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

Makes Me Laugh

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it :)

Two Months

Jaxon Charles...today you are two months old!

In the past two months, you have captured our hearts, gained a big brother and best friend, made your Mommy so happy and brought so much joy to your Daddy (he has needed it).  You have fit so easily into our family, it is hard to remember a time without you in our lives.

Your big brother loves you more than I could have ever hoped for.  I was worried about how he would like someone invading his territory, after all he was an only child for 3.5 year before you got here, but he has accepted you and welcomed you with open arms.  You are the first one he asks for every morning when he wakes up and you are the last one included in his prayers before he goes to bed.  I think the two of you are going to be best friends forever...and I am so thankful for that!

You wear 0-3 month clothes and I even put you in a 3 month onesie the other day - it fit and it made me sad.  I can't believe how quickly you are growing.  My little baby isn't so little anymore!

You weigh 11 pounds and 3 ounces and you are 22.5 inches long.  Your head is 15 cm around.  You and your big brother are right around the same growth curve!

Your favorite place in the world is in our arms, but because we can't hold you all the time you have decided your second favorite place is the swing.  You love "talking" to your fish friends and watching the lights.

You have started smiling this week and I have to be honest with you - it COMPLETELY melts my heart!  I love those gummy smiles!

You love to eat and that makes Mommy so happy.  You are a growing boy and knowing that you are getting all of your nutrients from me is an amazing feeling!

We love you, Jaxon, more than you will ever know!

Here are two pictures before we took you to your two month doctor appointment:

Family Photo

I love this picture - it is one of our only family photo's since Jaxon has been here.

There are so many things that I love about this picture - my husband has his arm around my waist, Alex is giving his best "cheese" face and Jaxon is looking up at me with such a cute look in his eyes!  

I am such a lucky girl to have these three amazing boys in my life! 

Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr.

I've started and stopped this post so many times, realizing that publishing this post on our blog will make it even more truer than it already is and not quite able to find the right words for the enormity of our loss.

On Sunday, April 24, 2011, Larry's dad, Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr., passed away from an apparent heart attack.  He was 47 and had so much more life to live.  We had no warning and no reason to believe that when we saw him on Thursday, April 21, 2011 alive and well, that we would be seeing him for the last time.  His life was taken from us instantly and our lives will never be the same.

Larry, Jr. will be missed by so many people.  He was a great son, father, brother and grandfather.  He took pride in his kids and grandkids.  And my heart aches for the two boys that will never know how much their grandfather adored them.  We are blessed that we moved back to Huntsville a year ago, allowing a stronger relationship to be built between Alex and Larry, Jr.  We are even happier that while God took him from us way too soon, he was able to meet, hold and love on his newest grandson!

I have watched my husband for two weeks try to come to terms with all of this and I know that he never will - there will always be questions that he will never have answers to.  I have watched him in awe as he spoke at the funeral, never more honored and proud to be by his side.  I have seen him hold his boys a little tighter these past few weeks and have felt an indescribable amount of love for him.  I wish that I could take him pain away from him.  He is walking down a road that is both familiar and scary for us.  Unlike most, we know the grief and pain that is in front of us and it is not an easy thing to face.

Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

We love you Dad and Grandpa!  You will forever live on in our hearts and memories!

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Below is the obituary posted on both the funeral home website and the Huntsville Times.


Larry Ellis Cothren, Jr. age 47, of Lacey Springs, passed away on Sunday April 24, 2011 at his residence.

Funeral services will be on Thursday April 28, 2011 at 1 pm in the chapel of Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville with burial to follow in Huntsville Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends on Wednesday April 27, 2011 from 5 pm until 8 pm at the funeral home.


Mr. Cothren is survived by his children, Larry Cothren, III and wife Sarah of Owens Cross Roads, and Claudia Cothren of Pennsylvania; his parents, Larry Cothren, Sr. and wife Jean of Huntsville, and Wanda Kyzer and husband Bill of Lewisburg, TN; his brother, Kevin Cothren of Valhermosa Springs; his sister, Kim Ethridge and husband Robert of Lewisburg, TN; his grandsons, Alexander and Jaxson Cothren; his nephews, Cody and Evan Ethridge; and his special friend, Teresa Church of Lewisburg, TN.


