Pet Pig for a Day **

   
     Monday morning, as Cooper, Mom and I were rubbing the sleep from our eyes, Dalton dropped by with a surprise... a little bitty baby wild pig!! He was so cute. I gave an excited eeekkk with an accompanying excited gesture and called Cooper to the door. We looked at it and ooohhhed and ahhhed over the cute little guy. I know that they are disgusting and ugly when they are grown, but when they are babies they sure are cute.

 "Mama, can I touch it?"

     Dalton said we could keep him for a day..I was hoping more like many many days...so he put him in the currently vacant chicken pen and went back to work. I watched piggy out the back door while we ate breakfast. He would run around the perimeter checking for any holes (this is a good way to test before we get our chickens too) and grunt. The horses were very curious and not so sure about this little thing running around. The entire day they never strayed too far from the pen, just sniffing snorting and watching.

"What is it?"   "I don't know, but it's scary!"

     After breakfast we walked out to see him. Mom was a little cautious so we didn't touch him or anything, just looked at him through the fence...clarification: my mom was cautious; I was ready to go pick him up and pet him.  Piggy was pretty funny running around in the tall green grass in the pen. He looked like he was in a jungle, exploring and grunting the entire time. Cooper liked him well enough, but he can only stay interested in something he can't mess with for so long, then he's ready to move on to other things.

 "Look at that pig!"

"Mom really likes this pig."

     The day went on and besides me getting caught constantly staring at him out the window, the pig wasn't a big deal. At about 3, after Mom left and while Cooper was sleeping, I realized that the poor fella didn't have any food or water... a situation I was happy to remedy. I took him some horse feed and water, and after about a minute of looking at him, decided to touch him. It didn't take long before I was holding and petting him...who couldn't resist! It's amazing how solid they are, even as babies..all muscle. Then I walked around the pen and he followed me...we were bonding. After a little while I decided I'd better go check on Cooper and left little Wilbur until that evening. Just kidding about the name...I resisted, even though I wanted to name him really bad!

     When Dalton got home Cooper and I were ready to go check the little guy out again. This time we all went in the pen. Cooper chased him for a little bit, then got brave and touched him. Then the pig started turning around and rooting at him, which made Cooper laugh. Ahhh animals and kids..what a joy. It didn't take long before I was sitting on the ground with the pig in my lap. Cooper would come pet him and really wanted to pick him up. We let him and he picked him up...not too gently...and carried him to Daddy.

"Who's the big pig hunter now Dad?"

     I noticed that the pig was shivering so I let him get in my coat; he promptly started rooting around and wound up halfway down my coat sleeve...ok it was Dalton's coat and I probably should have asked him before letting a little pig nuzzle down into it, but oh well. He would root around in a sleeve then back out and root around behind me all the way to the other side and go for the other sleeve. It was great. Cooper liked playing 'where's the pig?' too and kept opening the jacket to see him.

"Can we keep him Daddy?"

     In case you were wondering, all this time of cozying up to the pig Dalton stood back and just watched, knowing that the longer he let me play the more attached I was going to get. Finally he said we had to open the door and let him run free. I really wanted to resist, but then the adult in me took over and I knew it was best to let him go. Note to Mom and Dad....I am getting better with my animal obsession. : ) I just knew if we kept him Cooper and I would get too close and then when he got bigger we'd have to kill him or release him in the middle of the night while Dalton was sleeping...both not such good options. At least this way he could have a chance.
     Just when we thought the fun was over Mr. Pig headed out of the pen and right up to the horses. I started getting really nervous because I really didn't want to see him get kicked or stepped on right there in front of us....talk about bad endings. So he moved, the horses kicked and snorted and I screamed...then repeat.
     That's when the tables turned. The horses began to act like elephants with a mouse around and took off away from the pig....and the pig did something I could not have predicted. He started chasing the horses!! It was the funniest thing I've seen in some time. He actually chased them all around their pen. I guess he just wanted to get close to something, but the horses wanted no part of it. I was still squealing some because he would chase them and then get close and they'd kick at him, then he'd chase them and they'd paw. At one point he stopped, Blondie turned around, snorted and ran and pawed at him, trying to kill him.  That's when I knew I had to step in.  I started running toward him, hoping he recognize me and run back to me. But he didn't. I did succeed in separating the chickens ... I mean horses...from the big bad pig, though. Then I followed the pig saying "Here pig pig pig" (I think I learned that from Charlotte's Web), until I lost sight of him in the tall grass by the road.

