Usually I read a ton over the summer, but it seems like the past few months have flown by and I haven't gotten much done. I have spent a lot of time with Cooper and have also worked quite a bit, so vacation was the perfect time to get caught up.
Before we left, I finished up Steven Tyler's autobiography. Don't bother. It took me longer to read his book than it took me to read Keith Richards's book and it was much less entertaining and believable and much more graphic, crude, and out-of-control. Not that I had the utmost respect for Steven Tyler to begin with, but I definite have very little for him now.
On to Tina Fey's book Bossypants. Two thumbs up! If you like anything Tina Fey does- 30 Rock, SNL, talk shows- you'll like to book. To me, she's so funny, down-to-Earth and, as a working mother, her hilarious viewpoint of having a career with children is dead-on. Love her and love the book!
While on vacation, I read Jonathan Tropper's How to Talk to a Widower. I have loved everything Jonathan Tropper has written- The Book of Joe, This is Where I Leave You, and now How to Talk to a Widower. He writes about topics that normally aren't funny- death, divorce, extra-marital affairs- but his take on them and the situations he puts his characters in are great. He also incorporates lots of touching moments into his books, so the balance is great.
I am about halfway through with J. Courtney Sullivan's new book, Maine. Her last book Commencement was great and so far, Maine has not disappointed. It is about 3 generations of an Irish-Catholic family who struggle with their relationships with each other as it comes time to visit the grandmother at the family's summer house in Maine.
And in other book news, I am seriously considering a Kindle/Nook. I love holding a book in my hands and I've perfected the treadmill workout while reading, but it may be time to bite the bullet. Maybe a birthday present?
Once things settle down, I will post pictures and a rundown of our vacation. Craziness and stressful, but we had a great time!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Manners Much?
I try, and sometimes fail, to be mannerly and polite wherever I go. I have a basic grasp and understanding of social graces and, as a good Southerner, I do my best to put these graces to good use.
Apparently someone missed a chapter in charm school.
I went for a manicure and pedicure today, hoping for a relaxing start to my afternoon. The place I went is in the middle of an upscale neighborhood downtown (this subdivision is its own little town- nail salon, coffee shops, grocery stores, dry cleaners, and a few restaurants) and one of the people who lives in the neighborhood was getting a pedicure in the chair next to mine. You could tell this lady had some "work" done, but she was very well put together and from the way she was talking to everyone who worked at the salon, I can only guess she's a regular customer. Her mannerisms and overall behavior made you believe (and I'm sure was her goal) that money was no object. I'm reading my book and hear a clicking noise. I ignored it at first, but it continued. I start to look around and then I see it. It's the woman next to me. She's biting her nails. Well, biting may be an understatement. She resembled a dog gnawing on a rawhide bone.
Click. Click. Pop. Click. Pop. Pop.
This woman, who at first glance might have fit into the "epitome of class" category, is beginning to have a little pile of nail clippings on the table next to her, none the wiser that I am about to not only lose it because of the clicking and popping, but also the pure disgustingness (yes, I made up a word; I think this calls for it) of her grooming habits. I keep my cool. See? Using those social graces.
The really unbelievable part is that she got a manicure after all this. Could she not have waited 30 minutes and just asked to have her nails cut down like a normal, mannerly human who goes in for a manicure?
Apparently someone missed a chapter in charm school.
I went for a manicure and pedicure today, hoping for a relaxing start to my afternoon. The place I went is in the middle of an upscale neighborhood downtown (this subdivision is its own little town- nail salon, coffee shops, grocery stores, dry cleaners, and a few restaurants) and one of the people who lives in the neighborhood was getting a pedicure in the chair next to mine. You could tell this lady had some "work" done, but she was very well put together and from the way she was talking to everyone who worked at the salon, I can only guess she's a regular customer. Her mannerisms and overall behavior made you believe (and I'm sure was her goal) that money was no object. I'm reading my book and hear a clicking noise. I ignored it at first, but it continued. I start to look around and then I see it. It's the woman next to me. She's biting her nails. Well, biting may be an understatement. She resembled a dog gnawing on a rawhide bone.
