Stick Family

Saw this cute little stick family on another blog - thought we needed one for ours :)



My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Today was Larry's 29th Birthday!  One more year until the 30's...enjoy it, babe!

We decided to bring Larry lunch today and we surprised him (and his co-workers) with a YUMMY cookie cake!  We also stopped to bring him in balloons.  Alex insisted on the balloons.  Apparently it isn't an appropriate birthday without them :)

For dinner we went to a local mexican restaurant with Grandma Becky.  Becky inadvertently told them that it was Larry's birthday, so they brought out a sombrero, sang "Happy Birthday" in spanish and gave Larry a sundae.  I think he was slightly embarrassed, but he took it in stride since Alex was having such a good time!

We came back to the house after dinner to eat cake.  Alex had decided a few months ago that he wanted his Daddy to have a "Cars" party.  We got a "Cars" cake along with "Cars" plates and napkins.

It was so much fun to celebrate Larry.  He is wonderful husband and an amazing father.  He amazes me each day with his love for me and the boys.  He works hard, so I have the opportunity to stay at home. We are so lucky to have him and love him more than he will ever know!

Happy 29th Birthday, Larry!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is an extremely emotional and bittersweet day in our house.  This year will be even more bittersweet than in years past.

Today, we will celebrate Larry for being an incredible and amazing Daddy to Alex and Jax.  I love watching him wrestle with Alex one minute and the next minute cuddle and love on Jax.  I have never been more in love with Larry than when I watch him with our two boys.  Larry works hard everyday, but somehow always has enough energy when he gets home from work to play with our sons.  He never lets a day go by when he doesn't tell them or show them how much he loves them.  He helps with parenting responsibilities and doesn't shy away from a dirty diaper (or several).  He will gladly feed Jaxon a bottle at dinner time, just so I can eat a warm meal.  He looks forward to taking Alex and Jax to Alabama football games, Atlanta Braves baseball games and NASCAR races.  He can't wait to create memories with his boys and I can't wait to watch him do it.  Larry makes sure to show his boys how to treat a woman - he treats me with kindness, respect and love.  The same kindness, respect and love that Alex has begun to show me.  I love that Alex and Larry have their own special time together - moments that Alex looks forward to each day (and moments that Jax will look forward to as well).  

We love you Larry and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.  Our boys are so lucky to have you as their father.  I look forward to raising our sons with you.  Thank you for all you do for us!  

Today, we will also remember and honor both of our Dad's (Jim and Larry, Jr.) that were taken from us way too soon.  Both of our father's hold a special place in our heart and our family.  They are men that we love and respect.  And men that we miss greatly.  Our Dad's have helped shape us and guide us both into the people (and parents) we are today - and for that we are eternally thankful to them.  In our boys, we see qualities of our Dad's and I can't begin to explain to you how comforting that is.  Both of us wish that we had the chance to see our Dad's fully enjoy the role of a grandfather, but we know that they are watching over both Alex and Jax all of the time and delighting in the things they are doing.  We know that they watching over them each day.  We love our Dad's and miss them so much.

Today, we are wishing all of the other father's in our lives a very Happy Father's Day.  The men who have helped raise us, have cheered us on, have been there for all of the important (and not so important) moments in our lives.  The men that have stood by us through the hard times.  Men who have played such an important role in our lives and men we are so thankful for.  

We are also wishing our friends a Happy Father's Day.  They are the father's that have inspired us, laughed with us, shared the joy of raising children with us and who are traveling this road along side of us.  We are blessed with an incredible group of friends that we are proud to have in our son's lives!

Happy Father's Day.  Remember to never take your dad for granted - love them while they are here so you can have the memories when they are gone.  Take time today to spend with your Dad.  They are the reason for today.

7 Years

Because I don't feel well today, I am reposting our Anniversary post from last year!  Good thing I like it :)

To have and to hold

From Wedding/Reception

from this day forward,

From Wedding/Reception

for better or worse,

From Wedding/Reception

for richer, for poorer,

From Wedding/Reception

in sickness and in health,

From Wedding/Reception

to love and to cherish,

From Wedding/Reception

until death do us part.

From Wedding/Reception

Greg McElroy Autograph Signing

It was a big day for us!  We got to meet and get Greg McElroy's autograph!

For those of you that don't know, Greg McElroy is the outgoing quarterback for the University of Alabama.  He was the quarterback when Alabama won the National Championship last year.  Larry is a HUGE Alabama fan so we definitely decided to go and get his autograph.

We waited in line for about an hour and a half and Alex was so good!  When we finally got up to Greg, Alex told him "Roll Tide" and gave him a football to be signed.  Larry was pretty excited to get his autograph and to talk to him for a few seconds!

It was a fun day and it was even more fun to know how happy Larry was about it :)

Here are some pictures of our adventure:

Greg McElroy:

Alex waiting in line:

He was pretending to be an elephant :)

Playing "Angry Birds" on Mommy's phone:

Waiting with his football:

 Alex and Larry talking to Greg McElroy and getting his autograph:

An excited little boy:

Chalk Drawings

For Alex's birthday, Aunt Jenny got him a 3D chalk drawing set complete with stencils and everything.  Alex could not wait to open it!  We let him go to town on the driveway with his new chalk and he absolutely loved it!  I really think his favorite part was having his Daddy sit next to him on the driveway and create sidewalk art with him.  Seeing my boys spend time together warms my heart so very much!

Here is Larry's finished product of Buzz Lightyear and Woody - I didn't realize that I was married to such an artist :)

Train Ride

Larry, Alex and I went on a train ride put on by the North Alabama Railroad.  Alex was so excited to go that he woke up telling us it was time to go to the choo-choo.

When we pulled up, he started saying "going on choo-choo train"!  We were there a little early, so it gave us some time to stand around and wait...ha ha!  Alex, of course, made friends with a few boys there.  They were running around a wooden platform and playing tag :)

Eventually, it was time to get on the train.  Once we got inside the trainccar, we quickly found our seats. The announcer came on and told us a little about our ride, the rules and regulations for being a good train rider and a little history about the train and depot.

After the ride started, Alex loved it!  He was so excited to see out the window and look for the "animals" that the railroad people put out there for kids to find!  We looked at the beautiful scenery around us.  And we waved to cars that were waiting on us to pass thru intersections.

We had a great family day - enjoying each other's company and trying out something that none of us had ever done before!

Here are a few pictures of our train ride:

Our train:

Alex pointing at our train:

Our train, again:

Hiding behind Daddy:

Loving on Daddy:

Riding on Daddy's back:

Daddy and Alex on the train:

Alex is excited:

Looking out the window:

Showing Daddy all the sights:

Love this face:

Daddy and Alex:

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!

Guess Who's Going to be a BIG BROTHER?!?

Larry, Alex and I are so excited to announce that Baby Cothren #2 will be joining us in April 2011!  My official due date is April 16, but since I will have a c-section we will probably have him/her the week before!  I am about 11 weeks along.  

We saw a nice, strong heartbeat on August 23, 2010 and the baby looks to be growing right on schedule!

As most of you know, Larry and I have been trying for quite awhile for this baby and we couldn't be happier to be able to share this wonderful news with all of you!

Alex knows that there is a baby in Mommy's belly and kisses the baby often.  He includes the baby in his nightly prayers - my heart smiles hearing those sweet words!

We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers and can't wait to continue to update you on this pregnancy!

Rocket City Beach Bash

Today, we took Alex to the Rocket City Beach Bash here in Huntsville.  It was a really fun day!

A bunch of sand was brought in to cover a few streets in downtown Huntsville - there was a TON of sand.  They had few areas set up in the sand for kids to play in (make sandcastles, dig in the sand, etc.), an inflatable waterslide, a huge inflatable slip-n-slide, a few little carnival games and the splash park near the Earlyworks Museum.

Alex had a blast running through the sand (until it got a bit too hot for him to walk in it), playing in the sand, going on the slip-n-slide and waterslide and playing in the splash park.  We got a HUGE slushie drink while we were there and Alex thought that was quite the treat.  The cup that it came in was nearly as big as he was, but that didn't slow him down!

We had a great time at the Rocket City Beach Bash and will definitely be attending next year!

Here are some pictures of our day:

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Playtime with Daddy

Tonight, Alex and Larry discovered a fun new game!

Larry was the basketball hoop and Alex was the basketball.  The idea of the game was simple, Alex throws himself through Larry's arms.  He had an absolute blast...and I got a video of it :)

July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July to all of our friends and family!

We tried to figure out a place to take Alex to watch the fireworks, but they started too late and we were a bit worried about how the loud noise would affect him.  We finally decided to stick around the house and see what people were shooting off in our neighborhood.

Our neighbors down the street started shooting some off and Alex REALLY liked them.  His face lit up everytime they would light one off!  After a few minutes, Uncle PJ decided to go get some of our own.  When he got back, Larry and Uncle PJ went to work setting off a few fireworks of our own.

Alex was in awe of the "wireworks"!  As soon as one would go off, he would tell Larry and PJ "one more wirework, please"!  It was incredible to watch his face light up :)

Here are some pictures:

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Thank you Uncle PJ for going to get fireworks!

Larry's Birthday Party

Here are some pictures of Larry's birthday party:

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I promise to write more about it later :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is Larry's 28th birthday!    Yep a birthday on Father's Day...he thinks he is getting the short end of the stick with celebrating both on one day, but Alex and I are trying to make each as special as we can!

Alex and I are so blessed to have Larry in our lives.  He is a wonderful man, father and husband.  We love him more than he will ever know.

Happy Birthday, Larry!  Thank you for being you :)

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6 Years

To have and to hold

From Wedding/Reception

from this day forward,

From Wedding/Reception

for better or worse,

From Wedding/Reception

for richer, for poorer,

From Wedding/Reception

in sickness and in health,

From Wedding/Reception

to love and to cherish,

From Wedding/Reception

until death do us part.

From Wedding/Reception