The one with the 2nd birthday...

Happy Birthday to my handsome baby boy!!!!!!! I can't believe you are already 2 years old and talking, walking, running, feeding your self, giving us big hugs and kisses, sitting on the potty, watching movies, enjoying the zoo, having water gun fights, playing basket ball, asking us questions and the list just goes on. You really are the light in all our lives! Each day I can't wait to see that smile and hear that giggle! You are just the cutest, smartest and funniest little 2 year old I know! 2 years ago today, we were moving in our first home and today we are selling our first home. A lot has changed in the last 2 years and it's all been for the best. We are back in Jacksonville now which is key to building a strong family for us. So we are happily house hunting (again)!

Josh took the day off to spend with Cooper. The weather is pretty nasty and rainy. He had such big plans for he and Cooper but all involved out door activities. So they are doing Coopers 2nd favorite thing, watching cartoons! One of my personal favs as a kid, Scooby doo which is equivalent now to the Criminal Minds for adults. I could watch both all day long!

We had a birthday beach bash for Cooper and his lil dudes and dudetts on Sunday. It is probably the last nice (warmer) weekend in Florida for a while. It was beautiful, 80 degrees sunny, no clouds. It was a perfect day. I think there were about 9 kids total running and crawling around. Our youngest addition to the group was 13 days old! I had pizza, subs, goldfish and cupcakes for everyone. Hardly any left overs. It was so nice to see everyone. So strange that everyone that was there, Josh and I went to high school with and most had children. Definitely a change from our Atlanta family. Cooper has other kids to keep him occupied and fight with over toys. I bought all the kids buckets, shovels, bubbles and squirt guns. Everyone had their own and the toys were scattered all around us, but as you can imagine the kids would fight over whatever toy the other was holding. Almost wrestling at some points. At least it was sand. They have to learn to share, right? Why not the hard way? It was such a great day. I know Cooper had a blast. Almost instantly on the way back home he fell asleep in his car seat.

Happy Birthday COOPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family love

Flying Cooper's new Kite, Thanks Ash!!

Thank you all for the wonderful pressents!

If you noticed, I typicall don't smile at the camera (or even look at it!)

Most of the Group!



 
 LOVE

The one with the SPOOKY week....

Happy Halloweenie!!! Hope everyone had a safe and spooky trick-or-treat night. Cooper actually had 2 trick-or-treat nights. For those who don't know, he was a fireman! I bought his costume last year after Halloween for super cheap.... so I am actually headed out during lunch to see what kind of steals I can find for 2 costumes next Halloween!

  

Sunday night we went to Spooktacular at the zoo with Karen. Cooper did great. I was pretty nervous because he gets "spooked" quite easily. Heck, he even got spooked while we where carving our pumpkin at home! And no it wasn't anything scary, just the standard jack-o-lantern with 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth... But he was a great sport and was along for the ride, he stayed in his stroller the whole time. To boot, he likes wearing his fireman jacket and hat. Which is impressive, to me anyway. We didnt' see many animals out, but they sure did a good job decorating and entertaining the kids. There were dance parties, cotton candy, bounce houses, popcorn, haunted houses, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) walking around in costume and TONS of kids dressed up. Its so cute seeing all the little ones.

Halloween night, we went over to a friends house where a group of us parents rallied all the kids together to head out door to door. What a crowd. We didn't leave the house until almost 7 and the kids did great. A solid 1.5 hours of trick-or-treating. Again, Cooper preferred to sit in the wagon. He is a little on the timid side when he isn't sure of things. We did walk up to some doors with him, but when he saw something spooky, he didn't go on his own. Nor could we get him to talk. Nothing. He was mute. But once he discovered it was chocolate these strange spooky people were putting in his pumpkin, he tore right into some of it. With the help of me of course. He tried to bite the candy with the wrappers still on!! The funniest thing, Daddy pulled him in the wagon up to most houses, since folks sit in their driveways, and when Cooper was a little unsure/ scared, we think that he would fake asleep. NO joke, we would get up to the houses and he would lay his head on the side of the wagon and not move. The funniest thing ever and the first time I had seen him do that. You know we got a picture!!



Daddy and the Kiddos

Handsome lil fireman

Getting into the candy before Mommy eats it all!!!

Quick, play opossum so they can't scare me!  

Happy November!

LOVE

The one with the Blue Angels...

This weekend was the famous Blue Angel Air Show at the beaches. My parents used to take me as a kid. It's such a cool show for any age really. I was a little skeptical bringing Cooper since the Blue Angel jets are so loud- but he loved it. He did great. He was a little "angel" and sat on my lap the whole time pointing and watching the planes fly over. For those who don't know, the Blue Angels are 6 of the Navy Jets that put on a spectacular air show. Flying close together, doing tricks, looking like they are going to hit one another. Its amazing to watch. My favorite part was when 4 of the angels where flying together out over the ocean so your eyes were on them, and then out of no where from behing the condo's one of the other angels flew right over our head, loud as can be. Startled everyone!! Josh took cover, ducked and threw his hands over his head. ha-ha so funny like the jets were going to hit us. Hilar!!



After the air show, we went to Clark's, the nieghboorbood seafood resturant. Another place I used to go as a kid alot. You can walk to it from my parents house. It's been around since the 70's and has grown in to a popular place! Josh, Cooper and I have been walking up there during the evenings to grab a drink and watch the boats. PLUS Clark's has decorated for Halloween like no other resturant has in town. So Cooper loves walking around looking at all the "Spooks" as grandpa calls them. They also have a few live alligator tanks indoors that Cooper likes AND since it's on the St. Johns River, tons of wild alligators that you can feed. I haven't seen many big momma alligators, just the babies. But you know the mommas are around. So we sat outside and enjoyed the "fall" wather of Florida- 75 degrees :)

 

Crab boil for 2, that Josh devoured himself!

