Cooper-8 months

Cooper is officially 8 months old as of last Sunday!  It's so hard to believe that he's already 8 month old and he's getting closer & closer to his big birthday!  We had a few more milestones this past month...he FINALLY has 2 teeth!  That's right, two, came in on the same day, while he was at Grandma's house for his first sleepover without Mommy.  He was just shy of 8 months when they popped through, so he's about a month ahead of his big sister in the teething department!  I'm also not too sure we won't be getting more teeth on top here any time!

Cooper has also become fully mobile!  He was a rolling fool last month, and over the last couple weeks he has perfected his army crawl.  The kid's going to have some serious upper-body strength.  He is quick and just ornery enough that he is already getting himself into trouble!  He discovered the dog food bowl just this morning, so I'm sure he'll be sampling some within a week!  Little stinker!  He also LOVES to rummage through my purse when it's on the floor and get out any of Delaney's toys that are within his reach.  He's a curious little guy!  He has also mastered the move from sitting up to laying down gracefully without the loud thump of the head on the ground.  Quick learner, he is!

He weighs roughly 17.6 lbs, and I haven't had a chance to measure him lengthwise here recently.  I'm guessing he's about 27.5 or 28in. long.  He still seems like a little peanut for his age.  He hasn't grown out of any of his clothes or diapers lately, so it looks like we won't be needing a new wardrobe until fall.  He's definitely getting more "wear" out of his clothes than his sister ever did.

He continues to be one of the happiest babies around.  He is full of smiles and giggles, but he has started to develop a little shyness in crowds of strangers.  It's pretty cute!  He has heard the word "no" more frequently, but so far he thinks that's just a challenge.  We'll tell him "no", and he gets a little sly grin on his face and does whatever anyway.  Little stinker!

He is still a huge fan of Big Sister Delaney.  She has gotten more "hands-on" with him lately, and he tolerates it very well most of the time.  I keep telling her one of these days he's going to be bigger than she is, so she better play nice.  She thinks I'm nuts!  He also still loves her brand of loud, crazy silliness.  She'll be completely loud and obnoxious, and we'll tell her to stop or be quiet while he's laughing hysterically at her.  He doesn't help our cause!

I'm betting we'll have a full-on crawler by Labor Day, so we better get the final "baby-proofing" done.  Time to put away some of the younger baby toys and break out the big stuff!  Our little man is growing up too fast!

Okoboji 2014

 Well it's been almost a month since we went on our annual trip to Okoboji!  Time flies, and this summer has been absolutely insane!  We had two new babies for this trip, so it was 3-ring circus most of the time.  The weather wasn't picture perfect the entire time, but it could have been a lot worse!  All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and we're already counting down to next year!  I hope this is a tradition that can continue for many years.  Okoboji still remains one of my favorite places ever, and I hope it become this for my babies too!  Now, for some of the highlights...

The annual family photo at our favorite breakfast spot, the Dry Dock.  It was the first boat ride for the babies boys, and they both did pretty well!

Cooper tolerated his life jacket very well considering how uncomfortable that thing looked!  

Delaney LOVED the boat this year!  She was so excited very time she got to.  

We made a trip to Arnold's Park Amusement Park on one of the cooler days that week.  Both of the kids had so much fun!  Delaney rode pretty much every ride she good, and Craig rode a few along with her.  Cooper hung out in his stroller for the trip!

These two typically fight like brother and sister, but I caught this brief moment of peace one day before a boat ride.  

What else to do on a rainy morning, but dress the babies up like twins!  I'm sure they'll think we're nuts when they are older, but aren't they adorable!

Speaking of dress us, the boys declared a "Superhero Day"!

The cooler weather meant less opportunities for swimming, but one afternoon the stars aligned and the kiddos got to swim in the lake!  Delaney did so good considering how scared of swimming she's been this summer!  She learned to trust her life jacket and let go of Daddy.  She was swimming on her own between the boats in no time!  I was so proud.

So, I'd definitely call the 2014 trip a success!  Cooper was a rockstar for his first trip to the lake, and Delaney had a ball.  She has already started talking about moving there!  I wish sweetheart, I wish!

Until next year...

Cooper-7 months

Cooper-7 months

Well, our little guy turned 7 months old about 10 days ago right as we were getting ready to leave for our annual Okoboji trip, so I never got his monthly update posted!  At the 7 month mark, he roughly weighed in at 17lbs 2 oz. and measured about 27in. long.  These are the best measurements I could get at home.  We don't have an official check-up with the pediatrician until 9 months, so these will have to do.  He is steadily growing and changing!  He is still wearing size 2 diapers and size 6 month clothes.

Over the last month he has added another "meal" of baby foods and cereals at Holly's house.  He seems to enjoy eating like a big boy.  As soon as we finally get some teeth to come in and get this chewing things down, I imagine we will be adding more and more "table" foods to his diet.  He has tried a few things here and there, and so far the only thing he really seemed to like was bananas.

At this point, I will have to admit we've regressed to an official not-sleep-through-the-night-yet baby.  He did really well around 3-4 months, but over the last few he has definitely been up in the night at least once--often more time) a majority of the nights.  We are lucky to have 1 night a week that he sleeps all night.  I keep blaming his teeth, but maybe it's me.  Delaney was always such a good sleeper, so we've never had to sleep train.  Most methods seem a little tough when you factor in that Cooper & Delaney are sharing a room.

He is a more steady sitter every day.  He can sit and play for several minutes unassisted; however, he will still thump over if he moves too quickly.  He looks so little when he's just sitting up there.  Delaney loves to sit with him and "catch" him when he falls.  He is also working on crawling.  He has the leg motion down, he just needs to figure out what to do with his arms.  I'm not sure if I'm ready for a totally mobile baby yet!  Time to lace up the running shoes again!

He still remains full of smiles and personality.  He loves to laugh and make others laugh.  He finds his sister hilarious, and obviously adores her.  They were separated for 5 days while she spent some time with cousin Chase, and their reunion was so precious!  His favorite toy is his jumper.  He goes absolutely nuts in that thing.  You can't photograph him because he's just a blur.  He jumps and squeals and jumps and squeals.  It's too funny!  He has also figured out that splashing in the bath tub is quite fun!

We still have no teeth!  After 3 months of lots of working on it, nothing.  I can't believe it as I thought we were so close a couple months ago.  Delaney didn't get her first one until 9 months, and unfortunately we might be looking at a repeat with Mr. Cooper.  I do think he's learned to handle it a little better, but he still have some very obviously painful moments.  I don't understand why my kids have such long teething battles.  Poor baby!

The Life & Times of Delaney Jo

I realized I haven't posted much about Miss D lately, so I thought why not today?!?  Delaney has been a busy girl lately.  She seems to be growing up much too fast.  She continues to spend her days with Holly and all her friends over there.  We had a relatively brief period of  "bad behavior" over there a while back, but she seems to be on the right track now.  She continues to have a bit of a problem with authority, and who's in charge.  Like a typical first-born, she likes to be the boss, and she loves to argue.  This weighs on my patience daily (as I'm also a typical first-born).

She is a girly-girl that loves accessories and all things Princess (FROZEN, especially), but she is a rough & tumble girl too.  She loves to "help" Daddy with his projects and get dirty.  She loves to be outside and race around on her bike or scooter.  She becomes a princess at least once almost every day.  She will suddenly disappear for a few minutes, and then emerge from her room in head-to-toe glitz & glamour.  Then, she will perform...current favorites are "Let It Go", "Roar", and "Cruise".  Delaney lives for a good dance party!

Delaney's challenge this summer is overcoming her fear of swimming.  We finished a group swimming lesson session last week at the YMCA.  Delaney progressively got worse/more scared with each class and didn't complete her level.  Somewhere along the way our little water baby developed a serious fear of the water.  Her teacher recommended some private lessons, so we start those today.  I'm praying they help!  We tried on our life jacket to make sure we're ready for our upcoming trip to Okoboji.  Let's hope she's a little more comfortable in the water by then!

 Delaney is becoming more and more helpful all the time.  Aside from being a little rough & crazy, she is a a very good helpful big sister.  She loves to help feed Cooper puffs, or help with his baths, and she's great at running and grabbing things for me.  She can also help calm him down when I can get right to him.  He loves her!  She also like to help around the house.  She loves to help in the kitchen with dinner or baking.  She also is Daddy's little sidekick for various projects.  She just helped him fix our broken bed the other night, and last night she helped him trim the birch tree in the front yard.  Her face lights up when she is a good helper!

Our little girl is growing up before our eyes.  I know the last 6 months have been rough on her, but I think/hope we've made it through the worst of it.  She still isn't letting me forget how much she really wanted a baby sister, but she loves her brother to pieces!  She's full of sass and spunk, but she's really is a sweetheart underneath.  She makes me laugh daily with the crazy things she says, and she learns and absorbs so much all the time.  She has become my human post-it note because she never forgets ANYTHING.  She challenges us and keeps us on our toes, but we'd have it no other way!

A few firsts for Cooper

Last weekend was jam-packed of "firsts" for little Cooper.  He had his first trip to the Omaha Zoo, and was SOOOO good!  He took his first train ride there, too!  He celebrated his first Father's Day with his Daddy and Papas.  He also went to her first movie at the movie theater...How to Train Your Dragon 2.  He was so good through all of it, and usually had a big smile on his face!  It was a super fun and exhausting weekend!  We also saw Jaiden's dance recital, ate a lot of yummy food, and had a sleepover with Chip & Lauren!  Delaney had a ball with all of it, and was one tired girl by Sunday night!  

The two kiddos about to see the bears!

Family train ride selfie!

She is so grown up all of a sudden!

How he spent most of his first movie experience!

Cooper-6 months

We celebrated Cooper's half birthday yesterday, with a trip to visit the pediatrician for some more vaccinations and a good thorough checkup!  He checked out perfect (as usual), and we are good to go for another 3 months assuming no illness or injuries!

