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Somehow I missed the "Happy 10 Monthaversary Super Coop!". Oh, and the "Coop Turns 11 Months Old Today" posts. Sheesh.

I have his monthaversary onesies laid out on his dresser. They've been there for the past 2 months. Right beside his froggie lovie, a nose squigie, and a stack of invitations I lost and then had to re-write.

So here's what happened: We woke up this morning and well, he is oNe yEArs old. Get back jack. It's pretty much crazy.

I'm confused, understandably, because I just had him yesterday.

He has been grinning from ear to ear ALL. DAY. LONG. Presh. It's like he's known it was his special day. Maybe it's because we've sang him Happy Birthday a gazillion times. Each time he blushes, buries his little face, and comes up squinty eyed and giggly. Melts my heart.
Somewhere in the midst of the daily doins I've lost track of time. I watch him toddling across the family room and wonder "Who has come to visit and forgotten to take their big kid home with them?" and "Has anyone seen my teeny tiny little baby Coopie?". Hubs keeps reminding me that Coop's a big boy now. Toothbrush, walking shoes, sippy cup, dinosaur jammies, convertible carseat and all.
I stopped today and thought back over the past year. Then I took a nap and thought about it some more. God has poured out his mercy over our little family this past year. We are still speechless as we stand in awe of His grace.
We haven't been rocking Coop to sleep anymore. Somewhere amidst his 4am wake up calls we decided it was because of our night night routine, so we started rocking during story time and sing-along-songs, but not all the way to sleepyland.

Not tonight folks. Rocked that little baby all the way to open-mouth-breathin, drool-puddlin', sweet-sigh-givin', floppy-arms-flappin' Land of Nod.

Then I watched him sleep with his tushie in the air and sang him bedtime prayers and thanked God 502 times for his precious little old baby self.

Lord, you are my God. I will exhault you and praise your name. For in perfect faithfulness, you have done wonderful things planned long ago. -Isaiah 25:1

33

Today is a very very very special day in our house. Today Chris celebrates his 33rd birthday!

33 may not sound like anything special, oh but it is, it is! The 365 days between my sweet hubs 32nd and 33rd birthdays have been life-defining. We have more to celebrate than ever before. More blessings than we can count on our fingers and toes.

What you may or may not know about our birthday boy:

1. He has broken more bones than we can count. He shattered his elbow on our very first date. The rest was history :) He only gave up his love of Rugby when our insurance company threatened to drop him from our plan due to the number of orthopedic surgeries he had undergone.

2. He is flat-footed.

3. He won't eat tomatoes. Or pickles.

4. He sat in the chemo chair at the Cancer Answer for days on end and never ever ever complained. Not even once.

5. He is a crazy dancing fool, but he would never let you know. Ask him to show you his robot. Go on.

6. He is the best Daddy in all the world. He never once pretended not to know how to change a diaper. Or give a bottle. Or give a bath. Or clean the boogies out of Coop's booger-clad nose.

7. He was a baseball umpire. And it wasn't just for Halloween.

8. He loves the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. And Celtic Women. And River Dance. True story.

9. He was a bouncer in college. He once tossed a kid out of the bar, into the street, straight into a nearby fire hydrant.

10. He is a hero. A real life hero. He has the heart of a champion. The soul of a saint. He is the best husband a girl could ever ask for.

Happy birthday sweet Darlin! We love you to the moon and back and we are so thankful to have you in our lives! You are a rock for our little family, an inspiration to us all...now let's go eat some CAKE!

PS. You know what's super neat? It's his mama's birthday too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA! We love you!!

Pappy Addendum

I woke up with anxiety this morning friends. It's about the pappy comment in my last blog. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE know that I would never in a million gazillion years "judge" anyone for their pappy rules. Ever. Ever. Ever. I think parenthood is the most beautiful thing in all the world because there are no rights and wrongs when it comes to loving our little ones. Pappy, no pappy. Bottle feeding, breastfeeding. Crib-sleeping, co-sleeping. Pampers, Happy Heiny's. Giving a healthy dose of Benadryl to assist in sleep habits, not giving a healthy dose of Benadryl to assist in sleep habits. Truly, I think it's absolutely beautiful. Please accept my pappy apologies!

Questions

So I have had approximately 174 mommy-questions pop up this week. No shame, so here we go:

1. How in the WORLD do we convince our little Super Coop that there is life beyond his pappy??I realize that I have made this recommendation as a speech therapist about a gazillion times, complete with step by step directions, but good googlywoogly. This is hard.

