Merry Christmas!

Christmas was a low key affair in the Gillam house this year. To be honest it was welcomed as these past few weeks have been a whirlwind of moving, decorating the new house for Christmas, and best of all trying to figure out where the movers put all of the Christmas decorations. We managed to get it all together the weekend before, so our new home finally felt like home and Christmas!

Christmas Eve:

Cooper with his "Cooper" bear that he opened Christmas Eve

Connor leaving food for the Reindeer.

 Christmas Day:

Santa was generous again this year bringing Connor a basketball shoot-out game for the basement and Cooper a pingpong table. 

My beautiful Christmas Tree before it was littered with wrapping paper! ;-)

The basketball game and ping pong table were a hit!

Both boys got Dreamlites; Connor got a really cool Jayhawk one, which of course made Cooper jealous. I should have listened to my smart husband and got them both Jayhawk Dreamlites. Don't worry, Cooper has reassured me time and time again that he would be ok with me returning the penguin and replacing it with a Jayhawk! 

New shoes! This child goes through at least two pair of tennis shoes a year, please tell me this is not the average for a school-aged boy! 

Happy 30th Birthday Brad!

With much help from family and friends, I legitimately pulled off a surprise birthday party for Brad's 30th! Anyone that knows my husband, would know that it was no easy feat.I kept trying to get him to commit to having a party at our house in September to throw him off course and it actually worked. He didn't even get suspicious when Danielle, Matt, and my Mom came into town for the weekend.

We rented out the bar at one of our local favorites and had a great night. I think the drinks were flowing a little heavy though because we had the bar until 1:00 a.m. and I'm pretty sure the last people left at around 11:30, Brad only made it till around 11:00, guess that's what happens when you get old ;-)

Surprise!

Brad's second surprise of the evening was Brett! He flew in from Florida that morning for the party. Love ya, Brett!

Trick candles, hahahaha!

Apparently Brad was not getting the job done...remind me to think twice about trick candles next time! Let's just say not too many people wanted cake!

It has kindly been brought to my attention that I have yet again become a blog slacker.

So much has been going on in the Gillam household these past couple of months, I don't even know where to start. So, here we go from the beginning I guess!

Brad had knee surgery in early August. His right knee had been bothering him for quite some time and after a couple of visits with our GP, some prescriptions for anti-inflammatories and advice to stay off of it for a few days, he decided he better go to a specialist. After an X-ray and MRI, it was determined that he had torn his meniscus. The orthopedist wasn't 100% sure how badly it was torn from the MRI, so he said he would have to do some exploring once he was in there to see.

Upon initial inspection, he thought it wasn't too bad, but then realized that what he was seeing was part of a flap of meniscus that was tucked up underneath, showing that the tear was pretty substantial. So, he resorted to cutting the torn part out. Brad is still having some pain from time to time but now that the initial recovery period is over, he seems to be doing much better!

He is not going to be too happy about me posting this pic, but I can't resist...

a little pre-surgery happy medicine!

Don't worry, even though he was not at work, he was still working...phew, close call AB, close call.

I am surprised that the place was still running when he got back. Just kidding honey! 

2nd Grade, Here He Comes!

I honestly cannot believe that I have a 2nd grader. My sister was born when I was in 2nd grade and I remember how old I felt. I am sure Connor is feeling the same way as he is your typical older child, striving to grow up too fast.

I really wanted to do some sort of pinterest-esque photo with him showing his age and year in school, but apparently 7 almost 8 year-old's are just too cool for such things. I will just have to wait for Cooper to do this as he could care less. He likes to demonstrate on a daily basis just how super cool he is! Sometimes I worry that his head is not going to fit through the front door ;-)

Take notice as to who is not in the pictures this year. Mr. Cooper decided to make bedtime difficult last night (which is pretty much an every night occurrence) and we flat out were not going to have it the night before Connor's first day of school. So, because they insist on sharing a room (for which they will no longer be if Cooper cannot control himself) we kept Cooper downstairs watching a movie until we knew Connor was good and asleep. So, Cooper did not make the pictures because it is currently 9:37 a.m. and he is still sleeping!

Kindergarten

 Apparently he wasn't too cool to be silly in Kindergarten!

1st Grade

 2nd Grade

I cannot believe how much older he looks this year!

He started reading Harry Potter this summer so Brad and I keep teasing him that the scratch on his forehead is his "Harry Potter" scar. His teacher is Mrs. Griffin, so he and Brad were joking that he is "Connor Potter" and he will be walking through the "Griffin-door." Ha Ha, get it?!

 Doesn't he look happy?!? I think by this point he was kindly appeasing me but 

thinking to himself, "get this stinking camera out of my face!" Do you see his Harry Potter scar?

 

Connor and our neighbor Jason who is starting 1st grade. 

Grant's Farm

 A few weeks ago we went to Grant's Farm with Grandma and Papa Gillam. It is really is a neat place and I am ashamed to admit that we have only been there twice since Cooper was born. Cooper was only a few months old on his first trip, so I think this last time was probably more memorable for him ;-)

2008

 

 Cooper and Mommy, with Brandon in the background.

Wow, those are some ultra fab sunglasses!

  

Connor was not quite as intimidated at 3 as Cooper was at 4.

 

Connor was 3.5 and Camryn was almost 3. Cute, cute, cute!

2012

Much older and bigger, nearly 4 years later.

 

Connor is not quite sure what to think of this 'kid' attack.

 

Cooper was utterly terrified.

He finally decided to give it a try. Notice he was holding his shirt back, he was not fond of the idea of them jumping up on him and getting his shirt dirty.

After trying to persuade Papa to run through the misters, he finally gave in. However, it didn't take much coercing because it was pretty hot!

On the way back to the tram the boys decided they wanted to feed the goats again, but this time Cooper took a different approach...from the other side of the fence. Ahhh nice and safe!

Baseball Season Over and Out

The summer baseball season is here and gone, for little-leaguers anyway. I cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by. Connor goes back to school in 2 weeks!  

This is Connor's second season with Crush and they are starting to look pretty good. They just finished their last season of Coach's Pitch and will be starting Kid Pitch in the fall. Connor says he wants to be a pitcher and asked Brad if he would be his "practice catcher." I think a small piece of Brad was a little bummed that he didn't want to be a catcher but he is only 7, almost 8 as I am reminded daily, and has plenty of time to make a formal decision. 

Sporting his catcher's gear. He usually catches a couple of innings each game.

After sliding into home. Connor loves to slide, he even slides when the ball is no where near him ;-)

The next series of photos reads like a flip book. Let me start by adding a disclaimer that these three little boys are actually really good friends. They have weathered 7 seasons of outdoor soccer, 5 seasons of T-ball/baseball, and 2 seasons of indoor soccer together. They tend to act more like brothers when they are together as evidenced by:

Cooper playing innocently in the dirt that he was told not to play in several times.

Baylen and Colton decided to join Cooper's, "I don't care and I am not going to listen" club.

 Take notice of all of the dirt in Baylen's hair. I definitely think Cooper was wrongly accused of this crime, as the look on his face is that of pure innocence ;-) 

Anyone that knows my sweet little 4 year-old knows that this dirt attack has Cooper written allover it. Not to mention the crying fit that ensued because he just couldn't understand why he would get in trouble for throwing dirt in someone's hair. This child is sooo lucky that he is cute, sweet and loveable when he is not being ornery and defiant!

*Photos courtesy of photomaster Grandma Gillam.

All Healed...Hopefully

While at the lake for Easter we celebrated Cooper's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Gillam. Among the many gifts that he received from them was a scooter. Of course this was his favorite gift probably because I have been ignoring requests for scooters for a long time. Scooters to me, just seem like a really nice way to get hurt. However, both boys have been asking for one for so long and were so excited to get it that I decided to put my feelings aside and let them be kids.

From the beginning I warned both boys that the scooter was only to be used with a helmet and they both agreed. Two days later, Brad and I decided to go for a walk and Cooper asked to use his scooter. I was hesitant at first (mainly because I didn't want to get stuck carrying the scooter 3/4 of the way) but agreed after he brought me his helmet, elbow pads, wrist guards, and knee pads to wear while riding it. So, I went against my instincts and decided to let him go, I mean, he was pretty much protected from head to toe right?

