I bought Cooper his very fist belt today. I gave it to him, and he seemed genuinely excited and he said, "I have my very own belt, now when I get some babies, I can whoop em'." John and I got a REALLY big laugh about that:)

Lena Funnies:)

I'm not even going to try to catch up since it's been 3 months since my last post, but there are a couple of things I wanted to journal here, so that I could look back at them some day and laugh. Lena is starting to form short sentences more and more every day, so she is at that age where some of the things that she is thinking in her head are starting to be verbalized, which is sometimes funny (and sometimes not so funny:) Anyway, yesterday in the nursery at church, one of the girls told her that she was pretty, and they said she replied "Mommy says that." - LOL. She's right, I do call her mommy's pretty girl sometimes:)

Momma promised them a kids meal from Hardee's after they picked Cooper up from preschool today. When they got to the drive thru window, the employee handed Momma the wrong bag, and Momma handed it back to her. Momma said that Lena lost it and began screaming "Lena fries, Lena fries" from the back seat the moment that momma gave the girl back the wrong bag. Taking food from Lena is definitely stepping into the danger zone:)

The last Lena funny of the day - Momma said they were outside this afternnoon and Lena sneezed. Momma was helping Cooper do something and did not comment when Lena sneezed. She said Lena called to her "Gammaw" and momma did not immediately answer, then a more demanding "Gammaw!!" and Momma looked at her and said "What?", and Lena said "Bless You, Lena!" - Miss Manners!!

Catching up. . .

Cooper hourding, I mean hunting easter eggs - Yes, it's been a long time since I posted any pics:)

Cooper during our big snow this year - we had a blast that day, despite recovering from the flu!

This pic is classic Lena

Our family on Easter

John and Cooper on our camping trip

Lena on our camping trip, eating pudding:)

Lena eating cake at Tristan's B-Day party - yes, she ate almost the whole thing!

Cooper playing in the rain - if you can't beat em', join em'

Cooper found a toad - I think he survived the encounter - the toad, that is:)

Life has been flying by, as usual, and I'm sure there are things I should be writing here to look back on someday, but at the end of the day, I just feel "fried" and want to just let me brain rest in front of the tv for a while. Life is going along at it's same fast pace, and I am just trying to keep up! The kids are doing well. I guess Cooper is at the age where they stop being the cute baby or toddler, and their true personality starts to become more and more apparent with each passing day. That probably sounded bad, but I didn't mean it that way. He makes us laugh (and cry) sometimes:) He is definitely an intense, persistent, passionate person, and I look forward to seeing where that takes him. Lena is at a great age. She still isn't into the "terrible tantrums", although we see hints of them here and there, and she is talking more and more. This is the age where they understand alot more than you know because they can't communicate very well. That must be frustrating for them. She LOVES her books lately, and would sit and look at them with you all day if you have the time. You can just see her little brain craving new information to learn - it's amazing. I always say "the end" at the end of a book, even if it is not written in the book. Well, last night, I was nursing her before bed, and when she was finished, she pulled my shirt down and said "The end." -LOL - pretty cute. John and I continue our jobs as referee. She still enjoys doing things to drive Cooper crazy (it's a very short trip), so that is something that I see us dealing with for a very long time to come. They have their sweet moments too, so it's worth it. Yesterday was Father's Day, and even though I am a little late, I just wanted to say that I feel lucky to have found a man who is such a great father to my children. When I look at John, I see true unconditional love for our kids. He goes above and beyond what many fathers do, especially his own, and he truly cherishes every moment that he spends with them. One of the reasons that I wanted to marry John was that I knew he would make a great Dad one day, and I definitely hit that nail square on the head. He is a great dad, and we make a good team! Go team Phillips!! (Giving myself a little pep talk) - lol.

Crazy Collections!

Most of you know that Cooper is fascinated by "collections" of things. He is not yet really into "collecting" things, but rather covets things that already seem to be a "collection" of sorts to him. This fascination has been in full force lately. Saturday, I kept track of the collections that he found and played with troughout the day at the house:

A collection of small round cardboard discs with Cartoon characters on them(from a happy meal or something)

A set of magic markers

A set of kids tempura paints

A collection of his bouncy balls

A bag of outlet covers that I had

A bag of seashells (extras that are too big or small for our hermit crabs

His collection of beanie baby dogs

A deck of cards

John's poker chips

Just in case you didn't n notice, most of these "collections" are not "Lena friendly," which makes Mommy's day grand!!

