Settling In

Let me start off by saying the Douglas family finally has a home! In the last 2 months we've survived a major career change, long distance move, and we finally  got the keys to our beautiful new home. Just when things started feeling a bit stagnant living with another family, God worked his magic and found us a wonderful solution in a new dwelling. We couldn't be happier.

Just before the move, Coop made our shared little room into his "chill" spot.

The smaller picture was taken in September 2010 when Coop was 5 months old. This pic was taken September 2011, just one year later.

Once again, Chillin' with the Suz

Future underwear model???

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***I'm very scatter brained trying to catch up on all of this lost time. So bear with me through this post 'cause it's a jumbled mess. You'll notice nothing's in order, and I might jump from one thing to another without any relation. Well, here it goes....

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September was a month of Birthdays. Here we celebrated two monumental ones, a 1st for Miss Madilynn Rose, and the big 18 for Cousin Liz. There was much fun to be had.

Cousins

What's a first birthday without the famous smash cake?!

Madi reminds me of a Precious Moments doll in this one.

Catch a glimpse at that first tooth!

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A dear friend welcomed us to take a peek into the homeschooling world by inviting us to join in fall festivities with the kids. There were six older children enjoying crafts, spooky cookie decorating, and we must not forget group readings teaching what causes the season change.

This was supposed to be bobbing for apples for the home school kids, but our kids decided to taste each apple to make sure there weren't any worms of course. The bucket may have also been used as a cleaning station for the vroom vroom and sippy.

*Pre-apple tasting*

Such a girl, so sweet and delicate eating her apple....

Then there's Coop. Such a boy, eating apples off the ground and making the silliest of faces.

Let's just say the bobbing for apples was not a successful station..It was mauled by two hungry toddlers before the games began.

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There's nothing better than waking up in my own home, brewing a pot of Pumpkin Spice coffee, and watching the  majestic sun rise out my window. This is heaven on earth.

Oh wait...there is something better than the above. His name is Cooper and he greets me with his crooked little smile every morning. Rain or shine.

Luckily the rain hasn't hit to hard in our area. The backyard is Coop's sanctuary right now. He would literally spend all day and night out there if I'd let him. He has his own patio to play cars on, a large grassy lawn to chase the dog, and a small orchard with lemon, mandarin, and orange trees. Not to mention the avocado and persimmon trees. This boy loves helping me pick up fallen fruit and maybe sneaks a bite or two out of it.

The twinkle in my little guy's eyes are back. He is home at last!

Mornings are usually spent chasing and tormenting the kitty. Or the, "Mow" as Coop would say. She really loves it or she would easily disappear under one of the beds.

This past weekend Coop had the chance to speak with his Grandma Billie. He really soaked it up, it was one of those awww moments.

Not too long ago Joel was playing with this crawler. I guess Coop inherited it when he was helping me organize the garage. Like father like son, obsessed with trucks.

Coop's Pumped Up Kicks

Notice the rotting mandarin in Coop's hand. Nine times out of ten he's usually gnawing on a dried up mass of fruit. Lovely, I know.

Important lesson learned: Lemon peel is nasty.

First big rain of the season, I loved every second of it!

The other night Coop was bathing when Joel surprised the begeeses  out of him. This is Cooper's scared face:

Then a short game of peek-a-boo was played and all was good again.

Oh the joys of being home. Now back to this beautiful evening.

Fall Is In the Air

(Written Saturday)







Today I was struck with the-Oh my goodness it's almost fall feeling. There has been a scrumptious pumpkin pie candle filling the air with a sweet home baked aroma. The candle may be to blame for all the overwhelming thoughts of holiday crafts, Indian corn, trying out new recipes for sweet treats, and the tender sound of  leaves  crunching under my toddler's feet.





I'm anxious for the season to start, looking forward to sharing the traditions that come during the holiday season with my little guy-and starting a few new traditions of our own.

Here's a little somethin' somethin' from Labor Day weekend:

Coop's eyes amaze me sometimes..

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This morning someone decided to wake up before the sun once again, just as he did last Saturday. So, Northridge Park is becoming our new weekend hang out spot. It's actually quite nice getting to see the beautiful sun slowly peek above the treetops.







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That hint of fall in the air I mentioned earlier-oh man did I feel it today. Although we have been reaching scorching temperatures lately, the late summer almost mid-fall breeze feels refreshing. It allows for the leaves to loosen and float gracefully to the ground. Once again feeding my fall addiction.





                                               Here water fountain, have a "Cwaak-ugh"



Maybe it's all the trips to the park we've been making, but Coop has mastered using the "big kids" play set all on his own. It took every ounce of trust in me to face the fact that my son is now a toddler, one who doesn't need me for every little thing. With that being said, I let him run free to see what he would do alone in the playground. The trust I gave him allowed me to discover that he can not only climb to the top on his own,  run across the bridge, and use  the slide without a helping hand (even the big swirly one.)










Coop and I were lucky enough to have a surprise meet up with Joel at the park. Last night we got our first clear, intentional dad and daddy out of Coop. Let me tell you, that boy made his daddy's day.





