Firsts

We knew it was getting close, but tonight we discovered Cooper got his first tooth! (Bottom, left, for anyone who cares for that much detail.) We're still probably a little ways out before we can post a cute, toothy grin, but at least we're through the pain this time around--one tooth down, lots more teething to go! As other parents who have survived teething know, the hardest and most painful parts of teething tend to happen before the tooth even cuts through, so sometimes by the time I've caught on to what is going on, and I've wanted to pull my hair out for a month, the worst part is over! Luckily, I think I'm getting a little bit smarter about the whole teething process (sorry Ian!). Overall, Cooper's done pretty well, but it's been fairly obvious the last few weeks that we'd hit the teething stage.

In other not so fun and happy firsts--I saw my first scorpion today. I had really been hoping to make it through our summer without crossing paths with one, but unfortunately that was not to be. I went to throw a load of laundry in the washer this afternoon and looked down on the floor in front of the washer and thought I saw what I thought was a scorpion (notice I was really, really holding out that it wasn't one!). Ironically I had just been on the phone with Chris a few minutes earlier when I saw another random bug climbing up the door in our bedroom. I was pretty sure that one wasn't a scorpion and after describing it to Chris, he said it was probably a beetle. Fast forward twenty minutes to the next bugsighting...so instead of disturbing the presumed scorpion, which I was pretty sure was already dead (or was hoping really hard that it already was!) I dutifully checked on it every few minutes, shining a flashlight through the crack between the door and the washer. Since Chris was going to be home in 15 minutes anyways, I figured I'd appeal to his manliness and protector role and "let" him do the honors of disposing of my first dreaded scorpion. My hero came to the rescue (as always; thank you Chris!), confirmed that it was indeed a scorpion, but had probably been dead for awhile (unfortunately, he did have to add that he wasn't sure if it was just the exoskeleton or the scorpion itself...not exactly what I was wanting to hear!). So unfortunately, my fears of the dang little creatures isn't completely unfounded (I really was hoping I was being overly paranoid and somewhat delusional--that I know how to handle...) and I am again looking forward to a visit from our bug man, Darin, on the second Friday of the month! I don't think I'd have ever thought I'd develop such a fondness for an insect exterminator... :) But luckily, up until now, the only other desert bugs I've come across are a few dead cockcroaches outside our front door and one in our bedroom. Cross your fingers and pray that the scorpions stay away from us (especially by two cute boys!) for a few more weeks!!

Enjoying the View

I wonder what it would be like to be away from four definite seasons in Utah--I am sure I would miss the changing of the leaves during the fall and that itchy feeling I get to be outside and running when spring starts to peek its head out come March (Chris keeps reminding me if we do end up here, I would be able to run outside, even during the winter months; but I've decided summer here is like winter in Utah--running outside is possible, but requires some adjustments). Anyways, my point is, there are things I would really miss about Utah, but I've come to appreciate some new beauties being somewhere different.
Like this picture for example--this is a view from our swimming pool up to the hot tub--even if you hate the heat, the desert, Vegas, whatever--you have to admit that is a gorgeous view!
The flowers are beautiful! This picture doesn't do them justice, but it has been really fun to see varieties of bright-colored flowers that I have never seen before. I have enjoyed seeing these flowers during our outside runs.
On Father's Day we went out for a drive around the valley and ended up at a ritzy resort community--Lake Las Vegas. Never in a million years could afford (or even want to) live in a place like this, but the view was pretty, especially as the sun set.

Meatball!

I have been trying hard to do and think about things differently lately. I have spent more time than I usually do playing with my boys, especially Ian. We have painted and colored, read stories, played "Red Light, Green Light" or "Stop, Go," as Ian likes to call it. Today I even took the boys swimming for the first time by myself! I had been pretty worried about doing it, especially at first when I was nervous to do anything in Las Vegas :) But since Chris has taken Ian a lot in almost two months since we've been here, Ian has made a ton of progress and swims almost independently when he is wearing his "muscles." We also just started getting Cooper in the pool the last week or so and it's taken him a little bit to get used to it, but I think he actually really enjoyed himself! I thought we might be out there for maybe half an hour, but it ended up being an hour or more by the time we got back in the house! We had a ball!