Click. Click. Pop. Click. Pop. Pop.
This woman, who at first glance might have fit into the "epitome of class" category, is beginning to have a little pile of nail clippings on the table next to her, none the wiser that I am about to not only lose it because of the clicking and popping, but also the pure disgustingness (yes, I made up a word; I think this calls for it) of her grooming habits. I keep my cool. See? Using those social graces.
The really unbelievable part is that she got a manicure after all this. Could she not have waited 30 minutes and just asked to have her nails cut down like a normal, mannerly human who goes in for a manicure?
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Cooper is 21 Months Old!
Yep, hard to believe that in 3 months, Cooper will be 2 years old. It's such a cliche, but time really does fly when you have a baby. My heart jumps a little when I see pictures of Cooper as a baby compared to today. He's grown up so fast and these days, he's more little boy than baby.
So, what's our kiddo up to these days? "Daredevil" is probably the best way to describe Cooper. He will climb on anything, fling himself off everything, and isn't afraid of trying stuff that makes us very nervous. Saturday, I put Cooper down for a nap, but a few minutes later, Jeff and I heard a weird noise, then jiggling on the doorknob. We opened the door and there stood Cooper, all smiles, saying "Hiiiii!" like it was completely normal that he be meeting us at the door. We put him back in the crib, just to see if he would climb out with us standing there and sure enough, without any effort whatsoever, he had one leg over the rail, hoisted himself up, and flung the other leg over. He hasn't tried it again and the mattress is on the lowest setting, so I'm not sure what our next move is going to be.
His vocabulary has really taken off. My worries about him not being on track in this area have dissipated. New favorites include "turtle", "bus", "monkey", and "Pete" (short for St. Pete- where we go on vacation). We're working on "I love you" and he will at least attempt to repeat a word if you ask him to. Yesterday in the car, I sneezed, and he told me "Bless you!" even though it came out more like "Bess eww!" I didn't even know he had been paying attention when we said it to him, so imagine my surprise when he used in the correct context!
Cooper is into some weird eating habits these days. He doesn't eat much at any meal, but every once in a while will chow down like he's never had a meal in his life. Hmm...I think we wore him out on hot dogs and grilled cheese because he turns his nose up at those most days. He'll eat peanut butter and jelly at Lala's house, but not ours. He was more concerned about squishing his watermelon than eating it last night, but still eats apples and bananas rather well. Honey Smacks cereal seems to be the new favorite food and he'll dive into anything that needs dipping (think chips and dip, chicken nuggets and BBQ sauce). We just keep trying stuff, hoping the new and healthy foods stick.
He still loves to be read to and will bring us books, allowing us to read 2-3 pages, then takes the book away from us. My mom said when she was keeping him the other day, he did stop to watch "Elmo's World" for a few minutes, but I can't say that we've noticed any TV watching (not that we're encouraging it). He is VERY into golf. Every open field we pass just has to be a golf course and he loves hitting golf balls with his putter around the house. He still loves being outside and playing in water- water table, pool, sprinkler, sink, bathtub- doesn't matter to Cooper! Every silver car we pass is "Mama" (I drive a silver Camry) and every dark colored car we pass is "Dada" (Jeff drives a charcoal gray Tahoe). He points out every single drop of water, cat, bird, and dog when we walk, so we figure his eyesight is pretty good, too!
We're so excited to see how Cooper does on our vacation. We figure he'll love the gulf and pool, but are concerned about traveling. Last year, he slept almost the whole way. I'm not sure our luck is going to be so great this year, but we're hoping!
