Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Show and Tell: Top 5 Pictures

I'm linking up with Andrea today for Show and Tell Tuesday.  Today is all about our top 5 pictures.  Now.  Let's be realistic.  There is no way I could narrow down my favorite pictures to just 5.  I probably couldn't narrow it down to 100!  But, I did try to find some of my favorite pictures in different categories for today.

#1 - Favorite Mom Moment
I can honestly say that my life changed completely the minute that I became a mom.  It is just something that I know I was meant to do.  My brother-in-law took this picture of me and LL when she was just 4 weeks old, and I think it sums up all of my feelings in just one picture.  This baby girl completely changed me for the rest of my life - she made me a mother.  I love this picture because I think it shows that change.

#2 - Favorite LL
Hands down - this picture will always win as my favorite of LL!  We got this gem at her 6 month pictures (and we have it as a big canvas in our living room).  I love her eyes, her personality, and that fuzzy head.  This will always hold the top place for my favorite of her!

#3 - Favorite Cooper
This picture that Lindsay got this past summer for Cooper's 4 year pictures is my favorite because it is just so Cooper.  He is all boy.  Silly smile, no shoes, and about to take off after sitting still for 30 seconds.  I love this boy, his contagious silliness, and all of the boyishness that he brings to our family!

 #4 - Favorite Us
We took this picture almost 3 years ago on our trip to Jamaica for our 10 year anniversary.  It's not a perfect picture, but it is us, and it was such a happy vacation for us.  I love this man, I love our life that we're building, and I love seeing how far we've come.

#5 - Favorite Family
I have so many "perfect" pictures of our whole family that I could pick, but I choose this one instead.  Because it's more raw and real.  Matt and I have created a beautiful little family, and there's nothing I love more than just spending time together.  We spent so much time last summer at the beach, playing, and just soaking up time, and I will always love those types of memories the most; sun-soaked, covered in sand, together, and happy.


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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Weekend Recap: Long Weekend Edition

This past weekend was a random long weekend for me and LL.  We had Monday off due to the hog show in the town where I teach (that's not a joke).  We had big plans for our long weekend (that didn't exactly go as we thought).  Here's what we were up to:


Friday
Friday was St. Patrick's Day - so of course we had to get decked out in green!  When I asked Matt to get a picture of me and LL before leaving for school, Cooper insisted on being in it, too.  And how do you turn this cute boy down??  You don't.

My best girl!

Cooper wore green to school, but then came home with this hat and necklace.  He was so proud of it and looked so cute!

Matt moved our dining room table on Friday evening so that we could sweep, and when he did, several tiles literally just popped up off of the floor.  It was so weird!  We took all the loose ones out so that they wouldn't get broken and Matt could just reset them later.


Our kitchen looked like this for a few days.

Cooper isn't a huge animal person, but he's starting to be more and more as he gets older.  Kayla and Andrew came over with their puppy, and Cooper was all about holding Koko.  It was sweet and out of character for him!

Saturday
We got up and going pretty early in the morning so that we could head to the Bunny Hop at Cooper's school!

When Cooper woke up on Saturday, he had a cough and was hoarse.  LL has been battling allergies for a few weeks, so we figured he was following suit.  During the Bunny Hop, his cough got worse and it sounded just like croup.  After we left the Bunny Hop, we stopped by the walk-in clinic to have him checked out.  He got croup several times when he was younger (and it has a very distinctive sound), and I was just sure that was what he had.

My feelings exactly.

Turns out - I was wrong.  Not croup - strep throat.  If you're counting, this is the first time for 2017, but the 3rd time since starting school in August.  Yay.

That evening, we already had plans to meet with family at The Mill for pizza and games to celebrate LL's amazing report card.  Cooper had not run any fever at all, had started antibiotics, and was already feeling better after a nap, so we decided to go ahead and not cancel out plans.


Daddy helped LL hit the ticket jackpot!

Kayla and Andrew came out to celebrate with our girl!

Sunday
Sunday morning, Matt and LL went to church, and Cooper and I stayed home.  Cooper insisted on taking a picture of me still in pj's while we were snuggling on the couch.  You can't say no, right?

He enjoyed some solo play time with his boy toys!


