The Handley Family: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Weekly Update - Getting used to two

Week Of March 30, 2012

Addie's Weekly Photo:

Cooper's Weekly Photo:

Having a baby changes everything... It sure does and having TWO flips your world upside down!! LOL The last few weeks have been tough to say the least. Cooper is having a rough time sleeping both during the day and at night. We're not sure if it's gas, acid reflux or what but the poor little guy (and mommy) are exhausted! We have a doctor appointment Friday morning to get him checked out so we will post an update on what the doc thinks might be the issue.

All about Addie:

Big Girl Bed: We tried out Addison's big girl bed this week. We pretty much give her the option from time to time and she lets us know when she wants to sleep in it or not. This week, she decided she wanted to try it out one night. After just a few hours, we could hear her on the monitor whimpering and sounding confused. Daddy checked in on her and thinks she just couldn't remember where she was. Shane put her in her crib and decided we will try again another night.

Ready to potty train: We're thinking we're on the verge of potty training Addie. Every time she poops now, she will run into us and tell us about it asking for a new diaper. We're thinking that the training will have to be postponed until after vacation (in June) though.

Please And Thank You: No matter what you ask Addie to do, she will follow up your request with "thank you". It's SUPER cute every time she does it. Also, little miss polite will often ask please when she wants something even without being prompted to say it. I love how sweet she is!!

Brushing Teeth: This has become a new obsession for Addison. We stayed at Nana's house a few nights this week and I think Addison brushed her teeth 5 or more times each day! If there's a mirror anywhere around, she will watch herself brush and make faces at her reflection. It's adorable!

All about Cooper:

Visit to the Dr: Will be seeing the doctor about Cooper's inability to sleep straight through. Appointment is Friday morning. Will Update after the appointment.

Passport Photo: We will be going on a trip in June to the Bahamas and will be needing a passport for Cooper. This week I made it my goal to get pictures taken so we can get the ball rolling on the passport application. I included them below.

Eats really fast: I've never known a baby to eat as fast as Cooper does! No matter if it's breast or bottle, he gulps and gasps for air while he's eating. Coop makes it sound like he hasn't eaten in days even if he ate minutes ago.

New Paci: I've noticed that Cooper doesn't always latch on to his paci and often makes a face like he doesn't like it. On a hunch, I tried one of Addison's pacifiers on him to see if maybe he would try something new. Sure enough, Cooper latched quickly and kept the pacifier in his mouth. He still doesn't always want one but takes the new paci more often than the old one. Addison is only allowed to have her paci when she's in her car seat or crib though so when she sees her little brother with it, she immediately wants to take it from him!! Ha ha!

More pictures from the week:

During our passport photo shoot

Cooper refused to look at the camera

for the first 20 shots!

A step in the right direction! :)

There we go! :) What a handsome guy!

Maybe a partial smile?

Cooper's new paci (one of his sister's paci's)

Addie and Cooper

First attempt at giving her brother a kiss

Being silly with Nana

A successful attempt at kissing her little bro ;)

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Weekly Update - Happy St. Patricks Day

Week of March 23, 2012
Addie's Weekly Photo:

Cooper's Weekly Photo:

St. Patrick's day was this week and although we don't really celebrate it now that we're parents... lol... we DID take the kids out to dinner at..... Bob Evans!! LOL A very eventful holiday for us! ha ha
I have to say, things started out rough at the beginning of the week for us. Mommy was exhausted, sore, and overwhelmed... to say the least and daddy had about 100 projects around the house/yard that he was trying to knock out (for mommy). Now that the week is nearing to an end, things are looking much brighter :)

All about Addie:

Big Sis - It seems like Addie is more interested in Cooper lately. When we put him in his bouncer on the floor, Addie will run over and talk to him. She will say "kiss?", asking if she can kiss his head and then run over to the top of the bouncer, lean over and kiss the top of his head. When we were at the doctor earlier this week, mommy was trying to check in for the appointment and Cooper was getting fussy in his carseat on the floor. Addie took it upon herself to lean over and ask "baby ok?" and proceeded to try and give him his paci! It was so super cute that the couple standing behind us couldn't stop talking about it!! LOL

"Are you Excited"- Addison's newest thing is asking "are you excited". She will do it at random times like if I'm getting her unbuckled from her car seat she will ask "are you excited" and nod smiling at me. It's super cute!

