Birthday boy

Last weekend we celebrated Cooper's 1st birthday. His actual birthday was right after memorial day, but schedules did not permit for a party that weekend. He doesn't really know the difference any way. ;)

Our friend Stacey made the super-cute monkey cake and yummy chocolate cupcakes. The monkey cake was a banana cake of course. Thanks Stace!



Two of his cousins and almost all of Cooper's Aunts and Uncles were there and all of his grandparent's were able to come. (we missed you, NC bunch!) He even got a call from some of his great-grandparents.

Andi, Cooper's only girlfriend that he has made out with, also came, although neither of them were in a kissing mood apparently (so no photo ops).

I think he really enjoyed eating the cake after we gave him a taste of it. We had to give him an impromptu bath afterwards.



Opening presents seemed to be a foreign concept, so good thing big brother was there to help!

1st hair cut

Yay! Matt finally let me cut Cooper's hair! He was wanting me to wait until Coop turned 1, but I guess he couldn't wait any longer either. With yesterday being Mother's day, I seem to have gotten a lot of 'presents'. Matt mopped all the floors for me, then we got to spend the rest of the day together as a family just hanging out. We went to Bass Pro to walk around, then went to another shopping area where the boys picked out a sun dress to buy for me. (matt says it's a hippie sun dress) Then we went out for a late dinner at one of my favorite restaurants that we never go to because it's mexican, but Matthew was fine with 'enjoying' his dinner twice just because it was Mother's day. So after all that we came home and I finally got to cut Cooper's hair. All in all, it was a great day! Thanks boys! I hope all you moms out there were made to feel appreciated as much as I was!

Papa Don

Several weekends ago we went to the cabin to celebrate Grandma Kathy's birthday along with Papa Don and Grandma Ruth who came up from Georgia. We always have a great time visiting with them and wished they lived closer. (but they have other grand kids and great grand kids too, so I won't be selfish.)

Papa Don is a wonderful artist, and is great with lots of mediums, but one of his best is wood carving. (although I really enjoy his chalk drawings a lot too) So he made both of the boys birds.

I should give you some background first: One of the things Carter looks forward to when we go to the cabin with G.ma Kathy is looking through the 'bird book' and then sitting by the creek and bird watching. Not only does the 'bird book' have every bird imaginable in it, but also the corresponding sounds. He always goes to one bird in particular and says it's his favorite (usually he has lots of 'favorites' with things, but this one always stays the same). I can't remember the name of it for the life of me as I am sitting down to post this, but I'm sure you ornithologists out there could tell by looking at the carving.

So Papa Don decided to make a carving of it for him. As soon as he saw it, he said that it was his favorite and proceeded to find the matching one in the bird book. Since Cooper does not yet have 'favorites', Papa Don made a beautiful mallard duck to give to him. They are both so life like, it's amazing!

Thank you Papa Don for such a wonderful keepsake!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Carter!

New floors!!!!!

It all started with repainting the living room.....from there it became, "we need (using the term 'need' loosely) new couches". Then since the couches won't be delivered for a week or so, we might as well move all the other furniture out and re-do the floors (which still had the original finish on them). So began our DIY project.
Just sanding them made them look 10times better! Sanding was a pain in the rear, then we had to go through the whole house and fill all the cracks, and then sand again, and again, and I think again. Then we had to stain, then 3 coats of polyurethane and sanding between all coats. You get the idea.
So we have been living in the basement for about 2 1/2 weeks now and using pretty much only clothes that we had in the laundry room, or that we can reach (since our dressers are crammed into carter's room). Fun.
And now that we're done, we get to dust every single thing (even all the walls and doors) and move it all back. Anyone want to come over and help with any 'spring cleaning' ? ;)

so this is Carter trying out the sander with his favorite boots, way cool ear muffs, and Alex the lion.

we are totally about child-proofing for our kids. NOT! Extension cords aren't that bad, right?

more child labor. (after posing for this picture, he dropped the nail gun on the floor and took out a nice chunk. Matt handled it really well though.)

the newest picture of our "new living room". (the couches aren't very photogenic) Doesn't it look a million times better and more cozy?!?!? Great job Matt!

the boys

Ok. Is it just me, or does Cooper look like Kevin from The Office here? ;)

Cooper is 8 months old now, and already has a tooth (not shown in picture). He is still the easiest going kid I have ever met. He loves yogurt, carrots, paper (whoops), and watching his big brother run in circles around him.

Carter has been taking swim lessons from a very hunky swim instructor (matt). At first he still didn't like being in the water unless you were holding on to him, but now can swim from one end to the other with a floatie on! He even puts his head under the water and doesn't cry!

Kudos swim instructor Dad!!!

my awesome husband

Matt has been wanting to build a play set for the boys for a long time, so one day he decided he was going to get at it. Good thing I am not in charge of planning, because I would have waited for nicer weather (like spring time?!?) and we wouldn't have had this really cool play house yet! He did a really good job of building it. I think it is the sturdiest play house you will find. He designed it all in his head, well, he did show me a sketch prior to all the construction. Ladies (and men for that matter) try not to be too jealous of how awesome my husband is at everything! ;)

We did have one nice day last week and decided to have Carter's friends over to play on it. They all seemed to enjoy playing on it, and the baby siblings seemed to enjoy just being outside. It was nice to get out of the house.

He also had some 'spare time' to finish the mantle for the fireplace that he had tiled last year. How does he come up with such cool stuff?!?