Thanksgiving!

Yup, there are a WHOLE BUNCH of pictures in this post, and they are all from my cell phone.  Might I just interject- I've been watching (and Loving!) a lot of Shark Tank, and if one of you would invent a moderately sized cell phone that had an SLR camera attached, I would seriously pay a few thousand dollars for it. So, go ahead and get inventing...and credit me with the idea...and pay me 5% royalties! 
  That being said, Here is a photo review of our Thanksgiving weekend!

We were invited (and were happy to accept the invitation) to stay with Scott and Erin in Laguna.  They are always such gracious and generous hosts, and our time there is always relaxing and refreshing, AND FUN!  I was most grateful this year to get a whole 4 days with Dave not working, because busy season with a newborn has not been very fun!
Here are Dave and Cooper on Cooper's first airplane ride!  He cried on the way up and down, and was perfect in between.  Jaxon held court between G and G across the isle, and loved every minute.  He got to preboard with Grandpa, so by the time Dave and I got on about 5 minutes later he was shouting to us- "MOM! DAD!  See this magazine?? (Skymall) Open it up to page 3! QUICK!  See this motorcycle, I WANT THAT FOR CHRISTMAS!!!" 
I swear that kid doesn't miss a beat!  It was like a powerwheels motorcycle, and if we hadn't already bought his big Christmas present, and if we weren't still working on him learning to ride his bike better, we probably would have considered it!

All of us couldn't fit in Dad's rental car, so dad, mom, Dave, and Cooper took the rental car straight home. Scott picked up me and Jaxon, and we drove to pick up Aurora for the weekend.  Boy was Jaxon excited about that! He adores Aurura, and she is so good to him!  We picked up Aurora, stopped for some dinner, and headed home. 
When we got home, Aurora the baby LOVER, who also has a pretty new little brother, just LOVED to love on Cooper- and it doesn't look like Cooper minded at all!

   Cooper and Jaxon both woke up super early in Cali (With daylight savings- bah!)  so on Thanksgiving morning around 6am our family of 4 bundled up and went on a chilly, foggy, beachy, wonderful walk!  We saw lots of other people out walking their dogs, and there were "Happy Thanksgivings" all around!
  We spent the day preparing, or mostly watching Dad preparing, a Thanksgiving feast. Cooper napped pretty (really) crappy all day, so by 3 when everyone started arriving, he went down for a very long nap.  Jaxon and Aurora played and mostly stayed out of the way, and Scott and Erin's guests, who were all completely lovely, started arriving. 
  Football was on all afternoon, and that's where Dave, and Cooper when he was awake, could be found-

  Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, and plentiful, and full of people I love.  I was feeling very grateful for all of my special blessings this year!  Cooper woke up halfway during dinner, and the rest of dinner was spent by most every person at the table making jokes about how Coop, and a darling little 6 week old there named Kate, were going to be married.
Everyone Joked it was a good thing Cooper wore his tie, and Kate wore her bow so they could really impress each other.  Kate had even more dark hair than Cooper if you can imagine, and we had fun taking some pictures- for which both of these very chill babies sat with LOTS of patience.  Towards the end Cooper did start trying to suck on Kate's headband, but all in all it was a super cute success!


After dinner uncle Scott broke out the drinks for all his guests (minus the Ferrells and Rogers) and even made Jaxon and Aurora a virgin version-
I wasn't thrilled with the idea of sensationalizing drinking for Jaxon, but aside from the picture, true to Jaxon form, he wasn't really interested in his drink at all, so it was a moot point.
 After dinner we also all went around and said what we were most thankful for, and it is always so special and such a good reminder, that NO ONE, EVER says they are thankful for material things. Not Wealth, cars, houses, toys, etc.  Every single person was most grateful for the ones they love, the friendships that sustain them, and their health.  Someone said that Thanksgiving was their favorite holiday because it's the least commercialized and focuses our attention on each other rather than our things.  I loved that, and will hold Thanksgiving even more dear to my heart.

