Play Date with Mommy

Every once in a while I love to take Cooper to the park for a play date, just the two of us! There is a park in The Woodlands that is right by the lake where there is a great playground, a sandbox, and even ducks to feed (and chase!) He thinks it's the best thing in the world to play with Mommy. (I hope this lasts forever!)

Since Cooper has no brothers or sisters to play with, I oblige him and slide and jump around with him. This picture is one of my favorite things ever - I slide and Cooper catches me! (Now he's getting so big that he doesn't need catching anymore) I can just hear his little voice saying, "C'mon Mommy! Don't be scared - I'll catch you!"
And no play date at Northshore Park would be complete without a little duck chasing. Those ducks are always the best sports... they run and jump into the water every time - sending Cooper giggling and skipping around wildly!

Fat Tuesday at Preschool

Don't you love that even in Texas we celebrate Mardi Gras? Cooper had a really happy day at preschool today - glasses, beads, and all! They had a little party to celebrate Fat Tuesday and it seemed like the kids love it! I couldn't resist a picture (This one's for you, Ashley and Grayson!)

"Thanks, Mom!"

Well, I officially have a big boy now, not a baby. Cooper said yesterday at lunch, "Thanks, Mom" when I handed him his plate. Mom?!? What happened to Mommy or Mama? I have been calling myself Mommy since day 1 and I figured he would do the same until, oh, 8th grade or so. Wrong! In fact, he called me Mom most of the rest of the day. It makes me sad to think that my little guy is growing up so quickly - he will be 3 in June! I am thankful to be Mom (or Mommy) to such a precious boy!

I must be crazy...

Looking at this photo, you are probably asking yourselves several questions...

The answers are:

No, I didn't think about the implications of drying off a wet kid and a wet dog at the same time. No, I didn't consider that the dog would run around shaking and making my whole house wet. No, I didn't imagine that the baby would cry and fuss that the dog was chewing on his bath toys.
No, I didn't predict that they both would drink the soapy, dirty water.

After all that, I really didn't think that they would want to do it again, but... I was wrong. They had a blast despite all the madness. It looks as if "bath time with Boone" may become a special tradition while Cooper (and the dog!) are still young, small, and silly. : )

I must be crazy!

Precious Moment...

When you have a two year old and a puppy, it's easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged. I notice the mud and sand tracked in from the back yard, the stiletto heel that has been chewed to a pulp, and the basket of laundry that has been "unfolded" my my two little friends. Often I overlook the precious friendship that's developed between my two most loved ones.

Moments like these make it all worth the hassle...

Birthday Weekend!

Happy birthday to me! I had such fun this weekend with two of my best friends flying in from Scottsdale to celebrate #27 with me. Michelle and Dierdre (and baby Britain!) flew into Houston on Friday and we had so much fun. It doesn't seem to matter what we do - whether it's going out or lounging around the house - I'm just glad to have their company in person rather than over the phone. : )

Dierdre had Britain this August and I had yet to meet the newest member of the Woodruff clan. I was so glad he came along. I had to dust off some of the old baby stuff and Cooper had to share some toys (which he did nicely 90% of the time!) Cooper was always curious about "baby Britain" and it made me smile to see him interact with a little one.
I loved having a baby around... it made me remember when Cooper was that age (Britain is 6 months and Cooper was 7 months when I got him, but they are both big boys, so it brought back the memories)

On Saturday we literally just spend the day hanging around. I guess when you have 1 little baby, 1 active toddler, 1 hyper puppy, and three chatty girls, it takes a while to do just about any activity. It took nearly 3 hours to get everyone showered, fed, and ready to go and even then, we only had a little bit of time before it was time for one of the little guys' naps. So we took a quick tour of The Woodlands and spent our "nap time" on the deck visiting. Glorious! I felt like I was on vacation! Colin and Dayna came over to visit and Colin graciously took some pictures of us for posterity's sake. Dier, Michelle and I have been friends since 7th grade and we love to have photos to document our times together.

Saturday evening my parents watched the little boys while the girls hit the town! We ate at Brio and shared delicious rizotto while enjoying time away from kids and dogs and chaos. Poor Michelle... she was effectively scared away from children for another few years... I bet they seem worse when they're not your own!

I had such a fun birthday on Sunday. Michelle and Cooper and I took a long walk while the Woodruffs napped. Cooper cracked us up as he insisted on finding the biggest sticks along the way (some which were more like trees than sticks!)

A tradition in my family is that the birthday person gets to choose their special meal and their cake. This year my dad went all out to prepare a feast for our guests. He is amazing! Bobby Flay - watch out! ;) I loved having my brothers Adam and Colin there to celebrate as well.

Here's the family (we're missing Jon and Hudson!)

I figure that even when you get older, you should be able to throw yourself a birthday party. So - I decided an old fashioned slumber party was in order. All you need to make me happy is some birthday cake, presents, and of course, a craft!! (Dorky, I know, but we had so much fun!) Michelle and I tend to be the "artsy" ones of the group, but Dier agreed to join us in copying these cool picture frames that I received as a gift. What an adventure! But all in all, they turned out really well!

Dier made this one for Britain's room...

And this one is for Michelle's sister-in-law and new baby niece.

So cute!

I wish we had pictures to document all of the fun times we had while the girls were here. I am so thankful for their lasting friendships and their willingness to celebrate me in such a big way. Thanks girls - I look forward to another visit really soon! : )