Checking In. . .

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. Laziness is, I guess, the biggest reason I haven't posted in a while. I have just been wanting to sit and watch tv at night. Also, after it has been so long, you don't know how you would ever catch up, so you just tend to feel overwhelmed with the thought of it. Well, I am not even going to try to catch up, so there you go. There are a couple of things that I want to mention for future reference, and that's about it.

First, Cooper is enjoying his first "organized" sporting adventure, Mighty Mites Soccer, after a rocky start. Although he was not at all enthused at his first practice, he seems to be enjoying it. They had their first "game" if you can call it that, last Thursday, and it was so much fun to watch. I don't know how much excercise the kids got, but Jenna, our coach, was probably exhausted that night. Trying to direct 6, 3 and 4 year olds with extremely short attention spans is a daunting task. As I watched them play, it became very evident that 85% of them were not ready for such an endeavor, but as long as you focus on the fun of it, and not the sport of it, it's ok. Cooper and one of the other little boys spent more time talking and playing with one another than paying attention to what was going on. I can already see that I am going to have to give myself a pep talk before the games not to "over encourage" him to pay attention and kick the ball. They really are just too young for pressure in this area, but when the ball is sitting in front of them, and they don't seem to notice or know what to do with it, it can get frustrating. We just wanted a way for Cooper to get to spend time with other kids his age, and also expose him to some type of "organized" setting, and it is serving great for that. It is a learning experience for all of us, that's for sure!

One of the other things that has been exciting for us is that we have become the foster family for a litter of stray kittens. We have had so much fun playing with and watching them play for the last couple of weeks. Cooper has fallen in love with them, so we are going to keep two of them, and give the other two away. I hope to post some pics of him with them soon.

Cooper had his third surgery for hypospadius last Wednesday. John and I had braced ourselves for the worst, considering his age, and low pain tolerance, but he has done wonderfully. He was a perfect angel (Cooper and angel rarely go togehter in the same sentence), on the day of the surgery, and he has done extremely well in the days since the surgery, especially considering the catheter. I was devastated when I found out that he would have to have another surgery. I think I cried for two days. There were so many worries and concerns that I had. At the time, he was only 2 and 1/2 and had just potty trained, so the Dr. said there was no harm in waiting until he was a little older. I felt that waiting any longer would just be putting it off, so I had decided that this spring was the right time. I am so glad that we waited. Not only was Cooper able to understand enough that he was not so scared before the surgery, but it gave John and I the time to mentally prepare. The fact that he was not afraid that day helped us tremendously. I knew that we had to be strong for him, and the fact that he was so strong and care free throughout the day made our job so much easier. I praise the Lord for that! John and I are removing the catheter tonight. I am looking forward to getting it out because I know that it will be more comfortable for him, but he is terrified that it is going to hurt, and I know that it is going to be a struggle for us to get him to let us do it. A friend here at work who has had a catheter before assured me that it does not hurt, so that makes me feel better in telling Cooper that it won't hurt, but it is not so easy to convince a 4 year old with a very sore "pee pee." Bless his little heart - he really has been a trooper, and I am very proud of him! He inherited my tolerance for pain, so I know what he is going through:)

Lastly, I guess it would not be a complete post if I did not mention what Lena has been up too. Well, I don't know where to start there either. She is the perpetual "Ham" as usual. She is talking more and more, and is just now starting to say two words together at times. The dynamic between her and Cooper cracks us up. The older she is getting, the more she tries to "get his goat," I guess you could say. She will do things that she knows will make him mad just to get his reaction, and then laugh about it. They definitely already have that sibling "love/hate" relationship. I was just thinking this morning that I am so glad that I have a sibling myself. It helps me to understand them and how they feel about each other. As a parent, you love both of your children beyond measure, and sometimes, you might not understand why they would not love each other that way, but because I have a sister myself, I know that it is normal not to feel "love" for a sibling when you are young. In fact, it's often quite the opposite. The love and appreciation that you have for your siblings comes later in life. I am glad that I have that experience to draw on.

