Busy, busy, busy

It has been almost two weeks since I last blogged.  I didn't mean to take a blogging break, but it just happened.  Things are crazy around here! We have so much going on that I just can't keep up.

1. We sold our home on April 4th.  We put it on the market in February and it was only on the market for 3 weeks when it sold but then we delayed closing on it so we didn't have to rush to find somewhere to live.  It worked for us and the buyers so that was good. 

2. We leased the house back for 60 days after closing so we are still in our house.  Again it worked for us and the buyer.

3. We are renting a town home for the next 4-6 months and we are moving this weekend.

4.  We are building a new home in the same neighborhood that we built a home in last year.  If you don't remember, we built a home and then backed out of it because our house hadn't sold.  The new home won't be ready until October or November because the developer is having to put in new roads for this new phase of the neighborhood.

5. Casen turns 1 on June 3rd and we are having his party on May 31st.  It is going to be at my parents house because I didn't want to have it at the rental.  It is awesome to not have to worry about having the rental ready by then but it is still stressful trying to plan a birthday simultaneously with a move.  I have had a theme for his party since before he was born.  If I had known life would have been this crazy I should have planned the whole thing then!

6. I have moved into a new position at work as of a week ago.  I am still working heavily with the group in Argentina, but now I am working in a special projects role.  I get to do more 'big picture' stuff instead of the day-to-day things.  I am excited about this new challenge, but also a bit overwhelmed with the transition period.

7. Casen had a stomach bug this weekend, then my mom got it, and yesterday I had it.  Casen came down with a fever today and Kyle is at the doctor with him now.  I suspect ear infection based on the fever, runny nose/cough/allergies, and he hasn't been sleeping like he normally does.  All of this sickness going around has not been good for packing and moving.

Whew I am tired just typing all of that.

We have some other things going on that have also made life busy.  I realize that I work best under pressure so hopefully that stays true....I wrote this blog in less than 5 minutes while waiting for my boss to come back for a meeting.

I have several more blogs that I need to do but they will just have to wait.

Friday Randoms

Earlier this week I took this picture of Casen.  Doesn't he look huge in that carrier.  We have ordered Cooper's new car seat that converts to a booster so that Casen can move up to Cooper's.  I have been preoccupied and was being cheap and we should have done this sooner.  Why is my baby so big?

*Casen's feet are red from rug burn at school. They were fine the next day*

 

Each morning during the week I get Casen up (I wake him up) at 5:00 to nurse and he falls back asleep in our bed.  Then I pump and get ready for my day.  I go back and wake him up around 6:15 to get ready for day-care.  Well this morning he woke up on his own and fell off of our bed.  Our bed is pretty high off of the ground.  He cried for quite a while.  I didn't see any marks and or broken bones.

However when we got to school I noticed the red mark by his left eye.  You can barely see it but I wonder if it will look worse this afternoon.  My poor baby boy.

Me- Let me see your eye.

Casen- What?

Me- I am trying to get a good picture of your eye.

Casen- oh you want a picture? (smile) I am fine.

Casen- okay that is enough!

Today was Muffins with Mom (Mommy) for Mother's Day. Cooper picked out a double chocolate chip muffin (smart boy) and had almost finished it by the time I left. He did share a little with me and Casen.

Tonight my parents are keeping the boys for a slumber party.  I am so excited.  My boys are great sleepers so I am not sure why I am so excited.  But I am.  Maybe it is because even though my boys are great sleepers they still get up at 7 or so.  So if we stay up late watching a movie until midnight we don't get much sleep.  Therefore we normally go to bed around 10 even on the weekends.

Kyle and I have no clue what we are going to do. We considered a movie since we haven't seen one in over a year, but we aren't sure.  We might be wild and crazy by just doing dinner and still being in bed at 10.  No matter what we do I am looking forward to a night just the two of us. 

Plus we will get to hangout most of the day tomorrow together until we meet the boys at Tinsley's birthday party that afternoon.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Things Cooper says...

I have been wanting to write this post for a while...months! But I just never took the time to record some of the things Cooper says and now I regret it.  But oh well.

Cooper loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He used to call it Mickey Mouse Blublouse.

When Cooper says a word wrong I say 'look at my mouth' and resay it a time or two.  Now if we don't understand something Cooper says he says 'look at my mouth'.  It is hilarious.

When I ask him a question sometimes he says 'Hmmm' and taps his chin with his finger.  He got that from MMC.

Cooper- I heard a toot in my butt

He still says 'lello' instead of yellow.

He often says 'tank to' or 'dank do' instead of thank you, but he knows how to say it right.

He has a little lisp.

He calls himself Cooper Scott.

When Casen has a dirty diaper I call him stinky butt.  The other day Cooper looked at Casen and said 'hey stinky butt'

Cooper- Oh! It's getting light outside. The sun in coming up. We like Mr. Sun. We like the moon too. He went down because they take turns. Right, mommy?

He has recently started calling me 'mom' and I hate it.  At first I would simply say 'momma' or 'mommy', but now I just leave it alone.  I still call my mom 'momma' and I wish Cooper would too.

After I take a bath he says 'Can I feel your wet hair? Yep, it's wet. I like your wet hair.'

Ooohhhh, Daddy! That is a cool jacket!!

If we ask Cooper what his Daddy's name is he says 'Daddy's awesome!!'  What about mommy?  'Mamasita' 

He often times calls his little brother 'Casen Andrew.'

I need to record his night prayers because they are so sweet.  He says them with a thick country accent and I have no clue why. 

I am going to try to do posts like this more often because I really want to remember these things.

Who does he look like Part 2

When Cooper was about 9 months old I did this post

A lot of people tell me that Casen looks like my father-in-law.  However I think he looks a lot like me or my dad when we were babies.  I see it most when he is doing his full belly laugh with squinty eyes.

So I wanted to do a little comparison post after seeing some pictures this weekend at my parents.

First here is Casen wearing the same picture as Cooper.  Casen was too busy to sit still for a good picture this morning and I was in a hurry.

They don't really look alike, do they?

So here is a picture of me and I definitely see resemblances of Casen.  Even the hair!

I think Casen has a longer face than me and also a longer face that Cooper had at this age.  Of course Casen has darker features that Cooper also.

It is fun to see how the boys are different.

What do you think?

Sunday Recap

I can't call this a weekend recap, because I only took pictures on Sunday.

But quickly-

Friday we went to dinner with Aunt Jen Jen and Uncle David. As usual we had a great time.

Saturday we headed to Ennis to spend the day with Babi and Grandaddy.  We ran around taking pictures of Casen for his birthday book made by Babi.  This included hanging out with with Daddy and Granddaddy at the ranch.  Casen got to go on his first tractor ride.  I took pictures with my nice camera so I will have to share those later.

Sunday morning the boys didn't feel like sleeping in.  Casen and I got up early and went to mass together.  He was such a sweet boy and we both enjoyed it.

After mass we went home to get Cooper and Kyle.  We headed to the Fort Worth Zoo for a fun day with friends.

Here is Cooper with his BFF Aiden. 

They were a little wild at first. They were so excited to see each other and see the animals.  They ran from one exhibit to the other barely stopping to actually see the animals.

Once again, can't ever catch both kids looking at the same time.

And again...

Sweet Casen was just perfect.  He just chilled in his stroller.  I got him out at one point for about 20 minutes but I could tell he was tired.

I remembered to ask Tiffany if she would take a family picture.  Unfortunately we didn't pick the best spot when it came to lighting but I don't care.

Here are the Narums

The boys stopped to ride a car or truck.

It got hot that day but luckily not until we were ready to leave.  We didn't see everything because both boys were hungry and ready for a nap.  Cooper kept asking for lunch but when we got into the car he was asleep before we got to the main road. And he slept almost 2 hours.

The boys had such a great time and I think the parents had just as much fun.  We really love hanging out with this sweet family.

After nap we ran some errands and with the hot weather we picked up popsicles at the grocery store.  Cooper loved having his first popsicle of the season.

Baby brother got to have some popsicle too and this is what happened when it was all gone.

He threw himself on the floor crying.

Despite this little meltdown we had such a wonderful weekend. 

I am pretty sure I say that most weekends and it is true.

Casen's 10 month Post

Casen will be 11 months tomorrow and I am just now doing his 10 month post. #1 I am a procrastinator. #2 he had a rash on his face when I was ready to do them.

I was done taking pictures when I realized I forgot to put his sticker on! And of course at that point he was done but I put the sticker on and got a couple more good ones.

Weigh 18.6 lbs

Size 3 diapers

9 month and 12 month clothes

Still no teeth

Just days after you turned 9 months you decided you were done with baby food.  And you have the same nursing/bottle schedule as last month.  You like pretty much all foods.  You like your carbs and like your brother will eat any type of pasta.  You drink water out of a sippy cup at meals.

You continue to love bath time with Cooper.  Now that you are on table foods only and feed yourself you get very messy at meal times.  Therefore, you get a bath each night instead of every other night like before.

Right after you turned 9 months (3/8) you started crawling and haven't looked back.  You skipped the army crawl and went straight to the real thing.

At 9 1/2 months you pulled up on the couch and the side of the bathtub.  (3/21 and 3/22)

You starting saying momma more often then month but you still don't say it regularly

Your favorite thing these days is to play with your tongue and clap.  You LOVE to clap.

This month you had pink eye and a double ear infection.  The doctor said that if you had anymore ear infections then he would refer us for tubes.

This month you started experiencing separation anxiety.  When we walked out of a room you would fuss and crawl after us.  In the beginning you couldn't crawl that fast and would get frustrated at times. By the time you got to the room I was in I was already going to another room.

You also cry when I drop you off at day-care if someone isn't holding you or you aren't distracted by a little friend.

Now that you pull up you love to find your brother and be where he is.  I am convinced that you like to pick on him and know exactly what you are doing.  You think Cooper is the best and want to do what he is doing.  You pull up on the couch and just smile at him trying to get his attention.

Cooper and Daddy like to play 'argh' (wrestle and growl at each other) and as soon as they start you crawl over to them to join it.  It is the cutest thing ever!! You giggle and just love the attention from your daddy and brother.

Cooper is definitely realizing that things are different now that you are mobile.  His food and toys are no longer safe from you. 

I have seen you try to sign 'more' several times while eating in your high chair.

You love to play peekaboo.  It is so cute how you uncover your face with a huge smile and giggle.

You like to give slobbery open mouth kisses.

And you have also learned to give high fives.

Now that you are pulling up we caught you standing in your crib and so we lowered it.

You love to pull up on your activity table and play but really you would rather pull up on Cooper's little table and see what you can find there.

You still love the dogs.  You love to throw the ball and get better at it all of the time.  Ranger loves to sit by you for the attention but unfortunately you love to pull his hair.  Luckily Ranger is always so patient with you and waits for you to let go or for one of us to come rescue him.

This has been another wonderful month with you sweet boy.  You are growing and changing so fast.  We all love you so much, Casen Andrew.

Casen's 9 month post and Cooper's 10 month post

I just read the 10 month post and it is funny how many things y'all both did at the same time.

Little River Part 2

The cabin is pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  We can watch tv but usually only turn it on for the weather or to watch the Ranger game in the evenings. There is no cell phone service or internet.  It is a chance to completely unplug and enjoy.

We go for rides, play outdoor games, talking and do some work during the day. In the evening we relax and play some card games or board games before bed.

Kyle's grandmother plans breakfast and dinner each day and we bring snacks and drinks.  We just snack through lunch time. The food is always delicious.

