Spring has Sprung!

Could it be that Spring is finally here?!!?  One day a few weeks back, Cooper asked me if we were ever going to get to play outside again.  Ugh, we I might just be missing the Texas weather a teeny tiny bit.  But it looks like we are headed on the right track with Mother Nature.  Finally.

 The kids are loving our deck and that there is a door to it right off the playroom :).  I should also mentioned how well these 2 are playing together now!  Of course they fight like crazy but for the most part, they are really playing awesome.

I was making lunch one day while they played on the deck.  LOVE that the window in the kitchen peeks right onto the deck!  This was what I found when I went outside at one point - they just giggled and blamed each other for it.  

 One Saturday, Town Center Plaza hosted Powell Gardens for a fun activity.  For $5, kids could paint a pot and pick a flower to plant.  Wish I had a pic of the final product, they did awesome and totally loved it!

 Marshmallow Bunnies!  Another one I wish I had a pic of the final product - so cute!

 Piper had fun watching

 One morning we colored eggs-they were mesmerized by the process.

 And Piper was mesmerized by her hands.

The final product.

More Randomness

 Ugh, not sure why this is blurry on here.  Anyways, my two best girls each have 2 girls of their own.  Needless to say that Cooper is a bit outnumbered when we get together.  Each kiddo has someone their age…a few within days of one another!  So fun!!!!!

 With these kids home full time and not in preschool, trying to incorporate some academics into our weekly routine!  This time it was working on numbers 1-20.

 On her 4 month birthday- oh those sweet lips!!!!!!!!!!!

 On tax day our Lola turned 9!  We sang to her multiple times throughout the day, gave her lots of treats and a new toy.  

Behind our house they have dug a hole for concrete trucks to wash their trucks out.  (Lots of new construction still happening in our neighborhood)  It has become the hotspot for our kids, especially Cooper.  The kids love to go out there and throw rocks in the hole…it's the simple things in life :).

I am way behind and have lots of blog posts to catch up on!  On another random note and keeping things real…my kids had Monday, post holiday meltdowns tonight.  In the end, they both lost all their Easter candy…win for me! :)

Girls Everywhere!

My grandma was blessed with 1 granddaughter and 3 great-granddaughters in a 6 month span in 2013!

 We can't forget the leader of their pack, Laney Faith!

Oldest to youngest - Landree, Henley, Juliana, and Piper.  Cute girls that are sure to take the volume to a whole new level at family gatherings in a few years :).

Piper - 4 months

Everyone asks me if Laney had this much hair and if the girls look alike.  No, on the hair - Piper wins in that department.  I do think the girls look so much alike!!  Here is Laney Faith at 4 months, http://www.adamashleyjones.blogspot.com/2012/01/4-months.html.

Here's what our sweet Piper is up to at 4 months…

-She's 14lbs, 1 oz - 57%ile, 25 inches long - 75%ile and her head is 74%ile.  Almost exact stats as Laney at this age, except Piper has a bigger head.

-She's sleeping good.  Usually nurses for the last time between 9-10ish.  Then she is back up around 4-5, she will nurse on one side and goes right back to sleep.  I can literally do this in my (basically) sleep with no lights on.  Then she is up again between 8-9.  On most days she takes a long afternoon nap when the kids do and then a few other naps throughout the day.  

-A couple days after she turned 3 months, she started rolling over from back to belly.  She still does this, not all the time but definitely at least once a day.

-No longer swaddled - broke her of the swaddle when we went to Wash, MO and I forgot her swaddle blanket :).  She did fine without it and still does.  

-She is still nursing 6 times a day and still refusing a bottle.  Yes, you read that right, the baby girl refuses to take a bottle, which means I am not far from her at all times.  And God bless her grandmas who have let me get away for longer than 2 hours at a time and worked to get her to take a bottle.  This is my official cry for help!  Someone give me the magical solution to this issue!  Adam and I have an anniversary weekend trip planned in June and don't plan on taking her with us!!!  

-She is super ticklish - her back, her toes, her chest - giggles like crazy!

-Officially goes by Pippi more than Piper :)

-Adores her big brother and he is so good with her.  She smiles at her big sister but I swear she cringes a little bit too as Laney Faith is a tad rough with her.  I never leave them in the same room together without an adult :).  

-She has discovered her hands and is constantly playing with them.  Also loves to chew on her blankies!

 The hair!  It's all still there, not falling out - mine sure is but hers is staying put.  

 Smiling at her brother.

 Those leg rolls!!!!!!

