HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLTON!!!!

One year ago today my little Colton was born. I cannot believe that it has already been a year! I am so excited to see what the next year will hold for our precious son. He is the sweetest little guy and has the most adorable smile! He has added so much to our family and I am very proud of him :) He loves his big brother so much and will very soon be walking around chasing him. He says, Mama, Dada, Bye Bye and a few other words. I think he will be walking very soon and that makes me sad! He is growing up so fast. I love you Colt and and so thankful that God chose me to be your Mom!

Party and Hospital Pics

Colt's 1st Birthday Party....Today????

We had Colt's first birthday party yesterday and it went well but let me take you back about 24 hrs. before it all happened. Colt was getting sick and we thought he might be getting dehydrated so we waited and then about 12:30am on Saturday morning we knew we needed to take him to the hospital. So we called a friend to come stay with Coop so we didn't have to wake him up and we headed out about 1:20 on our way. We arrived at LeBonheur and checked in at 2:15, we had no idea how long it was going to take to get us into a room and get things going...2:40 we are in a room! We are thinking that we might be able to see a doctor and get home before Coop gets up! Then its about 3:45 and the nurse walks in...had been in the room almost an hour and not one person has come into our room. She wants him to eat a popcicle to see if he can hold it down. He has never had one and didnt' like the cold at all so they switched to Powerade and he loved it! So he just starts downing it and then threw up! Not a good sign. Long story short we left there at 8am and Jon and I had been up for 24 hours by now and we had to head home to get ready for Colt's birthday party :) I am glad that our family was very understanding and it did go well. Colton woke up for about an hour to open presents and see everyone before he had to go back to bed. He didn't get to eat his cake because he was on a liquid diet for the first 24 hours. We will freeze it and give it to him on his real birthday. We had a good time with our family and I will post some pics of Colt in his hospital gown and some of the party! Hopefully his second birthday will be a little smoother! All in all I am very thankful that my precious baby, I can say that till the 17th, is doing better! He will hopefully be back to his old self in a couple of days!

Big Boy!

I am proud to say that Colt is doing AWESOME with his sippy cup!!!! It took a few days but by Thanksgiving morning he was a pro with no help! He looks so old and I cannot believe that he will be one in just a few days! We are celebrating with family next Saturday and I am excited! We had a great thanksgiving with both of our families. Our boys got to spend time with 2 great grandmas and they will get to see the other great grandparents at Christmas! All 4 Great Grandparents in a month, kinda cool! We are going to North Carolina for Christmas and we are very excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Beers!

Looong Hard Day

Since today is a cold and rainy day I decided that it would be a good day to have a bad day, does that make since? You don't want to have a bad day when its sunny and pretty outside! Colton is almost a year old and that means that I need to pick a day to take his bottle away and just give him sippy cups from now on. The only problem is...HE HATES SIPPY CUPS!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I knew that this would be very difficult for both of us. I was told by some friends to just pick a day and don't look back! So when I woke up I thought, this is the day. He ate his breakfast fine but wanted to keep eating and eating and eating because he had not yet had his bottle :( He had his sippy cup on his tray the whole time he was eating cheerios but chose to ignore it. Then Cooper yells, Momma he's doing it! So I turn and look and he is just holding it, then tries to drink it and throws it down and starts crying. He does not want that, he wants his bottle. So I go over and try to help him and he takes a few gulps then realizes he should be crying because its not his bottle and so he starts to cry again. But I think that if he is that thirsty he will do it and we will be ok! I am also switching him to whole milk, he has been on soy milk since he was a baby so we will see if his tummy can handle it. Two big changes today and all I know is we will both sleep very good tonight because it will be a long day! I will let you know how it goes! :)

Family Pictures

We have been wanting some family pictures for our home for a while now and since Colt is much older now and with the pretty fall colors we went to have them taken. Philip, Jon's brother, and his wife Savannah have their own photography business, AvaGrace Photography. They do an AMAZING job and we are were thrilled to see a glimse of what they captured for us. You can check out a few of the pics. www.avagracephotography.blogspot.com
Can't wait to see the rest!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!

MOO MOO

Tonight I went upstairs to get Cooper's pjs and the window was open in the office and I heard this weird sound. I looked around to see if anything was on that could be making this sound. Then I figured it out! IT WAS THE COWS ACROSS THE ROAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I called down to Coop to come fast! He stood by me and I said, listen, all of the sudden "MOOOOOOO" His eyes lit up bigger than I have ever seen them! He started to just giggle and was mooing back at them. There were probably 3 talking to each other but he thought they were talking to him! It was great fun as we sat and talked with the cows tonight. Another reason I love living where we do!!!!!!

