A Day to Remember

This past Saturday was my dad's 77th birthday.  Wow, that's old!

Since my brother and his family moved to Boone, NC, we don't get to see them all that often, so I suggested to my brother that maybe we could all meet in Knoxville (the halfway point) on that day.  He was agreeable.  My dad was thrilled with the idea.  My mom joined us as well.

We decided to meet at the Cracker Barrel in Kodak, TN, just east of Knoxville, since there was a UT game that day and we didn't want to get caught up in the crowd.  After lunch we drove to Jefferson City to Cherokee Dam Park and spent some time there.

My niece, Grace, who has recently started playing the flute (which thrills me to no end), gave us a mini-concert.  

Before we left, his grandchildren sang a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday" to my dad.

 

All in all (well, aside from that), it was a wonderful day.  It was great to see my brother and his family, and Cooper loved hanging out with his cousins.  I believe my dad, as well as the rest of us, were very blessed by it all.

Happy birthday, Papaw!

Twenty-Three Months Old

Wow, what a month it's been!  Cooper is growing up so fast, learning so many new things!  His talking has increased dramatically.  He can say almost anything now, though still just one word at a time usually.

He loves to work puzzles and can keep himself entertained for longer periods of time than ever before, which is nice for me.

We have had lots of nice weather lately, so we have been spending as much time outside as we can.

Don and I celebrated our 7th anniversary in August (which was also Don's birthday).  We went to dinner at Hermitage Steak House to mark the occasion.  Yes, Cooper went with us. ( :

We had our first day back at Community Bible Study in late August.  Cooper is in the 2-year-old class this year, which means he is taught Bible stories, and gets to sing, do crafts, etc., which I am very excited about.  He loves to go.  Here he is on the first day, with his "pack." 

I can't believe he will soon be two.  Time is passing quickly, but we are enjoying every day of it!