Rock the Park

Last Saturday we joined the Fimmens (minus Dad, he was in NYC for work) at Bear Creek Park for Rock the Park...not sure what that means but we had fun!  Basically, a bunch of vendors were set up with kid games and giving away prizes...yes, this is my idea of fun these days :). 

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Texas, the first day of Fall actually, ended up being in the 90's and still is!  We had five kids and five adults between us-a wheelchair, double stroller and wagon...wow!  Check out the fun we had!

with Carolyn and Meghan, just a fraction of the Fimmens :) 

So, they had a whole area with diggers, big rigs, cement mixers, etc for the kids to climb on.  Obviously this was Cooper's favorite part and I had to drag him out.

 They had a small (as in, a 10x10 area) petting zoo and the kids could feed the animals.  These were some hungry goats!!

 Me and this guy stood eye to eye.

Cooper's personality has changed so much in just the last few months.  Six months ago he would have never rode this pony!  He was such a big boy!

Laney was content in her car seat and slept the whole time we were there!

Driving a big rig and lovin' it!

Can't wait to go back next year, it was a perfect Saturday morning!

Mouthy Kids

Laney had her 2 month check up today and the Doc confirmed what I was thinking...Laney has thrush :(.  It doesn't seem to be bothering her but she is on medicine and hopefully it will clear up in the next week.  At her appointment, she weighed 10 lbs, 6 oz =81%ile.  She was 23 inches long (which is what the nurse measured her at birth...human error??) and 94%ile.   Here's what had me thinking she had thrush...

When I picked Coop up from preschool, the teachers told me there has been a case of hand, foot, and mouth disease in their class.  Great, because my kid probably has his thumb in his mouth half the day at school.  Fingers crossed it doesn't enter this house!!!

 

Happy 1 month Laney Faith!

Believe it or not, our sweet Laney Faith turned 1 month old over the weekend!  I just can't believe it, seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital!!!  We feel so lucky and blessed to have a healthy and content baby and do our best not to take her for granted. 

At one month, little Laney bug is getting a stronger neck, lifts her head off our chest and shoulders.  She does not like to be swaddled or have a dirty diaper or be hungry.  Speaking of hunger, she is eating every 21/2-3 hours and lets us know when she's hungry.  This baby girl loves to sleep just as much as she eats, which I guess is the case with most newborns (and her parents:))!!!  At night, she is usually sleeping 10ish -4:30ish, some nights better, some nights worse...feel pretty lucky!  She is having longer awake periods, up to an hour, and is more alert during them.  We feel like she is really starting to look at us and not just staring off into space.  I am pretty sure she smiles at me every morning, even though all the books say its just gas;).  She still has a head full of hair but Adam and I think it's starting to thin out a little, which makes me sad...love these dark locks!!!!!  

It's hard work being 1 month! 

 Love these sweet feet and 

 all these rolls!!!!

sweet

Finally caught a smile on camera today...  

Our sweet girl is 1 month today!  

Best Friends and Classmates

Cooper is so happy to have his friend Meghan in his class at preschool.  On mornings he is reluctant to get out of bed, I just say, "Wanna go see Meghan?" and he gets a big smile and ready to go!  Carolyn and I have been taking turns picking the kids up and we just love that they hold hands from the classroom to the car, just melts my heart!!! 

Bieber Fever

A few months ago Aunt Alli introduced Cooper to Justin Bieber and he hasn't forgotten about him!  He often sings, "baby, baby, baby, ooohhh."  If you are a Bieber fan, you know what I mean :).  He can spot him in Target on ads and often asks to hear or see "Bieber" on the computer.  

If this video doesn't make your Monday a little brighter, I don't know what will...

3 weeks

Happy 3 weeks Laney!  Can't believe she is almost a month old!!!!  Time goes by too fast!  My all night 6-7 hour sleeper has regressed a bit, but still can't really complain.  She is eating around 10-10:30ish and then back up at 4:30ish.  Good news, she goes right back to sleep, in fact I have a hard time keeping her awake long enough to fully eat.  She is back asleep until 8ish.  Laney is still sleeping on and off most of day, but eyes are staying open longer and she seems to be focusing on us more and more.  Whenever she is awake, Coop says "Laney's eyes open."  We had a check up this week, she is weighing in at 9 lbs, 4 oz.

 crazy eyes and crazy hair!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

So, football season may not have the same meaning at Kansas as it does at some other highly touted "football" schools, but that doesn't mean we aren't excited!  Just last Saturday we woke up wishing we could snap our fingers and be magically transported among our friends tailgating in Lawrence decked out in our crimson and blue...instead Adam got score updates on his phone, boo!  Sports Illustrated had us only winning one game this season and guess what...we are 2-0!!!!!  We are realists so we know that this won't last long, but for now, ROCK CHALK!!!

please note...no, i am not wearing makeup, haven't showered in a couple days, just woke up shortly before this picture after just a few hours of sleep and i do realize how awful i look in this picture, but coop was semi-willing to cooperate and looks so cute, i just had to post!

Pee on the Big Boy Potty!

Coincidence?  Probably.  Any less exciting, absolutely not!  

