Family Photos

We recently had family photos taken, the first time since Cooper's been here! We were so happy with how they turned out....here's a few!

Long Overdue post!

I haven't updated in forever it seems like! Hope everyone is having a great fall, and has a wonderful holiday season. We spent Thanksgiving with Grammy & Papa (John & Cathy) at Bald Head Island. The kids had a great time there! We are looking forward to a relaxing Christmas at home, with both of our families. Cooper is doing well, he recently began wearing a foot brace to hopefully give him the strength to start walking. He works so hard in all his therapies, he's quite the tough guy! Jackson is having so much fun at school, it's amazing all that he's learned so far.

Happy Holidays!

Fall Family Fun!

We've been having a busy fall! Jeff has been traveling some for work, some for pleasure, which makes for LONG days when he's gone! Jackson is having a blast at school. He's picked up so much in this short time, I have no doubt he'll be ready for kindergarten in July. Cooper's doing well too, he's working hard at all his therapies and loves his music class. Jeff and I saw U2 earlier this month at Carter-Finley stadium with some friends. It was an amazing show, on a beautiful night! 2 weeks later we took Jackson to see one of his favorite bands, The Imagination Movers. He had so much fun dancing, singing, and just having one on one time with Mommy and Daddy. He's also finishing up his first t-ball season.

Hope everyone's doing well!

A long overdue post!

Wow, I just realized my last post was on August 12. Too long! I don't even have an excuse of being busy, just lazy! Jackson has started back to school, he goes 5 days a week, until 12:15. Cooper definately misses having him around in the morning, but he's starting to adjust to having mommy all to himself. Jeff has been very, very busy with work, but the one good thing is that it takes his mind off of his back hurting, I haven't heard him complain in weeks! Cooper is doing well, working hard in therapy. Here's a few pictures of our crew.

We took the boys to a local kid's museum called Marbles, and we ALL had a blast!

The boys playing together at a park -


I FINALLY got to enjoy a girl's weekend away. It was relaxing and rejuvinating, and much deserved!


And I had to share a short video of Cooper dancing. It's too cute!

A Boring Update

I recently had a friend ask me why I hadn't updated my blog in awhile. She said she likes to log on when she's bored at work, ha ha. I told her we've done nothing interesting but to oblige her i've uploaded just a few random pictures. Hope everyone's doing well!

Jackson and his good friend Eli just participated in Vacation Bible School at our church. He had a blast! -

Jackson loves to get in Coop's crib after his nap-

Coop's new ball bouncing toy-

Jeff & I celebrated 9 years of marriage in July (wow!) and enjoyed a nice dinner out-

Bailey just turned 12!-

Coop sneaking a cracker-

Emerald Isle 2009

We just got back from a wonderfully exhausting week at the beach. We went with Grandma & Grandaddy, Aunt Kris, Uncle Wayne and Kelsey, Shea and Drew. Uncle Rich & Aunt Holly joined us for a few nights also. Every day was spent with so many fun activities - the pool, riding the waves, playing in the sand, the water park going to the aquarium - whew!! Wayne and Drew even talked me into going on the big slide at the water park, very scary! It was nice to come home and get back into our routine. Here's a few pictures of our fun.

Summertime Fun!

We've been trying to fill our days with fun things to keep the kids occupied! Yesterday Jeff had Jackson outside to burn off some energy. How do you make your own water slide? You improvise!!!

Ready:


Set:


Splash!


Also, Jackson's cousins (Kelsey & Shea) turned 5, so here are the 3 of them at their Princess-themed party. Doesn't Jackson look enthused??



Since Cooper slept through all the fun, here's one of him for good measure. Happy Baby!!!

Preschools' Over???

Wow, I can't believe summer's already here! Jackson's preschool year flew by at lightening speed. He had a wonderful year and learned so much, he's suddenly become Mr. Independent. The kids had a ceremony where they sang us wonderful songs, and then we got to enjoy a picnic. We're looking forward to a fun-filled summer before he starts back in August - 5 days a week!


Jackson and his teachers, Miss Sue and Miss Mary


Jackson holding his certificate


Singing one of the songs

First Year Movies

To celebrate first birthdays, I make a video of memorable pictures from that year. I just finished Cooper's and thought i'd share. Out of fairness, since I didn't have a blog in 2006, I'll include Jackson's movie, too! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

What an amazing year it's been! Cooper's actual birthday, April 16, was a normal day for us. He had 2 sessions of therapy and did great. We celebrated his big day on Sunday with family and a BIG cake. He loved it - not timid at all like Jackson was.

Surgeries and Birthdays

It's been a long time since my last post, but this month has been very hectic in the Stow household. Cooper was scheduled to have his eyes operated on at Duke on March 11. I had everything organized down to the minute, or so I thought. Late Tuesday afternoon Jeff came home from work with a bad back. He got into bed...and stayed there for a week! I had to scramble to rearrange who would watch Jackson, who would go with me to the surgery, etc. Cooper did well and recovered like a champ! That weekend we had to reschedule Jackson's birthday party - Jeff's bad back combined with bad weather just made me too nervous. We did however have family come over and celebrate on March 15, he really enjoyed that! The next day Jeff went for an MRI and was quickly referred to a neurosurgeon, who diagnosed a broken disc, with pieces of the disc pushing on a nerve. He was scheduled for surgery the next day. So in one week's time, I sat in two different waiting rooms while my family was being operated on - so nerve wrecking! He stayed in the hospital for 2 days and then recovered at home. Today is his first day back at work since March 10. We are slowly on the road to normal again! Here are a few pictures from our month!

Disney World Part 2

On Wednesday, we took the kids to eat at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Hotel. It's a character breakfast, where you shell out a ton of money and your kids get to see their favorite Disney characters. It ended up being so worth every penny! Not to mention the food was fabulous! The next day we went to Animal Kingdom and ended up stumbling upon lots of other characters, just waiting to take pictures with us! Surprisingly, both kids were very open to the idea of being photographed with big, stuffed animals!