Weekly Update - Big Girl Bed

Week Of April 20, 2012


Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

All About Addie:

Big Girl Bed:  We've posted before about trying the "big girl" bed out but it seems as though Addie hadn't really been 100% committed to it in previous weeks.  For the last week though, Addison has been 100% in her toddler bed and we haven't had to put her in the crib for any reason.  It surprises both Shane and I that she doesn't get up and play when it's time for bed/nap but she's been AWESOME with it so far.  Fingers crossed it stays this way :)

Big Sis:  I love watching Addison try to help out when Cooper is fussy.  Usually it's a little hug, trying to give him the paci, or just talking to him... but it's so adorable every time.  This week, Addie was especially helpful and at one point mommy had to walk away because Cooper was inconsolable... A few seconds later, there was silence... I rushed over and saw Addie laying down next to Coop with her arm around him!  I couldn't believe it!  What a heartwarming moment for mommy :)

Defiant!  I knew this day would come, but my sweet little girl has a very deviant side!  Things like getting into cabinets she's not supposed to, taking toys out on the deck (even though she knows she's not supposed to), throwing food on the floor, yelling when she wants help (instead of asking for help)....  When she's not getting her way, she will give us this grunt-whine that she knows drives her mommy CRAZY!!!  Overall, she's still a sweetheart so I shouldn't complain, but the whiny/angry side of her can be a bit frustrating!!

Corner:  I can't remember if we have posted about using time out yet, but we started using it a few weeks ago.  I can't say it really worked from the beginning, but now it's becoming a game for Addison.  If she is misbehaving, she will ASK if she can go to the corner!!  Anytime SHE thinks she's being bad, she will ask over and over "corner?...corner?"  Many times, she will put herself in the corner without even asking or being asked.  We're going to have to think of a new method of "punishment".

BackPack:  Mommy found a most adorable Minnie Mouse backpack (for Addie) that I thought would be perfect for our vacation.  I showed Addie the bag and she didn't want to put it down.  Once she put it on, she walked around the house saying "school.... school....".  I think she gets the school thing from watching Fresh Beat Band because they often wear/talk about their back packs on the show.

All About Cooper:

New Meds:  We called the doctor at the beginning of the week because Cooper wasn't getting any better with the Zantac.  Doc prescribed Prevacid to be taken once a day (1/2 a tablet).  After only a few days, Cooper seemed to be getting worse and mommy/daddy were at our wits end!  The doctors office was closed but we did some looking around online to see what other parents were doing.  After several hours of research, we found that most pediatricians ended up doubling the dose of their patients (1/2 a pill in the a.m. and 1/2 a pill in the p.m.).  We decided to try out the extra dose and within 24 hours, we already noticed a significant change in Cooper's mood/sleeping.  On Friday we had our follow up appointment with our doctor and she confirmed that upping the dose was necessary.  Although Coop isn't at 100%, we are noticing a slightly happier baby and he seems to be a bit more comfortable.

Happy Baby?  Of course we still get his angry side quite often, but for at least a few minutes per day, we are getting some smiles and coo's from Cooper.  I will be thrilled when this medicine has completely kicked in and we are able to see these smiles more regularly! :)


More Pictures from the week:

One of the many times Addie wanted

to help out with Cooper

Keeping Coop cozy after bath 

Addie's new backpack, hanging at Nana's 

Addie consoling Cooper after mommy

had a "walk away" moment! 

Warmed my heart!! 

Nana fixing Addie's hair 

Taking advantage of some great weather

and took Addie to the park 

Weekly Update - Happy Easter!!

Week of April 13, 2012


Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

Easter was much bigger this year than we've ever had!  Not only were we celebrating Cooper's FIRST Easter, but we decided to start an annual egg hunt at our place with some family and friends this year.  The hunt went great and all of the kids had a blast!

All about Addie:
Easter:  This was Addison's second Easter.  She was in awe over her Minnie Mouse basket full of Mickey/Minnie toys and candy (see pictures below).  The Easter bunny left a few eggs around the main level of the house for Addison to find before she located the basket.  We weren't sure how she would do with the hunt but after breakfast we asked her if she would like to find some eggs and she said "yeah!".  Daddy walked around the house with her while she held her bucket and without much help, she found almost all of them!!  We were able to get most of her hunt on video and it's adorable!!

Big girl bed:  Addie has gone three days without any issues in her big girl bed! Several nights she would ask to sleep in it but would end up running around or waking up confused so she would end up back in the crib, but Tuesday night she slept through and then every nap time and bedtime since! Addie can't quite open the doors in our house, so I'm not worried about her running around the house at night but I'm curious as to how much longer it will be before she can. I think I will be a bit more nervous once she can get all of the doors open.

Counting:  This seems to be her favorite thing now.  Addie can count to ten without any issues.  She's always counting something too... In the morning, she counts her mini pancakes.  When we're playing with her toys, she counts her toys.  When we're driving or sitting at a stop sign if there are billboards around, we will hear Addison yell out numbers she sees.  The first time she did this, I wasn't sure why she kept yelling "8"..."8".... Finally, I saw the billboard she was looking at near our stop light and sure enough, there was a phone number ending in the number 8!!  Before the light turned green, she named off most of the other numbers in the phone number!

