SNOW

Coop LOVED the snow.  Seeing it.  Saying it.  Being outside.  Snow on him? Not so much.  Granted, it was pretty deep, so it was difficult to walk through (even for us grown ups!)  We got 5 inches + some ice.  J even got part of a day off!!  The office did open, but they let him work from home.  He had to go in on Friday.

The snow has mostly melted, though there is some in shady spots still.  It's supposed to be in the 50s and 60s this week, so the snow will soon be a distant memory.  Hopefully the cold will be, too!

Walking in the snow is tough

My snow angel

So. much. snow.

Riding in the laundry basket

Friday, we went to a friend's house to sled since they have a hill.  The roads were pretty slick, but we made it!

Our little snowman

Knocking over a snowman... his favorite activity of the day

We love snow days!

Today :)

Closet redo

It only took three weekends (please note the sarcasm), but we finally (almost) finished our master closet. It's not a huge space, but that is one reason we chose to do it. We wanted more storage, but we also wanted to see how well we could scrape the ceiling and make it smooth. Since the rooms are large in our house, we didn't want to start with an entire room. So a closet it was! 

Here are some before pictures. We have no idea why there was a piece of plywood screwed in the ceiling... But it was. 

After we cleared everything out

If you look closely, you will see a hole in the ceiling. That's where a cable cord used to come out, then go over and around the door through the wall and across the wall in our room. This picture was taken after we ran it through the wall. No more cord! 

J started scraping the ceiling. It isn't really hard work.  Just messy. Really messy. 

Sanding the ceiling wasn't hard either. It was just a lot of work looking up! And again, very messy. 

Painting ceilings is no fun either, but doesn't it look sooooo much better?!

We had to cut out sections of baseboard to fit our shelves squarely against the wall.

I bought some oops paint from Home Depot for $9.  It was the premium kind and covered in only one coat. Score!

Tada!  (Almost) all done! We added some bins to the shelves because, let's be honest, we won't keep it that organized. :)

Oh, we put up a new light, too. Now I just need to sand and stain our upper shelves to match. We are waiting for warmer weather that we are hoping comes sooner rather than later! We ended up with slightly more hanging space than before, plus we have shelves!  We are also going to add a couple of hooks for hanging coats we use often. It will get done eventually. Next up is either a little landscaping or our bedroom. I'm not sure we are quite ready to tackle the ceiling in our bedroom though... Who knows how long that will take!!

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It's that time again! I can't even tell you how much fun the past month has been. Cooper is just so much fun and full of laughs. 

Clothes: 18 months & 24 months

Growing Up: Coop's favorite sentence is "Please help." He could be whining or just asking for help... and when we ask what he needs help with, he just repeats the phrase. Ha! Or "get, please."  Of course, there is no indication of what to get!  Cooper can count to three and identify the letters C and O. He loves to point basketball goals everywhere we go. He also FINALLY calls me "Ma" instead of "ba". (Moose and moon have also upgraded to an m instead of a b.) AND he is officially #1 potty trained! He currently refuses to poop in the potty and waits until night time when he has a diaper on to go.  That's just fine with us for now though!

 Likes: Daniel Tiger, watching the cars and trucks go by, watching birds & squirrels, carrying his monkey around (I find him in funny spots downstairs), banging, saying 'no' while shaking his head, wearing hats and sunglasses, drinking from momma or daddy's cup, putting things in the trash, sweeping, books, being outside, unscrewing lids, playing peek a boo, picking out his underwear, getting shocked (from static electricity)

 Dislikes: diaper changes, riding in the car, long hairs on him, being naked, coming inside, having wet pants, sitting for too long (if we have to go to several stores), hearing the words 'no' or 'stop', his hands being dirty, pooping on the potty, sitting still in a shopping cart or high chair at a restaurant

Schedule:

between 7-8 - up for the day!
8:15 - breakfast
8:45 - play
12:15 - lunch
1:00 - nap
4:00 - snack
4:30 - play
6:15 - supper
7:15 - bath 

7:45 - bedtime

Moments:

Coop was a ring bearer! He was so cute in his tux. Not that surprised anyone! Cooper gained an uncle and loves "Steee". 

Wedding Pictures

Kate Kate's cousin took pictures at Marion & Steven's wedding, and we were able to get a CD of the images.  Here they are!