Cooper

Cooper got his hair cut the other day and this is how he wanted to look when he left. Michelle from church did it and he thought he was so cool! He was very very very upset with me when it washed out! So next time we will have to go in the morning and he can have it like that all day long!

Fall Festival 08'

Cooper racing a pumpkin

Cooper and I riding a horse!

Cute Colton

Cooper and Jake AKA Race Car Drivers!!!

The 2 most precious boys in the whole wide world!!!!!

Meet Donut

Yesterday we got to church and as I was walking up to the doors on the nursery side I heard barking, sounded like a puppy. The I saw the cutest puppy chained to the fence by the playground. Other people were around and had noticed her sitting there as well. So we went over and someone had just dropped her off hoping that some nice person would take her home. So I went inside and asked them if they knew who's dog this was. No one knew where she came from or anything. So of course I called Jon and told him to meet me in the nursery. We went outside and he smiled and said, "You want her don't you" then I say, "OF COURSE!!!!" I LOVE dogs!!! So Renee, a wonderful lady at the church, took care of her while we were in church. When we got out everyone wanted to know what we had named her but we hadn't even thought that far! But Cooper heard them ask and he said, "DONUT!" So we have a cute little golden retriever mix named Donut! She is a good puppy and Griz likes her alot! Here are a few pics of her on her first day with us...

Colton

My baby is now almost 10 months old and that just blows me away. He is crawling everywhere and when I sit him down he will not stay there! He loves to follow Cooper to the playroom and wherever he goes. I will sit him in the living room with some toys and go do the dishes, then I hear a squeal and he is coming around the corner into the kitchen just smiling so big at me!! He is so precious and I am very thankful to have such a sweet boy. Here is a pic of him on our slide in the backyard. Enjoy!

Nascar

I never thought that I would have a child that would be into Nascar, but of course I do now!! Cooper is very into Nascar these days and loves to watch the races on TV. He knows a ton of the drivers and we have a ton of their cars. He knows what company sponsors the car and everything! So driving down the road today we saw a real race car sitting in the grass in front of a store so I pulled over and took his pic with the car. He wanted to get in and drive it! So here is my big guy by the race car!

Disney on Ice

On Saturday we woke up about 5:30 to get ready so we could wake Cooper up and tell him about the surprise that Nini and Momma had for him. He woke up early on his own and was just so excited to find out where we were going. We told him that we were going to go on a trip to Nashville to see Lighting McQueen from Cars. He was jumping up and down and asking if he was going to get to talk to him! Then we go to get in the car and he trips in the driveway and starts bleeding on his leg. He then does NOT want a bandaid and is very upset, so I say, maybe we could show Lighting your cool nascar bandaid! So he was fine! We got there and walked around and got to see all the tons of stuff they were selling. He got a Cars pennant to hang in his playroom. He also got to stand with Lighting with the Piston Cup championship in the backround to get his picture made. It is now in his room!!!! He had a ball. Mickey and Minnie Mouse were the host and hostess and when they came out he just started yelling at them and waving for about 5 minutes! It was worth the drive to see the excitement in his face when Mator, Sally, Flo, Ramone, and Lighting came out onto the ice! What a great time we had. Here are a few pics...

Getting ready to go in

Standing by Mator and Lighting

Lighting McQueen

Cooper and NiNi

Happy Birthday Jon

Today is my husband's birthday! I love birthdays!!! I get very excited when mine is coming up and I now have 3 more to get excited about with my husband and boys. I just wanted to write and say how grateful I am for my husband. He has always been the Godly leader in our home, our provider, and my best friend. I do not know what I ever did without him in my life! I love him so much more today than I did 5 years ago. God knew exactly what he was doing when he sent my man to our church. I respect him and all that he does for our family and for our church. He is a great man and I am very proud to say he is MINE!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

Wedding Pics

Well we made it! Cooper did it!!!!!!!! He ran...but he did it!!!!!! I don't think the weather could have been more perfect for the wedding. Philip and Savannah looked great and they are finally married! My favorite part was Philip's shoes. He loves Converse shoes, so this morning for his wedding present Savannah got him brown converse tennis shoes to wear in the wedding! They were great! Here are a few pics of my cute little man in his tux! Enjoy!

