December 2016

Connor's intellectual curiosity is starting to come alive. He usually comes home from school talking about something he learned that day - "Mama do some animals sleep through the winter?" or the other day when I was getting dinner ready he saw the bag of buns and asked what was keeping the bag closed (a plastic tab) and how exactly it worked.

Connor's birthday party was a lot of fun. We had a proper party for him this year because I expected he would really want one after seeing his sister have parties... but it was too funny because when I asked him who he wanted to invite he said "only Sloane" who is his best buddy at school.

Christmas was a blast this year. Last year was almost embarrassing with how many presents found their way under the tree, so this year we were purposeful in keeping it more minimal. I think the kids enjoyed it more and so did Matt and I. We just got the kids each a National Geographic Kids Encyclopedia, a few fiction books, and tickets to The Secret Garden which we will take them to in May. They got plenty of other toys from their aunts and uncles and grandparents.

We flew to Scottsdale to visit Nanny and Grumpa the day after Christmas which was really fun. Keeping a minimal Christmas in mind I love that Aurora asked me why she didn't get a present from Nanny and Grumpa under the tree and then quickly corrected herself and said "Oh yeah! Going to Scottsdale is the present!"

Connor had his pediatrician appointment and he is finally growing! He was about 25% for height and 35% for weight. I hope he is filling out a little in preparation for a big growth spurt!

For Connor's birthday we got him tickets to see Rudolf the Musical. He said he wanted Aurora to be able to go too, so the four of us went and it was so awesome. Our seats were in the first two rows and he was memorized the whole time. Magical :)

The kids have been having a blast singing all sorts of Christmas songs and my personal favorite is when Connor sings "We wish you a merry christmas tree…” ;)

-- Cooper at 14 months --

At the beginning of the month Cooper was just starting to choose to walk between things! He was able to take a few steps, regain his balance and walk a little more. And now by the end of the month we had a full time walker!

He is starting to following simple directions -- please put that back in the bin etc

He loves climbing on things! Especially stools and chairs... you know things that hurt to fall off of ;) His favorite right now are the kids chairs at the kitchen table. He will crawl under the table to push them out so he can climb on them.

He had been sleeping really well... well until we traveled to Scottsdale. Then it all totally fell apart. I hope it was just the new location and things will get back to normal once we are settled at home.

February 2015

We have had some really warm weather lately. I think we had a whole week of 70 or 80 degree days which were lovely; however, only make the return of the cold that much harder. The kids loved playing outside and digging in the dirt.

Unfortunately preschool isn't going well. The stress usually starts as soon as Aurora wakes up and ends with her hysterically crying when I drop her off at Temple. It is completely exhausting and I feel terrible that she is so unhappy for so much of each school day. If she was happy and content after I left that would be one thing but apparently she is usually sad for quite a while.

We celebrated Matt's birthday! Unfortunately we didn't get to celebrate on his actual birthday because I picked Aurora up from school to find her a complete disaster complaining of her ears. I took her to the pediatrician and she had an ear infection in both ears. Poor girl!

Connor got his first haircut! He was so cooperative and looks like such a big boy now!

We finished ski school! Getting Aurora to her lesson was pretty brutal but luckily we ended on a good note. She left her last class saying how much fun she had and that she wanted to come back next year. She may feel differently when next year actually rolls around… but for now I'll take it!

-- Connor at 14 months --

You are finally eating a little bit more. I think part of the problem lately may have been your teeth. When you are being extraordinarily picky you will still usually eat soft things like packets and yogurt so I'm wondering if your mouth just gets really tender. Even though you won't eat most things, you are obsessed with banana. Any time you see them you shout "nana!" over and over again until we give you some ;)

You have picked up your second nap again.

You are finally not screeching so much. You can now yell "mama!" whenever you wants something.

For Valentine's Day your Dada got you and Aurora giant bears which you both love. You especially love "attacking" them by walking over, shouting "ahhhhhhhhh" and throwing yourself on top of them. It's hysterical.

You have recently discovered a love of books. You want to be read to all the time and will often sit by yourself and look through them. You also like to point to the pictures and "talk" to them.

New words :: gig git (get it), ma "moose"