My 7 month old

Cooper is 7 months old! It makes me sad that he's growing up so fast. He is so big and doing so much now that I don't even feel like he's a baby anymore! I have to say that lately I have been holding him more, rocking him more, enjoying feeding him more, etc...knowing that he won't be a baby much longer :(

But besides being sad about him growing up, this little guy has brought so much joy into my life. Here is the scoop on Coop:

He is sitting up now!

He loves to play on the floor on his tummy...Carter loves to bring him toys.

He and Carter have become best buddies this past month. It is so fun hearing them giggle from the other room. Each of them thinks the other one is just hilarious. When Carter wakes up in the morning, the first word out his mouth is "Hooper!" (Cooper) :) I love this! I pray that they are the best of friends.

Cooper favorite food is pears mixed with oatmeal.

He is actually on a schedule now. Ha! It only took me 7 months to get him on one :) Two naps a day and twelve hours at night.

He is getting his top front teeth now...lots of drool.

Such a fun and EASY baby. Love him!

Here are a few pics from the past month:

Seven month pic in the green chair.

Watching Carter jump on the bed.

Game Day Punkins

The Ole Miss game kept going on and on due to lightening delays Saturday, so the boys and I made a spontaneous trip to the Pumpkin Patch right off the square.

Aren't my little Ole Miss Punkins precious?

Look at that spare tire! Couldn't you just eat him up?

What is this stuff?

Attempting to get both to sit and look at me...unsuccessful.

I am bribing with candy at this point. How else do you get a picture of a two year old boy?

Look at these gorgeous yellow leaves!

Carter's favorite part...the "cwane" (crane). It's not a crane but that was a good guess :)

I love those huge blue eyes.

Two things

MOVING ON UP!!!!!

That's what I would like to title this bit of news :)

I am so proud of Joel. He just got a corner office on the Oxford square! What a dream come true!

I am so happy for him. Watch out, Oxford...Joel Bell has officially arrived! He is going to knock 'em dead!

This is the view from his balcony...can anyone say Double Decker and Christmas parade?!!!!

Carter checking out the view for the Christmas parade :)

Joel's office...construction is almost done.

His office is the second floor balcony.

So proud of him!

Second piece of news:

Carter is having his second set of tubes put in Tuesday morning at 6:15am. The good news is that it will much easier than last time because he is just having tubes and will only have to go under minor anethesia. Last time he had his adenoids removed, so the anesthesia was much stronger.

Please pray for a smooth surgery.

Stinker Part 2

I feel the need to defend my little boy after calling him a "stinker" the other day :).Sorry, Carter! He has been super tough to live with lately, and I found out yesterday that there is a reason behind his grumpiness. Thank goodness! I took him to the doctor because of a high fever two days ago only to find out that he has a severe ear infection caused by a clogged tube. The pediatrician said he feels terrible and that this is not a new infection. Not that I ever want my child to feel bad, but I am so relieved to know that his behavior is a little explainable. Poor buddy! I was beginning to think he was going to end up in jail by the time he was 15. Ha!

After getting on some super strong antibiotics, 48 hours later he is a new child....I am serious! I haven't seen him this happy in a month. I almost teared up seeing him so happy. I have missed my fun and happy little boy! So glad you are back, Buddy!

Even though I am happy that I know why he has been a stinker, I am super sad about his ear situation. He has really been through it with these ears. The purpose of the tubes was so that he wouldn't get these infections...ahhhh! So frustrating. We go to the ENT tomorrow to get his tube unclogged. I hope that doesn't cause too much trauma.

FYI- I am not so ignorant to think that he won't still be a typical two year old even when his ears are all better...just feel the need to defend him for now. Ha!

Stinker

Man, oh, man....this little guy has given me a run for my money lately. Ha! Between adjusting to a new place, getting gigantic molars, and simply being a two year old, we have had some interesting days lately.

How can such a cute and fun kid be so stubborn? Sometimes it's hard to punish him because I am trying not to laugh at how funny he is!

Here is a sample of a normal daily or maybe I should say hourly conversation:

Me: Carter, let's go eat breakfast.

Carter: NO!

Me: Carter, you say "no mam"

Carter: No mam

Me: Time to change your clothes

Carter: NO! (while running away screaming)

Me: You say "no mam" (while chasing him down)

Carter: no mam

Carter: CHIPS!!!! (8:30am)

Me: we can't eat chips right now

Carter: (bursts into tears and swats the air)

Me: Time to sit in on the green couch (time out spot)

Carter: NO!

Me: you say "no mam"

Carter: no mam

I could go on, but I'll spare you the repetition :) I am going to guess that I probably tell him to say "no mam" about 300 times a day. Ha!

I know now why some moms just allow their kiddos to be brats....it's easier!!!!

This discipline thing is HARD WORK! If I didn't love this little stinker so darn much, I might just let him get away with being a "terrible two" year old.

One thing that cracks me up is the drama....everything is a BIG deal in his little world right now. Two year olds very much resemble the teenage years I think....a lot of unnecessary drama :)

Even though Carter has fully entered the two's, I have to brag on him a little bit. He responds really well to discipline (right now at least!). I hope this doesn't stop. If he has to go into time out or gets a spanking, his attitude gets a whole lot better really quickly. It seems to turn him right around....at least until the next incident :)

I am in totally unchartered territory here! Any moms got any tips for two year old discipline, send them my way. Until then, I'll just continue my "no/no mam" conversations :)

Sitting up so big!

