Random Cuteness

     With all of the goings on around here with trips, parties, etc. I haven't been writing about the cute daily things that the boys are doing and learning. They are growing so much...a little wiggle worm and a little sponge. Because I want to make sure and get this posted but have many distractions, I'm going to  post in more of a list form, trying not to forget all the cute sayings and doings of Cooper and the big feats of an ever-moving Ace.

Holiday Inn -- I say "What do you think this is? The Holiday Inn?" a lot, usually to Dalton when he asks if I've gotten something in particular done or if I'll do something for him. Well, apparently the sponge has heard it one too many times. One day I said "What do you think this is?" and before I could I could answer Cooper said "Haday Inn." It was super cute and now I wait for it each time I ask the question.

 Strawberries didn't make it, but the bed makes a great digger hole.

BBQ-ing with leftover pancakes

It'll be Ok -- I'm a little too emotional sometimes and get sad at movies, TV shows, thoughts, etc. A couple of times when I was sad Cooper came up to me and said "It'll be Ok Mama." Sweet right? Of course it is....until he starts using it against me. We are still in the process of potty training. I know what you're thinking, "Didn't you start that back in the summer?"Yes, we did. And no we aren't giving up. Apparently we have a very lazy, busy stubborn boy that knows what to do but doesn't quite have it high on the priority list. One day it'll be finished.... But back to the saying. When he does wet his pants we tell him that it makes us very sad. It worked for a little while but the other day when Dalton said that to him Cooper replied "It'll be ok, Daddy" and walked away. Of course we were caught off guard and had to hide some laughs. Now he says it often. Little stinker!

Singing, singing -- It amazes me how much Cooper can absorb, retain and regurgitate (for lack of a better word). He knows all of his letters, numbers 1-10, shapes and several songs. His favorite is "Bless the Lord Oh My Soul" It is precious to hear him sing the few parts he knows, and what's even more funny is the number of boys that love that song too. His favorite song to sing to people is Jesus Loves Me. He sings it really well, and even played the drums while singing at GG's. We're learning The Lord is Good to Me, which he calls Garrett's song, because we'd told him that Uncle Garrett really liked that song when he was little (he remembered that even though we only told him that once or twice). Now my goal is to download songs that we sing in church so we can start practicing those. I always admire those kiddos that can sing the songs too...Cooper will soon be one too.

 He always gravitates to the ropes on the saddle. 

Ready to ride

Crawling Machine -- Ace is officially a crawling machine! He's been on the move for quite a while but in the last few weeks he's really started crawling 'in good form'. He's all over the house and entertains himself quite nicely. A lot of mothers dread the day when their kiddos can move but I love it. It means they can move to whatever toys they want, can escape big brother, or follow him. Of course he does get into stuff he shouldn't, but with the second it's not as bad because you are already pretty kid safe from the first one. He does seem to gravitate towards Cooper....we call it the crawl attack. He sees Cooper, crawls super fast to get to him and then grabs whatever part is available, usually hair. Coop's not a big fan, but he's learning to move to higher ground.

Playing together -- One of the most precious things that's happening around here is getting to watch the boys play together. Mostly in 'wrestling' activities. Cooper is pretty patient and let's Ace crawl on him, then escapes and waits for him to come again. They also share some toys. Cooper's learning how to have two toys available so he can distract Ace with one and play with one himself. Ace loves his brother and watches him intently all the time...not sure if that's good or not, but it is so endearing.

 Cooper doing a puzzle, Ace watching

 Puzzles, cones and a big ball...fun fun!

"Nooo Acey-poo" -- Even though they play together well, we are having more little frustrations when Ace gets into Cooper's activities. Now that he can crawl, Ace follows his big brother all over the house, trying to join in with whatever Cooper is doing. This is not very fun for Cooper and often I'll hear Nooo Acey-poo!! from where ever they are around the house. It's really cute to hear, but I also know to get moving because Ace might get pushed out of the way by a frustrated Cooper. Coop is learning how to move to higher ground to escape little hands and teeth, but he can't do that all of the time. Sharing is going to be pretty important pretty soon!!

Animal Growls -- Ace still loves to growl and scream when he feels like it. Sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's mad, but always it's to get attention. The other day he was playing in Cooper's room  and I heard some growling coming from there and asked Cooper if there was an animal in his room. It was pretty funny hearing the growls coming from such a little guy.

Happy boy -- I know I comment about this all the time, but I just have to mention it again...Ace is soooo happy! He is the happiest little guy. He just smiles as he crawls around the house, what a blessing.

He doesn't like green beans, so I let him 'paint' with them.

I think he got a little in his mouth. 

Oh Popsey -- A couple weeks ago we went to lunch with Popsey and Mere Mere. Cooper was telling Popsey stories about the zoo and kept saying "Oh Popsey" before he told another tale. I'm afraid we might have a little embellisher in the family. He tends to exaggerate the truth a bit, and oftentimes when his pants are wet he says it's water....clever but worrisome.

Hippo -- Ace loves to take a bath. He gets excited when I turn the water on, and if he's in the other room he starts fast crawling to get to the bathroom. We started putting him in the big tub with Cooper (don't worry I keep a hand on him at all times) to save time and water. He likes to splash around and chew on bath toys. But now we have a problem because he's gotten really brave really fast. He now wants to flop on his belly and crawl in the tub...not good. The other day I put him on his bottom and before I could stop him he moved into crawling position and was full speed crawling toward the spout. He looked like a hippo...not because of his size but because of the way he moved in the water. Needless to say, his baths have gotten a lot shorter.

I know, I know, I wrote too much again! But in 20 years I'll want to remember these details, so forgive me. My little blessings just knock my socks off every day. Since Cooper turned one I keep thinking that whatever age he's currently at is the best, but then 6 months later I change my mind. What a fun adventure. Exhausting, but fun.

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10