Our little man is...

Mowing & Grilling! Cooper has so much fun every time he goes to Edie & G-Chip's house! The bubble mower has been one of his favorites all summer, and the grill was just given to him this week. He loved it and woke up the next morning asking for grilled plastic corn for breakfast!

Dodo & B

We are so blessed in the friend department! Since we moved back to our hometown about 3 1/2 years ago, the Lord has been faithful in providing us friends- old and new! Dodo & B (or by their real names, Josie & Brad) fall into that "old" category! Josie & I became friends in 2nd grade when she came to my school, and we have been friends ever since. Brad's family and mine are good family friends of many years, so you see why I classify them as old!

When we moved back we became much closer to them and their precious little boy, Jack Hale. Dan and I decided we could have kids because of how much we loved Jack Hale! Tragically, Jack Hale passed away almost two years ago when Cooper was an infant. Since then, Dodo & B have reciprocated the love for a friend's child. They are so great to Cooper, and he adores them (hence the Dodo & B names)!

Several things have happened over the last few days that involve Dodo & B, so I thought I would make this post about them! The first involved a trip to their house the other night when Dan was playing soccer and Cooper was in one of his almost terrible twos moods! Brad asked Cooper what he wanted to be for Halloween and Coop said, "Dodo!" A second later B produced this hilarious wig that looks remarkably like Dodo's long, curly, blond hair, and Coop got his wish!

Cooper and B had so much fun playing, and I appreciated him entertaining Coop for a while! Cooper thought Brad was so cool and mimicked everything he did!

After Jack Hale passed away, Josie and Brad were instrumental in bringing a playground to Jackson called Gabriel's Garden. It is a state-of-the-art playground where handicapped kids and typical kids can play together. It is such a great place, and is such an asset in our community! Dan and I took Cooper and his friend, Cade, out there today to play together and got some pictures. The playground was packed with kids enjoying the beautiful weekend morning!

Fall-my favorite of all (the seasons that is)!

I have been inspired by several blogging friends doing posts on the new season and thought I would share some things about fall that make me happy! The first three involve my sweet family- my hubby was born in October, we married the beginning of November, and almost five years to the day later, Cooper arrived! That's enough to make you love a season!

I love pumpkins patches!! In one of the small towns I work in, there is a great pumpkin patch! My mom asked me to check out the pumpkin status today, and it is full!! Here is a picture from last year's visit with some friends! I hope we can repeat the adventure!


With Cooper's birthday being November 1st, we decided to have a Halloween-themed birthday party this year! It should be alot of fun! I was surfing the net trying to find creative ideas for the party and came across this fall snack mix recipe which looks like it is right up my alley (except for the peanut butter pieces with the nut issue)! I adore candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins and have to steer myself away from them at the grocery store and Target!

I am ready for the weather to totally make the change here in West Tennessee. It is still a little warm in the afternoons (a balmy 85) to feel too much like fall, but the mornings sure are nice!

I will leave you with this picture from an Auburn acquaintance turned blogging friend Erika. I think this is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while! Happy Fall, Y'all!

Friends and Entertaining

We have had a fun-filled weekend! Our Friday night was spent having a great dinner with friends at the Cobles house. This picture is of the three boys quietly watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. As you can imagine, they did not stay still for very long. My child is the one who is standing on my friend's newly upholstered couch. This was the first day that he wore these shoes, so maybe they weren't too dirty. Sorry, Tricia!

Our Saturday was spend playing, watching football, and preparing for a party that was at our house last night for my friend and co-worker, Emily, and her fiance, Russ. I have posted a few pictures of the flowers because they turned out so well, and I had so much fun getting them together. Thanks, Mom, for your help with the zenias!!

Dan is always a great host and such a help getting the house and yard ready for a party!

Some of the girls at the party last night- Emily (the bride), Rachael, myself, and Marth Jo

Kids say the funniest things!

