The Life and Times of Cooper and Libby

First Haircut

2009-11-16T16:13:00.003-05:00

Libby finally got her first haircut, which was more of a "whisper-cut" (that's Aunt Jill talk for not much of a cut at all). I got a little nervous that we were cutting all the curl out but by the time we were finished it was curlier than ever.

Nannie came down for a quick visit that day. We all loved seeing her. Cooper had her out in the front yard throwing the football (when she got tired I was instructed to "jump on in, mommy") and she fixed us a yummy dinner! Thanks Nannie!

This weekend the kiddos went to CeeGee's house. I know peanut butter pine cone ornaments were on the agenda but I never heard if that actually materialized. I do know they had a great time and Libby didn't want to get in the car with me :(

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!

Chocolate Thief

2009-11-03T11:18:00.003-05:00

I guess if we're going to continue "hiding" treats in David's office, we need to make sure it's secure...

Halloween Craziness!

2009-11-03T10:42:00.005-05:00

When did Halloween start lasting weeks? When I was little I don't remember wearing a costume except on Halloween. Now the costumes are worn out by the time Halloween rolls around!

Thursday night we went to the Boo Bash and Haunted House at the tennis courts. It was lots of fun! They had a big blow up Halloween cat that Libby was obsessed with. She walked through it about 100 times.

The two little fairies...

The costume contest (Libby was robbed)...

Friday morning Cooper wore his costume to school for a parade and party.

His precious class...

FINALLY, on Saturday we trick-or-treated...

Somehow we also managed to fit our last game of baseball, a family tailgate and a football game in our week. Now the craziness REALLY begins...

Fall Festivals

2009-10-26T09:53:00.006-04:00

We had a busy weekend of Fall Festivals. Saturday we headed down to Lane Packing Company for their festival with the Moores. It wasn't all it was advertised to be, but the kids had fun. We spent a lot of time in the corn maze and Cooper loved playing in the corn box.

The "big boys"...

The "little ones"...

The corn box...

Sunday was the fall festival and Halloween party at church. Cooper arrived in full Darth Vader garb but shed it immediately. Luckily I have pictures from last week of him. Libby kept her costume (which was a huge hit) on for most of the evening. They trick-or-treated in the hall, played carnival games and jumped in jumpys for 2 hours. Oh, and consumed WAY too much candy...

Where's Libby and Where Did She Come From?

2009-10-23T10:58:00.006-04:00

Libby is fascinated with David's office. The fax machine, phone, computer... there's just so much to play with in there. For that reason, we have to keep it locked. But sometimes we slip up... I was missing her last Saturday. "Libby, where are you?!?" no answer. Then I found her...

Yep, sitting in Daddy's office chair with his M&M stash...

Last week we had a parent teacher conference with Cooper's kindergarten teacher. He is doing wonderful in school and she had nothing but good things to say. She did seem a little confused about one thing - they were discussing little brothers and sisters and Mrs. Williams asked if they remembered when their mommy had a baby. Cooper informed her that his mommy didn't HAVE a baby, she BOUGHT a baby! We might need to work on that verbiage...

My (Somewhat Lame) Excuse

2009-10-23T10:44:00.004-04:00

Two months?!? Really?!? It's been TWO MONTHS since I last blogged. I've been catching a lot of flack for it too. Everyone is like, "where are you? what have you been doing?" And the answer is.... in a word.... BALL!

Cooper has been playing fall baseball. Now the beauty of fall baseball is that there is no weekend commitment. The flip side of that is that it is EVERY Tuesday and EVERY Thursday. Add that to church on Wednesdays and that makes for very busy weeks! No excuse, I know.

Anyway, the baseball season has been great. Cooper got "rookie of the year" for his team and improved so much. We are so proud of him and see many more baseball seasons in his future. I think Libby is a little "over" the ball field but she's been a trooper.

Braves Game!

2009-08-27T16:08:00.004-04:00

We've been talking about it all summer and we finally took Cooper to his first Braves game! We had baseball tryouts on Saturday morning, got everything packed and headed to Atlanta. We stayed at the Westin Hotel in Buckhead and honestly, I think that was Cooper's favorite part. I'm thinking he's never stayed in a "nice" hotel before so he thought it was super-cool when the valet opened his car door and when we ordered room service at 11:00 at night. The game was fun too. We ate everything in sight (hotdogs, dippin' dots, cotton candy, etc.) and the Braves beat the Marlins (he had told me earlier that when he was in Tennessee with PawPaw watching baseball the Marlins "beat the butts off" the Braves but I guess we were good luck). Libby was really good through the whole thing even though she really wasn't feeling well and it was WAY past her bedtime.

Sunday morning we got up and had a nutritious breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and headed home. That afternoon we had a special treat - PawPaw stopped by for a visit on his way home from Bainbridge! The weekend was complete.

School Days

2009-08-17T10:53:00.003-04:00

Today is Cooper's first "real" day of kindergarten!

Friday he had orientation. Thursday night comments - Mommy, tomorrow I get to go to school and see my new classroom, right? And then tomorrow night I get to go to the lock-in at church and have a big surprise, right? OOOOOHHH - I'm just so excited (while jumping up and down)!

Here are Cooper and some of his buddies in the auditorium after orientation. While the parents got the low-down from the teachers, the kids went outside. Cooper got so sweaty I could have wrung his shirt out (hence, the wet hair - gross).

And Friday night he did indeed go to a lock-in at church. He didn't spend the night but informed me that next time he wanted to. (He wanted to this time but Ben wasn't spending the night so I decided he should probably come home too.) The big surprise was rolling skating! He had a blast and now wants to know when he can go again.

I sort of had a strange "moment" Friday night. David was camping and riding horses so it was just me and Libby. I had been cleaning the house and at around 10:00 finally sat down. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open but I had to wait for Cooper to get home (Melis was bringing him home). This is when I starting thinking how incredibly fast the past 6 years has gone by. He went to a lock-in!!! My baby!!! Anyway, then I started thinking how in about 10 years someone is going to be waiting up for him all the time! And I doubt he'll be coming home at 10:30. I'm thinking the "waiting up" will have to fall on Daddy. I need my sleep!

Bye Lib! See you after school!

Weekend in the Mountains

2009-07-28T14:38:00.006-04:00

Last weekend the kiddos and I headed to North Carolina for a weekend in the mountains with David's family (David had to work, bummer). Kristin and Rusty provided the WONDERFUL accommodations and we had a fabulous time. We picked up Aunt Tracey at the airport on our way. Andy showed up shortly after we did (he was supposed to come the day before but he was "distracted"). Then PawPaw came. Saturday Nannie, Mimi, Emma and Maggie showed up.

Libby ate lots of cookies...

And Cooper played lots of pool...

Saturday afternoon we (PawPaw, Tracey, Kristin, Rusty, Emma, Maggie, me and Cooper) went rafting down the Nantahala River. It was quite an adventure. First we had to watch a video that informed us that "people have DIED trying to stand up in the river...", then we got stuck on several large rocks, and finally to top off the evening I fell off the raft into the river. Fun stuff. Rusty was laughing so hard he could barely pull me in but eventually he did. (Luckily for me, there were no cameras on the rafting trip...)

Saturday night we celebrated PawPaw's birthday. Nannie baked him a beautiful strawberry coconut cake but for candles we went with the Ingles special. It was a good thing.

Libby needed a little taste...

What was left of the cake...

What was left of Libby...

PawPaw and the girls...

My Little Golfer

2009-07-28T14:33:00.003-04:00

Cooper went to golf camp in the middle of the month. He had a great time and somehow was able to weasel a new set of clubs out of David. He is so proud of them. David also bought him a golf glove. I don't think he took it off all week. He wanted to sleep in it. He was sort of like Michael Jackson in the '80's. I guess we'll have to keep up with this golf thing; it's quite an investment...

