A Letter To My Son {Month 11}

My precious Little Prince,

I'm hesitant to say that this has been a hard month because, quite frankly, our life for the last month hasn't scratched the surface of "hard" for some people. I want to always remember how incredibly fortunate we are. Nevertheless, the weeks and now months of moving from one place to another is starting to wear on us all and our typically happy-go-lucky boy is tired, as are Mommy and Daddy.

While this month had a lot of good, there has also been a lot of impatience on my part. I pray over and over that those moments will escape your tiny little memory. I pray that you only remember the good, the happy, the fun - not the mundane, the cranky, the short tempered. Oh my sweet son, I pray that you always forgive my inadequacies and short comings because boy do I mess up a lot!

We are on the last leg of our journey to the new house. We are so close we can almost taste it! We are down to the final touches and we couldn't be more excited to finally bring you home!! Now please don't get me wrong - we've had a really wonderful time these last few months getting to spend quality time at Pop and MamaShawna's house, our special family time traveling Spain and then finishing up Daddy's stint in residency at Pop-Pop's house in Midwest City. Your Daddy and I are forever thankful that our parents were able to spend significant chunks of time with you - getting to know you on a daily basis. We are so grateful for family who will open up their homes, their refrigerators, their garages, their spare time and just give it all to us so freely with no strings attached. You are a lucky little boy to be part of such a special group of people - someday you'll understand that what you have is so incredibly rare, not the norm. We are hugely blessed sweet boy.

I want you to know how many times this month, in the heat of temper tantrums or melt downs or just general impatience that I haven't seen from you before, I have stepped back from the drama and crying and just watched you in awe. Even during the struggles son, we are so incredibly thankful that you are ours. It's a very important point, something I always want you to remember - there are no boundaries or set of rules attached to our love for you. In learning the ropes to this whole parenting gig, I am starting to truly understand and grasp God's incredible, unending, bigger than we can ever imagine love for His children. Your daddy and I do our very best to be a mirror of that for you - there is not a thing in the world, regardless of how many hard days in a row you inflict, that will ever hinder our love for you. I am so thankful that God gave us you so that we could see and feel and understand His love for us more fully. Yet again, sweet boy, you have blessed us in ways we can't imagine.

All my love,

Momma

ELEVEN Month Milestones:

Eye Color - The deepest, darkest dark brown I've ever seen.

Weight & Height are unknown for this month since we didn't go to any doctor appointments.

Clothing - 12 to 18 month clothes.

Nicknames - Little Prince, Coop, El Toro. 

Hair - We finally got your hair cut and I was shocked at how sentimental I felt towards that little curl that always stuck out over your tiny ear. You sat in the big, old barber chair with zero fear and the man went straight to work snipping and clipping. You didn't seem to mind a single bit! You held perfectly still with the exception of moving the little crackers we fed you from Daddy's hand to your mouth. In a matter of minutes you were transformed from a little baby to a boy. What a difference a hair cut makes! The experience was extra special as your barber was the same man that gave your Daddy his first haircut as well!

Teeth - No new teeth, still just chomping away with six.

Crawling/Walking - You are getting more and more brave by the minute! You've finally started consistently letting go and taking a few steps. You can easily knock out six or seven, but past that you'll just stop, look at us like, "Seriously, come get me, this is ridiculous" and squat down to crawl.

Words - Your little vocabulary has expanded to include: Momma, Da, Zac, dog and duck... in that order. Haha! 

You continue to eat like a champ! It has been so nice to be able to hand you virtually anything and let you go to town without worrying about you not liking it or choking. There are a few things you really like (bread and fruit) and there are other things that are hit or miss (chicken). But overall you are content with whatever we put on your plate!

We are so anxious to get into our house and get you back into your own room. We have parent guilt over the fact that your toys have been packed away for so long. The living out of a suitcase life is wearing on us and we look forward to getting our little family all settled. You've been such a trooper through it all and we are forever thankful that God gave us such a happy little boy regardless of the chaos!

Cooper: Week 48

COOPER LIKES:

Reach, reach, reaching so that his fingers touch the water... 
And then accidentally taking a little dip!

Laundry!
Baby boy loves laundry.

Morning walks in our pajamas with Henry!

Playing the pot in his new cool Bruins jersery!

Burrito night!

Morning cuddles with Mommy!

Workin' out.

The lake!

Blowing kisses!
He doesn't always hit his mouth, so sometimes he sends ear/cheek kisses!
We all melt regardless!!

COOPER DOES NOT LIKE:

Having to sit still for pictures.

MOMMY'S FAVORITE 

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

Love these special summer days with my boy!

WEEK 48 HAPPENINGS:

Day 330: Our little lake bum went on his first tube ride! He loved it - hands up in the air, laughing nonstop!! Such a little trooper! Scout was on high alert and did a very good job as the official lifeguard.

Day 331: We worked on the house and then spent the afternoon playing on the lake with Pops!

Day 332: We headed back to Tulsa to visit Braxton and visit the Broken Arrow LifeChurch  since it was our favorite summer series - At the Movies! The BA Campus had done an awesome job decorating with Jurassic Park! ROAR!

Day 333: Since Momma still isn't allowed to start working on decorating the inside of the house, Cooper and I (with serious help from MamaShawna) got to work on the deck! We planted flowers all around!! Cooper was very serious about making sure every plant got just enough dirt.

Day 334: We spent a long, frustrating day running errands in Ft. Smith... But on the bright side, somebody turned 11 MONTHS old today! 

Day 335: Now that we have all those plants on the porch we have to water, water, water! Cooper might have a new favorite chore!

Day 336: This day should forever be renamed, "The Great Cushion Search of 2014!" Cooper and I drove virtually to the end of the Earth and back (at least twice) trying to hunt down enough matching cushions for all our patio furniture... we might have found a few more plants while we were out and about as well! Cooper pretty much rode in a green house for an entire day. What a trooper! That night we were planning to go kayaking, but the rain messed us up so instead we had a yummy dinner with Uncle Neal, Aunt Tyra, Haley and Maggie... although Michael Jordan (their cocker spaniel) seemed to be the most entertaining!

Cooper: Week 47

COOPER LIKES:

Napping on the boat.
The gentle rock of the boat puts him down in a hurry!

Trucks and tractors.
Coop found Uncle Awesome's old collection and instantly started "vroooooming"
How do little boys know to make that sound?!

Laundry basket rides!
Daddy makes laundry day extra fun!

Holding his own sippy... FINALLY.
This is the only drawback that I have found concerning solely breastfeeding!
Cooper didn't ever learn to hold a bottle because he didn't have a bottle so when I hand him a sippy he has no clue what to do with it! But if you sit it down on the floor, he'll crawl over and try to nurse it! Hahahaha! 

Creede.
These little men are going to be the best of buddies!

His toys!!

COOPER DOES NOT LIKE:

Lake Patrol.
We NEVER let Cooper go without his life jacket but we had just changed his diaper and he was basking in his freedom until Pops started patrolling!

MOMMY'S FAVORITE 

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

WEEK 47 HAPPENINGS:

Day 323: Cooper's first Fourth of July!! It was a such a fun day! We started by riding the mean green gator in the local golf cart parade! The plan was that the adults were just catching a ride up the hill and then Pops was going to drive the kids through the parade, but Pops never stopped so we ALL got to participate in the parade! Ha! Cooper's little firecracker outfit is extra special because his Gigi originally made it for Uncle Awesome and then 23 years later touched it up for Cooper first Fourth! Too cute! 

 

Evie (3 years), Cooper (10 months), Creede (5 months) and Blake (2.5 years)

Even though our house still isn't quite finished, we hosted our first family party on the porch to watch the lake fireworks! We grilled some yummy burgers, enjoyed the perfect weather and laughed a lot before the magic show in the sky got started! We are so excited to have a house on the lake and a great deck for entertaining our favorite people! 

Day 324: Lake Day!! We swam and played and floated and giggled and shot water guns and just had a really fun day over all.

Day 325: No pictures today - we headed to Tulsa to congratulate our dear friends Beau and Marlissa on becoming the proud parents of the very handsome Baby Braxton!

Day 326: Coop and I spent the day doing laundry... Cooper loves helping with the laundry. It's definitely one of his favorite days of the week.

Day 327: I was hurrying to shower and get ready for an appointment I had to make so I asked my mom to watch Cooper while I got ready. As I'm rushing around I look out my bedroom window to find my Mom watering flowers... and Cooper... Still in his jammies, baby boy was crawling from one muddy water puddle to the next having the time of his life!  Needless to say, it put us a bit behind, but he was happy and well, just like the saying goes, "You can't spank Grandma!" 

That afternoon we went by to introduce Cooper to his new friend, Ryan! It was all fun and games, oohing and awwing over the sweet baby until it was Momma's turn to hold her... Well, let's just put it this way, Cooper is not ready for a sibling any time soon. Melt. Down.

Day 328: Another big day of running errands trying to get the house finished up - topped off with a fun dinner on the lake! Cooper provided the entertainment. :/

Day 329: We enjoyed lunch at the Tea Room with Callie, Creede, Lyndsey and Henry! It was great fun to sit around a big ol' table with a kid between each of us - that may not sound like your idea of fun, but trust me, it was! After lunch, Coop and I headed up to the house with a load of boxes - one in particular that was just asking to be opened! TOYS! The first box to be unpacked in our new house was the one that held all of Cooper's toys. The sweet Little Prince was over the moon! My heart ached a little as he squatted down to put the ball into the Little Tikes basketball goal - when I packed that toy he would have to work so hard to get the ball to the goal. So much growing in so little time! We played for a while but had to cut out a little early for fear that ol' Cooper man was getting a little high from the kitchen cabinets being stained!