  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, since I got up in the night with Cooper, Dave would get up with him whenever he woke up, usually around 5:30, and take him on a walk with Jaxon, while I got to sleep in.  The cool ocean breeze from the open windows, the enormous bed with deliciously fluffy pillows, sleeping completely soundly because I knew I wasn't listening for Cooper--- yes, I REALLY enjoyed those extra few hours!
 Also each of those days Coop got to spend as much time as possible with his sweet Aunt Erin. She had a special way with Cooper, and he was particularly mellow and smiley with her.


  Jaxon too had a special affinity for blond women (true story!) and the only reason I'm not completely offended is that Cooper definately knows I'm his mama, and still loves me best! (Shhhh, don't tell!)

  Friday for lunch Dave and I borrowed the rental car and the 4 of us drove a half hour to what was previously Pat and Oscars, but is now O's American Kitchen.  This is mine and Dave's favorite restuarant HANDS DOWN, and we have SO MANY FUN memories at it's various locations in California, and even the one that was in AZ for a short while. we ALWAYS get the same thing- Lemon Chicken Greek Salad, and LOTS OF THEIR DELICIOUS AMAZING breadsticks.
On the way, both of the boys took a snooze, and Dave and I listened to Christmas music and the breathing of the best two gifts we've ever been given!
(Jaxon can sleep in the most ODD positions!)

 
 
When we came home, Aurora's friend Grace was there, and the kids swam in the heated jacuzzi, and the very VERY CHILLY pool.  Jaxon loves both Aurora and Grace, and he tries so hard to be mature and impress those girls so he can play with them.  They were, for the most part, so kind to let him tag along, and only a few times was he invited to vacate Aurora's room, for some girl's only playtime.  We completely understand that two, 10-year old girls that let Jaxon tag along for 80% of the time, and are completely kind to him during that time, are pretty much GEMS! They made up songs and plays, played games, colored, and wrote letters!
 


That is Jaxon's letter to Dave-
"Deare Dad you are fory genarars you o are the best dad in the word. love. jaxon. farame. jaxon. to. David"
Translation-
"Dear Dad, you are very generous. You are the best dad in the world. Love, Jaxon. From, Jaxon. To David.

Mine was also cute, but without as many compliments and darling misspellings!  (PS- "Dear" "from" "very" and "world" have all been Jaxon's spelling words. And later that day when I asked him to spell each of those words for me, he spelled them out loud correctly!) What a nut!

Saturday Cooper napped poorly again, but is always a sweetie in between, so I'm not sure why it's so hard for me and makes me so nervous!?  Here he is sitting with one of his other favorite ladies in the whole world- Grammie!  (Please note- Cooper and I have lots in common, including curly hair that got crazier and crazier the longer we were at the misty-aired beach house!)

Cooper also got a bath in Scott and Erin's GORGEOUS kitchen sink! He loves the water, loves baths, and most especially LOVED all his bonding time with his daddy, who he really hadn't ever gotten to know yet due to busy season!



Saturday afternoon Dave stayed home with Coop, G and G went for a drive to Riverside, and Jaxon, me, Aurura, Grace, Scott and Erin went to lunch at CPK, and then went and played at Dave and Busters!  Scott and Erin are always so generous and make sure we do something fun (and delicious) while we are there.  I let Jaxon play all the money on both of our cards at Dave and Busters, and he and I had the time of our lives.  Jaxon is all about the games that are low skill, and high ticket yield, and that is just fine with me!

When we had played all the cash on our cards (thank you! Uncle Scott) Jaxon had 2260 tickets!  We cashed them in and "went shopping" at the prize store.  Jaxon takes this SOOOOOO seriously, and we were in there so long deciding that we had to pause for a bathroom break! He ended up with a giant slinky, (I tried to disuade him, but it turned out to be so fun. Aurura got one too and they would race them down the stairs at the beachhouse) a medium sized football, with which he has already played catch with me, Dave, and grandpa several times, a soft monkey plush toy for Cooper, which Cooper loves, and Jaxon is SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of, a roll of sweet tarts, and a sucker/flashlight.  All in all a great haul, and picking and showing off his prizes are just as fun to him as earning the tickets in the first place!

Here are the 3 Amigos, plus one of Jaxon and Gracie-  If you can tell he is blushing in that one....I think there's a very good chance Jaxon had a little crush on Miss Grace!


Saturday night was more football, with everyone (all 9 of us) snuggled on the couch together. I love those moments, LOVE!
 Sunday morning we packed up and headed out.  It was the end of a perfectly relaxing weekend, and just what the dr. ordered before heading into the craziness of December and the continued work on the house!
  Jaxon sat between G and G again, and Cooper slept in Dave's arms from liftoff to touch down- pretty awesome!
  I am so SO very thankful for my amazingly amazing husband, my TWO sons, my dear brothers, sister, and their wonderful spouses, and my sweet friends.  I loved having time to reflect on those things, and think about how to make gratitude a bigger part of my life, all year round!

WORST. DAY. EVER. (Cooper edition)

Holy Smokes.  Remember how I said this kid is, "Quiet as a mouse" "Never cries" "Best baby ever"???  Okay, well I still think he is the worlds best baby, but the other two, well...I know have to prefice them with... "as long as he hasn't gotten shots!!!"

 This boy screamed like I have never heard screaming, cried his blue little eyes out, and never forgave me the rest of the day after his darn shots!

The day started out well enough. A lovely bath which Cooper adores, just like Jaxon did!
After wards he snuggled in bed while I got ready- (This is a rare view of Coop without some CRAZY hair..his wet little curls stuck to his head!)


 
 
Then we came upstairs for some snuggle time!
(I figured I'm not in too many picturess these days...plus I had sort-of done my hair, plus I'm holding Coop in front of my body and the camera angle is hiding a mryiad of sins!!!) :o)
 
 
Then I had to wake Coop up after only a 45 minutes nap to go to the Doctor.   Even then he was just happy as a clam---
 
Step 1- Smile at mom.
 
 
Step 2- Flirt with Mom. (smile, then look away, then look back shyly to make sure I still have her undevided attention!)
 
 
 
Step 3- REPEAT!
 
 
 
 
Then....
 
What was that? Pardon?  I don't remember hearing anything about "shots"...?!?!
 
And it's been pretty downhill from there. 
Scream, cry, sleep for a short amount of time, repeat.
It didn't help that we had him out and about for a marathon 3 HOURS that afternoon! (He has never been out that long before!) We had to look at flooring for the house and then head over to the house to talk to our contractor. Ryan, Em, and the girls came over and the kids went to the park. (YES! LOVE that there is a park across the street) while us adults talked house...and other stuff!
 
He went to sleep fine that night but wouldn't eat much. At 3:10am he let out a cry to beat all and I rushed in there and gave him his paci.  Then I went to make a bottle, because I had told Dave I would probably have to feed him in the middle of the night because he had eaten so little that day.  But he didn't make anymore noise until 5:10 when he started screaming again.  It is making me so sad, all this screaming, because he has never done this his whole life. Even when he's hungry he starts with a whimper and gives us a chance to feed him before he gets going! So I fed him and put him back down, but noticed he felt a little warm.  Between 6 and 6:45 he was fretful so we gave him some tylenol. At 6:45 I went to get him for the day, but as soon as I picked him up he snuggled in and closed his eyes. I sat in bed holding him and browsing the internet on my phone for 2 hours!  It was sweet, and I think he needed his mama as much as he needed his sleep.
 
The rest of today has been better than yesterday, but with real crying, and occasional screaming which we have never dealt with before.  It's all kind of freaking me out a little. I read online that these symptoms should be gone in 48 hours which is 10:30am tomorrow morning...so I'm trying to keep my anxiety in check until then...
In happier news- Here are Cooper's updated stats-
Weight- 11 pounds 8 ounces = 26th percentile
(Dave and I were so shocked about this! We though he was looking downride chubby!!)
Height- 23 and 3/4 inches. = 61st percentile
(again we were surprised, he actually went UP the curve- last time it was 59th percentile, and we are pretty sure Jaxon has never moved UP the curve in his life!)
Head circumference- 16 1/4 = 66th percentile
(Once again surprised- we Rogers/Ferrells have HUGE HEADS! Way bigger than the 66th percentile!)








