December Festivities

I am completely behind on the blog because of the crazy turn that our lives have taken in the month of December with my sister, Ashlie's sudden illness and liver transplant, but I did not want to miss documenting some of our fun events and our holidays even though it's a little late!

Cooper has absolutely loved Christmas this year! We have tried very hard to keep the focus on Jesus and giving not receiving, but it sure has been hard. Two things that we did this month did make an impact- I think! One of these was an Advent Chain that had a devotion for everyday in December. Dan and I started not giving each other gifts the year that we got married. Instead, we adopted a family and bought presents for them. We have continued this tradition with us and expanded it to the kids this year. They got gifts from Santa and then from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc, but they did not get gifts from us. We adopted a family who needed some help having a Merry Christmas and shopped and wrapped all of the presents for them together as a family. We had the best time doing this, and I think it made Cooper find a little more value in giving- at least for a little while!

Cooper's school program was a couple of weeks ago. It was very cute, and Cooper was the ham of the show.


Here are Cooper and Reese Ann in a rare good picture of both of them before the program


This is a good summary picture of Cooper's behavior at the program- he was very proud of himself and provided much entertainment for everyone!


and another showing how much he amused himself and enjoyed the performance!


Reese Ann loved watching her brother perform, and when the entire room of people was quiet during a break from singing, Cooper yelled, "Calling Reese Ann!" Dan and I wanted to crawl under the chairs, but RA loved it! On the ride home I asked Cooper if his teachers told him to stay quiet while on the stage between songs, and he said, "they did, but not every kid up there had a baby sister, and I really wanted her to see me." At least his intentions were good- I guess!


With Edie & Nanie at the program


Santa was also there, and you can tell by this picture that RA was not a fan!


and another! You can tell in this one that Santa might not have been a big fan of RA either! He did still visit her on Christmas morning, though!

My sister, Ashlie...

My sister, Ashlie, has had a crazy month journey with some serious GI problems and was just added to the liver transplant list at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis. I have set up a blog to keep everyone updated with her progress toward total healing.

www.prayforashlie.blogspot.com

15 months!

Reese Ann has hit the 15 month mark this month! She has changed so much since her first birthday, so I thought I would share some stats and pictures about our sweet baby girl! She weighs in at 21.5 lbs which is firmly planted in the 25 percentile. She took her first steps at 13 months, but just in the last few weeks has decided to make walking her main mode of transportation.



Reese Ann is a dare-devil and will get into anything including physically getting into the toy cabinet in our den!




When disciplined for her many adventurous behaviors, she can throw a mean fit! All I have to do is look at her the wrong way when she has done something she wasn't supposed to do, and she melts into a big puddle (note the actual puddle of drool that she is making in this fit)!


You can see the evidence of the adventurous behavior on her forehead in this picture! Reese Ann has had many a bump and bruise (some with the help of big brother, too).


She loves sitting in Cooper's chair, and he has been sweet to share it with her! Thankfully, Edie & G-Chip have given her one as an early Christmas present!




Reese Ann is such a joyful little girl! She is a big talker and loves blowing kisses! She loves her dolls and baby furniture, and when she decides to play with some of Cooper's toys, she picks the one pink car out of his hundreds of cars and rolls it along the floor like her brother!

She is not a great eater, but thankfully, is not allergic to milk or eggs like Cooper, so she gets the majority of calories in her diet from the many sippy cups full of milk she drinks a day. If we would let her, she would ingest only junk food and sweets- she has loved every morsel she has gotten so far!

She is quite the escape artist- she will lose her bow at any given opportunity and has gotten remarkably good at taking off her shoes and socks very quickly especially in the car. I was able to fool her a little bit with her first pair of tights last weekend for church. She tried the whole 5 minute car ride to pull them off!

We are so thankful for all that this baby girl brings to our family! Although she is growing up too fast for this momma, we are excited to see what the next few months bring in the development of her cute little personality!

Four!

Our little boy has hit the four year mark! Cooper had an almost week-long birthday celebration starting on his actual birthday, the 1st of November, and finally ending with his train birthday party on the 6th! On his birthday we stayed home and played, baked cookies to take to his school celebration the next day, and made a trip to the pumpkin patch with Edie. He picked his G-Chip's favorite restaurant, Asahi, for his birthday dinner!



His birthday party was at Casey Jones Train Museum, and Cooper had a blast with all of his friends! The kids played with trains and on the trains there, colored train pictures, climbed in and out of the train tent, and rode the 25 cent moving train.


Cooper and his friend, Harrison, in front of one of the trains on display there.


getting ready to blow out the candles!


About to start tearing into some presents with the help of his friends, Reed & Cade!

Cooper, your mom and dad love you so much! We cannot believe that you are four- where has the time gone! You are such a sweet, fun-natured boy! You are definitely the first child (and your momma's child for that matter) and you are a strong leader and boss! You make us laugh everyday and amaze us by just how much about life you already know! You love Reese Ann and are so sweet to her- the majority of the time! You adore playing trains, like watching movies, love to dance, and love to read books! You are so good at memorizing Bible versus- you already know 15 or 20! We are so thankful for you and all that you add to our family! You sure have come a long way! We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for you in the next year of life!