So, what's our kiddo up to these days? "Daredevil" is probably the best way to describe Cooper. He will climb on anything, fling himself off everything, and isn't afraid of trying stuff that makes us very nervous. Saturday, I put Cooper down for a nap, but a few minutes later, Jeff and I heard a weird noise, then jiggling on the doorknob. We opened the door and there stood Cooper, all smiles, saying "Hiiiii!" like it was completely normal that he be meeting us at the door. We put him back in the crib, just to see if he would climb out with us standing there and sure enough, without any effort whatsoever, he had one leg over the rail, hoisted himself up, and flung the other leg over. He hasn't tried it again and the mattress is on the lowest setting, so I'm not sure what our next move is going to be.
His vocabulary has really taken off. My worries about him not being on track in this area have dissipated. New favorites include "turtle", "bus", "monkey", and "Pete" (short for St. Pete- where we go on vacation). We're working on "I love you" and he will at least attempt to repeat a word if you ask him to. Yesterday in the car, I sneezed, and he told me "Bless you!" even though it came out more like "Bess eww!" I didn't even know he had been paying attention when we said it to him, so imagine my surprise when he used in the correct context!
Cooper is into some weird eating habits these days. He doesn't eat much at any meal, but every once in a while will chow down like he's never had a meal in his life. Hmm...I think we wore him out on hot dogs and grilled cheese because he turns his nose up at those most days. He'll eat peanut butter and jelly at Lala's house, but not ours. He was more concerned about squishing his watermelon than eating it last night, but still eats apples and bananas rather well. Honey Smacks cereal seems to be the new favorite food and he'll dive into anything that needs dipping (think chips and dip, chicken nuggets and BBQ sauce). We just keep trying stuff, hoping the new and healthy foods stick.
He still loves to be read to and will bring us books, allowing us to read 2-3 pages, then takes the book away from us. My mom said when she was keeping him the other day, he did stop to watch "Elmo's World" for a few minutes, but I can't say that we've noticed any TV watching (not that we're encouraging it). He is VERY into golf. Every open field we pass just has to be a golf course and he loves hitting golf balls with his putter around the house. He still loves being outside and playing in water- water table, pool, sprinkler, sink, bathtub- doesn't matter to Cooper! Every silver car we pass is "Mama" (I drive a silver Camry) and every dark colored car we pass is "Dada" (Jeff drives a charcoal gray Tahoe). He points out every single drop of water, cat, bird, and dog when we walk, so we figure his eyesight is pretty good, too!
We're so excited to see how Cooper does on our vacation. We figure he'll love the gulf and pool, but are concerned about traveling. Last year, he slept almost the whole way. I'm not sure our luck is going to be so great this year, but we're hoping!
Monday, July 11, 2011
4th of July!
We had a great 4th of July weekend!
Friday, Cooper and I spent some time in the backyard. Of course, Cooper loves his water table, but we also bought him the Fisher-Price sprinkler ball.
He's not the biggest fan. The sprinkler sprays very far, so I don't know if Cooper gets frustrated when he can't get away from the water, but he actually went over the ball and tried to unhooked the water hose from it. Oh well...
Saturday we went downtown for a walk and a quick trip through the farmer's market. Jeff and his dad played golf in the afternoon and later on, Jeff's mom picked Cooper up. They headed out to visit Frannie and Papaw, then Cooper spent the night.
On Sunday, I met Cooper and Nana at Amy's sister Susan's house to swim. Susan's daughter Lily also made it home from a workout in time to spend some time in the sun with us. As you can tell, Cooper loved playing on the steps of the pool:
After Sunday night dinner with Pops, YaYa, and Uncle Tada, we turned in for the night so that we could get up in time to make it to the Dyer Station Celebration! We were so excited to be able to go back to Tori's hometown to celebrate the 4th and met up with her, Jeff, and Tori's parents- affectionately named Scooter and Patti.
About the best picture you can manage of me and Cooper.
Best seat in the house to watch the parade!
Firetrucks in the parade. Cooper loved them until they got up close and turned on the siren. Then, not so much.
