Living in the Land of [$6] Milk and Honey...

I REALLY enjoy and benefit from thinking of life as a series of seasons. Being an optimist and valuing positivity in other people, I also tend to think that every season should be a happy one. However... turns out, not every season is happy BUT, I believe most (and maybe every... still deciding) season can be positive in that it brings growth (personal or interpersonal), depth of relationships, or change in a positive direction! I feel like we enter a new season each week these days, as our boys grow and change so quickly and life stays exciting (we have yet another move coming up this month... luckily this one is to an amazing home only 8 minutes away)!

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

  a time to be born, and a time to die;
 a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

  a time to kill, and a time to heal;
 a time to break down, and a time to build up;

  a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
 a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
 a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
   

 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
 a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

  

 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
 a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

 a time to love, and a time to hate;
 a time for war, and a time for peace.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Turtle on our beach!!!

Family hammock time!

Camping naps.

Lincoln (4.5 months):

Oh my little Lincoln. You are an intense, sensitive, complex little man!

When you are happy, you are the happiest. Anything I do (today it was repeat the word "co-co-nut" in your face) can make you explode into joyful shrieks and honks (your laughs are just long "haaaaa" sounds that resemble a dying, but adorable, car horn). I say shrieks because you are one LOUD little individual. Your happy noises are SQUEALS, SHREIKS, and the occasional honk.. and your mad noises (which come just as often... well... probably more often) are YELLS, SCREAMS, and WAILS. Honestly, I had no idea that a 4-month old could make the noises that you do! It makes me laugh that you yourself are so sensitive to noise yet you're capable of, and even seem to enjoy, making such loud ones! I deeply love you and am genuinely interested in continuing to learn your personality! I think it's when you're bothered by things (reflux, my diet, etc.) that you are so loud, or perhaps you're mellowing out because I haven't heard these as often in the past week or so.

You are a reluctant roller, and will do it, but would much prefer not to. You like to sleep (in 45-90 min increments during the day), because you wake up happy after, but you don't like being rocked to sleep (you cry... loudly), you don't like being put down and shushed/patted to sleep, and well... you pretty much hate going to sleep. I feel like I'm a master baby soother (to any other baby) now, though, since I've tried just about everything, and I'm even getting you down for naps somewhat easily these days! You like being outside, but only if there is a slight breeze. No breeze and you get bored, too much of a breeze and you're irritated (see SCREAMS and WAILS, mentioned above). Which is also why you like walking, but only in one direction. When we turn and you're exposed to the wind from a new direction, you're bothered. We're working on this finickiness. Well... Cooper is, by finding multiple new ways to stretch the limits of what you can tolerate each day:

"Hold it!" "Hold it!"

You are genuinely one of the most adorable little things I've seen in my entire life... but you are somehow extremely un-photogenic! We laugh hysterically at how you can look this precious in real life:

 and this awkward when I snap a photo:

like... all the time! Seriously. I think I have 5 semi-decent photos of you from your over 4.5 months of life!


Cooper (almost 23 months) is:

"Do NOT eat the crayons, Cooper."

The day he decided he finally liked bananas... and ate 6 of them. In a row. "Moooo bana" (x5)

* warning us before he does things he knows he's not supposed to. 
  I actually find it hilarious but have to keep a straight face because it's really just bad. He knows the things he's "never ever" supposed to do (hit, bite, kick someone, throw at someone, etc.) and he usually tells us before he does them. For example he'll be playing sweetly with Lincoln, making adorable noises, and then just turn to me and say "hit" and hold an object (usually one he's used in the past and gotten in trouble for) or his hand above Lincoln. We go through the normal conversation of "We never ever..." and he usually doesn't do it (again, still plenty of times when he still tries to or just does it without warning), but I was just totally not expecting my child to give me fair warning of his bad behavior... umm... thanks??

* snuggling! Oh, how I've waited and dreamed of these times!!! He was always an occasional snuggler, but it wouldn't last long and he'd be up and moving. Recently, though, perhaps because my attention is split between him and his brother, he's all about snuggles! My baby boy snuggles make my heart flutter... especially when it's the big one's choice!

* extremely picky about his drinks.  
   Cooper's always been a relatively adventurous eater and almost always eats at least something that's in front of him (which is whatever we're eating) without whining... but when it comes to drinks... this kid has some serious preferences. He rotates through very adamant requests (which are sometimes granted and sometimes not) for "water", "mlllk" ("dis one" - pointing to either cow's milk or almond milk - which we always have around because I'm still dairy-free for Lincoln and it's a sneaky way for me to have vanilla flavor in my milk... yes, please), "jooce" (his favs are grapefruit, carrot, and orange), and "coconut" (coconut water, which this kiddo has a serious love for). He also apparently ADORES lemonade, as witnessed by my friend who gave it to him and he started shaking (yes, really.) and squealing in delight.

* randomly giggling from backseat.
   This has got to be one of my favorite things he does... and unfortunately he's almost over it. I wanted to document it for memory's sake. Sometimes when driving and it's quiet, he'll just randomly let out a loud, totally fake laugh. "hahahahahahahahaha", which of course makes us crack up, and makes him laugh even more. 

* being particular about placement of his sauces.
   This babe is a serious fan of any kind of sauce. And when I say any... I mean any. Daniel adds either some kind of hot sauce, soy sauce, or wasabi to pretty much every meal we eat (he even adds Sirarchi to his salads... weirdo). Cooper knows his sauces by name ("spicy", "baaa-be-cue", "ho-mus", etc.) and tells us exactly where he wants it by pointing to his plate and saying "right dare".

* taking random items to his crib at night. 
Cooper likes to pick an item, usually a toy, sometimes a small car, truck, extra stuffed animal (there are already 6 in his crib: bunny, giraffe, Boogers - a racoon named after his daddy's pet raccoon, "hoo hoo" - his owl that he named, and a fox and "RA-coon" that he stole from his brother - thanks Lolli & Pops!), etc. and drag it down the hall to his bedroom where he throws it over into his crib. Or attempts to throw it over, as is the case when he chooses his huge stuffed dog Cujo and tries to waddle down the hall with it (it's twice his size), or the times where he tries and tries to lift his large truck filled with toy cars over the side of his crib (fail. every time.). It's good entertainment, people.

* saying "sorry"
Perhaps because he's been getting in trouble a little more lately and having to say, "sorry", he apologizes like 10 times a day to random objects/things. If he steps on/over a small coconut (yes, we live in Hawai'i, and yes, this happens frequently) he says "sorry, coconut"; if he bumps a toy into a toy truck, he says, "sorry, truck"; and if I accidentally hit something (for example, with the vacuum, while cleaning) he directs me (the vacuum) to apologize to whatever I've hit (the entertainment center, etc.). Pretty hilarious.

* displaying true toddler melodrama when it comes to pain.
This kiddo has no sense of how to communicate levels or intensity of discomfort/pain. He screams at the top of his lungs at anything that bothers him physically. Let's take last weekend for example...
Cooper and a few other kids are playing on a hammock while camping. Cooper screams, and yells, "EYES! EYES! EYES!" Our good friend Emilie drops her things, rushes over, imagining something between one of the other kids impaling his eye with a sharp object to some dirt getting in his eyes... upon investigating, she sees none of the above and when asked, Cooper continues to cry and says, "SUN. SUN." The sun was in his eyes. This actually happens about 3 times a week as I change his diaper in the morning. Hawaiian toddler problems.

 

I forgot a story last post about his memory that I wanted to document, so here it is:
We were driving to meet Daniel on his way home from work so that I could switch out cars with him and he could take the boys while I went to an appointment. We had planned to meet in the Burger King parking lot; however, I was headed to a different Burger King than Daniel. We were stopped at a stop light and Cooper points out the window and says "Jeep!" at a Jeep up the hill in the parking lot. I'm like, "Yes, Cooper, that's a Jeep. Very good." and but he is very adamant about it, until I realize that's OUR Jeep and that's a different Burger King! Thanks, kiddo! How are you less than 2 years old?!?

I adore these boys and man do we love Hawai'i!!!