The Christensen's

For My Dad

2009-11-04T23:23:00.002-07:00

Britt is learning about nursery rhymes at preschool. I guess I never put much thought into teaching these to him and I'm not much of a musical person. I leave the music and the toilet aiming to his father. So don't blame him... I blame myself, mostly.

PS- Britt was painting a picture for his Dad's birthday and he tend to make a mess. So the rule is that he paints without clothes on- please look past the nakedness.

Hittin' the slopes

2009-01-21T19:23:00.005-07:00

Rob and Britt headed up to Wolf Creek on Saturday for Britt's first day of skiing, accompanied by RyRy and Tyler, Matt and Annie. Rob was really proud that Britt seemed to like skiing and picked it up rather quickly "in spite of the instruction he recieved from his teacher (his dad)". He wanted to do it himself after the first run. The video had to stop abruptly because Rob was skiing backward and ran into someone.

Britt tells me he and Ry were the Best on the Mountain! I know they must have been the cutest!

He also said he had a really good face plant Riding the "Magic Carpet"

Preschool Program

2008-10-30T13:08:00.006-06:00

Britt had a Halloween Program today at Preschool. I didn't even know they were learning any Halloween songs until yesterday when he started singing one in the car. (That's boys for ya.) They sang for 20 minutes with pictures and hand actions. Britt must be too cool for actions but you can see the two cute girls next to him doing them.

These videos are mostly posted for Rob since he had to stay in Idaho due to a bridge failure. They may be a little painful for the rest of you to watch. Britt is even yawning- but I was beaming like every other parent/grandparent.

Halloween Thrills

2008-10-29T18:44:00.012-06:00

I know some people have a problem with Halloween (celebrating scariness) but I love all holidays. You could have a parade for garbage day and I would be there. I have to hold back a little because Rob hates crowds (so we don''t go to everything I dream up, but I try). Britton has been really fun this year with anticipating events which makes them even more enjoyable for me. It's so fun to watch things through his excited eyes. Here are some things we have done this month for Halloween.

TRUNK-OR-TREAT

Britt with Noah and then with his Primary Teacher

Bridger(Storm Trooper) and Coleman(Indy) showed Britt the ropes

Witches @ Gardner Village
Over UEA weekend we head to see the witches. We wandered around, posed for pictures, ate lunch and enjoyed the wonderful weather. Even though we went at the busiest time of day/weekend we all had a fun time.

Sundaes on Wednesday with Grandpa
My dad stopped by our house one afternoon with all the fixins for Sundaes to make with Britt. Britt has been talking about it ever since.

Halloween Boo at Thanksgiving Point and Cabella's
We headed south last Friday to enjoy the nice weather and see the animals at the barn. We fed the live animals, rode the horses, enjoyed a wagon ride and then headed to Cabella's to see the stuffed animals.

Thriller
Roxey and Allie had 3 dance students make the Odyssey Thriller Youth cast. So we went to see them perform. We had a great time.

Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam!

2008-10-12T16:45:00.007-06:00

Britt had his first Primary program last week in our new ward. He learned the songs fairly quickly considering we spent Jan-May going to church at the hospital so he only has been attending Primary for 5 months. His favorite song that they sang in the program was "I love to see the temple". Luckily, he wasn't shy about giving his part in the microphone "Jesus Christ lives today". Other than annoying the older boy that sat in front of him in between songs he did a great job. I love his monotone voice and the pronunciation of "spirit".The Primary Program has always been one of my favorite sacrament meeting even before I had kids of my own.

We've ruined him already...

2008-10-01T20:29:00.003-06:00

The Ute Fans- Froggy Frog, Chumple Bumple, Hoppity and Hamburger

BYU fans(Clockwise)- Mickey, Britt, Frog-Frog, Teddy & Fuzz

Everyone knows that Rob and I cheer for different teams but this year Britt is old enough to feel the tension. Britt is a Ute fan when he is with me but then quickly changes to a BYU fan when Rob is home. A week ago I reassured him the I would still love him even if he was a BYU fan but Rob has yet to make such an offer. Since that day, he has started testing that statement and leaning more blue. So today instead of assigning his stuffed animals personalities he assigns them football allegiances. This is a ute fan, this is a BYU fan...Man is he going to need therapy when he gets older.

Sunday Afternnoon Fun

2008-09-28T20:21:00.005-06:00

I was a little hesitant trying to propel myself 8 feet off the trampoline but it turned out to be really fun. I'm more comfortable staying on the tramp

Rob was the first to try the acrobatics and was surprisingly agile. I had never seen him do any sort of flipping other than on skis.