Lena is starting to show us her "willfull" side more and more. She can throw quite the little temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way, and can miraculously recover from this in a matter of seconds if you were to give in to her will, which, of course, we try not to do (wish Gammaw was reading this:) She got three "pops" with the belt this morning for continually eating and playing with the dog's food. The second time I caught her, she had carried the dog's bowl of food into the living room and lifted it up to me with a big smile on her face - some nerve, huh? It feels like kiddie boot camp around our house lately. Between Cooper going through one of his little "ruts", which I believe precedes a growth or development spurt, and Lena testing her limits constantly, my patience is being tested to the max. Some days I feel good about my job as "Mommy" that day, and some days, not so good, but that's life, I guess. I really do wish there was an instruction manual, and although I believe that my childhood was good, overall, and I suppose that I wouldn't change it, I often wish that I had more of a model to draw from in the day to day parenting arena, especially when it comes to discipline and that sort of thing. For me, that part has definitely been the hardest part of parenting. For our very high intensity kids, it seems that lots of dicipline is in order, and you want to feel that you are striking the right balance between enough and too much, and I question myself alot in that area. I think that all of the differing opinions of people in that arena these days just adds to the frustration. It all seems difficult and frustrating at times, but I just keep praying that God will walk with me and John, and help us to be the best parents that we can be. That's all you can do, I guess!

I will post some pics soon!

Sunny Days:)

Feeding the ducks at the park

The kids are both sick this week, but we have all really been enjoying these warm days we've been getting here and there, lately. Lena is really hard to keep up with outside, but she LOVES to be out there playing. She wants to do everything that Cooper does and go everywhere he goes, and you have to follow her every move, so it is a good workout for all of us. I am really tired right now, so I can't think of anything else to report - oh, wait, there is one thing I thought I would mention. We finally found Cooper a loft bed on Craigslist. We all really like it, but we had a talk with him about how Lena was not allowed to climb on the latter, and how he had to help up make sure that she did not try. Well, the day after he got it, Mom overheard him (she was coming down the hallway) showing Lena how to climb up the steps, and then trying to coax her up the ladder! She caught him doing this twice that day. So, we put his bed under the new bed, and told him that he could not have his new bed back until his birthday. Even then, we don't think we will put the ladder back in the room. We may just have to put him in and get him out of the bed for a while. I have to wonder if it is his sabotage plan? Here are some pics we took lately enjoying being outside.

Just checking in. . .

It's been a little while since my last post, so I thought I might jot a few things down. As far as what Cooper is up too, that would be Wii, specifically Mario Kart. I always said I would not let him play video games all of the time, and I never imagined him playing at 3 years old (thanks John), but that is becoming more and more the reality. I try to only let him play for 30-40 minutes 2-3 times a day, but that is more than I would like. He, however, would play it all day if I would let him. It's scary, because I know it's only going to get worse. We are going to have to lay down some strict rules in the near future. I have to admit, it is alot of fun. I'm an adult, and I really enjoy the Mario Kart game, so I am sure it is tons of fun for him.

He is also getting along better with Lena lately. I think the worst has passed (knock on wood) and even though his jealousy is still very obvious, he does "play" and interact with her more and seems more and more to have a genuine love for her. His behavior, in general, is a little better, I believe. I know that a few months ago, I felt at my wits end, and I am not feeling that way right now, so I definitely think it's better.

Speaking of Lena, she is into everything. Although, she is not fond of the Wii, as she knows that it takes away her attention and play with her brother. Today, she reinterated that sentiment by throwing one of the Wii remotes in the toilet:) She is talking more and more, but she is much more a mover than a talker at this point. Her new words are her own name. When you call her name, usually telling her no or stop, she will often repeat it back to you. She also says "thank you" while she puts back the things that she scatters about, because she is used to me thanking her for her help. In the last few days she has started trying to carry Cooper's stools around in order to try and climb onto things, and she has the knots on her head to prove it! Today, she carried a small chair from Cooper's room to the dining room, and placed it next to a chair in the dining room, and was using it to try and climb onto the chair so that she could get to the rocks that Cooper was playing with on the dining room table. Yes, she has taken toddler to a whole new level for me. Cooper did not learn how to use a stool until John showed him at 2 or 2 and 1/2. I also remember that Cooper was more likely to stay in the area where I was, where Lena LOVES to go about the whole house pillaging her loot. I am trying to get used to keeping the doors in the back of the house closed.

