My nephew, Ivan, is 15 years old! It's hard to believe that it's been 15 years since I was starting college and he was born! See, my sister, Sandra, is 7 years older than me so we weren't that close back then. She had already been married for 4 years and having a baby and I was just graduating from high school. I went off to Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory and was so homesick I couldn't stand it! I felt like I was missing out on so much at home. I couldn't wait for Christmas because I knew I wasn't going back! I came home and commuted to UNC-G instead. Through the years, we became the best of friends!
Anyway, my little Ivan is taking Drivers Ed. and I can't even imagine it! It seems like yesterday when he was 2 years old and we were laughing hysterically about him saying cute little things like "cyclopedic books" (encyclopedias), "umbelllllla" (umbrella), and "we-v on, we-v off" (tv)! Guess you had to be there, huh?
My, they do grow up fast! And let me tell you, he has grown up to be one of the best teens I've ever known (and I'm not just being biased!) He is such a wonderful Christian who's not afraid to stand up for his faith. That's rare in today's world for a boy his age. He does well in school and he plays baseball and golf. We're so proud of him!
By the way, my sister's family are all Carolina fans, but, as you can see, David converted Ivan early on! They keep saying they're going to pay us back someday! Let's hope not!
Happy Birthday, Ivan!
Whirlwind Weekend!
Wow! We had a very busy, but fun weekend! First, we went to Collin's birthday party at Laser X in Archdale. He had a Thomas the tank engine theme. The kids had fun playing arcade games. 
Next, we went to Elizabeth's birthday party in High Point. She had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. Isn't she the cutest little Mouseketeer? 
After her party, the boys and I went to Shelby to visit friends. We went to the Cleveland County Fair with the Webbers. We enjoyed the food most of all........cotton candy, sno-cones, candy apples, deep fried oreos, vinegar fries, mmmmmmmmmm....
On Sunday, we stopped in Spencer at the NC Transportation Museum to see Thomas the tank engine and Bob the Builder with the Burgesses. The kids had a blast seeing Thomas & Sir Topham Hat, watching Bob perform, sliding on the hay bale slides, jumping in the moonwalk toys, getting tattoos, playing w/bubbles, chalk, & trains. I can't believe Cooper wasn't scared of Bob! He walked right up to him and hugged him, gave him 5, and smiled for a picture! 
If you're interested in seeing the rest of the pictures from our adventures over the weekend, go to www.pollockfamily.snapfish.com!
Little Stinker
Yesterday, Cooper thought our pumpkin on the porch looked like a ball, so he rolled it right off the porch and all the way to the road! Thank goodness it didn't bust!
Today, he got in trouble at preschool for the 1st time. I'm sorry to say that I can't believe it has taken this long! For one thing, he has learned how to tackle from watching Carter and all the other bigger boys in the neighborhood play football. So, he thinks it's just playing. But, at preschool today, Mrs. Christy said he would start on one side of the room and run all the way across the room to tackle somebody. He made the other kids cry all day!
As for Carter, he never ceases to amaze me. He is sooooooooo smart that it's almost unbelievable. The only thing I can really relate to is my teaching experience and let me tell you, the 1st graders I taught couldn't do half the stuff that Carter can do. He can read like nobody's business! David took him to the Y with him on Sunday to count some money from concessions to deposit. Carter was helping him count first ones, then fives. So, when he got to the fives, it wasn't numbers like 25, 30, 35, it was like 227, 232, 237, etc.. and he counted up into the hundreds like that without missing a beat! He didn't even have to pause to think about it! I can't do that myself!
Cooper Stories
For those of you who get a kick out of hearing about our daily adventures with our wild child, Cooper, this is for you. I wish I had been writing down all of the things he has done all along, because it would end up being a novel for him to read someday! Boy, is he his daddy's son!!!
One day last week, he decided to pull out ALL of Carter's games and throw every single little piece all over Carter's room. You literally could not walk on the floor! That was loads of fun to clean up. That same day, he got some yogurt out of the fridge while I was cooking so I told him I'd open it in a minute. He couldn't wait, so he took it into the living room and tried to open it himself. In the process, it squirted out all over my curtains, carpet, floor, wall, and Cooper.
The other day, he threw one of my flower pots off of the porch and smashed it into a million pieces--this after already breaking one in the backyard recently. Afterwards, he came inside to drink some milk, but decided to spit it out on the front door instead so he could watch it run down the glass.
