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.

Minutes old:














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!

Hello JJ!

Uncle JJ came up to meet Hazel and spend a long weekend with the family.  Sloane was beyond thrilled to see Jared.  She spent the few days after his departure waking up in the morning and from her naps yelling his name in the hopes that he would still be here and now asks to call him at least five times a day.  JJ came to the house for a visit one afternoon, then we had dinner at my parents and a bbq at Matt and Nikka's the next night.  It was so fun to all be together and watch the kids play. 

An artist at work

Sometimes, when inspiration strikes, you have to drop everything and focus on your craft....