Cooper's 6 month stats:

Height:  26in.  (25 %)

Weight:  15lbs 15oz (10-25%)

Head:  17 1/2 in.  (75-90%)

As you can see, Cooper remains on the slightly smaller than average side of the scale, but he also remains on the same steady growth curves he had since birth.  Delaney didn't really start going "off-the-charts" until she was about 2, so I'm not worried!  Coop also continues to eat more and more all the time, so I'm expecting some big growth spurts coming.  He has been given the "green light" for more food.  He can have pretty much anything except honey & cows milk (to drink) between now and a year as long as he's ready.  We just got through most of the "single food" options, so we'll start trying some different combinations, and hopefully work to table food soon.  He seems to pay more attention when the rest of us are eating, so I expect he'll be excited for more big boy food!

He is still battling with those teeth, and the doctor yesterday said she doesn't think they are quite ready to pop though.  This bums me out because Cooper has really been struggling with them for 2 months already.  He has not been quite as smiley or happy lately.  His sleeping has also suffered.  He went a couple months with sleeping through the night, and now we're lucky if he sleeps all night once a week.  Poor kiddo (and poor Momma!)!  We are very blessed that he is a pretty laid back, happy guy because I know he's hurting, but he doesn't fuss or cry much at all, but I would be so thankful for a little relief for the little guy.

Cooper seems to be getting busier & busier every day.  He now rolls all over the place, and he can't be trusted anywhere.  He is constantly grabbing anything he can get his hands on, and EVERYTHING goes immediately to his mouth.  This is something we have been trying to teach Delaney because she's pretty oblivious to the little things she leave around the house.  He is close to officially being a "sitter".  He's got the tri-pod sit down pretty good, so it's only a matter of time.  He has also figured out that rolling can get him from point A to point B.  It's so fun to watch him work to get somewhere.  He hasn't figured out that stationary objects like walls and tables will stop his progress though, so he gets pretty mad when he runs into one of those...it's pretty funny!.  We recently got out some of the "bigger baby toys", and Cooper has been in heaven.  One of them was a little jumper gym, and he LOVES that thing.  He just bounces and bounces, and laughs and grins in there.  Delaney didn't use it all that much, so I'm excited her little brother is giving it a good workout.  It's adorable!  

Speaking of Delaney, Cooper LOVES his big sister!  She can get him to smile and giggle with the craziest things that drive us crazy!  He watches her as she walks across the room, and he can find her in a crowd.  He loves to watch her talk, sing, or dance.  He finds her completely fascinating and absolutely hilarious!  I love watching them together.  She loves him to, and is becoming more and more helpful with him all the time.  She's still a little rough, but so far Cooper appears to be pretty tough and tolerant of her brand of crazy.  

Cooper is a Momma's boy, no doubt, and I sort of love it.  There are definitely times when I wish he wasn't quite so much, but I know these days aren't going to last for long and I'm trying to soak them up while I can. I'm getting very good at one-handed tasks...washing dishes, laundry, fixing Delaney's hair, etc.  I might have mismatched biceps by the time he's one!  He is a lover, and loves to give big, sloppy, wet, open mouth kisses.  In fact, Grandma Tekamah (my mom) is a favorite of his for kissing!  He has also started examining faces.  He'll put his little chubby hands on both of your cheeks and just check you out.  It's so cute! He frequently checks out Daddy's face!  He thinks his Daddy is pretty cool!  He lights up when Craig enters the room, and Daddy can get some pretty good giggles out of him.  I'm anxious for these two to bond more as Cooper grows!  

I CANNOT believe he is six months old already.  I don't think I've even been more sleep deprived or tired that I have for the last 6 months, but it's been so worth it!  I can't imagine life without our little man!  Happy Half Birthday Scrunchie!

6 Months of Cooper

Uncle Chip Got Hitched!

So, Uncle Chip & Aunt Lauren FINALLY got married a couple weeks ago!  They were engaged for 2.5 years, so it seems like it was a long-time coming;however, for the last couple months it sure sneaked up on us fast.  Craig & I were both honored to be a part of their big day.  Lauren asked me to be her "Matron" of  Honor, although I hate the title of "Matron".  I decided I should have been called the "Best Woman" instead.  Craig got to be Chip's Best Man, which was pretty fun.  Craig is the big brother Chip never had, and Chip is the little brother Craig never had.  Delaney got to be the "Flower Girl Princess", and Cooper was an honorary Ring Bearer.  It was sort of a 3 ring circus to orchestrate all the logistics of getting our entire family properly outfitted and presentable at the right times for all the events.  But in the end, it was a wonderful day filled with lots of love & laughter!  Delaney summed it up last week for me randomly one morning before work...

Delaney (from the other room):  "Mom!"

Me:  "What?"

Delaney:  "Chip and Lauren's wedding was AMAZING!!!"

Now, the pictures!  These are some quick snapshots straight from my phone, so they aren't the best, but we are anxiously waiting the photos from the photographer!  

Princess Delaney with the beautiful bride

My beautiful babies

Jess and I with our baby brother and his new bride

Mother and Sisters of the Groom

Delaney & Chase

Me & my little man

Our family of 4 all dressed up!