Babe's

Not too long ago, the four of us headed down to Garland to meet up with my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Jon, and my cousin, Paul. Paul lives in Garland, though we still don't see him often enough. My Aunt and Uncle will be working in Garland off and on for the next few months, so hopefully we will get together often!
We had been wanting to try Babe's Chicken, so, that's where we met for dinner.
Yum. Yum. Yum. Delicious!
The boys loved it, too. I'm not a huge fan of going out to eat with them, because, well, I never really get to eat!! But, they did really well. It's just tough right now because Cooper wants to get down and move around. Jackson is easy-breezy.

The Bells

This weekend I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine, Carmen. Her husband, JP, was one of my closest friends in high school. It was a really nice shower, and it was so good to see Carmen. She's is looking cute with her big belly. I wish I had some pictures, but I left the camera with Colin.
I dropped Colin and the boys off at our friends, the Bells, before I headed to the shower -they live in North Richland Hills and the shower was about 25 minutes away in Keller. We hadn't even met their youngest daughter Lia until now, and she is already One year old! Their older daughter, Ann, is 4 1/2. It was so great to see them. Ann and Jackson had a blast, and Cooper and Lia had fun crawling around together.
Jackson has quite a history with Steven and Meredith. He rolled over the first time when they were at our house for the 4th of July, two years ago. Then, he took his first steps at their house a little over a year ago. And, this weekend, he caught his first fish!!!! I can't believe I missed it, but luckily Colin knows me well enough and he was sure to take pictures. Evidently he loved reeling it in, but wasn't so crazy about it once he got it on shore. He has not stopped talking about it since then.

Meredith and Lia - Isn't she precious?
She waves and says "hi" over and over, and I can't get enough of it.
She's just so sweet!

Cooper had such a good day.
He really loved Meredith and was hugging her all day.



I adore this picture of Ann.
She's so stylish with her dress, jewelry, shades, and hat.
Love the expression - not sure what it was about!




And, ... the fish!
This picture just makes me laugh.
Ann is so proud of her fish, and Colin is so proud of Jackson, and Jackson is, well, a bit terrified.

At the end of the day, we tried to get a group picture on the couch. Here are two of the "best."

Thank you Steven and Meredith, for giving up your Saturday
and hanging out with us all day.
We had such a great time.

Visit from Emily, Abby, and Kourtney

This past weekend two of my oldest (and I don't mean age) friends came to visit. Emily and I have been friends since our highschool days at St. Louis, and Kourtney and I have known each other since Kindergarten. It's so nice to have friends that you have known for so long. There isn't any explaining that needs to be done - we know each other so well - know each others families, backgrounds, old boyfriends, favorite colors, everything. The best part is that when we get together again we just pick up where we left off.
Emily has a nine-month old Abigail who is adorable. What a sweet, funny little thing! She has quite a personality. Though she is an angel 99% of the time, she does occasionally have a little "temper tantrum" where she sticks her arms out to the side and makes a little pitiful fussy noise. It is precious. And it doesn't even compare to Cooper's meltdowns - screaming hysterically, tears, ... a complete mess!
We had a lot of fun and squeezed alot into two days. We did a good amount of shopping. The kids all did great together. Jackson LOVED having Abby around.

Friends sharing cheerios. Loving the outfits!

A naked baby photo shoot


Here's Jackson - and he is very excited about his lunch at Cheesecake Factory - (they don't have kids menu - good to know ) . They told us they could make kid's chicken and fries, so we agreed to that, and here is what he got - all of us could have filled up on this meal. Anyway, we paid for it, too - it was 9.50!!! Now, I know I may be a little frugal when it comes to eating out, but 9.50 for a kids lunch?? I can feed him a really healthy yummy lunch for a couple of weeks with 9.50! : ) Anyway, lesson learned. Next time he can share ours ... or, maybe we will just eat at home before shopping! : )

Emily and Abby, playing with utensils - whatever keeps her happy!

Kourtney and me

Peek-A-Boo


And here's an attempt to get a picture of all of them together -
Going

Going ...

Gone!

It was a wonderful weekend, and my only regret is that we didn't get one picture of the three of us. Next time! Oh, and the best part was that Colin drove all three babies home from the mall, and watch them for an hour or so while we got pedicures!!! He's so great.

Hanging Out

We spent most of last week just hanging around the house. Looks like we will be replacing our A.C. unit, so that's the next project.
Jackson and Cooper have been interacting more and more. Jackson sometimes tries to take too much of a disciplining role than he should, always saying, "No no Cooper, ..." I know he hears me say that all day long. I catch him holding Cooper around the waist trying to keep him out of the fireplace, or away from food crumbs on the kitchen floor. It can be quite helpful and many times I am so thankful for an extra set of eyes. For instance, this morning at 6:40 a.m. I was lounging on the couch wondering why in the world the boys need to wake up this early (especially Cooper who woke up and nursed at 10, 2, and 5). Anyway, while I was feeling sorry for myself, Jackson screamed. "NO COOP - NO EAT BUG!" So, I turned around to watch Cooper grab something off the floor near the baseboard and bring his little fist to his mouth. I dove off of the couch and caught his hand just before he ate what I guessed was a bug. Imagine my surprise when a big, fat, slimy, very much alive slug fell out on to the carpet. Oh, there are no words. I was beside myself. Jackson ran to get a napkin, and I held Cooper back while he tried to get to it with all of his might. It was so gross, and I couldn't bear to squish it in the napkin, so I picked it up and threw it out the backdoor - napkin and all. Oh ... This was a little better than when Cooper had a giant dead locust in his mouth back in Arkansas. Yeah, that one really did make me dry-heave. Anyway, now that you are feeling thankful that it was me and not you in the situation : ) here are some pictures from the rest of the week ...

