Sappy

**photos in this post taken with a Minolta point and shoot**

I’m feeling a little sappy tonight and I’m about to act like one of "those Moms" that I so often refer to in this blog.  Our life has changed so much in the past year.  We went from living on the road full time, to living like everyday normal folk in Iowa.  If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever live in Iowa… I would have said you were nuts!  And yet, here I am.  One year ago this past weekend, was when Cooper and I went back on the road with Otey.  He was one month old and could sleep through ANYTHING!  His first rodeo was Council Bluffs, IA.  We left Indiana and drove almost four hours west and Cooper never woke up once.  We stopped to get fuel and change and feed Cooper somewhere in Missouri.  When I got him out of the carseat, he didn’t want to wake up.  Here he is stretched out on the console of our pickup in the warm sunshine…

I can not believe how small he is.  Now when I change his diaper on the console, I have to have a spotter because he only fits from the waist down!  I loved that little blue stripped outfit.  It seemed so soft and cozy and everyone made fun of him and called him a convict!  Poor little guy… besides… they all wear orange jump suits now anyway.  I was pretty stoked to get back on the road with Otey.  being in one place for the last month of my pregnancy and the first month of Cooper’s life had me pretty darn stir crazy.  Not to mention I also had the world’s coolest stroller that I was ready to use…

Lately the responsibility of not screwing Cooper up has really hit me.  Keeping him safe, and keeping him healthy… that’s the easy part.  Now that he’s turning into a little person instead of just a baby, I am constantly reminded that we are shaping the rest of his life.  Heavy… I know.  It’s crazy to think that God thought Otey and I could handle that kind of responsibility.  I know one thing, it sure makes you see your own parents in a new light.  Otey has two brothers, and I have one brother.  Cooper’s two sets of Grandparent’s produced 5 functioning some what "normal" contributing members of society.  5 for 5… that’s a pretty good figure these days.  I guess that means that there is hope for Coop… if Otey and I start to screw him up, he has four good grandparents to save him!