The Handley Family: November 2013

Addie's October Photo

Cooper's October Photo

Happy Halloween!! This year we kept things pretty simple for Halloween and just went to one neighborhood. Addie filled up her bucket and we didn't even stop at every house! She had a blast and the weather held out nicely for us. Cooper stayed in his stroller as he wasn't 100% confident on his feet yet and we didn't want our little dinosaur to get hurt walking up to houses. The day after halloween, Addie's preschool had a party and a Trunk or Treat that Nana and Mommy went to help out with.

All about Addie

Potty Training: I think we've finally got nighttime potty training at a point where we can get rid of our pull-up diapers. By the end of October, Addie was completely done with pull-ups during naps and had only had about a handful of nighttime accidents. 90% of the time, her accidents stemmed from drinking lots right before bed.

Big Sis: Addie is often reminding us what a good big sister she is going to be for Aribelle. When she reads books or helps out with Cooper, she will mention that she's will do the same for Ari when she comes.

Patience: Both of my kids were given their mommy's lack of patience, unfortunately. Addie seems to be struggling with patience quite a bit around Cooper lately. Instead of using her words, things evolve into screaming or whining. Cooper likes to come up and destroy whatever puzzle or blocks she is working on and Addie will scream and push him away. We are in the process of teaching her that sometimes we can't stop babies from wrecking our things and we remind her that our blocks and puzzles can be rebuilt. At the same time, we are trying to teach our wrecking-ball of a son (LOL) that he can't destroy everything he comes into contact with.

Pink Eye: Addie developed pink eye for the first time this month. It was immediately upon returning form the pumpkin patch in Jefferson City so I'm not sure if that's where she picked it up or what. Luckily, it was gone within about 3 days but she missed the whole week of school :(

All about Cooper

Walking WALKING WALKING!!! It's so nice to finally see our little guy walking everywhere. He walks without being prompted and seems to really enjoy his new freedom. He's still a bit shaky on those legs but gets better with every day. I can't say he's completely done with crawling, but he's about 50/50 right now between both.

Wiping Mouth: Any time you give Cooper a rag or tissue, he will immediately bring it to his mouth and wipe. He must have picked this up from us at the dinner table and it cracks us up every time!

Feeding Self: We've invested in some new plateware for Coop so we can work on him feeding himself. He's doing much better but we have a ways to go. Instead of scooping a spoon/fork in his bowl, he will just dip and bring the utensil back to his mouth. When it's oatmeal or mashed potatoes, he does really well, but anything else, he uses his hands.

Singing: Cooper loves to sing the theme songs to various Disney and Nick Jr. theme songs on TV. Any time one of them come on, he will stop what he's doing and try to sing along.

OCD: We have ourselves a very OCD child. He will line up cars, blocks, and just about anything else. If we try to move one of the objects, he will flip his lid!! The most frustrating is when he is lining up trucks/cars on the ottoman in the living room and one of the cars rolls out of place.... a very angry child appears quickly!!

All about Aribelle

Movement: Addie loves feeling mommy's belly and it seems like daily she's asking if she can feel Ari kick. I've put Cooper's hand on my belly but he doesn't seem to understand or notice any movement.

Checkups: My checkup this month was pretty routine. All looks well so far and baby is progressing nicely. Weight gain seems pretty steady. I'm currently at a 15lb weight gain.

More photos from October:

End of preschool day pic.