"Go Bye Bye" - Ok it's cute and frustrating at the same time, but when Addison is ready to leave, she will continue to ask "go bye-bye?....go bye-bye?...." over and over until you actually leave. It's really important that Shane and I don't mention the word "go bye-bye" until the absolute last second before we leave or we will listen to her say it repeatedly!! LOL Sometimes, even if we don't mention the words, if she doesn't want to be somewhere, she will tell us "go bye-bye" because she's telling us she wants to leave.

All about Cooper:

First well-baby checkup: Cooper's one-week checkup was supposed to be last week but his doctor was out of the office so we had it this week. Doc says everything is looking good with Coop. Dr Neill specifically pointed out that she loves his size and color.
Here are his stats:
Weight - 8lbs 12oz (60th percentile)
Height - 21.5 in (52nd percentile)

Sleeping: Cooper takes 3-4 hour naps now. Once he's up, he will eat, poop/pee, and then usually fall back asleep. Sometimes he wants to stay up and look around for a bit and when he's gassy, he can be up much longer but in general will immediately go back to sleep. He seems to be happiest on his belly but since it is advised not to put infants on their tummy, we prop him up in his pack n play.

Eating: He's now between 4 and 5oz's of breast milk at a time (about every 3-4 hours). We usually burp him about every oz because he's so gas-prone.

More pictures from the week:

Helping take pictures of herself!

Enjoying an afternoon snooze

on St. Patrick's Day

(notice the outfit!!)

Hanging out in his bean bag chair

Exhausted after a big St. Patty's Day Dinner

Addie Hanging out at Nana's New place

and eating ice cream on her Deck!

VERY excited about the ice cream!

Cooper hanging out on Nana's recliner

Not sure what to think of

this camera in his face!

Loves to have that hand up against his head!!

Addie becoming more interested in him :)

Loves to give him kisses now

Hanging out in the bean bag chair

Weekly Update - Counting to 15

Week of March 16, 2012
Addie's Weekly Photo:

Cooper's Weekly Photo (1 Week old):

As we slowly begin to settle into our much larger family, I'm starting to realize how much more respect I have for moms with multiples! Trying to battle between two nap times, feedings, changings, cryings...LOL Despite the challenges though, it's the most rewarding experience ever!!

All about Addie:
Big Sister- She's still ignoring Cooper as much as possible, but every now and then I will catch her sneaking a peak at him. If he's crying, Addie will look at him like "what's wrong with this guy?" LOL At one point this week though I DID catch Addie kneeling down by Cooper when he was in his bouncer. I happened to have my camera ready!! :)

Counting - Addison is such a smart little cookie! She's been counting for some time, but she reaches new heights on her numbers every week. She has actually started counting to 15! Of course she will skip one or two numbers (usually numbers ten or eleven).

Recognizing numbers/letters - We have foam numbers and letters in Addie's bathtub that she plays with every time she bathes. Addison has picked up on recognizing a few of the numbers and letters already. I would say she can probably name at least 10 numbers and letters already.

Colors - Addie has started naming colors to us. She doesn't always get them right, but a few colors she's pretty good at are blue, red, green, orange and pink.

All about Cooper:
Burping- Sometimes he's really easy to burp and sometimes it seems impossible to get one out of him! We're starting to learn tricks to the trade though.... Some of the things that help out are:
Pulling his legs straight (so he's not curled up against us)
Keeping his head upright (not letting him turn his head to the side)
Laying him back and then putting him back over our shoulder after a few pats
Tickling him to keep him awake!

Hiccups - He gets these regardless if a burp comes out or not after feedings. He's most likely to get them when we change his diaper too. It seems like the moment we lay him flat to change him, the first hiccup pops out!!

Sleeping - I think Cooper is gas-prone because he will go through phases where he is awake for 3 or 4 hours without napping and very cranky all the while, we can feel/hear gurgling in his belly. I feel awful for him when he gets like that too because he will squirm like he's in pain! I've talked to the doctor about the issues though and she said it's nothing to be concerned about and really common for infants.

Snuggler - Cooper will probably be a tummy sleeper at some point because he loves to sleep face down on our chests. If we would let him, he would probably snuggle on our belly/chest for HOURS!! I think we've been lucky so far with two snuggling babies because Addie was the same way! :)

More photos from the week:

Addie playing with her kitty piano