 "Come back..Are you my mommy?"

"Wait for me, wait for me!"

And that is the story of our pet pig for a day. I wish you well Pig; I'll always have the memories.

** You may have to play 'Find the Pig' in some pictures. Don't give up, he's there!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13

Busy Weekend with a Surprise

     This weekend was our 'paint the nursery' weekend. Though we do not have a set 'room theme' that's matchy-matchy we do have some really cute bedding that Mom found. It has a cartoon truck, helicopter, plane and boat and the colors go really well with our house. We picked colors from the bedding to do the room in and figure we can add other cute decor that compliments it all.

Someone snuck under the cover..what a ham

     We matched our colors last week and painted a sample area on the wall before the weekend came. We weren't too sure about the colors, one looked kinda dark and one kinda pinky, but after a second test coat and the thought of having to go through the picking out process again we decided to just go with what we had. What's the worst that could happen..paint again?
     So Friday night Dalton put the first coat of red on the one accent wall. I heard the term accent wall from others..but don't assume I know what the full purpose or meaning of one is..for us it's the wall that the crib will go on. The next morning he added a second coat and we assessed. It looks really good! We like the color a lot and couldn't wait to see what the brown looked like. While Cooper and I tried to stay busy playing and watching TV (the beautiful weather of the previous week left just in time for the weekend, and in it's place came a chilly, windy couple of days), Dalton painted the first coat of brown paint. We had to peek a couple of times and I convinced him to let me roll some on one wall (I held my breath). After coat number one we decided it was going to be just right.

Starting the process

Cooper was trying to help too

     While waiting for that to dry, we ate some leftovers for lunch and got down to the business of testing our garden soil to see what nutrients it needs. It was fun playing scientist. I felt like a kid again....I used to want to be a scientist, but later figured out that with my lack of precision and detail it probably wouldn't have worked out. "I bet you got that right, we don't need to re-test"..... you see where that could lead.

The scientist and his helper

     We bought a kit from the feed store and went to the garden spot to collect dirt. After collecting we put it into little test tubes, sprinkled the magic solution on, added water and waited. It was pretty neat...basically our soil is very alkaline and very low in all the nutrients. Time to fertilize!

 Adding the water

Ready to test

     While waiting for our soil tests to finish, we heard a knock at the door and SURPRISE, it was my mom, coming up for a visit. She'd talked about coming up earlier in the week, but decided she probably wouldn't. I'm so glad she changed her mind...Cooper and Dalton were too.

 GG!!!

     We visited, she and Cooper bonded..he calls her GG and we can understand him. It's super cute. Then she volunteered to help with coat number 2. While she worked, Cooper laid by the door and looked under, saying 'GG.....GG'. Dalton came in to take over and within an hour the painting was finished. Woo hoo!

A glimpse of the finished product

     Now I want to paint more rooms in the house because the kids' rooms seem to be the only ones with personality. Most of our other walls are off-white. So we'll see if that happens sometime in the future.
     Sunday we moved a bit of furniture into the baby's room and again thought how great the colors look. Then Dalton, Cooper and I headed to church and left Mom at the house; she was heading out that morning. Then I got a text after church that asked me to pick up coffee for her...she decided to stay until Monday. Yeah! And while we were gone she had cleaned up and rearranged Coop's room. It looks so cozy now.
     We had a great visit that day and most of the day Monday. Mom helped me change up some things on the walls..I'm bad about wanting change but not knowing where to start decoratively, so I don't change anything. She helped me gain fresh vision. : ) Then she headed home. We're so glad she visited though...made our weekend!

     And it feels so nice to have the room painted. We're ready to get this baby moved in now! I have his dresser all filled with newborn to 3 month clothes..they are so tiny. Now if we can only think of a name.....

