shoes...

he has really gotten into feet and shoes lately...maybe since we have him in shoes a lot more than we used to...although he is getting steadier walking without them too! He likes playing with the velcro, pulling off and trying to put on his socks. We have also taught him how to "tickle toes" so he tries to tickle us, his toys and even Maggie. It's really CUTE! She pulls her foot away just out of reflex and he get's excited thinking he's tickled her. He will see some grown up shoes in the floor and point to his own feet. I'll try to send him off for his own shoes to find and "put on. " Today I was doing some dishes and I noticed it had gotten quiet in the living room, so I peeked over, and this is what I saw....Jack trying to put on my shoes. At the end he is asking for "help" (we're working on perfecting that sign...you just have to know out of context what he wants since it looks a lot like "more" and "book" and "ball" although I am seeing more and more differentiation between those signs now)

More kitchen fun

Jack and I were both bored with his toys today, so we decided to venture back into the world of "helping" in the kitchen. Since Daddy put on the child-safe latches there hasn't been as much fun to be had in there....I got out a few things to play with and this is what we came up with...

he is banging on various bowls

hmmm....this might fit on my head....look at me!

OOPS!

Maggie wonders when the madness will STOP!

Mommie, you should wear ALL of them...

Visits with Papa John

Papa John has business trips 3 days in a row last week up in our neck of the woods. We got to see him 2 of those days and it was really fun. Jack showed off his walking skills and even let Papa John read to him and share oatmeal cookies together.

He takes after his Daddy, (and his Bertie)

As a lot of you probably know, Josh LOVES Dr. Pepper. It's definitely one of his vices...but I will say he's trying very hard to cut back...anyway...he comes by this addiction honestly...there was a joke when Bertie was pregnant with Josh that she drank so much Dr. Pepper he was going to bleed Dr. Pepper once he was born. Jack was having fun playing with some Dr. Pepper bottles the other day. He tooke them out of the box, then put them back in...took them out...put them back in...over and over. It's a miracle they didn't EXPLODE or have any fizz left at all as much as they got rolled around. He and I also had fun "counting" them one by one (using that one-to-one correspondance, for all you child development people out there..) and he thought it was fun to take my finger and point to all of them like I was doing to him.

Happy 30th birthday Daddy!

Today was Daddy's Birthday, and boy was it a big one! Over the weekend we got a babysitter and Josh and I got to go out on a birthday DATE! Walking into the Longhorn Steakhouse lobby without a kid and a diaper bag or looking for a highchair...I really didn't realize how much I took that kind of ease and freedom for granted. (Not that I'd switch, 'cause I wouldn't...but it was a nice treat!) then we went to see a MOVIE in a THEATER (the first one since this summer...and the first one without Jack in over a year! wow! We took that for granted too...) Jack did GREAT with the babysitter...much better than he's been doing in Nursery situations lately..I'm sure being on his "home turf" helped a lot too. He just loves Brittany!
While at Longhorn eating some delicious steak dinners....I gave Josh his BIG birthday present...several family members and I joined together to give him $$ to go towards GUITAR LESSONS! I found a place REALLY close to where we currently live, and the prices seemed very resonable, so he has 3-4 months of lessons paid for! We are all eagerly awaiting a performance!
For Josh's birthday breakfast we had French Toast (try making it with "texas toast"! It's so good!) and they had a cake for him at work too..and they remembered, no chocolate!

When he got home from work Jack stayed up just long enough to sing happy birthday and help with the candles.

the Key Lime Cheesecake candles say "Oh No, the Big 30!"

Jack wrote a nice card for daddy....without too much mess from the permanent marker...

and even gave him the balloon he picked out at the grocery store "just for daddy" (more like to keep him happy while we were shopping...take the poky stick off and it makes a very fun "ball")

ps-we also got some great birthday news...the offer on our house was accepted today!! Yipee!

Happy Birthday Dear Husband! I LOVE YOU!

Blackmail Pictures

For later on in life. (not that you can really tell from this picture...) He's discovered that his FINGER fits INSIDE his nose. And that he sound funny when he talks this way....Josh fusses at me saying I'm encouraging him to do this ("You don't want him to be THAT kid...who goes around picking his nose all the time" which IS true) but it was so funny (at first), I just didn't discourage it. I'm trying to do better about it now, especially at mealtime when there is a risk of green peas fitting nicely up his nose...YUCK!

A HOUSE!!

