Cuteness

For the record, Sean likes Cooper in "little man clothes" as he calls them. He likes polos and t-shirts and cargo shorts. However, I can't resist outfits like the ones below.

For Church on Sunday (toes have just begun to get interesting).

Attempting to play in the kiddie pool (thanks Grandma for the cool swim trunks and hat). He wasn't quite sure what to do in the pool - it was like a bath but outside and with clothes on. Hmmm...what to do?!

And for you James Bond fans...
And this is my best find ever - socks that look like shoes, complete with bows made of real laces at the top - he has them in Navy, Red, and Aqua.

5 Wonderful Years

So today, Sean and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary - June is a BIG month for us as far as celebrations go. Thanks to both of our parents for a night away last weekend - and thanks to my mom and dad for keeping Cooper. Even though I called a million times and had a hard time initially leaving, it was a much needed respite.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. A man who was my best friend long before he became the love of my life, and who I can still say IS my best friend. A man who emphatically said to me last night when sleep deprivation and too much to do got the best of both of us, "I am committed to you forever," and I knew that he meant it. A man who still gives me butterflies.

Together, we made up this "Top 10 list" of things we have learned in the past 5 years.

10. Quality time is not just important - it's essential!

9. It's not about winning, it's about being a team.

8. We may have learned a lot about each other, but there is more to learn everyday.

7. Never leave the house without saying, "I Love You."

6. Even though we didn't think it was possible, we love each other more now than the day we said, "I do."

5. Growing indoor or outdoor plants is best left to professionals.

4. Communication stops most fights before they start.

3. Saying "I'm sorry," and forgiveness shows the love of Jesus to your spouse.

2. Find something that you enjoy doing together - and do it often!

and...

1. Never go to bed angry.

Fontana, NC - June 21-22, 2008

Rattles and Bumbo

Now, remind me again how to get the rattle into my mouth...

Nevermind...I'll just shake it!

Not so sure about this Bumbo Chair...

Wow...this is pretty fun after all!

Happy Birthday to us!

This week, both Sean and I celebrated birthdays. I'm going to write this because I know Sean will remind everyone if I don't - it's his long standing running joke. Yes, we were born in different decades. I was born in 1979 and he was born in 1980. We were born 362 days apart (363 this year, leap year). I am technically a child of the 70's. Sean turned 28 on June 19th and I turned 29 today, June 22.

We celebrated with a joint party, as we do every year. Our parents take turns hosting. This year we had a cook-out at my parents house. I was slack and didn't take any pictures, so if anyone who attended can e-mail me any pictures that you took, I would like to post some.

Here is a picture of Sean opening his presents at our house on Thursday, which was his actual birthday. His list read that he wanted more plaid shorts, polos, and a lighthouse stamp passport so that's what these bags contain. See my earlier posts about stamping for more information about the lighthouse passport. I also got him some pants. Gap was having a GREAT sale! He had to work on his birthday and had rough day, poor guy, so he was quite exhausted when this was taken. We had a quiet dinner in - I fixed ribs.

No pics of my day today. Sean took me shopping on Friday so I could pick out my own gifts. I gifted myself with clothes as well. Gotta love the new post-pregnancy body...everything in my closet fits differently. We also had Olive Garden for dinner yum.... and a thunderstorm just began... just a few of my favorite things. What a great birthday!

Father's Day and such...

Happy First Father's Day Sean!

Also, Happy Father's Day to Papaw Johnny, GrandPat, and Granddaddy Giese! We miss you on this day Papaw Lawrence but know that you are looking down on us from Heaven.

Cooper is beginning to grasp things...

And we took another stamping trip a few weeks ago. We took a ride a couple hours north into Virginia one Sunday after church on the Blue Ridge Parkway. What an amazing scenery God created! We thoroughly enjoyed the warm sunny weather and just spending time together as a family. Here are Sean and Cooper at Mabry Mill.

Green Thumb

I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the beautiful things that everyone is growing via their blogs lately. Anyone want to come and do mine?

To illustrate my point, my loving, adoring, husband says to me at dinner tonight, "Honey, if we had to farm to eat...we would die."

So true! Every year - EVERY YEAR - we have bought hanging baskets for our front porch. Every year - EVERY YEAR - they have died within a month. It looks like we would either:
a. Learn how to take care of them or,
b. Just give up and not buy anymore

My dad can grow anything. So can my mother-in-law. She gave me an aloe plant a few years ago. It too is also dead. Do you know how hard it is to kill an aloe plant?

The Lawrenson's

A few months ago, I was perusing blogs and clicked on the side bar of Rachel's blog that took me to the blog of Nathan Lawrenson. I became fascinated with their story and have to admit that I've become a regular lurker to their site. I don't know these people but find their story an addicting evidence of our Almighty Heavenly Father.

