Wedding Wonderfullness

"Don't blink, cause just like that, your're 6 years old and you take a nap, and when you wake up you're 25 and your highschool sweetheart becomes your bride....." 

A little Kenny Chesney for you to sum up my feelings in the moment.  I can't believe Kristel is married and the wedding is over.  The weekend went so fast and was so jam packed but was it oh so wonderful.  It's hard to not have a good weekend when you all your family is sleeping under one roof together again in the home you grew up in (plus one extra boyfriend, a girlfriend, a fiance, and of course Coop man)!  Not only that, but the rest of the weekend we were surrounded by extended family from near and far, old friends and new, and our NECC church family!  If you haven't caught my drift yet, the wedding was WONDERFUL!  A few pictures to share with you from the blessed event.  Congratulations John and Kristel, we are so happy for you!!!!!

While the girls were getting their hair done upstairs, the boys found other activities to keep themselves busy.......

A bridesmaid and a ring bearer

 

These two were adorable together, they made the perfect ring bearer and flower girl
(right before our cousin Lazor walked down the aisle, her turned to me and said "Wait, no one ever gave me the rings!", Poor guy was not impressed when I explained the rings tied to his pillow were not real)

The Stunning Bride

The Honorary Ring Bearer (looking a bit disheveled here!) 
Although his walking skills were not quite up to par for the big day, Dad carried him in and he was perfect the whole time he was up front - could be because dad forgot and let him keep his pacifier in, but oh well!

Heather serving up some McDonald hamburgers that were passed around at the end of the reception!

Swinging with Grandma at the lake the next day (isn't my Grandma/Mother of the Bride so pretty?)

Wedding Week!!

It's wedding week and I wish I could be back in Chicago helping with all the last minute preparations, but we will be there soon enough.  My mom has done an AMAZING job getting this all together, and although we all try to help and offer opinions (some wanted, some not), she is the ultimate wedding planner!  It is going to be a beautiful day of love, family, dancing, and more.  We couldnt' be happier for John and Kristel and are excited for them to begin their new life together (and jealous they get to go to Hawaii next week!)

Here are a few shots from the last two weeks:

Celebrating my 2nd Mother's Day with my amazing family

A perfect end to a perfect Mother's Day, with little man down for the night Mom and Dad got to enjoy some time together on the patio

 I had just called a few minutes earlier to let her know I was on my way home, and her response was "Hurry, Coop has spaghetti sauce all over him and I am wearing a white blouse, so I can't really get him out of his highchair."  Guess she figured it out, just take the shirt off!  Haha, love ya Krist!

He's been loving standing up these days, and is starting to take some steps when we are holding his hands.  Pretty shaky, but pretty cute.  Every time he takes a step, he says "da" "da" "da".

Shopping with Mommy
I turned around to see him holding on to this shirt........think he's trying to tell me something?

First Driving lesson with Daddy

Escaping the dreaded diaper change.  Little stinker. 


And guess what else the little man did last night.......he ate a terd!  Ok say no more, let me explain.  Coop was just having his nightly bath: relaxing in the warm water, dancing a little to his singing Octopus, taking a sip or two to sample the water, when all of a sudden, his face got red, gave a little push, and he was suddenly surrounded by floating poop.  Eww gross (although poop doesn't really bother me.)  And since he had been having some pooping "issues" the last few days, I was actually excited he went!  Ahh the little things in life. Anyway, while I was at one end scooping, out of the corner of my eye I saw him go for it.............yep that's right, grabbed a little floater and before I could snatch it out of his hands, it went right where everything else goes, in his mouth!!!!!!   Let's just say when I told Andy about it a few minutes later, he was not praising me for being Mom of the Year.  Shoot Coop, should of kept that our little secret ;)




That's all the moments we have for you right now.  If you want to check out some of Coop's one year pictures, go to
http://jennifer-bishop.com/archives/1889
(this is our nanny and she also is an amazing photographer I highly recommend!)

Another Party?!

Who says you can't have two parties for your first birthday? Thanks to all our great friends who came over to help us celebrate. 

Waiting for the guests to arrive........Coop is wondering hmmm where is everyone?

Getting everything all set up.  (Coop looks like a hefty in this pic and like he doesn't have a neck, but he's just trying to show you how big he is!)

Coop had a total of 7 kids come to the party!

And Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for, THE CAKE!  However to my shock and utter horror, when I got home with Coop's $4 cake, I took the lid off and saw what they had written.......

Not only did a letter get smudged off, but it's completely a different name!  Does anyone really name their kid Copper?  Come on now Hyvee......seriously.  You can tell Coop is checking it out and is kind of confused.  Does this make me a bad mommy for getting my child a cheap mispelled cake for one of the biggest moments of his 1 year old life??

Don't worry, he enjoyed it all the same though ;)

He even let his friend Anna have a taste (I think she was actually licking it off his highchair)

Well Coop my love, you are officially one.  Although there may be no more celebrations left, we continue to celebrate and thank God for your little life everyday.  It is surreal to Andy and I that we have a one year old.  On April 30th, 8:19pm you entered our lives weighing 6#11oz and I remember thinking you looked like a little bird.  Now you are weighing in at 19# and you look like a little man!

You've come a long way baby!

Our little man turned 1!

You mean to tell me I am one?!?!

Coop and I are both shocked at how fast this year went.  Happy Birthday little man, God has blessed us with such a special addition to our family.  Dad and I love every minute we spend with you, you have brought so much happiness and laughter to our lives.

Thanks to all our Chicago family who helped us celebrate the little man's big day.  The village that is helping us raise him is more wonderful than we could have ever asked for.  Thank you for being a part of his life and ours.  We love you! And special thanks to Grandma Gayle for a beautiful evening that included jello jigglers and mac and cheese for the kids, a little monkey cake all for Coop, and adult beverages for the rest of the group!  (After all your hard work I ended up with no picture of you and Coop on my camera ;( .....but I know you got some so you could pass them along, please?)

A few more pictures to share from the weekend......

 Coop very curious about his new cousin Crosbi (either that or he is wondering why I am holding someone else...)  He kept wanting to touch her face, so sweet.

 The gang all together.  Coop couldn't be happier to be posing with his cousins in this "Pj pic".  Crosbi has no idea what she is in for with these three boys......it's only going to get wilder from here!

We love celebrating you Cooper! 

Easter Eggs and Thursday Nights

As I sit here eating leftover Robin Egg candy that I shouldn't be eating, thought I should give you a little update on our Easter.  Only appropriate to eat Easter candy while doing so, don't you agree?  We spent our Easter weekend here in Omaha which was quite relaxing for a change, since we are used to running and traveling.  We started out the weekend with a Good Friday service with Kristel and then celebrated Andy's bday that night with a fish fry and friends.  Since we are not Catholic, it was my first official fish fry. 

The next morning, despite the rain and wind, Coop got to experience his first Easter Egg........can you sense his excitement?

He did get 4 eggs though, and quickly decided blue was his favorite. 

It was a fun neighborhood hunt that happened to be right across the street from where we live, so we just walked over to it. Despite the whole neighborhood being there, I decided to show up looking like this.....

Fortunately I pulled myself together a little more for Easter Sunday morning.  After a beautiful service to celebrate our Risen Lord, we headed out to Ashland to join the Sapp family for lunch (and of course some games and another Easter Egg hunt organized by the Aunts!).

Now on to the Thursday nights section...........just wanted to give you an idea of our fun little Thursday night out last week.......just another look into the everyday life of the A. Richard family.  We loaded up Coop and headed out to Texas Roadhouse, which was, by the way, the most family friendly and upbeat restaurant on this Thursday.

There were especially tasty dinner rolls, buckets full of peanuts, people handing out toys to kids, an organized Cotton I Joe dance, and......................

 Andy the Armadilo! He was not so sure about him, just kind of stare at him, although wherever he went Coop twisted and turned in his chair to get a glimpse of him.  Look how happy both Andy's are in this picture!

And then we headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a little pillow shopping.. exhilirating, I know. Andy was literally going around to every pillow and doing this.

 Finally ended the night with Coop's favorite thing, his Baby Genius videos.  This is what he looks like when he watches them, totally entranced......just like his father watching TV.  Love just having a little family night with my two boys, couldn't get better than this, love you two!

Finally Coop wanted to make a big announcement.............

He has a brand new cousin!! Crosbi Lucille Eccleston joined the group on Tuesday, April 10th.  We are thrilled to have a girl amongst these three wild Richard boy cousins, and we cannot wait to meet our precious niece next weekend. 

We love you so much sweet angel!