Haven't posted many pics of the expectant me, so here's one 

"And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house." Deut 26:11

Seed Starting

     When I was younger I was an avid gardener. Ok, maybe 'avid gardener' isn't the right description. I liked to have a summer garden, and once even grew potatoes. I've always enjoyed gardens and plants, especially the challenge and reward of keeping them alive year after year (plants, not gardens) and watching them grow.
     Dalton would roll his eyes about now because he has to help me keep them alive in winter by hauling them in and out of the house. Unfortunately my favorite are hibiscus plants, which can't tolerate the cold, so we have to be pretty committed in the winter to prevent freezing them. One day we'll have a garage or shed or something so we don't have to do that, but until then, it's the job of my faithful husband to help me keep my plants alive. And he does a great job, even if he does mumble under his breath and threaten to let them die sometimes.
     Back to gardens...as I said before I've only done summer gardens, but lately I've been wanting to expand and try to do some fall/spring gardens for broccoli, potatoes, lettuce, etc. I figured that this year I probably wouldn't do it either, but then some friends of ours started talking about their garden and I started getting the itch to get started. Dalton is really into it this year too...he even expanded the garden plot! So our friends are starting their own seeds inside and then transplanting them outside when the time comes. They offered to give us some seeds and we said 'sure' (we aren't ones to pass up free produce). They gave us our share of seeds, from tomatoes, to green beans, kale, peppers and squash...very generous.

     We bought some seed starting soil and cups and today Cooper and I planted our seeds. This process was a little frustrating at times because of my little helper. I had to first put soil in all of the little cups, which Cooper wanted to help with. He did ok, but never quite got them full. Then I had to water the cups of soil. Lucky for me Cooper was wandering around the yard for this part, otherwise I might have given up. After I watered I noticed that Cooper was in the mood to wander a little too far, and I didn't want to have to worry about him heading toward the road, so I brought him up on the porch with me. Bad idea..I should have just put him in the house. He wanted to add more dirt to the cups, then knocked a few over with his clodhoppers as he was trying to get between me and the seeds. A few tense moments passed and he left to chase Little Girl (the cat). I took my chance and quickly stuck seeds in most of the cups. I'm not sure if I planted them correctly..depth and all. It's always a little leap of faith when you put a seed in the ground and can't see it until it sprouts.

     When I got to the green bean and zucchini seeds I decided it was time to let Cooper help. I mean, how could I blog about it if I didn't have pictures of Cooper working with me? Besides, it's a good learning experience, and a good excuse to let him get dirty.

     I gave him the seed and showed him how to push it into the soil with his finger. He loved it and helped put the rest of the seeds in the cups and push down. If some don't sprout I'll know it's because he pushed them too far down, but I tried to control his power. After he finished he proceeded to wipe his dirty hands on my shirt...where does he learn this? I promptly directed him to wipe on his pants, which he did.

     Now we have 40 cups on our porch with seeds hopefully starting to germinate as we speak. As I gaze on the cups I realize we might not have thought this through as thoroughly as we should have. You see, these cups have to come inside every night, and then get taken back outside each day to sit in the shade. Sounds easy, but when you factor in a curious kiddo, and the fact that the only space we have to put the seeds inside is in our kitchen/dining area...very accessible to above kiddo, we could be in for some trouble. I'm now wondering if teaching him how to poke his finger into the dirt was such a good idea. Oh well, live and learn!!

     Note: If this is the last seeding/garden post you see for quite some time you'll know it didn't end well. Hopefully, though I'll have some pictures of little green sprouts to show you in the near future! I think that is my favorite part...seeing that first sprout of green...well that and the first piece of produce you harvest. Woo hoo I'm getting excited already!!

"And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth."And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seeds according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed , each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:11-12

Fort Worth Stock Show

   

  Early Saturday morning we loaded up and headed to Ft Worth to go the the Rodeo. This has become a yearly tradition...carried over from Dalton, who's done this since he was little. This year we planned to attend the 10am rodeo performance, so we had to hit the road by 7:30 to get there early.

     On the way we stopped at McDonald's for a little breakfast. It's always a special treat we have when we head out of town early. We met Merann when we got into Ft Worth and then headed to the show grounds.

     Because we got there early enough we decided to take a cruise through some of the show barns and let Cooper see the animals before the rodeo. We made it through the lamb and cattle barns; Cooper really checked out all the animals with their funny looking blankets and contraptions.