I think that's about it for now - times are good.

This is the best pic I have, so far, of Lena's eyes:)

She's just unique, is all:)

This is just a quick update to let everyone know that Lena went to see Dr. Weaver this morning, the pediatric opthomologist at Baptist in Winston, and he looked at her eyes and said that everything seems to be fine as far as he can tell. He said it's rare, but just one of those things, and her vision is good. That is what we were expecting to hear, but it was still a relief. I guess after having one child born with a birth defect, and the second born with a very rare abnormality such as this, I have already learned that you should never take a healthy baby for granted. I really try not too!

For whom the bell tolls. . .

Sometimes you just wonder what is being thought in their little heads. Tonight, Cooper was trying to help his daddy by walking on his back. I was in the bathroom, and I heard him tell John that his tattoo was going away. I guess because the lines of John's tattoo have faded over the years, Cooper was comparing that to how his fake tatoos rub off over time. John said, "Yeah, I'm getting old." Cooper suddenly became concerned and said in a sad voice "Are you going to go away? Are you going to go away and somebody else is going to be my Daddy?" Oh, it was priceless.

Later, when I was tucking Cooper in, we said a prayer (which we have not done in a while). At the end of the prayer, as usual, I always say that we want to thank God most of all for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that we could be saved and go to heaven some day when we die. I know that was probably not the best choice of words for a three year old, but I have never been good that that part of mothering:) Cooper became concerned and said "But you're not going to die Mommy?" I, of course said "No, I'm not going to die honey," and he said "When you die Mommy, Jesus is going to get you, and he is going to take you to heaven." (almost as if this was a bad thing). I said "Yes, honey, Mommy is not dying anytime soon, but when I do, Jesus is going to take me to heaven, you can count on that. I can't help but wonder what his little mind was thinking as he was laying in his bed trying to go to sleep. I sure hope that John and I assured him that we are not going anywhere:)

In other news:), Lena gave Cade his first kiss at church today, and I missed it. She is really into kisses right now. She doesn't have much interest in her babydolls, but she carries her and Cooper's stuffed animals around the house and can often be seen giving them a big kiss as she carries them from place to place. It is sooo cute!

I realized on Saturday that I might not get her out enough. As most of you know, that will be reading this at least, I am not one to take the kids shopping with me. Most of the time, I will call Memaw or do any shopping when John is off work. One was manageable, but two is too stressful, at least for me. Anyway, Daddy took Cooper to the park yesterday (that's where he got the busted lip in the pics below), and Lena and I went to BJ's. Well, I told Daddy when I got back that you would have thought that I kept her locked in a dungeon and never let her see people the way that she was smiling and carrying on at BJ's. She was flirting and grinning at everyone in sight. I thought she was going to break her neck trying to get the attention of a little boy that was riding in a buggy across the aisle from us. She put on quite a show and was stopping everyone in their tracks. When we left, the lady checking us out said "You got it girl, you got ALL the money." All this without a morning nap. I am not sure what was in to her, but she was certainly full of herself. Maybe it was just that she got to be Lena without Cooper there to distract her, I don't know for sure. Today in church, Kim commented that she was so dramatic. I said, yeah, if you only knew. I have two drama queens at my house, and it's quite the roller coaster ride, and I have a feeling that we haven't even seen the half of it.

Lena feeding Cooper Spaghetti Garrett and Lena last weekend Lena with spaghetti face

Cooper eating his spaghettiCooper's fat lipYes, she's still eating:)Cooper's fat lip up close and personalIf I could only get this in there, he better watch out!

I don't want to forget. . .

I was just reading something, and it reminded me of something that Cooper said a while back, that I thought was funny and do not want to forget. One morning, when he woke up and come into John and I's bed (probably earlier than we would like:), he usually snuggles up next to John because he likes to share his pillow (it's a big king sized one). This particular morning, he was laying there between us, and I recall that we were both trying to continue sleeping. He was wiggling around a little, and I noticed that he seemed to be trying to get closer to me, which is a little bit out of the ordinary, so I turned around to see what was going on, and he said "I like to smell you, Mommy." I think he meant, as opposed to smelling Daddy. I definitely can't say that I blame him there - it was great:)

Holiday Fun!