Larry grew up in Lacey Springs and graduated high school from Brewer in 1982. After high school, he joined the Air Force where he spent over 20 years until he retired. While in the Air Force, he spent time in New Mexico, Korea, Alabama, and Florida. After retiring from the Air Force Larry moved back home to Alabama to be closer to his family. He enjoyed spending time with all of his family whether it was wood working with his Dad, visiting his Mom and sister in Tennessee, canoeing with his brother, spending time with his son and daughter, or spoiling his grandkids. Larry was an avid NASCAR and Alabama Football fan. He never missed a race or game, either in the stands cheering, or watching on TV. Larry was a loving son, father, brother, and grandfather. 


Larry will be missed. We Love you.


Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville is assisting the family

Jaxon's Birth Announcement

With all of the craziness in our lives the past few weeks, I completely forgot to post Jaxon's birth announcement.  Once again, my friend Amanda from Little Bean Shop designed them for me and did an amazing job!

I am absolutely in love with them!

Hard Sleeper

I love these few pictures!

Our littlest boy is sleeping so hard that he doesn't even notice that his pacifier is hanging out of his mouth :)

And a cute one of our bigger boy:

A Few Smiles...

Just a few cute pictures of our newest addition!  Words can't describe how much we love him and how perfectly he fits into our family :)

Always sticking that tongue out:

Smiles caught on camera:

He is growing so quickly:

Lunch Date

With all of the craziness in our life lately, the four of us were able to go on a lunch date at one of our favorite mexican restaurants here in town.  I love days like this - the boys were great, we ran some errands and we were able to spend some time together!  These are the days that I always want to remember :)

After we got done eating, we snapped a few pictures:

Easter 2011

Here are a few pictures from Easter morning:

Hunting Easter eggs:

Easter baskets:

Looking at all of his eggs:

Yes, he got a broom for Easter.  Don't judge us...the kid likes to sweep:

Totally my kid...he loves him some Peeps:

And look at the excitement over money...yep, he is definitely mine :)

Examining his loot:

Jaxon...clearly underwhelmed by his first Easter:

Told you he was underwhelmed:

Love those chubby cheeks:

Random Pictures

Here are some random cell phone pictures from the past couple of days:

Daddy with his boys watching a NASCAR race:

A little smile:

One of the cutest little brothers that I know:

Sweet picture of my boys!  I love how Jax is looking up at Alex :)

First time in his bouncy seat:

Ready to go to the doctor:

Eyes open:

A little dark, but a super cute picture:

My Helper

There are moments during the day that despite the craziness of the day, melt my heart!

Today, Alex was acting crazy.  Felt like every time I picked Jax up to do something with him, Alex was off doing something he shouldn't.  At one point, I was feeding Jax and Alex was in the pantry sneaking Oreo's (maybe he is an emotional eater...ha!)..

But in the midst of all the craziness, Alex melted my heart with this moment:

He wanted to help me feed his "Baby Jax".  He held him in his lap and fed him his bottle.  And the best part was how proud of himself he was!

Especially in these early days, I treasure these moments of sweetness.  These are the moments I hold on to and the moments I look forward to :)

Breastmilk Supply

With Alex, I always produced a ridiculously large amount of breastmilk.  We had more than enough for our son and probably enough to feed a third world country with what was left over.  There is only a certain amount of time you can store breastmilk, so once that time had expired it broke my heart to throw out a bunch of milk.

So far, this is my breastmilk stash:

We totaled it up and I have 491 ounces in my freezer as of today.  Jax nurses and also gets bottle fed, this is just the excess that I am pumping.  I have looked into donating most of this milk and hope that is something I am able to do.  If you know of anyone that needs breastmilk, please send them my way :)