     Then we headed to the kids' baby animal barn. They have various animals with their babies for kiddos to look at. Usually when we get to this section there are so many people we have to peek around and get a quick look at the animals. Being the early worm paid off though and we were able to let Cooper walk around and look at all the animals. He really liked it..especially the chicks and baby pigs. He even stuck his hand through the wire to let the baby goat nibble on his finger. It's amazing the difference between his interest last year (8 mo) and this year (20 mo)..they learn so much so fast.

 "Here chicky chicky chicky"

"Dad, can I take one home please!!"

     After seeing the baby animals we went to the arena and found our seats for the rodeo. Mere Mere and Popsey soon joined us and, lucky for us, no one else joined our row. So we had lots of room for Cooper to walk around when he got antsy...which he did after a couple of events. He liked the bareback riding the best (maybe because it was first), and he was pretty interested in the covered wagon races too. We always choose who we think will win each heat..I was 2 for 3. The one act Cooper didn't like was some entertainment involving a motorcycle. The stunt man was riding around pretending like he was falling off and Cooper did not like that. He probably would have said uh oh multiple times, but he was too upset to verbalize it.

     When he got bored he would toodle on down the row and find people to visit with above and below us. He'd start 'talking' to them and then point to us and say Mama and Dada. I finally had to go get him so the nice people could enjoy the rodeo.

Doesn't he look handsome

     When the rodeo was finished we took Cooper to the petting zoo...ok, I'll admit I was probably just as excited as he was. We bought feed and walked around petting and feeding rabbits, goats, ponies, calves and llamas. Actually only I fed the llamas. We lifted Cooper up to feed them and he flat out refused to give them any food. It was pretty funny. Almost as funny as the comotose looking goats who were laying down, bloated, and refusing food. They looked like I feel after a big holiday meal. We laughed so hard when we tried to feed one goat and he sniffed the food and seemed to moan. Then we started thinking how full they must get doing that all day with nonstop kiddos feeding them. Hopefully they have fresh animals in the back to trade out!

The goats really liked chomping the cone

     Finally it was time for a much needed corny dog -- I have to have one every year -- and lemonade. Then we strolled through the exhibit hall where all the vendors were. By this time it was pretty crowded. Cooper fell asleep, so he was able to get a nap in while we "shopped".  I put that in quotations because we didn't buy anything. Then we headed out, ran errands, and met back up with the other Pitcocks for some delicious mexican food.

     To top it off we stopped for ice cream on the way home. Yum. What a great time!

Cooper's Favorites

      Cooper is getting to the age where he has favorite things. I say that, but really he's had favorite things for a while now. We've discovered that he is a pretty particular little boy...particular about how he looks, where his plate and fork are on the table, which shoes and jacket he wears, which things go into bed with him, which TV shows he likes to watch, etc. Oh my, as I write this I am just flashing forward to the future and to what all of this particular-ness (sounds better than pickiness) might lead to! At least at this point it seems that he will be a well dressed and neat young man.

     I know what you're thinking...what does he have to be particular about? And what are his favorites? Well, let's end the suspense and fill you in!

     First of all, Cooper's favorite friend is his horsey. Yes, we are very creative around here with names, can't you tell? This may explain why the second baby doesn't have a name yet.. I promise we won't name him baby or boy, though Guy did cross my mind! Back to Cooper and horsey. He loves having him with him when he goes to sleep (though it's not a requirement), along with Pluto the dog, and his pillow. Every night we put him in bed, give him his friends and then say goodnight and he's off to dreamland.

Horsey and pillow

      While we are talking about animals, Cooper's favorite outside friend is Little Girl (again, what a creative name). Cooper now refers to all cats as "girl". We got her when she was just a wee kitten and they have grown together over the past many months. They have a love-hate relationship, with Cooper sometimes loving on her and sometimes not so much. He loves to pick her up and carry her to me, or pick her up and move her out of the way. She is so sweet to tolerate this, and usually they wind up playing chase and hide and seek in the yard. I think it makes her feel good to know that she could jump out and ambush him at any time...just in case he gets too far out of line one day.

Coop and Little Girl

"That looks good Little Girl, let me have a taste."

     Outside Cooper likes to explore and play, and one of his favorite things to do is feed the horses. We feed them cubes or horse treats, and so far we haven't lost any fingers. This horse is Little Blondie (ok I'm starting to get embarrassed about the name -- but Dalton named this one).

