at that point we will laugh at how little we knew on this carefree weekend, two twenty four year olds and a baby. And we will smile, that we knew nothing about our future and the gifts it holds that we have yet to discover..In that case-Hello, world. It's about time we get to come explore you in a whole new way.

Happy Weekend. It's Friday, every post sounds better on a Friday.

Sunday Afternoon

I have fallen very slowly in love with living so close to a big city. I never thought I would say that. Although nothing is better to me then the view of wide open fields in Idaho-especially in the fall- the view on a night shift out Primary Children's large windows has started to compare. At 2 am on the 4th floor of the hospital, the city lights are pretty awesome. Let me say, I still sometimes get a certain feeling like a knot in my stomach on a Sunday afternoon and I just want so much to be home in Idaho-laying on my mom's back patio not hearing a single sound, or driving up to my grandpa's farm. I miss just the pure 100% quiet. Yesterday Shawn gave me and Cooper one hour of his time away from studying for finals. We ended up in Millcreek canyon, not a soul in sight. It was gorgeous. It was ALMOST as beautiful and peaceful as the campsites by my grandparents-those are big shoes to fill..

Cooper loves being outside and we might have gone over our one hour limit but we had such a fun time. Shawn got his extra energy out from studying by trying to cross the river skipping from rock to rock, and hiking some of the hills that were too steep to carry a baby up. We were all successfully worn our when we got home.

Shawn eventually went back to his books. I put Cooper in his pj's and we sat by a fire in the backyard with our neighbors. Cooper was in a daze staring at the fire and rocking in an old wooden rocking chair. The stars were bright last night and the weather was hanging at that rare perfect balance between too hot and too cold. Cooper fell asleep and I went back out to chat until way past my bedtime. Something about campfires always sparks good conversation. When we woke up this morning I could smell the scent of campfire on my sweatshirt and in Cooper's hair, I love that smell. This is the first of many campfire mornings for Cooper this summer. I realized this morning that there are so many beautiful places to find wherever life takes us in the next ten years. Despite my prior beliefs, beauty is not only found in the country of Idaho and on my grandparent's farm. Although, to me that might always be my favorite place of beauty. I suppose wherever we go, we just need to get off our little bums and go discover the secret beauty of where we are at that moment. I have to say I'm getting excited.

Speaking of getting off our bums, this little boy will not crawl-but he will walk all over the house with this little walker. He goes from one piece of furniture to the next about 50 times a day. He will not sit to play with his toys he has to have them up on all the couches. My favorite is that if I put goldfish in the bottom of that walker he will take a break from his wanderings and bend down and grab a fish or two. It is so funny to watch him try to balance, it takes forever but to him one little goldfish is worth it. His favorite thing is to walk over to the shoe holder and pull out every shoe, and then put them back in and do it all again! He has been getting so tired at the end of the day, wait he is not the only one, we ALL have been exhausted, but time sure flies when we are being so entertained. I am loving this stage that Cooper, it's so fun to see his personality more and more all the time!