There is a train that runs on the outskirts of town. Each time we see hear the first whistle Cooper jumps and shouts, "oooh ooh" then pants  to imitate chug-a-chug-a-chug-a choo choo. Oh, my sweet boy loves him some trains..and cars..and anything else with a wheel on it. Yesterday he even hollered out a deafening vroom vroom at Hometown Buffet. A car passing by you might think? Nope, the kid was referring to the wheelchair and walker at the booth next to us. Gotta love him!

The Boy's watching the train go by...

Cooper just heard the train whistle blow and this is his reaction:





I guess it's a tad bit mushy, but I can't get over how amazing it is to be a parent. Everyday I'm blown away with how rewarding it is to see growth and development out of a little being who once fit in the cradle of my arm. God is so gracious to give me such a special gift. I would not change our story or experience for anything. Coop was born with a cleft, which left a scar, but everyday I look at that scar and remember what all we've been  through together. My life is amazing.

Why buy toys when sticks are just as cool?

This is a face only a mother could love.

Should I take this as what Coop thinks of me? I'd like to think so. This is what he brought to me right before we left the park:

Back to the Good Stuff

There is way too much to catch up on these days, so that is why I'll share just the highlights to bring everyone up to date. The last week I've been waking before the crack of dawn at 4:45am. I think it's my unintentional way of getting some well needed alone time to read my favorite blogs, and unwind for the busy day ahead. I'm sitting here in the dark with a house full of two families sleeping soundly,  and I am realizing how thankful I am that I am capable of being an early bird. This is the only time of complete peace, and I am happy to take advantage. Even if it means waking up before the sun.

Cooper is such an amazing little man, everyday I am in awe of how resilient he is to change. I know he's just a toddler, but one would think that packing all his belongings (along with the kitchen sink) might at least show some affect on him. Nope. Not my son, the only major changes I've seen during our major move is the fact he usually doesn't wake until 8:30am and now he's waking up at 6:30 for a half hour then falls back asleep until 7:30. But the only reason for that is the fact we share a room now so he is a very light sleeper. Since the move Coop has developed a need for a security blanket. There is no particular one blanket he fancies, just something to chew on to make him at ease. For what I was expecting, he is doing outstanding and I am so proud of him for that!

 My boys decided to play Mommy for dinner...This is Joel's idea of a Suzy Homemaker.

Our days and weekends seem to run together now. It's playtime-all the time trying to entertain two children. Coop and I have become regulars at the local parks, frozen yogurt shops, and kids' consignment stores. Any outing is a blessing just to break up the day and boost morale in the house. Sometimes we don't even need to get out...the kids can brighten any dull mood just by being kids.

The family recently celebrated Gram's 84th Birthday this month. We used this as the perfect chance to bring the entire family together. There is something truly amazing about seeing all the munchkins playing together. All three cousins born within just months of eachother, are now to the most absolute fun age where they can actually play together. This is where I know God stepped in to bring our family just that much closer.

One of the advantages of where we live, is that there so many beautiful parks to enjoy. For years I've been yearning to go to the public pool here (more like a waterpark.) It has rock climbing walls overhanging the pool, and a huge twisty half-tube slide for adults to bring out their inner-child, but coolest feature of this place is the toddler play area. It's like a tree house with every squirt hose, water-splashing, toy you can think of attatched to every inch of it all set in the center of a shallow beach area. Unfortunately, we did not take advantage of this awesome place sooner. We went on the last weekday it was open. I was so impressed with it that I made Joel come along with us the next weekend to join in the fun. A few trips down the oversized slide and he was 5 years old again.

 Man, take a gander at those eyes.....

Although I'm trying to soak up every last bit of summer, I couldn't be more anxious for Fall. After all, it is my favorite season.

The other day we blew Coop's mind. There are three things you need to know about Cooper:
1. He will eat like there's no tomorrow.
2. If given the chance, he'd sleep all day long.
3. Most importantly, he has two obsessions--Cars and DUCKS

We thought of the perfect place to meet two of the three listed above.

In this photo, Coop took a break from shouting Vroom Vroom to glance back at me for a sweet shot.

Sometimes I think, "Is there a pause button?!" Seriously though, I just love my little boy's innocence so much. He's still a Momma's boy, and I know someday soon he'll surely grow out of that. He'll have his fun learning guy things from his Dad, while I will have to sit back a watch from the bleachers. Of course I will always be there when he has a a bad boo boo, or gets in trouble at school, and even has his first broken heart. But for now...he's my little boy.

This is the famous Popeye face. Coop has mastered it so well that we are looking into ordering him an outfit for Halloween. Picture it...Popeye and Olive Oil.

My son would rather push his own stroller, I mean come on, strollers are for baabies.

Early morning outing to the park. Not a soul in sight. It was wonderful.

Who couldn't love that crooked smile? I might have to fight ya if you disagree! :)

                         Why not another Popeye face?....
Hopefully I'll be more faithful  to my blog thanks to my internal clock. Have a great Monday!