It's the story of a couple who had been married for a few years when they found out that they were expecting a baby. This is incredible because the girl has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and was scheduled to begin physical therapy for a double lung transplant the VERY NEXT DAY. She had to go off the donor list when she found out she was pregnant, and against the advice of every doctor, they decided to keep the baby. There was only a slim chance that both she and the baby would survive and in all likelihood, neither of them would. This couple has an incredible strength and faith in God and they were determined not to abort this child, no matter if it cost Tricia her life. Fast forward to January. Tricia is 24 weeks pregnant and her body can barely support her own breathing, much less the breathing of her baby. She has to have a ventilator put in and during the course of the surgery, an emergency C-Section has to be performed. Their precious baby girl is born at 24 weeks gestation and is clinging to life. Tricia is also clinging to life from an emergency C-Section in addition to her other CF complications. She gets placed back on the donor list and hope against all hope, she receives a new set of lungs. Fast forward to this past week. Tricia, Nathan, and Baby Gwyneth all get to come home! What an amazing God, Amazing miracle, and amazing story. They can tell it so much better than me. Follow their journey for yourself - http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

2 month visit

Cooper went for his 2 month check-up today. He had to get 3 shots and one oral vaccine (sadness). He did really well though - cried but not forever long or hard. He fell asleep in the car on the way home and is still asleep (this means he's slept for an hour or so now). Hopefully, he won't have any of the fevers and such that go with getting shots. I didn't cry either although I hate to see him hurting - but it would be much worse if he actually got the sickness that the vaccines are protecting him from, I know. Here are his new stats:

Head circumference - 14 3/4 in. - 10th percentile
Weight - 11 lbs. 4 oz - 50th percentile
Length - 22 1/4 inches - 25th percentile

Other fun things...

This past weekend, we also had two other fun things to report. We got to go and visit Heather, Bryan, Michael and Cayden. Michael was sleeping during our visit but we got to spend time watching Cayden playing and crawling around.

We were also blessed to have another shower at Sean's church in Weaverville, which Cooper was able to attend. He got lots of fun things!

Pouting Pup

It's one of those things that you must do because you love them, even though they don't like it...

On the first of each month, Parker has to take his heartworm prevention pill and have these drops on the back of his neck that prevent fleas and ticks. He HATES this day. When he sees me get out and start to prepare his medicine, he flees to whatever far away corner that he thinks I won't find him. Then, after he gets his medicine he goes off and pouts for a while, having nothing to do with either Sean or I. Usually after he gets his medicine, we can find him under the bed, or on his pillow, or somewhere away from us. Today though, I couldn't find him for a while. He hid in a new spot - he scrunched up the bathmat in the guest bathroom that we hardly ever use and hid next to the tub in the dark. He looked so pitiful, that I flipped on the light and took a picture before leaving him to his sulking. Poor Parker....

Stamping

Most of you who know us well, know about our stamp collection. When Sean was a kid, his parents started collecting National Park Stamps with him. When we married, we began this tradition of our own. Now it has become sort of a friendly competition with Sean and his dad. We send postcards back and forth with our latest stamp acquisitions and ooh and ahhh over the cool looking ones. Most are just round with the date and place listed but sometimes you get one in the shape of a dinosaur, cactus, or lighthouse which are really neat! Never mind what they look like, it's the adventure in getting them that is also fun. Seriously, this is a big thing. They even have a stamp collector's club. Personally, I think it's a cool souvenir and forces you to see and experience places that you probably would have never seen.

We went to Weaverville this weekend to see Sean's parents and they had gotten wind of a new stamp that was just created on the Blue Ridge Parkway, half an hour from their house, so we went with them to get it! We only thought it was fitting that Cooper get his own stamp book and begin this tradition too. Attached are the photos - gotta love the smug smile that Cooper is sporting next to his first stamp.

Oklahoma...!

Gotta love summertime (or almost)! Friday night the boys and I got (casually) dressed up and went on a date. Twice a year in Lewisville, the Winston-Salem Civic Theater puts on a play in Lewisville square. You take your lawn chairs and watch a production that would "rival any Broadway show" the announcer told us before it began. We've done this before and it's way fun, (and free)! Sean went and set up our lawn chairs early Friday... and it was already packed. It was a beautiful spring night to enjoy the outdoors and Sean and I had lots of fun watching Oklahoma which neither of us had seen before. Cooper had fun looking around at the flashing lights and listening to the music then fell asleep about halfway through. I think it helped him though because he slept 6 hours that night - in a row!!! We may have to go see Oklahoma again if that's what helped him sleep so long! It also plays this weekend if you didn't get to see it last. Here's a picture of Sean and Cooper dressed and ready to go...