4th of July Beach Trip

2009-07-09T09:10:00.004-04:00

The day after Cooper's party we packed up the car (and I mean, it was PACKED) and headed to the beach for the week. It was so much fun. We quickly settled into our daily routine... David and Cooper would get up and head out to the beach or pier or playground. Libby is pretty fond of waking up, having a bite to eat and going back down for a nap, so she and I usually just stayed home. After her nap, David and Cooper would pick us up (on the golf cart which was so great to have down there) and we would head to the beach. Libby doesn't do much "sitting" these days so one of us was chasing her around at all times. We knew several people down at the beach so Coop always had someone to play with - he even picked up some additional southern drawl from some of them, like calling David "diddy". We stayed on the beach until Lib just couldn't take it anymore then went back to the condo. She would take a nap and Cooper would swim in the pool. He met a crew from Maryville, TN that he loved to swim with. After dinner we usually took a drive around the island in the golf cart. So that scenario went on for 8 days... heavenly. No broken arms, no major meltdowns, just fun. Not really "relaxing" but I think we're a few years off from relaxing at the beach...

Cooper and his "beach family" the Neals...

A rare moment of sitting under the umbrella...

Cooper and Guy "Beach Bowling"...

We went through MANY juice boxes...

Cooper practicing his dives...

The "snacking princess" at the pool...

One of Libby's many walks down the beach...

Waiting on the fireworks to start...

Happy 6th Birthday Cooper!

2009-07-09T09:00:00.003-04:00

Wow! That's all I can say. I can't believe Cooper just turned 6 years old. Then again I can't really remember life without him. Funny how that works.

Cooper was at Nanne and PawPaw's on his actual birthday. This made me sad, but not him. He had a GREAT time. Plus, that meant he got to have TWO birthday parties! Friday the 26th we had a pool party with all his friends. It was so hot but so much fun.

As close as I could get to him while he blew out his candles...

Oops!

2009-06-23T09:56:00.002-04:00

Well, being the mean wife I am, I neglected to mention David in the Father's Day post.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! We love you!

Happy Birthday Cooper!

2009-06-23T09:47:00.003-04:00

It seems like just yesterday we were here...

and now we're here...

Where has the last 6 years gone?!? It's funny. It seems like it has flown by but at the same time I don't really remember life without him. It wasn't nearly as interesting, that's for sure.

Happy Birthday to my baby boy!

HOT Weekend!

2009-06-23T09:23:00.006-04:00

So I doubt if I'm telling anybody something they don't know but - it was HOT last weekend! Not much to do except go to the pool...

Libby's ready to go...

Libby and Maggie at the pool...

We tried to take some cute "posed" pics but that proved to be impossible...

Pop was in town for Father's Day so that was a treat. He and David worked on a truck all weekend. Then Cooper hitched a ride to TN with him on Sunday morning (and I do mean "morning" - 4am). Sunday, Lib and I met Papa in Milledgeville for dinner before he had to go to work - on Father's Day at 6pm; poor Papa!

Sunday afternoon while Libby was taking her nap I thought about updating the blog with the pics above. Looked and looked but couldn't find my camera. This morning while searching for my deodorant (Libby is a little thief these days) I wandered into Cooper's room and there it was. Hmmm, wonder what he was doing with my camera...

And yes, he is wearing Christmas pajamas.

Another Camp...Another Trophy

2009-06-12T12:43:00.004-04:00

Cooper has been at tennis camp this week. He has had a great time and learned a lot. He wants to get back into lessons but he's probably going to have to choose between tennis and golf. I'm thinking he's going to choose tennis which is probably going to break his Daddy's heart. Of course he also chose soccer over baseball for the fall and David didn't care for that either.

Are Pancakes Really Worth It?!?

2009-06-11T10:30:00.001-04:00

Behind Again

2009-06-11T09:55:00.006-04:00

Yes, I was really good with my blogging for about a month and now I've gotten behind again - typical! Let's see what's been going on since the last entry...

We had MANY cloudy, rainy days in a row (I'm talking weeks!). Memorial weekend was included in that time. David went to Illinois for some horse thing and the rest of us headed to Thomson. My boss said, what are y'all going to do in Thomson? I said, probably go to Augusta and go to Target. Yep, that's what we did! Actually, we did as much fun stuff as you can do in the rain. We tried to go to the movie. Libby wasn't having that so she and I had to leave. Cooper didn't like it too much either. CeeGee had to make him stay for the rest. Augusta just got a Five Guys Burgers so we had to introduce Papa to that. Nobody likes cheeseburgers better than Papa and Five Guys has THE BEST. We ate then.....went to Target!

Sunday the sun started to peep out just a little bit. The kids made a make-shift sprinkler with the hose.

The next weekend the sun FINALLY started to shine again. We went to the pool everyday! I was seriously sun-deprived.

Last week Cooper was at Day Camp. So fun! This week, tennis camp. He informed me he REALLY needs to start taking lessons again. Must be some campers who are better than he is.

Oh, and last weekend we went to the beach. We had a great time! The weather was great. The Moores were there so that was lots of fun. Also the Neals. Mr. Chris is the BEST beach baby-sitter. All the kids flocked to him. I guess if you catch sharks and crabs you become very popular with the under 10 group. Libby just toddled all over the beach and went through random stangers' bags.

This weekend we are headed to my 20 year class reunion - wow, I am old. Should be fun to see all my old friends. David is not looking forward to it but sometimes (like once a year for David) you have to do things you don't want to do...

Bathing Beauty

2009-05-18T11:09:00.003-04:00

Cooper had a birthday party yesterday at a water park. Libby went too and got to try out her new bathing suit. She was too cute. There was a little area that was perfect for her. Just enough water for her to splash around in. She had a ball - even though it was 65 degrees!

Field Day!!!

2009-05-15T11:27:00.003-04:00

Today was field day at school, which according to Cooper means, "we get to do P.E. all day!" It was so cute. The highlight had to be watching those preschoolers doing sack races. The sack came up to some of their necks!

They did lots of relay races and had a couple of jumpy things.

This morning David was talking to Cooper on the phone and he asked if Cooper's team (the white team) was going to win. Cooper informed him that "everybody's a winner, Daddy". David persisted. Cooper had to say about 3 times - there are no winners and losers Daddy - everybody's a winner. So funny. At the end of the day everyone got a medal.

And a Popsicle... Yum!

It's All About the Trophy

2009-05-12T16:16:00.004-04:00

Well, we have wrapped up a successful first year of t-ball. It really was a great year. We had fantastic coaches and met lots of new friends. Cooper continues to amaze us with his athletic abilities (David and I are such stellar athletes, we aren't easily amazed - ha ha).

Last night was the end of the season party for the Blue Jays at Stevi B's. Cooper called me on my way home to see what time his "trophy appointment" was. Here he is receiving the coveted t-ball trophy from Coach Todd...

And here he is with the big prize...

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T09:41:00.003-04:00

Boy do I love being a mom! It's exhausting, sometimes frustrating and very humbling, but I wouldn't trade my two angels for anything in the world. I also love being a daughter. We may tease her and call her a brat but I wouldn't trade my mom for anything either. She's so much fun and has more energy than I ever thought about having! Love you Mom - Hope you had a good Mother's Day!

Here's my Mom and all her kids and grand kids (yes, Jill's hair is pink much to Mom's dismay)

I also am very blessed to have a wonderful mother-in-law. She spoils my children rotten and I wouldn't have it any other way. David is pretty spoiled too and we like to blame each other for that :) Love you Ruthe. We missed you yesterday but we'll see you soon!

Gotta love Chick-a-lay

2009-05-08T09:17:00.002-04:00

Tuesday a realtor was showing our house so we had to "get out". What better place than Chick-fil-a? They had a table set up where the kids could plant a pot for their moms for Mother's Day. They also had a clown who was painting faces and making balloon creations. What fun! No wonder that place is ALWAYS packed.

Here's Coop with his Pirate Face...

Funny Faces

2009-05-06T16:58:00.003-04:00

Everybody who knows Libby knows she can make some crazy faces! Here are a few of my favorites...

