No. 1 Reason for Friday

Of course, HALLOWEEN and getting to see all those cute costumes that will be coming up to the door. This year, I wasn't sure if we would take Cohen trick-or-treating or not. And I have decided that we will not and wait till next year. I have that funny feeling we would be chasing him in the street instead of going from door to door. lol. And plus, I don't need any more candy than I have already had the past few weeks....

So tonight, I do have a cute dragon costume for Cohen to wear (if he keeps it on) and we will just enjoy some pizza and give out candy to all the little ones. I am sure Cohen will love running to the door every time some one comes up. My parents, in-loves and Uncle Clint and Kimberly plan to drop by to see the little man dressed up.

Everyone, have a wonderful, safe Halloween Night and a Great Weekend!

Our Little Pumpkin

This year, I was a bit slack on the whole carving pumpkin thing. I was so looking forward to it and the next thing you know, we were a few days away from Halloween. So I decided that we would just carve Cohen's small pumpkin we had purchased at Skytop a few weeks back and that would take care of that. I was hoping that Cohen would want to get involved but he just seemed to want to put the yucky stuff back inside or eat a seed or two.

Besides Cohen and myself, everyone participated in carving this little pumpkin including daddy, GG and Pops.... It was such a special little pumpkin.....

Christmas in October....

It is never too early to start your Christmas shopping; however, might be when receiving your Christmas gift. But this was an exception. Earlier this year, we made some changes in the living room such as lay hardwood floors and purchase new furniture (which I absolutely love). I had decided to just keep the rug we had and wait until we found one we really liked. And so I did. I have been admiring a rug the past month or so and told Charlie that I wanted it for Christmas. I have been waiting for it go on sale and keeping my fingers crossed that all of them would not get gone. So Wednesday, I found out that it was on sale, wasn't much but enough for me to say "Can we go ahead and get it before they all get gone" and of course, my loving, sweet husband he is, said "Yes".

Out with the OLD and in with NEW!!!!

P.S. I am sure that my loving, sweet husband will have a little something wrapped for me under the tree.....

Maybe one day, I can talk Charlie into changing out the dining room table. LOL.....

Cannot imagine!

I ran across this video through another blog and just cannot imagine. All I can say is "God's Love".....

http://www.maximumreferrals.com/videos/bridge/bridge.html

Oh, how I miss the weekend...

Something I seem to say every Monday morning. This weekend, like all others, went by really fast.

Friday night, we just hung out at my in-loves and got take-out from one our favorite places to eat. Cohen usually will entertain us in some kind of way, tonight was getting in and out of the clothes basket. Oh, how I couldn't resist a picture of him hugging Donald Duck. So sweet.

Saturday, after our usual morning grocery trip, Cohen and I met Grandma (my mom) at the mall to visit and do a little shopping for some well needed winter clothes for Cohen. Thinking that by the time he turned one, he would have already been in 12 month clothing, which was not the case. It seems the little man is growing taller than wider so though the 6-9 month clothing might fit him in some areas, it looks like he is wearing cropped pants and belly shirts. That WILL NOT work. So the items I had already purchased for him to be wearing now is summer clothes. So with the chilly weather we are starting to have, it was time to purchase some warmer clothes and his winter jacket. We will just have to use a belt to hold up his pants for now. Hee hee.....

Sunday, we went to church and enjoyed a REALLY good sermon, followed by lunch at GG and Pops. We then went to their church to attend their fall festival. We had a real good time, especially Cohen. He loved watching everyone and taking it all in. He did the cake walk a few times, went fishing, participated in a pig (toy) race and not to mention, collected lots of candy for mommy and daddy.

Cohen really enjoyed the big slide,

the Hayride,

the Big worm you crawl through,

And playing with the mini basketballs....

Afterwards, we joined GG and Pops back at their house to enjoy some of the wonderfully homemade cake (Thanks JoAnn) that GG won in the cake walk.

LOVING FRIDAY!

WHO DOESN'T, RIGHT?
So glad it is the weekend for many reasons but the No. 1 reason this week is......

Charlie can now love Fridays too, seeing that he no longer has to work on the weekends anymore....Yippee!

I wanted to try to go to Judgment House this weekend (courtesy of the church we are currently visiting) since I have never been. So we will see if we go.