I don't have a ton of parade pictures because Cooper decided he needed to play photographer for most of it. Anyone want to see random pictures of half a tree and the sky?
Cooper and Jeff had some bonding time after the parade. Jeff took him for a little walk along the route before we decided to go to the park for more 4th of July festivities.
After meeting up with Tori and Jeff's friends Allison and Justin Little and their little girl Sam, we headed back to Scooter and Patti's house to play and have homemade ice cream. Oh. My. Gosh. The ice cream! A little backstory: when we went to Jackson in June for the Jeffs to play in the Jackson Country Club Member/Guest, Tori, Cooper, and I took a little trip to Dyer and ended up at the China Grove store the local Mennonites have. Tori told me how fresh their milk was and how good their chocolate and strawberry milks were, as well. I'm not a milk drinker, but as the holiday rolls around and Tori tells me her mom has made homemade ice cream using the chocolate and strawberry milk from the Mennonites, I was sold! Add to that, she included fresh strawberries into the strawberry ice cream and even Jeff, who isn't a strawberry fan, loved it. We are still talking about how good the ice cream was! We all ended up outside, with the guys playing bocce ball before a small storm rolled in.
Tori helping Cooper play bocce ball.
Playing bocce.
Hanging out with Scooter and Patti. Cooper loved Patti's rolling garden seat and you can see it by the swing. Patti had been pushing Cooper all along the porch!
We made it home a little before 3pm and rested before heading out to the fireworks. We met Pops, YaYa, Uncle Tada, Aunt Leigh, Uncle Mark, Regina, and Uncle Mark's parents and everyone took turns keeping Cooper occupied.
Coop and YaYa
Pops and Cooper
Aunt Leigh and Regina entertaining Cooper
Watching the finale with Uncle Mark
Happy 4th of July, everyone!
Friday, Cooper and I spent some time in the backyard. Of course, Cooper loves his water table, but we also bought him the Fisher-Price sprinkler ball.
He's not the biggest fan. The sprinkler sprays very far, so I don't know if Cooper gets frustrated when he can't get away from the water, but he actually went over the ball and tried to unhooked the water hose from it. Oh well...
Saturday we went downtown for a walk and a quick trip through the farmer's market. Jeff and his dad played golf in the afternoon and later on, Jeff's mom picked Cooper up. They headed out to visit Frannie and Papaw, then Cooper spent the night.
On Sunday, I met Cooper and Nana at Amy's sister Susan's house to swim. Susan's daughter Lily also made it home from a workout in time to spend some time in the sun with us. As you can tell, Cooper loved playing on the steps of the pool:
After Sunday night dinner with Pops, YaYa, and Uncle Tada, we turned in for the night so that we could get up in time to make it to the Dyer Station Celebration! We were so excited to be able to go back to Tori's hometown to celebrate the 4th and met up with her, Jeff, and Tori's parents- affectionately named Scooter and Patti.
About the best picture you can manage of me and Cooper.
Best seat in the house to watch the parade!
Firetrucks in the parade. Cooper loved them until they got up close and turned on the siren. Then, not so much.
I don't have a ton of parade pictures because Cooper decided he needed to play photographer for most of it. Anyone want to see random pictures of half a tree and the sky?
Cooper and Jeff had some bonding time after the parade. Jeff took him for a little walk along the route before we decided to go to the park for more 4th of July festivities.
After meeting up with Tori and Jeff's friends Allison and Justin Little and their little girl Sam, we headed back to Scooter and Patti's house to play and have homemade ice cream. Oh. My. Gosh. The ice cream! A little backstory: when we went to Jackson in June for the Jeffs to play in the Jackson Country Club Member/Guest, Tori, Cooper, and I took a little trip to Dyer and ended up at the China Grove store the local Mennonites have. Tori told me how fresh their milk was and how good their chocolate and strawberry milks were, as well. I'm not a milk drinker, but as the holiday rolls around and Tori tells me her mom has made homemade ice cream using the chocolate and strawberry milk from the Mennonites, I was sold! Add to that, she included fresh strawberries into the strawberry ice cream and even Jeff, who isn't a strawberry fan, loved it. We are still talking about how good the ice cream was! We all ended up outside, with the guys playing bocce ball before a small storm rolled in.
