Sweet Charolette

Today has been a terribly sad day at my place of work, Warren East Middle School. One of our instructional assistants passed away this morning. Charolette and I shared rooms and spent a great deal of time with one another. She was one of the most giving people I have ever met and I will miss her terribly. Any time that things weren't going my way and I would fuss to her she would say, "Now hold on a minute," and pull out her worn blue Bible and quote the perfect scripture to me to fix whatever situation I was in. I will always remember the way that she kept me grounded and centered on what was important in life.

Charolette leaves behind a daughter who is a sophomore at WEHS and another daughter who has two small sons. I pray that the Lord gives her family the strength they need in the days ahead.

Charolette thank you for blessing me in ways I never told you and for helping me to become a better person. I love you my dear friend!

Dear Cooper

Welcome to 9 months old sweetheart! This post is a few days late due to some picture uploading issues, but the picture was taken on your 9 month birthday.

At your well baby check up you were in "perfect" condition by the doctor's standards. You are 28 inches long and weigh 21.6 pounds. You are in 9 or 12 month clothes depending on how they are made.

This month has brought a lot of changes around our house. You have started crawling and are getting faster by the day! Nothing is safe anymore! We have put up a baby gate to block Colby's room so you don't get a hold of any toys that might choke you. Your brother has gotten so good at finding toys that aren't for babies and putting them away! We have also been busy covering outlets and fixing cabinet doors so you can't get in.

You have a tendency to get into places that you can't figure out how to get out of. Just this week you got stuck behind a door and under the bed.

You have also pulled up a couple of times. Each time you do I have to fight the urge to push you back down because I am NOT ready for you to walk! When babies start walking I feel like they aren't babies anymore so I am not looking forward to that milestone at all!

You have started to show a preference for who is holding you and I am excited to say it's me. When people you don't know are around you get the tiniest bit shy for the first few minutes, but then you are all stares and smiles with them.

Your jabbering a lot now and have added a new sound....."Uh oh!" is echoed through the house a thousand times a day. Anytime you drop something or want attention that is your call now. There is a song out now by Sugarland that is called "Stuck Like Glue" and in the chorus they say "Uh oh." Many times when you say it Colby will start singing that song and we all (you included) will dance around. It's a priceless moment!

Your other favorite thing to do is kiss! You are such a little lover! You plant big old slobbery kisses on anyone who is willing to take one and you love to kiss the baby you see in the mirror. It is so sweet!

We enjoy every moment with you and love you more and more each day. Thank you for being such a blessing to all of us. We love you Cooper!

Love,

Mom

First Family Trip

First let me say that I have been trying to add pictures to this post every day for a week and blogger won't upload them! I am so aggravated. Anyone else having this issue?

Anyway..........

Last week during Fall Break our family took off for our first family of four vacation. This was also the first vacation that Colby can remember because he was two the last time we traveled. We went to Chattanooga and visited the aquarium and Discovery Science Center (which was WONDERFUL!). We also rode the Incline Railway up Lookout Mountain. We had a wonderful time and both kids were perfect on the trip!

There were a few funny moments during our trip of course. Jeremy decided that he wanted to get something "good" to eat for supper that night. Next to our hotel was a Cracker Barrel. He didn't want that so we took off in search of a steak house. We exited I-24 to an area that looked like it was promising. Approximately 2 blocks off of the exit ramp the area suddenly turned ghetto. I had flashbacks to National Lampoon's Vacation where the hubcaps are stolen off the car and quickly reached over and clicked the locks. Long story short - 70 miles and one and a half hour later we ended up at the Cracker Barrel next door to the hotel! Ha!

In defeat we also had breakfast at Cracker Barrel the next morning. I took Cooper to the bathroom to change him and on the way through the lobby he hit a man on the butt with his hand. The man turns and looks at me with arched eyebrows. I say "I swear it was the baby!" and took off! The little stinker!

And the final memorable moment was possibly the scariest for travelers on I-65. Just south of Nashville Cooper got sick (I think he is having reflux issues) and he vomited quite a bit. I had to get him out of the car seat and clean him up (it was so covered that nothing short of a water hose could clean it off) so I ended up covered in vomit. My loving husband driving the car didn't so much as tap the breaks. We head north on 65 in a stinky car with me riding in the backseat in only my pants and bra covered with a blanket hiding a baby in only his diaper inside the covers! Thankfully we made it home safe and sound, but oh did Jeremy Vincent ever get an ear full over his not stopping!

Rub a Dub Dub

We have officially moved to the last room in the house for painting and light remodeling and then the house will be finished! The light fixtures are hung, paint color picked, and I am in the process of putting putty in the holes and sanding the walls.

I got out the decorations I am considering using and without a doubt I KNEW I wanted to use the wash tub baby picture of Colby. I didn't have one of Cooper though so I thought I would try to get a good shot myself.

Let me know what you think! Which one should make the cut to hang on the wall and embarrass him in his teenage years?