Disney World

2009-05-05T17:27:00.005-04:00

We had THE best time at Disney World last weekend! I picked Cooper up from school on Thursday and we hit the road. We spent the weekend with Uncle Rusty and Aunt Kristin. They were the BEST hosts - fed us, let us come and go at all hours, took Cooper to get ice cream (don't even ASK about that story...). Cooper and Libby really bonded with Sophie. She is such a doll and they both loved playing with her. Here they all are in Soph's (or FiFi - Cooper loves that name) new sandbox

Friday morning we got up bright and early and hit the Magic Kingdom. I seriously could not have asked for anyone to be on better behavior. Cooper was fantastic. He didn't complain about anything, he didn't ask for anything, we just rode rides and had fun. Libby didn't want to take a nap all day (we were there for 13 hours) but she was still great. Even David, who I had my doubts about was a great sport.

A little aside - when we got to Rusty's we started talking about what time we would go to the park, etc. David said, "I'm just hoping we can make it until 3:00" That's when I knew we had an issue since I was planning to stay through the fireworks at 9:00. What's a little 7 hours discrepancy, right?

Most of the day went like this - Mommy and Cooper riding rides...

Daddy and Lib bonding in the shade...

Libby did ride a few rides and get in some playtime...

This is both of them on It's a Small World. Check out the 'fro on Lib...

Saturday was not nearly as fun. We were all exhausted and the Studio wasn't nearly as much fun as MK. It was a good lesson though - probably won't do back to back days again.

All in all we couldn't have had a much better trip. And Libby is just in love with her new Minnie.

Libby's Pictures

2009-04-24T10:12:00.002-04:00

Libby's 1 year pictures are up at www.kylehitchcock.com You have to kind of meander through the site but you'll find them eventually...

As usual, Kyle did a fabulous job. I had Cooper with me that day so it was more of a challenge than usual. If any of you don't have a photographer that you love, I would HIGHLY recommend Kyle. She is wonderful.

The Big Catch-Up!

2009-04-20T21:19:00.009-04:00

Yes, I know. It's been a VERY long time since I've blogged. It's been kind of a rough tax season. Very busy. And not just at work... We've been doing lots of fun things and I have been taking pictures; I just haven't been posting them. So here's the "big catch-up" for the past, what - two months?

Cooper has been playing LOTS of t-ball...

We had some play dates with Adam...

We went to visit uncle Andy for his birthday...

Miss Michelle and I decided it would be a good idea to take 5 (yes, 5!) little boys and 1 little girl to the Cherry Blossom Festival (not sure we'll do that again)...

We went to Little Stebin's 2nd birthday party and hunted eggs and played with Maddie James...

We went to a really fun Easter Egg Hunt at Miss Muffin's house...

We got all pretty and went to church Easter Sunday...

We had a fun "impromptu" Easter egg hunt in the neighborhood...

And Libby got into EVERYTHING!!!

Whew! Now you see why I haven't had time to blog?!?!?! Add to all that about 50 thousand tax returns and trying to get the house ready to sell (take a look at that last picture again) and you can see it's been crazy at Casa Baskette. I'm back on track now for weekly updates. Stay tuned...

The Best Day Ever

2009-03-02T21:33:00.006-05:00

I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting an entry to the blog. I won't name names (Mimi!!!!) but I was really just waiting for something big to blog about. I mean, it's winter, it's tax time, Libby WILL NOT walk, Cooper's just going to school - nothing too exciting. Until yesterday that is...

IT SNOWED!!! I was trying to think of the last time it snowed in Macon. I'm thinking it was about 6-7 years ago. Cooper had never seen snow I'm sure. I promise he made the most of it.

Libby wasn't really sure what was going on but she liked it.

Cooper called me while it was snowing (from the Monster Truck Jam - woo hoo!) and told me that when he got home he needed me to meet him outside, he needed to "show" me something - oh, and I needed to stand REALLY still... so tricky!

When we sat down to eat dinner (with our surprise guest, Uncle Andy) he told us that it had been the best day of his life :)

Oh, and I'll promise to do better with the blogging (I can't believe I missed the whole month of February!).

Happy Birthday Libby!

2009-01-30T15:53:00.006-05:00

Wow! I seriously cannot believe it has been a whole year since we got that wonderful call that our baby girl was born! I will never forget sitting in my office working on payroll tax returns and David calling me saying, "go home, pack some stuff and come to Jacksonville - we have a girl!" I didn't even know which way to turn! And little did I know what a special little girl we had. She was so tiny that cold day in January and look at her now!

Her birthday happened to fall on Saturday so we had a "dinner party" which everyone in my family found hilarious. Seriously it was just me being lazy. I knew I was going to have to feed everyone so why not incorporate it into the party! CeeGee, Papa, Jill, Jackson, Nanee, Paw Paw, and Andy all came for the celebration. We ate lasagna and had a WONDERFUL birthday cake. I can tell it was wonderful because it disappeared in a flash - David thought I hid it from him.

Libby didn't really feel her best but she was still sweet. She didn't quite dig into her cake like Cooper did but she is a girl, after all. I guess she didn't want to get dirty. Cooper took up any slack though.

Sunday Cooper started playing in a 3-week winter soccer league. He had a blast and even got to be the goalie for a while. He made several saves - what a little athlete we have!

Merry Christmas (finally)

2009-01-19T21:48:00.007-05:00

Well, it was almost a month ago but I think I remember us having a pretty good Christmas... whatever, we had a GREAT Christmas! Some of the highlights -

We got up on Christmas Eve and Cooper announced it was time to open a present. Cooper opened a Batman Lego Wii game from us. I'm proud to say that one month later I have to say it's his favorite gift. He is obsessed (and VERY good at it). CeeGee and Papa came over that afternoon. It was a hectic day of course. We opened a few more gifts. Cooper got a Foosball table and Libby got a baby doll. She immediately knew to "love" the baby, how sweet is that? When Jill (finally) showed up (some things never change, even on Christmas!) we had dinner, our traditional barbecue. I know, some people think that's weird but I've eaten barbecue on Christmas Eve every year since birth so it's quite traditional to me. Finally, it was time to put out the cookies and milk and reindeer food and go to bed.

We woke up the next morning and guess what...Santa had come! I don't know who reported to Santa but my kids were NOT as good as the gifts reflected - just kidding. Cooper got a bike, more wii games, clothes, etc. Libby got lots of cool baby toys but I have to say the wrapping paper all over the floor was more entertaining. Santa could have saved his money I guess.

The rest of the day was a blur. We ate, played and tried to clean up. Oh, and ate some more.

Friday we packed up and drove to Tennessee for round 2. Santa had filled stockings there too and somehow Cooper was able to get a sneak peak at his before anyone else! Cheater! Everyone else (and I mean everyone - Rusty, Kristin, Sophie, Lucy, Conner, Emma, John Conner, Dana, Charlie, Carson and Caroline) trickled in later that night or Saturday. More fun, fun, fun!!! The kids had a blast! They all got lots of great toys but they had just as much fun playing hide and seek.

All and all it was a great time!

Libby Loves Lenox (say that fast 3 times)

2009-01-02T10:26:00.004-05:00

Ok, I'm trying to play catch up so bear with me...

David and Cooper headed to Tennessee the weekend before Christmas leaving the girls home alone. What better way to spend a girls weekend than SHOPPING?!? Seriously, I got an iphone for Christmas (love it - thanks Mom!) so I had to go pick it up at the Apple Store. Since Libby gets up at the crack of dawn it was easy to be there by 9:00. We picked up my new phone then just hung out at the mall for a while. Libby loved looking at all the lights and people. The line to ride the Pink Pig was insane. I think it was longer than the Santa line. We didn't really have any shopping left to do so we just strolled around and looked. Libby was really good and she got LOTS of compliments - she is pretty cute, isn't she?

I had heard that Santa was making a visit to the CVS down the street so we made sure that he knew exactly what Little Libby wanted for Christmas - you can't be too careful.

Christmas Fun

2008-12-15T20:31:00.006-05:00

Saturday was a great day of Christmas festivities! Every year the real Santa Claus flies in on a helicopter to see the kids at Idle Hour. It is a lot of fun. We got there at 10:00 and didn't leave until 2:00! We watched him land, played football on the golf course, did arts and crafts, ate lunch, saw a puppet show and of course saw Santa!

