Thanksgiving and Karate?!

Cooper had his first Thanksgivng Program.  He sat in the front and covered his face the entire time since that's what his brother instructed him to do all week!   Kids! 

We spent lunch for Thanksgiving at Valerie's house 

And dinner at my moms house! And of course, I ended the day Black Friday shopping with Rachel! What a fun, busy day we had! 

The boys have started karate. It is 3 times a week and while they loved it at first, the love is fading fast!  They go 3 times a week and getting the steps can be quite exhausting and boring.  We've been going for a month and I'm not sure how much longer either of us can take it! 

All We've Done!

My baby's first school picture!  And isn't it just so perfect?! 

I could just squeeze him!  Cooper is in the 3 year old half day class at Trinity and doing great!  He doesn't cry anymore and loves playing on the playground!  His best friend is Wyatt.  And he still attends speech twice a week and is doing awesome!  He's finally talking more spontaneously and clearer!  I'm one proud mama! 

Halloween was great! We did boo and the zoo with Hunter and trick or treated in Ashley Oaks. The boys finally asked to be something scary compared to the ninja turtles they've been the last few years! 

My dad got married in October!  We hosted his rehearsal dinner at the lake and it turned out great!  We had all my 'Yankee' family over and enjoyed catching up with everyone! 

We wrapped up coach's pitch and tball!  I think Cooper was ready for it to be done but Cole was actually really into it this season!  He's actually asking his dad to practice with him!  And he's really gotten so good! One of the best hitters on the team! He is so calm and patient on the field, not like some of the other kids on the team! 

And Cooper received his first ever trophy! 

The boys went hunting with Will and saw their daddy shoot a deer!  Cooper loved it and talks and talks about going hunting all the time but Cole is still indifferent about it.  I just couldn't believe those boys were quiet enough to see something! 

Florida Trip

We visited 3 different beaches while in Florida!  The boys had a blast swimming and collecting seashells! We even rented a paddle board and took turns cruising around!  It was pretty easy considering there were no waves! 

At Clam Pass Beach we saw lots of fish!  They swam in between us and there were hundreds at times!!

Cole and Cooper using their goggles to look at the fish!  Gosh, I love them so!! 

Cooper's little toes in the sand! 

My favorite time of the day was watching the sun go down on the beach!  We saw dolphins one night at sundown.  And this picture of Coop playing in the sand is priceless! 

Since I am totally outnumbered by boys in my family, I felt like I needed to plan something the boys would enjoy! What better way than by going on an airboat ride through the Everglades with Alligators?!  

We saw at least 6 alligators on the ride! The driver kept calling the boys Scooby snacks for the gators which was kinda freaking me out!  

After the ride, they let us hold a baby alligator!   

The boys really enjoyed it and didn't say a peep while we were on the boat! I think they were fascinated with gators being so close to us!  That's a ride we'll definitely do again if we go back! 

Florida Trip!

During Cole's Fall Break we decided to just get in the car and take a little vacation.  Since we didn't go on a beach trip this summer and my dad has a condo in Naples, we thought, 'Why not?' We drove all night so the kids could sleep and we would miss the traffic! 

On the way, we stayed in Orlando and made a day of going to Sea World!  

It was so much Fun!   Unfortunately, our phones and my camera died or else I would have way more pictures! Our favorite part was petting the sting rays!  They were so squishy!

Here's Cole and Cooper feeding the Sharks and sting rays! 

My favorite part was eating dinner in front of the sharks! 

One section of the park was just rides and a play area!  This was probably the boys' favorite part!  Cooper was tall enough for all the rides and went on everything!   

His first real roller coaster!

The play area was just cargo nets and tunnels that went up and on and on forever! 

At first Cooper was Leary, but after his dad came with him, he was fine! 

The only show we were able to fit in were the Killer Whales! Cole and Cooper walked down to the bottom so they could get splashed!  Marshall and I weren't so brave! 

We had a great great great day! Then we got in the car and continued to drive to Naples!  

Cooper T-ball

I'm FINALLY, after years of watching on the sideline and being told he can't warm up with Cole's team, he's finally old enough to be on a team of his own!!  I was so very happy and excited for Cooper until the season started.  Then I started getting disappointed. 

First, there was no coach for the team so practice was pushed back a week.  Then it rained and rained and we had the awful flood.  We've only had 3 games and 2 practices over a month period.  

Then when we were at practice, the coach was awful.  He was late and let them out early.  He wouldn't warm them up for games (heck, Cole warmed them up for all the games).  It was a mess!  Fortunately, Cooper didn't seem to notice and he had fun despite it all! That's why I love about him!  

During the game, he is the most calm, laid back child out there! He never fought anyone for the ball (like the rest of the team)!  He wasn't eating dirt or getting bored.  He just stood still and waited!  He would make himself a circle in the dirt and stand right in his circle! At times I wish he was more aggressive!  He's been hitting left handed and doing great! 

I'm Excited to see what sport he chooses to do in the spring and hoping it's a better experience for us! 

His cousin, Carter was on his team too!! That made it a lot of fun for us! 

Fair 15'

Fair with the McCune's and Aunt Maddie!

Thank goodness for Aunt Maddie, she was willing to take the boys on all kinds of rides and mazes for us!  

She even talked me into riding a fast ride with her.  She's keeping me young! 

 

Cole begged and begged his daddy to try the basketball game.  He finally did it and got his second throw in!  Therefore, we ended up with this huge monkey!  Cole was so excited!! Now, where to put it?!! 

Cole went on his first fast, big (it didn't go upside down) with me this year!  He got a little scared right before we got on, but he did it! I was so proud of him!  I'm so excited to finally have someone to ride on rides with me!