Happy Birthday Cooper and Nana!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!! Happy Birthday to you!!!! It's Cooper AND Nana's birthday today! Cooper is the big ONE and I won't mention how "young" Nana is. :) I don't think she would like for me telling the whole world her age. he he

It's amazing how much difference a year makes! The first picture is of Cooper when he was just a few weeks old and the other one was taken at his party on Saturday. He's gotten SO BIG! He is such a wonderful baby and I thank God every day for giving me two happy, healthy babies. We did save him a present to open tonight so that he kind of "knows" today is his actual birthday. Of course technically he won't be one until 11:55 pm - Ha! But we'll go ahead and celebrate. :)

Birthday pictures

So here are a few pictures from the party. I made the cake myself - a tradition I've started with the kids and I was very proud of how well it came out! Cooper had a great turnout and the party was a hit. He got lots of toys and some much needed pjs. His birthday is tomorrow and I still can't believe it's been a year already! He's taking a step here and there but not really showing any interest in walking just yet.

Isn't he just the prettiest little blue eyed boy in the whole wide world????

Happy Birthday to Al

Today is Al's birthday! He is 32 years old - wow! He doesn't know it yet, but the kids got him a grill set for his grill. He's been wanting one for awhile and they finally took the hint! :)

Cooper's party was this past Saturday and it went great! The cake came out wonderfully and he had a really good turnout. I should have pictures up tomorrow of that. Cooper turns one officially on the 30th and then goes for his one year check up on the 31st. Poor thing! :(

Anyways, come back tomorrow to see if I've posted pics!

Bed time routine

If Olivia is anything, it's consistent. Every night we have the same bed time routine. I read her at least 3 books, usually 4 every night. The order is this....
1. Pookey Little Puppy
2. Love You Forever
3. Olivia the Pig
4. Goodnight Moon

Sometimes we don't read Olivia the Pig, but her routine usually doesn't vary! I think it's so neat that she loves the Pookey little puppy book - that was my favorite as a kid too! I try to skip pages but Olivia knows the story so well she'll say "No Mama, you have to read about him digging the hole. I can't read so you have too!" - which makes me feel like a total turd for trying to deceive her in the first place! Ha! Love You Forever is the "Boy growing up book" and when she tells me she wants to read Olivia the Pig she'll say "because I'm Olivia the little girl, not Olivia the pig, that book is about Olivia the pig, not me" - Like I didn't know! Ha Ha! And she can quote Goodnight Moon almost word for word. She's way too smart! You would think this routine would take forever, but it usually only lasts about 15 minutes. Not too bad I guess.

And in Cooper news - his party is only two days away!!! I have got to get to the store and buy all the supplies I need or I'm going to be doing everything last minute. Oh, and last night he took one more step on his own. So maybe my little man will be walking by Saturday after all! I wonder what books I'll have to read to him every night?

Jail Time

So yesterday afternoon Olivia comes running in the kitchen to tell me she's thirsty. "We've got Kool Aide or water, take your pick." This started the biggest argument in Olivia's short little life! She didn't want Kool Aide because "it's nasty" (hello...I grew up on Kool Aide and I thought it was pretty darn good!) and she didn't want a drop of water. "Why not O? Water is good for you." Her response? "I don't want water because when you're in jail, all they give you is bread and water!" And the crying began. WHAT??? Now, don't get me wrong, I can totally see Olivia spending time in jail in the future (ha ha) but what does a three year old know of jail? I can only speculate that her Poppy has something to do with it. So, after some major convincing on my part that the grape Kool Aide was actually grape juice - oh, you didn't know there was a big difference? - Olivia went off and continued on her merry way. I tell you what, this little girl totally stresses me out on a daily basis! I sure hope Cooper is much calmer or at least not so dramatic as she is.

Speaking of Cooper - his birthday party is Saturday and we're so excited! I can't wait for my little man's big day! My friend Jenny's little boy Ryan is celebrating his 1st birthday today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!! It's very cool to have a friend with a baby the same age as yours! And my niece Loren turned three yesterday. She and Olivia are getting so big and grown. Al celebrates his birthday on the 28th and Nana celebrates her birthday with Coopey on the 30th. So August is a busy month in the Griggs household!

NO WAY!!!!

