Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The one where my baby is 4...

Each birthday is bittersweet. This year was so much fun watching Cooper open his gifts with excitement. He did a little dance or “jig” with each gift he opened, I just couldn’t help but love it. I thought to myself wow, it gets better each year. His personality is blossoming, he’s wearing his “big boy” pants and he isn’t a toddler anymore. However, as we do each birthday, we reflect. I can’t help but get a little sad inside to know I practically blinked and BAM I have a four year old. At four, he is fully potty trained (night time too)… for any other mom reading this, potty training is probably one of the greatest accomplishments of the toddler years. Let’s see, at 4 we are also having conversations, even though we may be shy at times. He is a pretty good communicator; let’s face it- he’s male, so how really great do they get. Am I right? Cooper got a bike for his birthday so he will be learning to ride a bike. I know your probably thinking,  gee, kind of late right? Well what had happened was…. for his 3rd birthday he got a dirt bike and learned to ride that. He has learned how to chop wood, count, swim, say the ABC’s, do puzzles, play games and tattle on his sissy. We are still working on the sharing part. He’s got some OCD in him too. He loves to organize, clean and make is bed. Every toy, book, shoe, train, animal etc has its own “spot”. He’s so much fun and his little laugh is contagious. He will ask for something and I say sure, here you go. And you know what his reply is? “Thanks Mom, you’re the best!”  He’s so sweet, a true blessing from God and I am proud to be his mommy!
He told me, Mom this is the best birthday! We took him camping and boy did he love it- ALL SMILES!








Happy Birthday Cooper
LOVE

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The one where we are whole again…

It was a long journey but a journey we knew we were supposed to walk- for what reasons we aren’t quite sure of but being back together is such a blessing. Back together for all the holidays is the best. We are oddly getting back into the routine of things quickly. This mama is learning how to incorporate an adult back in the house, weird. LOL. I’m only kidding (kinda) it’s all been really great though. The kids are so excited to have Daddy home. In fact, so excited, that when Josh went to leave to run errands yesterday Cooper started crying. Luckily it was just a short trip, but that night while tucking Cooper in, he said “Daddy you scared me today.” How’s that Josh replied, and Cooper said, “I thought you were going to sleep at the airport again” So needless to say, Josh is NEVER allowed to leave anywhere, EVER. It was almost like we never missed a beat, but that’s how you know it’s all so true- true love, real family and true faith. The kids are back to clinging to him and he’s back piddling in the yard and most importantly cooking on the green egg again! The McCarty Party of 4 is back in action.



Our first baby turns 4 tomorrow, Cooper!! Where did the time go?! We’ve got a camping trip scheduled for Saturday. Cooper’s favorite thing to do is be outside, camping, eating boiled peanuts and making s’mores. So that’s what he will get… all his favorite stuff. Addie likes it too, mainly the digging in the dirt and eating the dirt part. So camping with her should be interesting. The last time we all went, she was actually all nuzzled up, cozy in my belly. We went a week before she was due, remember that!? Anyway, this has been a fun year. I think we are in the phase where Cooper replies “Why” to everything. I try so so so hard not to say because I said so (but sometimes I can’t find any other reason than that) Cooper is very sensitive, he gets really upset when you tell him no, but he is a great listener. He’s so smart, loves creating inventions, working with his tools and building things with Daddy. He’s a night owl like his Daddy too (I think both kids are). We found Cooper in his room watching TV at 1:30am the other night, wide awake. He’s pretty much out of the napping phase, some days he will sleep, most days no. He’s still a picky eater, but again, he gets it from his Daddy… what does he get from me your thinking? I like to think his good looks! J The other day I asked Cooper what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said, “I want to be like Daddy”. I asked, why and he said because he kills snakes and roaches. Ha-ha. Tough man!



We had a lot of fun on Halloween; we were all the Ninja turtles. Not only does Cooper love them, Josh does too. I guess we all kinda do. Addison loves trick-or-treating! She’s a pro at 1. Cooper did so much better this year. In the past years, he was very timid and shy. This year he went straight up to the house, knocked on the door! Previously he wouldn’t even get out of the wagon.  He’s still sporting his Rafael red eye mask. I think it’s his new accessory to life.