We walked the half block up to the trail entrance and Cooper took off down the trail which was situated on a bit of a downhill slope. Brad and I stopped for a second to help Connor get going on his bike when I heard a scream. As I looked up I saw Cooper go tumbling off of his scooter. He was hysterical; now anyone who knows Cooper, knows that he has quite a flare for the dramatics, making it pretty hard to tell when he is truly injured and when he is using his acting skills. However, this cry was his "hurt" cry so I figured something was probably wrong. So, I ran down the hill, scooped him up and took him back home.

After a couple of hours of him crying and complaining about his leg, we decided we better take him to the ER, better safe than sorry. Brad was leaving for Canada later that afternoon, so he packed his bag, managed to get Cooper into his car seat without hurting his leg and we were off.

Making an already long story shorter, we sat in the ER waiting room for an hour, Brad left for the airport, we sat in the ER hallway for 2 hours, I had to deal with a doctor who was sure I was lying about the scooter incident, after which I was then scolded by said doctor for letting my child ride a scooter. Next, Connor and I had to suffer through Cooper's frantic cries as said doctor roughly examined his leg which included making him walk on it. After all of this, it was determined that Cooper "possibly" broke his leg. His fibula was bowing inward but there were no apparent fractures on the x-ray so the super fabulous doctor, not, (Do people say not anymore? I think I am starting to show my age!) decided to go ahead and cast his leg to be on the safe side as she suspected a Greenstick fracture.

After visiting with the Peds Ortho, (who was wonderful by the way) it was decided that he needed to wear a boot for three weeks after which they would do another x-ray of his leg.

Fast forward three weeks...As it turns out, he fractured his fibula (smaller bone) which was suspected, and his tibia in two places :-( Luckily, since healing was well underway as in he had been in the boot for three weeks, she recommended two more weeks in the boot and no playgrounds for another week.

As of today he is officially boot free and has a green light for playgrounds. He does not seem to be bothered by his leg any longer so I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bones are in fact healed enough to endure all of his antics. (He is jumping from the loveseat to the couch as I am typing this, excuse me for a minute.) Ok, he has been warned, we will see how long the warning lasts before he attempts his Evel Knievel stunts again. There is never a dull moment in the life of Cooper Gillam!

     

Shortly after we got home from the ER, poor baby! 

Getting ready to go to the Ortho, much happier!

Coop in his boot! He was very good about keeping it on and not complaining about it too much.

Easter, 2012

This year, the last weekend of Connor's Spring break coincided with Easter. So, the boys went down to Grandma and Grandpa's for a few days to visit beforehand, which was pretty nice! We followed them down on Saturday and spent the weekend with Jim and Sara. We had a great time and the boys really enjoyed all of the attention and fishing.

Waiting patiently...ok, let's be serious, impatiently for the Easter "go ahead!"

I had an epic fail this year and forgot to take the boys' Easter baskets down with us :-( Luckily, Grandma Gillam had a couple of extra baskets that she let us borrow. I think the boys were more interested in their Easter gifts and candy then they were the baskets anyway!

We let Cooper start 1 minute before Connor, but don't worry, Connor made up for the time lost!

Happy Birthday Cooper!!

Coopie Doops is 4! He has been waiting for this day for quite a few months now, especially since his best friend Christopher turned 4 in February! His birthday was during Connor's Spring break, so Connor was home and Brad took the week off too.

It had been quite a long time since we had been to the Magic House, so we thought it would be a fun birthday event. Afterward, he invited his friend Christopher over for pizza, cake and ice cream, and to stay the night. The boys had a great time and it was a nice, fun-filled, low key birthday!

Cooper touching the static ball...

me touching the static ball...oh yeah, that's right!

He was super excited to get a swing for his birthday. The boys have two places for swings on their swingset, one is a regular swing and one was a baby swing. Cooper recently learned how to swing all by himself and literally spends all day outside swinging. Since Cooper has learned how to swing, it has been a constant battle as to who gets to the swing first when Connor is home. You would think adding a swing so that there are now 2 would solve the swing problem, right? Wrong! Now, they fight over the new one ugh!

This duo right here spells TROUBLE!

Cooper asked for a Power Ranger cake...let's just say that I have learned my lesson on frosting a cake before it cools off. Melt, melt, run, run goes the frosting! This rivals Connor's cake from his 7th birthday!