St Patty's Day Parade

The St. Patrick's Day parade is so much fun every year at school - and we put a lot of hard work into it! This year our class made a float, shakers to carry, necklaces and super silly hats to wear. Cooper's class made tie-dyed shirts, which I thought was super groovy (I kind of wanted one too). Then we lined up with our classrooms and paraded around the parking lot. But really as soon as the first class hits the lot, the parents come running up, taking pictures and laughing and it's not really a parade anymore - it's chaos, but the point is that we have a great time!


Cooper looks like a Bad Man in this picture, but he's so tired I don't think he knew where he was:



There's Coop with his buddies!

I see other Mamas, but where's mine?

Hey Mama! This is great and all, but could you, uh, get me out of this thing?

Parading around the parking lot...for the moment:

And here's where I break away from my class and parade with Mama instead. Watch for my mischevious little grin at about the 50 second mark:





I found you, Coopy! I really like your shirt.

Group picture time:

Day in Downtown Decatur

What DIDN'T we do in Decatur today? It was a gorgeous day, and boy I have been waiting for a day to have some real outside time, so we decided to head out and spend the day wandering around Decatur. We went from Touch-a-Truck to a candy shop, to lunch outside to a party at a toy store, to a haircut for me, to getting new running shoes for Daddy and ended the afternoon at a really cool sports car & ice cream shop combo (um, genius!). Whew! We loved every minute of it!

Hanging on every word the ambulance driver was saying. And checking out that kid's cool shirt:

If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right - and that means headphones. This is serious business.

Waiting for a voice on the other end to tell me what to do in the back of the ambulance:

I think I am daydreaming about lollipops and soccer balls. What am I even holding? Dunno. Just give me a moment.

How's the weather down there? And big brother decided to show you his very cutest side.

Hanging out in the back of the firetruck. But really all I care about is my big brother.

I was very excited about the pencil that I got from the fireman - but mainly because it had a helmet eraser on top. Can my day possibly get better from here, or have we already hit the peak at 10am?

I'm ravenous. Daddy! Eating is no laughing matter - follow my lead, it's time to shovel down some Johnny's pizza.

This is napping at it's best - outside, a little breeze and all the noises that come from being downtown. Perfect.

Reading a book with Daddy before my haircut:

I won't be having a haircut any time soon if Mama has something to say about it, but I still wanted to sit up in the fire engine. Who wouldn't? I am a very focused driver.

Here we go!

Still not my favorite thing, but light years better than this:

Enjoying watching big brother and hanging out with Daddy very much...when I wasn't fidgeting to get down so I could grab stray hairs off the ground and have them for a snack. Someday I will realize that this is disgusting.

And just because I am so darned cute, here's one more shot:

I'm done! And I have a lollipop and a balloon sword. And looking quite dashing.

Now to see some cool hot rods and have some ice cream. For those of you keeping track at home, that is pizza for lunch, candy at the toy store, a lollipop after my haircut and now a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Life (and food) isn't always this perfect, but for today I am eating like a king! A very chunky king.

Well, why not? Let's give Coop a taste of ice cream and see what he thinks:

When Daddy made the mistake of not giving Coop another bite of his ice cream fast enough, we got this face...

....which reminded Mama and Daddy of the face I made at 10 months while having my first ice cream treat when Mama wasn't shoveling it in fast enough! We are brothers, after all. (I told Coop that this would get him what he wants faster. It's a proven method.)

So to save my brother any more unnecessary agony, I took over the feeding. Because I understand the need for ice cream.

The Wonderful Aquarium

Today was rainy and yuck outside, which made for a perfect day to visit the Aquarium. This was the first time we have gone when Cooper could explore a little, and I think he pretty much loved it. A great way to spend our Sunday morning, visiting all of our fish friends!

Seriously, I know he's my little brother and I'm not really supposed to say things like this, but dang, how cute is this kid?

I spent most of the day on Daddy's shoulders - the best way for a 3-footer to see the fish!

Hey! Fishies! I'm down here! See? Fishies! Look at me! Doesn't it look like I am inside the tank with you? I really wish I was, actually. And they just look sort of annoyed. They're like, hey kid go bang on the jellyfish window and leave us alone.

Playtime at the Doctor's Office

Last night I had my first case of croup, which my big brother never had, and scared my poor parents half to death. So today Mama took me to the doctor to get some medicine. You would have never known I was up half the night coughing and perfecting my seal bark - I had a ball in the doctor's office. Me and Mama played with my toys and then I discovered the huge windows and was mesmerized the rest of the time. I didn't even cry when they gave me the medicine! I am one happy camper these days!

Tonight was a momentous night - Mommy and Daddy decided that Cooper was finally big enough for us to take our baths together! I was a little hesitant at first, I mean bathtime is a precious thing!, but once we got in and I realized that now I had a playmate, I was sold. We had a great time laughing and splashing together, although Coopy got a little overwhelmed after a while and needed to get on out. But that was okay too, because I got to swim and have the whole tub to myself for the last bit of my bath! Life is good.

Getting a kiss from Snakey. Later I showed him how to feed Snakey - he eats bubbles and gets very irritable if we don't feed him every night!

Cooper got into it and started splashing me back! Oh, I like this kid the more I get to know him!

Baby Christian

Tonight Baby Christian came over for dinner with his sweet parents so that we could finally meet him and teach him a thing or two about being a little boy! We had a great time with the whole family and just love little Baby Christian to pieces - he is now my very littlest buddy. Can't wait to see you again soon!

My First Day at the Park

Okay, so I've been to the park before, but I was always strapped to Mama and hadn't figured out how to get around on my own yet - so today was pretty special. I got to crawl around, watch Harrison run around and flirt with every girl there, swing, eat some grass, and go down the slide. I already can't wait to go back!

Checking everything out:

I am up pretty high, and without anyone holding me...I like it! And are those my feet?

Where is everybody?

Oh wow, and this thing swings? A swing swings. I get it!

Oh I like it! No, I LOVE it!

And there's my big brother, taking a pretty girl on a spin on the fire truck. He sure does have a way with the ladies. I think they must find mittens, the outer space PJ top and green socks combo charming. I'll have to remember this...

He even let her drive. He's a smooth one!

Now for my first trip down the slide:

Mmmm, this Mystery Mix of grass, twigs and small bugs looks yummy. It should probably definitely go in my mouth.

I'm even old enough to ride on Daddy's shoulders! I have officially arrived.

Cutie in the Tub

I have enough hair for a mohawk now!

It looks like I am about to do something that I should only do in my diaper. But I didn't. Promise.