Happy 2nd Birthday, Sloane!

Sloane,

How the heck can you be 2 years old already?  I can still remember holding you for the first time like it was yesterday.  It doesn't seem that long ago and then I look at the kid in front of me and think of all we have experienced together.

You are the most amazing adventure - each and every day with you is so incredibly happy.   Not all day, every day - you are 2 after all.  Here's what is happening in your 2 year old world.

You are quite the chatterbox. You are starting to talk in some complete sentences but still like the throw 20 seconds of total gibberish our way when we least expect it to keep us on our toes. You know your ABCs well and can count to 15 though you often skip over 7 and 8 completely. You love to list off all of your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - it is not a short list.

You love Elmo.  A lot.  Though Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Abbie are starting to get some love as well.  You ask for "Elmo ipad" frequently and usually get it if it's time to feed your sister.  At least it's an educational app.

The Roomba vacuum cleaner can keep you entertained for hours.  You love to turn it on and off and chase it around the house.  You love to run up to it, tap it with your toe, and run away before it can catch you.  You think it's a new pet and treat it so.  Both Cooper and Roomba get a "goodbye" when we leave the house and a "hello" when we arrive home.  When you are doing something you are especially proud of, you often tell the vacuum cleaner to look at you.  "Yook, Roomba, I jump."

You love to jump and are actually starting to get some nice air.  You love to run and run into things so you are one giant bruise, scrape and scab. 

You watch and listen to everything we say and do, and you are quite the little parrot.  We have to be so careful now.  You spent one afternoon muttering, "what the hell" after your mother let that one slip. 

You are starting to have opinions on what you wear.  Usually this means refusing to take off your kitty or princess pajamas to put on clothes for the day.  You love to walk around in my shoes and are pretty good in heels.

You are an amazing helper.  You love to clean and you wipe down your chair after each meal.  You are constantly bringing blankets and animals to your sister.  Your dad taught you how to very gently give her the binky.  Now, whenever she starts to cry you yell, "I've got it", and run over to her.  You are more and more gentle with her each day.  You also love to show off for Hazel and want to be sure she is looking whenever you are doing something exciting.  I always turn her in your direction whenever you shout, "Hazel, yook at me."  You haven't yet picked up that she's sleeping 95% of the time.

You love stickers and would cover every surface in our house with them if we'd let you.  You are dying to cover your sister, the furniture and the windows with stickers.  To keep you from doing that I'm usually covered in stickers instead. 

When we aren't doing what you want or don't come to you fast enough you stop calling us "mom" and "dad" and instead shout, "John, Kelly".  It's weird.  When you want something you repeat the same phrase over and over putting emphasis on different words.  I want fruit snacks.  I WANT fruit snacks.  I want fruit SNACKS.  I want FRUIT snacks.  If you still haven't gotten what you wanted you say it one last time in a sing song voice.

You love your weekly swimming dates with your dad and ask me daily, "Sloane daddy swimming tonight?"  When I explain that it isn't a swimming night you reply with, "Sloane tubby night!"  You are definitely a water girl.

You are growing like a weed and we can't wait for your stats next week.  You are growing out of 3T and have moved into 4Ts.

You go to bed around 7:30 but will often "read" or talk to yourself for a while.  We love to turn up the volume on the monitor and listen to you - it's priceless.  You usually wake up happy around 7:30.

Some meals you eat like a mouse and other meals you clear everyone's plates.  When I ask what you want for breakfast in the morning you usually say "pancakes AND waffles" then wait a few seconds and ask for a popsicle with a super sweet smile.  I'm not sure if you really think there's a chance I'll give you a popsicle for breakfast or if you do it to make me laugh.  You will do just about anything for fruit snacks.

You love daycare and all of your friends there.  You talk about them often.  You rush into whatever activities are happening when we arrive then come back to give me a kiss and open the door to usher me out so you can go back to playing.

You are starting to get into the "why" stage, but your most popular question is "Whataya doin' mommy?"  I hear this about 300 times per day.

You are so sweet and polite when you want to be.  You are great with your "please" and "thank you's" and you always say "bless you" when someone sneezes.  But, you are also a super sassy little thing.  The terrible 2's could get interesting.  You have stopped hitting when you are mad (I was the only lucky recipient of that stage) but will often make the hitting motion and stop just before making contact.  You are majorly testing boundaries and have become quite familiar with time outs.

We love you so incredibly much and are so excited to celebrate your birthday.  The past two years with you have been the most amazing years of our lives.  We are very lucky parents.

1 hour:

1 month:

3 months:

6 months:

9 months:

1 year:

2 years:

Ol' blue eyes?

While there is still a lot of time for them to change, her eyes are looking pretty blue.  We are wondering if Hazel will be the only member of our family who does not have hazel eyes.

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Anderson Cooper is 4 or 28, depending on how you look at it.  It’s been a big year for our first child.

 

Last fall Coop spent 10 days at ‘puppy college’, ‘doggy boarding school’, or ‘bad dog school.’ Our feisty girl had gotten a little too feisty when on her leash. What did we learn from the trainer? Nothing we didn’t already know. She’s super, super smart. Duh, she’s our kid. She’s a total alpha female. She’s a crazy, Mariah Carey level, diva. No huge surprises to us. Coop got some great tools to ease her fear of other dogs when she’s on leash and we learned the best ways to help her. I’d forgotten what it was like to go on a walk and not have your arms be sore later from the crazy pulling. Nice job, Coop.  She's still has some work to do, but what "kid" doesn't have their quirks.

