just a few more tasks, then Christmas!

Christmas is almost here & as always I am still working to get "done."  I have only a few more things to get.  I haven't quite finished shopping for my dad yet - I'm looking for "It's a Wonderful Life" for him.  And, of course, I just can't seem to get done shopping for Cooper.  Yes, he has presents... but just a few more couldn't hurt (except maybe my budget hahahaha).  Things that I'm glad that we've completed:  wrapped presents, Christmas cards mailed, house decorated in & out for a couple of weeks now, goodies made and handed out to neighbors and Andy's coworkers, invites delivered to all of the neighbors to come join our Christmas Eve Service, parties and get-togethers attended and enjoyed.  I'm now ready for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Second (or rather sharing the Christmas story with lots of little two year olds), seeing friends on that night, and then celebrating with family!!  I love this time of year. 

Merry Christmas!

You were there when your Father said let there be light
You obeyed when he whispered "Son, You have to leave tonight"
To spend nine months in a mother's womb, three days in a borrowed tomb


But it's the time in between that brings me to my knees
Knowing You came for me and all that I can't be
I'm amazed, so amazed And I thank You for the time in between


Don't take much for this crazy world to rob me of my peace
And the enemy of my soul says You're holding out on me
So I stand here lifting empty hands, for You to fill me up again


But it's the time in between that I fall down to my knees
Waiting on what You'll bring, and the things that I can't see
I know my song's incomplete, still I'll sing in the time in between
So many ways Your love has saved the day
And I'm grateful for them all


But it's the time in between, the middle of two thieves
That says everything, it's the reason I believe
I'm amazed, so amazed
And I thank You for the time in between
Oh Lord, I thank You for the time in between
-Francesca Battistelli & Clint Lagerberg


These are not my words, but as I play them over and over in my car I realize they make up the perfect Christmas song this year. Thank you so much, Jesus, for coming to Earth so many years ago. And for the perfect life you lived as an example for us. And for sacrificing yourself for my guilty heart. That great act of love saved me and I thank you. Let's celebrate! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas!

thoughts

Some random thoughts/realizations I've had bumping around in my head this past week.

- giving thanks will always rememdy a bad attitude

- friends and loved ones that are willing to "babysit" your kids are worth their weight in GOLD

- never wear black pants when your child has a runny nose

- good intentions don't get you too far without actions!

october fun

It's crazy to think that November is cruising by so quickly.  I even started thinking of all we need to cook for our Thanksgiving meal last night.  So I guess I better go ahead and share what the end of October was like.  We had so much fun visiting the pumpkin patch.  They had tons of animals - Cooper got to ride his first mini horse and got a fistful of camel hair. 













Next we visited the zoo for the first time and now have a zoo membership. If anyone wants to go, let me know!  The giraffes were the highlight of the day for me.  Cooper and I got to feed one of the female giraffes some lettuce.







Last was Halloween.  Charlie Brown and a little lamb - what could be cuter?  They had more fun playing with the grass than showing off their costumes.  Julie is such a ham - never a bad picture.  Cooper on the other hand was a little more stand-offish.  No smiles!  Must be a guy thing.











Now we have lots to look forward to.  Thanksgiving in MS then down to the coast for more festivites in Orange Beach!  Yay! 

all kinds of new stuff

On Thursday Cooper started babbling!  Babababababa and sometimes I could hear dada and mama!  Andy was so upset that he missed it all.  He also started shaking his head "no" around the same time.  I don't know what made him so excited to try out his communication skills, but he really got it going this week!!  He is so cute when he's talking too. 

Cooper and I flew to Jackson to visit family this week.  It has been a good visit, but Cooper started out sick and I ended up sick.  :(   We drove to Birmingham to introduce him to my grandmother (Cooper's great grandmother) over the weekend.  She had such a good time seeing him.  I only wished that we could have spent more time with her. 

Cooper got to spend the night with Granna on his last night in Jackson.  I think that she had a really good time.  She must have played really hard with him and wore him out because he slept late and has taken two really good naps today!  I know he's had such a good time with all of his grandparents.  Grandad, Grammie, Granna, Papa Bear, and Mimi!  And of course, Uncle Matt too.  He loves his Uncle Matt.  :)

Next month we've get to see everyone again, but we've got to go see Uncle Nathan, Aunt Nicki and Bella and Andy's Granny and Grandad.  Cooper has so many loved ones to visit with in Mississippi!  Hopefully we will all be well next time so we can see everyone.

anchors aweigh

Halleluiah, Praise God it has been raining in Texas for two days!! Our Sunday has turned into a rain day and that's awesome. If we do happen to float away, I'm going to let this little guy steer the boat.  ;)





Captain Cooper!

barking baby

There's not much Cooper has done so far to mimic us. I keep waving "hi" and "bye." I even try some sign language at feeding times - more, all done, hungry? I think he understands hungry, but only when I say it. I tell him "mama" and "dada" all day long, only to get a loud shriek in return.  (Oh, he's got the shriek down pat - sometimes we have shrieking contests when it's just Cooper and me around.) I do think we caught him clapping a couple of times but not really in response to us. 

And then yesterday it happened - he started mimicking... THE DOG!  Yes, I caught him barking.  You may not believe me, so see for yourself.  It goes like this:  Cooper and I are playing upstairs.  All is quiet.  Roscoe begins barking.  Then I hear a faint "ah ah ah ah ah" from Cooper.  Over and over and louder and louder until Roscoe stops.  I think, "well that's unusual.  Surely he's not doing that because of the barking."  But then it happens again.  10 minutes of silence from Cooper and all of a sudden Roscoe starts barking. And so does Cooper.  Huh.  What do you think?  World's cutest barking baby?  I think yes.  :)

more pictures!

A few pictures...

with Papa Bear's hat


daddy and cooper


riding in my car!!


grammie and cooper



papa bear and cooper



granna and cooper

baby proofing time!

We now have a crawler.  Well, he's taken two little "crawl steps" or whatever you would call them.  Last night he surprised us right before his bedtime with his exciting new trick.  All he has to do now is figure out that he's figured it out and he will be mobile.  A mobile baby is much more work, or so I'm told.  I'm sure it is - but I am still so thrilled with his new accomplishment that I really don't care.  We are now in the process of babyproofing.  Baby gate, check.  And that's it....  We gotta get outlet covers, toilet bowl clips, cabinet locks, and all of the wires behind the TV secured.  Anyone have any other suggestions?  Because we're gonna need 'em!

addendum

Well, disregard my post yesterday. He finally had his meltdown today. Woke up at 6:45 am and refused naps until he got so overly tired he screamed himself to sleep about 10:00 am. But he did take a 2.5 hr nap - which is unheard of around here - and woke up happy! Needless to say he was an angel for the rest of the day. So, yes, naps are a must for us. I stand by my initial statement that they are of the utmost importance. If you are struggling with naps and your child: I feel your pain, most every mom goes through it too, and may God give you patience and wisdom!

my baby is a champ

First of all let me say that I believe naps are of utmost importance for a baby... and for a mommy's sanity. This is why I plan each day around naps, I try to keep the dog outside during naps and I stress when naps are not taken. They are essential at our house. I'm actually starting to think I'm kinda a nut about it. Oh well. Works for us. So, Tuesday I planned a playdate around his nap schedule - and of course he doesn't nap before. Of course. OK I can work around this, I kindly ask for a pack n play to be set up so he can nap when we get there. He won't go to sleep when we get there. Too much to look at, too much to play with, can't settle down. So I think maybe he'll get tired after playing for a few minutes. Nope. At this point I'm kinda worried he might self-destruct. I mean he's not cranky or anything, he just hasn't gotten one since he woke up that morning. It's noon. I start to sweat. We finally get home around 1 pm. He naps once we get there. Just like that. No fuss, no melt-down, I was ok, he was ok, no one perished.

Maybe it was a fluke and I've been obsessed over naps for good reason. Nope. I was called in last minute to work today and it happened again. No morning nap and everything went smoothly. Yep. My baby's a champ.  Mommy's the crazy one. :)

it's that time again

Football time!  It has finally arrived.  We watch Thursday night, Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday night, and of course Monday night.  (But only the teams that really matter).  Not until I got married did I actually realize that football was on TV that many days a week.  Now this doesn't include ESPN highlights or time spend trading players on Fantasy Football either.  Sheesh.  I'm just glad Andy's not a big basketball or baseball watcher too, or I might go insane.  :) 

Alright, how about some bragging to go along with all that nagging?  My husband has really embraced this fatherhood thing.  And how do I know this, you ask?  When he started watching the MSU Bulldogs play football without yelling. And get this:  I overheard him saying to friends something to the effect of, "yeah, I'm trying to not be too loud. The baby's sleeping." Too funny.  Cooper sure appreciates it, daddy.  I do too!



7 months

Just thought I'd leave you with a smile.  Doesn't that just make your day?

ahhh the rain

So you may have heard - Texas is burning up.  Literally and figuratively.  Wildfires are everywhere, getting started by wrecks, cigarette butts thrown from cars, or any kind of spark along the road.  It's crazy.  Not to mention it's H.O.T.  Has been since mid April.  Where is the rain??!!  HA - It's outside!  Finally.  Really it's just a drizzle, but hey, we'll take what we can get.  My husband keeps walking outside looking to see if it's real.  Oh,  there he goes again.  That's 3 times since I've been on my computer.  Silly man.  Thank you, God, for rain!

apple juice poison

You may have heard about the controversial episode on Dr Oz yesterday about arsenic in apple juice, but if not here's the scoop!  Of the top brands that the Dr Oz show tested, companies selling apple juice - in juice boxes - to kids - there were many that tested positive for arsenic.  Among the highest were Mott's, Juicy Juice and GERBER.  You know, the brand that has for years been the go to for baby products, baby food, baby formula, baby cereal.  I am astonished at Gerber.  Evidently there is little regulation on imported apple concentrate.  Countries like China and Brazil are spraying crops with pesticides and it is leaving residue in the food.  US companies are buying this and packaging it here and selling it to us.  My question is:  Why would these companies whose market is kids/babies care more about importing cheaply than the health of our country's children?!!  I find this outrageous and appalling.  Off my soap box now.  Here's how you react to protect your children:

- Always check the labels and all over the box (like on the stamped exp date, etc) for products from the USA.  These non imports are regulated by the FDA.  supposedly...
- When you can, buy organic.  All of the organic brands tested well below the legal amount for drinking water.  (Yes, there is trace amounts in drinking water that is legal and restricted by laws in the US).

This may be just one small step in the right direction.  Who knows, there may be tons of products that I buy with terrible ingredients or chemicals in them.  But I do know that from now on I will be checking all my labels for more natural products.  And for products grown in the USA.  I believe this to be a good practice anyway, since we should be supporting our own farmers and US based companies. 

Thanks for letting me vent and hopefully this helps keep someone's little one a little safer in the future.

when you grow up

Sometimes I try to look into the future and imagine what you will look like.  First as a boy then as a teenager, and finally as a father yourself.  Will your kids look like me?  Today I wonder what you will grow up to be. 

Every time I brush my teeth you get the biggest grin and watch me intently, so maybe you'll be a dentist.  You laugh when I am not fast enough to cover you up and you soak everything in the room, so maybe you'll be a practical joker.  You've figured out how to unfasten and dismantle a diaper, so maybe you'll be an engineer.  Your feet never stop moving.  While you eat, you kick.  While you bathe, you kick.  While you ride in the car, you kick.  So maybe you'll be a soccer star.  (Or a kicker for the Mississippi State Bulldogs!)

Cooper, whatever you decide is your dream, I hope and pray it will come true.  I pray you will be successful and have joy in your life.  I know you will be great.  Because you already are!

the end has come!

Alright, just when I call the Dr and start to worry about dehydration and obsess over how many wet diapers he's having..... the stomach bug decides to leave my house.  Praise Jesus and good riddance to the rotovirus!  This comes just in time to take him to church this morning (where he may or may not have picked up the virus).  Thank you Granna and Papa for 1: coming to see us and 2: babysitting Cooper while Andy and I attended church!! 

That was the first time in months that Andy and I have been able to attend both worship service and adult bible study together.  It was awesome!  The message in worship was on part two of the Beattitudes (Matthew 5:5  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.) and "The Riggler" gave us all a look at just how Jesus is the ultimate comforter/healer in times of mourning.  Now most of the time I would have maybe skipped over that verse thinking "oh, that's not really for me right now.  No one has died recently in my family, etc."  But he really pointed out that yes, that verse is for those mourning over the death of a loved one, however it's also for all of us that are grieving over our sin.  Really being heartbroken over the realization of our sins and the separation it causes from our God.  And in that realization comes comfort in the form of salvation and forgiveness of our sins.  He urged us all to soften our hearts and continually mourn over the sin in our lives.  Great message, Riggler!

Isn't it amazing that you can come into church running late and irritated and leave feeling refreshed and revived?  Just goes to show how God truly knows what I need, when I need it.  Praise you again, Jesus!

will this ever end?

Andy and I were just saying the other day how lucky we were that our son hasn't gotten sick at all.  Ooops.  Never think that out loud.  For four days now he's had a stomach bug.  Not sure what kind of "bug" hangs in there that long - it's still going on and it's high time for that bug to leave my baby alone!  The sad thing is he either got it from church :(  or from the Dr's office when he went in for his shots.  Yes, as if getting shots wasn't bad enough, poor kid also gets sick for the rest of the week.  Talk about adding insult to injury.  I just hope tomorrow brings us a healthier baby and a lot less dirty laundry/diapers!

I must say, however, I know how lucky I am to have only a stomach bug on my hands.  My heart goes out to a friend whose baby girl just had chemo and then a bone marrow transplant this morning.  I don't know how those parents are handling that impossible situation, except by the grace of God.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you baby K, A & L!

six months just flew the "coop!"

Well, my "baby" boy, Cooper, is now six months old and I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  I still remember the nerve-wracking car ride home from the hospital.  We fumbled with the buckles on the carseat for forever - despite having practiced with them a week earlier!  Every bump, turn and other car on the road had me frazzled by the time we got home. 
I also still remember how tiny those newborn outfits looked when I lovingly washed and ironed EVERY SINGLE ONE for the first time.  And the mixed emotions of sadness and excitement when I finally put those tiny outfits in the "too small" pile. 

I could spend the rest of my life writing about all the firsts, exciting moments, and amazing things that he's done so far.  Every day I look at his little face and really can't imagine how I could love him any more.  And then somehow I do.  It's like the feeling just grows bigger and bigger.  Not that this is a new concept.  Other parents have told me that that's how it happens.  But I just really didn't get it until I experienced it myself.

So for you, Cooper, here is a shortened list of moments that were nothing less than magical!
~ your first smile
~ the day you discovered you have hands. they went straight into your mouth, of course
~ your first bath (a sponge bath - you hated it)
~ your first bath in a real tub (you loved it - and still do!)
~ the first time you laughed out loud
~ the night you first learned you could squeal - LOUDLY (we were in a restaurant and everyone at our table thought it was funny.  the other tables didn't)
~ our countless naps together in daddy's recliner
~ that time you pooped in the bathtub
~ the look of pure joy the first time you jumped in a jumperoo
~ the way you giggle when I tickle you
~ how peaceful you look when you sleep
~ your first taste of cheese - you gagged and we all laughed
~ how you rolled over for the first time and refused to do it again for another month afterwards!
~ that scary moment our first night with you when you didn't pee for 10 hours.  as we picked up the phone to make an emergency call to the hospital, we opened your diaper to check one last time and you pee'd all over the living room carpet.  i was so relieved that i cried and laughed at the same time.
~ how you love to laugh at yourself in the mirror every night after bath
~ the way my heart melts at that sleepy smile you give me every time I come get you out of bed

And the list goes on.....   You amaze me, my son.  I love you.
Love, Mommy.


Cooper as a newborn.


3 months


4 months


5 months


6 months