My Gracie

On Cooper's photo shoot day, she can't be left out. :)

Oh, how I've evolved! I love my portraits by Grace!!!

Hats

Fashionista.

Pastor Brenda as Amelia Bedelia.

Staff vs. Seniors

Tim played on the staff basketball team this year and took on the seniors one afternoon. It was fun to go and cheer him on as they had no problem beating the students.... winded, but scored more on the boards. :)

Hair Cut

Such a big girl! This time I didn't have to restrain her, and she sat by herself. There have been major screaming matches each day when we brush her hair, so I finally made the appointment. The trim, along with conditioner, has helped a little bit. We may see a "Cooper" do in the future, though.

Sick Boy

Cooper is good at catching colds. Nothing that really slows him down, but enough to disrupt sleep and prevent us from going out in public. I always assume that the Y ladies or the librarians would say, "Are you kidding us? You can't bring him in here snotting and coughing on everyone like that." So, when he is icky, we come home on preschool days and just chill. He apparently enjoys his alone time.

We did have a spell where he woke up one morning already slipping into adrenal crisis with extreme lethargy and vomiting. Unable to keep his stress meds down, a shot was once again necessary, and then he recovered just fine by evening. A relief to know the shot works so well for him, but frustrating because we thought we had this all figured out. We were also able to keep him home and not rush off to the doctor that day, too. They continue to seem to trust our judgment.

Having the shot and then stress doses when sick prevents us from testing his levels for 3 - 4 weeks, so we're behind a bit on knowing what his numbers look like. We were able to get blood work done last Friday and are anxious to hear the results. (Thankful we did - he has yet another head cold!) He has grown a ton! He jumped on the growth chart from not being on it to the 50%! Happy and nervous about that all at the same time.

If you didn't know he had CAH you would think he was your typical three year old boy! Always on the go and a handful! :)

Half Birthday for Grace

School Rule: No birthday parties in the first two weeks of school. :( Grace turned 4 the week before she started school this year. So, we waited until her 1/2 birthday in March to celebrate at school! I put a 1/2 on her birthday shirt (which just fit her!), we half decorated cookies to take, she wanted the pink napkins cut in half, and they poured the cups 1/2 way with juice. Too much fun we had with this! :)

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

I love Dr. Seuss Day! Green Eggs and Ham for lunch and pizza in the shape of The Hat for dinner, and Cat in the Hat games and coloring pages.

Monkey Joe's

Our friends Lori and Aiden introduced us to Monkey Joe's on a cold March day.... LOVE IT!!! My kids, of course, were terrified at first, but once I showed them how to do it - they loved it! It is intended for kids, but parents are encouraged to "help" their four and under children. Good thing, 'cause this place rocks! :) (Plus I had a coupon for BOGO, and they only charged me for the 2 year old... $5!) In the first picture that is Grace coming out and Cooper going up!

Volleyball practice

Lot's of volleyball going on around here and this is Cooper's "tough" pose as he waits for the ball to be tossed to him. So focused!!! :)

(So far we've only knocked over a lamp once....)

Babysitting

We watched this cutie, Baby Landon, for a friend one day. We were a bit too fast for him at first, but after playing with me and Cooper for a couple of hours while Grace was at preschool he was loving the attention from all of us! It was also good practice for what we are praying our days will be like come fall with Baby Rigney!

Last Chance?

The first Spring Tease! Snow pants and sweat shirts.

Signs...

I found this on Grace's bedroom door one afternoon....

I don't remember, but I must have spelled out all those words for her! She cracks us up!!

Museum Trip

We took more friends to the museum in February. Dora and Diego were there!!!

I love that my kids would rather be behind the camera than playing dress up at the Barbie exhibit. :) Good times!

Must jump ahead to the present....

To say:

Happy Birthday Cooper!!!!

We started his birthday out bright and early at 6:30 AM before Tim left for the day. Chocolate chip pancakes and presents! A bit early, but always fun! We're off to M'Ds for dinner at a track meet with Tim and then play at the Y. A jammed packed birthday with a party on Saturday as well!! Happy Birthday my precious baby!!! We love you!

And, a Happy St. Patrick's Day to ya as well!

Can you see how we've grown?!

For Grandpa and Grandma

I've wanted to make these for a long time and finally got around to it. (What with all the snow this winter!) They turned out really cute and I think I'll have to make myself some someday.

Blizzard of 2011

We hunkered down for the blizzard and survived being home together for 3 days. We made an obstacle course one afternoon to get moving! Move the blocks, make a tower, over the stools, through the ball pit, hopscotch, through the tunnel, get the ball on the bed, shoot a basket, wrap the baby and put her in time out! Good times!

Stuck inside....

So, let's craft!

Grace did all the cutting of the hearts for her "Guppy Love" Valentines. She did the mouths and signed her name, and I helped her with the glue. I also wrote the sayings on the backs...

"Best Fishes this Valentine's Day"

"You're oceans of fun!"

"May all your fishes come true!"

Too fun!

(This might be the first project that was actually cheaper to do than buy because I already had all the stuff. Saved me like, $3, right?!)

Cleaning....

I found the kids singing, "Daddy doesn't like a dirty house!" and cleaning everything they could reach with their brooms. Maybe they don't know how to use those properly because they see it happen so little?

Three Wheeling with The Family!

Here is our First trip to Ben and Laura's for some three/four wheeling fun. Tim couldn't make it this time but went back the next weekend with us. (I'll have to get those pictures from their camera soon.) Cooper was fearless, and Grace enjoyed it until she got cold. I was brave Mommy and went a couple of time with the kids! The adults had just as much fun being big kids that day, I think!