Cooper-9 months

Cooper's 9 month official stats:

Height:  27.5 in. (10-25%)

Weight:  17lbs 8oz (10-25%)

Head:  18 in.  (75%)

So, as you can see at 9 months, Cooper remains just a little peanut!  He's growing at a steady rate on his curve, but he's still on the smaller side for other babies his age.  We are just on the verge of outgrowing his 6 month clothes, and the size 2 diapers are still working for now.  We are hitting the new size right at the change of seasons, and we are matching up with Cousin Chase's & friend Graham's handmedowns perfectly!  (Sorry to cousin Parker!)

Cooper is so active these days it's crazy!  I cannot for the life of me remember Delaney being this active!  He's all over the place crawling up a storm, and starting to pull up on things and stand.  His favorite "toys" are the houseplants, dog bowls, and bathroom cabinets!  He's all boy...  He is starting to play with the Little People Farm and Princess Castle (sorry Daddy!) that were Delaney's.  I think we may have some more boyish Little People toys on our upcoming birthday & Christmas lists!  He is also a fan of the stacking cups and the foam numbers and letters!  (I had to pick those up because the crazy kid is obsessed with flip flops!)

Coop is trying new foods all the time.  I think we could be on all table foods by 10 months, but we'll see.  Some days are better than others!  His "real food" favorites so far are Cheerios, grapes, bananas, and peas.  He's starting that stage where he wants to eat whenever anyone else is.  The addition of more solids has made him a bit of a lazy eater when it comes to nursing and bottles.  We are getting by, and I'm hoping we can stretch it just a couple more months to avoid formula!  Our pediatrician said that if we can make it to 11 months on breast milk, we can start whole cow's milk vs. introducing formula for just one month...so that's the goal!

I discovered last week that I was starving my poor kid at bedtime, and that's why he wasn't sleeping very well.  After making a full adjustments to make sure he gets around 6-7oz. of milk at bedtime, he has sleep all night for a week (knock on wood!)!  This is a huge improvement!  I feel very guilty that it look me so long to figure it out, and I still think teething has contributed to his poor sleeping, but I'm happy to find something that works!  We still only have 2 teeth on the bottom, but the 4 on top could pop through any day!  

Cooper is quite the character these days!  There's a lot of personality in that tiny little body!  He is full of smiles and laughs, and he is starting to babble all the time!  Da-da is a favorite!  He also has a bit of an ornery streak.  He still doesn't know what "NO" means, but he's hearing it enough these days he'll figure it out soon!  He will take his cup and hold it over the edge of the highchair and just look at you with a sly little grin until he drops it!  Little stinker!  He still adores his big sister, although he's been very "hands-on" with him lately.  She is a nervous-nelly, helicopter sister!  She is so worried he's going to fall or get into something that she will manhandle him at the slightest opportunity!  

Cooper brings our family so much joy and he just fits in so perfectly!  It's hard to remember what life was like without our little man!  

August-The month of roadtrips

I swear we were on the road for the entire month of August.  I know that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it does hold a little truth!  We celebrated Craig's Grandpa's 90th Birthday the first weekend with a surprise birthday party/family reunion.  He was so surprised and was the life of the party!  He kept going until late into the evening!  It was so fun to see him.  I don't know if I've ever seen him smile so big!  He is going to be honored as part of the Veterans' Day Salute at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln for the Nebraska vs. Purdue game on November 1st.  The entire family is looking forward to that day!

Here's the whole Wortman family!  

The following weekend, Craig and I escaped on a getaway to Kansas City to celebrate our 6th Wedding Anniversary!  We sent the kids to my parents and we took off.  It was my first night(s) away from Cooper, and he decided to be a bear for Grandma and finally cut those first two teeth he'd been fighting for months!  Other than that the kids had a great time.  We did too!  We enjoyed some great food, did some shopping, and I got to attend my first MLB game and watch the Royals beat the SF Giants at Kauffman Stadium.  It also happened to be Husker night, so that was pretty fun!  We hadn't been on an actual date night since November, so it was long overdue and much enjoyed!

The next weekend, we loaded up the kids in the car and headed out to visit out to Cheyenne, Wyoming to visit some of our favorite friends and neighbors that moved out there about a year and half ago.  The kids did remarkably well in the car.  It was Coop's longest car ride to date, so I'd say he was a rockstar!  We had a lot of fun catching up with Craig and Katie and their puppy Capone!  We miss them so much, so it's always fun to see them!  They are the type of friends that we haven't known all that long (only about 4 years), but it seems like they are family!

After that trip, our traveling was done!  We spent the next weekend trying to take back our storage room that had completely gotten out of control over the summer.  We have been selling/getting rid of a lot of our baby stuff we have outgrown and the massive little girl wardrobe Delaney had.  I swear she had the most extensive wardrobe of any little girl!  Since she grew so fast, we literally had 6 years worth of clothes in storage for our 4-year-old.  I have sorted it all out, given some hand-me-downs to our cousin, and packed 2 totes full of the cutest favorites for (yet-to-be) baby girl cousins!  No pressure, Jess & Lauren!

We also bought a new truck that weekend!  6 months ago the total miles between our 2 vehicles was over 200k!!!  So, now we are back to 2 car payments again!  Not at all what I wanted to do, but since we send a lot of time on the road with the kiddos we needed vehicles that were more family friendly and reliable!  

Last weekend was Labor Day.  We actually stayed home and minimum plans, it I have to admit it was so nice!  August was lots of fun, but totally exhausting!  The Huskers kicked off their season with a big win, so that was the highlight!  Here are the kiddos in their Big Red gear!

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!