Cooper actually took two steps unassisted on Monday night! Wow, I can't believe my little man is trying to be a walker. *sniffle* He's standing on his own really well and can really "cruise" around the furniture. I had him walking around the living room taunting him with the cordless phone last night for a while. What is it with babies and cordless phones? He all but threw a tantrum to have the stupid thing. It's a shame that he takes after Al with that horrible temper! :)

Al and I have his party all planned out now - I can hardly wait! Olivia thinks however, that she will be getting a birthday cake too and I have to keep reminding her that "no, it's Cooper's special day" and that she can have a piece of his cake. We'll see how that goes. Olivia doesn't really know how to act at other kids birthday parties (well, she doesn't know how to act period! Ha). It never fails that she gets her hands on the cake before it's cut. No kidding, she has a perfect record so far!

If you're happy.....

And you know it clap your hands! Cooper has learned how to clap. It's so funny. He'll clap when you clap, and he'll clap when he starts laughing. He's getting so big! Olivia thinks it's the neatest thing that he can clap now. She sang "If your happy and you know it, clap your hands" ALL the way to daycare this morning - which was really cute for the first few minutes but after about 15 minutes of it, I was about to lose it. Ha!



Just 15 more days and my little man will be the big one year old. *sigh*

You're beautiful....

Ha, I bet you were singing the title like James Blunt weren't you? :)

Anyways, Olivia told me this morning that she wanted to wear her skirt and shirt to daycare this morning. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't hear of it. Do you think she cares that she's going to be hot all day in that thing? No....Olivia goes for fashion over function these days. After I got her dressed she asked me how she looked. "Pretty, just pretty" I said. "I don't want to be pretty" Olivia SCREAMED. "Why not?" "I want to be beautiful!" she said. Oh my gosh - is she at this age already???? "Well, excuse me, your highness, you are beautiful." "Thanks Mommy!" and off we went to finish getting ready. Wow, O becomes more like a little girl every day and I just don't know what to do with myself. But, I don't mind because I am her best girlfriend EVER. How *cool* is that?

In other Griggs family news....Cooper has a bug and spent the day home with Daddy. I hate when my little man is sick! Only two more weeks until my little fella turns ONE!!!!

Sorry this blog is short, but I'm swamped with work and can't really think of any of the things Olivia has said this week. I promise to do better!

I'm going crazy

If Olivia doesn't stop with this WHY, WHY, WHY phase - I'm going to go CRAZY!!!!!

Here was our conversation this morning:

OGG: Mama, who drives a firetruck?
Me: Fire Fighters
OGG: Why? What the fire do?
Me: It burns things.
OGG: What do fire fighters do?
Me: Put out fires with water. *sigh*
OGG: Why does water put out fire?
Me: It just does Olivia!
OGG: Does water put out firetrucks?
Me: *eye roll* can we all play the quiet game?
OGG: Ok Mommy! How do we play the quiet game?
Me: UGH - everybody be quiet!
*SILENCE, SWEET SILENCE* (this lasts for about 10 long seconds)
Cooper: BLAH! *giggle*
OGG: Mommy!!!! Cooper talked, he lost the quiet game!!!
*mean look to Cooper in the rear view mirror*
Me: Thanks a lot Cooper!
*Cooper smiles*

So I guess they are ganging up on me after all! The rest of the way to daycare O asked me 500 trillion questions about the quiet game, about why Cooper lost the quiet game, about driving the van down the road, and about two dogs sitting on the side walk. I think I know why some animals eat their young - They ask too many questions!

2 Little Trouble Makers.....

So Olivia isn't my only trouble maker! Cooper now has eight - yes I said EIGHT - teeth and has become quite the little biter. At first I thought he was just trying to kiss, but after being bit on the cheek, I now know better. I'm sure he's being taught this bad habit from the little thieves at daycare because my little Cooper man is the sweetest baby EVER. I just wish he outgrows it soon! Olivia was never much of a biter, but I have a really bad gut feeling about *the boy*.

Of course, although O doesn't bite, she still causes me much stress. She tells me everyday about her and Gracie fighting at school. No one ever says a word to me, so I guess it's all lies. Olivia does have a tendacy to tell fibs. If you ask her her age, she will tell you that she is five. She's only three. She'll also lie on her daddy in a heart beat. I am forever reminding Nana of this when Nana calls wanting to know why Al spanked O so hard last night she couldn't catch her breath, etc and Al hadn't even laid a hand on the mean thing! She probably deserved a spanking, but probably sweet talked her way out of it. Or gave me that pouty "I'll be better from now on" look. I'm such a sucker.

