Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I missed you

I headed to Chicago for a conference this weekend...four days away from my baby. My first time away - it sucked. Luckily I have an incredible husband who kept her alive, entertained her, did laundry, cleaned the house, and managed to text me 23 pictures documenting their time together. And three audio clips of my girl giggling. It made the distance not seem so far, made the time away fly, and made me so excited to get home. I missed you guys (that's you too, Cooper).

Here is the documentation of our weekend...I thought about including the text that accompanied each photo but once I started reading it all together it got a bit gaggy because, yeah, we missed each other. So glad to be home.


John's photos:
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Kelly's photos from the art institute and the park nearby ie when I wasn't stuck in a conference room:

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A day in the life

Finding a daycare for your kiddo is torture. I saw some places that were scary, I saw some places that would have been just fine, and then we found the place that is perfect for us and Sloane. We feel lucky that Sloane spends her weekdays in a loving and fun environment, and in the company of some awesome kiddos. She is the baby - their baby. I get daily reports from the older kiddos who love to help take care of her, spend afternoons trying to make her laugh, and love to imitate her funny faces and noises. Our wonderful daycare provider sends us photos every few weeks so here's a glimpse into a day in the life of Sloane Poort.

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Hey boyfriend!

Sloane and I finally got to meet Miles Daly Knight last week. It's no surprise that he is one cool dude. The kiddos got a brief hello before Sloane hit the hay then we got to enjoy a fun dinner catching up with Dave and Colleen, and snuggling baby Miles. We are looking forward to lots of playdates and, just maybe, a potential love connection one day.

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Daddy Dave aka "the paparazzi"
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The mamas
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A cabin in the woods

We were lucky to spend the long MLK weekend snuggled in a cabin that was buried under snow near Leavenworth. Our friend Frank put together a wonderful weekend for his fun (and competitive) friends. The mission? To conquer the 18 "minute to win it" games that Frank prepared. All games pulled directly from the tv show....some easy, some hard, all very funny. We definitely didn't take enough pictures...we were too busy trying to kick ass. We made it to the semi finals then John took on the "keep 3 balloons in the air for as long as possible" challenge. 4 seconds - ouch. He made up for it by doing a diving finish. But that wasn't pretty either.

When we weren't in competition mode we ate delicious food, played boardgames, hiked in the snow, and inbibed in a few cocktails. My kind of weekend!

The Oreo challenge
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Success!
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A cabin in the mountains just isn't complete without at least one dead animal on the wall.
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Saturday, January 15, 2011

7 months

Holy moly - how time does fly. It seems like just last week we were celebrating Sloane’s six month anniversary. A lot has happened in the last month. After the occasional flirt with rolling over for the past few months, Sloane now in love with the 180 degree turn. She’s rolling back to front every chance she gets which makes diaper changing interesting. She sits up on her own. I still surround her with pillows even though she rarely topples over. John thinks I’m nuts. She loves her drum and music cube. She could be a musical prodigy but, more than likely it’s the bright flashing lights on those toys that keep her so enthralled. She loves to dance…it’s the cutest little butt wiggle. Sloane is a jumping fool. The girl is talking like crazy and we are dying to know what she is saying. John keeps trying to teach her “mommy”, “daddy”, and “coop”. She giggles whenever she hears those words. Sloane chews on everything in sight so there may be some teeth in our near future. The girl is grabby and can pull pretty hard. Her cousins were dying to hold her the other day until she started yanking on their hair…I’m not sure they will be interested in a snuggle for a while. She loves fruit and most veggies. She hates squash and peas & brown rice. Not just spitting them out hates them, but gags, chokes, and sprays them all over the room hates them. There is more and more interest in cheerios, but she mostly sucks on them for a while then spits them out. She sits in a high chair and in the grocery cart, no more hauling the bucket into the store or restaurant. Her bucket seat is getting a little too cozy so we may switch her to a bigger seat soon. Her fine motor skills are developing – it’s fun to watch. When she is looking for her binky I just hold it out in front or set it down next to her to watch her pick it up, turn it the right was and pop it in. Our little girl is growing up. I know it’s WAY too early to tell, but she does a lot with her left hand and Bobba is not so secretly hoping she is a south paw. He’s always wanted a lefty batter in the family. And, yes, she is still a giant. We are looking forward to following her and her future doubles teammate Emily on the pro beach volleyball tour. I did a little too much bragging about her fabulous sleep schedule so a couple of weeks ago she decided to put me in check. I’m mostly kidding, but a growth spurt added one or two nighttime feedings for about a week. We couldn’t believe how much she was eating for a while there.

This whole ride is moving way too fast. Oh pumpkin, chunky monkey, buttercup – you are a total rock star and we are SO glad you are ours.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The cone of shame

I am so sorry Cooper. I really am because I see in your eyes just how embarrassing it is. Just tough it out until that raw spot on your leg heals up and we can remove the cone of shame.

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Happy Birthday Beavis

We got to host our first dinner party with the new kitchen and toast Andrea's birthday. Too much laughing, talking, and taking names in Smartass (best new board game) to take many photos. Happy Birthday Spoon!

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Coop always gets lots of love when Nicki visits
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Sink tub

A quick tub to test out the new sink and give our backs a rest - success!

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