Bedtime Routine and the Sweetest Sound

We are believers in a routine for Cooper. I am sure that any of you that know us at all are not shocked by this. After dinner we typically will play for a bit with Cooper and then give him a bath. Recently he has really started to enjoy playing in the bathtub. Tonight I was giving Cooper a bath and Alli suggested letting him play with the bathtub crayons that his Big Daddy gave him. He really enjoyed writing on the walls.




After his bath we put his pj's on and Alli typically reads a book or two to him. Tonight I was sitting in the living room wasting time as she read to him and I started listening to the two of them through the monitor that is in our living room. Alli read the pages of the book to him and was telling him what each item was on the page. He then, in his own language, seemed to be telling her what was on each page. I just love to sit back and watch the two of them interact. Alli is the best mommy that Cooper could have. I don't know where he and I would be with out her. We love you Smalls. Until next time...

Thanksgiving, Old Friends, and One Exciting Ball Game

Well let's start with Thanksgiving. Just thinking back on Thanksgiving '07 makes me start to stress out. We started with lunch at Alli's grandparents house at 1:00, followed by "late lunch" at my mom's house at 3:00 (unless you consider the fact that my aunt was an hour late, and that makes it 4:00), followed by dinner at Alli's aunt Beverly's house. Each stop was good, but when you put them all together it was a 10 1/2 hour day away from home that has us re-considering what we are going to do for Christmas as well as Thanksgivings in the future.




On Friday Alli, Cooper, and me met an old friend and his wife for lunch. I started playing baseball with Lamont Hartman when I was 11 years old as well as going to middle and the first year of high school with him. After we moved to La Vergne, Lamont and I didn't really hang out a lot. It was so good to see him as well as meet his wife Nancy. They live in D.C. where Lamont is a Young Adult Minister. Lamont's path to being in this position is truly a blessing and a great testimony. I was so blessed to hear about it and reconnect with him. I can't wait to see what the Lord has for the two of them as well as our relationship.



Today the three of us went to our friend's house to watch the Tennessee game. What an amazing game. At one point after during one of the overtimes Alli, me, Brian, and Marney were all screaming at the TV, I was holding Cooper under one arm as if he was a football, and Brian and Marney's son Will was crying in the floor because all the screaming scared him. All was okay and Tennessee will play Saturday for the SEC championship. Six weeks ago as they were throttled by Alabama who would have thought that Tennessee would play in the SEC title game. Apparently my friend Nick, because he told me after that game, "Tennessee is going to win out and make it to Atlanta." I am not convinced that he believed what he was saying, but he said it none the less.

Thanksgiving Lunch

Alli and I had lunch with Cooper today at day-care. It was a fun time and the soup was really good. The day-care closed at 12:30 today, so I left work early and took Cooper home with me. We played with his new toys all afternoon until Alli got home. I love the time that I have with him. Today he sort of got belligerent because he only had about an hour nap before lunch, but overall it was so much fun.

Pass, or Die Tryin'

Well I have taken the CPA exam, and once again I got grades and I am not yet a CPA. The worst part about it is, I now have to re-take a part that I already passed. The good thing about getting my grades was that I passed what is considered to be the hardest part, FAR. Now it's back to studying and hopefully I can get this finished so I don't have to worry with it anymore. Durn! Until next time...

Whew!

What a weekend. We had such a full weekend. Although it was full, it was so great. Cooper's birthday was Saturday and we had a birthday party. Thanks to all those who were able to make it, especially to those that were able to help with food, cleanup, and everything else you guys helped with. We had a great time and Cooper got so many nice gifts. Along with a great party, Cooper started walking. He had taken a few steps over the last week or so, but he walked between pieces of furniture on his birthday. Allison and I both did the same thing on our first birthday. Today we went to church. Cooper did much better in the nursery. He made it the entire time and the teacher said that he was happy about 75% of the time. After Sunday school we went to a joint baby shower for two couples in our class, the Millers and the Coopers. After that we came home and have been enjoying what was left of the weekend. Me, Alli, and Cooper played with some of his new toys. He really likes them and although he was really tired, he cried to stay up and continue playing. Thanks again to everyone that made this weekend so special to us. Here are some of the pictures for the party. Until next time...

Wow, Time Flies

I am currently sitting here watching Allison prepare for tomorrow and I am doing what I have done for a lot of today, think back over the last 365 days. Tomorrow is Cooper's 1st birthday and I am really full of a lot of emotions. I had a hard time concentrating this morning for a long time. I am so happy and excited about tomorrow, but at the same time I feel sort of weird. This is such a cool milestone, but at the same time Cooper doesn't have a clue. The only thing he's gonna know is there are a lot people here. It is so hard to believe that little 7 lb. 2 oz., grunting little person is now a 20 lb. little person with lots of personality. Another thing we are pumped about is turning Cooper around in his car seat. He hates the seat and we are hoping that if he can see a little of what's going on then he will do a little better.

The first picture taken of Cooper

The last picture taken of Cooper in his first year of life

These are a short timeline of Cooper's last 365 days. Look soon at the web site (http://www.thebussells.com) for pictures from his first year as well as the birthday party. Well, I am off to put together a wagon. My first experience of putting a gift together the night before, and I am sure it won't be my last. Until next time...

My Team

I have the best team ever. There are three of us and we are the perfect team. I know that everyone thinks that they have the best team, and they are right. But I have the best team that I could ask for and I love them so much. I love the two of you and I am so glad that God has given me such great team members.

