Cooper is One

Cooper turned one yesterday so we had an official party for him. It was actually his second party for this birthday - when Kiley ran the marathon we had family in town so we figured we might as well have a party then too. So I'm sure we've confused him into thinking every birthday will be a month-long celebration of him. Kind of like the first time I took Jackson to a Rangers game and he got a foul ball. Now when we go back to games he'll say, "When am I going to get a baseball hit to me this game?" I think I've been to 100 Ranger games and have never gotten a foul ball.

The events of the day started with the cake. When we gave Cooper his slice then put the candle in it and lit it, Cooper put it out between his thumb and forefinger. How tough is that? No big deal though. When he finishes smokes his cigarettes he puts those out on his forearm. He did look at Kiley after that like, "That wasn't a very good idea was it?" then he got that look on his face that I get after I take a big bite of pizza and realize it's still piping hot.

He managed to fight thru the pain until we got the Curious George pinata up. That was a big hit. PUN! So when did they start making pinatas out of unbreakable material? Seriously. I'm importing all of my future pinatas straight from Mexico City.

After all the little ones took swats at it with a foam bat I broke out a wooden bat and let some of the bigger kids beat the crap out of it until a tiny crack formed in the back of it and candy started slowly leaking out of it.

Cooper had a great time and enjoyed having some of his friends over. The Escalade power wheel was a big player. Here's the Post kids (Zoe and Emma) experiencing the raw automotive power we have over in the United States. Their parents, Jason and Mandy are missionaries over in Ireland. They came all the way over just for Cooper's birthday party. We have such commited friends.

I asked Cooper what his favorite thing about turning one was and he said, "Da da." Awe. But he was pointing at the remnants of his Curious George pinata so I think he was insulting me.

Of Marathons and Softball

Kiley ran a marathon! For real. She did it in 4 hours and 52 minutes. I rode with her on my bike for the last 11 miles and I was so impressed and proud of her. From my perspective she made it look easy. There were times when she was worn down but her concentration on her task and how she pushed thru when she got really tired amazed me. Way to go Kiley.

I love the attached picture. The last 50 yards is the part where they have fences on both sides and everyone is cheering you on. Jackson and Ellie and their cousins - Cade and Kennedy ran with her the that last part so you can see them behind her.

Thanks to everyone that came out and met her at different checkpoints. That meant the world to her and kept her going. She said after mile 15 things started getting hard but it seemed like there was someone along the path every few miles after that.

What else is going on? I'm on a softball team that stinks. We've played 4 games and have yet to win. In fact on the way to my fourth game I got pulled over for speeding and when the cop asked me if I was on my way to a softball game (i was right by the field and had on a uniform) and I told him yes so he asked how my team was doing so I told him, "Not only are we 0 and 3. We've been 10 run rulled every game." to which he responded, "I'm gonna let you off with a warning." Funny.

The last game we were up 10-7 in the 5th inning and the game went 7 innings. We lost 12-24.

The kids are good. Cooper is saying "uh oh" and Ellie has a dance recital coming up. Her pictures for dance are tonight and they want us to roll her hair and put make up and lipstick on her. Jackson scored his first soccer goal of the year this weekend. He was so excited that he started to pull her shirt off. He also had his first baseball game this weekend. I'm pitching to the kids and hit one of them with a pitch. He was crowding the plate though so I just threw him a little chin music. No biggie.