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.

May 2016

Preschool is over... How do I have a kindergartener already?! I am really going to miss taking Aurora to Miss Katie and Miss Sharon everyday for school. They really have an amazing way of dealing with the kids and working through any issues that come up.

Mother's Day Tea at Inspire

We finally had Aurora's 5 year pediatrician appointment. She has been complaining of headaches just about everyday for the past... month? They told us headaches at her age are usually dehydration but if drinking more water doesn't help I am going to take her to get her vision checked. The only thing I can think of is that she has been reading A LOT more recently and I think it coordinates to when the headaches started.

Cousin Julie came to visit

Aurora got her real violin! And just in time for her first concert. She was so proud standing up in front of everyone and having a violin just like all the bigger kids.

Aurora's first violin recital

First time holding her violin

I am finally getting around to using the family responsibilities charts that Matt and I got the kids for Christmas. I have tried giving them jobs before but have always failed due to my own forgetting not any resistance on their part. Aurora has been unloading the dishwasher (which is an amazing blessing for me in the morning) and Connor has been feeding the dogs.

Connor has recently decided to start acting like the two and a half year old that he is. He is getting quite an opinion about everything. There have been a lot more tears than usual and a lot more refusal. He has also been only napping about 50% of the time which doesn't help. The other night I was lying in bed giving him kisses and he looked up at me and said, "Mama, I love your kissed... but now go" Ha.

Connor and Knox

 

Aurora has been reading all.the.time. I usually try to limit her reading to quiet time because it is one of the few times that she and Connor do not get along. He wants to sit and be a part of what she is doing and she wants him to leave her alone. And the other night I went into her room to check on her and I found chapter books hidden under her bed. Apparently she has been opening her window to get light and reading instead of going to sleep. That girl.

I have never really liked requiring a child to say they are sorry because saying doesn't actually mean they are sorry.  If one of the kids does something to the other they have to go over and ask if the hurt one is okay and what they can do to help. It is super cute that lately they have been answering "you can give me a hug and a kiss" awwww.

Matt and I decided that even though the kids don't watch much TV, they had started watching more of it on weekend mornings with Dad and it seems to be negatively impacting their behavior towards each other and us. We are going to try cutting it out except for times when we all want to sit down as a family and watch something together. I am excited to see if this helps all the poor behavior we have been seeing.

-- Cooper at 7 months --

Cooper is sitting up completely independently! He hasn't figured out how to get himself up to a seated position yet but we went ahead and dropped his mattress because I would hate to learn he had figured it out by finding him on the floor in the middle of the night.

He has been pulling up to standing by holding onto our hands. He wants to stand so badly!

This boy hates tummy time. I have been trying to do more of it with him since he is showing no signs of crawling, but it isn't worth the tears.

I have finally decided to stop being lazy about food and get him on some solids. Nursing is just so much easier...

He is solidly on two naps -- 8:30 and 1

Nights are starting to turn!! He has been going to sleep really well and he has been going back to sleep some of the times with just some extra white noise. He has been waking 3-4 times but only getting fed at 1 and 4 which has thankfully caused an increase in day intake. I offer pretty frequently and he eats before and after each nap as well as once in the middle of his awake time.

April 2016

We had Aurora's birthday party at Great Play and the kids loved it. Matt loved it because they let him bring in beer and I loved it because they take care of the clean up. It was a win all around.

Connor and I started doing Letter of the Week together. He loves the puzzles and the magnets. This boy truly amazes me with how quick he is at visual/spatial tasks.

Aurora wrote her first book called "The Tulip Garden." Her teachers said they were having trouble getting her to do any representational drawing or writing her own stories so it was nice to finally see her show an interest.

Matt and I are finally getting to go on some real date nights! Now that Cooper is going to bed earlier I can put him down at home and then we can go to dinner alone together. It has been amazing.

Aurora's dinosaur notes

-- Cooper at 6 months --

We have started giving Cooper a few foods. He loves touting peppers but wouldn't touch the broccoli I gave him.

When he is in tummy time he has been trying to get up on all fours.

There is some hair starting to come in but it is super short and not very dark so it's hard to see so he still looks essentially bald.