Oh, and Cooper has his get-out-of-trouble look too - all he has to do is smile and giggle and I can't bring myself to popping his leg for biting. *sigh* Oh well! They are only babies for a little while.....

Cooper in pudding

How stinking cute is he???

Various pics

Here are a few pictures of Olivia at the beach. I know they are ssssooo late, but I forgot I had these on my disposable camera. Oops! The other pics are of Cooper after he ate (or should I say PLAYED) in some chocolate pudding. Too cute!

Bad Mommy!

Ok, so here's a piece of advice for all you new parents - don't talk on the phone when you're supposed to be keeping an eye on your almost 11 month old!

Last night I was on the phone with Keisha, talking about Madeline and all that jazz. Well, Cooper was in the hallway playing his little heart out with some toys that were thrown in there. I could have SWORN he crawled down the hall and into the living room. WWWWEEELLL....I get off the phone and notice Coop is no where in sight. Ok, fine - I go in the living room and ask Al if Cooper is with him. His response? "I thought you had him." HOLY CRAP!

So, I take off running into Olivia's room. "Livvie, Coop in here?" A short, almost too sweet "Nope" was all I got. Crap, crap, crap! So, I dash into our room and still no Coopey. Hmmm...could he be behind my bathroom door? You guessed it.....I found him in my bathroom digging in the toilet! He had toilet paper all over the floor and was sitting there having a ball. How *nasty* is that! And no bashing - I know it was dangerous for him to be playing in the toilet, but all turned out ok. I know now to keep a better eye on that stinker. He loves a bathroom and it constantly trying to sneak to the toilet. So, Cooper got a nice hot bath last night and I felt like a complete turd for not watching him better.

It was still funny! Ya'll should have seen the look on his face when he was caught. It was like "Oh shnit! Mommy found me!"

Here we go

Ok, so I have prided myself in the fact that Olivia wasn't scared to spend the night at Nana's or Gamma's house. Ever since Olivia was Cooper's age, she has spent the night off occasionally. She even went to the beach with Nana and Poppy for a week back in May! I guess that won't be happening for awhile. :(

So someone please tell me why my daughter is suddenly crying after me? Olivia told me last night she wanted to stay with Nana. Ok, fine - but I warned her not to call me at midnight to pick her up. She swore she wouldn't. Yeah right! I got the phone call at 11 pm that Poppy and Uncle Martin were on their way with little Olivia. So I guess we're now in the "I want my Mommy at all times" phase. I could barely leave her at daycare today. She cried, and cried, and begged me to take her to work. I finally had to get Ms. Judy to pry her off of me so I could leave.

And I know she was probably fine after I left and settled down. But this kid is killing me with this! Part of me is really happy she wants to be with me all the time, but then another part of me is like "HELP!!!"

Why Mommy, Why?

Oh my gosh, Olivia is in the stage where all she does is ask questions. She wants to know what everything means.

What does hurt mean Mommy? What does seperate mean Daddy? What does cry mean? What does ugly mean? What does night time mean? AARRRGGGHHHH - I'm about to lose my mind! And then when Olivia notices I'm getting frustrated she'll say "You don't have to yell Mommy!" - Geez, thanks for making me feel like a complete toad O! She is getting so grown everyday. And I know that just as soon as she gets out of this phase (What's phase mean Mommy?) that Cooper will be following suit.

I think I need some nerve pills!

Visiting

Here's a pic of the kiddos and Nana visiting with Madeline. Poor Madeline was probably like "GET ME UP! This big thing is messing with me!" Ha! I love the picture of Cooper because it's like he's saying "Ha, I look so cute and they have no idea I just pooped in my pants." He looks so mischievous in this picture to me.

