Fun Day Thursday

It's days like last Thursday that I realize how lucky I am and how thankful I am to be a stay-at-home mom. Sure I miss certain aspects of working full-time. Probably mostly because of where I worked and the great, great friends I have there. But when Coop and I have a super fun day like we had last week, I'm reminded how lucky I am to be able to experience each and every day with my little monkey. And, how blessed I am to be a part of his fun day, too.

What did we do today that was so fun, you might be wondering? Well, we went to the zoo, had a picnic lunch by the gorillas, took a good nap at home, had a productive trip to Target, played outside, and worked in my vegetable garden! Phew!

Coop has been to the zoo before, but it's been six months or so, and that can make quite a difference. This time he really noticed the animals and would get excited when they moved or made sounds. I think his favorites were the monkeys, otters, elephants, and the BIG gorilla that we saw. Oh, and the Zoo Keeper truck and the broom the Zoo Keeper was using...of course. And, to make our zoo trip even more fun, Auntie Ann came with us as well as Jackson, Sarah (Jackson's mom), and Jackson's Aunt Audra!

Cooper loved to watch these monkeys swing around. They were like acrobats swinging from the building to the tree to a rope and back to the building.

Next up, elephants!

The otters were really active, and we had several opportunities to see them swim right in front of us, but it seemed like just when they were swimming by, one or both of the boys would turn away and look at something else. This is the only picture we have of everyone looking at the tank. Jackson was really entertained by the fan and Coop kept looking for brooms.

After saying goodbye to Jackson, Sarah, and Audra, we had a little picnic lunch and then headed over to see the gorillas. We lucked out because as soon as we rounded the corner of the viewing area, this is what we saw...

A huge, giant gorilla! Have you ever seen an animal this large up close? I sure haven't...wow! And, then, my sweet little monkey decided to offer some goldfish to the gorilla.

When you are around gorillas, you have to learn how to walk like a gorilla, right?

After seeing the big gorilla in person, we had to go check out these statues a little closer. First, Coop walked up slowly and looked directly at the statue. Then, he touched the statue and examined his face--touching his eyes, nose, and mouth.

And then, leaned in and gave the sweetest little kiss!

And THEN, he hugged the statue and blew him a kiss! This was all on his own doing, too. Coop is really affectionate with our animals at home, so I guess in his mind, he was treating this "animal" just like his animals at home. I just thought this was so sweet and just another way to show how his little brain is constantly connecting the dots.

What a fun, fun day we had at the zoo with our friends!!

Daddy's Tool Room

Working in Daddy's tool room can be super duper fun when you wear protective ear muffs and work gloves. Especially because when you wear the ear muffs you can't hear anything, so you yell really loud!
And then, when you come inside, it's super fun to drive your racecar wearing your work gear...just in case you didn't know.

Scratched Nose

Why does Cooper have a scratched nose, you might ask? Well, let me tell you a funny little story. And, I'll just start by saying that other than the little scratches, my little monkey is totally fine.

So a few days ago I was watering plants on our porch. If you've never seen our house, we have a raised porch that is about three feet off the ground. (You might see where this is going...but I promise there is a twist you aren't expecting!) So I'm watering and Cooper is standing behind me watching, kind of peaking around my side. Well, Coop decided he wanted to water too and suddenly he attempted to try to go around me. And, as you probably expected, there wasn't enough room to my side and Coop fell off the porch--he's fine, he's fine...I promise! HOWEVER, before he fell, he was holding on to my pants. And while he was falling, he didn't let go of my pants. My stretchy waist pants, mind you. So there I was, holding a watering can, standing on our porch, with my pants around my ankles and my little boy standing in the bushes!!!!!

I was instantly hit with a difficult decision--do I first pull up my pants or do I pull my crying son out of the bushes? I chose pulling up my pants first, and then while laughing hysterically, I pulled Cooper out of the bushes. Luckily, he only fussed for a few seconds. I, however, have laughed so hard I've cried the last couple of days as I've told this story!

Lessons learned? Wear tighter pants and beware of the bushes.

Sweet Grandmother Lamb

We said goodbye to Philip's sweet Grandmother Lamb (Betty) this week. She passed away on Friday, April 2 after a battle with cancer. I feel lucky to have been able to call her "Grandmother" for 11 years, and I'm so thankful that Cooper got to meet his great grandmother. Grandmother was there for all the big Cooper moments--she attended my baby shower, met Cooper soon after he was born, and joined us for his first birthday party in September. She always took such a special interest in Cooper and what he was doing at any particular time in his life, asking lots of questions, holding him, and giving lots of smiles. We will miss her dearly, but find joy in the fact that she is happy, healthy, and at home in Heaven with Grandaddy Lamb (Buddy).

I'm also grateful that we had the opportunity to go to dinner with her just a few weeks ago, where I snapped this picture. Right after I took this picture, Cooper leaned in and gave Grandmother the sweetest, biggest, and most slobbery kiss on her cheek! It couldn't have been a better "last moment" for Cooper...or for me. Cooper gave away only one kiss that night. How did he know Grandmother was the one who needed it?

We'll miss you, Grandmother.

Thank You Easter Bunny

Easter morning started with an exciting surprise left by the Easter Bunny! Bubbles, a Cars book, and some dark chocolate M&Ms...and what did Coop go for first? The M&Ms. Yep, he's my child.

We spent the day at Gammi and Poppi's house where Cooper had another Easter surprise--his very own lawn mower!

The boys headed outside to play with Poppi's newest pool toys--speed boats.

We were so glad to have the Clements' here for the weekend. Cooper loves his cousins, Ben and Ferris, so much! Or "Be" and "Es," if you ask Coop. There are no tears, no fussing, and no need for Mommy when these boys are around--it's all fun, all the time!

By the time Easter rolled around, Coop was a pro egg-hunter, so of course we had another egg hunt at Gammi and Poppi's. I pulled out the same plastic eggs and filled some with Goldfish crackers and, as a special treat, some with M&Ms. And, once again, my little man had so much fun opening each egg to find out what was inside. He would open the egg, dump the contents into his big green hardware bucket, and then turn and search for his next hidden egg. Every now and then he would stop by the bucket for a little Goldfish/M&M snack before finding his next egg...hunting for Easter eggs can make you hungry!

Layla came over for the afternoon, too!

Nothing says Easter more than a little one wearing big rabbit ears, eating a big frosted cookie.