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.

October 2014

Aurora washing away hitting her brother

Aurora is doing a bit better at preschool. Drop off is still pretty hit or miss but there are starting to be days that she doesn't cry when I leave. For now I'll count that as a win. It has also been fun to see them celebrating some of the Jewish holidays. They did a little activity where they washed away something they were sorry for -- Aurora washed away hitting her brother…by accident ;)

Washing clothes at Four Mile Farm

Feeding the goats

Her class went on a field trip to a historic farm in Denver which was a blast. They got to see what the life of a pioneer was like and meet a bunch of farm animals. I used to walk by Four Mile Farm when we lived in the apartment but I had know idea how much fun it was!

We went to Florida for a wedding and a little family vacation time. The ocean was beautiful but it was  too cold to get in. The kids enjoyed some sand time though -- it was Connor's first time! He wasn't sure about the feel of it on his feet but he loved picking it up and putting it in a bucket.

First time in the sand!

Aurora took Matt to the Dad's Breakfast at her school which was so fun for her. She loved getting to show her Dada her school, her classroom and her teachers. Matt also enjoyed the experience, especially  seeing Aurora's portfolio in the classroom and hearing Miss Jennifer tell him that Aurora's negotiation skills are "legendary." Glad to know she doesn't just do that with us! 

Dad's Breakfast at Temple Emanuel

Aurora and Dad at the breakfast

Matt and I got TWO real date nights! We went to the Broncos game and also to a concert at the Grizzly Rose. It was fun to get out and spend some time with other adults. We went to the Grizzly Rose with our friends Tom and Jennifer and two of their friends. 

Broncos Game

John Michael Montgomery at the Grizzly Rose

This year for Halloween Aurora decided she wanted to be a pink leopard. I have no idea where that idea came from but she has been talking about it for months. Definitely not an easy costume to make, but I did it. Fake fun is no fun! Aurora and Matt went trick or treating on our street and she got to keep the number of candies of how old she is which thankfully she found completely reasonable.

Pink leopards say roar!

Squirrels ate our pumpkin...

-- Connor at 11 Months --

Scarlet Fever! Yes, it still exists and he's got it! Luckily we noticed a difference about 24 hours after starting antibiotics. Now Dada and Rora can't call you "Baby Outbreak" anymore!

Cut your two top teeth

Cruising all over the place and you have started wanting to walk around holding our hands.

You are saying "mama" "dada" "ba-ba" while you are waving goodbye and "no no no!"

Naps are an hour a piece around 9:30 and 2. You generally sleep until about 5 before needing to nurse and then sleep for another 45-60 minutes.

You won't let your Dada put you back to sleep at all anymore. You just start screaming your head off if he goes to you in the middle of the night :(

Aurora - Eleven Months

We have a tooth!  Actually it was one right after the other so she now has both her bottom front teeth in.

Getting ready to take off.  She "takes us on walks" all over the house but still needs us to hold both of her hands. If you sneak one away she stops dead ;)

Go Broncos!

She has really started copying us.  If Dad bangs on the table she bangs on the table.  And when Grandma starts singing patty-cake Rora starts clapping her hands.  It is so fun to see her starting to interact with us. 

She is still stuck on da-da but babbling up a storm.  A few times it has really sounded like she has said words.  She was patting Chile the other day and I swear she said "chile"  Last time we were at the vet he also could have sworn she responded "okay" to something he said.   

Aurora has really taken off with solids this month.  It was like something finally clicked and she started shoveling food into her mouth!

Bedtime continues to get better.  This month we established playtime in the crib after all of her sleeps and this has made her infinitely more comfortable in her bed.

I don't make this stuff up...this is literally how my daughter sleeps

Naps are still tricky.  She goes down really easily -- often with no protest at all -- but the length still usually ranges from 30-60 minutes.