Anyways, Nana has now taught Olivia to say that Jon Bon Jovi is her "other" daddy. She'll tell you that Al is her real daddy and JBJ is her "other" one. I don't think Al finds it very cute, but I do. :) She'll also tell you that Bon Jovi is her "other" last name. Yeah, I wish girlie, because that would be some AWESOME child support. Ha! She did ask me the other night if I was married to her daddy and who I planned on marrying next. You have no idea how bad I wanted to say JON BON JOVI! But, I didn't. My husband doesn't have a good sense of humor. :)

We're going to be

An aunt and uncle again! Woo Hoo! Amy and Jay are expecting their first little bundle of joy in early December (sorry, the exact date slips my mind). Amy went for her u/s on the 12th and they found out they (I use this loosely) will be having a baby BOY!!!! I can't wait to meet Mr. Louis Bryson! Cooper will finally have things evened up - he's been bullied by those two little girls for too long now. :)

Also, Keisha and Madeline were down visiting and we got see them. She's a beautiful little baby. I didn't get to hold her long enough though because my two were *VERY* jealous of Mommy holding another baby. Olivia kept asking me "Why are you holding that baby?" over and over again. And Cooper kept crawling over to the chair and pulling himself up and making his "ack ack" noise he makes. Like "Hello! I'm the baby here, not that thing!" I can see a lot of both Mommy and Daddy in baby Madeline so I have no judgment on who she looks like. At least not yet! :)

I wish I had something funny to write about today, but unfortunately I can't think of anything. I do enjoy when Olivia behaves, but it does make this blog boring! Ha!

Chinese Worms

You should know by now that I'm a picture junkie. I love taking and sharing pictures of my little rugrats! I just can't help myself, they are so cute! I love this little Hawaiian dress of Olivia's. She looked so grown up in it, but she was so mad that I made her put it on. We were going to a cookout at Jenanne's house and she wanted to wear a "fancy" dress, not a summer dress. She's so prissy sometimes it drives me crazy. The other picture is of me (aka Author of This Blog) and my little man. I love the John Deere onesie his Nana bought him!

Anyways, last night Al and I had a craving for Chinese so we decided to eat out. I ordered Beef Lo Mein (and it was oooohhhh so yummy) and fixed Olivia up a corn dog for dinner. Well, of course Olivia wants whatever I'm eating so she asked if she could have some. I knew she wouldn't like it, but I gave her some of my noodles anyways. Do you know what my child said? "Ewww Mommy, I don't want that - I don't eat worms!" How funny is that! I explained to her that it was not worms, that it was noodles, but there was no convincing Olivia. I guess she's seen the previews for that new Disney movie about eating worms too many times!

I'll be so glad when I'm able to enjoy a dinner where I don't have to share my food with Olivia and Cooper. Yes, even he is hounding me for food these days. You don't dare eat in front of him without giving him his fair share. I should really lose some weight with these two!

Fashion Sense

A fashion diva. That's what I have on my hands.

Since when did my 3 year old become such a fashion critic? She won't wear shirts that I found absolutely DARLING because she thinks they are (and I quote) "silly". Silly?? What does Olivia know about silly? And does anyone honestly think I would dare dress my child in anything that wasn't cute and fashionable? I'm so amazed at the things this kid picks up from daycare. Those darn little thieves are corrupting my child!

Nana and I finally broke down and bought Olivia her own little pair of Rainbow sandals. I have to admit, they are super cute. But ever since Gracie got some for her birthday, that's all I've heard. So, she wore them to school today. And made sure she pointed out to everyone that she had them on. I know what you're thinking and you're wrong - Olivia does not like attention! Ha!

He can say it!

Cooper has FINALLY started to say Mama! It's about time! I thought the little stinker would never, ever, ever call after me. :) I knew he couldn't love his Daddy more than me! :) So now my little fella can say Dada, Mama, bye bye and hey. *And* he can wave. I know, I know....my son is genius, please don't be jealous. Both my kids take after their Mommy in that department. Ha! Kidding!

One thing he honestly takes after me is his temper! Boy does my sweet little man have a BAD temper. I gave him a sucker Saturday (yes I said sucker, so what?) and he went to town sucking and licking that thing! After a few minutes though, I tried to take it away from him. You would have thought I threw him in a fire or something. The kid turned RED, held his breath, and screamed like a banshee (I suppose that's how you spell that) all at the same time while kicking and throwing his head back violently. OOOOOKKKKKK.....so I gave the sucker back and the tantrum stopped instantly. He's good, real good.

Of course, I didn't mind the "possessed" baby act so much since he's been saying "Mama" all weekend!