Cooper gets a BIG boy bed!!

When I saw Cooper's feet hanging off the edge of his toddler bed, I first wondered "when that happened", and then realized he probably needed to

move on up to a twin bed!

He got to take quite time in the middle bedroom, and Clarence, Lexi, & I got to work putting it together! When he finally got to see it, he was SO excited!!

We didn't think the "big boy bed" through all the way, and once it got put up,

i wondered....

what sheets we were going to use. I went into our linen closet....

ahhh yes,.... star war sheets!

We are pretty sure that they came from Clarence and Herman when they were younger. I just hadn't put much thought into them, since Lexi is in LOVE with her butterfly and Hannah Montana sheets! Whew.... we saved the day!

He climbed on his new bed and LOVED on his new pillows that Grandma Cissy & Big Daddy had gotten him.

They both wanted to hang out on his bed. They talked, played, and laughed.

It was VERY unusual!

And,... yes,.... they even fell asleep. Except, I think that there MIGHT just be some faking about that, not too sure!!

Ahhhh.... the pleasures of life: a new bad, cool sheets, and fluffy pillows!

THAT'S what I'm talking about!!

Playing in the Leaves

Yesterday's weather was BEAUTIFUL!!

Clarence was of of work, and everyone was feeling good!!

We decided to go ahead and take the Christmas lights down outside. Trying to beat the "Arctic Blast!!" The kids went CRAZY! You would have thought that they had been held in captivity for years! The leaves on my neighbors' tree had fallen (in our yard), and the kids were loving it!!

They picked up leaves and threw them in the air for an hour!

They did "leaf angels"....

They yelled, for no apparent reason....



They buried Cooper in the leaves....

They buried Lexi in the leaves....

And, yes.... EVEN Cricket!

They rolled down the "hill" - we don't really have a hill, but the were pretending we did!

A FUN day had by all!!

Playhouse Disney

As A Christmas present, Cooper got a "date night" with me!

To go see "Playhouse Disney Live"!

So,... this was something that was pumped up over the past few days - a BIG deal!

The day is here, and Cooper gets up at 6:30am, ready to go! Well,.... too bad the show doesn't start until 3:30pm. Oh geez,.... what to do with the extra time....

A new DVD?

a new V-smile game?

his new computer game?

hhmmmm.....

ALL of these new Christmas toys and NOTHING seems to distract him from the fact that.... TODAY he gets to see Mickey Mouse, the Little Einsteins, Winnie the Pooh, and Handy Manny. Hmmmmm,.... maybe we pumped this up TOO much?

Note to self.....

So,... we get Lexi to a fabulous friends' house (thanks Laura), and off we go.

Oh yeah,... I get TRUE anxiety attacks driving downtown.

What is my exit again?

When do I turn right?

Which parking garage should I use?

ALL of the construction and ALL of the one way streets do NOT help anything!!

Luckily (at least I think for the moment), Cooper has fallen asleep. This gives me 100% chance to focus on the parking. FINALLY I settled for $10 parking!! The farthest parking is $7, so for $3 more I get to park closer (and,... considering I decided it a "good" idea not to drag the jackets with us, this ended up being BRILLIANT!).

So,... we park. I get the tickets, purse, snacks, money, extra clothes (just in case there is an "accident"), cell phone (in case Lexi has any problems), the street map (I cannot get lost!), and,.... oh yeah, the KEYS!!

oh,.... gotta get Cooper up,.... he is apparently in a deep sleep and not able to wake up AT ALL!

OK,.... i have everything!

Luckily, I parked right next to the flight of stairs (NOT the elevator!),.... so,... down the stairs we go!

Halfway there, Cooper wakens from his deep sleep, and complains and whines that it is "too cold & windy!" I want to tell him, "well,... just wait until we head back to the car,.... it's going to be worse". But, instead, I bite my tongue and try to get in that "Disney" mood!