Tori helping Cooper play bocce ball.
Playing bocce.
Hanging out with Scooter and Patti. Cooper loved Patti's rolling garden seat and you can see it by the swing. Patti had been pushing Cooper all along the porch!
We made it home a little before 3pm and rested before heading out to the fireworks. We met Pops, YaYa, Uncle Tada, Aunt Leigh, Uncle Mark, Regina, and Uncle Mark's parents and everyone took turns keeping Cooper occupied.
Coop and YaYa
Pops and Cooper
Aunt Leigh and Regina entertaining Cooper
Watching the finale with Uncle Mark
Happy 4th of July, everyone!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hanging Out with Uncle Tada
Yes, Uncle Tada. We're not sure how Cooper gets "Tada" out of "Uncle Kyle", but it's funny and it's on the road to sticking as a name.
I've blogged before about getting Avery's pet stuff where Uncle Tada works and because Uncle Tada and his boss, Shannon, are awesome, Cooper gets free reign of the store to run and play as long as they aren't busy.
So what does one do for fun at the pet supply store? Well...
Uncle Tada can be your personal loading cart driver...
Or you can make every attempt to move the baskets around, narrowly missing your feet each time...
Or you can play with Shannon's sweet dog, Tyson.
And then you can be a smiling, happy boy on the way home!
Thanks Uncle Tada and Shannon for putting up with us!
I've blogged before about getting Avery's pet stuff where Uncle Tada works and because Uncle Tada and his boss, Shannon, are awesome, Cooper gets free reign of the store to run and play as long as they aren't busy.
So what does one do for fun at the pet supply store? Well...
Uncle Tada can be your personal loading cart driver...
Or you can make every attempt to move the baskets around, narrowly missing your feet each time...
Or you can play with Shannon's sweet dog, Tyson.
And then you can be a smiling, happy boy on the way home!
Thanks Uncle Tada and Shannon for putting up with us!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tonight, after dinner at Nana and Hondo's, Nana decided to make chocolate chip cookies. Cooper needed to supervise and after getting used to the mixer, he was ready to go!
Mixing the first few ingredients.
Next come the chocolate chips...
The dough is ready! Cooper loved to turn the mixer on and off.
What fun is making cookies if you can't lick the spatula?
Nana was blowing on the cookies to help them cool and Cooper picked up on that trick VERY quickly!
Happy boy!
It didn't take long for Cooper to figure out how to dunk a cookie. Thankfully, Nana and Honda didn't seem to mind that he would rather watch the milk drip from the cookie onto their kitchen table instead of eat it.
I think there will be lots of cookie making at Nana and Hondo's in Cooper's future!
Mixing the first few ingredients.
Next come the chocolate chips...
The dough is ready! Cooper loved to turn the mixer on and off.
What fun is making cookies if you can't lick the spatula?
Nana was blowing on the cookies to help them cool and Cooper picked up on that trick VERY quickly!
Happy boy!
It didn't take long for Cooper to figure out how to dunk a cookie. Thankfully, Nana and Honda didn't seem to mind that he would rather watch the milk drip from the cookie onto their kitchen table instead of eat it.
I think there will be lots of cookie making at Nana and Hondo's in Cooper's future!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Father's Day Weekend
Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Cooper is so lucky to have Jeff as his daddy and I definitely could not do without him.
Overall, we had a really relaxing weekend. I fixed a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and biscuits Saturday morning, then we headed to my aunt and uncle's pool to swim. Cooper had so much fun. He's definitely is a water baby who doesn't shy away from going under water. Because of my schedule this summer, I don't think we're going to be able to swing swim lessons, but they will be on the list for next year. One thing we did discover is that Cooper doesn't like to float on his back. I tried a few times, but I guess he doesn't feel safe and would fight to get upright each time I tried.
