November 2016

Happy Birthday Connor! How are you three years old?! You are the sweetest little man I had ever met and I am so thankful to be your Mama!

Funny quotes from Connor --

“The dragon is going to crash the castle… because he has a mighty tail!”
 - While doing a 100 piece dragon puzzle

"Mama who was Connor when I was a baby?"

“I’m not talking to you”
 - This little guy is getting quite assertive!

And Happy Thanksgiving! We did a quiet thanksgiving here in Denver this year and again ordered food from Whole Foods. Why cook a gigantic meal when it is just Matt, the kids and I? Although somehow even though I wasn't cooking a ton of dishes it was still a really hectic day. I think its just the nature of a holiday...

We had our first Parent Teacher STUDENT conference this month. Aurora lead the entire thing and did an amazing job reflecting on her strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments and challenges. Her teacher said she was impressed with not only the depth of reflection Aurora showed but how quickly she was able to express it all.

I got to go have drinks with some girl friends :) I don't know when the last time was that I did that, but it was good for my soul. I would like to say I will make this a semi-regular part of my life but I know I will be writing a few months from now and not have gone again! Why is it so hard to carve out time for myself?

-- Cooper at 13 months --

Cooper is talking more -- Go-gah (yogurt), Dada, go go go, muh (more), baba (banana, book)

He is a pretty reasonable solids eater. He will pick at most things but never eats a ton of anything (except his yogurt!)

He seem to be totally capable of walking, but has no interest. He will take a few steps if someone sets him up to, but almost never chooses to on his own. He gets carried everywhere, why choose to put in effort if you don't need to? ;)

Cooper is standing really well on his own. He has gotten stable enough that sometimes he will stand and eat his yogurt packet at the same time.

That boy is obsessed with books! He reminds me of his sister with his intense love of them. He would be happy being read to all day long.

Cooper got his first haircut! Matt had been on my case for a while to cut that boy's shaggy hair. It was looking so funny being super short/non-existant in the front and long and shaggy in the back. He looks like such a little boy now!

Nanny got him a wheeled airplane that he can push around and he loves to chase Connor with it. It is hysterical to watch him try to catch Connor who is riding the plasma car all over the house.

We are down to one nap. He has been going down around 12 after we pick Connor up from school and have a super fast lunch. He still really wants his morning nap, but then wouldn't nap for the rest of the day so unfortunately he is going to have to adjust.

Cooper has been sleeping like a champ. He falls asleep easy by himself after books and typically sleeps through the night. Thank you Cooper!

October 2016

We got a terrible stomach plague this month. I should have known it was coming because we are never sick until Matt goes out of town. It started with me, then Connor and then Aurora. Thankfully it got weaker as it went though the family and also thankfully Cooper didn't get it. I was completely useless for two days though. I remember lying on the couch while the kids watched TV (which NEVER happens) and hearing them yell to me that Cooper had crawled all the way upstairs... oops...

Aurora is settling in at Logan really well. She loves her school and her unit work (Greek Gods and Goddesses). I don't think we could have picked a school that was more tailored to that child.

Connor is finally getting more comfortable at Paddington. Everything was fine until my first volunteer day. After I stayed at school with him once he couldn't understand why I wouldn't stay everyday... It has been so hard to see him struggling with drop off, but lately he has seemed okay as long as I get him settled into an activity before I go.

We are looking at new houses! After coming back from Grand Junction and watching the kids play in Roger and Cindy's big backyard we have decided that we need to find a new place with room for them to run and play. We will see!

Aurora got to go to her second Broncos game with Dad! That girl is turning into a huge football fan.

Halloween was fun this year. We had a Butterfly princess and a Red Dragon... except the Red Dragon didn't last very long because the poor boy basically baked in his costume at the Halloween Parade. He flat out refused to wear the hood when we went trick or treating with Aurora's friends Ellie and Eliana.

-- Cooper at 12 months --

Cooper has started standing on his own!

He has also started talking up a storm -- buh-buh (bye bye), go-goot (yogurt), ro-ro (Aurora), Da da da (Dada) Ma ma (Mama)

Cooper gets really excited after he nurses in the morning saying Da-da-da-da-da-da and looks for Matt. It's super cute.

I set up the play slide in the living room and Cooper loves playing with it.

We haven't transitioned to cow's milk yet, but he does eat a ton of whole milk plain yogurt. With other solids he tends to be picky from day to day, but overall eats most things.

He is still very content to ride around on my back, has shown no real interest in walking.

He is super smiley when people talk to him. As the third I think he is just happy when someone finally pays attention to him ;)

I have been taking him to the park lately and he loves crawling around on the play structure. Up the stairs and down the slide... up the stairs and down the slide :)

He has been waking up around 5:30/6, taking two naps around 9 and 1:30, then going down for bedtime at 6:30. I think we may his bedtime a little later to try to get a more consistent 6am wake up.

September 2016

Happy Birthday Cooper!! We made it through your first year. You are turning into such a sweet little boy with a big love of life. You love to dance and be a part of the action no matter what is going on. We had a little party for you with the kids and they were so happy to celebrate you becoming part of our family!