I know it has been a long time since my last post, but things have been pretty busy at our house, and there have been several nights that I should have sit down and written a post, but I simply did not think too. Anyway, we had a great Christmas, and I'm always sad when it's over. I'm not going to give a play by play commentary on our holiday schedule, but rather jot down some of the things that stood out in my mind. First, Lena is officially walking. For the past month and a half, she has been taking steps here and there, but mainly crawling. On Christmas, of all days, she finally decided that she was finished crawling. Daddy followed her around Joanie's house during our Christmas lunch, and he said, "I think she' done with crawling" and that was that. She is so cute to watch. I don't remember Cooper looking so unsteady when he first started walking, but maybe he did. Momma commented this morning when she watched her walk across the living room for the first time that she just looked too little to be walking. It is still very new and cute, that's for sure. Boy is she into everything! I'm not sure what it is about walking that turns them into such little curious creatures, but she has been toddling around the house from one roll of toilet paper to the next cabinet that she can tear into. I knew that as soon as she was walking, it would be crazy, and it is! She just smiles and you can tell that she is just thrilled with her new skill. Christmas morning was alot of fun, of course. Cooper woke up at about 6:30, and we managed to get him to lay in our bed until about 6:45, at which point Lena woke up. I, of course, felt exhausted. I don't know what it is about Christmas morning that makes me feel like I have run a marathon in my sleep every year. I guess it is all of the excitement builds up and culminates, at least for me, to that morning with the kids. I did not feel that I slept too bad, but every time I woke up during the night, I would feel that anticipation, and boy did it wear me out! Of course, the kids loved everything that they got. Cooper's biggest reaction was the stuffed dog that I got him, Brutus. He had seen this dog in a store and fell in love with it. When he opened the box at Christmas, he kept saying "Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness" - it was great:) Since then, however, Brutus has spent most of his time just laying around the living room because Cooper is too busy carrying around the smaller beanie baby puppies that Santa brought him. He has even ditched all of the little stuffed animals that were his "babies" before the new puppies arrived at Christmas. Of course, Taggie, has stood the test of time, thank goodness. He has been playing with all of his new Christmas toys, but his absolute favorite thing to do is for you to lay on the couch or the bed with him and "pretend" with his puppies. He LOVES for you to talk for them and pretend with them. I guess this is where his 3 year old imagination is coming into play, except that the person doing the talking has to do most of the imagining, which is hard for me, becuause I have never had the best of imaginations and creativitiy. Cooper's gift opening is worth mentioning this year. It was a little nerve racking for me. His method consisted or ripping through his gifts as fast as he could so that he could decide which toy he liked the most and wanted to get out and play with. There was no time to appreciate each gift individually or reflect on who gave him the gift, just a mad dash to open the next one. John and I had to have several "talks" with him regarding his attitude during gift opening times this past week. "Attitude" is a word that reminds me alot of Cooper lately. He has a bad one, alot of times. I hope it's just a phase that he is going through, and I have been praying about it alot lately. Sometimes, he just seems unhappy, and I worry about that. He has always seemed a very happy child, and all of his yelling (mainly at Lena), attitude, and sulking is getting me down. I still think he is having a hard time sharing his world with Lena, and I try to put myself in his shoes. I feel that I try to go out of my way to give him the attention that he needs, but I'm sure that I could do better. Right now, I am just trying to make sure it doesn't generally affect my attitude, which is something new for me to be dealing with when it comes to my kids. I hope we get it all figured out soon, and please don't anybody tell me that we might not ever figure this one out:) As far as funny moments lately, I know there have been many, but a couple stick out in my mind. First, the twinkle in Lena's eye as she is discovering this great big world. We have seen alot of that lately, and it is beautiful! Something cute that just came to mind was when my family came over on Christmas eve to celebrate, Cooper would run straight up to greet the men and ask them to come to his room to see his new train (that Gammaw gave him). I thought it was funny that he was only asking the men at first. I think he finally got around to asking the women, but only after he had asked the men - lol! Finally, my favorite comment from the week was Friday night when John's family was over, and Cooper, Tristan, and Garrett were sitting at the card table eating pizza and chicken. Tristan and Garrett were drinking Mtn. Dew and Cooper told them "You can't drink Mtn. Dew if you have teeth." I heard this comment but was not paying much attention until the boys kind of laughed and said "Says who?" and Cooper said "Gammaw.", and I about hit the floor laughing. You see, I have explained to Momma that I did not want the kids to have soft drinks not only because of the caffeine, but also because they are so bad for their teeth. Well, in an effort to put off Cooper's begging for Mtn. Dew when she has one, ocassionally, at my house, she told him that she can have Mtn. Dew because she is old and doesn't have any teeth, but you can't have Mtn. Dew if you have teeth! Sounds pretty good to me, and obviously, Cooper bought it:)