Celebration Park

Colin had off on Monday, and our a.c. was broken (yeah, no fun). So, while Cooper napped, Jackson and I went to Celebration Park in Allen. Wow. One kid! It was really great to have some one-on-one time with Jackson . . . he had a blast. The park is really fun - but it does usually get pretty crowded. Luckily, there weren't many people there on Monday. There is a pretty big splash pad area with soft ground - so they can't get scraped up. The play area is amazing - it reminds me of the game Chutes and Ladders. In the picture above you can see only part of the play structure in the background , ... it is so big. Jackson ran around like a wild child.

Wren Song Retreat

Friday we packed up the van with nearly everything we owned, and headed to Arkansas. We went to Lake Erling, which is just north of the Louisiana/Arkansas state line. Our friend, Mary, let us use her cabin for the weekend. And boy, was it nice. It's called Wren Song retreat, and it sits right on the lake, surrounded by trees. No internet, No television. Fishing out the backdoor. A bad boy buggy (golf cart on steroids) to drive around through the wildlife refuge just out the back door. All in all, it is heaven. (Minus the snakes).

Here are some pics to document the trip -

Here we are at McDonalds. A first. I don't think Jackson has ever eaten there before.

The important thing to notice in this picture is the container of prunes that I was feeding Cooper. It very much resembles barbque sauce, and I dipped my chicken nuggets into it THREE times before I moved it. Gross. Really Gross.

Here's our attempt(s) at a family picture. Yes, we are wearing matching shirts.
I know, I know.

Putting sunscreen on Uncle Daniel

Sporting upside-down sunglasses

Colin, charging up the bad boy buggy

Are they cute or what?
I couldn't be any more in love with these two.

Cooper passed out on a ride in the bad boy buggy - amazing.
It was SO bumpy, he just bounced himself to sleep I guess.
Bye -Bye Wren Song Retreat. Hopefully we will be back very soon!

Catching Up

So, it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. We've been busy. Lots of trips and visitors, too. We are all staying inside and staying cool ... it's just so darn hot! Tomorrow I have to get the entire house packed up and fit it into the van for our trip to Arkansas. A dear friend of mine, Mary, has graciously offered us her lake house for the fourth. We are so excited to get away to the retreat for a weekend! (there is no tv, no internet, and probably no phone service). My mom and brother are meeting us there, and we're all excited!
Anyway, what have I missed .... I've taken the boys swimming a couple of times, and it's more "do-able" than I would have thought. Jackson is loving the water ... Cooper, well, he's not really feeling it.
Cooper and I also made a trip to Denver to visit my sweet friend, Jessica, her husband, David, and their one-year-old, Sam. Oh! And their dog, Mango, of course. Anyway, it was several weeks ago, and I still haven't posted any pictures until now. We had a great time, and actually got to do some shopping!!!! I haven't been shopping in ages! It was so nice. I did feel a little lost with only one kiddo, and I missed Colin and Jackson like crazy. But, it was so nice to spend time with the Clampitts.

Here is Cooper trying out Sam's walker


The two little monkeys

Eating a the food court. He was a bit messy.

Here's Sam with a birthday present -
he turned One the week after I left. Happy birthday, Sam!


Sam in the walker - he's a pro!


Cooper in his outfit that I put on for the first time. It's an 18 mo.size, and I was so excited for him to wear it. (Jessica had given it to Jackson when he was little). Anyway, within a few minutes of me putting it on him, the buttons were popping open. I rebuttoned them a few times, and finally accepted that I had missed the window of time where he might have actually been able to wear it. Bummer! Maybe the next boy will be able to wear it! (No, there isn't one on the way, but I am just assuming there is one in the future).

We had some friends over a couple of weeks ago - and between us we had 10 kiddos. It was a lot of fun - we made pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, and more "fixins." Yum! The best part was the sangria! Thanks, Adrienne! It was a bit dangerous, though. Anyway, the kids had fun running through the sprinkler and acting silly. Jackson spent most of the time pouring water over all the chairs and drinking lots of lemonade. Here are some pictures from that night.


This past weekend Colin's family came into town and we had such a great visit. We helped celebrate Mawmaw Cynthia's birthday with cake, icecream, and champagne. I went a little crazy with the flowers on the cake, but, listen ... I only get to make "boy" cakes all the time, so I was thrilled to use pink, and to be able to make it extra girly with all the flowers! We all had alot of fun just hanging out together.