The Eating Machine

I am amazed almost everyday at the amount of food one little person can eat. Tonight Allison had to get her hair cut and so me and Cooper were at home. I cooked chicken spaghetti for the three of us. Because Cooper turns into a tyrant if he doesn't eat by about 6:30, I fed him before Allison got home. I scooped out some noodles and several pieces of chicken along with spaghetti sauce. I was cutting the pieces up and trying to blow on them to cool them off. Cooper, who gets excited about food (like his mommy), was rocking back and forth in his high chair and letting me know that I was not really getting things done fast enough. Finally as I got some noodles and a few pieces of chicken onto the tray he began to eat. I then tried to start cooling off several more pieces. By the time I got two more pieces of chicken ready for him he was long past ready. I finally was able to catch up with him and his eating.

Another thing that always amazes me is the looks that he makes as he is eating. It is always a look of intrigue, even if he has had the particular food before. I love watching that and wondering what he is thinking. You can just see the little wheels turning inside his head. For those of you who have kids I am sure you know what I am talking about, and for those who don't, just wait. It is amazing to see them think, learn, and grow. On that note, it is amazing that he will be one year old in just 4 days. Wow! Until next time...

The Terrible Nursery Kid

Well...the last couple of weeks we have determined that we have the nursery baby everyone dreads. Two weeks in a row we have had to get Cooper from the nursery because he is so unhappy. Last week he made it about 1 1/2 hours, but today he made it about 35 minutes. Today Allison and I were sitting in class and heard a baby crying. We looked at each other and said, "That sounds like our kid." About 5 seconds later, one of the teachers from the room came into sight holding Cooper. Allison went with him to the nursery where he enjoyed playing. Every time she tried to leave he started crying. Needless to say, we are hoping that this is just a phase of separation anxiety that Cooper is going through. Until he gets through it, we will be on our toes and doing our best to keep him in the nursery. Until next time...

Great Weekend

As I have gotten older I realize that it doesn't take doing a lot to have a great weekend. This weekend started with me, Alli, and Cooper going to eat dinner with Steve, Terry, Munna, and Ninny. After we got home we watched Tennessee throttle Temple in the first regular season game in the rennovated Thompson-Boling Arena.

On Saturday Alli was a volunteer judge at the MTSU Mock Trial tournament. It is good for her to go back and help out a program that helped her while in college. While she was gone Cooper and I had some Cooper & Papa time. I love watching him move around the house with his little inquisitive looks. We played with toys, went on a walk around the neighborhood, played with more toys and, read some books. After Alli got home Cooper took a nap and we watched Tennessee smack Arkansas in the face. The Tennessee defense played possibly their best game of the year and came through with a huge win. Saturday night we went to eat at Pei Wei with Nick and Kristin and ran a few errands in Murfreesboro. After that we came back to our house and played password for a little while. Allison and Kristin dominated me and Nick, but the we changed partners and me and Alli were able to beat Nick and Kristin. That was the first time we had ever played couples against each other, we usually play guys against girls.

Today we got up and Alli didn't feel well. So me and Cooper ate breakfast, went to fill the car up with gas, and then we stopped by Kroger to get some Aleve to try and help Alli feel better. After she got up we got ready and went to Sunday school. We love our church and Sunday school class so much. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to worship God at such a wonderful place. Now we are both sitting here in the living room relaxing.

Now that's a great weekend! Until next time...

One Lost Shoe

Not only were the roads around Cooper's day-care closed Monday, Tuesday, and today, but it was near impossible for Allison to get to him today after work. So as a result I walked the 7 or so blocks from work to the day-care. I picked up Cooper and all of his items (2 coats, 1 hat, bag, and 2 shoes not on his feet) and we made our way back to LifeWay where Allison was going to meet us. Thankfully we made it all the way back to LifeWay safely and with all of our items. Cooper and I waited inside the entrance of the Frost Building for Allison to pick us up. Once Allison got there I started putting all of Cooper's items inside the car as well as my items (computer, Bible, and lunch bag). I then noticed that one of Cooper's shoes (still not on his feet) was missing. I went back into the building and couldn't find it, searched the back seat of the car and couldn't find it, and looked under the car and couldn't find it. So due to the fact that the CMA's altered our routine, we are missing a shoe AND one of our shows is not on. One good thing is that I made it to my haircut appointment on time, which is better than the last two appointments I have had. Until next time...

Today's the Day...

...that I enter the blogging world. I have been thinking about doing this for a while, but life has gotten in the way and starting a blog got pushed back toward the end of the line.

Before last Tuesday I had spent the past 10 weeks staying up way past Allison's bedtime (9:30) to study for the CPA exam. I should get the results in the next few weeks. This was taking up so much of my time that sometimes I wondered if I was ever going to be able to do something that I actually wanted to do such as start a blog, pick my guitar back up, read several books that are waiting, or just go to bed early.

Today I was home with Cooper because last night he was running a temperature and was very out of character. He went to bed at 6:20 p.m. and didn't wake up until 6:15 a.m. He felt much better today, but we went to the doctor to find that he has an ear infection. This is only his second ear infection in almost 12 months, so I guess we can be thankful for that.

Along with the things mentioned above my exercise regimen has also suffered. Tonight I went to the Y with the Tidwells and we ran a little and walked a little. Mostly me and Nick goofed off as we "dunked" on the door facings as we ran by them. It was lots of fun though.

I know this has been a completely random post, but sometimes that is they way my brain works, but also this post was done in two sittings (not the best way to do this).

Hopefully I will continue to have interest in posting to this blog and anyone who decides to read these posts will get a peek into my brain and this adventure that is my life. Until next time...