Horsey

   
     Cooper has a buddy. His name is Horsey, and he's a part of the family...no really, Cooper insists that he be treated like a third child. After Ace came along, Cooper did the baby thing for about a week and then decided that going back to a baby wasn't for him. Not to be left out, he's made Horsey his baby, or at least his little friend.

     At first he was treating Horsey like a baby and putting him in the swing or carrying him around wrapped in a blanket; at one point Cooper even wanted me to feed Horsey too while I was feeding Ace. Now Horsey has grown up a little bit and he's more Cooper's age now. Here are a few things Horsey likes to have done:

1. Putting socks on. When we were leaving Mom and Dad's house I put Cooper's socks and shoes on. He then promptly held up Horsey's hooves and insisted I put socks on him. So Horsey visited the Credit Union with one sock on...the other one fell off in the car (maybe he is more like a real baby than I thought).

2. Finger and toenails need to be clipped. Today, after I clipped Cooper and Ace's fingernails, Cooper held up Horsey so I could clip his too. Luckily Horsey wasn't as squirmy as the other two, so it went pretty fast.

3. Going everywhere with us. Horsey used to be necessary for bedtime only, but now, as a family member, we have to take Horsey with us all the time. I don't mind, he's quiet and doesn't fight the car seat. One place Horsey doesn't go is the backyard. I told Cooper that it wasn't safe for him out there and after a very brief encounter with Gus Gus he and Horsey agreed.

4. Watching TV. The other night Cooper wanted us to change the channel on the TV. We said "No" many times. Then I looked over and Cooper had Horsey. Horsey turned his head and looked at me, then raised his hoof and pointed at the TV repeatedly (the signal to change channels), with a little help from Cooper of course. It was too funny!

5. Hide and Seek. Horsey likes to play hide and seek at nap time. Cooper puts him under the blanket and raises his hands to do the "I don't know?" look. Then we search until we find him.

6. We call him by name..well, sound. When we can't find Horsey, Cooper whinnies and we go searching. Usually Horsey isn't too far away. Sometimes I even hear him whinny back...

7. Drinking milk. Horsey seems to like milk too. When Cooper drinks his milk, he will often stop and put it up to Horsey's mouth so that he can have a drink too. At least Cooper is practicing sharing already. He's also happy to share Horsey with Ace..great big brother.

     So, welcome to the family Horsey! We are glad you are a member. Just don't run away, or we'll be in serious trouble.

Horsey (photo courtesy of Cooper)

"Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4

Visiting GG and Papa John

     We recently went to visit GG and Papa John. We left on a Wednesday and came back on a Monday...I know, it was a long visit. But we had such a good time it was just impossible to leave any earlier. Plus, Dalton was working late while we were gone, so we didn't feel like we were abandoning him. We had a great time visiting, swimming, watching Dora and Diego, and even fishing. The pictures tell the story of our visit.

 Catching dust bunnies in the sunlight on Day 1

 Step one: get some cream filling on your finger

 

Step 2: Lick the cream off the finger      

 Step 3: Enjoy

    Papa John with Ace

Hanging out with Ace

Cooper's first time in the pool this year...it was a little chilly

Visiting Papa at work

Horsey..check, hat...check, Iphone...check

Pizza lunch with Papa John and GG, Cooper was enjoying his pizza.
When Papa John got there Cooper imitated him. When Papa took a bite, Coop took a bite..
sometimes of Papa's piece instead of his own.

Cooper is ready for the pool...not sure if Horsey is though

 I cruised around the pool with Cooper for a little while

 Parker, Aunt Rachel and Paige introducing themselves to Ace

 Aunt Rachel helped Cooper get ready to jump

The cousins paying in the pool, so glad they came to visit!

 Cooper and Paige; he wasn't too sure about the goggles

Ace enjoyed being poolside too; very relaxing

 "I'm ready to jump Mom!"

"One, two three, Go!" Parker is waiting patiently. Cooper would walk to the edge and when he could curl his toes over the edge he knew it was time to jump. He did so good.

The ultimate swimmer...Parker stayed in the pool longer than anyone else. : )

 We were all watching 'Guy on a Buffalo' Silly but so funny!
I wasn't going to include this picture, but then I saw Cooper and thought it was funny.
So, where's Cooper??

 We went to visit the Moore's too
Uncle Brian is keeping Cooper from stealing Hank's 4-wheeler.

 Ava was happy to hold Ace for a little while

 Papa John let Cooper take the mower for a spin.

And when we finally made it home from our trip these were waiting for me.
What a sweet husband I have!

 God has blessed us with so much wonderful family all around us near and far. We are so thankful!!

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we will be content with that." 1 Timothy 6:6-7

Playdates

   A few weeks ago Kallie and Karper came to Graham for a visit and made it to our house for a morning play date and lunch. Cooper and Karper got along really well. It made me excited to see Karper, now 7 months old, and all that 7 months old includes....the sitting up and constant smiling, eating baby food, being tough enough to handle Cooper hanging out around him; can't wait until Ace can do all of those things (ok maybe I can).  Karper is so cute and he was such a happy baby.
   Here are a few pictures from our visit. The next time we see Karper he'll be crawling or even walking. Cooper will really be ready to play with him then!

