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.

"And the fun continues..."

     Getting used to having two kiddos has been interesting. On one hand the logistics of it all haven't been as bad as I thought they would be. Nap times have worked out ok...usually Ace naps in his little sheep seat while I put Cooper down, then we leave the room. Cooper still likes Ace, which is a big help; I was worried that the new was going to wear off. And Dalton has been able to take Cooper with him quite a few times, either for a little while or the entire morning. That's been good for Cooper and myself. The only awkward thing has been trying to feed Ace while keeping Cooper occupied and happy. I have to admit Cooper's watched more TV lately than I would like, but you do what you have to to make it through the crazy times. At least he watches mostly educational shows.

    The hardest part of this, for me, has been emotional. I swing back and forth from feeling bad for Cooper because he has to wait for my attention, and feeling like all I do with Ace is feed him and set him down. I'm finding a balance though, which I think is the key. I have to make time for both boys individually without making myself crazy. When I start thinking too much about it all and getting myself worked up, I remember my childhood and realize how horrible being an only child would have been. My brother was my best friend growing up. I hope that these guys are as close as we were, then it will be all worth it.
   Cooper has been watching Ace and I closely though, because he's started to imitate a few things. He'll get his horsey and put him in Ace's swing. Then, very carefully with both hands in proper form, he'll get horsey out and carry him around. He also puts a blanket around horsey before carrying him sometimes. Yesterday he wanted to put his puppy dog into the Snugli backpack carrier that I use for Ace. I shoudl have snapped a pic of him with it on and puppy inside. It's really sweet and shows just how much he observes and takes in.

One of the not so good imitations.. wanting to use the baby toys.

    As I said, I'm glad to have my two little guys, but I'm not going to lie, I'm ready for Ace to get out of this newborn stage and into one that's a little less fragile and a little more interactive. Dalton and I both like kiddos better once they pass the six month old mark. Ace is getting cuter by the day though, and he's starting to smile and coo. It's so precious. He's also been rolling over from belly to back...way early!

     The title of this post comes from a quote by Dalton. We definitely want to have more kids, but after having Ace, Dalton is trying to talk me into having the next one farther apart than Cooper and Ace are. I, on the other hand, see pregnant women and miss being pregnant. Don't misunderstand me though...I don't want to have another one for a couple of years! When things get crazy, Dalton says this phrase and I just laugh. Something about the way he says it just cracks me up. I'll give you a few scenarios:

     1. We were at the drive in with Garrett and Ace was crying. Dalton picked him up and everything was great. Then we heard Ace fill up his diaper..well apparently he overfilled it because Dalton found evidence on his shirt. "He pooped on me....and the fun continues."

   2. Cooper was throwing a fit at home (about what I can't remember because he does this often) and I was dealing with Ace so Dalton had to handle him. "And the fun continues."

   3. It was dinner time, Dalton, Cooper and I had just sat down to dinner while Ace was sleeping in his room. We finished our prayer, picked up our forks and Ace started crying. "And the fun continues."

   4. We're finally asleep at 3 a.m. when a little person appears at the side of the bed saying 'Dada.' Dalton gets up to take him back to bed "and the fun continues."

   You get the idea. But don't worry or let Dalton's comments mislead you; he's loving having his two boys and he's adjusting well. He hasn't started working extra late to avoid coming home or anything, so I think we're doing ok.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

 

Weekend with Garrett

    Last weekend Garrett came to visit us. We were super excited for him to come and stay. He was supposed to come Friday night but got held up, so he came Saturday morning. We didn't expect him to get here until lunch, so when he showed up at 10 we were caught off guard...but pleasantly surprised.
    He came in and met Ace and held him for just a minute. I had to snap the picture quickly before he gave Ace back to me. Garrett says he likes kids over 2 and up. I understand...and was the same way before my own kids came along.

Uncle Garrett and Ace Garrett

     We had lunch and then Garrett showed us the gift he made for the boys. It's a handsome little cedar picnic table..just the perfect size for Cooper. It was a GREAT gift and we'll use it a lot. Cooper is already using it to escape from Gus when he gets too playful.

 Cooper is patiently waiting

 A perfect fit

Chilling with Uncle Garrett

 Checking out the construction job

     Then he got out another gift; this one is for Cooper's birthday. We tried to convince him to wait until May but he insisted. (I think he's afraid we're going to back out of visiting him for Coop's birthday, but we are going down there for sure.) It's a cute little fishing pole and tackle box. I had to go feed Ace about this time so I didn't get a lot of pics, but Dalton managed to snap one. I was watching out the window though and wish I could have gotten a picture of Uncle Garrett helping Cooper learn to push the button to cast and reel it in. I was surprised that Cooper could reel it in so well after only a short lesson. Now we have to hide the pole until fishing time for safety reasons. : )

Garrett's helping Cooper reel it in

     A little while later the boys all went fishing (well, not Ace of course) and I got things cleaned up around the house. They came back with no fish, but I think they had a good time anyway. They all got to paddle up the creek in the boat, which I wish I had a picture of.
     Before Garrett came I was trying to think of something fun for us all to do. We are limited with a newborn, but when I heard that Hunger Games was showing at the drive in I knew it was meant to be. I didn't know what Garrett would think of the idea, but he seemed excited to go..he'd never been to one before, which I hadn't realized. We all went to Potter's Pizza to eat, then dropped Cooper at Mere Mere and Popsey's and headed to the drive in.

The movie-goers (not my most flattering pic I know)

     The movie was great! I am so glad that I got to finish it on the big screen. And Garrett and Dalton had a good time too. They even both liked the movie, which was a big plus for me. Ace did pretty good too. When we went to pick up Cooper after the movie we expected him to be asleep but he came bounding out of the house. He was so cute. Of course he was asleep by the time we left the driveway.
     Sunday morning Garrett hung around for a little while and then headed back home. We really enjoyed his visit and can't wait to go fishing on the river with him next month.

 Ready for football...Garrett put baseballs in his shirt

Playing catch

"The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth." Psalm 145:18