Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

This year Halloween was so much fun!  Alex had a blast and really got into trick or treating - I'm thinking the candy that people gave him was a pretty good incentive for participating in the holiday :)

Alex dressed up as Scooby Doo.  We got the costume last year when he was REALLY into Scooby.  Thankfully, this year he loves Scooby Doo just as much!  Most of the day, he asked us when it was time put on his costume and go trick or treating.  We kept telling him that we would put it on after dinner - as soon as dinner was over, he was racing to the closet and reaching for his costume!

After he got dressed, posed for a few pictures and grabbed his trick or treat pumpkin, the three of us went to a few houses on our street.  It was great seeing him say "trick or treat" to get his candy and then "thank you much" after he got some!  I went home after the first couple of houses to give our trick or treaters some candy and Larry took Alex out to a few more houses.  When they returned home, Alex had a big smile on his face and a full bucket of candy - he was a happy kid!

Here are a few pictures of our cute little Scooby Doo:


Cheesin':

Silly kid:

I just love this little Scooby bum:

Showing me his light from Grandma Karen:

Cute kid:


Saturday, October 30, 2010

Fall Festival

This afternoon we took Alex to the fall festival at his school.  They had bounce houses, huge slides, lots of yummy food, trunk or treating and lots of cute little kids dressed up!  Alex had so much fun and we had a great time watching him run around.

We dressed him up in his Scooby costume and most everyone that passed by us told us how cute he looked.  In the midst of many Toy Story characters, witches, fairies and ninja's, Alex was the only little one dressed as Scooby.  

He thought going from car to car and getting candy was pretty neat, but he was a little leary of the adults dressed up.  Fortunately, it didn't let him stop him from getting candy!

Another great family memory!  Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon:

Getting some candy with Daddy:

Our Scooby Doo:

Climbing up the slide:

Sliding down:

Climbing up the obstacle course:

And through the tunnel:

Love this kid:

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Professional Pictures - 2010

We recently had professional pictures take my Kimberly Greenfield of a green field photography.  She did an amazing job and got amazing shots of our family.

Here are several collages I made from the pictures she gave us....Enjoy!!  You should be able to click on each collage separately to see them!





Saturday, October 23, 2010

My Second Painting - a Snowman

Tonight, my friend Jess and I went to the painting class at My Spirited Art.  The picture of the night was a snowman.

I had an absolute blast, both painting and spending time with Jess.

Here is my finished product:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Five Years...


Even though I say it every year, I just can’t believe how quickly time is passing us by.  I really cannot believe that 5 years has passed.  At times, it feels as though it has gone by in the blink of an eye and other times that it is creeping by and each moment since that day feels like an eternity.

So much has happened in my life in five years.  It is on days like today when I stop and pause, that I realize just how much they have missed out on.  My heart aches for this incredible, wonderful and amazing life of mine that they will never know.  

In five years, Larry has graduated from college and found his dream job, we moved to Enterprise and bought our first house, we went on our first “real” vacation (a cruise in 2007), we had Alex and have since celebrated his first 3 years, we moved to Maryland for a year, Larry got accepted to and successfully graduated from Test Pilot School, two of my grandfathers passed away, we sold our house in Enterprise, we moved to Huntsville and bought our second house and we found out we are having our second child (another boy!).  And those aren’t even just the day-to-day to things!

Even though so much has changed, there are often times when I feel like I am standing still in those few days after they first died.  I cry (often and usually when no one is around), I still have trouble sleeping, I am not good in the car (just ask anyone who is driving me around) and I have this irrational fear that the people I love most in this world are going to leave me.  It continues to amaze me how much can change, yet how much stays the same.

I miss them, everything about them.  I miss the things I took for granted – knowing that they were never more than a phone call away, seeing them on our weekly “double dates”, hearing that they love me everyday, seeing the smile on their faces, feeling the love between them and mostly just being their daughter.  Too often we take these things, the things we forget to cherish in our everyday lives, for granted and when they are gone these are the things we miss the most!

Daily, I imagine them here and I’m not sure if that helps to heal my heart or if it just breaks it further.  I imagine them playing with Alex, rubbing my growing belly, listening to Larry talk about his job and being so proud of him, enjoying our dates on Friday night (although seeing me would not be their priority anymore) and so much more.  But thankfully it is in those moments when my imagination gets the best of me and the tears flow down my cheeks, that I can feel them.  I know they are around me, I know that they are guiding me through life and I know they are smiling down at us.  Even though I know all of these things, not having them here to experience it, hurts.

I see them in Alex everyday.  They shine through in his ugly feet, silly cowlick and his OCD nature (all from my dad) and in his chubby cheeks and incredible smile (courtesy of my mom).  For these few things, I am thankful – they make my heart smile everyday.  I can’t wait to see what traits they decide to send down to our second son!

Death has taught me so much about life – kind of a crazy thought!  I have learned the importance of telling people how much they mean to you.  I have learned how the small stuff really is small and not to let it come between your relationships.  I have learned how to fight for what is important to me.  I have learned to love in spite of it being absolutely terrifying.  And I have learned that I am so much stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. 

I love you, Mom and Dad!  I miss you with everything in me!  Thank you for watching over Larry, Alex, our new baby boy and me.  I know that you have been beside us in every step of our journey for the past five years and even more importantly, I know that you will continue to be beside us!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

It's a....

BOY!!!

Larry, Alex and I are so excited to announce that Baby Cothren #2  is a happy, healthy and handsome little boy!  And just like his big brother, this little man was not shy in sharing his gender.

Boy, oh boy....what am I in for?!

We have a name picked out for our new little man and we will share it in a few weeks :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Birthday Celebration at School

Since Alex's birthday is Saturday, we decided to take cupcakes to his school friends on Thursday, October 14, 2010.

I brought in Publix cupcakes and all of the kids were very happy (and had quite the sugar high)!  His friends sang Alex "Happy Birthday" and surprisingly, he was a little intimidated being the center of attention!

Here are some cute pictures from Alex's birthday celebration at school:

Hiding while his friends were singing "Happy Birthday":


Eating his cupcake...yes, he eats the icing first and then the cake:

Messy kid:



Showing me the icing on his fingers:

Wearing his birthday crown:

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Tate Farms

We went to our local Pumpkin Patch today and had a great time!  The pumpkin patch was full of so many fun things for kids and yummy treats for adults and kids :)

Alex had his face painted, played in the corn pit, went down the huge slide, played in the water with his rubber duck, pet a few animals, rode a tractor ride, played in the cotton field and had an absolute blast!  We spent about 2 hours at the pumpkin patch before the heat got to us - it was unseasonably hot and didn't quite give us the "fall" pumpkin patch experience we were hoping for ;)

As always, it was so much fun sharing these moments with our little boy!  I love creating memories like this that we will remember for years to come!

Here are some pictures from our fun morning (warning - there are a lot of pictures):

Getting his face painted...he sat so still:

The finished product:

Alex the Scarecrow:

Playing in the corn pit:


Daddy sliding down the slide:

Posing:

Petting a goat in the petting zoo:

Alex sliding down the big slide...this kid has no fear:

Watching his rubber duck in the water race - he could have stayed here all day long:


Riding in the tractor:


Waving to his fans:

Playing in the cotton field: