Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
yay, boo, sigh
Sunday, May 10, 2009
happy mama's day
I'd just walked into the living room to tell the hubs I was headed to bed. It was 12:17 am ... 17 minutes into my second official "mama's day". Chris gave me a kiss and whispered, "Happy Mother's Day." And then, as if on cue, Cooper started crying ... that little guy's got amazing timing. Guess he was afraid he was missing out on the fun. ;)
Incredibly tired, but my heart is so incredibly full. I'm headed to bed ... next to my little guy, who doesn't seem ready to get back to sleep anytime soon ... here's to mamahood.
Happy, Happy everybody!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
(no) santa baby
What a difference a year makes .... ;)
Coop & Santa, BFFs 2007
Coop & Santa, mortal enemies 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
some seasonal soup for the soul
If I got one of those “get to know your friends” e-mails this AM and I were to answer the always-included Q of when I cried last, I’d say about 10 minutes ago.
I just checked my e-mail and I had a message from my mom. It’s the kind of message that captures you. Steals your breath. Gives you the freedom to let the tears fall where they may. Makes you want to hold your child, your spouse, your mom …
Leaves you in awe of God’s amazing work, his timing, his power, his infinite wisdom.
This is the stuff those great “forwards” are made from. The ingredients used in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
But this story just happened. This week. To my mom (for my mom?). And I just had to share …
Yesterday [Tuesday] right before I left work, I checked my email. I had a message from a friend in Lubbock, Nancy. She wrote to tell me about a dear friend of hers whose dad was in hospice here in Abilene. She asked if there was any way I could go and check on her or at least call her.
Knowing Nancy, someone who never asks for favors and always keeps things close to the vest, I KNEW I HAD TO GO. So, off to Walgreens I went … I picked up some snacks and some puzzle books, put them in a Christmas bag and went to the hospital.
When I walked in, Nancy’s friend was standing in the middle of the room crying. I told her I was a friend of Nancy's and that she had asked me to come and check on her. She grabbed me. And hugged me. And two hours later I left.
I got an email back from Nancy today [Wednesday]. Her friend’s dad passed away at 8:30 this morning.
I’m so glad I didn’t put off checking on her …
’Tis the season friends … for reaching out, looking up and loving from within.
Please remember Nancy, her friend (and her family) and my mom in your prayers today.
love & blessings everyone
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
(bloated, i mean belated) turkey day pics ;)
turkey man 2008 ... 18 months old
turkey man 2007 ... 6 months old
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
bat boy
Aww, my little Coopie ... one year he's a halloweenie and the next he's a bat ... he's growing up so fast. ;)
Getting some love from Great Grandma Falk!
My high-flyin' bat boy. ;)
Showing off his wings with Aunt Jess.
Coop hits the streets for his first foray into trick or treating.
Me and my guy with a few "cool cats."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
so stinkin' cute
this is the absolute laaaast post I'm dedicating to daddy's day, Chris has had enough praise already, lol ... but these pics were too stinkin' cute not to share.
Father's Day Morning: "Umm, hey, you, daddy, wake up!"
Pose for mom before going in for the kill.
"Ha, I knew I could do it. I'm so good."
Sunday, June 15, 2008
daddy's day
chris ...
you inspire me. you amaze me. you make me fall in love with you over and over again whenever I watch you with our son.
our little man has made you a better man. he has made you stronger, bolder, braver. he has made you more willing to seek the good in the world and more fiercely protective against the bad. he has made you more quick to laugh, to love, to learn, to live each day to its fullest.
i never thought my heart could feel so full, my soul so at peace and my mind so turned to mush by your crazy, kid-focused ways. i adore you. cooper idolizes you. and we are both so in love with you that it makes even sitting through The Family Guy (episode after episode after episode) not only tolerable, but a joy … simply because we are with you.
thank you for being the kind of husband every woman wants and the kind of daddy every child deserves.
happy, happy daddy’s day.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
my first mommy's day
A year ago Chris and I celebrated what we dubbed “mommy-2-be” day in small, simple ways. At 9+ months pregnant, all I wanted was a (whole) cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and Italian food for dinner. In that order.
Saturday night I remember sitting on the edge of the bed, inhaling my first decadent slice of cheesy, cakey heaven, while Chris sat at the computer compiling my soundtrack for delivery, including painfully awful tunes like “Havin’ My Baby.”
On Mother’s Day we waited until we thought the throngs of hungry families would’ve dissipated and hit the local Italian place laaate in the afternoon. I guess the 20 or so groups ahead of us shared our same idea. Once we were seated, we were quickly shocked by the family across the way from us. It was a mom and her two kids, one about 7 or so and one 2ish tot. Mom sat the little one in front of a bowl of pasta the size of a human head and let the kid have at it. And he did. Though he was quiet while flinging strings of spaghetti as if to test its stick-to-itevness, the mess he left in his wake was, well, enough to make ya’ lose your lunch. There were piles of pasta on the table, in the banquet seat, ground into the floor. Chris and I, bugged eyed, swore at that moment that our bun, once finally out of the oven, would never be allowed to behave that way.