Cooper continues to be awesome with kids and is so patient with Sloane.  I think the fact that one of Sloane’s favorite things to do is to feed her endless treats doesn’t hurt.  Every morning as we are heading out the door, Sloane stops, turns around, and walks back into the living room to give Coop a pet and say goodbye.  Every day.  It never gets old.   Unfortunately, Sloane is now starting to involve Coop in her dress up.

She occasionally sniffs Hazel but largely ignores her.  I think that will continue until Hazy can start doling out the treats like her sister.

Coop loves her romps with her buddies on our street.   There are a bunch of dogs who love to chase each other and wrestle up and down our dead-end street.  It is awesome.  I love the huge smile on her face when she comes in exhausted.  It’s also allowed us to get to know our neighbors better than we ever would have.

We love our "first kid" and were happy to celebrate her 28th birthday with a pig ear covered in peanut butter.  Yum!  Happy birthday, Cooper!

1 month

Hazy girl,

You are now 1 month old - where have the last four weeks gone?  A quick recap of your first month of life...

You, like your sister, lost quite a bit of weight in days following your birth.  At your 3 day appointment you were down to 6 lbs 14 ozs (from 7 lbs 12 ozs) so we worked hard to fatten you up.  After my milk came in and lots of time spent torturing you to stay away during feedings you started packing on the pounds.  At your 2 week appointment you were up to 8 lbs, 7.5 ozs.  Nice work!  You were already SO TINY and and after you lost the weight your wrinkles were in full effect especially on those teeny little thighs.  You are now sporting some healthy, wonderful rolls. 

The second best thing about that rapid weight gain (obviously you "thriving" is numero uno!) is that we no longer needed to wake you up every 3 hours at night to eat.  Hallelujah!  You now wake up once during the night and your mama is very grateful for the rest.

You sleep, a lot.  During your first couple weeks of life your dad would ask, "are we sure it's normal for her to sleep this much?" about 5 times a day.  But you are awake more and more throughout the day.  It's so fun to see those beautiful eyes and watch you check out the world.

You are so loved.  Sometimes you are loved a little too much by your big sister.  I swear I can see the terror in your eyes as she approaches.  Her touches and pats are getting much more gentle.  She did bite and try to body slam you once but that was a couple of weeks ago.  Don't worry, I still won't leave the two of you alone together.

You love to snuggle.  You tolerate tummy time for a few minutes then are quick to let me know you are done.  Your little cry is so sweet but you are starting to find a bigger voice.  You smell amazing.  You have the longest little toes and plenty of dark hair.  Every stinking inch of you is perfect.

We are so madly in love with you and can't wait to watch you grow.

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1 day old:

2 days old:

10 days old:

2 weeks old:

4 weeks old:

Sharing Elmo

Sloane is about to turn 2 which means two things are true.  1 - She sucks at sharing.  2 - She's obsessed with Elmo and her Elmo doll is her most prized possession.  So I was shocked this morning when she didn't put up a fight after I told her it was time to leave and that Elmo needed to stay at home.  She promptly walked over to Hazel, put Elmo next to her and said, "Elmo snuggle Hazel."  When I told her that Hazel was coming with us she grabbed the little monster and walked him over to Cooper's bed, set Elmo down, patted them both on the head, and said goodbye

It's the little things that make you the proudest.

Big girls vs. babies

"Big girls don't need binkies.  Binkies are for babies."  I swear this phrase is said at least 20 times per day in our house.  We knew Sloane would revert back to doing some "baby" things once Hazel arrived.  But we didn't know it would be so hilarious. 

Sloane loves to be swaddled like her sister.  She doesn't get why the baby blankets aren't big enough to swaddle her.

She wants to have her diaper changed on the temporary changing station we've set up on the couch for Hazel.  She insists on having a stack of her diapers next the stack of newborn diapers there.  When her supply gets low she brings more out.  When I go from changing Hazel's diaper to changing Sloane's I feel like I'm changing the diaper of a 13 year old.  I swear she tripled in size overnight and seems HUGE next to her sister.

She doesn't understand why Hazel's "toys" are too small for her.  She loves the vibrating chair and would die of happiness if we'd let her get into the swing.  She'd spend all day playing and laying on Hazel's play mat if she could.

When it comes to the binkies she is like a crack fiend looking for her fix.  We try to keep them all out of reach but when she spots one she's at it in a flash to get as many sucks in before she hands it over.  She tries to be sneaky sometimes, "look over there mama," hoping that she can snag a binks behind our backs.  The smile on her face behind a binks (or sometimes two or three) is priceless.

Sorry, Cooper

Poor Anderson Cooper.  There's another baby in her house.  When we got home from the hospital she took one whiff of Hazel and gave us the "really, you're doing this to me again?" look.  Then, to add insult to injury she had to sport the cone of shame for a week so she'd stop messing with a scab on her back.  One day I found her lying on the rug, cone facing directly into the couch.  Apparently, doggy depression is real.  Things are looking up now and we can't wait to celebrate her 28th birthday this weekend.  We love you, Coop!