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!!