Cooper-4 months

Cooper-4 months

Last Thursday, Cooper turned 4 months old!  It baffles me where the time has gone!  We had his check-up with the pediatrician on Friday, and here are his 4 month stats:

Weight:  13lbs 15oz.  (25-30%)

Height:  24 3/4in: (25%)

Head:  16in: (75%)

He's growing and developing right on track!  He's on the verge of rolling over from tummy to back, and I expect this to happen ANY day!  He is also apparently an extremely early teether.  His front two bottom teeth have dealing him fits the past few weeks, and the last couple days have been NO FUN!  They are so swollen and tender, I hope they pop through for him.  His sister didn't get her first tooth until 9 months, so this is CRAZY early for our house!

We got the green light from the doctor to attempt some cereal and/or veggies depending on how it goes.  So, we'll be giving that a go here in the next few days.  I'm not sure how he'll react.  He eats like a champ, and is "all business" at mealtime, so I'm not sure what this will be like!  Delaney wasn't a fan of cereal until closer to 6 months.  She preferred the oatmeal cereal over the rice cereal, so we'll see what Cooper thinks.

He is still wearing his 3 month clothes, but the one-piece sleepers are getting rapidaly too short.  I need to get the 6-month size jammies washed and ready to go.  He's still comfortably in the size 1 diapers.  He seems to be chunking up all of a sudden.  His cheeks are huge, and he's getting those adorable "baby rolls" all over it seems!

Cooper has quite the personality!  When he's not fighting with his teeth or tired, he is a happy and smiley guy that loves to make people laugh!  I'm thinking we might have a little class clown on our hands!  He's already such a little boy, too.  He thinks all things "gross" are hilarious!  He also finds it pretty amusing when his sister gets in trouble!  He's a notorious hair-puller these days, so Delaney and I need to be on our toes if we don't want to suffer.  He finds this funny too!

It's hard believe our little man is already 4 months old, but it also seems like he's always been here!  He fits in to our little family perfectly.  He's that long-lost missing piece!  We love you, Cooper Bryant, to the moon & back!

Overdue Baptism Recap

On February 2, 2014, we baptized Cooper.  It happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, so we thought it was a good day to bless our little baby.  I mean, if he grows up to be an NFL star, it would only be fitting that he was baptized on Super Bowl Sunday, right?!?  Considering it was a Sunday in February in Nebraska, the weather miraculously cooperated so that everyone could travel to Lincoln safely.  We are so grateful to our families for making the trip at fairly short notice to celebrate our little man.  With the impending arrival of the newest Bryant cousin, and the big wedding coming up this Spring, we wanted to get this little event checked off the list before it was impossible to get scheduled.  

Delaney had the job of "towel holder", so she thought she was pretty special.  Cooper cried for just a little big after he had the water poured on his head.  He wasn't overly dramatic.

Uncle Chip provided pyrotechnic support, while Delaney kept a bird's eye view on everyone.

Cooper with this parents, godparents, & sister.  Uncle Chip & Aunt (to-be) Lauren & Uncle Brent are Cooper's godparents. 

Here's Cooper with all his grandparent's on his Baptism Day!  I never had the chance to have all 4 of my grandparents alive while I was, so pictures like this are very special to me. 

 We finished the festivities with a little lunch in Cooper's honor at Lazlo's here in Lincoln.  The food and family time was just perfect!  It was a wonderful day for our blessed little boy!

Delaney Jo-4 years old!

Today our tiny little peanut is a beautiful little (big) girl that's 4 years-old today.  Time has really flown as it seems like just yesterday we were carefully cradling our scrawny little baby that arrived a month earlier than planned.  You were beautiful and strong, and well that hasn't changed.  However, you didn't stay little long...