The puppet show is always one of Cooper's favorite parts of the day. This year they asked for volunteers from the audience - guess who volunteered? Surprise, my little wall-flower, Cooper! Bebe Bear jumped over Cooper and 2 other kids on roller skates. It was quite a feat.

Cooper and his friend, Bebe Bear!

The last thing we did was sit on Santa's lap, tell him what we wanted for Christmas, and have our picture taken. At this point we had been at the club for almost 4 hours. Libby had had enough. She fell asleep sitting up in my arms in line. I got a little worried that she might get upset with Santa but she opened her eyes, smiled for the camera and went back to sleep! What a sweetie!

Nick the Elf

2008-12-08T16:36:00.003-05:00

We have a boarder at our house for a few weeks. This is Nick, the Elf. He has come to watch over the kids and report back to Santa about their behavior, good or bad. He flies back to the North Pole every night and in the morning he finds a new place to sit. Cooper is really good at finding him in the morning. I'm not sure if Nick is really doing his job of encouraging good behavior but he sure is cute!

Speaking of behavior, remember that sweet little baby I was always bragging about? Well, she has disappeared! She has been replaced by a very needy, demanding child who is INTO EVERYTHING! Here she is trying to bring the tree down...

She's still pretty sweet when she sleeps though...

Poor Cooper has been under the weather this weekend. He had a touch of the stomach bug and is still not really over it. He missed the Christmas musical at church and today he missed school. I just talked to Mary and she said he is better but it's possible she is just saying that so he will go back to school and not be home all day tomorrow. Can't say I blame her!

A Happy Thanksgiving Indeed

2008-12-01T15:54:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving was great at the Baskette house. We had my whole family over for turkey and about 8,000 other things! All the food was good and everyone had a great time. Kirsten, Joe, Gage and Tyler all came. Gage and Tyler are so grown it's scary. Gage is 16! Insane. They are both really cute boys and Tyler was especially good with all the little ones. Cooper ran around talking about "his cousins" all weekend! Dallas, Megan and Lex came from Charleston also. Lex is really growing up. He is walking and talking (some) and so cute. Dallas got his ears pierced (at the fair - don't ask!) so that was a topic of conversation. And of course Mom, Ken, Jill and Jackson were all there too. Cooper and Jackson had a blast with so many people to play with (although Papa was still the favorite). Cooper sang the sweetest little Thanksgiving prayer for everyone before we ate. It seriously brought tears to my eyes. I told him that was my favorite part of the whole day. His favorite part was playing baseball with Kirsten.

Cooper and Jackson went home with CeeGee on Friday. This turned out to be not such a good idea since it rained all weekend. CeeGee said she felt like she had been couped up with caged animals for 2 days. Libby meanwhile was not her usual chipper self. She has a runny nose, really bad cough and an ear infection. She is quite pitiful. We saw Dr. Bush this morning though so she should be good as new by the weekend.

And now for the best part of the weekend (sorry mom).....

After 7 (yes, 7) years Georgia Tech FINALLY beat Georgia!!! Oh, and Tennessee won as well so Saturday was a great football day for us. GO JACKETS!!!

Funny Story

2008-11-21T14:55:00.003-05:00

I always wonder if the whole "adoption" thing makes any sense to Cooper at all. Tuesday when we got home I jumped on facebook (of course) and didn't really pay attention to what was on tv. Apparently Mary had been watching the Discovery Channel. So this show comes on called "Freebirthing". I would highly recommend that you watch it if you happen to see a repeat. It's about all these hippy-type women who give birth at home - no midwives, doulas, etc. just their husband and maybe a toddler or two. Anyway, it was interesting. Cooper comes walking in and starts watching too. After a few minutes he looks over at me and says, "Mommy, I think you would cry if you had to get a baby out of your tummy. I think that's why you wanted to pick your babies."

I think I picked the best 2, what do you think?

Cooper's Thanksgiving Program

2008-11-19T15:02:00.003-05:00

Cooper had his Thanksgiving Program today and it was precious. The kindergartners were the pilgrims and the preschoolers were the Indians. Cooper had a starring role (of course). Mrs. Jones said she knew she could count on Cooper to do a good job (proud smile). He and 3 other kids said:

"We are the Indians, as you can plainly see.

Here are our tom toms and there is our tee-pee!"

Cooper's Indian name was "Flying Eagle". They sang lots of songs and a narrator told the story of the first Thanksgiving. So cute!

Two Big Birthday Celebrations!

2008-11-17T21:05:00.005-05:00

Wow! We had a big weekend. We took a quick trip to Tennessee to surprise Nannie for her 60th birthday. EVERYONE was there - Andy, Tracey, Dallas, Rusty, Kristin, Sophie, Lucy, Conner, Emma, John Conner, Charlie, Dana, Carson & Caroline - and of course Nannie, Paw Paw, Mimi and Johnny - did I leave anyone out? It was so much fun. Everyone trickled in Friday night so Nannie just kept on being surprised.

Mimi's Crew...

Nannie's Crew...

Cooper and Emma spent the night with Nannie and Paw Paw and heard lots of "Paw Paw" stories about Miss Spivi that kept them in giggles. Saturday we all hung out and the kids played. Saturday night Mimi cooked a huge supper and we celebrated Nannie's birthday. Sunday we ate a huge breakfast and celebrated Sophie's 1st birthday. Then a few hours later we went back to Nanna's for a huge lunch - ugh, I'm still stuffed!

What a great weekend!!!

No Information

2008-11-11T14:15:00.004-05:00

Libby has started babbling a little bit lately, mostly da-da-da-da. I've decided that it's time for her to start talking. Last week I was in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico - which I affectionately refer to as "Dirt-ville". I left on Sunday and came home on Friday. The whole time I was gone, do you think ANYONE in my family would talk to me? Um, no. Cooper would reluctantly get on the phone and say, "Mommy, can you come home now? Thanks. I love you. Bye." and every time I tried to talk to David, he was asleep. I guess the time change hit my house pretty hard. Then I get home and try to ask everyone how the week was - fine. fine. Libby is my only hope!!!

Saturday morning Cooper, Libby and I went to Waffle House (I think Daddy was over "parenting" at this point). I think Libby ate as much and me and Cooper (and Cooper eats a lot at WH). She ate some waffle, hash browns, pears and apple juice. All good southern girls love Waffle House.

After WH we went to the grand opening of our new playground. It is so nice. Cooper had a great time. Then we finished off the day with a haircut. That is normally a bad experience but even though we had to wait an hour(!) he was pretty good.

Speaking of Libby eating - looks like we have a little mouse in our pantry...

Bad Timing

2008-11-02T15:08:00.004-05:00

Not the best year for these t-shirts but I couldn't resist...

Halloween Fun

2008-11-02T08:14:00.006-05:00

This week was especially busy with all our Halloween activities! Thursday night we went to the Boo Bash at the country club. Cooper had a great time running around with all his friends. They had a costume contest, yummy "kid" food, and a haunted house.

Libby and Maggie hung out together in Mag's stroller while the big kids played...

Friday Cooper had a costume parade at school. The pre-school and kindergarten kids wore their costumes and paraded through the lower, middle and upper schools. I was surprised when Cooper chose to be the Flash for Halloween since he's not a mainstream hero these days. When we paraded through the school the upper school kids said, "cool, he's the flash" and the lower school kids said, "who's he?"

Friday afternoon we FINALLY made it to the pumpkin patch. I'm glad we waited because it was a beautiful and warm afternoon.

Friday night we trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. It was much less busy than last year but that worked to Cooper's benefit - he got LOTS of candy. Now if we can keep him from eating it all at once!

Fun in the Tub

2008-10-27T11:59:00.002-04:00

How do you like my new hairstyle?!?!

Bad Blogger!

2008-10-27T10:19:00.004-04:00

I keep falling down on my blogging duties, I know. Let's see, what has happened since October 13?

On Tuesday the 14th I had my first Parent-Teacher conference. I wasn't really prepared for what I heard - apparently Cooper is a REALLY good kid at school, who knew? Mrs. Jones said she wished she had 20 Cooper's in her class! He listens and follows directions (and here I thought those ears were just to make him look cute) and is doing great academically. I am very proud of him.