We also have our neighborhood block party tomorrow night, although the weather might interrupt that one.

But hopefully Sunday will turn out pretty so we can attend the Fall Festival at GG and Pop's (my in-loves) church afternoon.

So here is to Friday! May everyone have a wonderful weekend!

TO MY GUEST BLOGGERS.....

I have only been blogging a little over a month now and finding that it is really fun to share things with your family and friends. Now, I am not the best writer nor do I have the creativity of other bloggers such as our dearest Lindsay (The Alexanders) but I do my best. And although I can guess who some of you are, I don't know who else is checking it out.

So, now I am asking you to just pass along a hello or any comment at the matter to let us know you have stopped by. We thank you for taking the time out of your day to check out the blog and really would like to know who you are even if we don't know you. Unfortunately I haven't found a way to add a guest book so making comments is the only way.

SO PLEASE POST A COMMENT!

(And make a girl feel special, LOL!)

Is there a resemblance?

Charlie has been told before, several times, that he shows a slight resemblance to Nascar Driver Jeff Gordon. So today, at his new job, his co-worker asked him if he has ever been told that he looked like Jeff. And of course, Charlie told him yes he had a few times. Now, I have always stated that I didn't think he did. While on the phone with Charlie, I decided to pull up a picture of Jeff and see. Does he look like him? I would say no but I can see a few areas where people would see that.

So I would like to hear your comments and yes, please make a comment. You don't even have to leave your name if you feel the need not to. But I would love to see what my bloggers think.

14 Months

It is so hard to believe where all this time is going but Cohen is growing like a weed. There are times it feels like we just brought him home from the hospital. And now he is walking, running, saying words, blowing kisses and a lot of other things. It has been so rewarding to watch this little man learn and start doing things for the first time. Cant wait to see what he gets into next!

Cohen's Boo-Boo

Playing in his room!

Here are a few more pictures where we rounded out the evening with some playtime in his room!

An Evening with Cohen!

It can be very entertaining. But lately, for unknown reasons, we have been having a little hard time with Cohen. We believe it has been his teeth that has been causing him to be extremely fussy and VERY needy, not to mention what we have to deal with during the night. But let me state that I truly, unconditionally love and adore my son and I know that times like these come with the territory of having children.

After dinner last night, we decided to go outside and let Cohen run freely. He does like to move from one thing to another and does not like to stay still. He really enjoyed getting in the back of Daddy's truck.

My sweet little boy!!!!
He loves to look up at the sky and see if he can see anything, especially birds. Here is checking out a helicopter.

First Day of Work.....

Today marks the first day of Charlie starting his new job. He is so excited and thrilled to be given this new opportunity in his life and is very thankful that God has allowed this door to open for him. After being offered the job and waiting on some pre-employment requirements, he was able to enjoy some well deserved time off this past week and experience what it will be like to have the weekends off. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he moves in this new direction.

A Family Trip to Sky Top Apple Orchard

We headed up to NC for a fun day at Sky Top. It was chilly and windy but turned out to be a beautiful day. To be expected, the place was packed and people were lined up waiting for that warm apple cider.

We first stopped to let Cohen check out the goats and sheep and then headed out to the Orchard to begin our picking....

Cohen was really excited and ready to

pick his very own apple.

After taking a long walk through the Orchard and picking our apples we went to check out the pumpkins. Cohen enjoyed the freedom of running around and looking at the variety of pumpkins. And of course, we came home with a small pumpkin for him.

We truly enjoyed this family time and look forward to doing this again next year!

A Shop till you drop day....

Except there wasn't much of the shopping going on (I was being good) but I did drop when I got home............

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We headed off to the Gaffney outlets to have a girl's get together which consists of Cohen and myself, my Mom, Grandma Carolyn, Aunt Donna, and my cousin-in-love, Michelle and her 9 month daughter, Kayla.

We started straight for the shops which I couldn't wait to go into one of my favorite stores, "The Children's Place". Love that store. I was able to pick up a few tops for Cohen for a few bucks a piece. He seemed to love the cowboy hat but most of you know that Cohen does not and will not put things on his head so I had to pass on that purchase. So adorable though!