Cooper sat in his little floating ring for the first little bit, then Ian wanted to go to the hot tub, so I figured I'd bundle Cooper up in a towel and then we'd head back to the house. But of course Ian wanted to head back to the big pool after that. So I figured I could sit on the edge with Cooper while Ian swam around. I ended up holding Cooper in the water for a bit, then taking him back in the pool, just holding him this time, and the three of us had so much fun swimming around! We chased Ian, then sang songs like "Wheels on the Bus" and "Patty Cake" (which by the way, can be adjusted to work quite well as splashing water songs). Cooper was hungry and tired by the time I was able to convince Ian it was time to go, but I was grateful to have been pleasantly surprised about how fun it was and how easy it really fun, as I had been pretty worried about keeping both boys happy and safe in the water.

Now on to the funny story for which this post is labeled. Ian was sitting in the hot tub and I was dangling my feet in, holding Cooper on my lap. Ian has been into storytelling lately ("One day...one day...!" It is hilarious to hear his rendition of things that happened throughout the day). This particular moment he was doing some future planning. He said: "I want Baby Cooper to get bigger so he can play with me. So he can do a meatball." I tried to hide the confused look on my face. "Meatball?" I asked. "Yah, like that song you sing [referring to "On Top of Spaghetti"]" Ian replied. Still not quite sure where he was going with this, I tried to question further. "What would Cooper do as a meatball?" To which Ian said: "He'd splash in the water!"

Ding, ding, ding. The light bulb finally came on (Come on, silly mom, how slow can I be sometimes?! :p). "Oh!" I said, "You want Cooper to be able to do a "meatball" [cannonball] into the pool with you!" With that mystery solved (in my head, at least) we headed back to the big pool where Ian did a "meatball" into the water. I, too, can't wait until Cooper can join Ian in doing meatballs at the pool. Hmmm...maybe we'll have spaghetti for dinner tonight...

Peas, Please!

As avid readers of our Blog will know, we started Cooper on solids a couple of weeks ago; we are expanding his repertoire of foods a little bit at a time, and the fact that I made WAY too many peas for dinner tonight seemed like as good a reason as any to let him try his first vegetable. I was all for just giving him one or two peas at a time and seeing what he did with them. Jenny, however, insisted that we mash them up, so all of you who are exceptionally sensitive to violence against vegetables or just hate peas (I'm looking at you, Dad) should probably leave the room now.

We couldn't get enough of Cooper's funny reaction! He made the same face basically every time we put a spoonful (or, when Jenny wasn't looking, a pea) into his mouth, but he kept coming back for more. We love having nutty kids-- it confirms that they actually are ours!

The Return of the Lambs

My family back through Las Vegas on their way home from Disneyland a few weekends ago. It was fun because we got to play in our pool with them. I think everyone had a good time and it was so nice to see them!
Cooper and Grandpa Lamb
"Who took my hat?! Silly Grandpa! Oh well. I don't like to where it anyways. Hmmm...what are these? This looks like an okay trade." I guess the tag on the hat does say "one-size-fits-all"...
Cooper and Grandma Lamb
Everyone chilling in the hot tub

Chris and Ian's aquatic show: "Daddy, throw me in the air again!" (Can't you just hear him asking?!!) Which makes me think of another funny story that Stuart and Crystal Dearden told us when they were visiting. Crystal came home one day and Stuart told her he'd pulled a Chris Infanger. Poor Crystal must have been pretty worried since she's seen Ian fly in the air before! A "Chris Infanger" could be way more than she wanted for her 4-month old! :)
Ian is doing an awesome job swimming around with his "muscles." It's been really fun for me to watch the progress Ian has made since we got here a month and a half ago. Chris has done a great job teaching him.
Jenny and Nicole: aren't we cute? Still don't know how I missed out on the blonde hair, but luckily I'm at peace with that now and am happy to be a brunette.
The latest fashion modeled by Nicole and Andrea. I know you are jealous thinking you probably couldn't look as good as they do in these.
Grandma and Grandpa brought Ian a Buzz Lightyear toy and Cooper a cute Mickey hat from Disneyland. Thank you! Ian was really excited and Cooper looks cute in his hat, of course!

