5 years!!!

We took the boys to Trader's Point Creamery when they were just 18 days old. We didn't really venture outside of the barn that day.  I remember us sitting at one of the tables literally being swarmed by people trying to check out the boys.  We realized today that this was their 5th time visiting for Christmas here.

Thinking that we would take a comparison photo, we went to the barn to take a picture in front of the tree just like we did 5 years ago.....as you can see, the tree isn't the only thing that has grown exponentially!!!

Ironically enough, Carson happens to be on the left in both pictures!!

Fun little tidbit

Cooper was singing this evening as we were getting ready for bed: "away in a manger a pig and a hen....."

The FIRST First day of Preschool

Our "premie" boys are headed off to school!!  In usual Carson & Cooper style, 1 is excited and the other could care less.  We did all the usual prep work:  got backpacks, laid out clothes the night before, had a nice "quick" breakfast, and got all packed up ready to go.  Below are the "standard" first day of school photos.....

Mrs. Barnes welcoming Cooper

The line picking up the kids (not as big as I pictured)  note the minivans:(

No matter how much I look at those photos, here is what I still see:

Yes, no matter how tall Carson gets or how big Cooper's hands are, they will always be MY little boys.

Cooper showing off his talent

Nothing else really needs to be said.

Boy's 1st VBS debut....

And to think, Cooper had stage fright!!!

OUR 2011 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Yes, I know it is a little old....better late than never.  I think we had the better show:)

An interview with Cooper

One proud boy....

Let me start off by apologizing ahead of time that I don't have any pictures to show you of this event. The camera wasn't near and I was enjoying the moment too much to pause it and go get a camera.

Sunday afternoon Chris went upstairs to get the boys up from their nap. I heard "familiar" sounds: Chris going into Carson's nap room, the door opening to Cooper's room, shuffling around of step stools in the bathroom, the opening and closing of the diaper bin.......and then it changes a bit.

I didn't hear Cooper grunting and groaning (as he usually does when Chris gets him up), any little voices or daddy's voice.

Then I hear one boy coming down the stairs. Carson comes running around the corner with the biggest smile on his face, doing a little twirl with his arms out, showing me that he had his clothes on. He was so proud that he had done it all on his own. I asked him where Daddy was and he said he was sleeping with Cooper.

Carson had gotten out of bed, taken his pull-up off, disposed of his pull-up correctly, put on his underwear and shorts (which were laying in the bathroom) and his most proud moment was that he found one of his shirts in our room (luckily in a clean hamper) and put it on himself. They had just figured out how to take off and put on their own shirts last week. He even took the time to turn off his fan and music playing in the nap room!!!

He couldn't have been more pleased with himself, it was such a great moment!

......and yes, Chris had gone in and fallen asleep with Cooper.

Watching the clouds go by....

Even though we had a heat index today of 112+ degrees, the boys and I were able to survived 2 hours playing in the backyard. They are loving that the sandbox is FINALLY open for them to play with and don't seem to notice the heat at all.

The highlight of the day was having Cooper lay beside me in the grass on our backs watching the clouds go by and figuring out what they look like. Cooper actually laid there for 10 minutes with me discussing shapes of clouds and telling stories behind it. For anyone that knows Cooper or has experienced him being around knows that 10 minutes is an extreme amount of time for him to actually sit still without anything occupying his hands or feet!

There was one cloud that turned out to be a T-rex dragon (according to Cooper) that was chasing a red bird and the bird was trying to get away. He could hear it "tweeting" as it was blowing across the sky. He was cheering for the bird to get away from the T-rex......unfortunately, the T-rex won:(.......now if only we could have had a personal photographer to catch that......

Big"ger" Boys

Today the boys were arguing about whether or not they were "big" boys. Please don't ask which one was which, but one kept saying "we are big boys" and they other kept saying "no, we are growing boys". As usual, even once I tried to explain to them that they were growing into big boys and Chris continued to explain they would keep growing until they were his size, they found it more entertaining to continue the argument.

As sad as it is, they are becoming "big" boys. It led me to reflect on all the things lately that are proving that to be true:

1. We just finished reading our first "chapter" book 'The Secret Garden'. I didn't know how the boys would react to reading a chapter or two at a time and then waiting for the next day to hear more on a story, but they loved it. Carson seemed to take to it a little better than Cooper. Cooper would lose interest for a little bit in the middle of the chapter (due to the lack of pictures).

2. The boys spent all day Saturday "painting" their fort, the sidewalk, front door and driveway with water. They do so much better at staying focused on "projects".

3. I witnessed Carson have a complete conversation with Gaga Margaret on the phone this weekend. He clearly told her what they had done, what he was in the middle of doing and his plans for the rest of the weekend. It is amazing to think that he used to just slobber on the phone.

4. After Sunday School each week I always ask the boys what their lesson was about and who their teacher was (the teacher changes quite often). I usually get a limited amount of information from them and piece the info together. However, today when I asked Carson what he learned in Sunday School today he replied: "Mrs. Wilding was our teacher. We learned about Joshua walking around walls at Jericho and the walls fell down." (pretty clear to me)

5. They love helping me get meals ready at the island. They count out pieces of different food onto each plate, organize the food on the plate, set the table and carry all of the food to the table.

To people that don't have young kids, this may not seem like much. However, to a mom with 2 toddler boys, this is HUGE!!! These little things make a world of difference in our day to day lives. I am making an effort to try and enjoy every little change and to be prepared for more.

Being a Mommy....

Someone asked me the week before Mother's Day what joys I found in being a mom. There are so many, but I thought it would be good to list some (to look back on during those "off" days).

* The 30 minutes before the boys wake from their nap. I get to sneak into one of their rooms and lay down and cuddle up with them for the last part of their nap.

* Cooper praying right along with me before meals in his "quiet voice".

* Carson FINALLY getting the pooping thing and seeing how big of a deal it is to him!!

* Carson wanting to sit with me a talk in the "cuddle chair".

* Cooper grabbing me around the neck at bedtime and having to kiss me 2x and then hug me.

* When the boys each take a hand vac and go crumb and bug hunting around the house.

* When we have a slow day and the boys join me in bed to watch cartoons in the morning.

* Watching Carson and Cooper "break it down" on our dance floor.

* Having supper on the deck with a nice breeze blowing.

* Sitting on the floor in our little nook reading piles and piles of books.

I know there will be many more joys experienced over the coming years, but these are joys that I will only be able to experience for a very short piece of time.

Sakka Cooper!!!

So I was sitting with the boys in the rocking chair singing songs before they went to bed (something we do almost every night). As usual, I asked them what songs they wanted to sing and at first they ask me to sing the "regulars". Then Cooper asked me to sing the Cooper Song.... wasn't sure what that was, but we made up one. Of course, Carson requested the same. Then Cooper asked me to sing Sakka Cooper.....again, no clue. Carson jumped in and wanted the Sakka Carson and Cooper song. I asked them what "sakka" means. They both answered "it's time for bed Carson and Cooper". Then they commenced to laughing hillariously at themselves for the next several minutes. They were quite impressed with themselves for coming up with that..... Of course, I had to make up a Sakka Carson and Cooper song.

Buckets and Buckets

Just a quick post of something that was too cute to not put it in their memory blog.

Carson was sitting with his big (as big as him) lion and elephant. He was hugging on them and talking to them. It wasn't until I stopped to really listen that I could understand what he was saying.

"I love you 2 buckets and buckets. I will always love you and will always be here. I love you buckets and buckets. You 2 need to watch out for each other...." (and on and on and on)

By the way, buckets and buckets is what we say instead of bunches and bunches. Cooper used to always repeat me when I said "I love you bunches and bunches" except for he would change it to "bunckets and buckets".

Needless to say, it was quite cute.

Thank You!

So, in June of 2010 Chris and I received some test results that said I had the beginning stages of cervical cancer.....yes, the dreaded "c" word. It took us by surprise and made us stop and evaluate some parts of our lives. Personally, it brought me to my knees and rely on the only one that could make this "result" go away.

The doctor said that we had a choice to make and after much prayer Chris and I decided to do the wait and see approach. The doctor gave me a deadline of 6 months and then we would retest and establish a treatment. She said with my age (no, I'm not that old) there wasn't much hope of my immune system killing off the cancer cells on it's own.

We chose not to share this with many people because we knew it was in God's hands and didn't want others to worry.

I am fortunate to report and share that God still does intervene and do miracles (in case anyone wasn't sure). The doctor called me this morning with the results of testing that was done last week and she said there is no sign of any cancer cells and everything looks completely normal!!

So, THANK YOU God for being with Chris and me on this journey, reminding me that I CAN lean on you and trust that you will always be there for me, and answering our prayers.

Tender Hearted Carson

I know that this is a long time coming since I did one of these on Cooper a long while ago, so here goes.

Carson:
- is a cuddler
- likes electronics (a lot!)
- always eats the fruit on the plate first
- will do almost anything to get a chance to watch a "video"
- is very into clocks and time keeping, he always asks me what time it is
- loves to dance and sing
- is a fan of any upbeat music
- sometimes like to start conversations speaking so fast that no one has a clue what he is talking about, but they must be good conversations because he always ends up laughing really hard
- is a big fan of 101 Dalmations
- likes dogs
- is fond of the color yellow
- is always asking "Who's coming to visit today?" or "Where are we going to today?" (he likes to stay social)
- makes sure that I always give him a kiss and hug goodbye before we leave each other for any reason

I'm sure there are many more ways to describe Carson, these are what comes to mind right now.

God has given him such a tender heart and it will hopefully stay that way.