Britt worked up to some impressive heights.

May the Force Be With You, and You, and You!

2008-09-23T23:43:00.011-06:00

Since we just moved into a new neighborhood I decided to let Britton have a friend birthday party so he could get to know some of the locals. A couple of weeks ago an older neighbor (5 yr old) that Britt loves to play with, came over. I asked if he liked Power Rangers since Britton has been obsessed for over a year and assumes everyone else is too. He said "no, I'm over that". I followed up with "Well, what do you like?" He said "I am sooooo in to Indy(Indiana Jones) and Star Wars" in an cool older kid voice. And so it began. From that time on Britt has asked everyday..."Mom, tell me all about Star Wars". We rented a video and Rob has repeated a condensed version of the story highlighting the main characters and that's all it took. When I asked what kind of birthday he wanted, he chose Star Wars instead of power rangers or pirates. So we ran with it and it turned out pretty fun. My mom made Jedi vests for each of the kids (thanks mom) and Rob assembled an obstacle course.

The kids came and learned to be Jedi's by making their own lightsabers and try to keep a balloon in the air
Then it was off to try their skills at the obstacle course
.

Musical Chairs- Star Wars style

Destroy the Deathstar

Cake and Ice Cream and presents After the kids left then it was time for the family to arrive (mostly Rob's side). I need all my sibs to move back to Utah so the Barlow's can make a better showing. We had a great time eating, watching the adults get stuck in the obstacles and opening presents. I will post those pictures later. By the end of the day he was a very tired, spoiled, happy 4 year old (who tells us he now has 4 year old muscles that are much bigger than 3 year old muscles). Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate with us. Happy Birthday Britt- We love you!!!

Britt's Special Day

2008-09-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

Britton has been sick since last Saturday night. Energy is zapped, nose is a faucet and voice is hoarse from coughing through the night but despite feeling miserable he has turned into a polite little boy. Saying "thank you" and "please" on the first try, patiently waiting for me while I'm on the phone, doing what I say. I hope it is a permanent side effect of the cold bug he's carrying around.

Britt had a "Special Day" today at preschool. That's what they call it when it's not quite your birthday but close enough. They ask the parent to come to class and spotlight them.

He woke up earlier than normal (sad for me because Charlie actually slept in for once) and wanted to do all his jobs right away so he could go for his special day. I was excited for him too. I came to preschool at the end of class with my bag of props. I talked about everything he loves (power rangers, making people laugh, rhyming, books, soft blankets, friends) along with what he says his "favorites" are:
color: green (since he could talk)
song: Yankee Doodle
book: any and all of them
food: he says corn, but I think it's tomatoes or ham
ice cream: vanilla
sport: soccer
playmates: cousins
I also told them what a great big brother he is, so tender, helpful and accepting. I think he was those things before Charlie got sick but I notice them more now.

I loved talking about how special he is and he just ate it up. He stood next to me as I talked to 19 of his "friends"and smiled from ear to ear. He told them a couple jokes(see below), and some rhymes he made up and was glowing from the attention. I realized I don't do this near enough. I tell him I love him all the time but not what I love about him. I will try to do better...

The only request Britt made was that I tell his friends about how he scored a goal in his soccer game and to show them his jersey.

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide

Knock, Knock.
Whose there?
Gorrilla
Gorrilla who?
Gorrila me a hamburger, I'm hungry.

Preschool Round 2

2008-09-05T08:53:00.000-06:00

I've had a dilemma lately with where to brag about Britton. He is such a special kid and I sometimes feel guilty that we are always focused on Charlie and posting only pictures that Charlie is in. We also did quite a few things this summer that Charlie wasn't able to attend and, although we miss him whenever he isn't with us, it was good for Rob, Britt and I to get out of the house and taste what we used to enjoy so much . I know what you are thinking... she can't even keep up with Charlie's blog how does she think she can update two. I figure this blog will be more of feast or famine. Massive amounts of pictures then nothing for a while so I can catch up with the things I neglect while posting. So here goes

BRITTON'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL (again)

Britt went to preschool as a 2 turning 3 year old last year mostly because he is so social and needed kids around him. So this is old hat to him. He was so excited he even did his morning jobs without complaint.
Parents were allowed to visit for the first 15 min of class to make the transition easier. Britt didn't even notice I was there. He was too wrapped up in all of the excitement
He came home singing "I'm a VIP" and didn't give many details about his day. The only info Rob and I could pry out of him were the rules of preschool. He couldn't tell me any names of his classmates or the teacher helper or what they did. This is all I got...
1. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
2. You don't break crayons at preschool
3. You don't throw crayons at preschool
4. You don't color on your neighbor at preschool
It makes me wonder if he has already been an offender of these rules
The excitement had worn off and he settled in for a snooze.

