2011 - See ya!

I cannot believe how quickly the pages on the calendar of 2011 have fallen. A year ago, Tanner and I were on our way to have our 3D ultrasound. It was so incredible to see our little man again.  Cooper had his hands and feet in front of his face almost the entire time. We should have know then that he would be a thumb sucker. He loves his thumb! It gets blisters, and callouses, and pruny wrinkles, but he loves it just the same. He still sucks his thumb sideways, like a gangsta! It never strikes me as funny until I see a child who suck his/her thumb like normal. Just makes me see a little more of what makes Coop so special.

Enough of the random rambling.  Although, let's face it, isn't that what blogging is all about? Now for a rundown of some of the best moments of 2011.

Cooper's First Christmas - so much fun!  We have enjoyed spending time with family and especially our little guy.  We also found some interesting ways to give back this year.  We are sponsoring a child through Mission of Hope Haiti.  Our sponsorship will help fund the child's education, but we can also send notes, cards and gifts back and forth so that we can get to know the child. We also gave gift cards this year through a program called Advent Conspiracy.  We've really started to try to rethink how we approach Christmas/Santa/gifts. There is nothing wrong with gifts but, we really want Cooper to know the true meaning of Christmas - JESUS. We really enjoyed this holiday season; from Thanksgiving until New Year's!

Halloween - I just realized that I never blogged pics of Cooper in his costume.  Hhhooooo's the cutest little owl ever - that's right! My kid! Not necessarily one of the best moments, but maybe one of the cutest!

Easily the best thing about 2011 - Cooper was born! Even though things didn't go the way we planned, we wouldn't ever  go back to before he was in our lives. Parenthood is different than I anticipated, harder than I thought and better than I ever could have imagined. 

No idea what 2012 will bring, but looking forward to finding out.  Happy New Year!

P.S. Happy birthday to Cooper's first friend, Brooks. He will be one this  weekend! And Coop is hot on his heels!