After countless hours driving around town just assessing neighborhoods and exteriors of houses, we finally called a realtor and saw 3 last weekend and 7 this weekend. We had in mind our expectations, our non-negotiables etc, and saw SEVERAL duds...and also found THE ONE! We both have such a good feeling about this home....it cuts about 5 minutes off Josh's commute, more than DOUBLES the size of the rental we've been living in for the past year....and is so charming! Josh is known to be very cautious and very slow to get excited about things (quite the opposite of me) but as we finished up our day of house hunting and were driving home HE was the one to say...."Wanna make an offer on that one?" I was FLOORED, and extremely excited...I was at least going to wait until we got back home to ask that.... :) We have put down an offer and are waiting to hear back...and to hear the results of the home inspection since this home is 32 years old. This has been quite the learning experience for me and quite different from buying our townhome 4 1/2 years ago...the difference in the market....the difference in towns...what is entailed in buying an existing structure vs a new home....and learning about assumptions and expectations....I had to let go of my "requirement" for a garage and wood cabinets in the kitchen...but small price to pay for all this room and all the other wonderful things about it...I'm excited, can you tell? I think Josh is excited about the prospect of some DIY projects...a fence...redoing the deck so that Jack can't fit through the railing...and other cosmetic things....I'm trying REALLY hard not to go overboard with my excitement until after the contract and everything is settled...so that if SOMETHING happens, I won'd be crushed....we'll see. Please pray that all of this comes out the way it is supposed to and if we are meant to get this house, we will get this house...and also pray for my siblings Rachel and John and their respective spouses...they are all in the process of buying houses and fixing them up too...The Fisher kids are enacting our own ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN....take THAT Washington!

and the REALLY big news!!!

He's WALKING!!!

disclaimer...there is some VERY LOUD Mommie laughter in this video....you might not want your speakers turned up too loud...it was very exciting to catch on camera!

I'm learning that with parenting everyone has an opinion about different aspects of childrearing, and each person is as convinced about the validity of their opinion as the next. For the most part I feel very confident in the choices I've made and which opinions I ultimately chose to listen to and follow. The choosing of shoes for a baby learning to walk was a hard one. Sometimes you hear "they need to learn barefoot or with soft soled shoes so their toes can grip the ground" which makes perfect sense to me...so that is what we did...I had other people tell me that the babies need harder soled shoes with ankle supports...but I stubbornly stuck to the more "natural" approach. I've been able to tell for weeks now that Jack is SOOOCLOSE to walking, but just seemed to be missing some small piece of the puzzle...whether that be better balance, or confidence...but I was at a loss about what to try next. At the most recent MOPs meeting 2 moms repeated the advice I'd heard months earlier about firmer soled shoes giving better "foundation"...so I thought, "what the hey...let's try it." Auntie Bethany and I were scheduled to meet up at some outlet malls the next day...perfect time to pick out some shoes....so we did. Within MINUTES of putting these shoes on him Jack started taking 7 or 8 steps independently as opposed to the 3 or 4 previously. I'm a believer! This weekend he made great strides (pun intended) with his walking progress...I think it helped to have SOO many people to show off for and to walk towards...and here is the proof. He even walks without the shoes...I think they were just that missing piece to give him the stability he needed and the confidence to realize that he could do this!

(fyi-I'm not neccessarily regretting my decision about the choice of shoes...or that he could've walked MONTHS earlier if only I had done X or Y....I can see how it is different for different babies, and they all do things on their own schedule...I'm merely making an observation about all the advice and input that is out there for parents to have to sift through) I'm not giving myself too many mommy guilt trips yet!

weekend with the (great) grandparents

Jack's Texas great-granparents "Papa and Nana" came into town to stay with Pops and Bertie for a few weeks. Because of timing this weekend was the only time we would get to see them. We had planned to spend the weekend in town with Mzee and Granny Ruthie but she got the flu (feel better soon :) So we decided to pull a "Josh" and drive in and out both Saturday and Sunday (Josh was still doing that a year ago...crazy) but we are so glad we did. Here are some of the pictures of the weekend:

Pops was at dialysis when we first got there...so we played around and visited while waiting for him to get back. Jack was very interested in this picture of Pops and even pointed towards it when we said "where's pops?"

Jack had so much fun playing "wake up Bertie" and wrestling in the floor with her.He got lots of nice snuggles with Papa and Nana. I cracked up at one point when we were talking about "Nana" and he started doing the sign for "banana"He got to snuggle with Pops too and read his new "Jack" book with Bertie. It has lift the flaps AND pop ups...and is already coming apart from so much "love"!

Jack also got a VERY special delivery from Lubbock....a "Sharon" original piece of artwork just for him. Sharon and her dear hubby Leon are Josh's godparents...so they would get Jack's "great-godparents"...does it work that way?


We had a lot of fun playing Wii bowling. This is one of the first times I've ever hung out with Josh's grandparents where we didn't play a single game of dominoes...but Bowling was quite an experience was good. They are the only great-grandparents I know who know how to play video games. They even played their own bowling tournament after the rest of us were worn out. It was so fun! They are VERY competitive. I can see where Josh gets his streak from.

we took lots and lots of pictures as is a Cooper/Howell tradition. Here is a picture of 4 generations of Howells. We are so glad we got a chance to hang out with you guys this weekend!

Happy Valentines Day!

