Monday, November 30, 2009

Animals for the Holidays

We traveled down to North Carolina for a little Thanksgiving celebration with family. Who knew we would spend so much of the time with animals. They were everywhere!! Don't say I didn't warn you.

We started out with Cooper getting walked by a very small dog.


Then he spent a little time with a bulldog puppy that wanted to be the baby. How pitiful is that face?


Hanging out in the window with Middi.

Then we visited Crooked Creek Acres, my little sister's mini-farm. Cooper fed the goats and "rode" a donkey.







Cooper wrapped up the weekend spending a little bonding time with Papa and holding Middi. Let's just say that Middi tolerated Cooper amazingly. He spent as much time as possible carrying Middi under one arm. All I can say is that is she is a patient little dog.


We did spend some of the time doing normal Thanksgiving stuff. Lots of time with family, eating great food ... thanks Mom.

Names

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Wordless Wednesday



He was doing "yoga" on the new Christmas wall hanging. Is there anything toddlers don't pick up on?


Names

Sunday, November 22, 2009

The Budding Musician

Possibly against my better judgement, I let Cooper keep this birthday present. The first video is when he first figured out how to play it.



Now, he is an old pro. Don't you love the laid back pose?




Names

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Why I blog and those who inspire me

For those of you who know me well, scrapbooking is not my thing. You say cut and paste, and I think control-c, control-v. My sister scrapbooks extremely well and has book after book of memories to pass along to her children. I barely got the first year calendar filled in for Cooper ... and it was hanging on the wall in the kitchen, so I walked past it every day. Please don't ask me where his baby book is, or how much is filled in.

I do love sharing pictures and I started uploading them to a photo-sharing site since the family is all scattered around. But I missed being able to share the short stories that go along with the pictures. So, I began to search for a better option.

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A dear friend who moved back closer to family after the kiddos were born sent me a link to her blog, and I thought this is pretty neat. She thought it was hilarious that she taught me something involving technology. So here is a big thank you to her.

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Then my terrific college roommate, Jenn, who lives half-way across the country from her family sent the link to her blog, Mayhem Mania. I think the kids are adorable, and I don't know how she does it all. Her blog posts are wonderfully varied, from grandparent memories to hair designs for her three girls.


I love keeping track of both of my friends' families as they grow.

Now that I have a little one, I thought maybe I could join the blogging network ... which I had absolutely no idea it was this big. I started blogging in December of last year, so I am just shy of my one year anniversary. I love being able to send out a quick post with pictures of the big guy, and I hope my friends and family love seeing these snippets of Cooper's day to day.

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Along the way I have "met" some other terrific women who are also mothers. These women inspire me for a variety of reasons. I was "introduced" to Patrice by Jenn's blog. She posted Patrice's button for her son Jonah, and I was hooked. I followed Jonah's hospital stay as they struggled with his diagnosis of EB. Then, I continued to follow as Jonah went home and Patrice began to further document her life with her husband and sweet baby Jonut, as he is called. Her strength and candor is amazing, and interspersed with a sense of humor like no one else I know ... but I have a funny feeling, I would love to know her. She speaks from the heart and is not afraid to protect her family or herself.

Aren't they adorable?


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And then there is MckMama, another mom blogger who I "met" through Patrice's blog. Jennifer has four children, four and under, and is an amazing photographer. She has inspired me to work on my strictly amateur photography skills, and she gives wonderful tutorials. Her children are adorable, and Cooper has a slight crush on Small Fry, her only girl.

Stellan is her youngest who has captured the hearts of people all across the world. He was diagnosed with a heart condition in utero, and recently underwent a successful surgery after his 1st birthday to solve the problem. Her adventure has been followed by bloggers, tweeters, and facebook junkies from far and wide.

She has displayed grace under fire, and shares so much of her life through her words and her pictures. If you want to see more amazing pictures (like the cute little nose below), check out her website.


There are many other mom bloggers that I follow from time to time, but these four are my "must reads." I am so happy that there are so many wonderful sources of inspiration out there. Who or what inspires you?

Names

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Cooper turns two

We celebrated Cooper's birthday all weekend long. He started out with a cupcake gathering in daycare on Friday (after they received the H1N1 vaccine). They definitely deserved the cupcakes ... I won't say who had three, but it wasn't Cooper. And don't you love the hat? He sure does.

Take notice of the icing-covered hand in the foreground ... and that Cooper hasn't taken a bite yet. I'm glad I wasn't around for the post-sugar rush.

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Fast-forward to Saturday, we invited a few friends and their parents to further celebrate Cooper's 2nd birthday. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, and Cooper had a chance to play with some neighborhood friends. I love that we have so many boys on the block.


I love this picture. He has this look like "I am King of the castle." He was watching the only girl at the party, so maybe he was thinking "she's pretty cute." We are in trouble.



He did get slightly embarrassed ... or maybe he was being a ham when everyone started singing to him.

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And if he didn't have enough sugar, we had a family party on Sunday afternoon. All the grandparents were able to gather for a nice lunch, more cake, and presents to celebrate Cooper's actual birthday.





The presents were a hit. Not sure how we feel about the Dirt Devil vacuum (Aunt L - J says he will get you back for this one. :) )

Now a note to Cooper - We love you more each day, especially those big hugs and small kisses. You have changed so much in just the last few months. Lots of firsts, and many more to come. Happy Birthday sweet boy.

Love,
Mom & Dad


Names

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Where have the last two years gone?

Names

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Can you see me?


After Halloween, he was determined to sleep with his glow sticks. We let him have them until he drifted off dreaming of spooky thoughts.


For more Wordless Wednesday posts, check out 5 minutes for mom, Go Graham Go and 7 Clown Circus!



Names

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