Sunday night, Matt started the process of laying our tile back down.

Matt found this poor hurt bird in our front yard.  We tried to help it, but it wasn't very appreciative.

Snuggles and movie time!

Monday
We kept Cooper home from school on Monday just to be safe, and the kids literally spent almost 3 hours in his room playing and being so incredibly sweet to each other.

That afternoon, the kids spent some time with Grammy and Pop while Matt and I had to go out of town for a doctor's appointment. 

It wasn't exactly the weekend we had planned, but we still made the best of it!

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Monday, March 20, 2017

Bunny Hop 2017

Every year, Cooper's preschool does one huge fundraiser called the Bunny Hop.  This is our 4th time going, and the kids look forward to it every year!  This year, Cooper definitely paid attention to everyone talking about it at school, and he asked every day for weeks if it was time to go to the Bunny Hop.  He was excited on Saturday to say the least!

It was a pretty chilly morning, but it didn't slow the kids down any!


At first Cooper said that he didn't want to go near the bunny, but when LL told him she would go, too, he was suddenly braver!


This year was so nice - no one was potty training, no one had a broken ankle, and no one had just recovered from foot surgery.  It was so nice and relaxed!

The kids had a blast playing all of the games and then jumping/sliding on the inflateables.  Around 9:50, we went to the egg hunt area to get ready for the hunts.  The kids are in two different age groups, so Matt took LL and I stuck with Cooper.


Poor guy - the hunt just did not end up going his way.  Somehow, his bucket broke as soon as he ran out to get eggs (so I had to rush in and fix it).  Then, he decided he only wanted dark blue eggs, so he ran around looking for those (while the other 100 children just grabbed everything).  Ya'll - I am not kidding you when I say that he got ONE EGG.  Bless.  He was all tears.  Even his sweet friend Malaya just started putting eggs from her bucket to his because he was so upset (isn't that precious??).  We've got to have a long talk before our next egg hunt about just grabbing what you see!

Even though she's 8, this girl loves it!

She was a pro at grabbing eggs!


You can see our past Bunny Hop trips here:
2016
2014
2013



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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Life Lately

Here's what has been going on with us lately:

At church, we had our last DPK Live in our old building!  The next time we go, we will be in our new church!  We're all so excited!

Goofballs.

I'll be transparent here - I haven't worked out since the week of Thanksgiving.  *insert wide eyed emoji here*  And I haven't worked out in the gym since August.  In August, I quit my gym membership and decided to try BeachBody at home.  Don't get me wrong - the program I did was awesome.  And I got some major results.  But I also realized that working out at home (in the evenings after school and when I need to cook dinner) just isn't for me.  So a few weeks ago, I joined a new gym (that I really like).  I went and got my first work-out in, and I realized that I have missed it so much.  All this to say, find what works for you and DO IT!  It's okay if it isn't what your friends do.  It's okay if it's not what your spouse does.  Just find something and get active!

Remember on Valentine's Day when I won the necklace from Sheaffer Told Me To?  It came in and I absolutely love it!  But.....

...after wearing it all day, I realized that some of the blue from the beads rubbed off on my - totally making it look like a bruise!!  Crazy!  It won't stop me from wearing it, though.  ;)

Drop-off line snapchat shenanigans.  



I love it when Cooper wants to snuggle in the mornings before I leave for school.

And when I leave, he finds someone else to snuggle with.

Some of Matt's family came in town from Louisiana, and both kids were so excited to see Uncle David!


Matt's Mamaw Lucy!


4 generations!



The Louisiana crew!


We got a letter in the mail letting us know that LL would be getting an award at her Quarter 3 awards ceremony!  Matt and I made it happen for both of us to be there for our girl.


Good citizenship!  So proud!


We have been so blessed that all of LL's teachers that she's had have been amazing.  And I don't just mean "amazing", I mean "above and beyond crazy amazing".  This year is no exception!

Matt took a Saturday to go on a day trip to get some boy time in.

We tried two new healthy treats recently, and both were a hit.
Protein Peanut Butter Cups

Skinny Banana Muffins

Just a little look into what we've been up to lately!  Now, we're just cruising on into the weekend!

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