Cooper is at the age where he can talk a whole lot, but he has gotten in the habit of saying things a certain way from times when he couldn't say so much. For some reason he has called popsicles "baucum." I have no clue where this came from. This afternoon he asked for a "baucum," so I thought it might be a good opportunity to learn the right way to say popsicle. He could sound out the word and did multiple times, but never really said it correctly and it became a fun game to him! So at the end of the day, it is still a baucum in his little world!

Weekend Update

We got the Tahoe, and it is great! What a relief! We were able to squeeze in a little fun on our trip to Middle Tennessee. While Dan and Uncle Rob traveled to get the car, Cooper, Mom, and I went to sister Ashlie's company picnic and did some shopping! We had such a fun day! The company picnic was the nicest picnic I could have dreamed of, and Coop had a blast with the other kids and of course on the dandy jumper. Thanks to our sweet family for helping us travel across the state to get the new car and have some family fun at the same time! Here is Cooper's response to the weekend activities...Sure looks like it hurts his neck, but I guess he did not care! Have a great week!

Ebay Purchase of the Week...

For the two of us in this household who are old enough to use a computer and paypal, ebay purchases are a very common occurence. I am usually looking at clothes for Cooper or purses for myself, and Dan is always watching items (usually related to road biking or soccer) but doesn't buy much. When our ebay hunt is for the same item watch out. As we proved this week, it can get dangerous! Our latest purchase...

A big one, huh? We are both a little in denial about this purchase. Although, it was well thought out and well researched. Dan says everything looks good with the VIN # (he can run lots of stuff from his office) and that we got a good deal, so we'll see! We are picking up the Tahoe from Crossville, TN this weekend! We'll keep you posted! Oh, yeah- if anyone wants a very nice, lightly used, loaded black Honda Accord- the used car dealer in me might be coming out- let me know!!!

Cooper's Zoo Trip

Cooper had a fun Zoo outing on Friday! Our friend, Katie, keeps Cooper when I am working and they are always doing fun things! I am so fortunate to have her and her family in our lives! Katie & Jessica (a Union student who has been living with Katie since the tornado hit) took Cooper and Lydia (Katie's precious 3-year-old) to Memphis & they had so much fun! He loved the chickens Thanks, Katie! I am glad Cooper can experience the Zoo while this allergic mom avoids it!

Baby Teague!

Last night a fun group of girls got together to celebrate Ashley & Baby Teague! We had a great dinner, & she got some great baby things even though most of them were white! We will have to help accessorize with pink or blue once the little one is here!

What was I thinking???

I do not do many things well after 10 pm. I like the former background, but why in the world I thought it belonged on my blog sure beats me! I found this background today which should last for a while. It suits my simple, bright style a little better!

Late Night

So, I tried to pump myself up to stay up late and watch Gov. Palin's speech tonight. I am so tired but I made it through the speech (which was so good if you missed it), a child waking up, and now can't wind down! I started messing with the blog and could not stop! I found this new background and loved it because it looks like two rooms in my house- Cooper's nursery with the polka dots and our bedroom with the colors. Hope you enjoy the change!

Daily Scripture

I decided to add the feature of daily scripture to our blog! I think it is a great addition! I have been doing a Bible Study with a group of my closest friends, and from this study, I have become more convicted about more dedicated to being in the word daily- multiple times a day if possible. Reading a book by a christian author or listening to praise music is no substitute for this. Aren't blogs great! It's amazing how God can use something as 21st century as a blog to share scripture among family and friends!

Our fun 3-day weekend!

We had such a fun-filled weekend! With several out-of-town family visitors and many activities including a trip to the river, we stayed really busy, and as usual, Cooper was the center of attention all three days! He really needs some cousins!! Today also marked Cooper's 22-month birthday!

Cooper riding in the jeep with his Edie and Sis-sis! He adores riding in the jeep!

Cooper and Sis-sis playing outside

Cooper, Edie & Sadie- the Edwards family prized pup!

Playing with Edie

Cooper with cousin Jill at the river. Sweet Jill made Coop this cute dog out of gloves! He loved it! He even said to her, "Thank you for the dog." Nice to know the continual manner reminders pay off! He also loves to say "Bless You" when people sneeze which makes us laugh! He is growing up so fast!

Posing with new dog!