Cooper is sitting up by himself! He is capable of sitting up unassisted but I think he gets bored and knows there is something to catch him so he flops over and lounges on the boppy.

We switched to 2 naps because Cooper was refusing his third nap and then wanting to go to sleep for the night at 4:30 or earlier. He was then ready to be up for the day at 4am. Yikes. His naps are now at 8:30 and 1pm and he is going to sleep around 5:45/6. We had a few days right at the beginning of the month that he was only waking up twice which was amazing but of course didn't last long and now we are back to lots of wake ups.

March 2016

Happy Birthday Aurora! You are turning into such a sweet, funny and curious little girl. I love watching you explore and learn about your world. Even though your intensity causes some conflict sometimes I have treasured being your mama each and every day. Please never lose your fire!

Cooper also turned 6 months. Goodness the last six months have gone fast. I guess that's what sleep deprivation will do to you! We had family pictures taken by the same gal that did Connor's 6 month pictures and she got some really great shots of everyone.

 

Aurora is going to Logan! This whole school process was so much more stressful than I thought it was going to be. We applied to four schools and got into three of them -- Logan, Garland and Stanley. While I really wanted to be able to say yes to Garland because it is in our neighborhood, after meeting with our educational consultant it became clear that Logan was the only school that made sense for Aurora. Once we made the decision we wrapped a Logan t-shirt and gave it to her. She was so excited!!

 

Connor has always been very verbal, but he is starting to speak his mind a lot more. He is starting to stand up to Aurora expressing how he would like to play or what he would like to do instead of just doing whatever she says. While I am proud of him for standing up for himself, it does lead to a lot more fighting. When Aurora doesn't get her way she gets up in Connor's face and then Connor hits or kicks her to get her away from him. Oy.

 

He is also starting to memorize books. I was reading him Tacky the Penguin the other night and I realized that if I simply said the first few words of the page Connor could finish it for me. I remember when Aurora started doing this and it was just so darn cute to listen to her tell the story as she flipped though books.

Learning to spread butter at "cooking school"

Done with ski school for the year

I am feeling totally overwhelmed with life and our house right now. It seems like it would be so much easier to just move to a smaller house because that would force us, and give us a "reason" to get rid of a bunch of our stuff. It is hard to declutter when there is no reason to get rid of something even if it is excess or not really needed. Unfortunately though having lots of things means I spend so much more time cleaning and honestly its just really oppressive.

-- Cooper at 5 months --

25.5 inches (10%)

15 pounds 12 oz (30%)

We had Cooper's 6 month pediatrician appointment and he is continuing to track at 20% for weight but has now dropped to 20% for height (he was 50%). Never fear though, he has a 98% head! That's a McCord for you ;)

He is turning into such a happy, smiley guy! He loves that he can now sit up unassisted for extended periods of time. I don't see this keeping him happy for long because he has already started trying to pull himself up and often would rather stand than sit.

He just learned how to stick out his tongue and thinks it is the greatest thing ever if someone does it back to him.

He really really really wants to start eating solids! He now gets really fussy when we sit at the table. I have employed the same trick that I used with his brother and sister, giving him a spoon to play with, but that won't work for long! I haven't started him yet only because I am so darn tired and am not ready for the extra work.

I think he is teething again. No clue if teeth are imminent but he has been super grumpy the past few days and has started drooling everywhere again.

Looking terrified ;)

I don't know what is going on but we have been having a ton of diaper leaks! These are the same diapers I used with Connor (Bumgenius 4.0) and I never ever had leaks with him. I striped and bleached them but it hasn't seemed to make a difference.

We have finally transitioned him to a more solid time of day routine. Instead of just waiting 2 hours from his last nap before putting him down I have started putting him down for naps at 8, 12, and 3/3:30. He is up at 6 and asleep around 6:30. I put him in bed pretty drowsy (practically asleep) and he falls asleep on his own there.

There have been a few nights that he has only woken up twice, but those are few and far between. More often he is up every 2 hours. Sometimes we can get him to go back to sleep in the middle of the night with loud sounds that we call the "brain scrambler" that I have set on a 15 minute timer.