Fins and Flippers!

Ian and I have been making pilgrimages to the pool about three times a week—it is all of about a hundred feet from our front door to the pool, so the only reason we don’t go more often is that there are some nights when we just have to do other things.

Ian is turning into quite the little piscine—two weeks ago he was afraid to get in the water, and now we can’t go to the pool without him begging me, “Toss me in the deep, Daddy!” I, of course, am glad to oblige.

About a week ago we started spending some time without his little floaties (we call them his muscles) on his arms so that he could start to learn how to really swim. When Ian is having a really good time, he will yell out, “Look at me! I’m a fish!” He is doing a great job kicking his feet and he is learning how to stroke with his arms (although half of the time he ends up going backwards). When you drop him in the water without his muscles, though, he tenses up and forgets to stroke with his arms and his kicking is more like thrashing.

One of the first times that Ian decided he wanted to jump into the pool without his muscles on and without me catching him, he thrashed around underwater (I’ll usually give him about three seconds) and started to realize that he was in trouble about the time that I pulled him up and let him sit on my knee. He spluttered for a second and then looked at me with water still streaming down his face and said, “I wasn’t a fish that time, Dad.”

However, bless his little heart, he has not shied away from taking a ducking; he likes to spend his time chasing his beach ball or his pink rubber ball, jumping into the pool, getting tossed in the deep end and doing cannonballs with me. He even likes to fish for sharks.

We got him one of those little Styrofoam pool noodles at the dollar store a while ago and he loves to go out on the island in our pool and fish. He will stand up on the island and dip the end of the noodle in the water and I will swim around underwater until I see the end of the noodle and then jump up and grab it. It scares him every time and he laughs himself silly. Sometimes I get really lucky and he holds on to the noodle too tightly. Ian has learned that really big fish can pull you in.

One of our favorite things to do is for me to tickle him from underwater. I get worried sometimes that he is going to swallow half of the pool because he has a hard time keeping his face above water when he is laughing so hard. It is a good time!

He is a brave little boy and I am proud of him; he used to be a little scared of the water and now he (seemingly) has no fear. I used to worry about getting him into the water—now it is ten times harder to get him out!

Yay for Friends!

I am bummed...I took my camera with us, but totally forgot to take a picture! It has been so great to have visitors while we are here in Las Vegas and this last weekend the Deardens--Stuart, Crystal and Alana from our ward in Provo were here for Stuart's family reunion and it was so fun to see them and spend some time with them! They came over on Friday and we talked for a couple hours, then Monday night we went to a buffet since Stuart had his heart set on one (And I had been wanting to go to one too, so it worked for me! I think Chris and Crystal just came for the company!) I looked all day to find one that seemed decent (hopefully not too cheap and nasty) but wasn't outrageously expensive, as are a lot of the newer-fad buffets.
I think we found a pretty good compromise; we went to Seasons at the Silverton Casino and paid $13.99/person and had a pretty good meal. Not everything was amazing, but the food was good. Plus, Ian was free and ya can't beat that (kids under 3 are free at most buffets)! It was fun to just sit there and chat and eat some more (I think Stuart and I out-ate both of our spouses :p) and entertain the kids. Oh and we got another classic Ian line. After we'd gotten our food and were sitting back at the table, Ian got a funny look on his face and said: "Mom, this place is weird." He also managed to fall off a chair and hit his head on the rocks on the wall (with a little help from Mom, of course, who was trying to gently scoot him back to the table and convince him not to try and stand on the chair and touch the LCD TVs on the wall...).

So if you are ever in Vegas and want to try a buffet, but don't want to spend a ton or be on the Strip, I'd recommend this as one you would probably not feel too ripped off. Of course you do have to walk through the casino to get there, but this casino has an aquarium and adjoins with Bass Pro shops, which is fun with the boats and giant stuffed animals., and overall the environment isn't quite as crazy as the Strip.