     Back in the house Cooper loves helping me around the house. Two chores are his favorite...laundry and unloading the dishwasher. When it comes to laundry, his expertise is cleaning out the dryer lint screen. This has resulted in myself developing an obsession with keeping that thing clean. Nothing worse than walking back there and seeing Cooper with a handful of lint! He also helps me move clothes from the washer to dryer..which comes in handy now that my belly has grown.

"Mom, there is lint on this. Not acceptable!" 

     When I say Cooper likes to unload the dishwasher, I'm not joking. I really do let him help me. So far we've only lost one plate, and it was chipped anyway, so I think we're doing pretty good. He gets the dishes out and hands them to me to put away. We also practice our counting, so it's a learning experience. Don't worry, I don't let him handle any knives, those are off limits.

     Onto the clothing portion of Cooper's favorites. Side note - sorry this is such a long post...told you he had a lot of favorites! He really likes to wear his cap when he goes anywhere. The one in this picture is a new one from Justin and Kallie, but he also has a Bass Pro Shop one that you've probably seen in other posts. Sometimes when we get out of the car somewhere and he doesn't have his cap, he puts his hand on his hat and says 'uh oh'!

     When it comes to shoes, Cooper prefers boots. He'll wear tennis shoes, but he likes his boots the best. I think he likes the clomping sound that he can make stomping around in them.

     And what is a boy without his accessories? Cooper has two that he really likes to wear...a belt and a tape measure. Mom and Dad got him the belt...it's pretty snazzy, and he loves to wear it so much that we hide it so that he doesn't find it and come bug us to put it on him around the house. The tape measure obsession started with playing with Papa John's tape measure. So, he got one for Christmas and loves wearing it on his pants. It's so cute!

Couldn't resist this pic b/c he looks like he's on the runway

     Now that it's winter we have to wear jackets (well this winter we occasionally wear jackets). He has some cute options, but lately he prefers one particular one...and it's not a jacket that goes with just anything. It's a hand-me-down from Pearson, Cooper's cousin. It's a furry brown jacket with black pictures of deer on it. It's very warm and super cute with jeans, but unfortunately Cooper also wants to wear it with his white tennis shoes and wind pants. I tried to talk him out of wearing it the other day when he was dressed in cute athletic attire, but he insisted and so wore the furry coat with this sporty wear. Luckily we were only heading to Walmart.

     I guess that wraps up the picture portion of Cooper's favorites. Now I have to add a couple of quirky behaviors he has because I'll want to remember them when he's grown.

      His current favorite word it seems is 'uh oh'. He goes around the house looking for things that are out of place and says uh oh until we fix them...like a cord that isn't plugged in, a piece of trash that missed the trash can, etc. When we change his diaper and he sees the dirty one, it's 'uh oh' until we put it into the trash. This saying also applies to any beeps he hears around the house...microwave, oven, phone. He likes us to attend to things in a timely manner. And when we are in the car (going a short distance) and I don't buckle him in all the way, it's 'uh oh' time. He's just looking out for us I guess, keeping us on our game and safe. And then last, but not least, when he does something wrong and we aren't in the room he comes to find us and says 'uh oh' so we can go fix whatever it is that he's messed up. At least he's honest about it!

     Another quirky thing is the way he eats. He likes to have his plate an fork right in front of him, and when we pray he wants his fork sitting on his plate, not beside it. We have to wait for him to arrange things sometimes.

     I'm sure there are other things that make Cooper the lovable, unique individual that he is, but my brain has run out of them, and I'm sure you are tired of reading at this point. I'm sure I'll have more to share at a later date. I have to note that I'm not particular enough about most things, to the frustration of my mom and others, so Cooper must have gotten some of this from Dalton. However, even Dalton is not that particular.

     One thing that he did get from his dad and mom is his love for the camera. It's a little embarrassing, but whenever I need a picture of him all I have to do is get out the camera and he starts posing. Or, when I get him dressed and say, let me see how you look, he turns, smiles and does his best model pose!! And then there are the times when I want to take a picture of him in action...if he sees the camera it's all over because he starts posing and moving my direction. Very interesting.....

     Bottom line...he is an awesome little boy who brings joy and laughter to our lives every single day! Thank you Lord for blessing us with him. We can't wait to see what the next little guy is like....I'm guessing total opposite because we are used to this one!!

" Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" Psalm 127:3-5