Go Texan Day!

The Rodeo rolled into town this weekend and people across Houston kicked it off by participating in Go Texan Day!  Cooper's belt fits a little better this year and we got him all dressed up!  I think he looked pretty cute and we can't wait to take him to the Rodeo this year!



Day home with Dad

Wednesday we got a call from Cooper's school that he'd been running fever and we needed to come pick him up.  They also asked that we keep him home Thursday since he needed to be fever-free for 24 hours.  We're both pretty sure the fever was a result of teething, but we had to follow the rules.  Jason picked him up from school and took the day off to hang out.

Wednesday they had dinner and hung out before I got home from work.

Thursday after his morning nap, Jason and Cooper came to my office for lunch.  Cooper helped out and tried to register for an upcoming conference, but he doesn't meet the height requirement.

They spent the rest of the day feeding a few squirrels in the back yard.

Seems like he was really sick, huh?

Today's Special: Mommy Guilt

If you're a mom, you know exactly what I mean when I say those two words.  If not, well I can't really explain it.  Mommy Guilt can cover all sorts of things.

As moms, we are sure quick to guilt ourselves over a number of things.  The past week Jason has had to work late, meaning he can't make it home in time to pick up Cooper.  Most days I can fly home and with a little luck, I'm there to get him before the daycare causes me to take out a second mortgage.  But I can't guarantee it.  So my boss was gracious enough to allow me to change up my schedule and ensure I'd be there on time.  Next week that ends.  Jason's project will be over and the extra 15-20 minutes I get at home with Cooper will be gone.

And I'm sad.  In the grand scheme of things, 15 minutes is nothing.  But it is enough to serve up a huge helping of Mommy Guilt.  Guilt that Monday night when we got home Cooper wanted me to drop everything and play.  He clung to my legs crying, just reaching up and begging me to play with him.  News flash Cooper: you don't eat if momma doesn't cook!  I chose to pick him up briefly and direct him to a toy until Jason could play with him and I could finish heating up dinner.  With a side of guilt.  Because I wanted to play with him.  But he isn't old enough to understand that we'll play for 15 minutes and then I'll go cook dinner. 

More guilt that Sunday was what my mom calls a "Proud Parent Moment."  The whole day was trying.  We sent Cooper to the nursery at church because the last time he sat in the sanctuary with me, we were both asked in a roundabout way to finish service in the cry room.  He cried when we dropped him off, cried hard when we picked him up and held a grudge for a few minutes, crying the whole way home.  Guilty.  Then, during our afternoon trip to the outlet mall he managed to pee on me.  His diaper must have shifted just the right way and...voila.  We're soaked.  After I gathered my thoughts we tried to make it to the nearest bathroom.  I tried to carry him without getting more soaked, he screamed.  I let him walk, he refused to hold hands and screamed.  We put him in the stroller, he screamed.  Jason carried him, he screamed.  I'm sure you can imagine that people were staring at us.  Now, I can laugh (a little) about it.  But at the time, I was pissed at him.  And you guessed it, I felt guilty about it.  Guilty thinking I should enjoy every second with him no matter how he behaves because they grow so quickly.

The issue is, that's just not a good idea.  It wouldn't be smart to let Cooper run around like a wild Indian doing whatever he wanted because I felt guilty.  Children need a certain amount of discipline.

And I just need to learn that I don't always have to have my dinner with a side of Mommy Guilt.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day Cooper got a few cards in the mail from his grandparents and some gifts.  I tried to take some cute pics of him with his gifts, but all he wanted to do was eat the sucker and give the DVD case love (a hug). 

After Cooper's second nap Sunday he had a little issue with his hair.  I have no idea why it kept sticking out but no amount of Momma-spit would get it to lie down.  It made me laugh too much to really go after it.

Monday Cooper came home from school with a few Valentine's cards from his friends and his crown.  We're still trying to figure out why they did crowns...

Cooper wasn't quite sure either.

For Christmas we bought Santa left Cooper a book called That's Not My Tractor.  It's a pretty short touch & feel book and Coop will actually sit and flip the pages "reading" the book by himself.  I decided to get him a few more for Valentine's Day - That's Not My Dragon & That's Not My Monkey.  All of these are really cute books and they have a ton to choose from!

Right away he started reading the books and touching the pages.  If these suckers keep him occupied for 5-10 minutes I may buy the whole set.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Sunday was Jason's birthday.  Unfortunately, he spent a good portion of the day working.  But we did manage to celebrate a little during the non-working part of the day.

First we met Beth & Rachel for lunch at BJ's.  Cooper happened to be the coolest kid there.

After work Cooper helped Jason open gifts.

The rest of the evening was spent playing and dining on spaghetti & meatballs.  Happy Birthday Jason!

14 Months Old!

This past week I've spent a lot of time thinking about what we were doing this time last year.  I think about how small Cooper was when we thought he was SO big.  I've also spent some time being aggravated that I can't find any cute Valentine's pjs for him.  Not even close to being as cute as the these from last year.  Bummer.

I mentioned that I'd be talking about his new tricks.  He is learning so much these days.  Last week on our regular trip to the grocery store he started pointing at the balloons and making a "ba-ba-ba" sound.  Then I realized when he sees his milk he makes the sign for milk and yells "mah-mah-mah."

