Contentment

I remember when I was young and used to complain on the weekends about being "bored" to my mom. I can remember her telling me that until I could learn to be content all by myself and be able to find things to do on my own without depending on other people to entertain me that I would never really know what contentment was. I thought she was crazy. But I am starting to think she may have known what she was talking about (I mean, she was right about EVERYTHING else so why not this too?).

Now that I am grown up (mostly) with a real job, a house, and a family of my own, I doubt that I will ever experience that feeling of boredom ever again. But every once in a while I get that never ending to do list trimmed down to a point where I get a small window of time during which I can do something that I enjoy. Instead of doing something I have to do, I get to do something I want to do. Usually that time consists of going somewhere, doing something, buying something, or just getting into a new project. But this weekend I made myself stay home and just do some of those things that I always want to do but don't have time to do. And it was wonderful!!!

Here are pictures of two of my favorite things we did. First, since it was Josh's birthday weekend, I decided that JUST ONCE I would let Cooper sport Tennessee colors with his daddy (GA had the weekend off so I did not feel so bad) and watch football together. It was great!! Second, we decorated and carved pumpkins! Thankfully my parents stopped by to see us and I was able to persuade Dad to use his artistic talent and Josh to use his power tools, and we ended up with a pretty impressive Thomas pumpkin. I am thankful to have such a talented and artistic Dad because had I been doing the pumpkin all alone there is no telling how it would have turned out. Cooper was thrilled tonight to see his pumpkin glowing on the front porch and I just enjoyed the fact that we stayed home, grilled burgers, sipped hot cider, and carved pumpkins. What a wonderfully perfect way to spend such a beautiful Fall day!!!

I hope to have many more weekends like this one!!!

Mommy's shoes

We are in a hurry getting the house and food ready to celebrate Nan's birthday today, but while I am sitting down for a cup of coffee I want to post a series of pictures I have taken over the past few weeks. Whenever Cooper gets up in the morning he likes to run around in his pajamas and put my shoes on his feet. I don't know why he likes my shoes, but he picks a different shoe almost every time and parades around the house in them. So naturally I have to share them!!

A Little Bit of Learning and a LOT of Energy!

Cooper has definitely become attached to the Thomas VTech laptop I gave him for his birthday. I cannot believe how quickly he has figured out how to work it and he can basically identify all of his letters and numbers correctly now, as long as he pays attention. I took a video of him playing with it Saturday morning (thus why we are both in our pj's). Obviously I was still very hoarse from a long last week before Fall Break at work, so excuse my raspy laugh (I swear I have not taken up smoking!).
You can see the camera shaking from my laughter... no one ever thinks a kid is funnier than their own mom. Enjoy watching my future football star!!

Choo Choo Cooper's TWO!

This post is a little late, but better late than never! Since returning to work after summer break I just never can find time to get much of anything accomplished, and that has resulted in not having much time to update our blog. I have missed it, though, and hope to do a better job!

For now, I must update on the fact that my little boy is now two years old!!

Here he was the day he turned one...

And here he is the day he turned TWO...

So much can change in a year! This time last year he was hardly even able to stand on his own two feet by himself. Now he can not only stand, but can walk, run, and fly on those two feet so fast I can hardly keep up with him anymore. He is talking nonstop, is singing his ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, and many more great hits. He can work puzzles like a madman, eats more food that I do, can climb up and down stairs in an instant, and can count to ten all by himself. This little baby boy is just no longer a little baby boy! Everyday he develops more of a unique personality and finds a way to make my heart fall in love with him just a little bit more, one day at a time.

Yes, Cooper has changed my life. But in a way that I never imagined anything could change it. He has opened my heart up to a new kind of love that I never knew existed. My life will never, ever be the same as it was before he came along, and I never would want to go back if I had the chance. As far as I am concerned, my life officially began on August 31, 2007, and it has just been getting better and better each day.

To view pictures from the party you can click here and view the full album.

I am behind

So, yes, school is back in session and mommy is back to being busy busy busy. It is really bothering me, though, that I have not updated my blog in a month, so I am just going to vent for a bit about going back to work!

I went back last Monday and the kids came back last Thursday. So far, we are off to a smooth start at work, the kids are great, and everything seems to be going well. EXCEPT for those mornings when I leave. That is by far the worst part of my day. I mean... trying to dry your hair in the morning while a 2 year old still half asleep and in his cute little pj's lays in the floor and grips your calves while he moans "no no go" just does not put a smile on your face. Or trying to walk from the bedroom to the front door with that same little two year old now gripping your ankles and holding on for dear life while soaking his cheeks with world record sized tears just simply does not set the tone for a wonderful morning. This has been really, really tough for both of us. He cries, and I cry, pretty much everyday. Thankfully, he is staying in someone's home and there are only two other children there, so he is getting lots of love and attention. That is supposed to make me feel better about the fact that he is away from me for about 9 hours a day, right?

Don't get me wrong... I am thankful to have a job. Especially a job that I like and enjoy. I am just NOT thankful to be away from this:

These are the moments that I think of and miss terribly while I am working. Being away from him just feels all wrong, and it is not getting any easier. I know this world is full of working moms everywhere, and many of them don't get summers off to spend with their children. So I am trying really hard to be thankful for all of the time that I do get with him. It will get easier, right? :-(

A Fun Filled Fourth

This past week was full of lots of family time and fun stuff! No work, no dance team practice, just time at home and on the road together! We made a trip to the zoo, two trips to Coolidge, and several trips to both grandparents houses this week. Cooper has played, and played, and played all week long.

First, here are some pics from our trip with the Smallens to Coolidge Park. Cooper absolutely loved the fountains. He played for almost two hours and had a blast! He loves the water, which makes me so happy because I know how proud Martha would have been of him.

That evening we headed to the Chappelears for a visit with Josh's mom, dad, brothers, sister, and all of the nephews and nieces. After an amazing meal we spent the evening outside playing.Give this boy a water hose and he is happy for hours...

Yesterday we fought the heat on the 4th and swam at mom and dad's. Cooper likes being around the pool, but is not wild about just staying in the water. He tolerates being in the pool, but does not enjoy being in the water as much as he does playing on the steps and spraying everyone with the water hose. We had a great time in the with my parents and the McNews.

After a good long nap (nothing wears this boy out more than time at the pool), we headed over to the McNew's for some delicious homemade ice cream and then made a trip outside to watch some neighborhood fireworks. At first, Cooper was fascinated by them. But then some really big, loud ones went off and they scared him a little. So we got in the car and headed for home, but all the way home we saw fireworks everywhere. All I heard ALL the way home was "WOOOOOOOOW", "WOOK AT THAT," "WOOOOOOW," "WHOOOOOA,".... over and over and over. Needless to say, when that little man's head hit the pillow at 10:30 last night, he was EXHAUSTED. But being tired from a great day full of fun and family time is a great thing. We are so very blessed... and thankful!

A Day at the Zoo

Today Cooper and his girlfriend Addi (Reed and Jayme Dills' baby girl) made a trip to the zoo. Despite the fact that it was really hot, they still had a great time! They started out in the strollers, but as soon as we arrived at the monkey exhibit, the kids were out and running to the windows to check everything out.

Here they are watching the monkeys. They look like a little old married couple already!

Cooper LOVED the snakes... mommy did NOT!

And the fish... the fish... the fish... did I say FISH? Because he sure said it... at least seventy times!

Here they are at the end of our day... hot, tired, and ready for some fun in the water at Coolidge Park! I think these two are really glad their mommies decided to be teachers so they could get their summers off. I think their mommies are just as glad too... but in August they are going to have a really tough time giving this up!!