From Our Family to Yours

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 

Merry Christmas from the Cooley Family! 

We Give Thanks

A Happy Road

Not sure who all visits this blog but wanted to let you know we have started an additional blog HERE.  Please hop over and join us in this new chapter of our lives.  I will still post here on occasion as this serves as a baby book of sorts for E.

Pack Rat

E:  Mama, Daddy is a pack rat.  That means he doesn't like to throw things away. 
Me:  Eleanor, where did you learn that word?
E: Caillou, of course!

Eleanor on the Doctrine of the Atonement

This morning Eleanor was being dishonest about something and this is the conversation which insued.

Me: Eleanor, you are not telling the truth.  The Bible tells us that dishonesty is a sin.  It says, you shall not lie. 

E:  Mama, Jesus already died for our sins.

Me: But that doesn't mean you should keep on sinning.

Daddy: Yes Eleanor, that is correct but when we love Jesus we do not want to sin.

Theology with E

E:  Mama, when did God die?
Me:  Well E, Jesus died on the cross for our sins about 2000 years ago.
E:  No Mama, when did God die?
Me:  God did not die, Jesus died and Jesus is God's son.
E: Mama, Jesus is God so God is God's son.  Now that's funny!

ROY G BIV

The other day E and her Na Na were coloring a picture.  E asked me, "Mama, what colors are in the rainbow?"  I replied, "ROY G BIV" and E replied, "I don't have that color!"

Friday Funny

This morning Eleanor crawled up in my lap while I sat at the kitchen table drinking my coffee.  After a couple minutes she poked at my belly and said "Mom, you are getting a little squishy!"  Nothing like your child telling you that you are getting squishy to motivate you to exercise.  It's a good thing I joined the gym this week.

Yee Haw Cowgirl

Eleanor has spent the week at horse camp.  A local riding place was holding a Vacation Bible School/Horse Camp and we decided to let E participate.  This girl loves her some horseback riding.  She has even started talking about taking riding lessons.  It has been interesting to hear the things she has learned about horses while at camp.  She can tell you all about how you can tell how a horse is feeling by the way it holds it ears (if they are flat back they are mad and will nip you) and she knows why they flick their tails (to rid themselves of flies) and she can tell you that their eyes are on the sides of their heads unlike ours.  She was one of the youngest kids at camps and I would chuckle watching her try to mount the horse.  Her very long almost 4 year old legs are still not long enough to reach the stirrups.  I am looking forward to many more horseback rides in the years to come!

Our Little Track Star

Wordless Wednesday/ Where Did My Baby Go?

Lake Cherokee

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Cooley Lakehouse over Memorial Day weekend. 

 Eleanor and Mama riding the wave runner.

 Splish, Splash

 The beautiful backyard

 Cutest boat captain ever

My handsome hubby skiing slalom

First and Last

Last Wednesday was Eleanor's last day of Pre-K 3.  She had a great year and loved her teachers and friends.  Over the year E developed a love for letters and writing.  She has also become quite the crafty little girl despite her mom's craft deficiencies.  Eleanor loved to be the pledge helper and as her teacher's have told me she is quite the mother hen in the classroom.  Her teachers also said she loves to help and was always willing to clean up (hmm, how come that doesn't happen at home?!?).

Sweet Friends Swinging

Re-Post

Tonight at the dinner table I told Eleanor she was acting like an animal.  Her response, "Mooooooo!"  Not what I was looking for.  Her daddy looked up and said "I don't think that was an insult to her."

Oh are we in trouble when we hit the teenage years!

Pure Awesomeness

Eleanor loves to dress herself and has a very unique sense of style.  Yesterday we were getting ready to run errands and this is what she came up with....PURE AWESOMENESS!

Facebook Repeat

E just said "Mama, I need to put on my stinky booger shoes." At first I could not figure out what she was talking about but then it hit me, KC and the Sunshine Band, " I wanna put on my my my my my boogie shoes."

Tea Party

Yesterday, we spent Easter with our dear friends the Tudtud family. We have spent the past 4 Easters with them and it has become such a fun tradition. Late in the afternoon Seth and Eleanor decided to have a tea party. Seth was trying to pour the tea and Eleanor objected by saying, "No Seth no, the lady pours the tea!" I so wish we would have captured that on video camera. The thing that made it even a little funnier was that both Seth and Eleanor had their shirts off. I tried to tell E that it was not ladylike to go around topless and she just laughed.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

Riding the Rails

We made a trip into the city today to visit all the "aminals" at the Lincoln Park Zoo and to eat lunch at Chick-Fil-A. One of the best parts of the trip for E is taking public transportation. We ride the train into the city and then we either ride the bus or take a taxi to get from one end of the city to the other. Today I took some photos to help pass the time on the train. Here is E riding the rails!
As you can tell E was in a pretty funny mood this morning and was hamming it up for the camera. Love this girl to pieces!

Little Gymnast

Eleanor continues to amaze me with her athleticism. We are in our third session of gymnastics and the girl LOVES it. Her favorite apparatus is the bars. She has amazing upper body strength and can hang and swing forever. Yesterday I snuck in to her lesson to snap a couple of photos.


And my favorite picture of the day....check out that air between my girls feet and the beam:

"Air Eleanor"

Special Occasion

I made E some puppy dog pancakes for Valentine's Day. They had m&m's and chocolate chips on them. She asked for them this morning and I told her they were only for special occasions. Her response, "I am a special occasion." Yes my little one, you are a special occasion.

Another Funny

Today in the car E asked me a question. I nonchalantly responded, " I don't know babe." E gasped and said, "Mama, why did you call me babe? I'm not daddy!" She then asked me the same question and prompted me to reply, "I don't know baby girl."

Funny

Tonight E was on skype with her Na Na. When it was time to say goodnight this is the conversation that ensued:

E: I want to stay with Na Na. I don't want to hang up.
Me: Ok, do you want me to put you on a plane to go to FL?
E: Will you go with me on the plane?
Me: No, I think I will stay here.
E: Who will go with me?
Me: No one. I'll send your lovey with you.
E: My lovey? He can't sit on the plane with me, he doesn't have any legs and HE CAN"T OPEN MY SNACKS.

Oh precious E! You are serious about your snacks!

Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You

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