Primary Children's ICU

2008-01-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Charlie has been admitted to PCICU with bacterial menengitis. He is strong but it's going to be a difficult fight. Please link to Charlie's post for new updates at charliecooperjackjack.blogspot.com

A Year in Review- Better Late than never!

2008-01-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late with posting but if you know me I'm usually a little late to most things. I was reminiscing about 2007 and thought of all the fun things we did that I never put on the blog. Some of the pictures are in the wrong month but they were too cute to leave out.

Big things that happened in 2007...
10 year anniversary- (I still love you Rob after all this time)
Charlie Cooper born
Building new house
Britt started school

2008 will bring a lot of changes to our little family- two boys, new house, neighborhood etc.

Things I'm looking forward to in 2008...
Summertime- (I hate being cold)
Charlie crawling, walking, saying "mama" -so many first
Watching Britt make friends (although Rob wants to remain a recluse as long as possible)
Moving in and getting to spend more time with Rob
Cruise/Disneyland in February

Below is our picture year in review- Enjoy...

December-2007

2008-01-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Meeting Santa

All I want for Christmas is two front teeth- wait that's all I have

Hangin' with Dad

The Nativity

Christmas Chaos

Britt pretended to be a "Randall the bow-legged cowboy" for hours.

November-2007

2008-01-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

Pattycake, Pattycake, Bakers Man...

Sawdust is just like a winter sandbox

This little piggy went to market...

At Grandma's surprise birthday party. Shh don't tell

Utah vs. BYU

2 Biggest Cougar Fans- Rob and his mom.

Best Friends all year- except the 3rd Saturday in November

October-2007

2008-01-20T21:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween- Shadow Power Ranger and Monkey

Pumkin Contest

Charlie's Blessing Picture- (Should have been in July but I forgot)

September-2007

2008-01-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

First trip to Lagoon- Gotta do the boats

Britt and I are riding Puff the Magic Dragon- RyRy and Ty are behind us. Rides make Rob sick so he opted to hold Charlie.

Utah State Fair- My uncle Dennis brought his goat to the fair to show. Despite much coaxing neither of the boys wanted to look at the goats this close. Forget about touching it.

Britt riding the GREEN lightning McQueen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREEN POWER RANGER!!!

Black Frosting, my favorite!

August- 2007

2008-01-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

Max, Hope and Britt. Barlow Family Reunion- This year we went to our cabin in StrawberryReservoir. We went 4 wheeling, hiking, deer watching and just hung out together. It was a fast trip but a great time.

Smiles all around

Britt loves to be grandpa's little helper. He goes out to water the garden everyday and usually comes back covered in mud and happy as can be. He even grew his own "Big Max" pumkin this year.

July-2007

2008-01-20T21:24:00.001-07:00

Bear Lake- Christensen Family Reunion

Blowing bubbles

Spidey Britty

Love the Big Bertha Tube

No these aren't Britt's enormous feet. They belong to Rob

The goods from the Farmington Parade. He's like his mom- He loves parades

Farmington Parade

June 2007

2008-01-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Cherry Hill's Lazy River with Daddy

Britt hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

Britt loves when his cousin Max comes up from Arizona to visit.

RyRy and Britt listening very intently to the policeman talk about stranger danger during a playdate.

Snug as two bugs in a rug

May 2007

2008-01-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

We welcomed Charlie Cooper to our family on May 3rd.

Nash (MAX) and Kirilenko (BRITTON) both stopped by the hospital to meet the little man.

Britt always wants to be where ever Cooper is and tells him "It's OK, I'm right here"

April 2007

2008-01-20T15:26:00.001-07:00

We spent Easter at Barlow's St George Condo. Since there is a lot of construction going on Britt always wanted us to stop so he could see the tractors.

Rob and Britt at Fiest Fun shooting water at Ryan and Meg.

Making faces at the camera in their Easter outfits.

January-2007

2008-01-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

Snow Fun with Britt!!! This kid loves to be outside any chance he can get, even if it is freezing.

Take 2

2008-01-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

So if you weren't quick you missed the snowy scene template. Sorry. I found this one I like a little better but I'm still looking.