The biggest word, though, is banana.  First it was just "na-na-na-na" but this week he's actually saying "banana-na-na-na."  He really gets on a roll and he loves his bananas.  Our goal is to get through the produce aisle in Kroger quickly so that he calms down.  That's where they stash the balloons and bananas, so we have to move fast.  And for the record, I'm getting him a balloon for Valentine's Day and he'll be the happiest kid on the block.  For as long as it stays inflated.

Our current isn't that the cutest thing ever? is when he says "yay."  Because it comes out more like "daaaay" with a little clap.  We both agree that it will probably get old, but for now it tops the list.

Cooper has always been a pro at Patty Cake.  The patting part - when I say "pat it" he pats his belly.  Now we've mastered Itsy Bitsy Spider.  Some days I get all of the motions - the spider climbing, washing it out - and other days he goes right to arms wide open and washes the spider out.  Poor spider doesn't stand a chance...

We tried to take a photo for Valentine's Day but someone didn't want to cooperate...

Just when did he start to look so grown up?

Is rodeo time yet?

Cooper's friend Jacob passed these boots on a few months ago.  We tried them on this weekend and I think they went to his head. 

After he figured out how to walk in them, he went right over to his horse and tried to climb on.  If he keeps this up, we may be in the market for a new pony this summer.

No, Lin, not a real one.  They just don't make rocking horses like they used to!

Well, that was a waste.

All of that crazy snow talk.  The stocking up (that we didn't do).  The hours and hours and hours of extended news coverage.

For what?  Nothing.  A big fat nothing.  Not a single flake of snow.  We did have a lot of ice.  I heard there were over 800 ice-related traffic accidents on Friday.  Jason and I both ended up at home doing a little work and keeping Cooper from going crazy.  At one point he was dragging his coat around trying to get one of us to take him outside.  I ended up taking him to the mail box, but it was cold!  And he was getting sick - poor kid fell down before 7am and ended up with a bump over his eye that matched the bump he came home from school with on Thursday.  Awesome.

It was kind of fun to stay home with him.  Suddenly he's showing off all kinds of new tricks!  I'm saving them for his 14 month post later this week, but stay tuned.  I realized this morning as I told the story at work for the 4th time that I am one of those moms - who brags on my kid non-stop. 

Last week we put some bubble bath in the tub and Cooper got a kick out of me giving him a beard. 

I thought he looked like Santa.

He didn't agree.

Really, I have no idea why he made that face.  He makes this face quite often:

but it is usually a happy face.  So the angry look above is very curious.  It is all Cooper, though!

Arctic Blast 2011!!!

Snowmaggedeon!  Winter Weather Watch!! Blizzard of the Century!!!

Or something like that.

Right now, it is just down right cold here in Houston.  Tuesday the "Arctic Blast" blew in.  Really.  When I left work it was so windy!  And the news couldn't report anything other than Arctic Blast 2011.  I sure hope nothing else is going on in the world this week, because according to Houston (and most of the Mid-West) the only thing happening is this crazy winter weather.  So world - if you're planning anything else for the next few days, I'd advise you to just hold off.  Or expect that we'll cover it next week.  News watching this week has been comical, to say the least.  I know in other parts of the US the crazy snow is actually something to worry about.  I mean, I think I heard that Chicago shut down schools for winter weather for the first time in something like 13 years!  But here in Houston, we've got nothing so far.  Actually, as I type, the news station is reporting ice pellets.  Not exactly sure what that is, but panic will ensue.

I know people who are laughing at some of the crazies here in Houston.  I laugh and I grew up here!  But really, when it rains people get stupid driving.  Just think about when that rain freezes.  Lots of overpasses.  Men who drive large trucks and think that just because the truck is big, it will get them places.  Less than 5 sand/salt trucks (I think).  It all adds up to crazy.  I think I'll watch from the sidelines, thank you very much.

The biggest crazy, though, is the rolling blackouts.  The entire state of Texas has put out a warning that you should expect to lose power at some point.  But don't worry, it will come back on.  Yeah...ok.

So far, here is my Arctic Blast 2011 story.  We got up yesterday expecting it to be cold.  Really cold.  Instead we found out that we had no water.  Because it was frozen in the pipe outside.  Talk about waking up and not needing coffee!  After we figured out that nothing was broken, Jason thawed out the frozen water with my blow dryer and we were on our way.  At that point, I expected to be 10-15 minutes late for work.  We got dressed, I woke up Cooper and bundled him up and as I walked toward the garage the freaking power went out!  ((FYI if you hear Cooper repeat a certain 4-letter word, I may or may not have let one slip.))

I set him down, pissed him off, grabbed his milk from the car so he'd at least not follow me out into the garage and tried to open the garage door manually.  Except the cord wouldn't stay pulled down and I wasn't able to pull the cord and hold it with one hand while pulling up on the door at the same time.  A few more "oh darns" and I took the milk away, pissed Cooper off again, put his hat on and ran across the street to see if my neighbor would rescue me.  Thankfully he was a really nice guy who followed me back to the house and opened the garage.  And we were off...only to find out that daycare had no power.  They were taking kids, but if the outage lasted another hour they would call us to come get them.  I risked it, dropped Cooper off and finally made it to work a half hour late.

Fortunately they didn't call and Cooper stayed most of the day.  What a mess, though.  Stay tuned for more stories from Arctic Blast 2011.