Aww, the naivety that we allow ourselves to indulge in before actually becoming parents. So cute.
Flash forward one year and we have all but become that family.
This year, as a weary, worn-out mom to a nearly 1-year-old wild man, all I wanted was a shiny clean home (something that would be accomplished in my absence) and a shopping trip with my boys to snag some pants that actually fit (I’ve now lost 32 pounds since January and have yet to buy new threads!).
Friday night Cooper and I puttered around the mall, while the hubby (aka my man-maid) scrubbed every nook and cranny (YAY!). Saturday was split between the park and the pool and Sunday, well, we found ourselves back at the same Italian restaurant with our own little food slinger.
While we didn’t give Coop carte blanche with a pasta bowl, he did attack the cheerios and crunchy bits of breadstick with a ravenous ferocity befitting a starving animal. For every bite that he managed to push into his mouth with his pudgy little fingers, two landed on the floor, in his lap or in the highchair. (CRAAAP!). We alternated holding down the highchair with our feet because the little turkey has realized he's strong enough to push back, turning the upright chair into a recliner (he was halfway back - and down - when we caught him the first time). Plus, he decided that dinner out was the perfect opportunity to practice his new bird calls (DOUBLE CRAAAP!). Chris and I, again, sat bugged eyed, as we saw the mess left in starvin’ marvin’s wake.
But, the boy didn’t throw a screaming fit, no one was injured by the flying menus he hurled off the table and we weren’t asked to leave, so I’d consider dinner a success.
With a glance back at the floor as I packed up the bowl of cheerios, sippy cup, bottle and teether, all I could do was sigh and tell Chris to leave a good tip. It could’ve been worse. Waay worse.
happy, happy mother’s day!
p.s. Best part? Got my first Coop-made card. At daycare, they helped him cover a plate with thumbprints and flowers and added a note that said, “Thumbody loves you.” How stinkin’ cute is that?
Also, for additional mommy's day details/pics, click here.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Easter "Show"
We celebrated Coop's first Easter in A-town and though we rolled in Thursday night, there STILL wasn't enough time to make all of the rounds. Sigh. But, we did manage to swing by and see the Easter Bunny, aka Jack (Daniels) Rabbit. Yes, as the nickname would imply, I'm fairly certain that the floppy-eared fellow was either a) DRUNK!, b)STONED!, c)INSANE, d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!
E.B. was so stiff while he had a screaming kid on his lap (he didn't flinch, twitch, shake his tail) that my mom, sister and I thought it was a statue. Um, nope. About 10 seconds after the terrified kid bolted, that upright, statuesque bunny, slumped down and to the side ... all the way down and to the side. The woman taking the pictures started pounding furiously on her podium to get his attention. YOWZER!
My mom wanted to report EB to security, but, drunk bunny or not, I was determined to get my picture ... I was a mama on a mission. As soon as EB "regained consciousness" I plopped Coop on his lap, stepped about 2 feet away (just in case), did a crazy lady happy dance to get Coop's attention for the camera and got my shot (EB was still slightly slumped in the pic)!
Aww, what a wonderful tale I now have to share with my precious baby boy ... heartwarming ain't it? Happy! Happy!
p.s. For all the folks we missed this weekend, here's a Kodak recap ... between me and my mom, we took more than 150 pics! Damn photobucket would only let me upload 30 ... how dare they!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Be Mine, Valentine
For Coop's first Valentine's Day I thought we should go old school to celebrate. We're talking construction paper, glue and finger paints, lots and lots of finger paints (more on him ... and me, then the actual paper).
With a tarp-covered kitchen floor, a scantily clad baby and an optimistic mommy, we set out to handcraft Valentines for the gaggle of grandparents. While Coop didn't enjoy sloshing paint as much as he does his baby food, I think for his first foray into the "art world" he did pretty well.
He covered pink paper with red gush (compliments of his hands AND feet), then I pasted a pic of him complete with a crown and a huge heart on the front with the words:
the king of hearts wishes you a very happy valentine's day
Cheesy? Yes. But isn't that was this hallmark holiday is all about? Showering those you love with an ooey gooey mess that, in the eyes of grandparents (and Mommy and Daddy), is nothing short of a masterpiece?
happy, happy love day!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Ringin’ It In
Three days into the New Year, I may be a bit bummed, but at least my little fam celebrated the closing of 2007 in true West Texas style!!
-smell you later-
Coop’s Mom (aka Tessa)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
All I Want
... for Christmas are my Two Front Teeth!
Coop, as evidenced by the yucky rash on his lil' chin, has been drooling like c-r-a-z-y. Just in time for Christmas, my little guy has cut not one, but two tiny little chompers. And, just ask his Mimi, he already knows how to use them - yowzer! That's gonna' leave a mark, lol.
Coop is all smiles as Mom comes in for a close-up of those pearly whites.
"Ha! Ha! Mama, I blocked you." =)
Yes, success! Photographic proof of the new teeth with no bite marks in sight. Aww, it is a Merry Christmas. =)
-smell you later-
Coop's Mom (aka Tessa)