New Look

2008-01-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I've been trying to find out how to update the look of my blog but haven't had much luck. I did find a website Pyzam but I didn't find one I liked. I tried this snowy scene just to see how it works and it was pretty easy. If anyone knows where people are getting the cute backgrounds and banners please share with me...

2007-12-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

All of the Christensen Grandkids-5 boys and 5 girls. I can finally put this up. Every year we give Rob's mom a picture of the grandkids all together. Because it was a surprise I wasn't able to share it until now. I think it turned out really great this year.

2007-12-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the family at my mom's surprise 60th birthday party in November. From this picture I morphed us all into elves with the help a fun website. See this website. http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1444868788.
Trust me it's worth it just to see us all dance. I know there is a way to make to make it a hyperlink but I can't figure it out right now so you will have to cut and paste. If anyone knows please share it with me...

2007-11-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

We had our 4 way inspection on the house on Friday and passed!!!! Hurray!!! To celebrate we took the day off on Saturday and hung out at Tipp's U of U tailgate then drove home to watch the BYU game and nap the kids and then back to the U for the game. Tipp sent me these pictures of the festivities. It was the annual Chili Cook-off-Congratulations Tipp for winning 1st place 2 years in a row. Brit played beanbag toss and jumped in the bounce house with some lil' ute fans. Rob showed off his newest homemade T-shirt for Landon. We all had a great time and enjoyed the good food, friends and football. GO UTES!!!!

Tug of War

2007-11-01T22:25:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted for a while because I've been kindof sad lately. It's sort of silly but I was just released from Young Women's. I know it happens all the time but after being with these great kids for over 2 years I have grown so attached to them that I feel like I've lost something. I tell myself I will still be able to see them and keep in touch but I know also that after we move it will be harder to actually do that. I didn't realize that this would affect me this much. In fact, I didn't anticipate much emotion at all. I'm usually very unemotional, sometimes to a fault. So I have been very surprised that I am having a hard time letting go.

My mind tells me all the rational thoughts like : "There's too much on your plate right now." "Your family needs you." "You are falling behind at work." "There's a lot to do on the house" "The girls deserve someone that can commit more time." " You are moving!"

All of which are great arguments but don't make the transition any easier.

There are also selfish reasons that I'm not sure I want to admit to but, here they are... First of all, twice a week the goal and focus was to organizing and carry out a spiritual experience. Usually it was something that was fun and exciting and still taught great values. As an parent who makes time to do this once a month let alone twice a week? I certainly did not until it was required. I have never been more touched then during some of these gatherings, mostly by the girls teaching me. I am going to miss that immensely.

Another selfish reason is that Sundays, while I attended meetings, were designated Father-son time. I often had meetings or preparation all morning on Sundays. It was a time that Rob was solely responsible for everything to do with the kids. Our church has been at 1:00 for 2 years now so there was always feeding, bathing, napping and dressing in Sunday clothes to be done. There's something different about Daddy being in charge. I know Britton loved it. I would come home and they would both be dressed up in blanket capes and cowboy hats ready to fight the dragons in the bedroom. It is so cute. Not to say this doesn't happen at other times of the week but it was guaranteed on Sunday mornings. There is no calling a babysitter/grandma or no waiting for mom to do it. It was just boys being boys. It does seem to happen less and less lately with Rob out of town during the week and either working on the house or attending football games on Saturdays. I know building the house is only a one time thing and luckily football season will be over soon. I just feel that Sunday mornings keeps them connected to each other. Who knows, maybe it still will and I'll just get to witness more of it.

2007-10-18T16:12:00.000-06:00

This is Rob's very favorite place to be... asleep with Coop on his chest. Charlie is such a different baby than Britt was. Britton would never snuggle with us and couldn't fall asleep unless he was by himself. Don't get me wrong he has always been a great sleeper. We would simply wrap him in a blanket and then he would close his eyes and fall asleep happy and content. He just needs his space. Our new "bundle of joy" has wanted a little more cuddling and Rob has been more than happy to accomodate.

This was the first nap together in the hospital. The night before Charlie was born we both stayed up all night and painted/cleaned one of our rental properties so some people could move in. We also started construction on our new house that week., so while I recovered in the hospital Rob tried to organize the house situation. When he came to the hospital he was usually very tired and so this is how they bonded in the early hours. Luckily we both have great family that helped not only with painting/cleaning but made Britt feel special too.