Coop sleeps with 4 pappies. Yes. 4. Mommy shame. When he loses one in the middle of the night (read: hurls one across his bedroom in an attempt at getting me and Chris to come rescue him), he is always within an arm's reach of a backup. It's been brilliant. Until now.

The first birthday is upon us, and it's time to say adios.

I snipped the tip last night. It was just cruel. He kept looking at it, talking to it (yes, with 4 hanging out in his crib, they have become lifelong friends), and looking at me as if I had taken his last Puff.

2. Will I ever be able to sit through church again without being paged again and again and again to come rescue a sobbing, snot-bubble-blowing, wailing little munchkin? Seriously. We have left Coop with various friends and family members since he was 3 weeks old. 3. weeks. old. He goes to Ms. Lori's house 4 days a week while I work without batting an eyelash. He has spent the night with Grammie and Poppy Tots and Nana and Grandada without so much as shedding one tear for us.

3 minutes in the church nursery and he is D-O-N-E.

*I will say, it has enhanced my prayer-life, as I pray fervently that no one sees me slip him bribes like "If you stay and sing songs and learn about Jesus with your friends, I will get you a sweet tea on the way home" or "If you stop crying and let mommy and daddy go back to hear the message, we will buy you a pony when we get home".

3. How is one supposed to channel AC to the backseat of the mommy-mobile with the monster mack daddy car seat turned rear-facing?? By the time we have hit the front of the neighborhood, Coop has sweat dripping from his brows. By the time we get to Hobby Lobby or Target or Old Navy or Chickfila, he looks as though he spent the afternoon at Whitewater.

4. Why must our children now be 13 before turning the car seat around again?

5. When planning a first birthday bash, is there a limit when it comes to the number of ridiculous arts and crafts you feel absolutely necessary to complete your little one's special day? Last night I was up until midnight making nautical flag rice crispy toppers. I mean, how could I resist?

6. The food pyramid does contain goldfish crackers, mini pancakes, and corn dogs, right?

7. Has anyone seen my keys? Or my wallet? Or my left shoe?

8. If one can no longer locate a variety of small objects (i.e. ponytail holders, door stopper tips, chap stick tubes), are you to assume that your child ate them?

9. How do mamas get to take showers once their babies are mobile? Did I miss the aisle in Babies R Us for contraptions that hold 11 month olds?

10. If my child is fascinated, I mean beyond words, with the vacuum cleaner, am I to be worried or is it ok to use the vacuum cleaner in order to take said shower?

It's so much fun being a Mama, it truly is :) The best part, making up your own answers and loving every tiny moment for what it is. Missing shoes and all.

Gratitude Overflowing

Tears of gratitude are running down my face. My heart is just a-singin'.

Love. Love. Love.

Counting every blessing twice.

Savoring every single second of this dance. L-O-V-E

Danielle/Ella Rue Photography, we just can't thank you enough. Truly. Thank you a million times over.

Kudzu Frolicking

My Dada is my hero. He went for a PET scan this morning. Mama and I went with him to cheer for him as he drank his "milkshake".

He wouldn't let me have any, but that's ok because Mama gave me some of her sweet tea instead. Tonight we had the pleasure of meeting a sweet little lady, Danielle, of Ella Rue photography as she showered us with love and blessings out at Sims Lake Park. She snapped picture after picture of us acting silly and having a good ol' time. What an absolute treat!! We climbed on rocks, played in the grass, sprawled out on our picnic blanket, and frolicked in nothing but...KUDZU. We realized halfway through those kudzu shots, just how symbolic they were. Somehow in all of our frolicking and gallivanting we totally totally forgot that Chris was radioactive and not allowed to be near Coop. Party foul. Next Google search might look something like: "What to do if your radioactive husband handles your 11 month old." Thank you SO very much Danielle for laughing at Coop's snot bubbles, traipsing around the freezing cold park with us, and mostly, for being so generous and giving. Truly, you are a blessing to our family! We just know that your dad is looking down on you rooting for you and beaming from ear to ear with pride over who you have become. Thank you for reminding us that "you can never lose if you don't quit". When we prayed tonight we thanked God for being so good and merciful. Next up: iron transfusion on Thursday. Lovin' every single second of our sweet time with Dada! "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1