no more nursing, hello formula!

You know what this means...

yep, Laney is on formula full time and she is not exactly loving it.  I slowly transitioned her by mixing pumped milk and formula into a bottle which she would take fine.  Obviously that had to stop at some point and for the first couple weeks of straight formula, she was only taking on average about 4 oz a feeding and that is probably a generous average.  Right at 6 months, I was just nursing her in the morning and night and I swear she waited for these times to eat!  I haven't nursed for 2 weeks now and she is slowly starting to eat a little more, probably averaging 6 oz a bottle. She is still taking 5 bottles a day with cereal/banana in morning and vegetables at night.  In fact, at her 6 month check up, her weight had dipped down on her progression chart-told Doc I knew exactly why-she wasn't getting enough formula throughout the day!  So, we head back to Doc at end of month for a weight check, I am not the least bit worried though, this baby girl doesn't look like she is missing any meals!  

We are loving that Adam's company is part owned by Nestle-which means we get formula at a discounted price-hence the bulk buy-however, I don't think it will last as long as I thought, forgot how fast you go through this stuff!

Our Dad went to Hawaii...

and all we got was a week with Mom and these fun tees :)

Flat Stanley/A Trip to the Stockyards

Are you familiar with Flat Stanley?  If not, click here to read all about it.  In my former days as a teacher, this was one of my favorite projects to do with my students-nothing like real life experiences to teach skills!  Well, I was lucky enough to be chosen by my cousin Will to receive his very own Flat Stanley.  I decided he needed to do something "Texas" and what better way than to hit up the Stockyards!  We invited the Fimmens to join us on this beautiful Texas morning!

 Flat Stanley got to ride on a horse with a real cowboy and 

 sit with the big kids in the rodeo coliseum!

 Think they were having fun?

 Isn't a candy store every kid's dream?  These kids were over the moon!  They walked all around the store and asked lots of questions about the candy before picking the one thing they wanted.  I managed to steer Cooper away from a ridiculously large gummy bear, milk duds (wasn't sure if he could chew them), and bubble gum to a much safer and inexpensive pick of Sixlets!  

Everyday, twice a day, there is a cattle drive down main street.  

Such a big girl riding in the stroller this way and not in her carseat!  As always, she was along for the ride!

Newest Cousin!

We are super excited about the arrival of our newest niece/cousin!  Brynn Elizabeth McCormack entered the world yesterday morning, March 8, weighing in at 6 lbs, 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches long.  We are so bummed not to be there soaking up all the newborn joy, but thanks to Skype and lots of phone pics/videos, we kind of/sort of feel we are there.  But, it's just not the same when you can't kiss those sweet baby cheeks in person instead of on the computer!  We are ecstatic for their family and know that Baby Brynn and Laney will give those 3 boys a run for their money in the years to come :).   This makes grandkid #8 for Mamaw and Papaw Jones-4 boys and 4 girls!
But, the sexes won't be even for long because Maggie and Kyle are expecting a BABY in September...yaaaay!  Just like Cash, Kellen, and Cooper-Laney, Brynn and Baby Zick will be a year apart!!!

 So cute in blue!

Awww-so precious!  

Congrats Tanya and John-you are officially outnumbered :)

Mom's Night Out=Dad's Night In

For Valentine's Day, Adam gave me the absolute, most perfect fitting gift for this stage of my life...a day/night at the Southlake Hilton-all by myself!!  You see, he was out of town most of January and February, including many weekends.  I was lucky enough to have family visit and get out of town to visit family, but still there was a lot of single momma work going on with not much alone time and sick kids on top of it :).  I should mention that I adore alone time and I think Adam could sense I needed to get away, even if just for 24 hours!  I am sure this sounds ridiculous to some of you and it's not that I don't 100% love that I get to stay home with my kids, but man, a 2 1/2 year old and 6 month old can really drain your energy!  And yes, I would love a night away with my husband too, but I was really looking forward to doing whatever I wanted for 24 straight hours...and I did!!!!!!  I did lots of shopping for myself and kids, got a massage at the hotel spa (adam had booked this), got dessert in the middle of the day (and didn't share it:)), read my book, watched E! while getting ready, then I was lucky enough to have my friend Carolyn meet me for dinner/drinks/watch KU game...it was pretty awesome!  While we dined, sipped drinks, and didn't cut up food for any little ones, our hubbys were in charge!  They had pizza and watched some college basketball while supervising these 5 fun kids!

Don't you love all that Jayhawk blue!

ps-i slept in until 10:30 and ate breakfast in bed, while watching E! news :)  Thank you Adam, it really was the most perfect gift ever...feel free to repeat next year!

pps-If you are looking for fun, unique Kansas artwork, check out this store on Etsy.  Use the code REFER10 to get 10% off!  Let me know if you order something-I love my Rock Chalk print!

a model

Long story short...through a friend and her photographer in KC-found out there was a photography workshop in Dallas and they needed 6 month old babies, so Laney was scheduled to serve as a model :).  The lead photographer for Laney's session was the talented Beth Jansen from OKC.  She was teaching a small group of photographers on using natural light to capture babies.  Even though I haven't pursued it, I adore photography and when I grow up I would love to pursue it more. It was super fascinating to listen to the "photography talk" and try to soak up bits and pieces of their knowledge.

Jill Rosell was one of the photographers there-she was so sweet and has these adorable pics from our session posted on her blog.  I just couldn't love them more, I love how she captured Laney's eyes-they are my fave!

ps-this is my 500th post!!!!!!

Sesame Street Live

Dad and Cooper had a boys morning out at Sesame Street Live over the weekend.  Coop was really excited and told me again and again, "me and dad go to sesame street live to see elmo and his friends."  There was a play zone the hour before the show-set up with activities for each of the characters.  Since I wasn't there-here's what Adam said about the show and Coop...typical Coop, he was busy standing back and observing all the other kids.  He really liked the show, sat with his mouth open in awe most of the time.  Cooper said his favorite part was getting the Sesame Street soccer ball that Dad bought for him :).  

 Look at those eyes trying to take it all in

 A Smile!

 He didn't want to do any of the activities, just to watch the other kids

 loves cotton candy, just like his mom

There is that famous soccer ball (although he doesn't look too thrilled about it here!).  He was Shining Star  at school today and he took it to share with his friends.