We drove out to Grand Junction to celebrate Grandma Minnie's 90th birthday. It was so special to have the whole family there together. It was also the first time Grandma Minnie got to meet Cooper who is in part named after her late husband, Charles. She made sure to introduce him to all her friends -- it was so sweet.

We started soccer with both kids this fall. Aurora is hysterical because she can't be convinced to participate in the practice, but you get her in a game and she starts knocking heads and pushing kids to the ground. I know who she is related to ;)

Well, we got our car tires slashed... I have never had anything like that happen before. We caught it on video with our security cameras, but I'm sure it won't matter. With all the car windows that have been broken and our neighbor's car getting stolen I am starting to not like living in the city as much as I once did.

Aurora went to her first Broncos game!! We were worried it would be too loud for her -- but we could not have been more wrong. She had a blast!

-- Cooper at 11 months --

Cooper is crawling around everywhere, especially the stairs...

He also loves to watch and play with whatever the older kids are doing, which often causes tears all around - the big kids don't want to share and Cooper ends up hurt.

Cooper just started cruising. I don't think there is any chance he will be walking by his first birthday like Connor but he's definitely moving around.

He's a good eater and has started signing MORE and I think sometimes he signs ALL DONE.

He loves bananas, yogurt and grapes.

He can say Mama and Dada.

Cooper loves being outside. He knows when we put the dogs out, comes crawling and cries if we close the door.

August 2016

Aurora learned how to ride a pedal bike at camp this summer! We sent her to the Avid Learn to Bike Camp, just hoping to get her more excited about biking, and she came home after the first day saying she had learned how to ride. She spent the rest of the week learning not to crash into the other kids :)

Matt and I took the kids to Deer Valley for a much needed vacation. It was a 7.5 hour drive but we all survived and it was actually much easier than flying! We spent the week hiking and hanging with the kids. One day Matt and Aurora actually climbed all the way up the mountain and rode the chairlift down. She was so proud!

Mimi and Papa came to visit and take care of the house and dogs while we were in Deer Valley. They came up a few days before we left and then stayed a few days after we got back. It was perfect to get two mini visits with them. They also got to pretend that they already lived in Denver for a week and just relax here.

Aurora started Kindergarten at The Logan School! She has loved it from second one and never had a moment of being nervous or scared, just super super excited. Coming from the girl who cried almost every time we dropped her off at Temple Emanuel that is really saying something.

Connor also started school! He is a Squirrel Nutkin -- 2's class at Paddington Station :) He goes MWF mornings and seems pretty happy. It is a whole new experience so he is rightly a little cautious, but we haven't had any tears yet so, YAY!

Cooper at 10 months -- I can't believe I don't have any notes here for July or August!! Yikes.

June 2016

We took a trip down to Texas to get all the cousins together. A bunch of the cousins are old enough now to really remember and enjoy each other which is so sweet to see. This year we went to Dallas and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. It is a super kid friendly hotel with bunk beds in the rooms and and indoor water park. Aurora's favorite part was the MagiQuest that she did with Dad where they had to complete scavenger hunt type challenges. I was really stressed about the trip before we left because Matt had a business trip come up last minute which left me to fly alone with the kids. Thankfully I have the best husband on the planet and he found a way to come home early and surprise me. 

Aurora and Brynn showing off their tattoos

Connor is starting to love the word no and is protesting direction a lot more. He is still refusing to nap a good portion of the time so I wonder whether he is starting to give it up or not. He also talks to everyone he meets. He asks random people on the sidewalk what their names are or how they are doing. The other day in the grocery store Connor told me “Mama I love you… and I love him” (in reference to a random older man in the produce section) He cracks me up. And apparently he cracks Aurora up too because she told me that Connor's jokes are her favorite thing about him. Cuties.

 

I am loving having Aurora home for the summer. Everyone seems to get along better when we spend more time together and we aren't so worn out from the school schedule. Aurora had Inspire Camp and Avid4Adventure the first three weeks of the summer but since then we have mostly just been hanging around. I am very curious to see if eye therapy is going to help Aurora's headaches. She sat out at least half of her week of Avid because she just felt so awful.

Aurora at Avid4

Aurora and Dad heading to Beauty and the Beast

-- Cooper at 8 months --

Separation anxiety has set in big time for Cooper. He has never been a super low maintenance baby, but now he has to be in my arms or on my lap which is exhausting.

He has figured out how to sit up all by himself. This did make him a bit happier for a little while but it didn't last long. He has also pulled himself up to standing at least once but doesn't do it very often. 

We are finally really starting solids. I had stopped feeding solid food a few weeks ago because he got really constipated. The pediatrician said to avoid things like banana and sweet potato and instead focus on things like peas and blueberries. Peas were an instant hit but he hasn't taken to blueberries yet.

Cooper has a tooth!

He is finally starting to  lengthen his sleep time! He is sleeping from 6 until almost 2 then a wake up 4 and again at 5 or 5:15 when he is up for the day. This guy has always struggled with the early morning wake ups.

He is still on two naps at 8:30 and 1 which both last about an hour and 20 minutes.