When he can see the big, round building that we are headed to, he decides that he can walk now. Thank goodness!! He is quite the skinny boy, but I am thinking he MUST have eaten rocks for lunch when I wasn't looking!

We stand in line, get searched, hand our tickets over, go thru the metal twirly thing that has the counter on it, only,.... Cooper refuses to go thru it, so i have to carry him thru it - twice!

OK,.... finally inside - OFF to the potty! Got that done,.... now we need to get the ONLY things we will be getting: popcorn and 2 bottles of water ($12 and a 20 minute line), and I promised to get Cooper ANY souvenir he wanted. So,... we go stand in line. As we are standing there, I see a Handy Manny hard hat (PERFECT - he got a gift that was supposed to come with one, and it wasn't in the box. He was devastated!). But,... it comes with cotton candy for $15..... NOT!

Oh,.... Mickey Mouse ears - $20.... HA HA HA

Looking over these pieces of junk, I quickly realize that I could've hit it big at the Disney outlet mall BEFOREHAND! Note to self......

So,.... Cooper settled for a souvenir sippy cup with a snow cone inside ($8)

OK,.... I can live with that.

I HAD been smart enough to pack a glow stick (one that Santa had brought).... they sell these junky ones for $15+, that always seem to break in my house a couple of days after the event. So,.... YEAH!!!! Smart move!

OK,.... enough babbling,.... here are the pics!

We made it to our seats 5 minutes before the show began - PERFECT timing!

I took this pic myself!

Check out the cool hair!

Our seats were AWESOME!!! My pics are fuzzy, but it's because we couldn't use a flash!

Here's Mickey Mouse:

Cooper's fave:

Little Einsteins....

Handy Manny

Cooper and his YUMMY popcorn!!

This was during intermission. When the show was going on, he was in my lap!

I got the lady in front of us to take this.
I love it!






Saying "good-bye"

The big finale!

So,.... finding my way back was,.... a little difficult! I did have to stop and get out my map. I re-traced my steps. Probably took the "long" way to the parking garage, but hey,.... I MADE it!!

YES!!!!

We did have to sit in the garage for about 20 minutes (cars were not moving, therefore,.... I could NOT back out!). It's OK,.... in that time,... Cooper and I talked about the show and compared notes. It was a GREAT date!!!

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Today was Jesus' birthday!

What a day!.... It was very hectic for me. It probably didn't help that I didn't get to sleep all that much the night before. But,... we will trudge on. There just were not many picture taken. None of the four of us by the tree :(

None of the kids opening presents :(

None of the GREAT feast that Clarence and I slaved over :(

At least I did video tape the kids running down the hall at the crack of dawn!!

I now present to you: our only Christmas pictures!

Here are the goodies that Santa left. He brought us a family basket filled with "sing star" games, board games, dvds, a smores kit, jiffy pop, poppycock, and other fun things!

Here's the leftover crumbs from Santa. Oh,... and the letters he wrote the kiddos.

Here is the only picture I have of the kids. Clarence took it, see my hands and video camera in the corner? Granny & Grandaddy were also with us. I seem to kind of remember some flashes going off - maybe they took some pictures?


So,... we've opened presents, showered & bathed, got dressed, cooked, ate, and played....


Clarence took some food up to his work for the employees that were slaving on Christmas day. Here's Cooper - PASSED out on the way home. And,... with a ring of chocolate around his mouth, I might add!

So,.... after cleaning the kitchen, picking up the living room, watching "Hairspray", and taking a little nap,.... we thought it was time to play "Sing Star"!!

After all, we ended up with "High School Musical Sing It", "Sing Star 80's", and "Sing Star Pop".

We had lots of practicing to do!!

Here are the boys singing a "Gorillaz" song. It i one of Cooper's faves now and Clarence has a new found love for rapping! ha ha

Lexi was feeling good and able to belt out a song or two!

Ahhh, yes.... there I am! Too tired to stand, and just counting down the clock to bed time!

It was a great Christmas! We all wish that my parents had been here, but they just weren't able to make it. So,.... in order to recover from an emotional melt down of Lexi, we will be leaving up all of our Christmas decorations until we celebrate it with Grandma Cissy & Big Daddy!!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a really bad day for Lexi. She was in a lot of pain and having a hard time swallowing. I was running around the house trying to get ready for Christmas Day. Then.... I realized something: WHY?!?! Why am I killing my self and making everybody miserable trying to make it all picture perfect. So,... I quickly applied the brakes - over the course of a month, our guest list had gone from 9 to 2. I decided to try and enjoy it.

Instead of getting ALL dressed up in nice clothes (Lexi I KNOW didn't feel like it,.... we decided to dress "wacky"!! This kids really did enjoy that!

Lexi had on a blue shirt, tan velvet pants, 2 different socks, & crazy hair. Cooper had on a Rudolph light-up shirt, turtle swim trunks, "Round Rock Express" wristbands, and a shark hat. VERY funny!!

My fun socks!

Here is the last picture of the kids with their elves. Santa took the elves back to the North Pole.

Oh,... and Cricket has a Christmas dress!!




Here are the kids giving each other shugas! They were thanking each other for the gifts they exchanged. SUPER sweet kids!!

Cooper was VERY excited about his ticket to go see "Playhouse Disney Live"!! This Thursday he and I have a date: stay tuned!!

Lexi was REALLY excited to get a ticket to see the 3-D Hannah Montana movie of the concert in February. Concert tickets were nearly impossible to get. We were not very lucky!! So,.... Lexi and her friend, Courtney are going to the movie together!! Lexi is STILL excited!

Cooper seems to be amazed at his new car track! IF you ever get one of these, I would assemble it BEFOREHAND!! It took forever!!

I wrapped one of Lexi's gifts in 14 nesting boxes. Here she is annoyed that she keeps working SO hard, but keeps getting another box. A little cruel, but REALLY funny for me!!

It really paid off! When Lexi saw that she is going to get her ears pierced, she ran in her room, grabbed her pillow, and was flailing around! Pretty crazy, but only lasted for a short while - remember, she didn't feel that good! But, it was good to see her get real excited!

We are getting ready for Santa to come. The kids get together some cookies for Santa and apples for the reindeer. Not to sure what Cooper's doing, but it sure is cute!

Lexi sent the elves off with some portraits she had colored!

And,... the track finally got completed! The actual play time was not very long! Before we knew it, it was 10pm! We checked the GPS Santa tracker and Santa was already in Tennessee!!

So,.... we rushed to brush our teeth, get in our jammies, and off to bed!! Well,... except for mom! I still had a full night's of work ahead of me!!

Thank you's

I would like to take a second and thank some people that helped us get through Lexi's surgery:

*My mom & dad: your help here was MUCH needed and appreciated! I sometimes think I can take on MUCH more than I actually can,.... and luckily, as my parents, you are well aware of this syndrome!

*Anne & Rollie: Thank you for your support in this and caring so much for your granddaughter.

*Everyone that said "If you need ANYTHING, just call me!!" It really did mean a lot that I had so many people available for us.

*Laura M. for her "pop-in" visit at the hospital - it was a good break.

*Everyone that prayed for us that day! Lexi was being held very tight that day by Jesus. She was in the best hands of them all!

*Terri L.: for sending me an inspirational e-mail. It did bring me some tears, but also much joy!!

*Sarah J.: for keeping it real and not sugar coating anything!!

*For everyone that called, e-mailed, and text messaged. It was crazy, but still made me realize how blessed we are!!

*The York Family: for bringing us food!

*Lora and April: for the Ultimate Chopper! It is STILL helping Lexi eat!

*Herman & Leah - Lexi LOVED her flowers!

I hope that I didn't forget anyone! If I did... I am sorry, but it was all overwhelming!! We are TRULY blessed!

Thank you!