Jon and I

The Bride and Groom

Sarah and I (Jon's older sister)

My Little Man


Trying to get a good pic but it was nap time!

HAPPY WEDDING DAY

Today is Jon's brother Philip's wedding day. Philip and Savannah mean a lot to us and we are very excited to be a part of the wedding. Pray that everything goes well including my son not throwing the pillow down the isle!!!! I will post pics later this evening when we get home and calmed down!

Slow Down

Our lives have slowed down quite a bit now, which is very nice!!! I am a schedule person and it's nice to be at home and able to do our routine. Philip and Savannah get married this weekend and we are so excited to be a part of it. Jon is Philip's Best Man, I am a bridesmaid, and Cooper is the Ring Bearer. We will definately be looking good but I am just praying that Cooper will do ok walking down the isle. Friday night we will see how the test run goes :) But I think that everyone knows that with a 3 year old you really have no idea what is going to happen! On another note our new Wednesday night services at church start tonight. Its called Worship at the Pointe and Clay Crosse will be there for a concert. I am really excited about the changes in our church!! I am so happy to serve there along with Jon. On Sunday nights I am teaching Sparks in AWANA. I have the Kindergardners, I don't even know if I spelled that right so it should be interesting with me being their teacher! Haha! Just a little recap of whats going on but I will definately post pics from the wedding as soon as I can. Just say a prayer Saturday at 2 for everyone! I am sure it will be beautiful! We love you Philip and Savannah!!!!!!

Camp Linden

Well we have made it home from camp and are starting to get back in the routine until Jon leaves tomorrow for GA. But he will be home on Friday and it will be our first weekend at home in about a month! So we can't wait. Neways, Camp was great. It was a very nice place and we had no weather issues. It only rained at night so it was great! One boy was saved on Friday night so it made the whole trip worth it! It was different being without my little boys but they survived and were so glad to see mommy and daddy. I can't wait till next year!

Oklahoma/Kansas

Well we are finally back home after a short but long trip. We left on Wednesday about 4 in the afternoon since Jon couldn't seem to break away from work any earlier. We were headed to Broken Arrow, OK. I have 2 aunts and an uncle that live in the Tulsa area and Jon has one aunt that lives there, so we were going to break up the haul to Kansas by stopping in OK to spend the night and see family that morning before heading to KS. We arrived about 11 and Cooper was still awake, I don't know why, and was full of himself. I guess being able to sleep in a hotel is very exciting when you are 3! Finally about midnight we all got settled and in bed. Thursday morning we met Aunt Julie, Jon's aunt, for breakfast and had a great time visiting with her a Ralph. Then on to Aunt Cindy's, my aunt, to visit with her, Ford, and Isabella. Of course after that we had to go to the mall for Mom to buy her OU stuff. Then around nap time we headed to KS. It was a short trek which was very nice and we arrived there that evening. I love being with all of my Grandma, aunts and cousins. Cooper and Colton go to meet there cousins for the first time and they both had a blast. Grandma Lawyer is turning 90 on the 29th of July so her entire family was there to celebrate. What a great life she has had. Our pastor talked about family this morning and after being there with my whole family made me think of what a great legacy my Grandma is leaving, everyone there a Christian and she is an amazing woman! I wish we lived closer. We did everything from playing cards, darts, pool, playing basketball out in the rain, eating Grandma's pies, which are incredible, and just had an awesome time with everyone. I hope its not another 4 years before we do that again! Well we left about 9:30am on Saturday to drive the whole way home. We stopped to eat with my Aunt Carolyn, my Mom's youngest sister, and 2 of her children in OK and then continued home. We ended up in our driveway about 10:45 Saturday night. VERY LONG day but the boys were great in the car and we all had a great time. Now Jon and I leave on Friday to head to Camp Linden for Kidz Kamp!

Memphis Redbirds

On Thursday night we had free tickets to the Memphis Redbirds baseball game. I think it had been about 3 years since Jon and I had been to a game. We went with some friends from church and had a great time. They had a fireworks show after the game for the 4th and it was very nice to enjoy a night out without kiddos...thanks Grandad and CiCi!

