Zoo

Cooper's first trip to the Zoo was taken on the 4th of July!  It was Josh and Erick's idea to take the kids and we all had a wonderful time!  We arrived right before the zoo opened and got right in.  It wasn't too crowded and we think the heat and holiday kept people away.  Although it was hot, the kids had a great time, were able to run around and saw a lot of animals!!

When we came home, this is where Daddy ended up taking a nap for over an hour...

And this is how mommy got one...  Think this is fair??  :)

Lazy Sunday

It was so nice to be able to just relax the day after Caroline's birthday party!  After going to church on July 3rd we just hung out as a family and enjoyed the nice weather and each other. 

While Josh and I were busy doing our own things, this is how we found Cooper and Caroline. She took it upon herself to give Cooper a check up!  :)

Cooper and Caroline gave Josh an ice cream maker for Father's Day.  This was the perfect time to get it out and test out some great homemade recipes!  We made some french vanilla ice cream and even topped them off with gummi bears.  A perfect way to end our day!

Vacation!

What a lucky guy!!  At just over 3 months old, this little guy has been on vacation and gone to the beach twice already!  We were able to join Grandpa Doug and Grandma Karla on their trip to South Padre several weeks ago.  We had a wonderful time and Cooper did great in the car!  Both kids definitely surprised us during the 10 hour drive both there and back.  Cooper slept so well and hardly fussed.  We did discover, however, that he too likes Yo Gabba Gabba.  Another one lost to that very strange show!  :) 

 It was such a great weekend to spend with family and a great time all around! 

All Smiles!!

Aren't children fun?!  They definitely add so much to life and make things exciting!!  I just heard a statistic that a child smiles and laughs an average of 400 times a day and the average adult smiles just 15 times a day.  Now that is a big difference!!  I find myself smiling all the time and laughing at the joy that is brought by my children.  Cooper has the absolute sweetest smile and has now begun to laugh out loud.  Even when I'm super tired (because we are still not sleeping through the night!) I can't help but smile every morning when I find my little boy so cheerful in his crib!  What would I do with out my little ones?

1 + 2 = THREE!!

We've made it!!!  It has been 3 whole months that we have had our Super Cooper!  He sure is a fun little guy and starting some new things!  He loves to smile, laugh out loud and just watch his big sister.  He hasn't seemed to quite get the whole sleeping through the night thing and is still up about every 3 1/2-4 hours.  I am SO ready for this time to be over and its starting to feel like its really has been 3 months with non-continuous sleep!  But we are hanging in there and it really isn't quite fair.  Cooper just does not get to take his naps like his sister did when we are out and about.  We might also have a little less patience this time around because we know he has the ability to do it!  But for now, we are getting by and enjoying the daytime where both kids do nap regularly!  He eats well and is wearing 3-6 month clothes.  We don't have a doctor's appointment this month, but from what I can tell from our home scale, he is weighing in at 16.2 pounds!!  He sure is growing!  It seems like these last 3 months have flown by and I cannot believe this year is already half over!

Lately...

 Just a few recent pictures of my sweet boy!

To Pacify or not...

That is the question!!  And if only it were that easy.  So Caroline has always been a great sleeper and actually asks to go to sleep, getting excited to see her paci.  It was easy to get her to sleep and easy to just pop that thing back in her mouth.  However, she is now one month shy of 2 years and still cries out for that thing!  Cooper on the other hand, is completely different!  He doesn't even like it and only occasionally will take it, only to spit it out seconds later.  I haven't been too pushy one way or another, but he just doesn't care for it.  I really can't decide... is it better to not be able to immediately soothe your crying child with a pacifier or is it worse to take away a beloved possession at some point?  Decisions... decisions!