The following weekend Cooper AND Libby took a trip to Tennessee. They had a blast! It was Libby's first trip away from home and she did great, of course. They helped out in the restaurant and went to a birthday party for Miss Becca. Cooper even came home with $5 in tips! If finances don't pick up around the Baskette house I may have to send him up there more often!

Last Wednesday we had Christmas pictures taken - can you believe it's already that time? The pictures turned out GREAT. I would post some but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Thursday night Rusty, Kristin & Sophie came to spend the night on their way to North Georgia for a wedding. It was so fun to see little Sophie (and Rusty and Kristin). She is so precious! I wish I had taken her picture but we were too busy watching her run from David.

Friday Cooper went to CeeGee's and Libby went to a "Baby's First Halloween" party. Yes, it was as cute as you imagine. There were probably 10 babies from 4 weeks - 10 months. We had huge aspirations of taking some super-cute group shots but that was silly on our part.

Cooper had a great time at CeeGee's. Jack was there too and they went to a really cool festival with a corn maze (Cooper and CeeGee got lost and the corn police had to help them out), a "bumpy slide" and a "hay jump" - those are Cooper's descriptions. They also went on a hayride and carved jack-o-lanterns.

FINALLY, Sunday was the fall festival at church. They had a scary hallway with trick-or-treating, lots of games, jumpy things and a dunking booth - so fun! Of course "the little pig" was quite the hit!

Cooper's Super-Fun Weekend

2008-10-13T17:29:00.004-04:00

Wow, Cooper really had a fun weekend! Friday night he was invited to go with Hamilton's family to dinner and the Stratford football game. He has been wanting to go all season and he had a blast! They ate at Chick-fil-a, saw the football players bust through "the big sign", played imaginary football, and chased "big girls" (I think that means "older" girls). He saw lots of friends and just couldn't stop talking about everything when he got home.

Saturday morning he had his last soccer game. I can't really say I'm sorry about that but we've had a great season. Never did get that white star but oh well... Saturday evening he went to Will's birthday party. What a great party! 9 boys (and all the Ware's) went to Lane Packing Company in Fort Valley. They went through the corn maze, had a hayride, ate supper and cake and just had a generally wild time. Lots of fun!

Sunday we (Mommy, Cooper and Libby) picked up Jill and Jack and headed to the fair. I'm not sure I can remember a more miserable fair trip but Cooper and Libby had a good time. First off, it rained! Off and on the whole time, it rained. Jackson had a break down when a mean carnie wouldn't let him ride the roller coaster because he was too little, Cooper had a break down when he pushed his corn dog too hard and it flew off the stick onto the ground, then Jackson smashed his fingers in the bathroom door! Good times! Libby was good but she did get a little sick of the stroller so I spent a lot of time carrying her and pushing an empty stroller. She did think it was really fun when it was raining - she laughed and laughed. Oh and just so you know, there is only one size cotton candy - JUMBO. It's really not a good idea to let your 5 year old eat a whole JUMBO bag of cotton candy. Hours later at home I said, "Cooper, please stop talking for just a second". His reply? "I'm sorry mommy, I just can't!"

Fun memories!!!

Singing and Crawling

2008-10-06T16:38:00.007-04:00

As most great entertainers do, Cooper launched his career with a duet in church this weekend with Ben. Keep in mind that I am NOT launching a career as a videographer... (Ok, I'm having major technical difficulties. I'll have to work on this later.)

Libby is crawling (somewhat) but it's not very exciting video as she is not in too much of a hurry. I tried to take some pictures of the new teeth but all I could really get were Cheerios. She sure does look cute though, doesn't she?

Catch Up

2008-09-29T14:42:00.006-04:00

Wow, I think this is the longest I have gone without updating the blog! What's been going on? Let's see...

Last weekend CeeGee and Papa came over on Friday night and went to Cooper's soccer game on Saturday morning. Funny story - after each game they give out star stickers for best offense, best defense, etc. They also give a white star for the "most Christ-like" (obviously, this is a church league). Anyway, they always talk about how this is the best star to get, etc, etc. so Cooper is DYING to get that white star. So during the game last week he steals the ball from the other team and takes it the length of the field, shoots for the goal and scores! He runs back up the field and I hear him say, "hey coach, did you see that? That's just like Jesus would do!" Seriously, what am I going to do with him?

After the game he went home with CeeGee and Papa. I think they squeezed about 4 days of activity into less than 24 hours - including Papa getting pulled over for making an illegal left turn, which Cooper could NOT WAIT to tell me about!

Libby keeps growing like a weed. She finally has a tooth poking through her sore little gums and it is driving her crazy!

This past weekend Nannie and Paw Paw came to visit. We all had a great time. Cooper and Paw Paw played soccer in the front yard, played go fish, and went to the fair (with Daddy and Libby too). Poor Paw Paw may sleep the rest of the week! 10 minutes before they left Cooper was STILL riding around and his shoulders! Nannie and Libby just cuddled and played so it was a win-win for everyone.

Yesterday Cooper dug out some super-hero kit he probably got 3 Christmas's ago and we had some fun. We also played about 1,000 games of go fish - thanks Paw Paw!

Awwwww...

2008-09-15T22:42:00.002-04:00

Cooper brought home a book today they made at school. Everyone in his class had a page. They wrote their name, drew a picture and had their photo glued on the page. It also had a sentence for them to finish "I Love _____________". Most everyone said, "I love to watch TV", "I love to play outside", etc. Cooper's said "I Love my little sister". Brings tears to my eyes :)

Soccer Begins

2008-09-14T07:39:00.003-04:00

Cooper had his first soccer game on Saturday. He scored a goal and according to him, his team won. I'm not really sure since it is complete madness on the field and they don't officially keep score - "everybody wins" in Upward Soccer. Cooper and his buddy, Max...

I'm sure none of you doubted my previous post about Cooper being so much taller than his teammates, but just in case...

Friday night we went to some friends house. This was supposed to be "happy hour" but turned into "happy night". Libby and Maggie played and watched the big kids play.

"The big kids"

Other things that happened this week... Monday was open house at school. We all pile in the car, get to the school and see everyone going in WITHOUT their kids. Now that is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard - open house with no kids? So David and the kids went home and I saw Cooper's room all by myself. I will not succumb to peer pressure next year; I will take Cooper with me. It really wasn't any fun looking at artwork, touring the room and seeing his place at the table without his commentary. Wednesday was picture day. Hopefully those will turn out good. Saturday afternoon after soccer Cooper and I went and played putt putt. Boy, that was fun at 99 degrees with 100% humidity...

Libby is SOOO close to crawling. She tries a little but if you try to encourage her she just stops and smiles. Sweet little Libby. Oh, and this is how she feels about Cooper being in her face/space all the time.

Short Week

2008-09-07T09:50:00.003-04:00

It was a short week but a busy one too. Tuesday Cooper finally got a soccer practice in (the previous 2 have been cancelled for various reasons). He is the tallest by a HEAD. No kidding, the other kids come up to his shoulders. Oh well, maybe he will be the star - he does like to be the best, ya know. Wednesday we had church and choir. Thursday we did nothing! Nice. Friday we went to Matt's for Happy Hour. It was great fun. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the 7 (yes, you read that right SEVEN) crazy boys running around. There was a point when I seriously thought the ceiling was going to fall in. Libby was loving it. And Campbell Ann stopped by too. I think she was a little overwhelmed since she comes from an "all-girl" household (well, except Rader). Yesterday Cooper got to go back to Matt's to play for a while and we ran some errands. Nothing exciting. Today Cooper named off all the things he and his Daddy are doing today - playing Tiger Woods golf on the wii, playing hide and seek, and "tussling". Sounds like a fun day! We do have to run across the street and take a little gift to poor Abby Rose who broke her leg Thursday night. She's 2 1/2 and in a full leg cast for 6-8 weeks - major bummer.

Libby has a fun new "shake her head" trick that I hope to get video of soon. She is also up on all fours and rocking. She can't quite move yet but it won't be long. I'm not sure I'm ready for this...