You guessed it-

Cell phone pictures!!!
 
Here we are on our nightly walk.  Cooper borrowed a few hats from friends, and I swear I don't recognize the kid without his hair showing!  Jaxon still adores him, but still does not understand that Cooper does not want to interact with him, while Jaxon is less than one millimeter from his face.
Ohhh well... we'll get there. (probably when Cooper starts hitting and pulling hair!)
 
 
 
 
So....like I said... who is this kid??

 


And here is another installment of World's best Grandpa.  Here's my question- how come when I tell Jaxon not to cheat he storms off and refuses to finish the game....but when Grandpa tells him not to cheat they have a good laugh and keep going???
 
(I think I figured out Grandpa's secret.... As long as he can keep up with the grandkids, he's still young!!  So he gives himself lots of opportunities, and boy do we love him for it!!)

Cell phone picture catch up

Here is another installment of the SUPER AWESOME 
"Cell Phone Picture Catch Up"!!
 
First- I found this awesome adjustable, portable, basketball hoop on Mesa Consign for the new house for $25!!!! Dad, Dave, Jaxon  and I went and got it and drove home very slowely with the hoop looking like this in the back of Dad's truck-


Here's my little snoozy.  He doesn't sleep very often in our arms very often, but when he does, it sure is cute!  And just like his ultrasounds- when he sleeps in our arms, his hands are ALWAYS by his face!
 
Okay...can someone please tell me how to flip pictures on here?  If I were using my photoshop computer this wouldn't be a problem...but...long story...that one doesn't have internet here at my parents house... anyway...
 Just a pic to show that my little Coop is getting bigger...and how darn cute he looks in stripes...and to show his awesome bedhead when he woke up yesterday!


This one is right before one of our daily afternoon walks.  Between 4 and 5 is the witching hour around here! Everyone is crabby! So we get outside, get out some energy, and breath the fresh air.  The last few days it has been a little chillier here, so Coop wore his jacket for the first time!  I thinks it's really funny how different he looks when you can't see his hair!
 
Another walk picture-
See? Everyone is much happier OUTSIDE!!!

 
 
Here's Coop with me in line at the pharmacy.  Apparently I should only dress this kid in VERY MANLY colors, because a gender neutral sleeper invoked more "What a Beatiful girl!" than I care to count. WHAT THE HECK??  I do not think Cooper looks like a girl!
I do think that Cooper is one of the most gorgeous babies I've ever seen with those blue eyes and those dark curly locks! GORGEOUS I SAY!


 
Just another cute one here...
 
 
Here is Cooper with some more sweet bedhed, and some rash on his face.  My excema cream cleared it right up again!  I love this little lumberjack outfit !!!



This picture...ahhhhh...I thnk this picture spells trouble in our future!  Whenever Cooper's hands are not swaddled, this is the position he is trying to achieve. One fist in his mouth, the other holding onto his hair.  Once he gets a hand in his hair he holds on tight, and can't figure out why someone is pulling it!  :o) 
As soon as he can actually hold onto something, I am going to get him a silky-haired plush toy, because I don't want either of these to become a habit. I always try taking his fist from his mouth and put in his paci, but he immediately spits it out and works his hand back up there!
SHOOT!  I don't want him to be a hand/finger sucker!


 
Here are Jaxon and Grammie snuggling during "Wheel" as it is affectionately called around here!  Jaxon seriously loves it. If he missed it the night before (due to early bedtime)(Due to misbehavior) he watches it first thing in the morning and runs downstairs to give me a play-by-play. (Clearly he forgets that I have already seen it!) With his ever increasing abilities in reading and spelling, it is so fun to see him sounding out the words!


