Sawyer's Big-Boy Bike!

We have been planning on getting Sawyer a bike for quite a while but it just kept getting put off...until today! We took Soy to Toys-R-Us for a bike-riding extravaganza! He must have tested about 15 bikes and had a wonderful time riding them up and down the aisles of the store. He is tall (the store employee kept commenting on it) so he has a bike that Eddie could ride if he wished to! He completed his new ensemble with a Hot Wheels helmet...white hot flames and all!

Personally, as proud as I am watching my boy ride a bike that big, I have felt some strong gut-wrenching going on. He is soooo big! He is so tall and brave! He road out of the driveway of our home without a moment's hesitation! I had to command him to turn and look at me, or to slow down so we wouldn't be left behind. How sad am I that I can imagine this conversation repeating throughout his life now!!?? "Slow down, Baby." I love the idea of his independence and growth but the reality of it...I am not so okay with. I feel his babyhood slipping through my fingers (yes, 3 1/2 is still babyhood) and all I can do is let those joyful, proud, terrified tears slip from my eyes as I watch him.

By the way, in the last picture, he is showing off the skidmark he made while practicing his stopping power.

Park Day with Katrina & Xander

Well, to wrap up my post-fest I thought I would show some of the most recent pictures from Friday at the park. Xander is a few weeks younger than Owen and such a cutie. You can check out their family blog at www.jayandk.blogspot.com . Can you believe how big these boys are?

Sawyer update: He is still singing and dancing all of the time. His new favorite band is the Laurie Berkner Band we originally saw on Noggin. We have the DVD and he knows every word and dance move from the whole thing. He is still sweet, loving and the best cuddler in the 3-year-old bracket...but, patience-trying has become a pasttime. It is all typical almost-4-yrs-old junk but some days can be exhausting. We are looking for a preschool for him and I have started looking into martial arts and swim classes. He is a big helper with Owen (although I have to remind him to be careful sometimes)and has such a great sense of humor.

Owen Update: This boy is still the easiest boy although he has started to show his tantrum skill also. They are short, loud and a little funny. :) He has a growing vocabulary including: duck, doggie, Say (aka Sawyer), up, down, help, juice, more, Mama, Dada, ball, kitty, car, truck, etc. He is OBSESSED with bouncing balls!!! He loves any ball he finds, sees, hears about or thinks about. We walked by a soccer field where the were practicing and the poor guy was like a addict!!!

We love our boys!!!

Cute Video #2

Cute Video #1

Sarah graduated from the University of Phoenix with a B.S. in Human Management. While, I am not really sure what that means but I have no doubt that it will serve her well. I can't begin to express how proud of her we are. She has overcome so much to get to this point in her life and she deserves to be celebrated for it. I hope that she knows that the tears flowed out of joy and pride as we watched her on that stage. This is something that she has done out of love for her family, especially her amazing little boys. Her determination should be a guiding star for anyone who says there aren't enough hours in a day, enough ways to get it done, or enough people to support them. We love, love love you little sister!!!!

Just some fun pictures

Here are just a cute mish-mosh from an evening at home. You will see (in no particular order): Sawyer passed out on the couch, Owen sharing his muscles then his spaghetti fingers, Sawyer sharing his muscles, silly face and his highest jump. Typical evening in the Kop household.

Dada trying to fall in love with Charlie

Puppyhood isn't all it is cracked up to be and out of all of us, I think Eddie has had the hardest time 'parenting' a dog. I have faith that eventually they will find comfort in each other...I hope anyway.

Fourth of July in San Diego!

We restarted an old tradition of having The Fourth of July celebration at our dear friends' home. Staci & Dan are always the best chefs and hosts anyone could hope for. Owen fell in love with Dan and Sawyer put on singing and dancing shows for everyone. It was a blast!

June 21st - Grammy's visit

We were so lucky to have Grammy come visit us for a week. I can't tell you how helpful it was to have her around so I could get this house livable. The kids adore her and there is no doubt the feelings are reciprocated. These pics were taken at Dog Beach where we took Charlie. It was interesting and a little chaotic but fun.

Java Mama

THis picture was taken at one of our new favorite hangouts...Java Mama. It is a coffee house with a cute little play area for kids. It is supervised a few hours each day so parents can chill for a while. There is also a classroom where locals work with the kids. The classes rang from arts & crafts to kid's yoga. They also have Parent's Night Out on Fridays so the kids can be dropped off to play while mom & dad spend time together. We will definitely take advantage of this when Owen is 18 months old.

Pet update

Charlie is growing like a weed. He loves his new backyard and has an imaginary animal he chases in an orange tree. I think that he wags his tail, which hits a branch and makes a noise. It is funny except when he takes to barking non-stop at the thing. He is still crate-trained and has trouble minding his manners with croch-smelling, eating kids' toys and jumping...but, he has started mellowing out a bit at night which is nice.

Gizmo had a scare the last few weeks. We went to Phoenix (pictures to follow in another post) and my sister took her to the veterinarian office she works at for some test. We found out she was in heart failure. Yikes!!! She is now on meds like an old lady but her last EKG was awesome and Sarah says the rest of her tests were outstanding so...she'll be here for a while. She has adjusted well and still bosses Charlie around. She is completely deaf though so she gets underfoot a lot more than she used to.

May 26th- Pecos Pool w/ my wonderful friends

It's art-making time!

This was actually back in May before our move but I am running late on the posts!