Delaney-newborn

Today, you are a bright, loud, happy, independent, stubborn, funny, smart, sweet girl that keeps us on our toes and exhausts our patience!  You are a big girl for your age, and we have a doctor's appointment in a couple days to see just how big you are.  You are outgrowing your Big Girl size 6 clothes, so I know you're still "off the charts". Like your parents, you love to eat, and naturally demand a treat after every meal.  You favorite foods are spaghetti, bow-tie pasta, berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, pretzels, and goldfish.  You also love ice cream, but you have to have sprinkles with it!  Lemonade is a treat, and you have developed quite the taste for orange juice.  Brownies are a favorite treat! 

Delaney-1 Year

Your life has been turned up-side-down since we welcomed your little brother home.  You wanted a little sister so bad, and you were very disappointed that you got a brother instead.  You have come a long ways in the last 3 months, and you now love your little brother and have said we can keep him.  You are very sweet with him, and you are very helpful to Mommy when you want to be.  You have "acted-out" since Cooper was born, which is understandable.  I think you might be on the verge of turning the corner, so I'm cautiously optimistic we have calmer days ahead.  We've had a lot of rough patches lately.

Delaney-2 years

You have learned so many new things this year.  You are working on writing your name, and you can identify most letters & numbers.  You have your father's memory, so you have masted the art of memorization...this works for books, TV, movies, and music...among so many other things!  You have recently started your first dance class, and have your first recital coming up next month.  You have graduated from a tricycle to a big girl bike with training wheels.  I'm sure you'll be a pro by June!  You love to learn new things...last summer you took regular batting practice with Mom pitching since we didn't have a tee--you made contact many times.  You have also mastered the iPad, you're better than Mommy on that thing!  You love you watch movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Instant Video & Netflix.  You have discovered several oldies...He-Man, She-Ra, Wonder Woman, Batman, Barbie, Rugrats, just to name a few. 

Delaney-3 years

This year you got to be in your first wedding, and you had the time of your life!  You danced ALL NIGHT LONG, and cried when we pulled you off the dance floor to go home to bed.  You are so excited for Uncle Chip & Aunt Lauren's wedding in May!  You went to many a Daddy & D date night movies this year...your favorites were...Frozen, The Croods, and Despicable Me 2.  You have become quite the little fashionista.  You have an opinion on whatever you're wearing, and you LOVE your accessories.  However, you are a bit of a tom-boy too.  You love to wrestle & rough house, and you're not afraid to get dirty.  We joke that you're our little linebacker in a tutu!  You are very particular about a so many things...how your blankets are folded, what food is on what spot on your plate, who turns off the bedroom light at bedtime...these are the things that become battles sometimes! 

Delaney-4 years

Life is far from boring when you're around, Delaney.  You are such a character.  You're naughty and sweet, hot and cold, silly and sassy, and too smart for your own good.  You are stubborn, independent, and quite bossy.  You lack patience, and never forget any promises we make.  You're the life of the party and hilarious.  You're so much like your Daddy it's not even funny.  We wouldn't change you for the world!  We love you to the moon & back little girl!  Happy Birthday Delaney Jo! 

Cooper-3 months

Cooper turned three months old on Monday, and it just doesn't seem possible that we're at that milestone yet!  Honestly, we are very blessed with such a sweet baby.  He was completely backwards on days & nights for the first 8 weeks of his life, but he finally straightened out just in time for me to return to work.  I'm so grateful for that!  4 hours of total sleep a night is NOT anywhere close to enough for me.  I'm still barely surviving on about 6! 

He is growing & eating well.  At his 2 month check up last month, he weighed in at 11 lbs 6 oz, so I'm guessing we are in the 12.5 lbs range.  We'll have to hop on the scale one of these days to see.  So far he's in about the 25th percentile for height & weight, but the boy has a big noggin.  I think that was in about the 90th percentile at 2 months.  Let's hope he grows into his head.  He does have great neck strength for a 3 month old.  He's not much of a bobblehead, which is impressive!  We are filling out our 3 month clothes right now, but I think he'll swim in the 6 month stuff.  He's still comfortably in the size 1 diapers. 

We have been exclusively breastfeeding so far.  We exclusively pumped and bottle fed Delaney, so this has been a whole new ballgame.  The first two months were HELL...extremely painful & frustrating, but now I love it.  I already know I'll miss our nursing time when it's over.  He has transitioned well to a bottle at Holly's, which I'm so grateful for!  He tends to take mealtime very seriously...just like Daddy! 

He already has quite the little personality!  He loves the ladies and is a major flirt!  He's a smiling guy that likes to talk.  Thankfully, his fussy times are few & far between, and can usually be explained by gas or tiredness.  He gets very proud of himself when he fills his diaper & he enjoys having his nose cleaned out.  He thinks both of these things are very funny...typical boy!  He likes his baths as long as he doesn't swallow any water, then he gets MAD!  He's a little snuggler, much more than I remember his sister to be.  He loves to be held & snuggled.  Considering he's very likely our last little one, I'm trying to savor all these little moments.

Cooper loves to play and be talked too!  He likes to be sung too, and doesn't really care if it's a sweet lullaby or one of Delaney's nonsensical tunes.  He has enjoyed the limited time we've been able to spend outside so far.  I think it will be a fun summer outside for him.  He hasn't taken much interest in his puppy, Izzy, yet.  He tolerates Delaney for the most party, but when she's especially loud or crazy he's not a fan.  She can get a smile out of him pretty easily with her silliness!  He is just starting to giggle!  It's so cute, I'm trying so hard to catch it on video, but he's a smartypants and has already figured out what that little black box does!

Cooper has fit into our little family perfectly, and we can't imagine life without him!  He's the little boy we always hoped for!  (I just hope he stays little for a while!!)

Whirlwind Recap

Hello, there, internet fans!  Obviously, we have been M.I.A. on this little blog here for quite some time (ALMOST A YEAR)!  Failure!  To say we've been through a lot since my last post is a fairly big understatement.  In fact, I could write for days.  The main reason for our hiatus was that things were tough around here.  This time last year, I had just lost my grandmother, we were trying (not super successfully) to get pregnant, and Craig HATED his job.  We were stressed to the max and fighting to keep our sanity.  I didn't want to broadcast all of it on the internet, so I simply stopped posting because I was consumed with all the stress all the time. 

Well, here we are a year later, and everything is so much better!  First of all, we found out in early April 2013 that we were expecting our second little bundle of joy.  We were due on my mom's birthday, December 16th.  I was very fortunate to have a very "easy" pregnancy this time.  I did not have any of the high blood pressure issues I had with Delaney, and I felt great most of the time.  I was 9 months pregnant here...

Cooper Bryant Mencke was born on Tuesday, December 10, 2014 via a planned c-section.  He was born at 7:49a.m.  He weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 19.5" long.  He had (and still has) a full head of dark hair.  He is a really happy baby and is eating and (finally) sleeping well.  He started stretching out the nights about 10 days before I went back to work.  He is full of smiles and is starting to giggle.  He's a clone of his daddy & his sister, and so far seems to have quite the personality.  Delaney has come to grips that he's a boy and not a sister baby, and actually dotes on him pretty well.  (We are still working on calm & gentle though.)

On June 26th, we incorporated our business...CM Project Solutions, Inc.  On July 31st, Craig left his previous employer to work for himself!  This was a big change for all of us, but it the best thing for him.  He has finally gotten back to his oldself.  The business is doing well, and we are much happier!  He is working back in Lincoln now, and beats me and the kids home from work almost every night.  Craig also enjoyed a great Chiefs football season, and is counting down to next year!  

Delaney has been busy too!  Aside from becoming a big sister, she has been in her first wedding, started dance class, and become very proficient with the iPad (among so many other things).  She is about two weeks from her 4th birthday, and still towers over other kids her age.  She has had a tough transition with Cooper, and we are still struggling with some behavior issues.  I'm hoping time will work those out!  We NEED Spring to come ASAP, so we can get outside...I think that will help tremendously!  She is smart, funny, stubborn, and very independent...much like her Dad! 

I returned to work two weeks ago.  So far, the transition has been easier than with Delaney.  I am so grateful we have Holly!  Cooper is doing well over there, and I think he's just as spoiled as Delaney was.  I miss him terribly, but I don't worry about him over there!  Work is good, I have some good opportunities there this year, so I'm hoping to make the most of them.  Now, if I could just figure out how to get out of the house with two kiddos every morning on time, I'd be set! 

So, that's us in a small nutshell!  I hope to be more frequent with my posting again as this year is shaping up to be pretty fun...adjusting to life as a family of four, new baby cousin, Uncle Chip's wedding, vacations, etc...  Thanks for sticking with us if you're still here!  (Drop me a note and say "Hi"!)

Happy Birthday Delaney!

Yesterday, our baby girl turned 3!  I can't believe she's already 3, where has the time gone?  I look at her now, and it's so to believe how tiny she was.  Time flies!  We had a little family birthday party for her on Sunday, so all her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins came to town.  It was a great afternoon full of love for our little girl! 

Of course, we had a Minnie Mouse themed party since Delaney is loving Minnie Mouse these days!  We got this adorable cake from Super Target!  We served a brunch of biscuits & gravy, Mickey (or Minnie) Mouse-shaped pancakes, blueberry muffins, bacon, hash browns, and frozen fruit cups.  We had cupcakes & cake for dessert!  Delaney was completely spoiled by her family with a new Spring wardrobe, a new CD player with a new Disney Princess CD, a couple books, and much more!  She loved her party and was super sad to see everyone go home! 

At age 3, Delaney is still topping the charts for height & weight.  We had her 3-year checkup this morning, and she's measuring pretty square these days.  She weighs 38.6lbs (97%) and is 39.75in. tall (96%).  We are buying size 5 clothes for spring & summer, and I think we'll be moving on to size 9 shoes very soon!  She is fully potty trained during the day, but we're still working on the nighttime dryness.  The pediatrician said there is no need to push it, so we'll just keep doing what we're doing for now!  Like everything, she'll figure it out when she's good & ready to.  I fear our days of naps are dwindling.  Holly says she only sleeps for about an hour over there each day.  I don't think she's quite ready to give them up, but I think that day is inching closer!  She still goofs around a bedtime, and takes a long time to fall asleep.  I think this is just a function of her stubborn personality! 

Delaney has many loves these days!  She loves to eat...her dinner choice on her birthday was spaghetti!  She loves to dance, as we frequently have random dance parties at home.  She also has a new-found love/addiction to the iPad.  She can navigate that thing better than me.  She can watch PBS videos, play ABC games, and all sorts of other things without any assistance from us!  She even managed to Facetime call Lauren the other night while we weren't paying attention.  She loves books has even started to memorize them to "read" to herself.  She can recognize and identify most letters, so we're very excited about that!  She loves her baby dolls, and we can see reflections of our parenting when she plays with them!  She loves to talk & sing, and she has even started telling stories!  Dress up is also a big favorite right now, and she almost always has an option on what she wears any given day!

We are so proud of our little peanut!  This picture sums her up pretty well...she is adorable, sweet, with a big side of flair and a touch of crazy!  She is the smartest, funniest, sweetest little girl we know, and we can't believe how much she has blossomed over the past year.  She is full-on little girl, with no sign of baby or toddler to be found.  She is the light of our lives, and we love her to pieces!  Happy Birthday Delaney Jo!  We love you to the moon & back!