Seeing how gorgeous everything was makes me anxious to see the professional pictures, but we have to wait a few more weeks.  I'm sure Marion is even more anxious!

Burrito Bowl

I've been making several dishes that are similar, and I finally combined them into one awesome dish.  It combines the best of them all. :)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 jalapeno, minced

1/4 cup of diced onion (I used Pictsweet seasoning blend, of course)

1/2 cup of uncooked extra-long grain rice 

1/2 cup quinoa 

1 (14.5 oz) can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 (15oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15.25 oz) can corn, drained

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth 

salt & pepper

cilantro

feta cheese

any other toppings you want

1. Brown meat.
2. Sauté onions, garlic, and jalapeno in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  I use my Dutch oven and do the meat at the same time.
3. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Move to one side of pan.  In the other side of the pan add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and sauté uncooked rice and quinoa for about 2 minutes or just until some grains start to turn golden brown.
5. Stir in remainder of ingredients except for cheese and optional toppings.
6. Bring to a simmer, cover. and reduce heat to low.
7. Cook about 20 minutes or until rice and quinoa is cooked and all of the liquid is absorbed.  You may need to stir it a little, then let it cook for a couple more minutes.
8. Serve in a tortilla or in bowls. Top with feta cheese (not optional) and cilantro and other toppings as desired (lettuce, salsa, avocado, etc).
9. Enjoy!!

 

Wedding Weekend!

What a great weekend we had in Mississippi!  We left Thursday when J got home to head to Southaven.  We opted to drive part of the way so Cooper could get the max sleep possible since we wanted him to make it down the aisle!

Sharing Cheerios with Ollie

Surprisingly, Cooper did GREAT in the car!  We didn't even have to break out the DVD player (but you better believe we had it just in case!)  We got to the hotel about 11:45.  Coop got to hang out for a while then went to lunch with the guys.  I headed off to the bridesmaid luncheon and to get my nails done.  Marion had an appointment for us, but it didn't seem to matter too much.  Kate (one of the other bridesmaids) and I didn't leave until after 5.  Then we had to fight traffic, get ready, and be at the rehearsal at 6!  Whew!

Playing peek-a-boo with Uncle Davy

We got Coop settled in for the night (or rather until he woke up and refused to go back to sleep until 2 hours later...), and headed down to the lobby since all the family was filtering in from around the South.  We had a good time catching up for everyone.  :)

Saturday, I met Sophie at the park since I hadn't seen her in probably five years!  Cooper played and we talked.  It was just like I had seen her yesterday.  Our time was cut short by the need for lunch, so we said goodbye and went back to the hotel.  J and Uncle Davy took Coop to Academy sports for a few minutes, then we ate at Penn's.  Once we got back, we put Coop down for a nap, and I headed for the venue.  Unfortunately, my phone stayed at the hotel, so the wedding pictures I have are all from other people.  Oh well!

Watching TV while KK ironed his tux

swinging in the park

Riding on the fish (he LOVED it)

Driving the fire truck

The Morrows

After Cooper's nap, KK brought him to the venue, and he got dressed for pictures.  It wasn't too cold outside for pictures, and I know they turned out great.  I can't wait to see them all, but we have to wait 4-6 weeks! 

Kisses in the reception area before the ceremony

(The pictures from here on are in a random order.. sorry).  The wedding was BEAUTIFUL!  Cooper did make it down the aisle, but wasn't able to sit still through the ceremony.  He threw his pillow down the aisle.  It was so cute.  Of course, pretty much anything he did was going to be cute. :)

Breakfast Sunday morning

Coop and Granddaddy

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Selfie in the bridal suite while we wait for the ceremony to start!

Reception time!

The food.  Y'all.  The food.was.AMAZING.  I had a soft shelled crab slider, pasta with a seafood sauce, this AWESOME seafood dip with crackers, pork tenderloin, and probably some other things.  It was delish!  Coop ate up the tortellini.  Bad mommy forgot a sippy cup, so momma's cup had to do.  Coop made the rounds and played with pretty much every one there, I think.  Besides Marion and Steven, he was the star of the show!

drinking from mommy's glass

Me and Marion

After the wedding, we got Coop settled in bed for a few hours, then visited some more.  Coop being up at night + a long (but fun!) day meant we headed to bed somewhat early.  Sunday we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and hit the road back to TN.