Purple Fairy

As Halloween began to approach, all of my kiddos started to talk about how they wanted to dress up. God love her, Trinity was so easy. She only had two criteria: it had to have wings and it needed to be purple. How simple is that? I spotted a purple fairy costume in Wal Mart that same week. I popped it in the basket, and we were done. As soon as she saw it, she was thoroughly pleased. She is my pleaser child. She is easy to please, and she likes to please others.

She did however enjoy having me paint her face. She thought that was pretty fun. I bet she checked herself out in the mirror twenty times before i was finished. This was surprising coming from the girl who could usually care less how she looks! In the end, we were both pretty tickled with the way she looked. Pretty cute if I do say so myself. I might be a little bit biased though.

Emma Ray was, of course, a little more difficult to please. We found her costume on the internet. After much searching in stores, I ended up having to order it on-line. That was not a cheap purchase. I began wondering why I had ever even showed her the picture. After she saw it and made her decision, there was no turning back. She was going to be Lolly the Clown.

Yes, her brother is stepping on her foot - on purpose! He was very amused with himself. He liked is because she couldn't yell at him until she was done smiling for the picture.

After much anticipation, Halloween day finally arrived. The girls both had soccer games that morning. Lo and behold, Emma Ray decided to go to her G's house after the game. At the football game the night before, she had somehow sweet talked her Poppie into letting her spend the night and then bringing her to soccer the next morning. I think he is just a sucker for cute little girls that bat their eyes. Anyway, she wanted to help her G set up a booth at the church Halloween carnival. This meant that she had to get ready very quickly at the carnival.

In the end she seemed to care the least about getting all gussied up. I think she only wore the entire outfit for a total of fifteen minutes. It didn't take her long to shed the shoes and wig in order to jump and slide. She never ceases to amaze me!

A Boy and His Dog

He spends the majority of his day "roping cows". Just ask him. Everyone in the house must beware of his flying rope, lest we get whacked across the face. All of the animals in our house are fair game. Cats, dogs - it doesn't matter the species. They are all his "cows" when he is in cowboy mode.

And yes, I constantly tell him to leave the poor dogs alone. Most often, his victim is Cookie - our beloved Shi-Tzu. I try to keep her safe, but she keeps coming back for more.

It looks innocent enough, but that is how it always starts.

First, he spots his "cow".

Then, he moves in for the take down.

He likes to sneak up behind his prey and catch them by surprise. It must be some instinctual hunting reflex. I think only boys have this, because I've never seen the girls act this way.

He is going for the take down now. It so reminds me of his Daddy flanking the real cows.

He needed to take a little break to look at the real cows out in the pasture.

Just look at that fluffy little face. I could just eat her up. She is so loveable - not to mention very TOLERANT!

I think he has her right where he wants her now. He looks like he is gettin' kinda serious.

VICTORIOUS! He has conquered the beast. I just don't know if she is a cow or a horse at this point. Poor cookie!

Imagination!

Oh how I love this girl! She has such a vivid imagination!

Just this morning she was planning a party in my closet. She looked so cute in my white heels. She had just gotten out of the bath tub, so of course wasn't wearing anything else. This child has such an aversion to wearing clothing.

She peeked out of the closet to tell her bathing brother that he could not come to the party yet. She quickly closed the door behind her to finish the party preparations.


This is where the distinction between boys and girls comes in. Cooper looks back at me, and in his little growly voice he said, "I come to you party.... and I bwow you candles out." Then he inhales deeply and makes a big blowing noise. I couldn't help but laugh at his cute little self.



By the way - don't you think this picture gives new meaning to the phrase "cutting the grass"?

It's a Cuppy

Early this morning, I was abruptly awakened by my baby boy asking for his "sippy". As usual, he had wandered in sometime during the wee morning hours. I stumbled into the kitchen to pour some juice in his sippy cup. I wandered back to my room, and snuggled up next my boy. He was suddenly very content. All was perfect in his world again. Then suddenly it hit me!

What happened to "cuppy"? This has been his name for his sippy cup since he had a name for it. This is his cute mispronunciation or combination of the words sippy and cup. Eventually, he settled on "cuppy". Why is he now calling it a "sippy"? It is just another jolting reminder that my baby is growing up.

Several nights ago, Cooper was in the floor playing with a hermit crab. The same one's that he warns everyone about, saying, "the crab bite your penis". All of that thanks to his father's weird imagination and relentless teasing. He yelled in the other room to his big sister, "Come look at this Emma!" She entered the room saying, "I'll look if you'll call me MeRay instead of Emma." You see, "Me Ray" is what he has always called her. It is another one of his cute mispronunciations. Me Ray is his way of saying Emma Ray. In that moment, the big sister all of seven, also noticed that his cute and innocent "babiness" was slipping away. Much like her mom, she was trying desperately to stop the process. Can I just put a brick on his head and make it stop?

Pretty soon, I know that my sweet four year old middle child will realize that we live on Pleasant Valley Road. Man will I miss her telling me that we live on "Villey Valley" road. I guess it is just the natural coarse of progression. After all, it would be a shame for her to incorrectly fill out the address section of her college applications!

Missing My Baby,

Cooper's Mom