Sweet Pippi - we love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  We had an awesome day/weekend with family…2 signs that give it away…my kids are still sleeping and my house is a disaster :).  Lots of pictures from the weekend to post when I get my act together.  For now, here's pics from our trip to see the Easter Bunny!

 Piper obviously not excited about the 30 minute wait in line to see the Bunny.

 Cooper hopped right up there, all smiles. Piper could careless.  Laney was holding onto that candy basket for her life and not scooting an inch closer to that bunny!

My parents came since we took all the grandkids.  Since they were all there-we thought we would get one more picture before dinner.  The camo couch was the only thing available ;).  The kids were over it and ready for dinner-who could blame them, it was 7:30 at this point!

For future reference, highly recommend the Easter Bunny at Bass Pro. Not only is it free, he is 1,000 times less creepy than the mall version ;).

Laney Faith - 2 1/2 years

Well, she actually turned 2 1/2 the end of February, better late than never!

-The transition from crib to big girl bed has made naptime/bedtime exhausting!  One week she only napped one day!  Help!!!  She is napping most days for an hour-2 hours.  Usually not asleep until 8:30-9ish and usually up in the 7 o'clock hour.  Sleeps with her lovey and about a hundred other stuffed animals.

-She is a great eater!  In fact, she would eat all day long if I let her.  "I wanna eeeaaatttttt."  Hear these words all too often.  Lives for spaghetti, fruit and anything she shouldn't have :).

-The girl still won't sit still except for the rare occasion to watch a cartoon.  She always requests Dor-Dor (Dora) but usually watches less than 10 minutes.

-favorite toys - She plays with her babies all day everyday.  She feeds, burps, rocks, changes diapers, feeds them, you name it.  She plays so well independently-totally in her own world.

-The biggest change in her from 2 years to 2 1/2 years is her speech.  From February 1 to February 28, her vocabulary quadrupled or more!  Her speech really deserves its own post.  It's like all of a sudden a lightbulb went off and she started talking!!  

- Phew~this girl is exhausting!  She has got a mind of her own and doesn't really care what others think about it.  These days it seems to be Laney's way or the highway.

-On the other end-she is super sweet and loving to Adam and I.  She adores her baby sister-maybe a bit too much.  I definitely don't leave her in the same room as Piper without me.  

As exhausting as 2 1/2 years is, she is so awesome!  Laney makes us laugh everyday-make that every hour.  Seriously, the girl is hilarious!  I just love watching her personality develop!

 I took her out in the driveway on a very windy day for a few pics.  I had a hard time prying that baby out of her hands!

 Oh that sweet face!!!!!

Happy 2 1/2 Laney Faith Jones!!!!!

Randomness

Lots of random pictures dating back from February!

 One of his Texas friends had a birthday party and they all Facetimed with Cooper so he could virtually be there :).  It was so sweet and he was ecstatic!

 Oh this girl!

 Little sisters can talk you into things you normally wouldn't do :).

 For about a month we didn't have blinds. Besides that whole privacy issue, I kind of liked it.  Our back windows let in so much light!

 The afternoon sun could blind you if sitting in the wrong spot ;).  I wanted pictures to remember what it was like before blinds.

 The sunset was so pretty-minus the flash.

 My sister posted this on Instagram and it may just be my favorite thing ever.

 Girltalk!  When Piper's hair isn't standing up-I joke that she looks like an old asian man with a combover.

 One day in March we broke out the t-shirt and no socks!  Woot-Woot!

 Cheering on our Hawks during the Big 12 tourney.

 Cooper was gathering all his blue stuff to watch the game :).

 The girl is not afraid to take her brother on.

 Her babies are ruling our house these days, in fact I need to devote a post to this!

 Watching the kids in the bathtub...

 They usually shower with one of us so the bathtub was an exciting change of pace!

 This was my view one morning.  Piper often wakes up sometime between 3-5:30.  I nurse her and she is out again but I often lay her next to me in bed.  I know, I know…I shouldn't do it, you don't have to tell me.  She sleeps in her pack'n'play all night but she is just so darn sweet that I can't put her back after that early morning feeding.  Adam was out of town and Cooper had come in super early so I told him to get in bed with Piper and I.  He had given Piper his most beloved blanket to cuddle with, so sweet!

 Laney had fixed my hair and was decorating me with random things she could find around the room.  

 I was cleaning one day and asked them if they wanted to use my 'super special dusting wands!'.  Hook, line, sinker.  They were all over it.  It may have only lasted 10 minutes but they dusted all the wood on the stairs!

 I sent her upstairs to get dressed while I was feeding Piper and this is how she came back down.  No underwear but she didn't forget her hat!

Sweet babies in big bows, nothing better!