Visit wth Lora

One of my great friends from high school, Lora came into town. Now,.... there aren't many people I would have welcomed at that time, but Lora is family! Lexi had just gotten home from the hospital,... I had not taken a shower since Monday morning - i KNOW that's gross! But,... I had my hands full,.... needless to say: it was insane!! I was SO tired, but it was SO great to get caught up with Lora. I had not had a visit with her in a while - a few months. Which IS a long time for us!! She spoiled the kiddos (and me) with some fun gifts. But again,... my camera was still packed from the hospital, and pictures did not get taken. BUT it was a GREAT time and GREAT visit!

Lexi's Surgery

So,... there are no pictures for this blog entry. But, on Dec. 17th, Lexi had her tonsils and adnoids removed! I took my camera to take pictures, but things were so intense, that I did not get a chance,... or even think about it.

So,.... our doctor is GREAT and so is Dell Children's Hospital!! FABULOUS doesn't come close!

It is a very colorful, bright hospital that is very kid friendly. Whether you are a patient, sibling, or a visitor, there are tons of stuff to do and see!! Cooper had a great time getting to play on their many different centers.

As great as it is.... I hope we never have to go back! That just means we are doing well.

It impressed us all so much, that we are currently

looking into their different volunteer opportunities.

Kuddos!

Christmas with Daisy

Dec. 21, 2007

My cousin Daisy came over to celebrate Christmas with us.

As always, she spoils the kids like CRAZY!!

Here is Lexi with her special edition "monopoly pink boutique"!

Of course, I am LOVING it too!!

Cooper got a BIG dump truck and front loader. It was great to see him SO excited about opening gifts. I guess this is his first year to REALLY understand.

Here, he had to take a step back to get the full view. He was saying, in his deepest voice, "WHOA! I can't believe it! Mom,.... Mom.... look!"

Giving Daisy some luvin'!

Cute girls!

Even a dog scrapbook for Cricket!

overseas gifts!

Clarence's brother, Herman is overseas in Germany with his newlywed bride, Leah.

We recently received a Christmas package from them, filled with SUPER fun and unique gifts!

It was the first set of presents we got to open, so OF COURSE the kids were busting at the seams to get them open!

Here's Cooper before opening.

He got a cool robot!!

Within 5 minutes, it had fallen off of the couch and BROKE! OHHHHHH that drama!! Cooper started crying, to the point that we thought there was going to be some throwing up. However, after several tactics to get him to calm down, Clarence set in to do some investigating on the robot. Well,... in fact, all that happened, was that the battery was jiggled out. So,... it wasn't broken after all. The new rule is: No Robots on the Couch!

Lexi waited patiently her turn!

She got a VERY cute outfit - pink sparkles and cheetah print! RIGHT up her ally!

and....

A "juicy Couture" purse. Now,.... Lexi has no idea what that means. We do TRY to keep her somewhat grounded! But,... a black and gold purse needs no explanation to Lexi!

She'll take great care of it - the flashier the more precious (in her eyes).

Here's Clarence with his new Georgio Armani shirt and tie. The shirt is a perfect fit!



And,.... sorry.... I didn't think to take a picture of myself! But,... sometime this summer, I'm sure you'll see pictures of my matching Coach shoes and purse.

Thanks Herman and Leah!!

Sally & Billy

Well,.... Mr Santa Clause has been VERY busy at the North Pole!!! To Help him out he has allowed some of the elves out of the factory and into some of the childrens' homes. It has allowed him to ficus on the "naughty and Nice List" and to help him out! Yes,.... I know.... VERY clever!! Thank you to Laura M.!!

So,.... Sixela (Alexis spelled backwards!!) and Repooc (Cooper spelled backwards) have arrived!

Here is Lexi reading the letter from Santa explaining "why" the elves are back.

Lexi and Sally - the elves let the kiddos pick their names - since their original names were too hard to pronounce.

Cooper bundling up for the winter weather! I LOVE this pic!!


Here is Cooper with "Billy Bally" - his elf.