I just thought this was funny....
Here are the Valentine's cards we gave and received as a family....awww.....

Didn't Jack do a good job picking out his cards to us?
But honestly, one of my favorites was this one we got in the mail from Belmont...
Here is the front....
and here is the inside...it says:

At first my reaction was "awwwww, that's so sweet!" soon followed by "gag me!" and ending up with a rolling of my eyes and "whatever!"

As most of you probably know, Josh and I met at Belmont, on the first day of Freshman Orientation (we were on the same "Tower Team"--- GO SHRIMP!) His best friend from High School (and college roommate, Jack's "Uncle" Kyle) was one of my best friends from church youth group...and we met through him....and we've been together ever since. Let me be clear, we have only fond memories of Belmont. I am proud to have gone to that school and still miss those carefree days (I THOUGHT I knew stress...sigh..)....but don't they know that I'm still paying off the loans it took to go to that dadgum expensive school.....I can't send them a GIFT!!! sheesh! (and btw-what kind of research time did it take for them to put the 2 of us together AND that we "found" each other at Belmont, AND our new address...creepy...) I'm wondering how many other of our friends who got together at Belmont and stayed together got one of these cards too....

this weather is amazing!

I've been trying to get him out in the sunshine as much as possible the past few days. Yesterday we even had a "picnic" out on our deck. We walked to the bank, Hobby Lobby, the Library, ALL OVER the place over the past few days. At one point the other day he got tired of being in the stroller, so while we did our route through the cemetery (no, it's not that creepy at all, and there are almost NO cars!) I let him "push" the stroller and he thought he was BIG STUFF! He did really well until he decided to explore the pavement and wanted to pick up gravel etc. This weather is so wonderful, I hope it lasts a long time!

spooning

I don't know if I'm a bit overdue to begin teaching Jack how to eat with a spoon. Yesterday he wasn't too excited about it...probably because it is much faster to eat scrambled eggs with his fingers...but once he saw how excited I was getting, he got into it more. Today went much better...he still can't scoop the food into the spoon..although I did have him pick up some with his fingers and put it into the spoon, and he isn't completely coordinated enough to get it to his mouth without spilling most of it out, but we are getting there. Today instead of pushing the spoon away, he was eagerly reaching for it to take it from my hand. I love how his face looks when he is trying to suck the scrambled egg off the spoon. :)

sweet picture

I came upon this last night and I thought it was cute.....Jack's shoes aren't usually left in the kitchen...but we had to act fast since there was....um...an EXPLOSION in SOMEONE"S diaper...so he got stripped fast...and Josh's shoes are his emergency-let-the-dog-out shoes. Will my baby's feet really grow to be this big someday? I mean, he is the spitting image of his daddy. :)

winter wonderland and cabin fever

It snow A LOT up here. More thank I've seen in Nashville in a long time. It's a good thing the schools up here build in at least 2x the snowdays as MNPS, because they seriously get out if there is a flake in the air, even if there is nothing on the ground, like today. These pictures were from earlier in the week. On sunday afternoon the weather was a balmy 60something, so we took a walk up to the coffee shop (about 1.5 miles round trip, a nice walk) and it was a bit breezy at the end, but still nice. I didn't believe for a second we would get the snow they were predicting...but we sure did!! A LOT, and then some more a few days later! Schools have been out a lot this week, and it seems to follow a pattern that bad weather occurs around Thursdays, because for the past 3 weeks CBS has been cancelled due to school being out. I'm getting VERY behind, because I haven't picked up the materials for this semester yet, so I'm now at least 3 or 4 weeks behind! :( As long as the roads aren't bad, Jack and I still get out and do what needs to be done...and then some! Lately We've been doing some recon work for HOUSE HUNTING! getting to know neighborhoods, etc. Right now there are 5 homes that I am itching to get a look at....they look like good deals and meet all our criteria, at least on spec. We'll see. It's been fun to drive around, I always plan it around his afternoon nap time, and he's out like a light so I get to drive around a get to know C'ville. This housing market is a bit wacko, so all the rules that applied last time we bought a house don't exactly apply the same now...we need a good realtor to guide us. Please pray for us as we undertake this new step, that I don't move too fast, and that Josh doesn't get too spooked at the idea. :)

Mommie? Do you need me in there?

As all moms can attest to...we get no PRIVACY! Yes, that is the bathroom he's knocking on, and yes, I was taking some private time...:)

[ I've been having a little trouble with the video freezing up, but just stick with it, it'll keep playing in a few seconds!]

So to entertain/distract him...Daddy took Jack for a walk around the house...which explains the funny camera angles....He's not walking on his own yet...not sure if it's a balance thing so much as a confidence thing, but we're working on it. He's very confident and proud of himself when he holds on with both hands and He does pretty well balancing and holding on with just one hand now, so we are progressing. Don't worry, there will be video as soon as he takes his first for real steps.