Little Brother, Don't Cry!

I just have to post this because I was so touched by my sweet Ian. I sometimes get so frustrated with him; he is a 2 year old and is busy and independent and sometimes hard to handle. I know I don't always react to him the best, either, which often makes things worse. But despite the hard times (like potty training or reminding him not to ask the same question over and over or no, you can't have fruit snacks and Powerade for breakfast...) he can often be such a thoughtful, polite little boy, like when he says "thank you" when I hand him something, without any prompts to do so or how worried he is when mommy or daddy are leaving and when are they coming back. It's hard sometimes to keep perspective when there are trying moments, so it's good for me to remember that the annoying things are what I want to dwell on.

Today we took Cooper for his 6 month shots. Ian always gets pretty worried about this, because he doesn't like Cooper getting hurt. Usually the only thing that perks him up about the prospect is knowing Cooper will get a cool Band-aid (which we didn't even get today! dang it!). Anyways, so I told Ian he could hold Cooper's hand while he got he shots to help Cooper feel better. I was rushing around this morning getting ready to go to the appointment and I came in the living room and Ian was trying to force Cooper to hold hands with him. I said, "Oh, Ian. You don't need to hold hands with Cooper right now. But that is good practice for later!" Ian was seriously grabbing the hand, almost twisting it around trying to hold it and Cooper didn't think that was too cool. But when we got to the health clinic and the nurse stuck the first needle in Cooper's leg and he just started screaming, Ian, who had been preoccupied elsewhere in the room, immediately came over to where I was holding Cooper and held Cooper's hand for the rest of the shots, telling Cooper: "It will be okay."

So despite how much Ian can test my patience sometimes, I am SO grateful for moments like that when you see the sweetness and love of a child, especially for his little brother. I love my boys!

Ian and Isaac the Builders

Chris was so excited about taking Ian to the project day for June that we almost showed up on May 31st (thinking it was the first Saturday in June). Luckily we made a quick phone call to find out the project and they reminded us what month it still was.
Luckily, the extra week gave Isaac time to be here. My family was on their way back from Disneyland and stayed over again on Friday night. So Isaac and Grandpa went with Chris and Ian.
They built catamarans. If you asked Ian when he got it home, he was saying it was a submarine. He is now working on saying catamaran. Oh good. Another new word for the two-year-old's flourishing vocabulary. (If he's anything like his dad, this is only the beginning of big word usage. Val always says she has to have a dictionary when she's around Chris.)

Good Company

Last Friday night we went to a Las Vegas 51s baseball game with Chris' work. It was sponsored by the Clark County Bar Association so we had dinner beforehand in an air-conditioned box, then went down to the the game. Unfortunately, Cooper was a tired boy and it was so noisy he couldn't fall asleep in the Moby, so we had to go home early, but we did have a really good time with everyone! Some of the other clerks (James and Dan), associates (Mike, Chris' buddy), and their families, and the hiring partner (Rich) from the firm. We had a really good time hanging out with everyone. It was really nice for me to get to know the people Chris sees everyday. Chris loves the people he works with. Who knows if he'll be back there next year, but it seems like there are some great people, if he does end up working for them. I am so happy that Chris is happy there. When people ask how Las Vegas is going, the first thing I tell them is that Chris is loving his job, especially the people he works with, the interactions he is having, the opportunities they are giving him, and what he is learning. I am really proud of Chris' hard work! It's really fun to see and hear about how he is able to use his talents and all he has learned in school being a "real" lawyer. We are very blessed that Chris has the opportunity to work with Jones Vargas this summer.
We even got free hats! Ian also got a free little bouncy toy that he calls his "squid." I love the words he comes up for things--no input from us! Ian was really cute playing with one of Chris' co-workers. Matt, who was sitting right in front of us at the game. He also made friends with Mike's little girl. He is such a friendly little guy and loves to laugh and play with people, kids his age or adults.

Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug!