2007-10-18T15:54:00.000-06:00

This is my little comedian. Everytime I say smile at the camera this is what I get. He loves to make people laugh and is such a happy kid. He loves tractors and is standing on the scooper of a huge Backhoe (?). He could tell you the exact name of the tractor but I still get confused. Notice he had his Bob-the-Builder hat on and the Andre jersey that was a gift from his favorite Jazz fan Tipp.

2007-10-18T15:47:00.000-06:00

You can't tell in this picture but Charlie's hair has one spike in the back. He has a tuft of hair that reminds me of Alfalfa on the little rascals. This day we were getting ready and spiked Britt's hair and he wanted Coop to get his hair spiked too. With the small amount of gel we created a single horn on the back of his head. Britt loves have Charlie copy whatever he does so he was so happy to both have spiked hair. Charlie isn't sure how he likes it.

October Post

2007-10-18T12:09:00.000-06:00

Well it's been a month since I last posted. I knew it would be sporatic. However, I did add a lot of pictures to make up for it. Things have been more of the same. Rob is in town this week and has been able to work on the house a little more. Meghan and I picked out stucco/rock colors yesterday and they should get started on the exterior next week. Britton and Charlie are doing great. Charlie can roll over finally but is still more content to just lay on his back and smile at anyone that will look at him, including the dogs. He is getting more skilled with his hands and loves to chew on things. Britton has really liked the Halloween season this year. He helped his grandpa grow 5 big pumpkins in the garden and we carved on last week. He loved making it glow with the candle. He is so excited to be a Power Ranger and "power up" to fight mode.

First day of preschool

2007-09-12T10:07:00.001-06:00

We have had an eventful week. Britton started pre-school last Wednesday and loved it. I dropped him off and he just ran in and sat down at the table and said "Look it's just my size". He didn't want me to stay, he just wanted to get on with school. Afterwards we went to McDonald's for lunch and while trying to get into the play land his hand was smashed in the hinge side of the a heavy glass door. It immediately swelled and he was inconsolable so we packed up and went to Instacare for an X-ray. Luckily, bones are still soft at the age of 2, so there weren't any broken bones. The swelling went down after a couple hours and he was only left with a bruise. He wants to take the X-ray for show and tell.

Friday, we went to see Dr. Lam and everyone got shots. Britt didn't cry but he said that "Charlie wasn't very brave" because he cried a lot. Charlie weighs 14 lbs and Britt is 34lbs. and 37 inches. Britt is in the 75th percentile and Charlie has fallen to the 50th. Dr. Lam said to start solids so Charlie will probably bulk back up.

Saturday was the first U of U game. Rob took the boys to tailgate and play with the other lil' Ute fans. Great food, good friends... great day. We can't wait to go again next Saturday and maybe the game will turn out better.

First Attempt

2007-08-30T09:51:00.000-06:00

So I am told this is the easy way to keep in touch with friends and family so I'm going to attempt it. I can't promise consistant updates but I will try.

Recently our family has been pretty busy. Rob has been working out of town a lot inspecting bridges and when he is home he is trying to get the new house framed so the sub-contractors can start their work. So even when he's not at work he is working so he's pretty tired. When he is out of town however he does manage to squeeze in some golf, fishing and Xbox.

Britton turns 3 in one month and is really excited to start preschool. He received a letter from his teacher Miss Lilian and he carried it around all day to show to anyone who would look at it. He loves to play power rangers, baseball and trucks. His imagination is always going. He also loves having a little brother that he can say "coochie, coochie, coo" and make him laugh. He still calls him "Jack, Jack" from the movie Incredibles. I guess that nickname will always stick.

Charlie Cooper is almost 4 months old now and is doing much better now that his stomach has "matured". He will smile at anyone who smiles and talks to him. He sleeps 8-9 hours most nights so I can't complain. The hair he was born with is a little more red than before but the underneath looks blond. It will be fun to watch him change in the next couple of months to see if he ends up a red-head like his cousin Max or a toe-head like his Daddy. He is doing a lot of cooing and Britton likes to interpret by saying "Jack, Jack said he wants me to have another cookie" or "Jack, Jack said he likes it when I jump on the bed and bounce him"

As for me, I am loving being a mother of two boys. I am surrounded. I still work at the hospital doing neurological testing but recently I've been doing more MS research. I work M-Th and love to spend Friday with my boys even if it is spend running errands for the house. The house has been pretty slow going but it gives me more time to think about the design. We are hoping to be in around the first of the year. I don't really care how long it takes because it's happening!!!

Well, I'm going to try to figure out how to add pictures to this blog. Thanks for visiting.

Well I will try to figure out how to add pictures so this looks more professional.