Weekly Update - Trip to Arkansas

Week of December 21, 2012

Addie's weekly photo

Cooper's weekly photo

This week we went to Arkansas for Daddy's family Christmas.  There was not one but TWO celebrations while we were there, so the kids were very entertained!  If it weren't for all of us being sick, we probably would've had even MORE fun.  Aside from being sick, it was really nice for the kids to see all of the family.

All about Addie

Sick, sick SICK:  The whole house had come down with the same cold this week and poor little Addie had taken a direct hit to her ears.  We went to the doctor to have her checked out and the doc confirmed that she had a little blockage in front of her tubes.  He prescribed drops and some meds to help kick the virus.

Growing girl:  The doctor weighed Addie when we went in to get her ears looked at and she already weighs 30lbs!!  I just couldn't believe it!!  I have a niece that didn't weigh 30lbs till she was 4 1/2 years old!!  Although this wasn't an "official" checkup, the doctor said Addie is growing beautifully and she's still at average height and weight from what he could see.

New phrases:
"That was a very good story"- She says this when we read books and when the story is done.
"Look at my mouth"- When Nana tries to teach Addie a new word, Nana will tell Addie to look at her mouth.  Now, when Addie picks up on a word we say, she will repeat it (without being asked) and say "mama, look at my mouth..." and then she will repeat the word.  Too funny!!

All about Cooper

First illness:  This week, Cooper came down with his very first cold :(  Poor pathetic little guy.  We felt so bad because while all of us could take cough drops and nighttime aids to help alleviate the cold, he was too little to take anything.

Crawling Machine:  On Thursday, Cooper crawled from the living room (upstairs) all the way into the front entryway (about 12 feet) in about 5 minutes.  That's definitely the furthest I've seen him crawl in such a short amount of time.

Growing Boy:  Last week, we posted that Cooper has outgrown most of his 9 month clothes and is filling out his 12 mo. clothes pretty well.  At the doctor, both kids were weighed and Cooper was 20lbs!  We still need to schedule his 9 month checkup to confirm the rest of his measurements, but I couldn't believe how much he weighs already!

More photos from the week

Still sporting the scrunchy face 

 LOVES her new Elf microphone that she got from Gma K

At the doctor for his first cold 

LOVES a new app I put on my ipad.

It's NickJr DrawNPlay.  She can't get enough! 

At the doctor to get her ears checked out.

Not a happy camper :( Glad Nana was there to help!

Poor kid wouldn't eat her breakfast without

putting pressure on her ear because it

was hurting so much!! 

Cooper enjoying Christmas movies 

in one of the gift boxes. 

Weekly Update - Trip to Illinois

Week Of December 14, 2012

Addie's weekly photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

Over the weekend, 14th-16th, we made a trip to Illinois for mama's family Christmas.  The kids were in their element being around all of the cousins that were their age.  And PRESENTS... oh my goodness PRESENTS!!!!  I don't think Addie' knew what to do with herself with so many gifts to open.  Lets just say they are both very lucky have so many Aunts/Uncles, Cousins and Great Cousins that care so much about them!!

All about Addie

Interacting with Coop:  She will wake up in the morning and immediately ask me where's Cooper?  She will bring him toys and sometimes take his toys.... Overall, I would say Addie loves being in Cooper's company.  Sometimes though,  Addie can be a bit rough with him. I think it's just taking time for her to realize that he's smaller and a bit more fragile than her older cousins.

New phrases:
"Don't say that anymore" or "Don't say that all the time": She interchanges these from time to time and will do it when we say frequent phrases like when mama says she's a "silly-headed-silly-head".

Lil Jumper:  In gymnastics, we learned how to jump off objects that are low to the ground.  Well Addie' never really mastered this trick until this week.  We have a few pillow seats that sit really low to the ground and Addie has recently discovered jumping off of these and onto the carpet.  She's so very proud of herself when she does it too!!!

All about Cooper

Second Tooth:  On 12-12-12, we saw Cooper's second tooth pop through.  On his right hand side, his lower middle baby tooth finally broke through his gums.  He's been a drooling mess for the last week and just a bit more irritable than usual so we kind of figured that the tooth was going to make it's debut.

Scrunchy face:  He's been doing this for several weeks now and it just doesn't get old!!  Wether he's just goofing around or eating something "different", he will scrunch his nose and squint his eyes giving us his trademark scrunchy face.  I love it more and more every time I see it!!!

Growing boy:  Cooper is already in size 12mo clothes!  Granted, baby clothes are not all created equal and sizes are never consistent, but there aren't many outfits in size 9mo that he can fit anymore.  We've also had to change the setting on his jumper-roo-roo more than once to accommodate his growing legs so that his knees aren't resting on the floor.

Mocking Us:  If we make a noise with our mouth, Cooper tries to imitate us.  He LOVES to smack his lips when we do too.

Feeding Self:  Because he's such a good eater, I didn't think it would be too difficult for him to pick up on feeding himself but even I'm shocked at how quickly he picked up on it.  So far he's only had the baby "mum-mum's" and baby "puff's".  He still drops about half of the ones that start off on his tray and several will get stuck between his fingers requiring assistance from mama or daddy.  I'm excited to start trying new foods out on him!


More photos from the week:

Having an early Christmas with Nana

"walking" 

Feeding himself!! 

Nana playing a joke on Mama. Dressing Cooper

in Addie's clothes!!! 

Addie likes using Cooper's walker 

Visiting with Gma R.  Love this pic! 

Cooper hanging with Gma 

Uncle Dillon and Cooper 

Weekly Update - 9 Months Old!!!

Week of December 7, 2012

Addie's Weekly photo

Cooper's weekly photo

All about Addie

Confusing Holidays:  I can see how children could get easily confused about what happens during each holiday.  Addison's most recent confusion came when she asked mommy "What are you going to be for Christmas"?  Trying my best not to laugh at the cuteness of the question, I tried to explain Christmas to her.  I'm sure she didn't understand most of what I was saying, she at least realized that Halloween is past and we won't be wearing costumes.

Pretending:  Addison has always loved to pretend with food.  Wether there's food in a book and she pretends to pick it up out of the book and eat it, or if there's pretend food in her toy bin, she will serve it to us.  In the last week, I've noticed more pretending and imagination running wild.  I love seeing this new creative side of her!  She will pretend to be a dog, train, a lion or whatever and she will imitate the actions and sounds of it.  So cute!

Potty training:  Much travel in the last few weeks has put a little wrench in our potty training schedule.  We always jump right back into routine when we can, but it can be confusing for Addie so we aren't too hard on her when we still have accidents.  I'm hoping after the holidays, things will simmer down and we can become diaper free for good!


All about Cooper

9 Months Old: It's so hard to believe that he's already 9 months.  The first 5 1/2 months didn't exactly "fly" by because of his colic and acid reflux but once he grew out of that stage, the time began to fly!

Shaking head no:  Cooper has done this before but it has become his staple for the week.  If we shake our head no, he will do it.  If he's just trying to get attention or be silly, he will shake his head.  When he's sitting on the floor without any support he will nearly lose his balance while shaking his head.

Rocking side to side:  If Coop is on his belly and playing on the floor, he will all of the sudden start rocking his arms side to side like he's dancing.  I'm not sure where he picked this up from.  If he sees that we're noticing him, he will continue to do it and get a big smile on his face!

Feeding self:  We try to give Coop at least one opportunity per day to eat independently (with supervision of course).  Baby puffs, rice crackers, etc. all are easy for him to pick up and don't pose a choking risk.  I've noticed a huge improvement in Cooper's hand/mouth coordination just in the last week.  In the past, he couldn't always get the food item out of his hand and into his mouth.  This week though, it seems like he has figured out how to maneuver pieces from in between his fingers or out of his grip.  He'll be cutting steak in no time!

More photos from the week

Weekly Update - Cooper's Rosy Cheeks

Week of November 30, 2012

Addie's weekly photo

Cooper's weekly photo

This week we put our Christmas decorations and tree up.  The kids loved seeing all of the new "stuff" around the house.  Cooper seems especially interested in working his way over to the tree any time we let him loose on the floor.  Addison just loves to look at all of the pretty ornaments.

All about Addie

Addie LOVES Christmas!!  Of course most kids love the holiday that brings lights, presents, snow, and all around fun.  But I've never seen a child get so excited as Addison does when she sees the joys of Christmas!  Something as simple as walking into Walmart, Addie sees the Christmas trees and begs to go over and "see Christmas".  It's ADORABLE!

"Coopie" - Addison has started calling Cooper "Coopie".  I'm not sure where she picked this up but it's pretty cute!

Train Set - Addison's newest love is her train set.  We've had the set since last year but I try to rotate her toy bins so that things don't get "old" to her.  She's always asking us to build the tracks with her and make tunnels/bridges.


All about Cooper

Rosy Cheeks - Poor little Cooper just can't catch a break!  I'm assuming it's because of the teething, but his poor little cheeks keep getting more and more irritated.  Most of the pictures I have up this week show the redness in his face.  I've kept Vaseline on him as much as possible, but it doesn't always help. Aside from keeping him as dry as possible, we'll just have to keep an eye on things.

Making faces while eating - I'm laughing as I'm typing this because it is too funny when I think about it.  When we're feeding Cooper (solids), he will make a scrunchy face between bites and sometimes it will be accompanied by a high pitched screech.  I think he has caught on that it amuses us because he will glance back and forth at anyone in the room like he's trying to see their reaction.

More photos from the week:

Pretending to eat pizza