All about Cooper:


First Easter:
Of course he's too young to understand what's going on, but Cooper received the coolest basket from the Easter Bunny this year!  His Mickey Mouse basket was filled with candy, toys and pretty much anything that mommy and daddy like ;)


Colic... acid reflux... heartburn...:  We still aren't 100% sure what is causing our poor guy to be so miserable.  It's hard to say it's just one thing too because he has the symptoms of several things.  Our doctor is trying narrow things down though and hopefully within the next week or two, we will know for sure.  In the meantime, we do our best to calm Cooper when he's having a rough time.  The moods aren't consistent either.  For example, some nights Cooper is really restless and grunts/groans while laying in his pack-n-play and then other times he's more miserable during the day than at night.


Hiccups:  Cooper started off with hiccups worse than what Addie had but it seems like they've faded quite a bit.  Coop can go days without getting them which is nice because I think they flare up the acid reflux.

Following objects:  Addie has a GIANT Mickey Balloon that happened to be near Cooper's bouncer seat one day and Coop wouldn't take his eyes off of it!  The ceiling fan happened to be on too so the balloon was all over the place, but Cooper kept focusing right on it as it swayed from side to side.

Baby Carrier:  We have a Snugli baby carrier (sling).  I was at my wits end during one of Cooper's crying fits this week and decided to put him in the baby sling so I could get some things done around the house.  I figured I would just let him "cry it out" and walk around the house with him.  Turns out.... he must have liked being in it because within 5 minutes, he had calmed down and went to sleep!!  Now, the carrier is a staple in our daily activities when he's having a hard time taking a nap!  I know it's a bad habit to form, but mommy's ears can only take so much crying and we are BOTH happy if he's not crying :)

More photos from the week:

Weekly Update - Holy Colic!!!

Week of April 6, 2012


Addie's Weekly Photo (23 Months Old)

Cooper's Weekly Photo (4 Weeks Old)

All about Addison:


Little Talker:  Addison is always looking for new ways she can interact with us vocally.  Nana and Addie have started a new routine conversation whenever they are together now.  Nana will talk gibberish and then Addison will say "ah-kay".  Then Addison will talk gibberish to Nana and Nana will say "ah-kay".  Addison also loves to come up to us now and ask "wha goin on".  So cute!!


Accident Prone:  For whatever reason in the last week, Addison has fallen 3 or 4 times and really banged up her knees.  It might be in part because she's in new sandals and shorts so in addition to having new footwear, she doesn't have the protection she's used to (pants) to pad her fall.  It's so pathetic when she falls too because she will run over to us and beg us to kiss her boo boo

Little Lover:  Addison LOVES to interact with Cooper now.  Any time Coop is low to the ground or at a spot that Addie can climb up to him, she does!  Addison loves to give Cooper kisses on his head the most but will also get right up next to him and ask "wha-doin".

All about Cooper:
The last few weeks have been a bit rough and we've had the most difficult time trying to figure out exactly what is causing our little guy to be so fussy at times.  Of course the doctor visit didn't give us a ton of obvious answers but helped us narrow down a few possibilities.  One thing that the doctor mentioned is that I should stop eating/drinking dairy products because some babies have a lactose intolerance when they are infants.  Over the last several days, I've been off of dairy with the occasional "slip".  I can't really say it has made a huge difference in the fussiness, but it's only been a few days and the doctor said to give it a full week or two.
Colic:  One of the things our doctor said to look out for was symptoms of a colicky baby.  I don't know for sure if that's what's going on with Cooper, but it does seem like he's fussier at night and quite a bit after eating.  Everything I've read on line said that it usually hits it's peak around 3 months and should be gone by 5 months, so if that's what we're facing, at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel! :)
Starting to see better:  I can't remember when an infant's full vision comes in but it seems like over the last week, Coop has been able to see more.  We've noticed him making eye contact more and watching things that move around him.

All smiles:  Cooper has begun the first stages of big smiles with us over the last week.  We've noticed a small dimple on his cheek when he smiles or makes scrunchy faces too that make his smiles even cuter!


Growing Boy:  Cooper is officially out of Newborn diapers and clothes.  I'm sure he probably should've been out of them a week or so earlier, but I wanted to get the most use out of everything so we stretched things out a bit! LOL

Baby Announcements:  These should've been sent out weeks ago, but with my LONG recovery time and two children to handle, it was much more difficult to get around to it.  It was really nice because Nana watched the kids while Shane and I went in to design the announcements together.  Can't wait for everyone to get them! :)

Neck Control: Something I forgot to mention from day one, Cooper is a very strong baby!  His ability to hold his head up for long periods of time is much like Addison.  We've put Cooper on his belly more than once and each time, he lifts his head up without any struggle and will look around.

More Pictures from the week: