What a great day!

Mass at 9:00. Jackson behaved himself (for the most part).

Grande Caramel Frapp Light. Mmm....

Shopped at Lowe's for flowers.
Loaded up the Routon with mulch and plants (van now smells like a hamster cage).

Lunch at Jimmy Johns. Mmm...
Somehow we got Jackson and Cooper fed there and we were still able to eat, too. Wow!

Spent way too much $$$ at target, but got lots of goodies!

Home for naptime (which was fairly non-existent). But, good nonetheless.

Ribeye Steaks and Zucchini on the grill. Mmm...

Bathtime for the boys, and early bedtime (thanks to short naps).

Worked out in the yard and got one flower bed finished. Our hydrangeas look so pretty this year. We actually have one bed that is in the shade finally (after several years of waiting for trees to grow). I am hoping that impatiens will make it there. They are one of my favorite flowers because they remind me so much of Mawmaw Bea (my mom's mom). They don't usually do so well in the Texas heat, but this might be a suitable place for them. We shall see. She would be proud of me working in the yard. I'm not actually a huge fan of digging in the dirt.
If it could all be potting soil, free of mysterious creepy crawly things, I would love to garden. However, all it takes is one fat grub worm to cramp my style. eeek! But, it feels so good to get the sense of accomplishment when I look back and see how nice it is after it is finished.

Went for my "evening" run at 9:15. GREAT randown selection of songs thinks to my IPOD shuffle.
1. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
2. ODB - Baby I got your money
3. U2 - New Year's Day
Could it get any better???
Yes, I only get to listen to a few songs because I am so fast! HAHA! Yeah right. It's because I only run a mile. But, it's just enough for me to relieve some stress, and have some time to myself. I think about my dad every night when I'm running. I guess because he ran track when he was young. When he died, I was so afraid that I would forget things about him - like the way he smelled, or the sound of his voice, and mostly his laugh. I miss him so much and I still cry alot when I think about him. But, I haven't forgotten any of those things about him. Whenever I am experiencing something really happy and joyous - I instantly think about him. He appreciated simple things in life - and I still want to share those moments with him. When I run, I remember what is was like to know he was proud of me. I feel like I don't want to let him down. I keep going ... not just with the run, but with life ... With everything I do, I keep going forward because I know he is watching me and feels proud of me. It's crazy that even when he is gone, I still don't want to dissapoint him. Not too long ago I backed the brand new Routon into our Passat, and my very first thought is, "Dad." Literally, I think about him. I don't worry about the car or the van, I don't worry about what Colin will say (he is VERY understanding). Instead, I instictfully feel that I have disappointed my dad. I had to smile after I thought about him. He must have been doing something very right as a father, if I still feel that respect and fear of disappointing him even after he is no longer here.

Well, after that excursion from my list of happy things, I should get back and explain how my day finished ....

Drank a Diet Dr. Pepper and had a blowpop and went through pictures from my camera from the last couple of days.

What a great day. It is all about the little things.

Here are the two boys in Jackson's bed. Jackson always asks for me to put Cooper in the bed before his nap. They are so cute - giggling and climbing on top of each other.

Toys at the Dinner Table

This picture is fairly self-explanatory, but I've learned my lesson about allowing Jackson to bring toys to the table. This was yesterday morning at breakfast. I left him at the table to run upstairs and grab clothes for him. By the time I got back downstairs, his trucks were COVERED in yogurt. So, we gave them a bath in the sink. No more toys at the dinner table.

Here's Super Jackson just before he got a haircut yesterday.

We went to the park today with our mom's group.
Jackson ate a cupcake - meaning, he licked all the bright yellow icing off the top, and what he didn't eat ended up on his face, hands, and shirt.

Just thought it was very funny to see our cars in the parking lot at the park -
vans, vans, and more vans.

Cooper passed out this evening after a long day. Let's hope he sleeps well tonight.

Hanging Out

Life is good in the Delaney house... although Cooper has decided he would rather not sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better. Waking up at 6 am wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to get up with him at 10:30, 1:00. and 4:00. ick.
Jackson was going through a little "phase" where he was getting out of his bed and bringing an assortment of toys into it. I found him yesterday morning with 3 books, a farm truck, a barn, about 10 farm animals, and an array of cars and trucks. He had somehow slept all night in the middle of all of the toys. For his nap and tonight he did fine, so let's hope that he can remember to stay in bed from now on.
Today the weather was just perfect, and we met a friend of mine, Adrienne, and two of her little girls in downtown McKinney. We shopped a little, and then walked around the square and enjoyed the fresh air. Then, after we got home and ate lunch, the boys played outside and I tried to spruce up the backyard a little bit. I got quite a bit of weeding done, though it was interuppted every minute when I had to put Cooper back in the middle of the blanket so he couldn't reach the grass, leaves, and dirt he was so eagerly trying to eat. Jackson LOVES being outside. He always has. He just ran and ran and ran. I'm so glad the rain has stopped and we have a nice week to be outside.
Here are a few pictures from the last week ...

