February 2018

We had a pretty eventful February. Right at the beginning of the month we all came down with the flu... so there was that. Aurora got it first, she actually had to be removed from class by her teachers because it was so clear she was sick. For a girl that never misses an opportunity to whine this was pretty amazing, but turns out we were supposed to go to dinner with a friend that night and she knew it wasn’t going to happen if she was sent home. I got it a day or so later and then Cooper the following week. I think it helped Connor and Dad that they left the house to go sking over the weekend so missed a lot of the germs.

We missed Valentine’s Day because I was still dying of the plague but we were mildly recovered by Matt’s birthday. Kids got him some cute presents and I got him the smart watch he has been wanting. Nothing crazy, just lots of love for Dad.

Unfortunately Matt had to be out of town during EXPO so he drove to Logan from the airport the day after and got to see her work before they took it down. Aurora’s unit this year was Traditional Food (mostly breads) and it was so fun to see all her work. A bunch of the kids’ Grandpartners also made an appearance so I got to meet Sandy (she and Aurora adore each other which is amazing). Aurora and I went out to dinner after EXPO and ended up running into her teacher Kim which was also pretty fun.

We took the kids to see Stomp (Connor’s birthday present) which was really neat. I was a little worried about Connor’s attention span because there was no intermission and an hour and a half run time, but he loved it. He was fully engaged the whole time and we talked about it all the way home.

The Schwedels came out to visit again! They spent the last half of winter break with us in Breckenridge. Connor, Aurora and Danny spent every day skiing together and Erica and I even got to do a lesson. I really miss having good friends that are easy to hang out with. Hopefully now that we are settled in our new neighborhood we will start to meet some people.

February 2017

Aurora had her first Expo at school! This is a big deal people. Each kid at Logan gets to pick their own individual unit to study for the majority of the year and Expo is when they present to everyone what they have been working on. Aurora has been studying Greek Gods and Goddesses. She loved presenting to everyone that came by her station and did a fabulous job. So proud!!

We rearranged car seats in the Escalade. I have been debating switching Connor to a forward facing seat for a while and finally did it. He is now in the very back with Aurora which frees up one of the bucket seats. It is so much easier now for the kids to get in and out.

We started doing an online art school called Artventure, which has been amazing. Aurora historically hasn't been very interested in creating her own art (just coloring) is now fascinated with all the things she can make. I hope it sparks her creative side and encourages her to take some risks with her art.

Wyatt's poor eyes are getting worse. They had started to look better for a while but recently he developed "cherry eye" which is when a dog's third eyelid gets inflamed and "pops" out. Fortunately we were able to treat is and let it settle back in. Let's hope it stays that way.

--Cooper at 16 months --

Cooper is developing quite the opinion about everything. He knows what he wants and isn't afraid to let you know!

He is definitely starting to understand what we say to him. I am constantly reminding him that he cannot walk if he doesn't hold my hand. He doesn't want to usually but once I explain that if he doesn't I will have to carry him he is quick to comply ;)

He has the most adorable head nod, which isn't a head nod at all because he bouncing his whole body to say yes.

Cooper loves dancing to the Beatles with his brother and sister. He especially likes "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and totally rocks out.

He takes his shoes off in the car all the time and it drives me nuts.

He is eating pretty well. He has been cutting down on his reliance on yogurt and is more willing to try new foods

He loves coloring especially with markers, but I ended up taking all the markers away because Cooper was eating the tips off... yuck.

February 2016

We celebrated Dada's thirty third birthday this month! We did presents in the morning - Kids got him a ski helmet and I got him a beer of the month club and a new robe. Then we were planning to take him to Las Delicious because that is where he always teases we are going when we are really going to Hacienda so Aurora and I thought it would be a funny birthday spot.

Poor Wyatt isn't doing very well. Long story short, after transferring him to three different vets we discovered he is no longer producing any tears and has corneal ulcers in both eyes. This is something that will never get better but hopefully one of the myriad medications will get his tear glands producing again.

Connor getting to use the fire hose at Wash Park

Andrew and Erica Schwedel came out to Breckenridge to ski with us over the long weekend. It was wonderful to see them and finally get to meet Emily who is the same age as Connor. I can't believe that we haven't seen them since our seconds were born. Despite some of the kids not knowing each other and Aurora and Danny not remembering each other they all settled in and played remarkably nicely together. They are certainly an easy family to travel with and we hope to travel with them again in the future.

We had the last of our school visits for Aurora. She loved every single visit she went on but her favorite was clearly Logan. She came out of the classroom and told Dad, "Logan was my favorite because we got to do math!" Now we just sit and wait and hope!

 

I had another appointment with my PT and she says I am making progress. Yay! Overall I feel stronger and my gap feels both slightly narrower and slightly shallower. I just need to keep up the motivation which is hard when we still aren't sleeping very much.

Princesses are finally on their way out of our house!! Ever since Aurora and Dad went to go see The Lion King Broadway she has been less and less interested in the Disney princesses. She will still play with her magiclip dolls but she is more interested in animals. Her favorite color is no longer pink, but yellow like lions! I am so happy with this change :)

 

-- Cooper at 4 months --

25.2 inches (40%)

14 pounds 7 oz (25%)

At Cooper's 3 month pediatrician appointment they told us that he has dropped down from 50% for height and weight to 20%. They said they weren't worried but they would keep and eye on him to make sure he didn't continue to drop.

The pediatrician also noticed that Cooper was developing a bit of a flat spot on the back of his head. She said this was also was nothing to be concerned about but we decided to get him out of the rock and play anyway. His sleep is still pretty dismal anyway so we may as well move him to his crib while we are already getting up every hour or two.

The first night in his crib was pretty terrible so we elevated one end and put a rolled up towel under his sheet to make a cozier spot that was more like the rock and play that he was used to. He accepted that set up pretty easily and we simply lowered it a little bit every few nights until it was level and then took out the towel.

We also did some work on getting him to fall asleep on his own in the crib. I don't want to be fighting to lower him into the crib without waking him (especially when we have to lower it). It only took one nap time of standing by the crib and patting or rubbing his back for him to accept it. And even then he only fussed or cried off and on for an hour. He was definitely not in complete distress because he would fuss, play around and then fuss again. Since then we have successfully been able to transfer him to the crib pretty drowsy and he rolls over and goes to sleep.

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"