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:)