Yes, Cooper is crawling up the stairs.
Colin was ready to catch him, but he didn't need any help.
Needless to say, the gate is now up

Here's Jackson rocking out with my ipod shuffle.
I have no clue what song was on - but he was loving it.
He's such a funny kid.

Helping a Brother Out

This morning as I was trying to get the kids dressed, I kept finding Cooper over at the couch, pulling himself up to watch Jackson. He is so proud of his new skill.
Cooper also thought that Jackson's feet were fun to taste. Jackson didn't think it was quite as fun.
We went to the movies today with our mom's group - we saw Winnie the Pooh. They are doing a special thing at the theater where they show older films. It was POURING down rain when we arrived, but I got both the boys in and we had a great time. Well, Jackson had a great time. Cooper was tired and had a hard time falling asleep with the noise of the movie. I spent most of the time walking up and down the aisle. All in all, it was worth it for Jackson.
When we got home I was trying to fix lunch for the boys, and I had Cooper in his highchair - I had to run out of the room to get his sippy cup, and when I cam back Jackson was sitting in the chair holding Cooper's food ready to feed him. So, I told him, "Go ahead!" He was so excited, and Cooper couldn't keep the smile off his face, either.
I also took some video of it, and you can view them on Photo Bucket

Mother's Day

So, Cooper is on the move. It's only been a week, but he definitely has the hang of it. As if that isn't crazy enough, two days ago he started pulling himself up. Yep, I just put him down on the ground, he leans forward, starts crawling, and heads to the couch. Then he pulls himself up to his knees, and then stands. Then he falls. Crazy kid. So, I haven't been able to get much done. Lots of back and forth to the den so I can try to prevent some of his falls. He has quite a few bruises.
As of yesterday, he has a new skill of being able to sit up on his own, too. He has been sitting up for a while, but now he can push himself to a sitting position. Colin went in to get him after he woke up from his nap, and he was just sitting up in his crib, smiling away.

In other news, I am going to try and post some videos on Photo Bucket, so you can see them. The problem is that most of the videos are too large, but, I did get one of him crawling uploaded earlier today. So, here's a link for your viewing pleasure: http://s628.photobucket.com/albums/uu9/elizabeth_ann_delaney/

Today was Mother's Day - and it was wonderful. We woke up and went to church together, and the boys both did very well. Cooper was exhausted, but he stayed distracted and entertained by everyone around us. We made a trip to the grocery store, and then came home and hung out around the house. Nothing too exciting. Colin brought me cupcakes home on Friday, and we ate the last one tonight. I won't admit to how many there were : )
Then I got a few gifts - a new flour sifter (Yay!), a couple of new books, and best of all ... new toilet seats! Haha! I know, I'm crazy. But, I asked Colin if he could please get me some, and he listened. It's so odd how this could make me so happy, but it truly does. How different my life is from 5 years ago. I wouldn't have ever guessed that toilet seats would be on my wish list.

More pictures to come soon.

Six Month Checkup

Cooper had his Six month well check on Wednesday. As you can see from the pictures he enjoyed himself. Here are his stats:

Weight: 20.6 pounds (85%)
Length: 27.5" (76%)
Head Circumference: 18" (89%)
Favorite activities: Peek-a-boo, Patty-Cake, and best of all - Eating

Birthday Gifts

Here are a few pictures of Cooper from the last day or two -
This is a new toy we just got for him - instead of really playing with it, he just uses his superhuman strength to pull it on top of him and eat the little bird on top. It's great fun!


I turned 28 yesterday. And, for my birthday I received lots of nice messages from friends and family, and that means so much! I also got alot of gift cards and some cash so I can go shopping for some clothes that actually fit me. Cooper was feeling better so that was nice. Then, Jackson woke up from his nap crying and when I went in to get him he was really having a hard time taking breaths -immediately I knew, ... Croup ... Again! Poor little guy. Since it was 5 pm on Friday, Colin and I decided to just give him some tylenol and ibuprofen and take him to the doctor in the morning. We hated to drag him to the acute kids place if we didn't have to. So, he woke up around midnight really having a hard time breathing, so we hung out in the guest bathroom with the shower running. It helped quite a bit, but we couldn't get him to take any medicine. He wouldn't even drink a juice box (which means he really must be feeling bad). Having known what Croup was like already, it was a lot less scary than the first go round a couple of months ago, but nonetheless, its so hard to watch your child so miserable. Cooper also decided he wanted to wake up 3 different times. It was a fun night!
This morning, our pediatrician hooked us up with some steroids, and those helped within a couple of hours. He wasn't able to really nap much today, but hopefully he can get some rest tonight.
Anyway, to recap the bithday gifts: sweet messages from friends and fam, gift cards galore (yay), and CROUP. Also, we picked up Mexican food for dinner so I didn't have to cook. Yum! Finally, Cooper got me a present - just one day late - he started crawling! What fun! I took a video of him showing off his new skill, but it is too big to upload onto the blog. If you have a facebook account, you can watch it on my page.