Dressing up

Cooper and Steve were playing back in his room and Cooper came out all dressed up. If you can't tell he has on safety goggles, a backpack, an oven mitt and he is pulling a toy dog. Steve took these pictures and he was laying down so they aren't the greatest quality.

Fried Biscuits and Strawberries

My mom, Cooper, and myself went up to Huber's today for lunch and strawberries. I think everyone should have a fried biscuit and apple butter at least a few times a year. Cooper was excited.

It was a great weekend for Huber's. Of course we got there early, around 11:00. The restaurant was empty and we got right in. Plus this was the weekend for the strawberry festival so most people were down the road at the church. I'll have to keep this in mind for next year.

After lunch we couldn't resist some strawberry shortcake. Probably the best ever.

My mom didn't want to go and pick our strawberries, even though we both could have gotten a free quart, instead we went to the store and bought the pre-picked ones. We had to get some strawberries for my aunt and my mom's friend that we had so many we couldn't carry to the car. My mom went to get the car and Cooper had some fun smelling the flowers. I almost forgot about these. They are the best peanut butter balls EVER! They have milk chocolate and white chocolate. I only bought the one. I told Steve I was trying to watch my figure, he said I should have thought about that before I got pregnant! Anyway they have crushed up rice krispies inside the peanut butter. They are delicious.

Wish I had a video camera

I really needed a video camera with me today. As most of you know our first church service in our new building 10 days away. Someone within the church came up with the idea of reading the entire Bible from the stage before our first service. We are doing this by signing up in 15 minute increments for this week and next week. You set a timer and read what you can and the next person takes over. Today, my small group moms got together at the church for about an hour and a half and we each took turns reading for our 15 minutes while the others did the babysitting of the kids. I walked in the sanctuary while another girl was finishing up and I knew I was in trouble. I took over for her at 1 Chronicles 4:15. This is just a little bit of what I head to read out loud from the stage:

The sons of Caleb son Jephunnh: Iru, Elah and Naam. The son of Elah: Kenaz. The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel. The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. One of Mered's wives gave birth to Miriam, Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

This pretty much went on the entire time. Thankfully no one was in there. I tried the best I could to pronounce these names but I'm sure I did a horrible job.

Steve goes tomorrow after work, I tried to figure out far along they would be by then. I'm guessing he gets to do Psalms.

Best $28 ever spent

I had wanted to get Cooper a water table last summer but never really go around to it. I finally found one this year at Walmart for just $28. He love it!!!! Steve put it inside the pool tonight since they were already in it and he filled up the cup and dumped it in the water tower over and over and over again. I love watching him have so much fun.

I just had to laugh

Tonight I was getting Cooper ready for bed and he was getting a little cranky. I think he was just tired from playing outside all night. I took his his hand to walk him back to brush his teeth and he let out this loud scream. He had to go to time out after that and was crying so I asked him what he did wrong and he let out the same scream just a little quieter. I told him he needed to apologize to me for what he did wrong. He says- Sorry mommy for "insert another scream here". I just had to laugh. At least he knew what he did wrong.

I Love It!

Last night Steve's mom watched Cooper for us so we could go to our small group. When he woke up this morning I asked him what him and Mamaw did. He told me they ate pretzels and raisins and read the Mommy Book, Daddy Book, and Woody and Buzz book. I talked to Steve's mom tonight and this is exactly what they did.

Summer is almost here

Since it appears the 85+ degree weather is here to stay for a while, we got out the pool I bought for Cooper last year when summer items were on clearance. We tried it out Sunday but didn't give it enough time for the water to warm up so he wasn't so sure about it. We tried it again last night and let it sit out for a couple of hours. He still needed his daddy though. He kept trying to drink the water from the sprinkler. It was too cute.

The point of having kids

Is to have them help you with chores. Cooper couldn't get enough of the Swiffer Sweeper last night.

Then of course we wanted to help Steve with the watering. He had to be standing there holding the hose at all times.