Happy Fall Y'all!!!!!!!

LOVE

The one with the pumpkins...

Mandarin Methodist church puts on a rockin pumpkin patch every year. I had never really gone before. Never really wanted to, until Cooper. It was incredible. More pumpkins in one place than I had ever seen. They had it decorated super cute with scarecrows and farm animals. Truly a hot spot of kids. Cooper ran up and down the aisles for a little bit and was having fun, not super intersted in the actual pumpkins, just the running. he was happy until he started playing with the big rusted shovels that belonged to the folks who worked there. He was not a happy camper when we told him no. He screamed and pitched a fit in the middle of the pumpkin patch. Josh and I just let him cry it out. He finally did and was OK. I did get a few pictures before the tantrum! Maybe next year he will be a little more mature and actually enjoy picking out a pumpkin.

LOVE!!

The one with Sugar and Spice....

AND EVERYTHING NICE.... ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!! That's right, we are having a baby girl. So excited that we can finally share the good news. We have been holding it in since September 20th!!! Such a long time for that kind of secret. We had the family over to share the news. I had everyone where their "team" color, pink or blue. I was wearing blue, Josh in pink. I think once everyone saw me in blue, they were convinced was a boy.... haha we fooled them. Once we opened the box and the pink balloons flew out, we had most everyone in tears! Probably because Josh and I were so emotional. Baby Girl McCarty already has daddy wrapped around her finger! Can't wait to meet her. We hare having the hardest time thinking of girl names, so we are open to suggestions!

Cooper is going to be such a good big brother. We were around his baby Cousin Adalynn a few months ago and he was such a big help.  Sunday was also the first time we got to meet Ashe, the newest baby to the Jacksonville Family. Ashe is 5 months old, his momma is Jessica our cuz (Aunt Kelly's daughter). He was the sweetest and cutest. Such a happy baby. Didn't cry one time he was here. Cooper  was intrigued. He was helping Ashe put shoes on and sharing his Lego's with him. It was precious! Meet the family....

Look at my little precious angel, he is becoming quite the fan of Sesame Street, well all cartoons really. He sat down for at least 20 minutes watching TV without a peep other than him talking to the TV... I kept hearing him talk to Elmo, at one point he said "Stop it Elmo, Stop"! haha he really is too cute.

Have a great week!!

LOVE

The one with the 28th BIRTHDAY....

Happy Birthday to my smart, handsome, silly, confident HUSBAND!!!! I hope you have a blessed day! I thought I'd share a few great photos below of Josh. This is the side of him I am blessed with every day. There is never (and I mean never) a dull moment in the McCarty House. Which is also now combined with the Hermann's. Josh has such a contagious personality, he lights up every room. He's such a wonderful husband and loving father. He's great with Cooper. Cooper can't wait until daddy comes home every day to play and giggle!!! They have such a special bond that's so sweet to watch. I am taking Josh to Hurricanes tonight. Its nothing too fancy, but he LOVES their wings. So I figured he can drink some cold beer, EAAATTTT and watch some football!!

Big news this Sunday, we are getting the family together to announce the sex of our second baby! Super excited about it.  It's a small get together, but we figured it was a great way to celebrate us back home and the new baby!! Stay tuned for the news!!

LOVE

The one with the MOVE....

Well, we made it. We are as settled as we are going to be for now. We got to Jacksonville Saturday early evening. With 3 cars full of STUFF. Mainly toys and clothes. We left the house "staged" up in Atlanta,  sspotless and cleaned in hopes to get a buyer soon. Ironically we didn't have a single showing this past weekend. Every week since we put it on the market we've had people come through. So I hope this does not start a trend. Keep your prayers coming, we need to sell this by Thanksgiving. So while I was doing the last round of mopping on the dark hard wood floors I now hate, I was crying. Not because I was mopping, no no I was totally used to that after 2 years But because its hard to believe Josh and I are already moving from our first home we ever bought. We've put a lot of hard work in to that home, a lot of hard work in to our friendships we've built and to family that still remains. Ok, Josh likes to attribute my tears to the pregnancy and the extra hormones pumped into me every week. But it's sentimental. The move means a lot. Deeply saddened to leave all our loved ones and friends but extremely ecstatic to be "home". To have Cooper growing up around grandparents and great grandparents is a gift. And at the end of the day, all you have is family. So this was the right "move" for us.

To make it feel more like home, we went to the beach on Sunday. Cooper has only been a few times. The last time it was too cold to get into the water so we didn't even try then, but at this age he loved it. Once I took his shoes off and his toes were in the sand, he was a bit skeptical. But who doesn't love sand squishing between their toes. He got used to it in about 5 seconds. He made good use of his shovel and buckets and does what every kids does, throws sand. Not into the big open ocean, but at me and on my chair. Oh yea, and of course squashing the sand castles Josh built. He ddidn't get close to the water without holding someones hand. I bet it won't take long before he's boogie boarding! (ps. notice there are NO pictures of me in a swim suit. I am saving your EYES!!! )

Anyway, back to the beginning. We are as settled as we are going to be for now. It feels good to be around family have and support. Heck, we are going to take advantage of the babysitters (grandparents) that we haven't had! We've already got tickets to the Florida vs LSU game this Saturday! It's Josh's birthday and what better way to spend it than drinking beer and watching LIVE football. Well for me, its just watching football. Maybe next season :)

Have a great week!!

LOVE