Look at my baby! He sat up for the first time today all by himself. I took the boppy pillow away and kept waiting for him to topple over, and he just kept sitting up and playing. Go Coop! So proud of you!

Joely Woely

Joel and I celebrated our fourth anniversary Thursday. This picture is from our honeymoon in Peter Island. I love this picture. I can't believe God blessed me with such a wonderful husband. Joel is the hardest worker I have ever met in my life, but at the same time, God and his family are his first priorities...something to admire in a man. He is so level headed. As a woman, I tend to be emotional and go up and down, up and down, but Joel is a Steady Eddy! He handles life's twists and turns with grace. We are a good match :)  I am so thankful for him.

One thing I love about Joel is that he tends to sense when I need a date night. Every month or so, he will take me out to a nice dinner and just talk to me about life and get me out of the house and away from kiddos. These are my absolute favorite times. I treasure these dates. We just had one tonight to celebrate our anniversay, and I feel so refreshed.

Joel is a fantastic dad too! He is constantly taking Carter outside to play or reading him a book or getting him a snack or giving him a bath. When Joel gets home, my load gets super light. One thing I think I'll always remember is when Joel walks over to Cooper and starts talking or singing, Cooper starts kicking his legs like crazy. It's like he can't handle the excitement he feels when he sees Joel, so he just channels it through those fat little legs :) I love that. Joel puts Carter to bed every night, and I think it is so healthy for Carter to have his dad take that time with him to lay with him and pray with him each night. I know hearing his dad pray every night for him is building the ground work for his future faith.

My favorite thing about Joel is his faith. I can't think of a single day in our four years of marriage when Joel hasn't started the day in God's word and in prayer. It's the first he does everyday. He is a man of prayer and loves the truth. He is always pointing me back to God and working to train Carter to turn to God as well. He trusts God with so much more than I do. I tend to give things to God and take them back, but Joel truly trusts God with things. I admire this so much. He is committed to the church and the spreading of God's kingdom...especially through giving. Can anyone say GENEROUS?!!!! Joel is so very generous! He supports several missionaries and Campus Crusade and RUF folks every single month as well as the church. I know God is so pleased with Joel's heart for giving...and so am I. He is always willing to give at the drop of a hat if he hears of a need. I guess he just figures his treasures are in heaven :)

I feel like I could go on and on. Joel is funny, driven, ambitious, Godly, honest, and loving. Who could ask for more? Thank you God for such a great hubby!!! And thank you Joel for loving me and taking such good care of me and our family. You are the best!

Growing up

My babies are getting so big! It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I love seeing them grow and learn and accomplish things, but it's so sad to think that they won't be babies much longer. It makes me want to hug and kiss them and hold them all day every day. Our time is slipping away so quickly! But gosh, we are having fun watching them grow :)

Look at Coop! He has graduated to the high chair and even got his own big boy bib like Carter.

Carter's first day of school (Mother's Morning out) He was so excited.

Hurry up, Mama!

My boys love rolling around in the floor...a game DaDa taught them.

Carter loving on Cooper.

Those eyes melt my heart.

This grin brightens my day (everyday!)

We broke out the fleece jammies last week while it was cold at night. I love fleece jammies.

 Cooper thinks everything is hilarious...such a happy baby.

Look at Cooper go! He is getting so good sitting up.

Tough work using all those muscles

We went to the County Fair on the square and look what Joel got Carter...lemonade!

Poor Coop is ready to be out of stroller and walking. No fun to be stuck in the stroller while Carter has all the fun.

 

Trying out the swing. Such a big boy.

Sweet grin

Cooper's six month pictures

Oh my goodness, these are the most precious pictures. My friend Tracy Sullivan took them. I wanted a picture of us in front of our old house....so many memories there. But I also wanted a two year picture of Carter and six month picture of Cooper.

Click on the link below:
http://junipertreephotography.com/ or just type in junipertreephotograpy.com if the link doesn't work.
Type in your email address (or mine...it doesn't matter)
The password is Cooper

LOVE THESE!

I love it!

Here are some pictures of our new house....we LOVE it!!! Sorry these are in extremely random order. I don't know why they downloaded out of order. I didn't put a picture of the outside just in case some stalker reads my blog...over precautious, I know :) We have made a lot of progress getting settled in. My parents came and helped us, and we got EVERYTHING unpacked. I feel so much better now that I am not looking at boxes. Thanks BB and Pawpaw for all your help!

We are so blessed to be able to move into this wonderful house. We are thankful to God for how he has blessed our family. I also want to thank Joel for working so hard and buying it for us. We love you, DaDa! You are the best husband and DaDa ever, and we are so thankful that you get up and go to work everyday so we can have such a nice place to live!

Master closet....so much bigger than our last house and this picture only shows half of it.

Coop's room

The other half of Coop's room

Guest room

Carter and Cooper's bathroom

Carter's room

Funny story...these sky lights put off so much light that we had to put poster board in them so that Carter could take a nap...ha! It worked like a charm :)

Coop chillin in the front yard with DaDa

One half of the den...notice that Coop has more furniture than we do :)

 Other half of den...real fire place...can't wait!

Entry

Eat in kitchen. We had this table made for us by Baxter and Jenny. We LOVE it!! Drapes are too short...gotta figure out what to do about that.

Other half of kitchen

Master Bedroom...notice the diaper changing station on the bed. Not climbing those stairs everytime we have a dirty diaper!

Master Bath

Living room

Back porch off the living room...where we will live I am sure.

View from the back porch

Carter running wild in the grove

Red and blue donut

Totally random picture that doesn't belong in this post. This is how I found Carter the other morning :)