I Finally Found It!

I was in Kroger this past week and happened to notice their Kroger brand packaged candy was on sale for $1/bag. I picked up some sour gummy worms thinking they weren't going to be any good but it was a $1, why not? They are near perfect! Sour and fresh. To think I was spending all this money on bulk candy when I just needed the cheap stuff.

Bat's Game

Since I was finally feeling better this weekend, it took almost a week, we headed out to the Bat's game for a family fun night. I can tell a HUGE difference from last year. We stayed almost the entire game and Cooper even enjoyed watching some of the game. I think we are all just happy to get out of the house after a week of no sunshine. When we first got there we got some hot dogs and found a picnic table to eat at. As soon as we sat down it was time for the National Anthem, I stood Cooper up and had him place his hand over his heart, he stood there the whole song like that. It was so sweet, I should have taken a picture but it might have been a little unpatriotic for me. After we ate we found some seats in the outfield, I ran to the restroom and came back to find Jess and her family sitting in front of us. We only got to sit with them for the first few innings, after trips to the playground the seats were taken when we got back. It was good seeing you guys.

Waiting patiently while we bought tickets. It was packed last night, we waited in line for almost 20 minutes to get tickets. Notice his hat, it was a promotional item last year for having season tickets. Cooper never wears hats but we managed to get him to wear one last night.Cooper liked his first taste of cotton candy.

These last two pics make me laugh, Steve always manages to take betters pictures than I do. I think I won the picture contest this time. I'm not for sure what is going on with Cooper in the second one.

I'm sure everyone is getting tired of me posting pics of Cooper singing Take me out to the Ballgame, but it's my blog, I don't care.

Finger Painting

I'm going to go ahead and admit this but I totally stole this idea from Alicia. I don't have the least bit of creativity in me so I tend to rely on others for inspiration. This Friday I went out and got some materials so Cooper could finger paint some pictures for him room and Cameron's room. We played outside Saturday morning and got to work on our project. We only managed to get through one picture so Cameron's will have to wait until a later date.

We was a little unsure getting started. I think he was surprised I was going to let him get dirty. Of course no day would be complete without a little bit of body painting as well.

He had fun using his whole palm to paint with.

Here is is finally getting into it.

And at last the finished product. It looks much better dry once the canvas soaked up the paint.

Tent Time

It's not even 8:30 and my living already looks like this.

Favorite Sport

It's that time again for our monthly blog-off. Today's topic: favorite sport.

I must start this out by saying I have zero favorite sports to play. I was the girl who always hated gym in school, I am just not athletic. I was always afraid of getting made fun of so it gave me a complex for many years to come until I finished ninth grade and I was finished with gym class.

I do however have a favorite sport to watch and that is professional football. Notice I said professional and not college football, that does not interest me at all. Just like college basketball is a close second but professional basketball doesn't interest me at all. The NFL is the perfect season, it's not too long there are only 16 games and the whole season is like a soap opera. I love it! And what's not to love when your state has the best quarterback of all time.

I think I already mentioned in a previous post how I would much rather go out on a date to a sporting event than something romantic. Romantic dinners are not my thang! Last year I got Steve mini-series tickets to the Bats games and we got addicted to the German Roasted peanuts. In September we went to the Colts game for our anniversary and while walking around the stadium I smelled the peanuts. I swear they were almost halfway around the stadium and I smelled them from that distance. Those are the memories I like to make.

Where is Cameron?

I've been trying to teach Cooper that his old room will soon by Cameron's room. So tonight we asked him where Cameron's room was and of course he ran back there. Then Steve asked him where Cameron was? He didn't even hesitate, he ran back into the room and laid his head on my belly.

2 1/2

2 1/2, halfway to 5! Where has time gone?

Where is my 5 day old baby boy at?I thought I would take a look back at some moments in time, like our first smile captured on camera.

Learning to crawl.

First birthday

First surgery.... how pitiful is this?

18 months

2nd Birthday

And finally 2 1/2 years old! Where did all this time go? I no longer have a baby, I have a little boy.

I'm Still Alive

Nothing really new to post here from this weekend. I'm just recovering from either a stomach bug or food poisoning from Thurs & Friday. No one else in my house got it so I'm thinking it was food poisoning. Anyway... all is well now. Steve took Friday off to take care of Cooper, I stayed in bed ALL DAY LONG. Hopefully in a few days I will be back at 100% and have fun things to post.

Introducing......

Cameron Scott Lee! We finally agreed, well I finally got Steve to agree.

So, here is the story. We have known that Scott would be the middle name, after Steve's brother. Now came the task of finding a first name. When we first had Cooper we talked about Lucas if we had another boy. Lucas Scott sounded good (especially if you are a One Tree Hill fan) but I like Lucas Lee or Luke Lee. It just never stuck with me.

Early in the pregnancy one of us came up with Cameron, I liked it. It went with Scott and it went with Lee. Then we found out it was a boy and Steve wasn't sold on it. For some reason we got stuck in the C's, which wasn't our intention but some others names were Carson and Carter. We both really liked Carter but we also know another Carter. We both tried looking at some other names but nothing we could agree on. Finally we came around, the card from my flowers and my Mother's Day card were both signed- Steve, Cooper and baby Cameron. So, I guess it's official.

I couldn't help myself

I was at Target thsi week and I just couldn't help myself to some newborn clothes. They were on sale.Of course this put me in the mood to see what all I have left of Cooper's. We are also having a yard sale this weekend so it gave me a good opportunity to see what I wanted to keep or sell. This is the end result;

Newborn clothes

0-3 month clothes

3-6 month clothes. This was as far as I got.

Cooper wanted to "help" too. This was the room after he had finished helping.

You know it's a good nap when

your hair looks like this after waking up.

It finally came

My Mother's Day gift came today. Steve wanted me to wait until he got home before I opened it. I thought it was a little silly, I had mentioned wanting this book and it just so happens a Barnes & Noble box was in our mailbox today. I know I'm kind of nerdy but I can't wait to read it.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm a little late on this but for good reason. My Mother's Day gift hasn't arrived yet and I wanted to blog all at once. I will wait for a second post.

I actually had a Mother's Weekend. On Friday these beautiful flowers were delivered. The picture was taken before church on Sunday, I wanted to wait until they had all bloomed. Steve ordered them from proflowers.com, he usually orders from a local florist but he said he got the idea and discount from watching Sean Hannity. I had to laugh at that one.Saturday I wen to Oxmoor Mall (by myself) to use my bday money to get some new maternity tops. We need more maternity shops on this side of the river. I told Steve I'm not for sure what I enjoyed more; shopping by myself or driving myself and getting to listen to things other than children's songs on the radio. Wouldn't you know it, I almost spent more on Cooper than I did myself. I got him two tank tops from Old Navy, a Mickey Mouse t-shirt from the Disney store, and they also had all their children's dinnerware 40% off so I got him a Buzz Lightyear and Mickey place mat and plate.

We started off Sunday by going to church and my mom even joined us, which also happened to be her birthday. They changed things up a bit a church and gave 4 different women a chance to speak who each had children in different stages of life. After church we all (me, Steve, Cooper, my mom, Steve's parents and brother) headed over to Cheddar's for lunch. One of these days I'm going to learn to go ahead and order the Monte Cristo. I always talk myself out of it saying I don't want all the fried food, then Steve gets it and it looks soooo good. After naps and dinner, which was a wonderful hodge podge of leftovers, we went to the Pie Kitchen for dessert. I ordered their Reece's Cake, you must try this if you are a chocolate peanut butter fan.

That about wraps it up. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband! Steve does such a great job of making me feel special. I can't believe this time next year I will have a 3 1/2 year old 8 month old!