What seems to be a hit with us new moms and the grandmas, is the children's clothing stores. Along with the Children's place, the other stores have such cute clothes. Kayla will be sporting some adorable outfits soon.....

After a few hours of shopping, we were ready for some good food at Cracker Barrel. Love their Mama's French Toast....

The day was filled with good times and great fellowship with family! Cohen even enjoyed himself being the only male in the group. We for sure, need to do this more often. Hope you gals had a great time and look forward to doing this again!

BABIES, BABIES AND MORE BABIES....

Could it be any more exciting then to hear that someone is having a baby!

Monty & Lindsay

They will be holding their bundle of joy, Charlie Montgomery Alexander, in less than a month now. So we are very excited for them and wish them all the luck in the delivery. You guys are in our prayers!

Big Brother - Hamilton Howard

We just found out last week, that Craig and Tricia (Charlie's cousin) are expecting and will be due April. We are truly thrilled and happy for another sweet family to be blessed with a little one.

Big Sister - Kayla Nabors

Saturday, it was announced that my cousin, Derrik and his wife, Michelle, are expecting a little one and will arrive next summer. We are so happy for you guys and wish you all the luck...

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WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR YOU ALL AND LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING THE LITTLE ONES. HOW EXCITING IT WILL BE WATCHING THEM GROW UP AND PLAY TOGETHER. WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU IN OUR PRAYERS THAT THE PREGNANCIES AND DELIVERIES GO AS SMOOTH AS THEY CAN. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU AND YOUR GROWING FAMILIES!!!!!!

What a Rollercoaster ride?

But it has finally come to an end and we are off the ride. Many of you know that we have been searching and praying for a new job for Charlie. One to allow him to be home more, spend time with us and our family, set hours, weekends off and with benefits. That day has come and thanks to our soon to be sister-in-love, Kimberly. Many, Many thanks to her for thinking of Charlie. The job is with the company that Kimberly is employed with. So we are thrilled and very blessed that God has allowed this door to open for Charlie. Thanks for all of your prayers and please continue to keep us in your prayers during this transition. Love you all!

Could we be his Security Blanket?

It is 2:38 am and Charlie rolls over and says just bring him back to bed. This is after hearing him cry out at 11:00 pm and 2:30 am when I got up, went to his room and sat beside his bed so that he could try to go back to sleep. I had just crawled back into bed when he cried out for the third time, 8 minutes later. Where it would then take a while to get him to back to sleep, it is 2:45, then 2:58, and 3:17. He is such a sweet little boy but can I please go back to sleep?

This seems to be a recurring thing ever since he turned one or when he got sick which has been over a month now. It use to be only a problem laying him in his bed and having to stand there for a few minutes while he fell back asleep. But now you can lay him down and he will wake up several times during the night. I say he is reverting back to his newborn days and that he just doesn't need the bottle to get him back to sleep.

I always said I would never be a mom that allowed my child to sleep with us (except on certain occasions) but when you need your sleep to be able to function the next day at work, you will just about do anything. Cohen will sleep pretty good when he is in our bed.

The bottom line is, he just wants someone there. Cohen loves to hold onto your hand and play with your fingers or be up close to you and rub your face more so when he is trying to go to sleep. I have heard that kids do get attached to things such as a certain stuffed animal, maybe a hat or a blanket but this doesn't seem to be the case with Cohen. So could we, along with our hands and face, be his Security Blanket? And this is what he needs to get him through the night?

So, I guess we will have to deal with it for now and pray that he does grow out of it. I have accepted the fact that it will be a LONG TIME before I ever get a full nights sleep again.

One of the boys.....

Sorry about the picture, you have to be quick in taking them with this little guy, however, it was still too cute not to post....

Last night we joined my in-loves and brother-in-love for another one of GG's wonderfully cooked meals. Cohen greeted his dad and uncle Clint at the door with a huge smile on his face and gave them a leg hug. So sweet!

Uncle Clint showed Cohen how to make a paper airplane which Cohen tried throwing it. He loves watching what the guys are doing and hanging out with them. So you GUYS always need to make sure you are setting a good example for this little guy......

Cohen enjoying some yummy corn on the cob with Daddy (which is one of Daddy's favorite things to eat).