Happy Thanksgiving!

We traveled to Tyler for the Thanksgiving Holiday to be with my family. We were actually in Kilgore on Thanksgiving Day to visit Great Gramm and Grandpappy. We had a great time in Kilgore and of course ate too much. My grandparents have an awesome backyard that Tyler loves to play in. Grandpappy raked up a big pile of leaves for Tyler to play in. He wasn't sure what to think at first, but quickly got into it. It is a Fleming tradition to play in the leaves during the Fall. I don't think Cooper has ever had so much attention. He got rocked by Great Gramm whether he liked it or not, but I'm pretty sure he loved it! In the afternoon we watched football and took naps- another Fleming tradition. Tyler was so wiped out from playing outside he took a 3 hour nap!

On Friday mom and I went shopping while Travis watched the kiddos (and no we didn't get up to shop with all the crazies!). We got some great deals and I was able to finish all of my Christmas shopping! We came home and watched the Aggies beat the hell outta t.u.! I'm sure Travis is very thankful for the win and for Fran's resignation.

Saturday night my parents babysat so Travis and I could go on a date. We went out to eat and then went bowling with Tyler's finest! We both won one game, but my losing score was better than Travis' losing score so I guess that means that I'm the overall champion! We had a good time and it was nice to be by ourselves.

We are back home now and back to reality. Laundry, grocery shopping, and trying to get the house decorated for Christmas.

Great Gramm rocking Cooper.

Tyler and Mama

It was really cold on Thanksgiving and we made Tyler wear this hat. He hated it and here he is trying to get it off.

Tyler sweeping the leaves on the driveway.

Cooper and Mama

Tyler playing in the leaves!

More leaves!!!

Papa pushing Tyler around in the wheelbarrow.

Tyler trying to push the wheelbarrow through the leaves.

Tyler mooching some dessert off of Papa's plate. I believe he sampled some of everyones!

4 Months!

Cooper is 4 months! We took him to the doctor today for his checkup and he looks great! He is 14 lbs. 7 oz. (50th percentile) and is 26 inches long (75th percentile). He got four shots and barely cried at all. Cooper is the sweetest baby around and has the best smile. We have had some major breakthroughs in the last week- sleeping and eating. Cooper was refusing to sleep good at night- waking up every 2 hours for several days in a row. He didn't want to eat- he was just depending on me to get him back to sleep. I was completely exhausted and frustrated. So we had a little sleep training a.k.a. "crying it out" this past week and he is doing much better! Last night he went to sleep at 8 and slept until 5:45 this morning! Praise the Lord! I'm feeling much better and refreshed which is good for everyone in the house! This past week he has also started to take a bottle. Probably for the past month he had been refusing the bottle. He has even taken formula from a bottle which had been a major battle!

We love Cooper so much. God blessed us unexpectedly about this time last year and he brings so much joy to our lives. I can't imagine not having Cooper around and I'm thankful for the little surprises in life!

Cooper bundled up and sitting in the Bebe Pod.

Cooper flying through the air!

Daddy and Cooper

Whoa, mama! You look a little scary in the morning!

The Monkey

Tyler's newest nickname is "The Monkey". The Monkey recently turned 19 months. He is into everything and has turned into a little climber. The climbing part really makes me nervous. For example, today I was downstairs unloading the dishwasher while Tyler played upstairs. It got really quiet upstairs, which also makes me nervous, so I went up to check on him. I heard him in Cooper's room so I go to see what he is up to. He was sitting ON TOP of the changing table in the nursery. He had managed to use the two shelves below to climb up onto the changing table. He was just sitting up there having a grand ol' time playing with the wipes! Are you kidding me? I just wish I had a picture of him up there. He tried climbing it again later this afternoon and got a stern warning that he wasn't to do that again and if he did he was going to get a spanking.

Anyway, at 19 months he imitates EVERYTHING we do. His new favorite thing is to fill up his juice cup with water from the refrigerator door. Luckily the water dispenser has a button to lock it where it won't dispense water because otherwise we would have water all over the floor at all times. He has learned to say "No" which we aren't too excited about. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point. He has also started giving closed mouth kisses and makes the "Mwa" sound when he gives you a kiss. It's adorable and I like to ask him for kisses just to hear him do it, but now he can also say no to my request! :(

We love Tyler so much at this stage. Travis and I have been talking lately about how much fun he is and how much we love watching him at this age. He is learning so much and cracks us up on a daily basis!

Tyler showing Cooper all the tricks of the exersaucer.

Showing off his excellent fashion sense.

Taking a bath in our jacuzzi bathtub- his new favorite thing to do!

Papa and his Clone

Here is a picture of Cooper and my Dad. Cooper looks SO much like him. It's harder to tell in this picture because Cooper isn't smiling, but he is going to look just like his Papa.

A Day in the Life...

These pictures pretty much sum up our days lately, especially since the weather has been so nice. We are constantly outside and Tyler begs to go on a walk every afternoon. I usually comply because both of the boys love to go on a walk and it's good exercise for me pushing 40+ pounds in the stroller for 1.5 miles.

Tummy time for Cooper!

Ready for our afternoon walk. Tyler was excited, I promise!

Tyler playing in the sandbox.

Cooper watching his big brother play outside.