Happy Birthday to the boy that stole all our hearts. We love you Cooper!
LOVE

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The one with the Disney Dream...

          


We went cruising with Mikey Mouse and Minnie Mouse the weekend of my birthday. It was a nice “dream” from reality that’s for sure. Granna, my mom, went with me and the kids. Thank goodness. She kept my sanity. We also went with one of our favorite families, The Furukawas! We are all close and the kids love each other. The cruise was fun... the characters walked around the boat, the play rooms were so cute and so much fun, the splash park on the boat was a hit, but what toped it all was Disney’s private island, Castway Cay. The cruise went to Nassau, Bahama…. GROSS is really the only word to describe it, ok, that and annoying… all the chicks in the straw market basically harass you to buy their junk or “Pretty girl, let me braid your hair!” UHHHH no THANKS. The kids were in the kid care on the ship while we went “exploring” Nassau and by exploring I mean we tried out the local beer at Senor Frogs- that was about it. Cooper was a little under the weather so he didn’t enjoy being in the play room. Addison and Cooper had to be split up since she is still in diapers and considered a baby. Castaway Cay, however, was a big hit, for the kids AND adults. Cooper was scared of the characters, Addison of course was not. Us adults moved our beach chairs to the waterline and chilled out while the kids played in the knee deep ocean. We didn’t have beach toys, but we did have empty (plastic) beer bottles they loved filling up with water. Parents of the year! The Island was so relaxing and peaceful and our boat was the only one at port. They only have one cruise at a time, so it wasn’t crowded. Overall it was a dream, being on the open waters is breathtaking. BUT (there is always a BUT) I think the kids would benefit a little more from it in a few years, when they can appreciate a family vacation.



Speaking of “baby”, I can’t use that word to accurately describe Addison anymore. It was 2 weeks ago I said, I’m keeping her in the crib as along as I can. And you know what? Miss priss, the fearless wild child climbs out! I couldn’t keep her in a nap time. She is only 19 months a fearless 19 months. Just like her daddy. So, Addison is now in a toddler bed and actually doing great. The first day of course was difficult to get her to lay down because she was so excited, I mean so excited. But literally within 4-5 days, she knows to stay in her room and lay down. She is a smart 19 months and I have to give Cooper credit.  He’s such a good big brother and leader for her. He shows her how to do things like brush her teeth and ride the four-wheeler. She’s going to be one cute tomboy in her dresses and bows. She loves anything Cooper is doing, so racing cars, playing baseball, soccer, Frisbee and she is too cute doing it! It’s a good thing Cooper is the calm, usually reasonable one, he can take care of her in high school!!


Well its officially “fall” the pool is down into the 70’s!!! WAAAAAAAAYYY too cold for me! Addison did get in for a swim the other morning, PJ’s and all.
Happy fall y’all
LOVE

Friday, August 8, 2014

The one with the eventful Summer....

I am not even sure where to begin…. Happy Father’s Day, Happy 4th of July, Happy Anniversary month!! I missed a lot of events on here. One of the most important milestones for us, is Cooper is a SWIMMER! It didn’t take long for him to ditch the swimmies and become that big boy. He won’t even get in the pool with his swimmies on, but he does require goggles. We are living in the pool with this hot Florida Sunshine. It’s a great way to wear the kiddos out before nap time! And once the kids lay down, momma gets to relax and soak up some sun.



We’ve had a major DIY project in the dining room that really turned out great! Josh is Mr. DIY Professional. We finally added some character and paint to the dining room. We put up bead board; it gives it the country cottage/ beach house feel. As you know, my job is to make this house feel “coastal”. LOL so I still have decorating to do, but I was thoroughly impressed with my hubs! There aint nothing he can’t do…. He’s already planning the next project!
 

The main man



After construction, still a work in progress

My Planter, built by the one and only, Josh!

