A New Season

We have a new season upon us.  A season of new life, freshness, and a renewed sense of God's miraculous craftsmanship.  His creation is beautiful, and His timing is perfect.  Yes, spring has finally sprung around us after a long wait, but our little family of three is entering into a new season of its own.  With joyful and humble hearts, we are becoming a family of four...

Our little blessing at 10 weeks.

Welcome to the family, our precious little one!  We have prayed for you, longed for you, and loved you for a very long time.  We are so very thankful for you.  Grow strong and get ready because come mid-October, you have a big brother who is very excited to show you the world!

Cat in the Hat and a Sour Puss

Today was Character Day at Cooper's school.  He didn't go last week because of an ear infection, so I never got the information about Dr. Seuss Week.  I just knew that Tuesday was Crazy Hat Day and today was Character Day.  I assumed he was supposed to dress up as a character from a Dr. Seuss book, so we decided to go with the classic Cat in the Hat.  I went to Wal-Mart and got a black sweatsuit (which was on clearance) and a white piece of felt.  Add a little red ribbon leftover from Christmas and some eyeliner, and we had ourselves a cute little costume!  Except last night as I was getting ready for bed, I had a moment of panic: What if they're not supposed to dress up as a character but bring a stuffed animal or something like that?!?!  I got him to school a little extra early this morning so we could see the other children going in.  I saw two boys getting out of their cars...no costume...I saw a little girl getting out of a car in a dress...couldn't tell if it was a costume or if she just wanted to be prissy today...I was starting to sweat!  I got out when I saw a mom I knew and asked her.  She said that YES they were supposed to dress up today as any character they wanted!  Whew!!!  So we got out and went in where we saw Strawberry Shortcake, Mickey Mouse, the Hulk, Cinderella, and a few other characters.  Although I'm a little biased, I thought my little Cat in the Hat was the cutest :)!  

This is what he did when I said, "Smile!"

Although he was a cutie this morning, he was quite a mess yesterday.  Some days I feel so discouraged in motherhood, but surely they call this the "Terrible Twos" because all/most kids become crazy, disobedient, defiant, hyper monsters.  Right?!?!

Since yesterday was another cold, rainy, miserable day, we went to the mall.  When we got there, I took him in the toy store so he could play and maybe get a new little trinket.  While he was playing, the sales associate came over and started this weird conversation with me about how criminals don't really get a second chance after they're released from prison because we're an overly vengeful society and how God isn't involved in the world.  It was an odd conversation that I wanted nothing to do with, but it was also very aggravating to listen to his opinions which are completely opposite of mine, all while just wanting to play with my son.  After awhile, I was about ready to let this man know how crazy I thought he was, and luckily another customer wanted to check out at that moment.  I seized that moment to try to coax Cooper out of the store.  Instead of cooperating in any way, Cooper ran to the back of the store and hid behind a rack of toys while screaming and crying! You would have thought I was kidnapping the child.  I mean he was screaming bloody murder!  I was very nicely trying to get him to come with me so we could ride the train or go get some "chick-chick and finch fies."  Desperate times call for bribery.  Each time I talked though, he screamed louder with huge tears streaming down his face.  I started sweating because I desperately wanted out of the store and away from the creepy sales associate, not to mention I was humiliated that my child was acting like he was being abducted.  The child has never deserved a spanking more than he did at that second, and of course, I could not give him one, but oh, how I wanted to!  Finally, I just pulled him out from behind the rack, tossed him on my hip, and ran out of the store.  Once out, he was perfectly fine!  ERRRRR!!!  I told Karl that this is such a stressful age to me because I want to do fun things with Cooper, but I never know which way his mood is going to go.  It is exhausting when he decides to have a terrible two day in public!  

He's also started pouting every time he doesn't get his way.  I don't like it.  He also is quite fond of the word, "No," and has even started pointing his finger at us when he says it.  I don't like that either.  The other night he stomped his foot at me while he said, "No, Mama!" and pointed his finger.  I actually started laughing at that one.  It was a little dramatic.  I've found myself praying this is just a stage and not his personality.  It's hard.  He challenges me in ways I've never been challenged, and I find myself failing him in my response way too often.  I yell or threaten time-out or say, "No!" back to him.  And then I cringe because I see that maybe he's getting this from me.  We've had many times where I get down on my knees so I can look him in the eye and tell him I'm sorry for *** and that I love him so very much.  I want him to know it's not right, no matter what, to be ugly, and when we're ugly, we apologize and try harder next time.  But then when I fail again the next time, I wonder what impact that has on his little impressionable spirit.  That brings us to prayer.  We've been doing a lot of praying with and for our little man.  We talk about how we should act for God, and I remind myself this is just as big a lesson for me as it is for him.  Parenting is tough.  But it is so worth it.  

Last night I was at the stove cooking dinner.  Karl was away on a business trip.  Cooper and Sadie were playing.  All of the sudden Cooper rushed past me.  He was naked from the waist down and pushing his little potty through the kitchen to the living room.  I asked what he was doing, and he said, "Go potty!"  Alright!  He hasn't shown interest in using his potty in a couple months, so this was a good change!  He put in on the carpet in the living room and started trying to pee standing up.  I stopped him and suggested we put the potty on the hardwood.  I got a very stern NO on that, but he did give in a little and sit down on his potty where he tends to aim better.  I went back to the kitchen to check on dinner, and then returned to check on him.  He didn't really have to go to the bathroom; he just wanted to.  I kept trying to get him to put his diaper back on, and he kept insisting he was going potty.  We have a really bad habit of eating at our coffee table, which drives me crazy, yet I continue to do it.  So, I brought our dinner in and told him we needed to go put the potty up since it was still dry.  He said he was going potty, and that is where he wanted to sit and eat his dinner.  On his potty.  As I type this, I realize how gross it was to allow it, but at least the potty had been thoroughly disinfected since it's last use a couple months ago, and he hadn't done anything in it at that point. Eventually, after dinner, he did go potty finally and let me return the potty to the bathroom.  The kid is a character, and whatever he gets in his mind to do, he does.  As grumpy as he can be sometimes (more often than I prefer), he keeps us laughing and entertained.  And humbled.  He keeps us very humbled these days!

Just Living

Just checking in to let everyone know we're not hibernating!  We're all well and ready for springtime!!  I noticed the daffodils and redbuds are blooming, and it makes my heart smile.  Spring is around the corner!  I love the first glimpses of spring.  It's a promise of a beauty and warmth to come.  I love that.  I love how spring plants all take their turn to bloom, slightly overlapping each other but drawing out the uniqueness of each.  My favorites are the cherry blossoms.  However, I get giddy over each blooming plant.  Spring is my favorite season.  We are especially looking forward to it this year after being stuck inside all winter with rainy day after rainy day.  That doesn't suit us well at all.  We need to play...outside...and run free...outside!  

We have taken advantage of the nice days and gone to the park and the zoo.  Last week I told Cooper we were going to the park with the big slide.  He said he wanted to go to the choo-choo park.  I said the big slide park is so much cooler (and has more age-appropriate equipment).  He said choo-choo park.  We went to the big slide park.  Coop wouldn't leave the side of the car.  As I ran to the playground, he stood there and sulked.  Head down, pouty face, arms dangling at his side.  After a lot of persuasion, I had gotten no where with this kid.  He wanted to go to the choo-choo park and the big slide park wasn't going to cut it.  I feel like I tell him 'no' a lot...more than I should.  I decided who cares what park we go to; this isn't supposed to be a battle, and if it's that important to him to go to the choo-choo park, then that's where we needed to go.  The point was to have fun together.  So off we went, and he had a blast! 

I absolutely love watching him interact with other kids.  He LOVES other kids!  We played, climbed, slid, swung, and ran until we had worked up quite an appetite.  When I told him we needed to go home and eat, he said, "Chick-chick and finch fies!"  Knowing that I didn't have chicken nuggets and french fries at home but I did have lunch meat and other stuff that didn't sound real appealing, I gave in once again.  We went on a lunch date and had 'chick-chick and finch fies.'  At first he wanted to sit across the table from me.  As I watched him, it struck me how much he's grown and how big he's gotten.  And how amazingly fast it's happened.  I was so glad we went to the choo-choo park like he wanted and had gotten a special lunch, just the two of us.  These days are precious and going by too fast, and these times when I get to do something extra fun and special with my little boy are where the memories are made.  I'm trying to say 'yes' more to him, especially over the little things that don't really matter, like where we go to play, because I'm learning those are exactly the things that really do matter.  

This morning as I was getting ready to go to the grocery store, which is our Monday morning routine, Cooper came running in and said, "Go to zoo!"  I asked him if he'd rather go to the grocery store and get a cookie or go to the zoo.  He said zoo.  So we went.  We had gone a couple weeks ago, and between both of us being tired and grumpy, we didn't have fun.  We deserved a re-do!  It was a little cold, but it was a beautiful morning.  We had so much fun, and I was so thankful that I listened to him and was spending such a nice morning out with him doing something fun rather than running around the grocery store.  Once again, this is where the memories are made.  

Little Man has quite the memory too.  Last Monday, Karl had taken off from work because he had to work the entire weekend.  It was rainy, but we needed to get out of the house, so we asked Cooper if he wanted to go to Bass Pro Shop and see the fish tank.  He got really excited and said, "See Sanna Coz!!!!!!!!!"  Yes, that's where we saw Santa, and yes, Little Man still is obsessed with Santa.  We told him Santa had gone home to the North Pole but would be back later.  That did not sink in with him.  As we pulled into the parking lot, he got excited about Santa again, and when we walked in the store, he ran right over to where their Winter Wonderland was.  He looked high and low for his buddy.  We kept trying to explain that Santa would come again next winter, but he just didn't understand.  As we pulled back into our neighborhood later that day, Cooper suddenly yelled out from the back seat, "COME BACK, SANNA COZ!"  Oh, sweet boy!  Karl and I burst out laughing!  Our boy is something else.  

A Weekend with Cousins

This past weekend my cousin Stephanie and her sweet little family came to visit us.  She has two sons-the oldest is almost 6, the youngest is almost 2.  As we all know, I have one son.  That means we had three little boys running wild and free together in my house!  It was a lot of fun...a little crazy at times...but worth it to see our boys so happy to be together!  Speaking of boys, our husbands skipped out of town Friday night to go hunting.  They got back Saturday night.  Stephanie and I were on our own with our little wild things, but we all survived and (impressively enough) had a wonderful time!

They got here on Friday afternoon.  We played, cooked out, sent our men into the wilderness, cuddled up, and went to sleep!  By 10:00 p.m., Cooper had already woken up twice crying after crying himself to sleep initially.  He's been sleeping really well at night lately, so this completely threw me off!  I was pretty nervous that we were going to have a rough night, but thankfully, after a little rocking, he slept well the remainder of the night!

I don't remember what we were watching, but Cooper's facial expression cracks me up!
Paxton was already in bed, but I thought it was sweet how the boys had to sit together...with their toys!

Saturday morning, we lingered in our pajamas, ate doughnuts, and played good and hard for about three hours.  The boys were having so much fun being together!

Paxton playing peek-a-boo with a walkie talkie

Who knew that three kids could have so fun in a pack and play?!

It was a little cold to play outside for long, so we all got dressed and went to the bookstore to play with toys and read books.  Everybody got a new book to read that night for bedtime...and by this point, Steph and I were already looking forward to bedtime! :)  After a good lunch, we headed home for naps.  While Paxton and Cooper napped, Brady and I made a birdhouse for him to take home.  I love how hard he concentrated on his work, and I love the tongue poking out!

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the playground.  Our plan was to take some pictures of all three boys together at the playground because the scenery is cute and then to let them play.  What were we thinking??!!  Three boys...pictures...at a playground?!  We tried though!  With three boys, there is a lot of energy!

This sweetheart always crosses his arms like that, and I think it is so precious!  He was so happy to have two playmates all weekend! 

2 out of 3, not bad!

All 3 cuties together!  Yea!!!

By this point, they were bored with me!  Can you see Paxton crawling in the background?!

 

 Finally, I let them play!

After Paxton and Cooper both had gotten little boo-boos, we headed home.  The boys were getting hungry and were tired, and Stephanie and I were both in need of a glass of wine!

All three of our little monkeys went down very easily that night!  The mamas got in some good quality time together, and then our husbands returned from their adventures.  After a good night sleep, we had a blueberry pancake breakfast and played outside until lunch and naptime.  When the little ones fell asleep, Stephanie and I snuck off for lunch while the daddys babysit and napped too!

When they left that afternoon, Cooper spent the remainder of the day asking where his buddies went.  We get so tickled when he asks where something is-"______ gooooow?"  He's got his mama's southern drawl! :)

The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

I love seeing the father/son bond between Karl and Cooper.  It's been there since the beginning, but it's so special seeing it how it grows and deepens.  Karl still professes that each new age and stage is his favorite so far (I LOVE each and every stage...I truly do; however, the frequent temper tantrums are keeping me from declaring this as my favorite!).  I think he especially treasures how the bigger Cooper gets, the more like him he is.  That, of course, is fine by me!  There is no one I would rather my little boy be like than his daddy! 

Little Man was introduced to four wheelers when he was still a baby, and my little thrill seeker loves them!  One day when Karl got home from hunting, Cooper wanted to go on a ride around the neighborhood.  The funny thing is that Sadie insisted on going too.  She ran as fast as she could after Karl and Cooper, and when Karl finally accepted that she wasn't going to stop, he picked her up too.  She is not normally very adventurous, so I'm not sure if she truly wanted to go for a ride or if she just didn't like her baby being on there without her!

As far away as I could see, Karl and Cooper had HUGE smiles!  Cooper started waving to me as soon as he could see me!  It was obvious that they were enjoying their ride together!

A few days later, Karl was working at the kitchen table.  Cooper decided he had work to do too.  He sat down at his table with pen and paper and started "writing" while Karl was typing.  

I grabbed my camera to take a picture because I thought it was cute that Cooper had to work when he saw his daddy working, but then I about died laughing when I got this next picture:

Look at them both playing with their pens!!  I'm pretty sure that neither one of them knew that the other was doing this.  I don't think it was a copy-cat thing; I think they both just started messing with their pens at about the same time! I think I have a mini-engineer on my hands!

Not A Snow Man

Last week we had a little snow shower, which is a BIG deal for us!  I could not wait to take Cooper out to play in it.  My child loves to be outside, and I was sure this was going to be such a fun treat for him.  Well, he does like to surprise me.  After he got up from his nap, we went to look out the window, and he did get excited about the snow.  I got him dressed nice and warm in layer after layer, and we were set!  Or so I thought.  As soon as we got outside, this happened...

All because I wouldn't let him bring his Gator (powerwheel tractor) outside.  It was just too cold and too windy for that.  Plus, who needs toys when you have snow?!  Apparently Cooper does.  He stood there and cried and pouted.  His buddy was outside too and was having so much fun (throwing snowballs at me), but Coop didn't back down at first.  I was beginning to fear the tears were going to freeze to his cheeks, but then he perked up and started trying to make his own snowballs.

Payback was apparently going through his mind.  If his mama was going to stand there snapping pictures of him crying, he was going to take revenge! At first he liked making snowballs and throwing them, but it didn't last.  It didn't take him long to just want to be held and then go inside.  

Karl was quick to build us a warm fire, and we all (Sadie included...she was shivering) cuddled by the fire, ate a snack, and watched cartoons.  Little Man was much happier.  I guess he is just truly a summer baby!

However, the next morning when Karl got him out of his crib, Cooper immediately started insisting on getting dressed (he typically puts up a big fight on getting dressed).  He wanted two pairs of pants on, a shirt, his jacket, his hat, and his gloves.  He was ready to go outside and play in the snow!  Too bad for him because the snow was already gone!  It was a good lesson in seizing opportunities when they present themselves!

Sprinkling

Just when I thought I'd wrapped up my Christmas posts, I remembered: COOKIES!  Karl's mom bakes cookies every year around Christmas.  She makes butter cookies shaped like Christmas trees and ornaments and molasses cookies shaped like gingerbread men (and other Christmas symbols this year). This is a day we all look forward to all year long!  As long as I have known Karl, he has talked about these cookies, and for about half my life, I've gotten to help with them too!  Now Little Man is learning about the joy of Christmas cookies and a tradition that means a lot in his family.

This year Cooper got to do the sprinkles...Yes, we gave a two year old free reign over bottles of sprinkles and sheets of cookies.  They turned out to be the most beautiful cookies I have ever seen!  They were also the most heavily sprinkled cookies I have ever seen!  He took his job seriously and made sure each cookie was thoroughly covered in sprinkles.  I don't recall ever going through four or so bottles of sprinkles in the past, but I think the cookies turned out extra delicious this year!

Just look at that concentration!

He sprinkled and rubbed in the sprinkles...and then added some more just to be sure!

 He had to take a break to admire his good work.  I love how he props his head on his hand!

 Hmmm...Are his lips green?  Is he sneaking in some sprinkles while he works?

 I think that's a possibility.

 Oh yes, he definitely is snacking on the job!

 I love the handiwork of my sweet two year old!

After a little while, he resorted to just eating the sprinkles straight from the bottle!

In case you were wondering, the sugar rush was pretty intense after all those sprinkles!