Food, Fellowship, & Fireworks

On Sunday night we had our annual church wide get together for the 4th of July with food, fun and fireworks. Cooper had been waiting all week to get to see them! We had a great time hanging out with all our friends from church and Colt was definately ready to get home to his bed but the fireworks started about 10 after 9 and Cooper was jumping up and down with pure joy as they started to light up the sky. Not 2 minutes into it he turns around to me with complete horror on his face, screaming crying because he was scared! I have know idea how he could go from one extreme to the next in a matter of minutes but he did so Jon had to take him inside the church to watch through the window! Colt just stared into the sky with his jaw dropped, not a care in the world. It was a fun night but hopefully next year will be better! Here are a few pics from it.


Cooper and Daddy

Tracy with Bella and Colton

Nini and Colton

Cooper and Jake, Judd trying to get up

VBS

Well it has been a while and we have been very busy!!! We had Vacation Bible School at church this past week. I worked outside everyday doing recreation, it was nice when we played water games! Cooper had a blast! He got to go around to music and crafts and do all the stuff like the big kids. He can't wait till next year. Colt on the other hand did not enjoy it very much. He did not like being at the church everyday, by Friday he had had enough! So it is very nice to be at home this week not really doing anything. In a couple of weeks we will be traveling alot...
July 17-19 Kansas
July 25-27 Kidz Kamp
July 30-Aug 1st Georgia
We are looking forward to all of these trips but I am sure it will be nice come August when we are home again and the 9th is Philip and Savannah's wedding!!!! That is our last big event for the summer and things will start to calm down a bit. Colt is trying to get up on his hands and knees to crawl so I am sure it will not be too long before he is on the go. That should definately make things interesting around our house!!!! Just wanted to give everyone an update on what we have been doing!

6 Months

Today Colt is 6 months old and it feels like just yesterday that we were in the hospital awaiting our second son! If the next 6 months go this fast I will definately be upset because my baby is growing way too fast!! He always has a smile on his face which is so sweet to see now since his first few months were pretty hard. He is doing so much better, still spitting up but not near as much as he used to. His doctor told me today that he is not concerned with him and that he is perfect, and I agree! He completes our family and I cannot wait to see him crawl and learn to walk! What a precious boy God has blessed us with. I love you Colton!

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day weekend. We were able to go spend most of Saturday with the Kenney's and got to celebrate Saturday night, then Sunday at lunch got to celebrate with Jon, then Sunday night my parents came over and we got to celebrate with my dad. All of them mean the world to me and I am very thankful for everything they have done and do for our families. Jon, you are the greatest man in the world! I am so grateful that God put you in my life. You are the best dad to our boys!! They love you so much! You will never know how much you really mean to me. I LOVE YOU!!!!

Swimming

We went swimming today and it was Colt's first time in the pool and he actually had a really good time. I am sure we will be doing it more often but here are a couple of pics of the boys swimming!

Treadmill

I am going to start running but with the boys being so young I want to buy a treadmill so I can just run while they are taking naps....but I don't have one and they are very expensive!! So if you know of anyone who has one and is looking to get rid of it please let me know! Thanks!

3 Years Old, 3 Birthday Parties

Well this year was kind of different with the birthday parties for Coop. There were going to be people out of town, working, or just couldn't make it so we ended up having a party with the Lawyer's, a party with the Kenney's and a party for Cooper's friends. So needless to say by the end of his birthday we were all worn out and not ready to do this again for a while, and no we will not keep the tradition of however old you are thats how many parties you will get :) Hopefully next year will be better. Here are a few pics from each of the parties. He had a Cars party with the Lawyer's and a Memphis Grizzlies party with the other 2. Hope you enjoy!!!

3 Years Ago...

Three years ago Jon and I were at the hospital awaiting the arrival of our first child! We had no idea really how much our lives would change from that day forward and what a HUGE blessing he would be in our lives. Cooper was born at 2:46 in the afternoon and he took our breath away. What a cute little guy he was and now he is 3 years old already. I cannot believe it. I thank God everyday I get to stay at home with him and see him grow and learn new things all the time. He is so carefree and has the best personality! I love to see him get all excited and today he knows that it's his birthday so hopefully we can show him today just how much he means to us. He is an AWESOME addition to our family. And a great Big Brother I might add :) I will post pics of his parties whenever I get a chance.

The Zoo

Well I know its been almost a week since I have written about our adventure to the zoo. It was definately pretty crazy. My friend and I got all 5 of our kids in one car with 2 double strollers, we were very impressed and it only took about 30 minutes to figure out how to get all this to happen. We went to the zoo and had a good time. Colt was awake the entire time which suprised me so he did enjoy it. Here are some pics from our trip.




This is Cooper and Jake
My happy baby Colton

My boys who are