More Walking!

I just wanted to post a message (mainly for my future reference) that Lena is taking more and more steps. She took about 5 in a row this morning before falling, I believe. She will take a few steps almost every time she goes to move, before she will lose her balance and fall down and crawl. It is very different from the way that Cooper started walking. He waited until he was 13 months to take a step, but I can still remember the day he took that first step and he was walking all the way across the living room by that night. Once he took his first step, he was not going back to crawling. Lena is starting earlier, but taking it a little slower along the way. Fun stuff!

Lena's First Birthday Party!

I'm a little late posting on the birthday party, but it has been a busy couple of days trying to get up all of our Christmas decorations. Man, I love them, but I HATE putting them up:) The birthday party went great. Thank you to everyone who helped - Memaw, Pa, Phoebe, Melissa, Daddy, Stacy, and I sure there were others. Lena had a great time. I haven't watched the video yet, but my Mom said she was having a really good time playing with the older kids. I missed most of that, I'm afraid. She did not dig into her birthday cake like I expected her too, but after I took the rest of it away, I tasted it myself, and it was not good. I am not sure if Walmart gets those things frozen or what, but that little cake did not taste good! I thought to myself, no wonder she didn't dig into it - yuck! I also had just turned to walk across the room when Cooper, evidently, sternly told Lena "Don't you eat it all, Lena!", so I hate I missed that one too:) In the end, I thought it all turned out wonderfully. It could not have been better, in my opinion:) I wanted to mention some of Lena's first words in this post. Besides Momma and Dadda, she says "Hey, cold, and uh oh." I thought cold was an odd first word for a baby, but to each his own. We are trying to get her to say Cooper and Angus, but she has not attempted those yet. I expect her to be jabbering away in no time. As much as Cooper talks, I can't imagine having another talking toddler in the house . . .Calgone, take me away:) Although she isn't walking yet, I expect that is right around the corner too. She is cruising alot more lately, and she will stand up and balance on her own, so I know it is just a matter of time.

Happy Birthday Lena!

Of course, yesterday was Lena's first birthday. We did not do anything much to celebrate. Pa pa brought her a card and since I could not wait to see her eat her first birthday cake, I had made her a little cupcake and put redi whip and sprinkles on it. We gave it to her after dinner, since John worked, and she devoured it in 5 minutes flat. At one point, her mouth was so full we thought she might choke, but she proved she is a pro at eating already, with no teeth! I had the video camera set up, and the camera ready, but I was so enjoying the moment that I completely forgot to take any pictures. I did, however get it on video. She had a hard time going to sleep (probably a sugar rush from the cupcake), and she woke up very early this morning. I went in her room at 5:15 this morning and tried to rub her back and sooth her back to sleep, but she was wide awake. So, in a moment of weakness, I broke all of my sleep rules. I got her out of the bed (1st rule breaker), took her to our bed (2nd rule breaker), and nursed her (3rd rule breaker). I expected her to fall back to sleep after nursing, but she was wide awake in our bed for about an hour. She finally fell back to sleep around 6:30 laying in the crook of my arm. I couldn't help but think that she slept the exact same way exactly a year ago. The night that she was born, she and I slept in the recliner in the hospital room. She lay in the crook of my arm and slept, while I just laid there and watched her sleep all night. We had the sweetest nurse, Patsy, who, by the way, was the same nurse that delivered Cooper. Unlike the nurse the next night, who was determined to find a way to keep Lena from sleeping in the bed with me (it didn't work:), Patsy was perfectly content to let Lena spend her first night next to me in that recliner. Happy First Birthday Sweetheart! We love you!

These are some pics we took the other day out in our yard