Jeff's request for Father's Day was chicken wings from Central BBQ for lunch and to watch the US Open. Safe to say, he got his wish. We watched the whole tournament over the weekend- from early morning coverage on the Golf Channel to the very end when Rory McIlroy hoisted the trophy. We had dinner with my parents and brother to celebrate Father's Day and discuss our upcoming annual family vacation.
Cooper and I have spent the day together today. We slept in a little, so we took our morning walk a little later than usual. There was a nice enough breeze that we took a really long walk, then stayed outside and played. I kept forgetting that the Easter Bunny brought colored bubbles for Cooper, so I thought they might be something different to try out. Cooper loved them, but hasn't mastered blowing bubbles...see?
I promise they are non-toxic.
I had just as much fun with the bubbles as Cooper. When you blow the bubbles, they come out blue and green (or whatever color(s) you buy- they have pink, purple, and orange, too) and leave the surface colored when they pop. That's one reason why Cooper has some color on him and why the water table water is a little blue. The color was much more vivid than I anticipated and so far, it hasn't stained anything (clothes from today are in the washing machine now- if you get these for your child, I wouldn't wait to wash them). As weird as it sounds, the green didn't work as well as the blue. Not sure why, but these are a lot of fun and I'll probably buy some more to take on our vacation.
And to further prove that Jeff and I deserve the "Parents of the Year" award: Cooper has learned to load DVDs into the blu-ray player. Anyone who says kids don't mimic what they see has no idea! Whether he was really into the movie or tired from our busy morning, this is what I found after cleaning up Cooper's lunch:
Looks like he loves "Elf" as much as his Mama does!
Overall, we had a really relaxing weekend. I fixed a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and biscuits Saturday morning, then we headed to my aunt and uncle's pool to swim. Cooper had so much fun. He's definitely is a water baby who doesn't shy away from going under water. Because of my schedule this summer, I don't think we're going to be able to swing swim lessons, but they will be on the list for next year. One thing we did discover is that Cooper doesn't like to float on his back. I tried a few times, but I guess he doesn't feel safe and would fight to get upright each time I tried.
Jeff's request for Father's Day was chicken wings from Central BBQ for lunch and to watch the US Open. Safe to say, he got his wish. We watched the whole tournament over the weekend- from early morning coverage on the Golf Channel to the very end when Rory McIlroy hoisted the trophy. We had dinner with my parents and brother to celebrate Father's Day and discuss our upcoming annual family vacation.
Cooper and I have spent the day together today. We slept in a little, so we took our morning walk a little later than usual. There was a nice enough breeze that we took a really long walk, then stayed outside and played. I kept forgetting that the Easter Bunny brought colored bubbles for Cooper, so I thought they might be something different to try out. Cooper loved them, but hasn't mastered blowing bubbles...see?
I promise they are non-toxic.
I had just as much fun with the bubbles as Cooper. When you blow the bubbles, they come out blue and green (or whatever color(s) you buy- they have pink, purple, and orange, too) and leave the surface colored when they pop. That's one reason why Cooper has some color on him and why the water table water is a little blue. The color was much more vivid than I anticipated and so far, it hasn't stained anything (clothes from today are in the washing machine now- if you get these for your child, I wouldn't wait to wash them). As weird as it sounds, the green didn't work as well as the blue. Not sure why, but these are a lot of fun and I'll probably buy some more to take on our vacation.
And to further prove that Jeff and I deserve the "Parents of the Year" award: Cooper has learned to load DVDs into the blu-ray player. Anyone who says kids don't mimic what they see has no idea! Whether he was really into the movie or tired from our busy morning, this is what I found after cleaning up Cooper's lunch:
Looks like he loves "Elf" as much as his Mama does!
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