Growing

There seems to be a lot of growing around here lately.  

• I have been growing out of my regular clothes and am fitting more comfortably in maternity clothes.  
• Jake is growing and developing as he should, and based on today's ultrasound, he weighs 11 oz. and is measuring exactly on time.  I've started feeling him move more lately but still not as much as I did with Cooper at this point.  I thought it was because this might be my calm, easygoing child, but during today's ultrasound they said it was more likely due to where the placenta is.  I'm still thinking/hoping it might be because he is laid back.  With me as his mom, how could he not be laid back?! ;)  
• Cooper has outgrown the terrible twos (for now at least) and has returned as his sweet, loving, precious, happy little self.  There are a million things (and more) that I love and adore about this boy, but one of my most favorite things about him is how thoughtful he is.  He always looks out for everyone and shares incredibly well.  He takes such an interest in my growing belly and kisses it every night before bed.  He talks about Baby Jake all the time.  His favorite thing to say is, "Baby Jake, come out!"  I told him Mommy is working very hard to keep Baby Jake from coming out!  I know he is going to be an incredible big brother.  Another thing I love about him is how brave he is.  The child is fearless!  This does make me a little fearful because he's always a little too willing to try something new and exciting.  He has a heart for adventure for sure.  He is my sweetheart though, and I am so happy to have my good little boy back!  
• Cooper's speech has grown immensely lately as well.  I was seriously beginning to wonder if the child was ever going to talk clearly, and both my parents have assured me again and again that I did not talk until I was three.  Well, my boy is following in his mama's footsteps!  Within a week, his speech exploded!  As has his curiosity.  All day long he asks, "S'at, Mommy?" (What's that?) My favorite thing he's said so far was one day when we were at Home Depot.  As we approached the sliding glass doors, he said, "Dey care me (they scare me)."  I told him they didn't scare him, and he said, "Dey care me def (they scare me to death).  He was in no way actually afraid of the doors, but the conversation was so funny!  Also, one morning Karl was leaving for work, and as he left, I said, "I love you, Baby."  Cooper chimed in, "I yuv you, Baby Daddy."  Oh my.  The laughter is flowing around here these days!
• And lastly, Karl is growing us a delicious looking garden!

Karl (with a lot of help from his little buddy) built a spot for our garden off of our deck, and it looks great.  We've had a smaller potted garden for a few summers now, but this will give us some extra room so we can plant more and let Cooper be more involved, which he will love.  We have tomatoes (Karl starts them from seeds, and they're still growing a little more in their pots before we transplant them), red bell pepper, green bell pepper, okra, strawberries, and watermelon.  Cooper and his daddy are very proud of their garden, and we are all looking forward to enjoying the fruits of Karl's labor!

The other day I was on the phone with my grandmother, and she told me that when her kids were little and they lived in Miami, she would hose them off in the yard in the summer and let that count as their bath some nights.  She asked if I ever turned the hose on Cooper.  I told her we did last summer, and he loved it.  Just a few hours later, we went outside to water our new garden and got to talking with a neighbor.  Cooper is no dummy when it comes to turning on our hose, and in the blink of an eye, he had that hose out, on and spraying all over!  He was soaked and squealing.  It was the sight and sound of summer!  

Karl eventually got the hose from him and would spray the water in the air so Coop could run under it.  Talk about a happy kid!  We did eventually make it around to watering our plants.  Cooper insisted on helping, as usual, and listened intently as Karl told him what each plant was.

I love my farmer boys!

The following morning, Cooper and I were outside playing in the yard, and I decided to get out our little sprinkler toy for him.  He was laughing, running, and squealing, and I thought to myself: This is the joy of summer!  He kept running over to me saying, "Dis fun, Mommy, dis fun!!!"  It doesn't take much to entertain my boy!  

So here's to the start of a great summer filled with lots of growing, playing, and enjoying all the good crops in our life!