Happy Birthday Alex!

Our nephew, Alex, turned 4 on September 7 and we had so much fun at his birthday party!  He had a Spiderman birthday party, and now Chase has decided that he is going to have a Spiderman party "just like Alex."  Chase loves Alex and wants to do everything he does!  Alex's party was so much fun.  You could come dressed as your favorite superhero, so Chase and Hank wore their Superman outfits!  Here is Chase on the slide...

This is my cousin's little girl, Annie Elizabeth.  She is so cute and she had so much fun!  She wore white bloomers under her dress and they were dark brown by about 30 minutes into the party!

Hank stayed inside and played with his Peg-P for a lot of the party...he had a great time!

Here is Alex about to blow out his candles...I cannot believe that he is already four!

Alex with all of his friends while everyone sang...

Alex blew out the candles...Chase finally made it over to him! (it takes him a while to get through crowds because he is not very assertive...no idea where he got that from!:)

After eating his cupcake, Chase decided that the Joker was a better look for him :)

Chase had fun playing with Olivia Plant...

Alex peeking out of his Spiderman jump jump...

After the party, Alex and Chase had the best time playing!  I think they played non-stop for three hours straight!  We all had lunch, but they didn't stop for lunch! (you know Chase is having fun if he doesn't stop for food).  I have never seen Chase play that hard!  Drew hung in there with them for a while...he had fun jumping too!

Annie Elizabeth also joined in...

Alex, Chase, and Hank had fun playing on Alex's bed too...(Hank loves when he gets to be one of the big boys!)

This is Jack, my cousins oldest child..he was having fun playing too!

Uncle Drew joined them in Alex's room too...he is just another one of the kids!

On Sunday, the day after Alex's party, we went back over to Hunter and Anna's so the boys could jump and play some more.  They had such a great time again!!!  I couldn't believe that they still had energy!  I love this picture of Hank and Alex- Alex is so sweet to Hank and I know that he is going to be such a great big brother!

Hank hung right in there with the boys on Sunday and he had the best time!  Here is his little bottom hanging out of the jump jump as he climbed back in....

They had fun swinging on Alex's playset...

The ice cream truck passed by while we were there, so we hurried out to the street to catch it.  Alex got Batman ice cream, so guess what Chase got?...you guessed it, Batman ice cream!  He wants to do everything just like Alex!  They had a great time eating their ice cream.

Uncle Hunter and Hank practicing Hank's walking skills :)

Drew, Chase, and Alex playing in the jump jump...

Hank and Daddy....he LOVES his Daddy- when I just say the word "Daddy" (even if he isn't there) Hank gets a huge smile on his face and starts kicking!

At one point, Chase and Alex disappeared...we found them upstairs on the deck and Alex had found a snack for them :)

Hank and Gran hanging out :)

Congratulations Pops!

A few weeks ago, we went to the Cochrans house to celebrate Pops' retirement!  We are so proud of him and so happy for him, and we know he will enjoy retirement!  We had a great time with everyone, as we always do!
Chase is loving the fact that George is getting old enough to play with him more... They had the best time playing on the stairs together!

Chase and Hank playing with Uncle Clay...

George and Uncle Wes...

There is sweet little George...

Chase and George playing through the glass...

Chase, George, and Hank got to take their first bath together!  They had a great time playing in Mama Zo and Pops' big bathtub!

Mama Zo and Pops with their three grandsons...

Helmets and Go Rebels!

Ever since the tornadoes in April 2011, we have been wanting to get the boys some helmets...just in case.  I finally ordered some, and Chase was pumped when they came!  He calls it his football helmet!

Hank, on the other hand, was not quite as excited as Chase was....he did manage to keep it on long enough for a picture though :)

Also, a few weeks ago, we took the boys to a Vestavia football game.  We have been wanting to do it for a while, so we were excited to be able to take them.  Chase had the best time!  He watched the game and took it all in as Drew explained to him what each person was doing.  Whenever everyone would start clapping because the Rebels did something good, Chase would stand up and shout "Do Pebels!" (Go Rebels....and yes, believe it or not, his mama is a speech therapist).  It was so cute, though!

One of my best friend's dad is the coach, so she was so sweet to let us come sit with them (in the comfortable seats) after the first quarter.  This is her sister's little boy, Isaac...Chase loves finding other kids his age!  We all had a great time, and we were very proud that our boys made it to the end of the third quarter!

Fun at home and with friends

One of Chase's favorite thing to do these days is arrange the kitchen table chairs so that he can make a choo choo train.  One day I wasn't paying attention to him, and looked over and he had done this all by himself.  He makes everyone get on his train as he says "All aboard!"  Here he is on his train...

Now he is waving at all of the people that he is passing by...like he does at the zoo :)

Another one of Chase (and Hank's) favorite things to do is to play in Hank's bed...they have so much fun together!

Chase and Hank playing in Chase's chair...they love each other so much!

Chase and Hank playing in a box!

I made brownies and Chase and Daddy had fun licking the bowl together!

We went and ate with our good friends, the Floyds, a few weeks ago.  I had to take these pictures of the boys because they were so cute!  Chase had the best time!

Grandaddy

 Before I keep going with the blog posts, I need to interrupt to honor a very very special man.  On September 19, Drew's grandaddy, Carl Cochran, passed away.  We all loved Grandaddy so much and he will certainly be missed.  I am personally so thankful that I was able to get to know him and that Chase and Hank got to meet him.  Drew is so blessed to have grandparents that have gotten to see him through so many phases in life, and I am so thankful that I also get to be a part of such a special family.  Grandaddy was a quiet man, but I will never forget the conversations that I had with him.  He always had a smile on his face, and took time to listen.  It was so neat to hear each person talk at his funeral....I know that Heaven is rejoicing and what a comfort to know that we will spend eternity with him.  I am later writing this post than I would have liked to have been, but it is neat that the day I finally get to sit down and write it is on Grandaddy's birthday!  Here are a few pictures through the years of Grandaddy with his great grandchildren....

Chase's first time to meet Grandaddy (May 2010)...

 Four generations of Cochran boys- what a blessing!

Grandaddy was so sweet to come to Chase's dedication (September 2010)....

This is one of my favorite pictures of Grandaddy...I love the big smile on his face!  This is at Chase's first birthday party (April 2011)...

 This was at Granny's family reunion 2011...

Grandaddy with four of his great grandchildren (Aaron, Chase, George, and Hank) on Thanksgiving Day 2011- this was Hank's first time to meet Grandaddy....

We were so thankful that Grandaddy also got to come to Hank's dedication in March 2012...

Hank with Pops and Grandaddy at the Cochran's house Easter 2012....

On September 19, our nephew, George turned one!  How special that George turned one the same day that Grandaddy went home to be with Jesus!  Happy Birthday George!