Labor Day Part 2

2008-09-02T15:55:00.004-04:00

I love a bow! I was a major bow-head back when it was cool to be a bow-head (it was cool, right?) and I love that Libby can wear a bow now. It may not last long but we can start out with one anyway. We were getting ready to go eat dinner (at 5:30, my how times change with a 5 year old and 7 month old) and guess what....

Here we are several hours later and it's still in - yippee!

During our last beach trip Cooper tried his hand at skim-boarding. He was hoping to perfect his moves on this trip but it just wasn't meant to be. He is so competitive and thinks he should be able to do anything on the first try. Plus we were all watching him and I think he felt a little pressure. Maybe next year...

He did however find his first sand dollar!

Labor Day Update

2008-08-31T06:45:00.004-04:00

Yes, I am ashamed of myself it's been so long since I've blogged. We are still getting into the swing of things with Cooper in school and starting all his activities. He has soccer practices on Tuesday evenings and choir on Wednesday evenings. And soccer games start next Saturday. I was out of town for 3 days last week so Daddy had solo duty. It seems like things were under control while I was gone. We've been getting a lot of rain from all the hurricane activity so soccer practice was cancelled. I'm thinking Cooper will probably have a game before he ever has a practice, which should be interesting...

We are currently at the beach. Cooper, Libby and I struck out at 7:00 Friday night (what was I thinking?) and got here around 11:00. Daddy came down on Saturday and so did CeeGee and Papa. Prior to every one's arrival, we had to survive on chips and diet coke. Cooper was looking for a DVD in my car and locked the keys inside. Fun times. Luckily Daddy had not left yet and could bring the spare set. I guess I need to re-enroll in Onstar!

Since we couldn't leave the condo we stayed in the pool most of the day. Tomorrow we'll go to the beach. There's been a lot of smack-talk about putt-putt too so I'm guessing that's on the agenda tomorrow evening...

Libby's 6 Month Portraits

2008-08-20T14:12:00.002-04:00

Libby had her 6 month (yes, I know she is 7 months on Sunday, I'm behind) pictures made this morning and they are GREAT! She was so good during her session. She just smiled and smiled! Go check them out at www.kylehitchcock.com You can also check out our beach session while you are there.

First Day of School!

2008-08-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

Today was Cooper's first day of "big" school. He is in Mrs. Jones class. He had a great first day. This is a total assumption on my part as he gave me little-to-no information. According to him they "colored". He was there from 8-12 so I'm pretty sure they did more than "color" but so far, that's all I've got.

After school we went to Chick-fil-a with some of his classmates. Later Paw Paw stopped by on his way home from Bainbridge. Then Papa and Jack came over for a while (actually we went to McDonald's but I'm kind of ashamed that we ate Chick-fil-a for lunch and McDonald's for dinner). It was a pretty big day!

This Little Piggy Went Trick or Treating...

2008-08-16T07:41:00.002-04:00

Here's a little preview of Libby's Halloween costume. As cute as this is, wait til you see the whole thing. It is precious!

Cooper had orientation at school on Friday. We met his teacher and got a quick preview of all the great things they'll be doing this year. Monday is our first big day. Be looking for pictures.

Friday night we hung out at the Moore's for some much needed catch-up time. It was so much fun. Cooper and Matt played really well together (I base that on the fact that there wasn't a lot of "tattle-telling") and Libby and Adam got acquainted.

It was so much fun and hopefully we can get together a lot more once school starts!

Quick Beach Trip

2008-08-10T20:58:00.003-04:00

We are back from the beach :( We had a great time but the trip was too short. We only went for the weekend. Saturday we got up really early and had our pictures made on the beach. I haven't seen the proofs yet. Hopefully we got at least a few good shots. After the pics, we ate a super huge breakfast, did some shopping (just me, not we), swam in the pool, went to the beach (just Daddy and Cooper), went out to dinner then played miniature golf (not to be confused with putt-putt; I don't know the difference but apparently Cooper does so ask him). It was a really full day! Sunday we swam in the pool again then Cooper and I went to the beach to practice on the skim board. He did really well for his first time. He should be a pro next year.

This was Libby's first "real" time in the pool. She loved it!

Cooper looks 12 years old in this picture. I should delete it. I also had some pictures of Daddy and Libby in the pool but somehow Daddy looks bald; so out of respect for him, I won't post those.

All Fixed!

2008-08-05T20:41:00.005-04:00

Notice anything different about the wii-playing Spiderman? Yep, that's right - the cast is off!!! The doctor says everything looks really good. We did have the tip of a crayon inside but aside from that, everything went well. He has already been swimming.

Cooper went to CeeGee and Papa's last Friday night. I think Cooper and CeeGee were playing putt putt by 9:00 Saturday morning. They also went to Target, Chick-fil-a, and played soccer with a big net in the front yard. Libby and I joined them Saturday evening. We brought the wii and as I predicted, Papa was addicted. He stayed up until midnight practicing his golf swing, bowling and playing baseball.

Libby went to the eye doctor Monday. Just like everyone told me, she is fine. They said she actually has really good eyesight for a baby.

She's also kinda obsessed with her feet right now. So cute.

We're off to the beach this weekend for one last hooray before school starts!

Not too "wee" for the "wii"

2008-07-28T19:08:00.003-04:00

A lot has happened since I blogged last. Cooper came home early on Thursday night (instead of Sunday as planned) because he could tell that we all missed him so much. Based on the looks of Paw Paw on Thusday, I'm not sure he could have survived until Sunday.

Mae Mae was off on Friday so Libby went to work with me and Cooper stayed home with Daddy. When I got home, guess what we had.... a wii! Yes, I've said, "Cooper is too wee for the wii" for the past 9 months but we are now the proud owners. This is the true reason as to why I haven't blogged - we have been playing that (damn) wii all weekend! It's very addicting.

Today Daddy left for Philly so it's just me and the kiddos. Oh, and tonight Cooper had soccer "evaluations". It was a great night for it; only 100 degrees with 100% humidity! He did good though. I can't believe it's time for soccer. What am I saying? School starts in 2 weeks!

New Toy

2008-07-23T08:05:00.004-04:00

Libby got a new Jenny Jump-Up on Sunday (not to be confused with a Johnny Jump-Up, that's for boys!) and she has discovered lots of new uses for it.

First, you can just "hang around"...

If your little gums are bothering you, you can chew on it...

Then finally, if it's time for your morning nap you can just sleep in it!

Maybe eventually she'll start jumping in it!

Weekend in Tennessee

2008-07-21T22:18:00.006-04:00

We had a fun trip to Tennessee. We got there early evening on Friday. Do you think Nannie was excited about seeing us (by "us" I mean Cooper and Libby)?

Besides Nannie and PawPaw we got to hang out with Uncle Andy and Mimi. Mimi makes Libby laugh and laugh with all her crazy voices. Saturday Mommy got to "work" in the restaurant (really more like get in the way) while Cooper and PawPaw babysat Libby. Of course the whole time Cooper was yelling, "can someone come get the baby?!?" He really likes to have PawPaw all to himself. Come bedtime though, Cooper was all about Nannie!

Sunday we ate lunch at Nanna's and stopped by Pop's to check out his garden and pick up some tomatoes! Yum!

So then it was time for Mommy, Daddy and Libby to come home to Macon. Some people might think Cooper would be a little upset. Those people would be wrong!

See this picture of Libby?

I would love to say that is how she looked the trip home but that was not the case. It was really more like this:

I had flashbacks of when Cooper was a baby-I really don't want to go back to that place! I have good reason to believe she may have had a tummy ache. That's what I'm hoping anyway!

I'd Hate to Know MY Percentile

2008-07-17T23:35:00.002-04:00

As you can see, Libby loves the new ExerSaucer! Of course she's spent the first 6 months of her life on the floor so I guess anything is an improvement.