Why I Love Blogs

Cooper and I headed out yesterday to the mall to get some last minute Mother's Day shopping done. Oh, and every time we go to the mall we must split some pretzel sticks, but more on that later.

Here is why I love blogging; while I was walking in I noticed a lady about to walk out. I immediately recognized her as Megan's mom. I've only met Megan twice but have been following her blog since about the time she got married, which was two years ago and now she has a one year old son. Anyway, it's not totally blog stalker crazy, I did used to go to church with her and went to the same high but several years are between us in age so we never really knew one other. I do know her husband and have for about 9 years or so. Anyway.... I was thinking to myself, wow that's Megan's mom but she would think I was totally crazy if I started talking to her. Nope! She started talking to me! I had no idea but she reads my blog too, and of course she recognized the handsome little man I had with me. She also gave me a hug like I had known her for years, which sometimes you do feel like these people are your best friends. Such a sweet lady.

Later, while eating our pretzels, I saw Megan and her son Lincoln. First time I've seen Lincoln in person, I think. Adorable little guy! Blogging opens up your world to so many things.

Okay, so here is the problem with the pretzels. We can no longer share, my son now can eat them all himself. Either that or I'm pregnant and starving too. I ended up having to grab a sandwich from Subway because it was clear we were not both going to be satisfied, plus it was nearing lunch time. Another side note, I ordered a lemonade and gave some to Cooper. He must listen to me order my drink a lot because he kept calling it a Diet Coke. He has never had soda, maybe a sip once, but that is it. He rarely even gets juice, he has always liked water so why bother. He did like the lemonade and I developed a new craving because of it as well. Guess I know what I am buying at the store this week.

National Day of Prayer

I got this idea from When Hello Means Goodbye. If you haven't already you really should check out this blog, it's great!

Today I am praying for those people who do without the things I take for granted everyday:

A home to live in
Food on the table
A steady income
A family that loves and supports me
Wonderful friends
That ability to have children
Healthy children
A spouse
A church
The ability to worship our Lord freely
The simple fact that I get out of bed everyday with two feet to touch the ground

There are so many things in life that I forget to thank God for or pray for. Those are just the start of them.

Coopers vs Baby #2

Since I have reached the halfway point of this pregnancy I thought I would take a moment to blog about the differences & similarities between the two.

Sickness- Luckily I never got sick in either, I just felt bad. With Cooper it was immediate, within a week or two of finding out I was pregnant. I blame it on the prenatal vitamins, I actually switched Flintstones Complete and felt better within a day. This time around it took a little longer to hit me, it lasted longer and I felt worse.

Heartburn and reflux- I had it terrible with Cooper. Every night I would lay down and my throat would be on fire. I can also remember going to Puerto Vallarta with the Reid's and eating Tums like candy throughout dinner. This time no heartburn and only minor reflux. I can pretty much eat all the Mexican I want. The only thing that gives me reflux are things with lots of sugar.

Cravings- With Cooper I always craved starchy foods like mashed potatoes and biscuits. I also craved sweet tea. I still love sweet tea but I have to be careful now or I will get reflux and if I drink too much caffeine I can't sleep. Now my cravings come and go. Usually something sounds good but I end up being disappointed or nothing sounds good at all. One day I planned on making tacos for dinner and was also craving guacamole. Well I tried to make homemade guacamole but the avocados were rotten, I wasn't about to eat tacos without guacamole so I made something else. Steve has gotten used to me telling him we were going to have one thing for dinner but making something else.

Weight Gain- I was doing better this time around but I think I've caught up. After only gaining 1 lb between the last two of my check-ups, I gained quite a bit this time. I'm not going to say how much because it is quite embarrassing. But I am still on track to being in the normal range so I'm trying to not stress out about it too much.

That's about all I can think of right now. Overall, I feel pretty good and haven't felt too run down yet. I'm just waiting for the 90 degree weather to hit.

Daddy's Boy

Cooper is becoming a daddy's boy more and more each day.