Papa Jeff and Mar came in town several weeks ago too. We enjoyed having them and Cooper warmed right up to Papa Jeff. Probably because he’s at big kid at heart like Josh. Cooper and Papa Jeff wrestled and horse played the whole time. They were here picking up another horse, I mean 2 more horses, for their farm. One of these days, we will ride one of those suckers! If we could just convince them to move to Florida… we have 30 acres of land around here too!!! Everybody’s doing it! 

LIKE PAPA LIKE GRANDSON!

I’m sure you know by now, but we had a surprise visit from the devil in our backyard. A water moccasin slithered right in front of Cooper.  Needless to say the snake didn’t make it out alive and we pray he will never return.  Josh fought the snake, literally, until the snake’s death. Once the snake felt threatened he was jumping in attempt to attack and strike Josh. It was frightening!!!!! We’ve had lots of prayer over the house and backyard. They should NOT return!


OUR HERO!!!!
Addison is her father’s daughter. One of her new favorite foods is black olives. I swear she would eat an entire can like her daddy. Josh now has some competition when he opens up a can. Addison is also starting to say more words, I can tell you her favorite word is NO! I think that’s every child’s first words. She is trying SO hard to say Cooper, its adorable. All this rush and excitement for the kiddos to start talking and then we tell them to be quiet!!
Wishing y’all a cooler rest of the summer, can it get any hotter?! Enjoy some of the best pics of the summer so far!






LOVE

Friday, June 13, 2014

The one in Jekyll Island....

One of my very favorite people in this world was married last weekend…. Allan. Allan and I are not only 1st cousins but also close friends. As the only child myself, having him and being so close was a blessing, kind of like a brother. Although he didn’t live close, we were close. As kids we romped around the neighborhoods, playing hide-n-seek, running through the streets like banshees, only until it was dark of course. We spent a lot of time coloring and drawing, Allan was always SO good at it. My flower drawings had nothing on his Batman Christmas Ornaments. We would watch What About Bob on repeat. We even “produced” and “acted” in our own movie, Jaws 5. If you haven’t seen it, PLEASE contact me. Uncle Curt put it on DVD for the fam one year- Greatest production of all time. As we grew older, we only became closer. College came, which meant road trips and stories to tell for a life time…. Some of course weren’t so funny at the time, like being puked on by one of his friends or Allan missing the FL/GA game because he was sitting in a cell, but looking back, the memories that surrounded those weekends were hilarious. Many many good laughs and times spent with him. I am so thankful and blessed we’ve had so many good years of laughs. And as we grow older, and have families those memories will only get better.


 SO, back the bride and groom---Allan married the love of his life, Anna! Want to talk about a gorgeous bride…. Anna was that, stunning and beautiful. The met at GA Southern years ago… we’ve all been hoping and praying he wouldn’t let this one get away, she’s too perfect! Not to mention the wedding was perfect, fantastic weather, beautiful setting all for the perfect couple. Cooper was the ring bearer. He was loving wearing the tuxedo in the hotel, he thought he looked just like Daddy…. Until we got to the Jekyll Island club to take pictures before the wedding. Bless his little 3 year old heart, all the pressure of looking like a stud and all the people coming up to him, he just couldn’t bear all the attention. He was a hot mess for the whole 2 hours prior to the wedding… no pictures, no talking, only crying. After many prayers later, by the grace of God, Cooper instantly changed his attitude right before his big act. His tears ceased and I think his nerves stopped, and he walked down the aisle like a little angel prince. He was so handsome. He stood next to Allan and the groomsman the whole ceremony AND even smiled for dozens of pictures after. He was a trooper. At the reception he pushed some chairs together and with his ring bearer pillow and his Daddy’s coat as a blanket, he closed his eyes and slept through all the dancing and craziness. The next morning I asked Cooper did he have fun…. His reply, “Yea Mom, I was Cheesin!”








And with that, we cheers to many years of health, love and happiness for the new Mr. and Mrs. Allan Simmons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE