Birthday Anticipation

Carter has been talking about his 3rd birthday for a solid 2 months now. It seems like every day he brings it up in some way...letting us know what he wants or just reminding us that it is coming...5 more days buddy!!

Cooper is 1 Year + 6 Months!

Cooper John, your big personality sure is coming out! All the sudden you are stubborn as they come and particularly enjoy arching your back, and flopping on the ground when you don't get your way. You still aren't talking much but can communicate better. You say "mik" when you want milk and are a great pointer for everything else. You do seem to really enjoy animal noises and have started doing an adorable monkey as well as a great roar for a lion! You were fearless this summer in the pool and loved going underwater. I did not love this though:) You let us know many times that you DO NOT enjoy being strapped in the car. I'm so sorry we made you endure countless hours as we drove around the country. We love your crazy dance moves and how you break into dance at the slightest sound of music (even our horrible singing)! You have a killer smile that melts our hearts and gets you out of lots of trouble. We love you Coops John!

Cooper's 1st Hair Cut

Cooper was way overdue for a hair cut so one evening in Colorado when we had a little extra time, we got the clippers out! It is quite a tricky ordeal to clip an 18 month old's hair. He was one the go but Tim got it done:)

No more jokes are being made about your rat tail or pony tail Coops:)

27 Weeks

While we were home between Medora and Colorado, Tim married two students involved in our ministry. It was a crazy week preparing for Jess and Rand's wedding but Tim did such a great job! Being that I was dressed up, we took the opportunity to snap a 27 week picture. The baby (and me) are getting bigger!

A Couple More Medora Pics

Medora feels like forever ago, but as my dad brought to my attention, I am WAY behind on blogging! Here are a couple more random pics from our time out West.

We met so many international students that come to Medora for the summer to work. The girls from Taiwan, China, Thailand and the Philippines seemed to really love our boys. And as you can see, Carter was fond of them too:)

Hopefully not a prophetic scene...

There is a guy who lives in Medora that goes by the name Cowboy Lyle. Everybody knows him and he is sort of a legend in these parts. Carter and Cowboy Lyle bonded! Lyle would eat meals with us and let Carter help him raise the flags one morning (a daily routine in this town).

Guy time! They were having fun but when I pull out the camera, this is what I get!

Carter and the cast of the Wild West Shoot-Out

Project Fun Day

At the end of our project fun day we took the students to dinner at a lodge up on the bluffs. This is only a couple of miles from where we stayed in Medora...so beautiful!

We tried to get a family pic-the boys weren't really feeling it!

Here is a picture of the students Tammy and I had in Bible study.

Restaurant Suvival

We rarely take the kids out to dinner...it gets a little hard to contain them and keep them quiet. Cooper was getting restless so I decided to try a little game with a straw and some water. Carter calls it the "waterpark"...don't turn me in to the authorities!

Cooper Dancing to TBT

We love Cooper's signature dance moves: the spin, the hip swivel, the foot stomp and the clap/head bang! He obviously loves Trampled by Turtles:)

4th of July Parade

Medora's 4th of July parade included a kid's parade where the kids got to walk for a couple of blocks and throw out candy. Carter wanted to dress up like Spider Man with a cowboy hat so we put Cooper in a costume as well. Why not dress up in an East Asia outfit while celebrating America's freedom!

It was such a hot day so the boys were roasting!

Carter promptly stripped in the street when it was done:)

Face painting was next...Tim was a bit upset that Carter picked a rainbow over a basketball!

Shirts off, on the table!

I know I was a bit excessive on pics this post but their expressions were just so great!

Some Random Kid Pics

We had a Project Fun Day last weekend and went to an old time photo parlor. I was a bit worried about how the boys would do but they LOVED dressing up and even sat fairly still through the process:)

We technically weren't supposed to take pictures but wanted to show off the boys cute costumes.

Tim went to a 3D movie one night and brought his glasses home for the boys. They love them of course!

Buffalo Gap Ranch

Our staff team all went out to dinner at a local ranch restaurant. The steaks were great, the scenery was beautiful and the kids were very entertained!

Here are the project kids: Carter, Alex Duey, Aubrey Duey, Liv Jones and Cooper (stealing the show front and center!)

A quick family shot...Cooper loves the camera more than Carter these days

The boys got their first REAL horse rides! Cowboy Wayne was riding his horse Foxy after dinner and asked if the boys wanted a ride. They loved it!!

And a trip to the ranch isn't complete without sitting in a tractor too! What a fun night:)

Freeze Pops

It is finally warm enough for Freeze Pops and the boys LOVE them!!

Coops still needs a bit of help or it is a total disaster...

Summer fun!

Carter is 2 Years + 11 Months!

With his 3rd birthday one month away, Carter has already informed us that he wants a Cars/Lightning McQueen themed birthday party. Isn't he too young to have an opinion like that?? He is so articulate that most people he meets think that he is four...until he has a little temper tantrum of course:) Carter has won the hearts of so many people here in Medora. We walk into town (5 blocks away) and literally people run over saying "Hi, Carter!". He's kind of a big deal around here. Half the time I have no idea how they know his name or when they met but he is just so social that it doesn't really surprise me.

Carter has bonded with Cowboy Lyle, a familiar face in Medora. Lyle even let Carter help him raise the town flags one morning!

A very rare sight of Carter being totally still. No, he isn't sick...we just let him watch a rare video!

The Dickinson County Fair was a big hit! Carter has asked to go on the Merry-Go-Round multiple times since then.

Also this month, Carter has started pooping on the toilet! This is a family/close friend blog so I'm not going to apologize for too much info:) He is quite obsessed with #2 actually and always wants to see how big everybody's poos are (thankfully just in our family but watch out)!

Cooper is 1 Year + 5 Months!

Cooper John is now 17 months old...wow! In the past week his little (or rather, big) personality has started to come out. He LOVES people and when he walks into the cafeteria each day he runs up to strangers and just smiles and waves. Sometimes he'll even give out hugs. Carter has started picking up on the fact that Cooper is stealing some of his attention so it's a big competition between the two of them. It is really quite entertaining to watch! Also this month, Cooper is cutting 5 teeth at the same time...ugh!

Anytime Cooper is just in a diaper (or naked) he giggles like crazy and starts running around or dancing!

This is the look he often gives us when he knows he is disobeying...he is so cute that it makes it really hard to discipline:)