Littlest angel

Well the sweetest little angel was placed in my arms tonight. Caroline Elizabeth was born at 7:39pm, June 1, 2012. She weighs 6lb 10oz and is 19in long. I still can't believe God has blessed me with the opportunity to nurture and raise her. She's quite perfect and beautiful.

As I sit here waiting for her to finish her first bath and come back to see me, I am amazed again at the miracle of childbirth. There's nothing like it. God really showed out when he designed us.

Thanks to all our family and friends that so diligently prayed for our sweet little miracle. We are so thankful to have you in our lives. Our Prayers were answered today!!

only a little time left

Ok, so it has been AWHILE since I've posted anything. I feel like I should have been writing more during this pregnancy so I can look back on it. It has really flown by. Although this last month is kinda dragging... but I only have 2 weeks until my due date. I'm so excited to meet my little Caroline. Will she look like Cooper when he was born? Will she have my eyes? Only time will tell.

Andy and I wanted to have one last hurrah with Cooper while he didn't have to share the limelight with another sibling, so we hopped on over to Lake Livingston this weekend. (Much to my Dr.'s surprise - she BEGRUDGINGLY said I could go). It was a nice retreat from the city and all that distracts us from each other in our everyday lives. Since there was no WI-fi or cable TV, we really got to have quality time together. Andy and I even worked on a puzzle one night after Cooper went to bed. I love puzzles by the way. And reading, which I did late into the night both nights.

But now we are back home and things really got back to normal. I've washed a load of clothes, Andy has mowed the yard, Cooper has wrecked the playroom and the living room, and life has picked up where it left off. With lots to do!! I still have tons of sewing to do for the nursery. Curtains, finishing the crib quilt, bumper pads, and pillows for the matching daybed in her room all need to be made. I keep working on it little by little and hopefully it will all get done before she gets here. I haven't packed my bags for the hospital yet. We don't have any tiny diapers yet. The changing pad and covers are coming in the mail. The swing is still in the attic. And I think I've forgotten exactly what it's like to nurse and care for a newborn. Maybe that last thing will just come back naturally. Boy am I a procrastinator or what?!

So there. Now I'm caught up on one thing for the week. Blog post completed. Maybe there's hope for me yet. :)

God is good

Andy wants to teach our kids some family rules - principles or fundamental truths may be more like it. One is "God is love." I guess this is on my mind today because it has really been one of those amazing days. I'm overwhelmed with emotion as I think of the events of the past 24 hours: a family member that witnessed a true miracle before her eyes, a precious friend that has heard a long awaited "yes" to her prayers, and great news/answered prayer for my husband as well.

This week someone said to me "God is faithful" and yes He is! just wanna say it from the rooftops- GOD IS GOOD. :)

cooper the party animal

Cooper's 1st Birthday was a success! After much planning, many miles traveled from grandparents, and tons of food prepared, Cooper had an amazing time at his party. We had a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" theme. A friend of mine made the cake (which was rich and moist and oh-so-yummy). His Granna and Grammie made cookies, sandwiches, rice krispy treats, fruit platters, and tons of other goodies. Lots of friends stopped by to wish him Happy Birthday, and Cooper had a full day of excitement. I think we had around 20 adults and 12 kids join us for the festivities.

Here are a few pictures from Cooper's big day
















So thanks to all of his friends for the Birthday wishes and fun presents, to his grandads for hanging swings and putting up slides, to grandmas for all the hard work in pulling off the party, and to his daddy for putting up with all my crazy last minute "ideas." Cooper loves you all!!

no baby dentures

After almost a year of life, Cooper has finally gotten two teeth- gasp! We always knew our baby was special, but for awhile we really thought he might be the first to need baby dentures. :)

He will celebrate his first birthday in two weeks, he has gotten two teeth, he is officially off formula and now has stopped bottles as well. My, my he is growing fast. I can't believe how much he's changed in a year!

This has been an amazing journey so far. And it's only getting better. Isn't parenthood awesome?

cabinets redo continued

Phase 2

Painting!! Finally! It sure feels good to finally see some paint on there. My kitchen is still in shambles, but at least I see a light at the end of the tunnel! This project may be making me looney- because now that we're on to painting, I keep thinking of other things to paint around the house. The cabinets in our bathroom, the new bifold doors I picked out for my closet, our shabby coffee table..... yikes

cabinets in progress

phase 1

what the new year brought around here

For the first time in probably 8 years or so I was away from my hubby for New Year's Eve.  It was weird.  I think next year we will celebrate together!  I was still in MS on our extended Christmas break (Cooper & I) when the ball dropped.  But that 2 weeks we were there brought lots of changes in my growing boy.  As I posted earlier, he is now walking - really well - and trying to mimic us more.  He is growing too large for his onesies and jammies, he got his first real pair of shoes and is breaking them in quickly, and we are weaning from bottles in anticipation of his first birthday.  He's changing so fast that I have to really sit down and think to remember it all!

The new year also brought another change.  Pink will be added to our household soon!  We found out that we are having a baby GIRL!  I'm still adjusting to the news, and as it sinks in I am getting more and more excited.  Cooper will be a great big brother.  He loves other kids and even likes to "pat" his cousin Julie's baby dolls on the head (quite roughly, we'll have to work on that).

Other changes in our house:
cleaning out every closet in the house
rearranging furniture (some in each room) to make room for new baby
a new playroom upstairs for the kiddos
plans to replace all doorknobs with brushed nickel ones
a work-in-progress kitchen painting project
new knobs & pulls for the kitchen
and, of course, a new pinterest addiction!

home improvement DIY

Last October I told my husband my goal was to have the kitchen cabinets painted by February.  I knew that my son's 1st birthday party would bring new guests into our home, so I really wanted it done by then.  PLUS, two summers ago we started updating our kitchen, so this is a much needed end to our kitchen update saga.  It seemed like such a small task.  Just a little painting, right?  Wrong.  What I didn't anticipate was the sanding, the degreasing from 17 years of cooking, the need to empty every last gadget into my dining room, taking down the doors and numbering them, taking off all the hardware, cleaning sanding dust from EVERY surface, the weather (too cold to paint, too humid to paint, too rainy to paint), and underneath our feet a curious toddler intent on knocking over ladders and climbing in dusty cabinets.  Cooper and I have taken walks, gone to run errands, and played upstairs for days trying to stay out of Andy's way in the kitchen.  But without my help, the reno is going VERY slow.  One whole weekend gone and still not a drop of primer or paint on the cabinets.  Huh.  Maybe next weekend, right?  Pictures to come soon.  maybe.  hopefully.  :)

i have a toddler

Christmas break brought lots of fun changes for my little Cooper.  He began walking a few steps at a time by the end of December, but now he's a full blown toddler!  He walks everywhere - and loves it.  He never wants to sit still!  His Grammie and I went shopping for his first real pair of shoes this week and he looks SO ADORABLE in them.  Just like a big boy. 

He and I are still in MS for the next week, so this one's for daddy (who's back in TX).  New things he's also doing:
"whistling" back to me  (really just a high squeal, but funny and cute all the same)
repeating "up" when we pointed up to the sky
playing at the park and riding on the big slide
saying "moo" to his Papa and Granna
new game: chasing mama and being chased up and down the hall (running!)
getting really good at waving and saying "bye-bye"
rolling the ball back and forth

He is changing so fast that I can't keep up with all of it!  I still can't believe he's going to be one in a little over a month.  I'm already starting to plan his party.  Details coming soon!!