Here's the backstory:  We put the big boy potty out last month just so Coop would get used to seeing it, we could talk about it and he could try if he wished.  We are in no rush to potty train in this house yet!  Coop saw it in action last weekend with his cousin Kellen using it successfully many times a day and everyone celebrating him when he did.  Anytime we are putting him in our shower, we encourage him to sit on the potty and try to pee.  Up until Saturday night, he has just sat, no action.  This time...he went pee on the big boy potty!!!!!!!!!  We celebrated like we had just won the lottery :). Cooper's favorite part...he got an Oreo cookie for it.  That's it for now, we still aren't ready to jump into potty training yet, I need a solid nights sleep before I tackle that obstacle!

nice hand placement, huh?

two weeks

This post is overdue as Miss Laney was 2 weeks last Wednesday, but the pics are from the exact day, promise!  Laney continues to be a laid back baby, still sleeping most of the time but having longer awake periods.  From about 10 days, she started sleeping from 11ish-6-ish, I could get used to that (she has since regressed a bit, but more on that in the week 3 update :)).  We think she is starting to lose some of her beautiful black hair on top but still thick in the back.  Laney's quickly outgrowing newborn clothes and is wearing mostly 0-3 months.  I could just hold and love on her 24/7, absolutely love this newborn stage!

First Day of PreSchool

Can't believe it, Cooper started preschool this week!  Interesting to me how different states vary on the idea of preschool.  When we moved down here in January, I felt like every other person was asking me if Cooper was starting preschool in the Fall...the Fall?  It was only January!  And the thought hadn't crossed my mind-as a last minute person, I wouldn't have thought about it until May!  I feel like back in KS and MO, it is more of a Mother's Day out at this age and usually only for a couple hours.

Knowing there was going to be a new baby in August, I thought it would be perfect timing for Cooper to start preschool.  He goes just 2 days a week from 9-2.  I really love the church/school (just walking through made me want to work there!), the staff, and it's conveniently located just minutes from our house.  Our friends, the Fimmens, go there as well and Meghan and Cooper are in the same class!  

Cooper had meet the teacher day on Tuesday.  Kids go to their classrooms for just an hour while the parents attend an informational meeting.  We had really talked up school and went shopping for new shoes the day before.  Cooper was in a great mood that morning and excited to go to school.  However, as soon as we walked in the building doors, he turned to Adam and I and said, "let's go back home and to bed." :)  When we got to his classroom, he took off running down the hall and was crying.  Adam corralled him back and we made a quick drop off in his classroom.  He was crying when we left and as hard as it was, we knew he would be just fine and us hanging around was only going to make it worse.  Sure enough, when we came back he was happily playing!

Thursday was the first full day!  I was prepared for tears, but was pleasantly surprised.  When we got to class, he walked right in and didn't turn back!  I had to go tell him goodbye and ask for a kiss!  When I picked him up at 2, he had just woke up from nap and was upset I wasn't there, so he was crying.  He quickly recovered and talked my ear off for the car ride.  We are so excited for him and can't wait to share stories and pictures from preschool!

 Love the traditional first day of school pics :)

 love, love, love this sweet face!

 He is in the ladybugs class!  And yep, there is another Cooper in his class, hence the "J."  There is also a Laney in his class!  

We tried to get some pics of him in his class, but it was pure chaos!!!  Man, our little boy is growing up so fast!!!  

Now, if I could stop staring at and cuddling this face, I might get something accomplished in the hours he is at school!!! 

More Visitors!

We were lucky enough to have more visitors this past weekend!  The Zicks and McCormacks drove down for the long, Labor Day weekend.  Coop was pretty excited to see his cousins, Emily and Kellen, they all got along great (just a few incidents between the boys, usually Cooper instigated).  We had beautiful weather that allowed for pool days and even lots of time in the backyard on the swing set!

 Emily's face says it all in this picture.  She loved and doted on Baby Laney all weekend, so sweet!  She held her any moment possible and even snuck out of her parents room one morning and sat outside our bedroom door in a chair (adam and i didn't know until later) waiting on us to get up ;).

 Love these expressions!  Poor Kellen had a fall at school, hence the nose and shiners.

 Best Buds!

 Play-Doh Time!

Had to get a picture of this!  Kellen is pretty attached to his Woody doll, so it was extra sweet when he put him with Laney :).

Of course when Coop saw Kellen with Laney getting a picture, he wanted one himself!

Adam is sitting next to me while I am working on this post and he can't believe I am posting this picture.  Well, it's the only one I got of Laney with her Aunt Maggie and Uncle Kyle!  However, please note Laney's demise written all over her cute face!  

 I had to post this just because of the boy's outfits!  This is how they played outside on Sunday morning, pj tops and shoes...priceless!

The boys golfed on Saturday and us girls treated ourselves to pedicures/shopping on Sunday.  Obviously Laney wasn't too impressed with her first salon experience...she slept the whole time!

 These two decided they needed a second dinner of cereal at about 9pm!  They sat in silence just eating their cornflakes.

 Kyle seemed to always be getting asked by the kids to read books and he always obliged.  

What do you think these two were talking to Laney about?

Bummer...didn't get a pic of Laney with Aunt Tanya and Aunt (what Coop calls him :)) John!  I guess their kids took precedence!

How blessed are we that we have had so many visitors come to see us and meet Laney?!

 

Bath at Home

It was time for a bath at home!  Our first clue...Laney's hair was getting so oily from everyone touching it :).  She was pretty calm, wide awake and just looking all around.

looking very concerned about this whole bath thing

 Do you see what I see?

 Getting under all those rolls :).

Totally looks like she has her hair wrapped up in a towel like a grown up ;), didn't notice it until looking at these pictures now!

Laney's umbilical cord just fell off last night, so no more sponge baths for her, on to the real thing!