Kallie is showing Cooper the Elmo app

Karper and Uncle Dalton

     That weekend we went over to Meredith and Louis's house for a get together. The Heartfields came over too, so Cooper got some quality play time with the cousins. He was a little unsure for a while, watching other kids run all over his turf (usually Mere Mere and Popsey's yard is all his), but eventually he started playing.

 "Hurry and take the picture!"

Mere Mere and her grandsons

 Cooper and Graham.. Cooper is just itching the side of his nose 

(that's my story and I'm sticking to it) 

 Cooper's learning to jump with Becca

     The next week I decided to invite some friends over for a play date at my house. Since we live out of town Cooper doesn't get to go to the park much or play with other kids, except at church nursery, so I thought having his friends come to him would be great.

     Three moms and their kids were able to come out and we had such a great time. The moms enjoyed watching the kids play and visiting, and the kiddos enjoying playing with toys and each other. Cooper was kind of a loner at times, but he did ok. We all went and let the chickens out (which was a little comical), and the kids played with Gus and the horses through the fence. Country life has its perks when it comes to entertaining. The scenery keeps the kids entertained.

 Top: Emory, Kason and Ella

Bottom: Krew and Cooper

 The boys dumped all of the goldfish out of the bowls

 Sharing a snack

    After some playtime the kids got hungry and devoured some goldfish. That's when we decided to have lunch. We made sandwiches and the kiddos ate on the kitchen floor..too windy to eat outside. After lunch and a little more play everyone headed home. It was such a fun time and I hope to do it again soon. Where was Ace this whole time you ask? He fell asleep shortly after everyone arrived and slept most of the time. What a good boy.

Eating lunch

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

Goings on around here...

   
     Well, it's been a while since my last post. We've been busy here; even when nothing special is going on, it's busy here! Things are going great though. Ace is growing and getting more fun by the day. He smiles and grunts and frantically moves his arms when I talk to him, all of which indicate that this newborn stage is soon to be in the past (yeah). Cooper is learning more words and imitating more actions, which keeps things interesting around here.
    Cooper's vocabulary now includes:
         Mama, Dada, Girl, GG, Papa (which he says with somewhat of an italian accent..really), Tea, and most recently Popsey (he's really cute when he says this). He also can say Mere Mere, but only when he feels like it. It makes us wonder how many words he really knows but isn't sharing with us.
     We've also hooked and locked all of the gates in the yard now, because Cooper can climb the fences and open the gates. In addition, we've had to bolt lock the front and side doors because he can turn knobs now to open the doors. When he figures out the bolt locks I'm going to be in trouble!
     Speaking of in trouble, Coop has managed to continue to show some terrible two tendencies. I've had to step up my disciplining game lately to help curb some behaviors before they get out of control. As I've said before I'm not the best disciplinarian, but for his safety and my sanity I've tried to do a little better at that job. Sometimes I know that he's testing me because when I tell him not to do something he says 'Mama' to get my attention and then, when I'm looking, does it again. At that point I am forced to spank him...this can be tricky when I'm holding Ace. But even though he's a little stinker sometimes, he's still a good boy overall.

Cooper likes to help bake..and eat the final product

     Cooper is definitely a man's man. He loves Dada, Papa John and Popsey and anything that he can do with them. His little face just lights up when he's around them and he looks forward to working with them...especially when it involves some kind of machinery (worries me a little). I'm so thankful to have great men in our lives who are good role models for him to look up to.

 Popsey's shoulders, a good way to travel

Did I mention he likes to imitate? 

     Ace is sleeping more too. For Mother's Day he only woke up once, and Cooper slept all night in his own bed. Woo hoo! Ace is an aggressive little guy already, it seems. He has a hard time relaxing and seems to be as stiff as a board when you pick him up and hold him often times. He won't be soothed until he's ready to calm down..interesting. When he gets hungry he doesn't give you much warning, just goes from happy to screaming. Then as soon as he eats he's a happy boy again. He smiles a lot and loves laying on his back looking around with big eyes! Cooper likes to sit beside him and watch him and talk to him too. This makes me so happy. I can't wait until they can play together; I think they're going to be good buddies.

"Are you talking to me?"

     Gus Gus is doing good and growing fast. I think he's doubled in size since we've gotten him. Cooper still is a little hesitant to be alone with him, but when people come visit he's quick to claim Gus as his dog.

     Surprise!!! We have two kittens. We found out that Ursula had kittens and they've been quietly living under the little shed beside our house. We haven't been able to touch them or anything (yet) but we watch them play through Cooper's bedroom window. It also seems that Little Girl is expecting. We're excited to see her little kittens when they arrive. Guess what everyone is getting for their birthday this year?
                              (Pictures to come when we can get close enough to take one)
 
     Chicken update: they are doing great and laying some nice eggs. We've started to sell the eggs to a couple of families at our church. One special chicken..who will remain anonymous (because we don't know which chicken it is) has laid two double yolker eggs!

     Now we can pause for a moment of silence to honor Pepe...who passed away while the boys and I were at Mom and Dad's. He liked to jump on the yard fence and crow but one day he got down on the wrong side of the fence and Gus thought he was a toy. We will miss you Pepe (well, Dom might not). As for Gus, this was his Ooops moment, not to be repeated.

     My next couple of posts will be looking back a couple of weeks to some play dates we had and a visit we made to GG and Papa John's. I just wanted to get some updates posted first.