Cooper's Third Year

Today Cooper turns three, and I think the thought that is most prevalent in my mind is that the last year has been an awakening of a kid in Cooper. He's no longer a baby or toddler but a little man! And, he's certainly fitting into our new Texas home with his camouflage overalls and cowboy boots!

But no matter how much he's grown, he still adores his sissy.

He even loves having tea parties at her request, but I'm not sure how long that will last...

I do think the increasing amount of wrestling and tackles he surprises Abigail with may quickly decrease the amount of tea party invitations she gives to him.

No matter how aggressive he is at home, he's not a showman in public. He had his first chance for a public performance at his school's Christmas performance. It was not happening. We tried for weeks to get him to sing the songs, and we was very insistent that he was not going to sing. He was right, he didn't sing. But, the funniest thing was a night out at a restaurant in March, three months after his class performance, when he suddenly burst out with his own rendition of Jingle Bells. Apparently, he was waiting for the right moment for his singing debut. Today, he's a nut about singing Itsy, Bitsy Spider. 

Another thing that hasn't changed about Cooper is his joy! He's still the happiest little guy around!

And, his sense of humor is as solid as his happiness. Seen here playing in the street in his polar bear pajamas and cowboy boots, Cooper can always put a smile on my face and surprise me with his wit and nuttiness. 

Cooper's Second Year

Those huge, beuatiful, brown eyes adorned with luxiouriously long eyelashes any fashion model would give a rib for, are the first thing you see in Cooper's face. Then, his smile hits you. He's just amazing.

After endless ear infections, Cooper had tubes put in his ears a few months after turning 1 and it was life-changing for him. Due to so much fluid built up in his inner ear, he had likely not been able to hear anything up to that point. And, he was not walking yet because he didn't have balance. I'll never forget the look on his face a few hours after the tubes were put in. I could see the surprise on his face when he heard what I said to him. And, I could see the horror at how loud everything was to him, as it was all a new level of sound for him. In no time at all, he began speaking and walking. Like I said, this was life changing.

I loved it when Cooper finally grew out of onesies and I could dress him in little man suits!

And, it didn't take him long to grab onto his first cowboy hat and never let go! He still wears this red hat any chance he can get his hands on it. (Fortunately, we've added a real Stetson to his collection.)

Cooper had his first chance at school, and he loved it!

He got his first haircut. And, although I loved his awesome curls, he is adorable with his little man haircut!

He became a true Texan, and I think you'll see, he's very happy about it!

Truly, though, Cooper became a very sweet boy with a heart of love and kindness for everyone he knows.

Cooper - Beginnning to Age 1

These are the first images we have of Cooper, and we had no idea that the beginning of his life outside the womb would look like this...

But, I've covered that already here. I must say that neither of my kids are more dear to my heart than the other, but they do each hold a different and special place in my life. For Cooper, he is my testimony. His health and presence were the awakening of my faith. Yes, I've been a Christ-follower and believer since childhood, but it is different now. I have a deep sense of who is in control of my life and every step I take on this earth, and I have that due to what my faith became through Cooper's birth. Thus, he is my testimony and will always be a special part of my faith and trust in God. 

We did get to take a healthy baby home from the hospital, and he DID finally have a name. We laugh about it now, but Cooper was Baby Boy Hardy for (I think) four days. 

Forgive me if the details of that time are a bit fuzzy, but I do know for a fact that it was days before we settled on a name since he arrived early. I had been on bedrest for pre-term labor for almost eight weeks before going into full labor, so we had no excuse for not having settled on a name. I remember Gideon and Aaron and many others being possibilities. Then, the funniest was that we were watching SportsCenter in the wee morning hours of labor and heard a broadcaster say "he had an arm like a cannon" of a particular outfielder and for a few hours, thought Cannon sounded like a strong, manly name. Gideon was a mighty warrior in the Bible, and I was partial to that name because our baby had to fight to make it once he was here. Aaron was another great possibility, as I wanted to name my child after my great grandfather. But, we eventually settled on Cooper, one of Daniel's favorite fishing rivers and the water his submarine was parked in in Charleston. Now, I can't imagine my baby as anything but Cooper. It fits him like a glove.  

The first six months were full of doctor and hospital visits and many, many, many tests. But, he weathered them all like a pro. From the beginning, he was especially close to his sister. I remember him watching everything she did. No matter what it was, his eyes would follow her every movement.

Abigail loved for us to set them up together so that she could "hold" Bubba, as she (and now us) always called him. 

Because Cooper was so small and had lots of setbacks, he didn't progress to crawling and sitting and walking as quickly as other babies. But, I thank God for this reprieve! With a 2-year-old and a baby, I needed all the help I could get. I can't imagine how tired I would have been (since I was usually exhausted anyway), if I had been chasing two of them!

But, the best part about Cooper was that he was THE. HAPPIEST. BABY. EVER.  We were always amazed at how even-tempered, easy-going and smiley Cooper was. Whether he was sick or healthy, Cooper was always the same - happy! 

And, as you can see, his size eventually caught up with his age and we weren't having to pick his pants up off the ground after they fell off his skinny body. He chunked up into an adorable, roly-poly guy!

Tuesday Treats - Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

This is another recipe from my Mom. She made this for her Bible Study group last week and said it was a big success. It's not anywhere close to being on my diet, so I'll live vicariously through anyone who wants to try this quick and easy recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 19 ice cream sandwiches
• 1 jar (16 ounces) hot fudge ice cream topping
• 1-1/2 cups salted peanuts
• 3 Heath candy bars (1.4 ounces each)
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Cut one ice cream sandwich in half. Place on whole and one half sandwich along a short side of an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Arrange eight sandwiches in opposite direction in the dish. Remove lid from fudge topping. Microwave 15-30 seconds to warm; stir. Spread one-half of fudge topping over ice cream sandwiches. 