Cooper had his 5 year check-up with Dr. Bush today. He weighed 51 pounds and was 3 ft. 11 in. While I was at the Dr.'s office I took the opportunity to weigh Libby. She was 16 lbs. 1 oz. Now according to a Growth Chart Percentiles calculator Cooper is in the 93rd percentile for weight (What?) and 97th for height (that one I believe). Libby is supposedly in the 43rd percentile. I think I now understand why our doctor never tells us these percentiles - they sound bogus to me. Cooper did great at his check-up.

We are headed to Tennessee tomorrow. We are staying the weekend and Cooper is staying the week. It will be awfully quiet around here next week!

Pretty Girl

2008-07-15T20:35:00.003-04:00

Cooper has had the spotlight since the broken arm so today is all about Libby. We had a photo session on Sunday. Here are some of my favorites:

Not to ruin the surprise but you'll probably get one of these with your birth announcement. I know, it's crazy that Lib is 6 months old and I'm just now sending birth announcements. What can I say, I've been busy!

Libby is really trying to move around these days. She sort of "scooches" across her pallet until she gets to the rough rug, then she cries. It's sort of her fun game. Speaking of games, I finally got her an excersaucer. It's really cute. It has little teapots on it. Very girly! It only took me about 4 hours to put it together. Maybe tomorrow I can post some pictures of her in it.

What broken arm?

2008-07-12T20:54:00.002-04:00

Cooper had his last camp of the summer this week (since golf camp is out) unless you count "redneck camp" that uncle Andy is planning in Tennessee. It was at his new school. He had fun, as always. On the last day he went home with Ben, which is always a treat.

We had to get some pictures of "the girls". They are already fast friends. Libby was kicking her legs and smiling and trying to touch Maggie's face. Maggie may have been a little leery; Libby definitely has a few pounds on her!

The boys had to get in on the picture action too! How cute is this going to be when they are all teenagers!

Today (Saturday) Cooper went to a friend's birthday party at the bowling alley. He loves to bowl! Then we went to the uniform store to try on uniforms for school (he looks super-cute in his polyester uniform). Finally, we went to a movie. This was the first time in his entire 5 years of life he has sat through a movie with me. Aside from asking me if the movie was almost over every 10 minutes, he was good.

Broken Arm Update

2008-07-08T20:09:00.002-04:00

Today we saw our local orthopedist for a check up. Everything is still good but he thought it would be best to get a real cast. Cooper requested blue. It's cool. He can move a lot better in it, plus you can sign it!

Happy 4th!

2008-07-05T10:34:00.005-04:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Yesterday was a good day. Cooper is getting more adventurous with his cast; this is both good and bad. He "kinda fell a little" in the ocean and got his cast a little damp. Oops. Here he is drying it out and looking really cool on the beach.

Speaking of Cooper, I really have to brag on him. He has been so great about this broken arm thing. He hasn't felt sorry for himself at all and has really tried to make the best of it. We saw one of his friends at the beach and it was heartbreaking to see him try to do all the normal beach stuff and not be able. We built a lot of sandcastles and played beach golf. He's disappointed he can't go to golf camp but we decided he could do another week of Stratford camp and he's ok with that. All in all, he has been great - still a pest, but with a great attitude!

I'll brag on little Libby some too. She has been a trooper this whole trip. She was so tired last night after the fireworks she just buried her face in my shoulder and went to sleep. We have hauled her around all day and night, kept her on the beach all day long (which probably isn't much fun when all you can do is sit and sleep) and not stayed on any kind of schedule. She has been wonderful through the whole thing. As long as she has a bottle, she's good!

It is a zoo down here this weekend. We tried to go watch the fireworks at the pier but it was wall to wall people - yuck! We ended up going down the beach a little and watching them there. We didn't get a "full on" view but we could see them. We could also see the Jekyll fireworks too which was kind of neat.

We have to go home tomorrow and we aren't ready!!!

It's getting better

2008-07-03T22:28:00.003-04:00

Today we went to see the Orthopaedist. Cooper didn't have to get a hard cast, just a better splint. The doctor said the breaks (yes, both bones) are pretty good as far as breaks go. He said he would leave the splint on 6 weeks but our doctor in Macon may have another opinion. That's about the time school starts. I guess it's good he'll be better by the time school starts but he'll also miss out on a lot of fun the rest of the summer.

Once we left the doctor, Cooper was in good spirits. Every time we pass the playground he says "that's where it all happened". We went to the beach in the afternoon. We had a gourmet dinner at Dairy Queen then went down to the pier. There's a lot going on here for the 4th. There was a band, a jumpy thing, lots of junk for sale, and about a million people. Cooper really wanted to get in the jumpy thing but I finally convinced him it would not be the best idea. He ended up making some friends on the playground and making me a nervous wreck playing freeze tag.

When we got home Cooper had to take a bath which is kind of a major ordeal. We played hair salon and shampooed his hair in the sink then propped his arm up on the side of the tub for the rest. Hopefully tonight will be better than last.

I haven't reported much on little Libby. How about the beach princess?

Rough Start to Vacation

2008-07-02T10:13:00.004-04:00

Well, vacation started out pretty good. David left early Monday morning pulling the golf cart and me, Cooper and Libby got ourselves all packed and struck out around 10:00. We arrived on the Island in the afternoon. Cooper swam in the pool and went on a ride with Daddy.

Tuesday Daddy had to work in Valdosta so he left really early. We got up and went to the pool at the King & Prince. Libby took a nap by the pool and Cooper swam and begged to go to the hot tub every 5 mintues. When Lib had enough we went back to the condo where Cooper swam some more. Later in the afternoon we went to the beach for a walk. So far so good, right?

So then we decide to go to the pier. Should we walk or drive? Walk. Cooper gets his scooter and Libby strolls. On the way we stop at a playground. Cooper had played there with Daddy on Monday and they had a really cool zipline. He showed me how good he could do it. On about the 30 time though he slipped. He fell on his arm and got hurt really bad. Now what do we do? Cooper is hurt, we're half a mile from the condo, and Daddy is on his way back. We ended up staying at the playground until he got there and picked us up. Cooper still wouldn't move his arm but he wasn't crying and said it felt better. Well, that all changed in the middle of the night. He woke up crying really hard. David took him to the ER and guess what - broken arm!

How pitiful is that?

VBS Week 2

2008-06-30T22:06:00.003-04:00

Cooper had his second week of Vacation Bible School last week. This week was at our church and the Wares and Jackson joined us. I was a little worried that Jackson wouldn't go but he seemed to do fine. Thursday they had a program where they sang and danced to the songs they learned.

The Big Weekend

2008-06-26T15:05:00.007-04:00

Wow! We managed to cram a lot of stuff into one weekend!!! Friday Pop came to town. He seemed really quite taken with Miss Libby. Of course who isn't taken with Libby. She is the sweetest baby ever!

Saturday morning we got ready for Cooper's birthday party. The party was at Sportz Quest and it was great! We had a really big crowd and everyone had fun. Cooper got a lot of cool stuff, we ate Sponge Bob cake and played in the big castle.

Next we Cooper's second birthday party (family party) and we had wonderful attendance there as well. We had Pop, Nannie, Paw Paw, Uncle Andy, Uncle Rusty, Kristin, Sophie, CeeGee, Papa, Jill (eventually) and Jackson! You know Cooper must be special to have 2 birthday parties on the same day!!!

Sunday morning was all about Libby. She was baptised at the 11:00 service by our brand new minister Tommy Martin. He was so sweet to accommodate us on his very first Sunday and he did a beautiful job. I had several people tell me that they were very moved by the service especially remembering all that we went through with David's illness. We are so blessed!

After church we ate (again!) at our house. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. We have a lot to celebrate!

VBS - Week 1

2008-06-20T15:02:00.002-04:00

This week Cooper went to Vacation Bible School at Callie's church. He had a great time learning songs and doing crafts. Thursday there was a program where they performed their songs. After the program Cooper went to spend the night with the Wares. Then Friday they took him swimming at their pool with the big waterslide! It was a fun week.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-06-19T22:08:00.002-04:00

What more could you ask for than these precious kids and an ice cream sandwich cake? I hope not much, cause that's all you got...