Halloween fun!

Our Halloween fun lasted a few days around here! It started with Cooper's school party and Buzz Lightyear making his appearance at First Pres! Here he is with his friend, Tristan, at school:



We followed that up with the neighborhood costume parade on Saturday morning! We live in a neighborhood with lots of young kids, and it is the second year that we have paraded the neighborhood in costumes! Our little flower loved watching all of the kids run around her!



We skipped the major trick-or-treating madness in our neighborhood Saturday night to go to the Auburn game, so our trick-or-treating was a little bit calmer! We had fun visiting grandparents' houses and some friends' houses that were expecting us!

War Cam Eagle!

On Saturday afternoon, we made the journey to Oxford to see Auburn play at Ole Miss! We decided that the 2-hour trip to Mississippi would be much more manageable that a 6-hour trip to Auburn. We had a great time with the whole Edwards family cheering the Tigers on to victory! Cooper was fairly interested in the game and thankfully, had many family members to entertain him! We are crossing our fingers that the rest of the season turns out as great as it has been so far! War Eagle!

Turks & Caicos!

Dan and I had the fabulous opportunity to have a kid-free island getaway a couple of weeks ago! My parents kept the kids (with a little help from Nan, too), and they had a blast, too! I think Cooper thought he was on his own little vacation- Camp Edie!



It took Dan and me a couple of days to really relax, but once we did, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Turks & Caicos is amazing- such a beautiful island that still has a rustic, native charm. The resorts were all beautiful, but we loved ours!



The sunsets were amazing! Dan and I both read books and magazines, snorkeled several times on the reef right off of our beach, rode bikes around the island, and completely enjoyed every minute of our vacation! We are ready to go back!

Train obsessed!

Cooper is still loving trains these days! We took a trip to Nashville to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine and see all of the Thomas train-themed activities! Cooper had a blast, and the family entourage had a good time seeing him so excited about trains! We are planning yet another train birthday party this year per Cooper's mandate! Here are a few pictures from our recent train outing!


Cooper with Uncle Rob in the cool Thomas t-shirt that Rob gave him!


Cooper & Edie on the train


taking in some of the other train activities


Reese Ann had had enough by the end of the train ride and was happy to give it up on Uncle Rob's shoulder!

First Day of Playschool!

One reason we celebrated the arrival of Labor Day around here (other than to celebrate Reese Ann's birthday) was because it meant Cooper got to start school! He loved going three mornings a week to the 2-year-old class at First Presbyterian last year, and this year he is in the 3 & 4-year-old class and is staying to eat his lunch and take a rest two days a week. The structure definitely is good for this precocious little boy!

One Year Old!

Reese Ann has hit the one year mark! Her birthday was Saturday, and the day was perfect! We celebrated with family at home over lunch- complete with cake, presents, and lots of love and attention! We ended the day at the river watching Auburn win their first game of the 2010 season while enjoying the beautiful weather! Here are a few pictures from the day...


It was so much fun for this mom to decorate with lots of pink for the party!


Cupcake tower with fun flags for the birthday girl!


Having a great time opening presents- the baby doll with a magnetic pacifier is one of her favorites!


Our sweet little girl- we had to get the picture in the hat quickly- it didn't last long!


Big brother feeding Reese Ann when she didn't love the icing on her hands! She took a turn feeding him, too! He was so sweet to the birthday girl and much more excited about all of her presents (including helping Dan put them together) than she was!

Reese Ann weighs in at 19 lbs and 6 oz. We had an unexpected pediatrician visit the day before her birthday due to a nasty cold & fever virus that she has been fighting off for a while. Thankfully, she woke up fever-free the morning of her birthday! She will cruise around holding just one finger, so walking is not too far away! She has such a fun little personality these days! She has gotten two teeth on the top and now has four on the bottom. She has started testing her mom with little things- like leaving a bow in her hair! I have tried to explain to her that momma always wins, but she hasn't quite gotten it yet! She will climb up anything but the stairs are her favorite. She has gone on a baby food strike, so I am having to get creative with table food options suitable for a 1 year old. She doesn't know it yet- but the bottle will be leaving the Sikes house by the end of the week!


Reese Ann- you sure have come a long way in this last year! Time has flown by, and we can't believe that you are one! Your mom, dad, and brother love you so much and could not imagine life without you in it! We are so thankful for the many blessings the Lord has sent our way through you and to you this year! We can't wait to see what the next year of life holds for you, sweet girl!

Sippy cup!

Reese Ann has finally decided that she knows how to drink out of a sippy cup! She has good timing since her 1st birthday is less than two weeks away and this mama believes in getting rid of bottles at one! Cooper had to celebrate this accomplishment with her- we hope he is always so loving toward his little sister!