Chris and I really wanted Ian to have a brother. Not that we wouldn't love a girl, because I really do want to have at least one girl if we can (I think secretly even Chris would like a girl; I just think he likes to torture me by acting like he doesn't!). But I am so grateful these two boys have each other. Chris loves his sisters, but I think it would have been good for him to have had a brotherly influence. I think that is what we wanted for Ian. They are so cute together. If Cooper can only survive Ian's playfulness (or roughness) until he can start playing (or fighting) back, we should be good!

Keeping Cool

Despite how many people feel about Las Vegas, this is the one thing many moms say they love about Vegas--the parks, including this one that has water. We have gone here the last few weeks for our ward's playgroup that we have every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Ian has a blast playing in the water. There is a little button you push to make the water turn back on. This is really great because it is heating up. Only problem--Mom and Cooper usually just watch from the sidelines, which is fine, but it does start to get a little hot by the end. When it gets hotter, I think I'm gonna have to bring my swimsuit and play too! We're excited to take Daddy to go play at one of these soon!

I've enjoyed getting to know the other girls and their kids in the ward. There aren't a lot of young couples with kids in our ward, but the few are very nice and we have good conversations, especially 'cause I tend to grill them with questions about living in Las Vegas, raising kids here, where to shop, schools, etc. They have been very helpful; it's been a good "out" for me and the boys! Ian is still learning kids' names and often ends up calling them friends from Provo (like Kamden).

Raspberries are Funny!

Ian has discovered that rasperries are not only fun to receive, but also to give. Cooper agrees 100%. It has been so fun to watch them interact, especially as Ian has taken more interest in Cooper. And Cooper adores Ian. He constantly watches him and just laughs when Ian does stuff. The other night I threw Cooper’s changed diaper to the front door and Ian decided to throw it back to me. So we had a little round of “throw the diaper” because Cooper was getting a kick out of it! He would laugh hysterically whenever I hit Ian with the diaper!! He’d laugh too, when Ian would hit him, but he really thought it was great when Ian got hit. Cute boys!

I think Ian really likes that Cooper will smile and laugh with him, and now even sit and play with toys. They grow up fast! But I'm glad they are more able to play together now, it's so fun to watch, 'cause I'm sure they'll be many years of playing (...and fighting and beating on each other!) to come.

"Big brother makes me laugh!"

Ian likes to play games with Cooper to make him laugh. Usually it is just an everyday thing that gets Cooper laughing. Ian, of course, eats it up! They bring so much joy to our house!

Las Vegas Temple

I came across this photograph of the Las Vegas Temple on some random guy's Mormon blog. I thought it was an absolutely stunning view of the temple.

The Next Gerber Baby?

We have had multiple people (at various times and places) over the last few days tell us that Cooper looks like the Gerber Baby. Maybe there aren’t many babies around Las Vegas (or maybe they're just not as cute as ours...:P), but we have seriously get stopped everywhere and people tell us how cute Cooper is (“Look at his chubby cheeks!....And those big brown eyes!”). The other night an elderly couple started talking to Cooper (and me; really, I'm just the one who carries the cute kid) at a baseball game. Chris walked up and kind of looked at me weird, wondering how I knew these people. I told him--I don't know them, they stopped us and started playing with Cooper because they think he is adorable and looks like the Gerber Baby. We also get the whole, "She's so cute!" or "He's so pretty!" But since he is such a darling little kid, I just tell 'em, he would be a really pretty baby girl, if he was one.
You already knew we were doting parents, so unfortunately all of these extra compliments only pad our egos even more! So what do you think?

P.S. Happy 6 month birthday to Cooper! It blows my mind that he is already 6 months old!! What a joy he is. I am so grateful to have Cooper in our family and home.

