What a great 5 years!

Chad and I have been married for 5 years today! He is such an amazing man all around. A little history on the two of us for those that don't know....
We began dating in April 2000. My senior year of high school, his freshman year of college. Pretty quickly we were totally in love. We dated for 3 years then took a "break." This was my decision and Chad wasn't happy with it. Then a few months into the break, I wanted to date Chad again and he wasn't ready to date me. This same story went on for about 2 years. But during this whole time we each went to one another's holiday gatherings, birthday lunches, family cookouts, whatevers. We rarely had a formal discussion on whether we were going to get back together or not, or when this would happen. It was more like both of us knew that one day we would grow up and get married to each other. I never imagined marrying anyone else, and the thought of Chad loving anyone besides me made me sick.
Well, we had been "dating" if you call it that for about 2 weeks when I graduated college in 2005. We were spending a ton of time together, and neither of us were dating anyone else. I graduated somewhere around December 15. I had an interview in Birmingham on December 19. My plan was to move to another city and work for awhile to see if Chad and I were really meant for each other, or if we were just comfortable together. I had dated a few guys during the 2 years we weren't officially together, but he hadn't really dated anyone beyond 1-2 dates and I wanted him to be sure he really wanted to be with me. Well, I called Chad the day of the interview, told him I got the job and would be moving Jan. 2 to Birmingham.
Chad went straight to Jared (I know, he went to Jared) after work that same day and bought me an engagement ring that he picked out. Only he really financed it and didn't "buy" it. He had 11 days to come up with the hefty down payment, but walked out of the store with ring in hand.
On Christmas Eve he asked me to marry him with tears in his eyes in front of his parents, grandparents, siblings, aunt, uncle, and cousins. His dad leaned it to his mom after he asked me and said, "Are they even dating?"
I cried and shook like a leaf and said "YES."
When we got in the car on the way to my apartment he handed me the receipt and said, "get it insured." I saw what it cost and asked him how he was able to pay for it. He told me he didn't pay for it yet, but was planning to sell his car (he had a company truck so he didn't need his car) to pay for the down payment. He had 5 days to do this.
He put his car in the lot across from Target on Dec 26 at 6pm with a For Sale sign on it. He sold it for what he was asking by 7pm. He came up with the payment after all.

Chad was made just for me! He knows me better than I know myself which can be irritating at times. He is just who I dreamed of having for a life-long partner. He could stand to be more romantic and more spontaneous, but I am sure he wishes I were as big of a Braves fan as he, and would stand up and jump around like a lunatic when Heyward hit a grand slam this week. I'm not going to lie and say every day has been blissful over the last five years, because we have our disagreements. The first year of our marriage was extremely difficult. Mainly because he is a micro-manager, Dave Ramsey, finance/economic degree holding saver. Where I am...........not like that. But we are an awesome team and the funnest, coolest, rowdiest parents ever!!
I think it is unbelievable how deciding to go to Waffle House with some girlfriends in high-school changed my life forever. And I met Chad.
God has a great sense of humor. I am SO SO blessed.

We need a goat! And a baby update!

I have been asking for a pet goat since I was in high school. I've been asking Chad for one since we got married, however we have yet to live in a place that would accommodate a goat. I think they are so sweet and cute, and then you don't even have to mow your yard either. Well, Cohen loves goats too!
Every time we go to the zoo, which is about twice a month, Cohen's favorite thing to do is pet and brush the goats. He isn't intimidated by them at all. He's such an animal lover. Yesterday, he walked right past a goat lying down, to the bucket that holds the brushes, then back to the goat. He brushed him for a couple of minutes, until he saw another goat, then ran to brush him for a bit, then returned to the first goat! He truly cannot get enough of the goats.

 These two were from a zoo trip a few weeks back with Nana, Cale, and Uncle Kyle. Petting goats again.

Well, maybe more like pulling the goat's tail here:)

Cohen is such a joy! I love this age so much and I am so looking forward to watching him learn more and more everyday, then repeating it all with baby Sutton, then again with more children if God blesses us with more.
Cohen loves books! He can say "book" now and it is literally the first word he says when we walk into his room in the morning. He points to his bookcase in his room and says "book." He currently favors "Rainbow Fish" and "The Little Engine That Could."  He also just recently started saying "sit" and tells everyone to sit, including all the zoo animals that were not sitting. At first, I was a little unsure of what my sweet little boy was saying...I didn't think it was "sit."
Here is a picture of Cohen, Cale, and Nana reading a bedtime story together.

Oh, Update on the baby.....
Ultrasound today went wonderfully. He is growing right on track, and his belly is measuring what it should be. He has dropped into his starting position which is making me pretty stinkin' uncomfortable. He is way more active than Cohen was in utero. This guy wakes me up several times per night with his swift kicks. On the ultrasound today he was stretched out with his ankles crossed. Seriously, child, do you think there is enough room to lay completely stretched out in there? I'm still hoping for a great sleeper and mild-mannered child like Cohen. I'll start Babywise the second week with this boy and hope for the best.
Life is about to get even crazier and I can't wait!!!
Kelly

Cloth Diapers!

So, I am really loving this cloth diaper thing. I still don't send Cohen to the babysitter or his Nana's house in cloth diapers because I know most people are somewhat scared of the idea. My mother used the old school kind on me, so she doesn't have a problem with them. I don't think...I haven't really asked her. Mom?
Anyway, it is easy to get really addicted to it. It is somewhat of a hobby learning about the different types and brands of diapers. My great friend Melissa began cloth-diapering with her son right around the time I started, except she dove into it pretty quickly, where it has taken me awhile to fall in love with cloth. She told me about this great website from a store in Pittsburg where she lives. It is called Happybabycompany.com. It has a ton of information on cloth-diapering and you can order basically any product you can think of for diapering with free shipping. I am SO glad she introduced the website to me.
I still have reservations about cleaning the poop from the diapers so I put in a flushable liner when I expect Cohen to poo so I can just flush the liner with poo on it, and throw the diaper in the laundry. So easy! I am planning to continue to use cloth for Cohen until he potty-trains, and also to use cloth for the new baby, who as of today, is named Sutton Henry!
Melissa has given me great advice on cloth diapers for toddlers and newborns. So I ran the cost of cloth diapers vs the cost of disposables by Chad last night, and he did agree that it sounds like a good idea. He just said, "Please don't ever wash my clothes with those diapers." Don't worry, I won't. Unless you get on my bad side:) Just kidding!
So, I would highly encourage anyone who is even remotely curious about cloth-diapers and the benefits of cloth to check out happybabycompany.com and ask friends about their experiences. I bet you will love it if  you just get started.
Off to the doctor to check on Baby Sutton!
Have a wonderful, lovely, not-too-hot August day:)
Kells