Kyle's parents slept with Cooper out in the camper.  Kyle and I each slept in a twin bed in the cabin with Casen in a pack 'n play.  Tyler sleeps on the pullout couch.  We are quickly outgrowing the sleeping quarters, but that just means we will need to get more creative with air mattresses or maybe tents...for the boys!  We spend most of our time outdoors anyway so we just make it all work.

Always on a four wheeler.

Kyle's grandparents needed some work done while we were there after having damage from an ice storm in December.  The men did a lot of work, but I think Kyle enjoyed it.  He likes manual labor and helping people out.  Cooper sat on a four wheeler and supervised the work. 

At one point Tyler and Casen joined in.

Everyone relaxing, eating, and talking.

A family friend, Bob has a cabin right next door and he is always there when Kyle's grandparents are.  Bob and Nana are our tour guides for long four wheeler rides on different trails.  In previous years someone stayed with Cooper at the cabin during these rides.  This year Cooper got to go on his first long ride.  He fell asleep about 10 minutes into it which didn't surprise us because it was around nap time. 

Unfortunately we ended up going down a wrong trail and it had a lot of fallen trees in the path (due to the ice storm).  Bob had a bow saw with him and they decided to cut through them so we could continue on.  Unfortunately just a little further ahead there were a few more....and then a few more.  The boys cut through about 15 trees and we were gone for over 3 hours!  Cooper only slept about 20 minutes of it.  He got antsy as did the rest of us while the guys were clearing the path.  But really Cooper did awesome for his first long ride.  He will definitely be ready next year.

We joked the ride was 'The Ride From Hell' or 'Trail of Tears'

Clapping again

Casen isn't walking yet (which was the same for Cooper's first trip) so that was a bit of a challenge.  We spend so much time outdoors that I think he wanted to crawl like crazy but he couldn't.  It was also challenging at meal times. But again he did awesome and was so good the entire time.  The last night he didn't sleep as well, but it still wasn't bad. In general he is a happy and content little guy.

Grandpa and his boys.  Cooper has a sad face because he wanted to go for another ride...I am sure you are shocked.  Don't worry after pictures Grandpa took him.

That silly tongue and a fake smile

Love this sweet face that looks a little determined to set someone straight. Not sure what he was saying or doing.

Grandpa let Cooper take a turn driving.

In past years I have never been comfortable driving a four wheeler. I tried it once but just preferred to ride behind Kyle instead.  This year I decided to finally figure out and give it a try.  I only went on the roads around the cabin, but I enjoyed it and even took Cooper out once or twice.  I am definitely not comfortable enough for the long rides that go through rivers, up and down hills, and have to go over things.  But I am glad I finally tried again and hopefully over the years I will get more comfortable with it.

Mimi and Grandpa decided to take Casen for a ride down to the river.

Cooper's first year we found him a walking stick.  Each year Grandpa has engraved something on it. Cooper 2012, LRR 2013 and this year just 2014.  We decided to switch to just dates so we don't run out of room too soon.

And of course this year Casen had to get his walking stick also. I love traditions and love these walking sticks.  It will be so fun to see them grow and change each year.

Please excuse the 4 different pictures but I couldn't decide which was my favorite because in one Cooper looks good and in another Casen does.

We did a family picture!! I look at little rough but I was convinced that I would do no makeup and spend no time styling my hair while we were there.  I am really trying to be better about family pictures of us at holidays and events. 

The boys with Uncle T and his walking stick also.

Last year Tyler didn't get to come because he was still in college.  We always think it is more fun when he is there.  Tyler is so great with our boys.  He took Cooper on several rides. Played games with them. And he would jump in and hold Casen so that I could eat dinner or whatever.  These boys love their uncle and we are glad he is back up here now that college is done.  We hope he never lives too far.

We really had such a wonderful trip.  We are lucky to have such great family that we love spending time with and that love being with our boys.  We look forward to this trip every year and wish we could go more.  I can't wait until next year when both boys are mobile and going for more rides.  Kyle is already dreaming of buying a four wheeler or side-by-side to have up there.