In a food processor, combine peanuts and candy bars. Cover and pulse until chopped. Sprinkle one-half of mixture over fudge layer. Repeat layer of ice cream sandwiches and fudge topping. Spread whipped topping over top of cake. Sprinkle with remaining peanut mixture. 

Cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving. Cut into squares. Yield: 15 servings. 

Movie Monday - Frost/Nixon

I am a political junkie so I loved this movie. The setting is post Watergate and a British talk show host conducts a series of TV interviews with Richard Nixon. If that sentence doesn't intrigue you as much as it did me, don't rent this film. However, if you crave politics, get it. 

Daniel was bored throughout the film and didn't enjoy one bit of it, but I thought it was a great movie. Now, I want to find a way to see a copy of the actual interviews with Frost and Nixon. 

One thought I had at the end of the film is, "Where did political corruption begin?" My politically-current and politically-cynical mind thinks that politics can not exist without corruption. But, this movie made me consider that there was a time when the two did not go hand in hand. Whether it started with Nixon or someone before him, I think Nixon is the reason people like me think that every politician is somehow corrupt. That's an unfortunate legacy for someone who rose to the position of President of the United States.

Island Times

When we lived in military housing in Hawaii, we had the most outgoing neighborhood I've ever lived in, until now. Our Texas neighbors top those Navy families! From block parties, to weekend barbecues at the pool, to kids playing together every day, our block has to be the most out-going block of neighbors. Saturday night was no exception when we were invited to our neighbors home to celebrate Brenden's and Nick's birthdays. 

Brenden, on the left, lives across the street, and is the father of Morgan and Ashton, Abigail and Cooper's favorite playmates. Nick, on the right, lives down the street from us and is the husband of Nicky, who is the social coordinator of all the fun on our block.

The party was Hawaiian themed, and nothing was left out.

Gary sported the coconut bra...

Daniel was more subtle, but still showing his Hawaiian spirit with his Aloha wear...

Kristy was rockin' the bikini and grass skirt...

Brenden brought out his grass hat and speedo...

The girls were the official hula dancers...

The kids danced through the limbo rounds...

The palm tree pinata was a hit. Ha! "A hit" Pun intended...

The kids (and later, the adults) raced through some relays with floaties, inner tubes, a soccer ball and hula hoop.

Even Catherine, due to give birth in just a few weeks, raced through the relays, with the kids and adults!

Needless to say, a fun night was had by all! 

Thanks to Brenden and Nick for sharing your birthday and fun with us! 

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees

When I graduated from college, oh, a few years ago, my grandmother gifted me with the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class. 

At the time, I thought it was a slightly lame gift since other gifts were money, money, diamond ring, James Avery jewelry, money and money. BUT, in retrospect, that class has been the wonderful gift that keeps on giving! As we've inched along into our eek! 30s, Daniel and I have gradually eased into attempting to be more financially responsible. As of late, we've put it into seriously high gear and attempted to get our act together, in order to make our salaries stretch as far as possible.

You may remember me making a big deal out of cutting my grocery budget here and here  It was a big success, and I report back to you almost four months later and can say we are saving A LOT of money with our new system. No, it's not as convenient as running down to Wal-Mart once a month, but it's getting easier the more I do it. I don't even have to refer to my deal-spotter-spreadsheet very often because I've been able to memorize the prices and where the deals are. I don't venture out to other stores for weekly deals very often, but only when the prices can beat the deals I get at Sam's or Wal-Mart. 

We took it a step further and are now reigning in the rest of our spending with a throwback to my Financial Peace University (FPU) class using the envelope system. Ramsey teaches that you should budget every dollar of income each month and assign it a location for spending or saving. Then, take all the money to be spent and distribute it into assigned spending envelopes for the month (i.e. gas, groceries, Daniel's personal, Steph's personal, kids, eating out, etc.), so as to have no need for check cards or, heaven forbid, credit cards. We've had a lot of success with this system in the past, but had not returned to it after our long move to Texas. Now, we're back on track. We're even more serious about it this time, and have the official FPU envelope instead of just a stack of loose envelopes clipped together and hanging on the fridge. 

We've stuck to the system for a couple of months now, and we're giving ourselves a pat on the back for how well it's working. You don't realize how much all the unnecessary spending adds up at the end of the month until you see that you've spent all your money by the 15th! Our biggest spending addiction is eating out, and in May, we had spent all our eating out money by the middle of the month. Fortunately, we learned our lesson and have rationed it out much better this month and have plenty left to enjoy throughout the rest of the month!

Some of the new ways I've started saving money are:

1. Buy gift card at Wal-Mart with my monthly gas money. Wal-Mart gas is almost always the best deal around, and if you pay with a Wal-Mart card (credit or gift), it is five cents cheaper per gallon! With gas prices going up this summer, this is helping to stretch my gas budget. 

2. We're trying to eat out at different places. We've traded Salt Grass Steak House for Jason's Deli. 

3. I asked my doctor for a different prescription that would cost less than what she had been giving me. Not only did she give me a script for a less expensive product, but also a card from the drug company that acts as a coupon that certifies me for a lower price at CVS. This is saving me $33 per month! 

Y'all had awesome suggestions about grocery shopping savings in March, now, I'm coming back to you for more tips! What are your favorite ways to save money? Where are the restaurants you eat (not out of an unhealthy brown bag) out at for less money? I can't wait to hear all your tips!!!