home sweet home... or is it?

On our flight from Calgary to San Francisco, we were lucky in the way that a later flight was quite open so we got a seat very easily however we were not able to get first class. We sat beside a very nice man who was so impressed with how good I was the whole time. It helped that I slept for about an hour but still I was pretty darn good. After Grandma and Grandpa Cooper drove us to Alameda from the airport, we were greeted by Grandma Cari and soon after, Granddad. They were so happy that they could see us one more time! Before our flight to Salt Lake City the next day, we went to Alameda’s street fair. It was so fun to walk around in the sunshine and look at all the things people were selling. For Mother’s day, Grandma Cari bought mom a trendy hat she fell in love with. Dad and I were making fun of her because she kept wearing it around the house when we got home – but it is true that she does look pretty good in it. The flight from Oakland to SLC was so long mostly because we were so anxious to see Daddy! When we finally met up with him, I just smiled and hugged him with my head on his shoulders for a good 10 minutes while we waited for the bags. Daddy was just in heaven with all the love I gave him!

Mommy was nice enough to let me keep my bottle while we traveled. She has felt for a while now that I am ready to give them up and my doctor confirmed that I will be better off the sooner it is taken away. She let me keep it the week after we got home and made a few changes: she didn’t warm it as much, she gave it to me during my meals instead of after and she taught me about throwing things in the garbage. These turned out to be big changes and really helped the process. When the big day came, I watched as she threw my beloved bottle in the garbage. She also told me that I am too big for bottles and I will now drink milk from a sippy cup like I do juice. That is all it took. Ever since I have been drinking milk out of a sippy cup and am totally fine with it. Mom had prepared herself for a rough couple of days but once again, I showed her how awesome of a son I am. Mom and dad are so proud of me and how I am growing up.

While mommy was out one afternoon, Daddy and I had some fun: (If you think the first video is funny, watch the second one - it is me watching the first video).



This June will mark the 1 year anniversary of us living in Springville, Utah. Mommy and Daddy have not lived ANYWHERE for a year since the first apartment they had in Provo after they got married. They have lived in 7 different places in the near 5 years they have been married (5 different places in Utah Valley alone, and then Medicine Hat and Alameda). Knowing we wanted to stay in the same place while Daddy went to grad school, we are sure happy with the choice we made this time. We love living in Springville for the following reasons: we have the small town feeling with big cities around us; for how nice a condo we have, it is very affordable to live; we love our church ward; and best of all we have tons of awesome friends in our neighborhood. In another year or so, if a job for daddy takes us away from here, I’m sure we will all be very sad to say good bye.

Last weekend, Daddy met Papa Schlenker, Uncle Mark and Uncle Derek in Rexburg, Idaho to do some quadding in the St. Anthony’s Sand Dunes. Since they didn’t get to go last year, Daddy was so super excited for this trip. Mommy and me were thinking of crashing the Man’s party because mom loves to quad there too and we could see family again, but since we just got home from a big trip, we decided not to. Every time we talked to dad, he seemed in heaven except for the fact that his body has not been exposed to that much activity for a while. Needless to say he was very sore after each ride. When he came home, every time he moved all we heard groans and screeches of pain.
Mommy and I had a lovely weekend here at home. She got me a trike and some new stuffed toys at a ward “Drop and Swap”.


We also went to a ward BBQ and spent most of Saturday afternoon outside in the beautiful sunshine. Everything was great until Sunday Morning. Mom knew it would be interesting trying to get ready for church with me around because I do not like when she gets ready (most days she doesn’t get ready and the world has to experience her “natural beauty”). I pretty much do not like anything mom does that requires her to take attention away from me for any extended period of time. After she fed and clothed me, thinking I was happy watching Elmo on TV, she went off to curl her hair. She got about half done before I needed to be held again. She thought it might be easier if she curled her hair in the kitchen so she could interact with me so she picked me up and the curling iron up and that is when it happened. Somehow, for a spit second, the iron touched the top of my hand but that is all it took to give me a pretty good burn. A blister slowly developed and mommy did her best to keep it clean. She felt so very horrible but I was pretty tough about it and it didn’t really start to bother me until the blister came off during my nap the next day. Hopefully, like other wounds I get, it will heal quickly and we can put this all behind us. Monday afternoon also brought on a wicked fever, and a really runny nose.


(Don’t worry… that is tomato sauce)
My 2 year old molars might be coming…