Behind the times

Wow, I'm a little behind with this ol' blog!  The last 6 weeks have been a little bit nutty.   After a long year of struggle, my grandmother (Grammy H) is finally at peace.  She was the strong, stubborn, matriarch of our family.  I am so thankful for the time we had with her.  I'm most thankful that she got to know my husband and my daughter since none of my other grandparents were given that chance.  I find myself missing her and thinking of her often.  The smallest little things will bring her to my mind.  She was a shining example of what being a strong woman is all about.  She didn't have a "easy" life, but she handled it all with grace and tenacity.  She was a straight-shooter, and you never had to guess what she thought about you (or anyone else for that matter!).  She was our whiskey-drinking, card playing, cussing, praying, crocheting, brownie-baking Grammy H., and none of us would have traded her for the world.  I find great peace in knowing that she is finally reunited with Grandpa Joe & Uncle Neil (and the other two babies she lost Michael & Mary Beth that none of us got to meet) after all these years.

This isn't a great picture, but it's the last picture of Grammy H with two of her three Great Grandbabies!  (Mom has a better copy!)

One of the highlights of the last few weeks was my little BFF retreat to Kansas City with my lifelong best friend Amanda!  We hardly ever see each other any more, and we were both in dire need of a little getaway.  We hit a great weekend for weather between snow storms, and spend a couple day shopping, eating, catching a movie, and lots of catching up!  I think we need to make this a regular occurrence at least on a semi-annual basis!  Craig and Delaney had a great weekend of bonding at home, and don't worry he's already working on a little "boy's getaway" coming up here really soon!

I don't have a picture of the two of us handy, but here's a picture of our little ones last summer.  Aren't they cute?!?

Let's see, what else have we been up too?!?  Did I tell you about my DIY husband of the year.  He caught the "Home Improvement" bug and has successfully completed two wonderful projects.  The first was some serious storage shelves in our storage room.  These shelves have changed my life I tell you!  A weekend of complete clutter insanity and mess, left me with these beauties....

Amazing, right?!?

After that project was all wrapped up, he decided to build the closet in the guest room we've been talking about since we moved in.  The room is a HUGE bedroom with the required windows, so now that we have officially added a closet it's a bedroom instead of a +1.  This project took about a week start to finish, but it is sooo nice.  It will be especially helpful if we ever decide to move Delaney downstairs! 

A closet is a hard thing to photograph, but if you've even been in this room it's a big change.  He built an entire wall from the studs up, and even built a few shelves in the closet it self.  We are all about the added storage! 

At the end of February, Delaney had another "first".  She finally got her first haircut!  After months of dragging my feet, I finally decided she needed a little trim.  Most people wouldn't even realize we had it cut, but it looks and behaves so much better.  She was very excited about it before & after wards, but during she was pretty timid and stonefaced.  She somehow equated haircuts to candy, and swindled Holly out of candy before we headed to the salon and Allison out of a sucker before she even sat in the chair.  Allison has been doing my hair for the last couple years, and she does a great job so I knew Delaney was in great hands!

She would NOT smile during the cut!

We have had a couple bigger snow storms this winter, which have actually been pretty fun since Delaney has really enjoyed playing in the snow.  Even Izzy got into it a few times!  Thankfully, Craig is a good sport and will play in the snow with her.  I like the supervisor, photographer role much better! 

Have a ball, while I was freezing!

Craig has been busy at work these last few weeks.  They seem to have jobs all over the midwest, so he's had a lot of windshield time lately.  He's been coming home a little banged up too.  One week a couple weeks ago, he managed to chip the end of his elbow off while tearing down a ceiling, and then slice his calf open while tearing out some carpet.  After our favorite nurse practitioner neighbor, Dr. Katie, took a quick peak she sent us to Urgent Care for what she thought would be stitches.  If you know Craig at all, he HATES needles, so this was not a good outcome.  Luckily for him, it had been too long since he did it, so it was too late for stitches.  He got some pretty sweet steri-strips instead and a tetanus shot instead!

He knew he was off the hook for major needle usage at this time, so he was feeling pretty good!

So that's the major highlights of the last few weeks.  We are gearing up for Delaney's big 3rd birthday next week, and her party this weekend so you can expect to hear back from me much sooner this time.  Can you believe she's going to be 3!?!