 
Here is Jaxon reading The Friend magazine. I love this magazine, I love that the church provides great stories with great morals for kids, and I LOVE  THAT JAXON LOVES TO READ IT!!!



 
How did this one sneak all the way to the end? Oh well...here is crazy bedhead saying, See ya at the next installment of "Cell Phone Picture Catch Up"

The New Normal

Life just keeps moving right along doesn't it?  Talked with our contractor last night, and it doesn't look like we will be in the house before Christmas. He said we can totally move in after the floors are finished and he will finish up flooring and painting and a few other things while we are in, but I said we will stay put.  No need to move all our stuff in, just to have him have to move it all around to paint! That's just more work and more time! It's fine with me.  Of course we would love to be in ASAP, but I am also getting SO SO SO SO SO excited about the stuff happening over there! This really is going to be my "Right now" dream house!
    The sitting room (think home teaching-visiting teaching-only space in the house that belongs to mom and kids aren't allowed in) won't have furniture for a while...probably a year or two.. WHO CARES?  If I can find a smokin' deal on a piano on Craigslist, it will be empty but for a piano. sweet! 
     The playroom/loft...well, I don't quite know what to do with that space yet.  If I had a bazillion dollars (or 7-10 thousand dollars) I would furnish it will all this super cool indoor play/gymastic equiptment.  Jaxon would die of happiness, but I would die of bankruptsy.... so...not going to happen.     
      The guest room will stay empty for a while, but HAVE NO FEAR POTENTIAL GUESTS!!  We will blow up a sweet air matress for you in there, and you will have your own room. SCORE!
   Cooper seems to be developing a tiny bit of a schedule, which makes me a tiny bit less crazy!  As soon as you even say schedule out loud around that kid, or think it for that matter, he changes, so I'm not holding my breath, but I think- I THINK- he is transitioning from 4 naps to 3.  Yesterday and today I have been able to stretch his awake time from 1 hour to about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  With this snoozer, this is progress!  Yesterday we had to stop at home depot to look at some stuff and I knew he was getting tired because we were coming up on his one hour awake. (No seriously, YOU try running all the errands you need to do in a day in one hour incriments- BUT WAIT! You don't actually get one hour. You get about 35-40 minutes because that awake time has to include changing a diaper and feeding a bottle!) Anyway, sure enough at one hour ON THE DOT, he "Cried"ish for about 30 seconds and immediately fell asleep. At least he's consistant with that!
  I never quite know what his schedule will be, because it ALL depends when he first wakes up in the morning. I can't at this point just say "First nap is at 8:30" because if he wakes up at 7...it's just not going to work! Also, his daytime naps have been getting slightly better,...with A LOT of work on my part.  It includes-
1. Trying to top him off with formula just before he goes down (A no-no with babywise, but a necessity if I want him to sleep longer than 45 minutes)
2.  Understanding the noises that I invariably hear at about 45-55 minutes napping.  If it's a real-ish cry out of the blue- he's hungry. Usually I can go down in the dark, rock him while feeding him a few ounces, and get him to go back to sleep for anywhere from a half hour to 2 hours longer.  If it's just little moans and wimpers, it means he is at the end of his 45 minute sleep cycle and if I can sneak in before he wakes up too much, I can pop his pacifier back in, and again buy between half hour, and 2 hours.
  I can tell if a short nap is really all it's going to be if when I tip-toe in to assess the situation, he just coos and grins at me from ear to ear!
  His nap times also determine whether it's a 4 nap day or a 3 nap day.  If he wakes from his third nap before 3, then that means his naps have been crappy and short, and he will need a 4th nap. That usually means he goes down around 4, and I have to wake him up around 5:30, otherwise he would think he was down for the night, but he  up SUUUUUUPER early the next morning- no thank you!
  3 nap or 4, either way, between 4 and 5pm is witching hour around her.  Everyone is tired and winding down, including me, and we all get a bit cranky.  With it being busy season it's not just the thought of "15-30 minutes until Dave gets home" that can keep me going, so I get the boys together and we go on a family walk.  Once I get Jaxon out of the house, he perks right up and we have great chats.  Cooper doesn't cry or wimper a bit when we are outside, he just loves to look around. These last two days I have also wrapped a blanket around him because it has been so chilly! (LOVING IT!)
  More later, I all of a sudden got too tired to keep my eyes open!