Yes, this is what daily life is like with Cooper! There is never a dull moment. He is so energetic and full of life and so tough. He rarely gets hurt or cries and if he does, it's not for long. The only time he is still is when he's sleeping or when I'm reading him a story (thank goodness he loves to read-that's 1 thing he gets from me!) He cracks us up most of the time. He learns a lot from Carter. It's so funny to see his 2 year old self running around saying "yeah, baby!" It's so hard to get mad at him for doing anything. He's lucky he's so darn cute! Cooper is living proof that God has a sense of humor because He created him to make us laugh daily!
Updates
Well, I'm happy to report that it only took 3 or 4 nights of locking Cooper's door for him to stay in his bed! He now falls asleep and stays in his own bed with his door open all night!!!!!!!! Although, he occasionally gets up and gets in the bed with Carter!
Carter is being an excellent student, as usual! He has started riding the bus home in the afternoons so I can put Cooper down for a nap. He enjoys that and has informed me that he no longer needs me to stand outside and wait for him to come in!
Cooper only cried for about the 1st week of going into preschool and now, he loves it! He puts his backpack on and walks in like a big boy every day! When I picked him up the other day, he hugged me and I noticed his pants were wet. Mrs. Christy said, "Oh, he just went to the potty." I said, "Are you sure you're talking about Cooper????????" Our son, who has had NO interest in going to the potty at home?!? She said that he has been going at preschool the whole time. Hmmmmmmm..........news to us! The only problem is that they teach him to use it sitting down, which I hate! I didn't train Carter that way and I've never understood why people do that b/c that's not what boys do-----they stand up! Oh, well...at least he's going!
As for my job, I am enjoying getting out of the house and feeling important again. Not that being a full-time mother is not important, because that's the most important job I will ever have. But, this gives me a different feeling. I really do like my job, but it is incredibly intense and involved. I go to work everyday, trying to fit an 8 hour day into just 4 hours and it doesn't work. I always end up going early, staying late, and bringing work home. I think it may get better after I've gotten the hang of things. At least, I hope so. I'm keeping an open mind because I still view this job as such a blessing and I'm so thankful for it. And, we all know that God never gives us more than we can handle.
Anyway, I had my 1st emotional breakdown the other day b/c I was feeling incredibly overwhelmed with all of the work that I need to do and I left work in tears. Of all days, Cooper decided he wasn't going to take a nap that day. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, the bus drove right by our house and didn't even stop which means Carter didn't get off! I was freaking out! I called the school and David, once again in tears, and had called a neighbor who works close by to come and stay at the house in case Carter came home while I went to look for him. While I was waiting for her, the bus came back and dropped him off. She said that she just forgot b/c she's not used to stopping at our house. Gee, thanks!
So, that's the story of our lives at the moment!
Look out world.......
Here I come!
Our baby started preschool today at Fairgrove United Methodist Church! His teachers are Ms. Christy and Ms. Judy. We went to open house on Thursday and since then, he's seemed excited and has talked about going to play at his "cool." He cried when we left him today, but was ok within minutes. We know this because our neighbor got there after we left so she told us he was fine and playing. When I picked him up, his comments were so cute: Did you have a good day? "Yeah." What did you do? "I pay wif Ellie." (our friend and neighbor) Did you play with any new friends? "I pay wif Joshua. I pay nice." Which tells me that he probably heard that a time or two today! Notice that he's holding his pacifier in his hand because big boys don't take them to school, but.............not quite ready to give it up!
Go Wolfpack!
Win or lose, we still "Back the Pack!" Here's our annual Wolfpack family picture. We all went to the opening game on Saturday, although it seemed like the football players didn't show up for awhile. Other than that, we enjoyed tailgating, as usual. The food was great, complete with football shaped doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. The kids were very good. They had a little football game of their own out in the parking lot. Carter has become our little analytical child who is obsessed with numbers. He is very interested in watching the game now and actually understands what's going on. He gets into it and cheers on the team. Cooper was more interested in watching the fans than the game. He was so curious about all of the kids who had their faces painted red and black and wearing crazy red wigs! He would clap every now and then, though. I used to go to every game with David until Carter was born and then I found a way out! I enjoy the socialization and being with family, but I don't care too much about football, probably because the only part I understand is when they make a touchdown! So, now it's Carter's time to be with his Daddy and Granddaddy doing what they love most. Granddaddy George has always said that when he dies, he wants part of his ashes spread under his seats in the stadium because he knows that's where his family will be!
