Friday

Friday was a fun no plans at all day around here. Steve has the whole weekend off so it makes it that much better. He was off for 2 weeks when we had Cameron but it all went by so fast and is a blur, so it's nice to have him home when things are more normal.

Of course there was plenty of play time. Cooper has been a daddy's boy all weekend. He keeps asking every morning if it is church day. I guess the only morning Steve is home are Sundays. After some playtime Cooper and I made our annual day after Thanksgiving batch of puppy chow. Like I really need this with all the Tollhouse cake left. Like my facial expression? I wish Steve would have gotten the pick of Cooper digging through the bag of chocolate chips.

Yummy!!!!!

Look at this handsome man.

I love this picture. I looked over and all I could see was the little head looking at me.

Talking

Someone is starting to find their voice.

Chicky Place

Cooper earned enough stickers on his poo poo chart to get a trip to Chick-fil-A this week, or as he calls it- Chicky Place. You keep getting those stickers buddy, mommy likes Chicky Place too. He is getting much better. We haven't had an accident in a while and have only been wearing diapers during naps and bedtime. We are almost there!

Boy loves him some french fries.

He's still scared to climb up and go through the tunnel and down the slide, not for sure why. I think because there are usually bigger kids there and he gets scared of them. So he just pushes buttons on the animals. Hey, he still has fun. Can you tell these two are related?

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had such a fun family Thanksgiving this year. I have so many things to be thankful for. Starting with my family, good friends, a warm house on this cold and rainy day. Our Thanksgiving started off with the boys letting us sleep until 7:45 (Cameron was up eating at 4:30, but I'm thankful I have a child that I can feed in the middle of the night). We all ended up in our bed watching Curious George until the satellite went out due to the rain and clouds. The rest of the morning was spent watching Steve & Cooper play while I made a dessert. They were playing pretend with some of his cars and at one point I heard "Welcome to Target", this came out of my three years old mouth. The boy is learning young!
We headed to my aunts for a quick visit and lunch and back home for some good naps. Both boys took wonderful naps, we actually had to wake Cooper up to leave. I had to cut my nap short to start on the corn casserole. We had dinner at Steve's parents house. Seriously, look at this spread. Cameron was such a good sport hanging out in the swing while we ate. You can join us next year buddy.

Someone was in a playful mood after dinner, kept wanting their picture taken.

Someone else was in a playful mood too, giving some smirks to Papaw.

It was such a fun night. I didn't even freak out when Cooper come upstairs after playing with Uncle Scott with an ice cream cone in his hand. This was after the Toll house cheese cake. I mean what are uncles for, right? The boys did so well today too, going from here to there, late naps, waking up early. We even got a quick look at some Christmas lights in our neighborhood. I assume some people saw the forecast and got an early start. Cooper loved it!

Hope everyone had great Thanksgiving! Be safe if you are going out tomorrow, or should I say tonight? Toys R Us is opening up in an hour.

A little reading

Last night Steve mentioned to Cooper that he used to sleep under the Christmas tree. So guess what, Cooper wanted to get under the Christmas tree. We did our bedtime reading there. These are a little blurry but they don't need to be clear to see the cuteness.

My Little Man

We have been taking off Cooper's booster seat and letting him use a big chair. He never uses one when we go out so why not. Plus that thing is getting nasty, especially the straps. That is one thing that will no be handed down to Cameron. Sunday morning he was eating his breakfast and I couldn't help but look over and wonder where my baby went. He just looked so big.

Well Visits

We had Cooper's 3 year and Cameron's 2 month well visits this morning. After two hours in the doctor's office I had some tired and cranky kiddos on my hands. Probably due to the three shots Cameron received and the flu shot and finger prick that Cooper received. I'm thankful Steve got to meet me there. On the plus side Cooper got to pee in a cup, he thought that was funny.

Stats are:
Cooper- 28 3/4 lbs- 25th percentile- he has gained 5 lbs since last year
34 3/4 inches for heigth- he has grown an inch and a half

Cameron- 12 lbs 3 oz- 65th percentile (Cooper was 11lbs 9 oz at 2 months)
23 1/2 inches- 50th percentile (Cooper was 22 inches at 2 months)
I'm pretty sure Cameron is going to catch up with Cooper one of these days

All in all it was a good visit. The heart murmur she detected on Cameron is still there so we have a cardiologist appointment in two weeks. She says that they can find a murmur on anyone it's just a precaution.

Thankfulness

Today's sermon was all about thankfulness. Being thankful to God in everything!

Today I am thankful for the extra 10 lbs I need to lose. Those 10 pounds mean I had the opportunity to carry a child inside me. Those 10 pounds have brought me more joy than I could every imagine. Those 10 pounds are something many women will never experience.

My body may not be perfect but in my eyes my children are.

And the winners are

Cooper and I headed out bright and early to Target to spend his money. He had $10 so we needed to be wise. On an end cap I found some felt Christmas decoration kits. He loves crafts so I let hm choose which one he wanted and he chose Ho Ho Ho (Santa Claus). Next up was the toy aisles. The choices were a set of puzzles, a Lightening McQueen shaker car and another color changing car for his car wash he got for his birthday. He chose the color changing car, we got Mater. I think I might go back and get the puzzles for Christmas, a set of 4 for $10. We had $2 left after that and while in the diaper aisle I found a Toy Story pretend shaving kit. The plan was to go to the dollar spot but after seeing this I knew we had a winner. I asked him if he wanted to shave like daddy and of course the answer was yes. Before dinner Cooper played with his color changing cars. This time Steve set it up in the sink. I think Cooper enjoyed that as much as he did the actual car wash.

Cameron & I ran to Kohl's after dinner, I came home and this is what I found. Steve was giving Cooper a bath and they were shaving. See the rocket ship mirror, Cooper was looking into it and shaving just like his daddy. I ended up putting in an extra $3 so we could get the shaving kit and it was all worth it.

On an unrelated note, we got out the Christmas decorations yesterday and last year I packed away all of our Christmas books. Such a good idea, they all seemed new to Cooper again, and some where. I got a few last year after Christmas on sale. I think he was more excited about the books than the tree. I'm sure he will have all of them memorized by Christmas.

Question???

Cooper got some money for his birthday. I was going to take him to Target tomorrow so he could pick something out. What do I do if he picks something out I know he will not like at all. Do I get it or do I give him some other options. I want him to get the joy of picking something out but I also don't want to waste the money.

Figuring it out

This little guy is really starting to figure things out. With the exception of Cooper's party, which I think he just got over stimulated, he hasn't had to scream in about two weeks. He has common fussiness as most babies do but other than that he has been a pretty easy baby. This week for example we went to our Wednesday morning church play group. I knew he would need to sleep sometime during it. This week was a picnic lunch and Veggie Tales movie. During lunch he sat in his car seat awake and content then we moved to the children's auditorium where I got him out and he fell asleep on my chest. He would never have done that a few weeks ago. Steve commented if we could guarantee a girl then he would want another. Boy or girl it doesn't matter, if we could guarantee a good sleeper like he is I would have another. He isn't sleeping through the night yet, but I do get a good 5 hour stretch followed by another 2 at least. I am only waking up once, I'm probably sleeping better than I did pregnant.

Three Years

My dear sweet Cooper is three years old today. Where had time gone? Didn't I just bring him home from the hospital? Oh wait, that was the other one.

At time time three years ago I had just gotten the pitocin and started my 12 hour journey into becoming a mother. No one can prepare you for how hard, yet rewarding it is.

My little guy has had quite the year. First up just 7 months ago he was sleeping in a crib. Then came the surgery and hospital stay, what a champ he was. I was so proud of him that day. But, not near as proud as I am now. With the birth of Cameron, Cooper has shown what a great big brother he will make. Makes Steve and I feel like we are doing something right.

Cooper's speech has improved by leaps and bounds this year, honestly I have a seen a huge difference since his tonsils were removed. We still have some articulation issues but his language skills are through the roof. I love hearing some of the stuff he comes up with. We start speech therapy with the school system in a couple of weeks.

Cooper- you bring such joy and laughter into each and everyday. I am so thankful God chose me to be your mommy. Remember what we always say, you taught me how to be a mommy.

Birthday Present

If I must say, Steve and I have done a pretty good job at picking out Cooper's birthday present each year. This year was the Crayola Easel. Cooper loves it! He loves drawing and making things so I had do doubt. He really loves the magnetic letters and numbers. I tried to get a candid shot here but he wanted to smile and say cheese. I also bought some dry erase crayons, much better than markers, especially when dealing with a three year old.

His new favorite thing is making squares. "Down, down, connect, connect".

A thumbs up also goes out to Steve's cousin Ricky for Ramone's (from the movie Cars) Car Wash. It's a messy little toy, but quite fun. The cars change color when put into warm water and change back when put into icy water.

Boo-Boo

What do you get when you cross a stocking and stocking holder with curious little hands?

You get one of these.... a nice gash on the forehead.I was so excited when Cameron's stocking & stocking holder arrived yesterday. Even more excited that Pottery Barn still carried the same one I ordered when Cooper was born. I went ahead and hung it up yesterday since we are planning on getting all the decorations out this weekend. We were having a nice relaxing evening when I look up and see Cooper pulling at the stocking. After that is all slow motion and before I had time to react the whole thing came crashing on his head.

Steve grabbed him first and got the first look and told me to call his parents to come watch Cameron because he thought he would need a stitch or two. Of course Cooper is screaming, there is blood running down his face, he doesn't want Steve, he only wants me. He wont let us put ice on it. We get the bleeding to stop before his parents arrive and begin to second guess going to the Immediate Care Center. It's a really small gash, just a little deep. So I call up our trusty nurse, my mom, to take a look. So before we know it we have all the grandparents here. They all agree it probably doesn't need stitches but we should probably have it checked out anyway. So off we go. Thankfully the ICC is empty and we are seen right away. Steve & I both have sigh of relief when a younger doctor walks in and not the one we have had problems with in the past. He doesn't need stitches just cleaned out and some dermabond so it doesn't get infected or open back up. He is taken care of and we head back. That was another relief, I'm sure it would have taken every body in that place if he needed stitches to hold him down. From time of injury till we were back home and both kids in bed was about 2 hours, so not too bad.

The night wasn't a total loss either, for some reason we had a credit and only had to pay a $15 co-pay. Cooper thinks it's pretty cool he has glue on his head. And, even though my long-sleeved white t-shirt got stained with blood, Karen gave me her Kohl's cash since she will be out of town, so now I can get a new one.

We made it just two days shy of three years before blood ended up on our carpet, I think that is pretty good.

I dont want to forget

I don't ever want to forget dancing with Cameron tonight. Steve and Cooper were listening to Dave Crowder on the computer tonight. During the slow portion of the song I was walking around with Cameron and mentioned I was dancing with my baby. Then it occurred to me that in about 25-30 years I will be sharing another type dance with him. I hope on that night I will remember the dance we shared tonight.

Big Brother

Cooper is no doubt going to be a great big brother. When he was in the hospital a nurse stopped by our room to give him a small teddy bear. It was from another patient who was going home and wanted another kid to have it to make them feel better. The boy's name was Skylar so we named the teddy bear Sky. Out of Sky, Mickey Mouse, and George, Cooper sleeps with Sky.

So, today Cameron was crying. It was almost time to eat and he had just woken up and I needed to change him. Cooper disappears off to his room and comes back with Sky to give to Cameron to make him feel better. How precious is that?

Guess Who

ALMOST slept through the night last night? That would be Cameron!!!

He may have made it but when I looked at the clock and it said 5:00 am and I hadn't heard anything out of him since I went to bed around 10:30 I went in and checked on him. He woke up 15 minutes later. I fed him, he went back to sleep and he is still asleep now at 8:00. He has been a sleepy little guy lately, he slept a ton on Sunday. Maybe it's a growth spurt or something. All I know is I got over 6 hours of straight sleep last night.

It's Party Time

Tonight was a special night for one little boy, we celebrated Cooper's third birthday! I can't believe my little baby will be three in less than a week. It doesn't seem possible. I had one excited child on my hands today. As soon as I went into his room after his nap and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I have birthday party". I love that he is understanding and getting into things more. He got so many good presents. I think I am just as excited as he is to play with everything. One of the things I am most excited about is a gift card to the Disney Store that my mom's friend got him. I am going to plan a special mommy & Cooper day and take him to the Oxmoor mall and let him pick something out all on his own. I can't wait!!!!

So, here a few highlights of our evening.
Papaw and his two boys. The cake... how awesome is this? We got it from Adrienne's again. They do such an amazing job. And it tasted delicious too... strawberry.

Party decorations.

More party decorations.

Next year we will most likely do a bigger party with all of his friends but for now we just invite my friend Sharon and her daughter Allie. Her and Cooper so adorable together. We just had a play date on Thursday so they were already warmed up to one another.

It was a huge change from last year back when Cooper could care less about opening presents. Tonight I could barely contain him. One of the first gifts was from Steve's aunt Marilyn. She had boxes of raisins in the bag and I swear you would have thought someone gave him a million dollars, it was the cutest thing.

Steve's cousin Ricky got him a stuffed monkey, had to get in a quick hug.

I think this was a Toy Story puzzle... the kid is awesome at puzzles. The board puzzles will no longer do, they are too easy. He has graduated to real jigsaw puzzles, about 24 pieces. Once he does it a few times he can pretty much do it by himself if you help him with the outside pieces.

Instead of a gift bag Sharon put his gifts in a reusable tote bag from the Disney Store. We love bags around here! When you have no storage, bags come in handy... plus it's Mickey Mouse. I'm sure Cooper will enjoy that more than the all the Jazzercise bags I have his things in.

Uncle Scott came through big time this year. In addition to a Leap Frog tag system, he got him this awesome Buzz Lightyear. At one point tonight Scott had him (Cooper) flying through the air as if he was Buzz.

I love this picture. He is really digging in that bag. This was part of our gift. We got him the Crayola Easel with some some things to go with it; paint and paint brushes, extra paper, dry erase markers and eraser, extra chalk, and a cute Crayola smock. He should have hours of fun with this thing. I will post picture of it once Steve puts it together.

Can't have a party without goofing off with Uncle Scott. As Cooper would say, "no tonsils in there", can you tell?

He even managed to slow down and pose for a picture tonight.

This little guy had a good night too, of course Steve took him in the back room when he screamed for 45 minutes, but for the most part he hung out in the swing.

After the party I got a little play time with my little guy. He was all smiles and cooing after everything settled down.

Two of my favorite moments of the night are when my mom asked Sharon if she was planning on having another. I know I told my mom that she was expecting again, Sharon was like "yeah, May 11th". And.... drum roll please, not only did Cooper poop in the potty, he actually told me he had to go. Score one for the birthday boy.

Thanks to all our family and friends for making tonight so special for Cooper. We are so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives.

Another One

I tried to re-create another picture. I guess I should have zoomed in a little closer. The first is of Cooper, I think he was a couple of weeks older than Cameron. Cooper looks bigger but I think it's just his head, cause I'm pretty sure Cameron is bigger.

2 Months

Cameron Scott you are two months old today. Where has time gone? Just a few highlights of these past few months:



You simply adore your big brother. You love to smile and "talk" to him. You follow his voice. I can't wait to see the interaction between you two in the coming months.

You may like to scream but those screams unleash some great sleep. You have settled into a regular pattern now. You go to bed around 8, I wake to feed you around 10 before I go to bed, you sleep till around 2 or 3 then you eat and it holds you off till morning. You pretty much have been a great sleeper since birth. Some nights you last until 4 so it gives us hope you wont be long till you are sleeping through the night.

You are still wearing your 0-3 month clothes but I have a feeling I will be breaking out the 3-6 month in no time. I have no doubt you will continue to weigh more than Cooper did during his first year.

You are starting to unleash your smiles more and more each day. And boy are they adorable! You complete our family, we love you little guy!

ps- I will post 2-month stats next week, I scheduled his and Cooper's appointment on the same day so it will be a week late.

I Needed That

I was having a little bit of a rough day/night today. I'll try to make it short but the fact is Cameron is a screamer. We don't think it's colic because it doesn't last for hours on end, it's just multiple times a day. I don't mean a crier or fussy, I mean screamer. This has went on since he was two weeks old so I've gotten used to it but I, and Steve too, still have our nights. Today was one of them, I guess because it's Friday and I'm tired. The person I feel the worst for is Cooper though. He has taken to things so well and loves on his brother every chance he gets but it seems like so much of his life has been disrupted. I don't spend much time playing with him because I'm either trying to prevent the meltdown or tending to it. Cameron literally goes from 0-60 in like two seconds. We just have to let him scream because nothing really calms him down. It could be worse though, it could last hours, luckily it doesn't. It just wears on you when it's everyday, about every couple of hours.

Leave it to Cooper to make my night. He has been wanting to pray "all by himself" lately. Tonight was no exception. They can get lengthy but here is what I remember-
"Dear God, thank you for my movies, all the stuff I play with, my animals, my tv shows: Handy Manny (which he doesn't watch), Elmo, Mickey Mouse, thank you for the grocery store, Meijer, Target, and Walmart. Amen"

I try not to laugh because I don't want to embarrass him, but I lost it at grocery story and Walmart. I look over at Steve and he is rolling on the floor.

So, here is my prayer "Dear God, thank for my son Cooper for helping me realize this doesn't last forever. One day I will wake up with three and six year old and wonder where my babies went"

Wordless Wednesday