A, B, C's

Last night as I was hoping to lay Cooper down for bed, I asked him if he wanted to sing "ABC's" with me. We've been trying to work on them off and on for the last couple of weeks. He immediately responded by telling me to "Shhh" and he proceeded to sing the "ABC" song to me! I was pretty impressed, he got about 16 of the letters correct and they were all in the correct sequence!! I believe it went something like this:
"ABCD. FG. . . . . .OOOPQ(ute)RSTUVWXYZ, now I ABC's sing with meeeeeeeeee"
It was totally AWESOME! I asked him afterwards to do it for the camera, and of course it wasn't quite the same, because he's such a clown, but maybe I'll post the video one of these days :)

Cooper Trooper

Today Cooper rode his big boy bike (with training wheels) for the second time. He likes to tell us that he "can't", in his whiny voice. He gives up easily but we encourage him to keep on trying and, reluctantly, he does. Today Cooper had his first topple off of his bike. Thankfully, he was wearing his spiderman gear, a sweatshirt and jeans so even though the bumps from the fall hurt, there was NO BLOOD! Now, if Grandpa Wirthlin was here, he'd say, "No Blood, No Pain" . . . but I didn't believe that growing up, and I still don't! However, I was very relieved that there was no blood and that the pain quickly passed. He shed a few tears and Daddy held him for a few moments and then planted him back on his bike. Coop wasn't too sure he wanted to finish riding home, he wanted Mommy to hold him, however he's a Trooper, our Cooper Trooper!

Organizational Skills

Cooper has many quirks and abilities, but this is one that amazes me. He loves to line things up and he spaces them almost perfectly. I think he may be a little OCD about this, but it is very cute. Here are a few examples of his work.
The first time I remember him doing this, he was 18 months old and he was taking bottles of IBC Rootbeer (glass of course), out of a bag our friend had placed on the floor. Cooper took each bottle out of the bag, walked three feet away and placed it down. In the end there were 4 glass bottles, evenly spaced in a straight line! I am so grateful that he is a careful little boy, and always has been!

Christmas Eve Adoption

We traveled to Phoenix on Christmas Eve to meet Boxer Luv Rescue Rep Becky, Ellie Luv and her Foster Mom Susan for an adoption meeting.
Ellie is a 9 year old white, female boxer. She has some health issues, which is part of what drew us to her, and she is such a sweetheart.
She gets along so well with Blue, too! She does have a tendency to get into the garbage so we have had to adjust to moving it out of her reach when we leave the house. Otherwise she is settling in nicely and is a great addition to our family. She is easy to walk and loves to go in the car too, so we look forward to our first trip back to Utah with her :) What a great Christmas Gift!

Ali - Dec 1997 - Dec. 10, 2009

Today, we parted with our dear, sweet, loyal and loving baby girl, Ali. She slipped away quietly after two days of seizures that we could neither arrest or find answers for. She was surrounded by "Dad" and "Mom" and as much love as we could show and possess. Ali has brought us much joy over the years.
She joined our family 6 months after we were married, June 16, 1999, when Christinna insisted on a pet. She was so lonely without one, having had one all her life. Since we had differing opinions on the way cats should be housed and trained, we decided on a dog. However,Joe was very adamant that it be a "real" dog, as he likes to put it. So it was a choice of a Boxer or an Akita, again at Joe's insistance, lol. After a little research at the library we decided that a Boxer would fit our family best and would be a good companion as our family grew since they are reported to be wonderful with children. We rescued her from someone that worked at an animal shelter and couldn't bare to see her put down. She had been found wandering Richmond, Utah and was practically starved to death. When we first arrived to meet her, Joe said "if her name is Ali, she's meant to be our dog". He'd always wanted a boxer named Ali, like Muhammad Ali. Well, after we spent a few moments with her we asked the lady what they called her, and I guess you can figure out the rest :).
Time passed and Ali went with us everywhere, shopping trips, vacation, family's homes, camping, 4-wheeling . . . everywhere, just like our child. And since it took us 7 years to have a our son, she truly became like our child in so many ways.
When Christinna did finally get pregnant, Ali took to following her everywhere. In fact now looking back, we should have known just from Ali's behavior and protectiveness that she knew there was a special bundle on the way. Ali never left Christinna's side and after Cooper was born, just like before, Ali would plant herself between "Mom" and Cooper, and any stranger that entered the house. She has been a wonderful protector and has loved us unconditionally. "Dad" has always called her his "Big Baby Girl" and at no time in this life was she ever disposed from that position.
We are so grateful to have had her in our lives. She has been a blessing to our family and we will miss her with all our hearts! Thank you Ali, for your love and devotion. We miss you already!

O.C.D. Moment

If you have seen the detective show, "Monk" you will get a giggle out of this. While in Utah we spent some time at Joe's mom's home. She had just put up her small lighted Christmas trees in her yard. They were nicely lined up in a row along the front walk. Each and every time we would leave grandma's home Cooper would slowly walk by and touch the same light near the top of each and every tree he passed! I just had to stop and laugh, I wish I had a picture of that one to share.

"Double Dose"

The day after we returned from Utah we were privileged to attend the baptism of a recent friend, P.J. She is a wonderful lady and it has been so exciting to see her make the necessary changes to join the church. Everything seemed to go along without a hitch until after the baptism itself. I had to ask the missionaries, "Didn't she have a middle name?" She sure did, so, we had to bring her back and do it again! After she was dried, dressed and ready to rejoin us she said to me, "I always figured I'd need a double dose!" It was so funny, this will definitely be a day she won't soon forget, for more than one reason!