COOPER IS GROWING....AND SO IS RAELYNN....

We went in for Coop's first synagis shot today and along with the shot comes an exam. Coop is up to 21lbs 4oz, yipee! So he is still gaining which is great. He has a head cold, you know the basics, runny nose and watery eyes, but is good otherwise. When the nurse came in to give him his shots, they were much bigger shots than they had been last year and there were 2 of them. He was sitting on the table, the nurse laid the syringes down beside him along with the band aids. Coop looked at them and started shaking his finger at her and said, "no....no,no,no!" It was so funny. Unfortunately the nurse did not listen to him and he was soon in tears. He did manage to blow her a kiss before we left.

So while Coop is talking up a storm and learning new ways to be ornery, Raelynn is becoming quite the little girl. Her new thing is being completely helpful. The more she can do by herself the better. This week it has been helping with Cooper. She has given him a bath all week. Of course I am close by supervising but I wouldn't need to be. The girl is amazing, she doesn't miss a beat. After bath time she brushes his teeth and the whole works. It is making my job way too easy. She is also into healthy snacks. It seems all she eats these days are bananas and apples which of course make me very happy. The other morning she and Terry were talking about who she was taking her to school. Terry told her she was going with him and she said she would rather go with me. Terry started acting all sad and Raelynn says to him, "Dad, it's not the end of the world!" I was walking by them at the time and Terry and I just cracked up.

Every year we do a shoebox gift through our church and a mitten tree for Raelynn's preschool. With the shoebox gift, you fill a shoebox with gifts for a child that may not have a gift at Christmas. Last Saturday we headed out to buy the gifts for the shoebox and a hat and mittens for the mitten tree. This year Raelynn had been saving some of her money so she was going to buy the gifts. We went to Target and got a bunch of great stuff for the shoebox. As we were checking out Raelynn was telling the cashier all about what we were doing. He was a high school age kid and really had little interest in what she was saying. As he totaled it Raelnn knew she did not have as much as he had asked for so she hands him her cash and tells him with a little wave of her hand, "Mom's got plastic for the rest." Now the cashier did think this was funny not only because of what she said but because we were talking about a $.28 difference. Then Sunday we took the box to the church and as we were at the table with the lady who was making sure the boxes were put together right and such, Raelynn proceeds to tell her the whole story about how she saved her money and bought this gift for a kid whose Mommy and Daddy do not have enough money to buy them one and how she hopes they really likes it because she would. This completely sweet woman listens intently to Raelynn and when Raelynn is done, she says to Raelynn, "Can I give you a hug for doing such a nice thing?" Raelynn looks at her and completely nonchalantly says, "Sure, if that will make you feel better." This woman tries so hard to hold back her laughter. She is crying she is laughing so hard and trying to keep it in. As Raelynn and I leave church Raelynn says to me, "Why was that lady crying?" I told her she was crying because she thought what she did was so sweet. Raelynn says to me, "huh, I wonder what she does when she's sad?" This time it was me trying to hold back my laughter.

So these are just a few of the stories from the last few days. I have never in my life experienced so much growth than I have through my kids. I honestly believe that being a parent is the best education I have ever received. I wish I could find a way to describe to someone without children what it is like but I know it is a feeling and experience you cannot describe with words. I cherish every second I have with them and hope I can remember every second of every minute but hope even more that they will know how much they are loved.