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T13:05:00.004-04:00

This is a little self-photo taken by Cooper and Daddy. They are at the barn riding the golf cart while I'm home getting ready for "the big weekend" (and doing a little blogging). Daddy is certainly taking this Father's Day thing a little far. He actually expects me to cook something!

Cooper, Libby and Mommy took a quick trip to Thomson yesterday to see Papa for Father's Day. Jill and Jack were there (eventually) and Dallas, Megan and Lex got there later. Everyone had a great time. Lex is so cute. He looks just like his aunt Kirsten when she was a baby. Cooper and Lex played "uh oh" (you know that fun baby game when they throw down their juice and say "uh oh" about a hundred times - Cooper didn't loose interest like most adults do). Here is Papa with his fan club:

We will see the rest of the Paw Paw's and Pop's next weekend. Should be great fun.

Cooper is off to his first week of Vacation Bible School tomorrow.

Tennis Camp

2008-06-14T07:40:00.003-04:00

Cooper was at tennis camp this week. He had a great time. He learned forehands, backhands, volleys and overheads. He also re-learned (because he already knew this but still finds it hilarious) that the bottom of the racket is called the "butt". He got all kinds of stuff at the "rewards" ceremony, but his favorite thing is the trophy!

The Little Fish

2008-06-09T18:46:00.003-04:00

Well, we had a big breakthrough at the pool this weekend - Cooper FINALLY started swimming in the deep end AND jumped off the diving board. Friday after camp we went to Mr. Ronnie's pool and Cooper would barely leave the shallow. A teenager who was there found a life jacket and got him to put it on. Once he figured out he could float he loved it. He played in the deep end and even jumped in. Then Saturday Wes-e-ley was there. Cooper loves Wes-e-ley. He talked him into taking off the jacket. It didn't take long and he was swimming and jumping in the rest of the day!!! We went back on Sunday and he practiced some more. We are all so excited. I knew he could do it, HE just didn't know he could.

Meanwhile, Libby is loving the carrots...

Day Camp

2008-06-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

Cooper has Day Camp this week. It's from 9:00-1:30. During that time they manage to squeeze in golf, tennis, arts and crafts, fitness, lunch, swimming and 2 snacks! That makes me tired just blogging about it but Cooper loves it. He complains that they don't let them swim long enough. Today I heard from another mom (because Cooper will give me NO details) that Cooper is the only kid at camp who can hit the tennis ball over the net. I guess those lessons are paying off!

I asked Cooper about the tennis thing. He informed me that yes, he was the only one who could hit the ball over the net. He also hit the golf ball the farthest. He's also really good at arts and crafts, swimming and fitness. He's pretty much good at everything. So talented and so humble at the same time!

Solid Food (sort of)

2008-06-02T16:17:00.011-04:00

Libby had a eventful week. Thursday she went to the doctor for her 4 month checkup (she got an A+). She weighed 13 pounds! Wow! Dr. Bush remarked that she has made "quite a jump" from 4lbs. 13 oz. when he first met her. She was also given the go-ahead to eat cereal. She liked it ok at first but now she's really getting used to it!

Sunday we went swimming with Jill and Jack at their pool. Cooper and Jack had a great time jumping in and swimming. Cooper had a bit of a scare when he jumped in and couldn't touch but he got over it. Anybody want to guess what Libby did while the boys swam?

Cooper's "summer of fun" starts this week with Day Camp.

Beach Bums

2008-05-26T20:18:00.004-04:00

Cooper, Libby and Mommy went to St. Simons for Memorial Day weekend. Papa, CeeGee, Jill and Jack were there too. We had a great time. Cooper swam in the pool, rode his scooter, played on the playground, built sandcastles, collected shells and rode the waves. Libby slept. Oh well, I guess everybody did what they wanted.

Language of Libby

2008-05-21T19:29:00.005-04:00

Libby is a very polite baby. She doesn't like to cry and cause a fuss. But somehow she has to let us know that she's ready to eat. What's a perfect baby to do? Come up with her own sign language! This is Libby's sign for "Let's eat, please":

Later she moves on to, "I'm so hungry I could eat anything - even Cooper's nasty finger":

When that doesn't work she moves to the "feed me now" sign:

Ahhhh...success....

Graduation Day

2008-05-19T21:29:00.005-04:00

Cooper graduated from Ingleside yesterday. CeeGee, Papa and Jack came to watch him sing and get his certificate. Libby was an angel, of course. When we got home we celebrated with homemade ice cream (way too rich).

Nannie is probably the only person in the world who will want to watch this video (it's kinda long) but it's here.

Congratulations Cooper - you'll soon be a Stwatford Brwatford!

Happy Libby Day

2008-05-16T10:41:00.003-04:00

Well, it is official! We had our final adoption hearing today and Elizabeth Leigh Baskette is officially and legally ours! We could not be happier!

Who Taught Him to Play the Air Guitar?

2008-05-15T13:46:00.005-04:00

Poor Cooper. He is so shy it breaks my heart. He's such a wallflower and never wants anyone looking at him. What am I going to do?

Seriously, he could be the next Justin Timberlake...

Red, White & Blue Parade

2008-05-14T10:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Cooper had a "Red, White & Blue Parade" at school. The kids brought their bikes, scooters, etc., decorated them then had a parade in the parking lot. It was very cute. Obviously, Cooper was the fastest, as he predicted. Oh, and I was the worst mother because I don't make him wear a helmet.

After the parade he and I went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and guess who was there? Mary Daniel!!! She and her mom ate with us and Cooper was in heaven. She came over to our house after lunch to play for a while.

Just a warning - this blog will probably be dominated by Cooper (what isn't, really?) for a while since he has so much going on - parties, graduation, etc. Libby is busy being the sweetest little girl in the world.

Graduation Practice

2008-05-12T14:38:00.004-04:00

Cooper will graduate from Ingleside on Sunday. He will never go back to that precious school. This really makes me sad. He is growing up so fast.

This is him practicing one of his graduation songs. When I watch this it makes me forget how rotten he can be!

More Libby Firsts...

2008-05-11T20:57:00.004-04:00

Libby had her first professional photography session on Friday. She did so good. She definitely looks like a redhead in some of the pictures. You can see the proofs at http://www.kylehitchcock.com/.

After her pictures we (mommy, Cooper and Libby) headed west for Libby's first trip to Thomson. Cooper and Papa went miniture golfing which "the gurls" did some Target shopping. Saturday night Jill and Jackson came and we all went to the Blind Willie Blues Festival. It was lots of fun and Libby was a big hit. She just laughed and grinned at everyone. Cooper did some dancing and he and Jackson ran and ran and ran. Cooper had his first experience with a porta-potty. He was not impressed. Jackson told Papa that they needed to flush.

Sunday morning CeeGee, Cooper and Jack made cupcakes as usual. Cooper FINALLY talked CeeGee into blue icing. Cooper and Jack spent the rest of the time catching tadpoles from CeeGee's pond.

When we got back to Macon we learned there had been a big storm. We had lots of limbs down in our yard but luckily we had power and water which is more than I can say for a lot of Maconites.

Happy Mother's Day!

The old man

2008-05-07T16:00:00.004-04:00

Conversation on the way home yesterday -

Mommy, "Cooper, did you help clean up the playroom today like Daddy said?"

Cooper, "I did as much as I could, Mommy."

Mommy, "What does that mean? Why didn't you finish?"

Cooper, "Mommy, I was so tired I could barely take a step....like an old man."

Libby's first trip to Tennessee

2008-05-06T20:24:00.004-04:00

Libby took her first trip to Tennessee this past weekend. Cooper was more than happy to show her around Nannie's new restaurant. He didn't really appreciate Paw Paw holding her though so that didn't happen much. We had a great time and did a lot of visiting. We saw Nannie and Paw Paw of course. Kristin, Rusty and Sophie came up too. Uncle Andy fought with Cooper and held Libby a lot. We had dinner with Nanna and Pop and saw Peggy on Saturday morning. We had lunch at Mimi's with Lucy, Emma and John Conner. Cooper and Daddy went to visit Aunt Reb too. They also visited the cemetary and Cooper learned that Matt's daddy puts people in the ground. Interesting information.