Bathtime Opposites!

When you come on a tour of our house, Cadence will show you the bathroom upstairs and say, "This is my bathtub." She loves the tub!!! I cannot write in words how much she loves to take a bath in these big tubs. When Grammy was here after Cooper was born, she would watch Cadence in the tub. I think if you were walking by outside, you could hear the squeals of delight and joy from bathtime play since there is a window (usually open) right over the bathtub. Cadence looks forward to having bathtime everyday - even though that doesn't happen. She loves her bath toys - especially the snake. Some days when I ask her what she wants to do during the day, she replies, "Take a bath." Lately, she has started laying down on her back in the tub - which is what big girls do. Cooper had his first bath at home on Sunday. I think you can see how much he enjoyed taking a bath. Not to mention, that he peed in the water. He started screaming the minute I took his diaper off and stopped the second I put a towel around him. It was not an enjoyable experience - as you can tell by Cadence's expresssion. He fell asleep very quickly after that. I guess screaming for a couple of minutes wears a baby out!!! Let's hope that he starts to like bathtime more in the future!!!

Shocking the Receptionist!!!

Cooper has been to the doctor twice since he left the hospital - both for necessary procedures - in my mind. First, he had to get his bilirubin tested again as a precaution for jaundice. No jaundice! The nurse poked his heel and squooze out blood. The other was to get a little procedure called circumcision.
The reason I am adding this entry is to tell about Chris' sense of humor. When he called to schedule the circumcision, he told me to "Listen to this," with a big smile on his face. When the receptionist answered the phone, Chris replied in a deep, serious voice, "Hi. I would like to schedule a CASTRATION for my new son." The smile on his face got bigger by the millisecond of silence on the other end of the phone. A second or two later (I'm sure it seemed like an eternity), Chris laughed, "I'm just joking! I need to schedule a circumcision." The reception breathed a sigh of relief as she told him that she thought he was joking, but just couldn't tell and didn't know quite how to respond. Chris felt such joy that he had shocked the reception. He figures that everyone needs to laugh, right!

Anyhow, the procedure went well. I watched! Chris and Dr. McKenna thought it would be good for me to see. While I was waiting, I could hear this screaming newborn and I felt like a horrible mother. It wasn't until I was in the room with Cooper and the doctor that I knew it was NOT Cooper doing the screaming. He was sound asleep and numb. So far, the circumcision has gone well. One morning, it bled a little (which wasn't supposed to happen), but we just applied more Vaseline as the doctor recommended to keep it from sticking to the diaper. Oh the joys of having a baby boy!!!

His belly button fell off too yesterday. I'm glad to see that gone!

To Hollyhock or Not?

We have these hollyhocks in our front yard. They are very pretty...for a while. There are two main problems with them. First, they are so tall, one cannot see the pretty rose bushes behind them. Second, they are so top heavy, they fall over and bend when they blossom. So my questions are should we keep the hollyhocks in the front flower bed or attempt to transplant/move them to a different spot for next year? If I move them, does anyone know how? Do I just plant the seeds or do I wait for them to come up and then dig them up? Vote on the poll.

Impromptu Birthday Parties

Since Cadence's birthday was on the date we were hoping Cooper would come, we didn't plan a party for here. Now that Cooper is here and many friends and family are coming to visit, we make every visit an impromptu birthday party for Cadence. Many people have come with a little gift for Cadence in addition to one for Cooper, not that she needs anything else. You are all very considerate people.

Cadence's big family party happened on Friday. My sister, Sandy, and her 4 girls and my sister-in-law, Tammie, and her son and daughter came to see Cooper. I told them we would make it a birthday party for Cadence. The night before, I let Cadence make her own birthday cake. She loves to cook.

She also got to decorate it with sprinkles and put in her own candles.

Cadence blew out both candles on her first try. She was very proud of her creation and it tasted very good. (Funfetti with cream cheese frosting).

Cadence got some Hello Kitty fashion supplies from Tammie, Cole and Sydney, 3 bible story books for church from the Lawrence family, and a beautiful dress, pull-ups, and some colored soap from Grammy. This was the best impromptu birthday party I could have pulled together.

On Sunday, she got a very nice table with chairs from the Fredrickson family. On the top of the table, she can color with dry erase markers or crayons. She LOVES it!!! (And I do too. No more coloring on the sheets, her clothes and walls - I hope!)

Cadence has had many improptu parties and many gifts. She loves getting "Happy Birthday" sung to her. Thanks to all of you for assisting in making Cadence's birthday great and helping her feel important in this major change in her life!!! Hopefully after Chris gets back from Alaska, we will have a neighborhood/friend get together for her.

Officiallly An Eight Cow Mom

Yes, I am officially an eight cow mom. What does that mean? I have as much milk as eight cows put together. I think I could keep a dairy in business. Cooper can not eat enough, fast enough. Hopefully, in a week or two, I will only be a one cow mom. I can say that breastfeeding with baby #2 is much less painful than with baby #1. Cooper loves to suck. I get to give him a binkie often. If I didn't, I would be in big trouble. Just a caution - if you come around me, be prepared to smell sour milk and love me inspite of the smell. I will not post a picture on this entry for obvious reasons:)

Coming Home 6 Months Pregnant!!!

The doctor gave me great news the morning after Cooper was born. She would release me if I wanted to go home early. Yahoo! Sitting in that hospital bed was driving me crazy. I wanted to be home with my husband and two kids!!! The pediatrician told me I neeeded to wait until Cooper was 24 hours old before he could be release due to a bilirubin test. Chris and I decided that right after the hospital staff took the test and got the results, we would go home. We checked out 26 hours after our Mini Cooper's life began and it was wonderful to be taking him home.


The bad news is that I brought home a new baby and I still LOOK SIX MONTHS PREGNANT!!! I gained about 37 lbs and only left 15-20 lbs lighter. Let's hope that I can lose the excess weight easily. If I look one month less pregnant every week from now on, that means I will be back to my old self in just 6 weeks. Sounds like a good goal!!!

Fun in the Hospital

We tried to make the hospital fun for Cadence. This is a big change for her and wanted the "big sister" to get special treatment too. Cadence seemed to enjoyed her time at hospital.

Cadence really wanted to climb in Cooper's little crib bed. She got to eat crackers and some of my pie and treats that came with my meals.

Grammy let Cadence pick some flowers to bring to Mom and Cooper. She told about the flowers to everyone she talked to on the phone. She must have been proud of her beautiful selection.

The boppy was quite interesting to Cadence. She wanted to try it out!!! She said she was making her monster face.

Cadence was doing a beautiful dance with Cooper's blanket. She twirled with it! She also liked looking out the big windows at the "poopy" mountains.

Of course, Cadence's favorite activity was opening her big present, her new little man, Cooper. The first time she looked at him, she was filled with wonder and awe!!!