It Begins!

Well, we GOT OUR HOUSE!! And the really exciting part-- the work we wanted done inside has started!  I forgot to go take true "before" pictures, but maybe Coop and I will go over today when he wakes up.  They are just in Demo stage, so it will look pretty thrashed! The house was SUPER nice when we got it. Even though it was a short sale, it wasn't thrashed at all.  They had taken ALL the ceiling fans, and MOST of the light fixtures- which is both lame, and dishonest.  But the carpet is in amazing shape, the walls look great etc.  The things we are doing is-
1. Adding on an in-kitchen eating area at the back of the house.
2. New flooring downstairs
3. Moving washer dryer hook up
4. Refinishing the cabinets
5. New Counter tops
6. Painting all the interior


There are quite a few other things that we will do throughout the next few years, but those will come with time (and money!)  :o)

The first things on our list after these five will be-
1. Have built in shelves installed in the new laundry/pantry room
2. Have lockers built into the mudroom

We are super excited, but it doesn't look like we will be in for Christmas- Oh well.  I am disappointed...but also kind of relieved! Dave LOVES Christmas, so we would have had to put up ALL our Christmas decor, and having just moved into a house and trying to get unpacked, I don't think putting up and taking down Christmas decor would have been top on my list. I am very excited to get in...so more to come!

Cooper Turns 2 months!

Let me go ahead and lead out with my favorite picture-
 

That's right, I caught a half smile!  He really does fully grin at me all the time (When he's not tired) but he is very interested in the camera.  So, just as I have him smiling his guts out, I put the camera in front of my face and all of a sudden he looks very surprised/concerned!
 
 
Cooper is sleeping through the night, but often I have to go in and give him his pacifier around 3 and 4. Then I feed him around 5:15 and he goes back to sleep till between 6:30 and 7 (today he slept in till 7:50! WOOT!!)  I know I should just let him fall back asleep on his own, but if he is up grunting and whining for 15 minutes, I'm not sleeping either! So, for now, it's just easier to go give him his paci...then we can both be back asleep in 2 minutes or less!

 
If you're thinking he still looks awfully similar to his 1 month pictures- well, you're right! Remember how I accidentally didn't take his 1 month pictures until he was actually 6 weeks? So his 1 monthers and 2 monthers are really just 2 weeks apart. Next month will really actually be a full month and I think there will be a bigger difference!
 

 
His eyes are lightening up and turning more blue, so I think they will stay blue...at least for now. Jaxon's were blue for about a year, then greyish/blueish/greenish for about a year, and now are bright green...so who knows??  I love both of their light eyes!

 


Aside from when he is being fed, Cooper would rather not be "snuggled." Really, he would prefer laying down on the ground flailing about, but still with your undevided attention. If I must hold him, he prefers to have his back to my chest, sitting up and checking out what's going on in the world around him!

 
 Coop is getting more coordinated with his hands, and when he is awake and not eating, he often gets his left hand to his mouth where he will suck/lick whatever part makes it in, and puts his right hand behind his head and grabs his hair. I swear he must have done this in the womb because he has been trying to do both of these things since he was born.  I often have to disconnect his hand from his beautiful long locks, cause he can't figure out who's pulling his hair! I will also pull his hand out of his mouth and put in his paci (much easier to wean a child from a paci than his hand/fingers, which cannot in fact be taken away...) and he will immediately spit it out and get his hand back up there!


 
 
He had a pretty bad rash on his face, and no amount of baby lotion, or cetaphil would take it away. I finally tried my excema cream, and after one application, his skin is now clear and beautiful again!