Baby Cooper Update

Baby Cooper is out of the NICU, and doing great. Thanks for all the prayers!

Trip & I are waiting on Baby Cooper's arrival.
Baby Cooper

Congratulations to my friend Trip! He has a new baby brother, Cooper Reynolds, born today, Thursday, September 28th at 9:48 am. He was 7 lbs., 9 oz. and 19 and1/2 inches long. He is having a little trouble breathing, and is in the NICU. So, please pray for him and I will post pictures as soon as I get to see him.

My 6th word was...

...DOG! Unbelievable. I can say, "Da Da, Ma Ma, Woof, All Done," and now "DOG!" You might notice that 2 of the 1st 6 words I have ever said in my entire life have to do with dogs. This really is a gene passed down to me from my dad...it has to be. I've said it before, but it is so true, my dad LOVES dogs. In fact, when he first told my mom he wanted to date her, he said there was one thing holding him back...the fact that she didn't like dogs. It wasn't so much that she didn't like dogs, she is just horribly terrified of them. So God, with his sense of humor has given her a husband AND son that love dogs. Last night, I was merely minding my own business, playing with my toys...when I heard them...every single dog within a one mile radius of my house was barking. So, what did I do? Well, I crawled with lightning speed over to the open window and stood on my tip-toes trying desperately to get a glimpse of just one dog. After I had spent about 20 minutes dog gazing and barking back at them, I turned to my parents, lifted my hand, and said, "DOG!" If I recall correctly, at that moment, my dad jumped up and shouted, and my mom sat down and cried. I think she's bending a little. After 7 years, she hasn't given into my dad's desire for a dog, but I think she might just give in to mine!

"ALL DONE!"

My parents have been trying to teach me sign language for months, and I mean months! But, I haven't done a single sign. One of the signs we've been working on is "All Done". I'm supposed to sign that when I'm finished eating. To my parents surprise, I decided to just skip the signing and go ahead and say it. My parents weren't too sure that I was really saying it, but after proudly shouting, "Ah Duh" for 4 meals in a row, I think they finally believe me. Most kids do the "more" sign right away, because they want to eat more. But not me, I only care about "All Done". . . perhaps this is why I'm not gaining so much weight?!

Teletubbie?

No, this is not my Teletubbie Halloween costume. On Friday, I decided to meet my dad at the bus stop and walk home with him. Well, obviously it was a little cold here, but my blue fleece outfit kept me warm.

We are experimenting with "adsense" which you will see at the top of our blog. It is supposed to generate money for us. Please bear with us during this trial period. At this point we are unaware of which ads will appear on our blog. Max

Cousins, Cousins

Last weekend, we went to Atlanta to the PCA Women's conference, and I got to meet cousin Pierson for the first time. I was not so sure about him because he seemed to be a little sad (like here in this picture). By the next day, things were definitely looking up. And by the last day, we were playing like we'd been cousins for years.

I even got to meet my Great-Aunt Connie for the first time.
Here is a group photo of all of us. We had such a great time...especially Granddad.
I also got to meet John Stanley for the first time. I don't know if it's me or John Stanley, but someone is definitely upsetting Lainey.

Last week, I finally mastered the art of walking with a walker...an art I will have to master again in about 80 years. Hopefully by then, I will have the steering part down. As you can see from the picture below, I only know how to go straight...into walls. It's a little frustrating for me.

Bye Bye Baby Food!

Even though I have just one tiny little tooth, I can still chow down on some Cheerios. I've been eating them for a few days, but now that I've finally figured out how to pick them up and put them in my mouth, I've been shoving them in. Yes, that would be several Cheerios at a time. Amazingly, I can eat them all. I had my 9 month appointment, and my Dr. gave me the all clear to move to table/adult foods, and life could not be better. Not only do I love dogs, but just like any ole dog, when my parents eat...I just go stand next to them and wait for them to give me small bites of their food. Let's just hope this is the secret to gaining weight, because, UNLIKE my parents, I'm having a little trouble packing on the pounds. We will see. Yesterday, my favorite new food was scrambled egg yolk mixed with green peas. Yum...who wouldn't want some of that?

WOOF! WOOF!

You can't really tell in this picture, but yes, this is me saying "Woof! Woof!" I LOVE dogs! Much like my dad and so unlike my mom. Everytime I hear a dog in the neighborhood barking, I stop whatever I am doing and just listen until the dog stops barking. But today was different. This time when I heard a dog barking, I decided to try it too. As I molded my mouth to what I thought would produce a barking sound, the bark just came out..."Woof! Woof!" It really must run in my blood, because if any of you know my dad, he LOVES dogs, too.So, I guess I have now said my 3rd word...Woof!

I had so much fun this weekend with my parent's friends who came to visit us from Tennessee. Thanks for coming Jonathan and Shannon!

These have been my 2 favorite things to do all day today...actually, make that 3.

Spread the tupperware all over the kitchen floor...
and try my hardest to make it up at least a stair or two before someone stops me.

Oh, and while my mom was posting this blog, I came up with one more thing I like to do...pull all the books off the bookshelf. I'm even smiling like "I know I'm not supposed to do this, so I wonder how many I can pull off before she notices."

Congratulations to Aunt Francie and Uncle Brandon! They got married last weekend. Pictured here are three of my cousins, plus my new step-cousin, Andrew.

Sorry this picture is so dark, but here is the whole family.
Here are the cousins again, minus the newest, John Stanley (not born yet in this pic).

Congratulations to Uncle John and Aunt Deborah. My newest cousin, John Stanley Ragland III, was born today, 9/5/6 at 12:30 pm EST. He was 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. Now I am older than 3 cousins...Pierson, Conley, and John Stanley!