Cooper Meets Cereal

Cooper started on solids this week! We’ve had the rice cereal for a little bit now, but it was finally time (I think we’d mostly been waiting for me to get on the ball). Cooper has been grabbing at our plates and food for a few weeks now, so he is glad to be started on the real stuff now.
He made a funny face the first few spoonfuls, but after that couldn’t get enough in his mouth fast enough and almost attacks the spoon when it gets close to his mouth! He ate the whole bowl and has three nights since then (Chris even fed him seconds last night).
It is so fun to watch him eat, and Chris, especially, is excited to feed him (I especially love Chris' feeding faces and noises). It’s crazy to me that he’s already old enough to be at this stage, but it’s exciting. At the same time though, I'm weird and it also makes me feel a little sad because this means he's getting bigger and not as dependent on his mommy :( I think feeling this way is just weird mommy emotional stuff, like when I feel sad and miss being pregnant and having the baby inside me after I've had the baby, even though I have an adorable baby to hold!
"I'm getting this spoon and eating thing down!"

What an Imagination!

It’s so fun to watch as Ian plays and creates. The other morning he wanted to use the laundry baskets. I came in a few minutes later and he had dumped his entire bucket of toys, his blankets, his food, his water bottle…even himself, into the basket. He said this was his “freight”. So we sat there and played in his freight trains for a few minutes. Of course as soon as I pulled out the camera to capture the moment, Ian had to see the pictures. Then he decided to make all kinds of faces, which he enjoyed looking at. Such a funny boy!

Lambily Vacation

My family came down last weekend and stayed with us on their way to Disneyland. It was really fun to see them. They went to church with us and then that night we went out and saw the temple, then the fountains at the Bellagio.

Ian's scared face. Ian and Isaac both said the fountains were scary, but the rest of us had a great time!

As much as some people don’t like Las Vegas, the Strip especially, if you are headed to or through Vegas, it’s worth it to stop and watch the fountains. It’s a pretty clean area and the fountains are truly magnificent (especially if you get to hear Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman’s “Time to Say Goodbye” which is my favorite song of the many to which they choreograph the water).

My mom and dad were really cute cuddling as they watched the fountains. The fountains run every 30 minutes during the day, but after 8:00 p.m. they run every 15 minutes (seemed even closer together, actually) and are beautiful to see at night!

Thank you, Grammie!

Chris and Ian went to get the mail the other night and Ian came back with a package--for him! It was an adorable note and “Brown Mater” from Grammie. Ian was so excited to get the car. And I was almost teary reading the cute note she wrote him. I am so grateful that we have such wonderful grandparents for our boys. We love you, Grammie and miss you! Thanks for thinking of us.

First Ride; First Class?

Learning to ride his trike inside has been kind of hard, since carpet isn’t very forgiving, so we went out for a ride to get the mail the other night. Ian is doing a good job learning to ride his trike and we’re so grateful Grammie and Granddad brought it down when they came.
When we got to the mailroom, Chris went in to grab our mail. Meanwhile, Ian and I waited outside...
Obviously, the few seconds Chris was gone was long enough that Ian decided to entertain himself.

Yes, he is inside the mailbox, with the door closed. He did all this by himself, while I just stood there and laughed! What will he think of next?! (I am afraid that even voicing that questions aloud opens me up for even more trouble!!)

P.S. If anyone is wondering…no, I did not put him up to this to see if his head would fit in a mailbox. And no, I am not going to see if I can fit in it (as tempting as that may be); I think I learned my lesson from mailboxes years ago.

Such a Big Boy!

Cooper has been sitting up by himself! Yesterday he sat up for almost 20 minutes without tipping over!! :) And he loves playing with the little computer that Grammie and Granddad gave him for Christmas; that is, if we can keep Ian from taking it from him…

He still loves being on his tummy, too., for the most part. This is his little flying motion--he wiggles on his tummy and kicks his arms and legs out. It is really funny to watch his whole body move! Honestly, I think he is starting to get bored when I lay him on his back. Lately he starts crying if he’s on his back (or if I leave the room of his sight, for that matter—I think we may have entered the separation anxiety stage).

We went on a run to a park nearby our house last Saturday (BTW, that is one of the things we are thoroughly enjoying about Las Vegas; they have some great parks!). Cooper went for his first swing ride and loved it. He was really cute. Plus, he looks adorable in his new hibiscus sunhat.

Cooper has also learned to fall asleep in the jogger while I am out jogging. This is a huge help to me when it’s naptime, but I’m ready to go jog before it really heats up. So precious!