It's Still A Boy!

HA! As if I really had any doubt. We had our 20 week ultrasound this morning. It takes some of the anticipation out of it, already knowing the gender, I think I was just nervous about all the measurements this time around. No need to worry, everything looked perfect. She had a hard time getting a good look at his face because his hands were covering it, which is exactly how Cooper slept as a baby. For Cooper's ultrasound I drank some sweet tea about an hour before, this time I didn't think about it so there wasn't as much movement. He weighs approximately 12 oz which my doctor said was right in the 50th percentile for this stage of pregnancy. Cooper was 7 lbs 8 oz at birth which is right at average too but that quickly dropped to the 10th & 15th percentile at each visit, so I'm not crossing my fingers for any football players this time around. I also had my regular check-up. I think I have one more visit then it's glucose testing time. I had just got done telling Steve that all the fun stuff is over, I now get to look forward to glucose, beta strep testing, 2 weeks visits and just plain getting big.

I know I made a post about having a name but that no longer holds true. We thought we did but I can't get Steve to 100% agree which is causing me doubts although it is still my favorite. We had another couple of possibilities but we just can't agree. This afternoon I took a much needed nap (I had Cooper at Steve's parents house by 8:30 followed by a picnic at Perrin Park with our church after my appointment) and I had a dream that we had just come home from the hospital and did not his name and I never got any of Cooper's old clothes washed up. That is so unlike me, I will have that nursery ready in a matter of a month :)

My doctor's office also now does 3D and 4D ultrasounds, I think we may look into the cost of those, they would need to be paid out of pocket, but not sure yet. It would neat, but I also like the surprise of not knowing any features of our baby. I never had one with Cooper, so we will see.

We finally made it....

It's been a year but Karen & I finally made it for our Mexican lunch. If you don't remember the catastrophe you can read up on it here and here.

Karen and I met up for lunch on Saturday and little did I know she was treating me for a birthday lunch. She made me pick and of course I chose Mexican, Puerto Vallarta. It was so good. This time there were no left hand turns, no rear ends and plenty of white queso.

Thanks for lunch and for the cards :)

Awesome!

When we walked into church today we had an awesome surprise.... the tarp that was separating our current building from the new addition had been removed and for the first time we got a glimpse at our new building. Granted it was only the lobby, but it was soooo nice! It's amazing to think that less than 14 months ago it was an empty field, now in 5 weeks we will be having our first service. Our minister made the comment that he liked looking at the faces of people walking in and their amazement, he was thinking to himself, they haven't seen anything yet.

So, our first service is on June 6th at 9:30 and 11:00. I know many of my readers have their own home church, but if you would like to join us we will be there for the 9:30 service.

Happy Birthday Levi!

Levi had his birthday party this weekend at SIGS and we all had a great time, Steve maybe the best. It started off great, Cooper was having a great time, even more so than the first time we went last summer. If you read Tracey's blog then you heard about Steve & Paul having a race in one of the bouncers. I thought I would take Cooper over to watch them race. After this I have no idea what happened. Somehow he got so scared he literally had a complete meltdown. I had to take him outside of the bounce room, he would not go back, he kept shaking as he was trying to eat his raisins and even when it was time for cake and presents, he wouldn't eat his cupcake and kept asking to go home. I haven't seen that type of meltdown in a long time. I can't figure out if he thought Steve was hurt or Paul, he was staring at Paul when it happened. He kept screaming, "Ride Daddy's Car", he wanted to leave so badly. Luckily there was only about 15 minutes of bounce time left, but we did miss the group picture. He would not go back in. Anyway, here are a few pictures of him having fun before tragedy struck.
So, Happy Birthday to Levi, thanks for inviting us. We really did have a good time!

Here we go again

I feel like I just threw away some of Cooper's medicine, now I have to throw away more.

Here is some info on recalled infants/children's Tylenol and Motrin and long with some allergy products.

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/new_recall.inc