Casen's first bottle

At 5 1/2 weeks Casen got his first bottle.

 

It took him a bit to get the hang of it but he did great.

 

Big brother even got to help!

 

Here is Kyle giving Cooper his first bottle two years ago...do you notice anything?

 

 

Kyle wore the same shirt in both pictures which was a complete coincidence. I didn't notice until I was looking for my blog post.  Click Here to see the post about Cooper's first bottle.

 

Here are some other pictures of our sweet boy.

Cooper's 2 year check up

Cooper did so great at his 2 year checkup.  He acted so grown up and is doing great developmentally.

Stats-

Height: 33 inches or 2 ft 9 inches (33%)

Weight: 25.8 pounds (18%)

Has anyone heard that if you double your child's height at 2 years old it will tell you how tall they will be?  Was it true for your kid?  I hope not because if so my boy will only be 5 ft 6 inches. This wouldn't surprise me since I am 5 ft even and my sisters are all short.  But the boys on Kyle's side are tall so I am hoping my boys take after them.

Three things that we want to work on-

1. Potty Training

2. Going to sleep by himself instead of us laying with him (completed this the next week and he is doing great with it)

3. Dressing and undressing himself. If I put his shirt over his head he can get into the sleeves but he freaks when he can't get the shirt over his head. 

None of these were a big deal to the doctor or concerning.  When the doctor went through the million questions these were three things that I decided to work on.

Cooper had to have his finger pricked so that he could be checked for anemia.  He didn't cry with the finger prick, but he cried because he didn't want the band aid on his finger.

Cooper's iron was a little low but not considered anemic.  He is now taking 3ml of iron each night mixed with orange juice and will be tested again in another month or so to see if that brings it up.

Cooper got a sno cone as a treat for a good doctor's visit.

He wanted green so he got green apple and he seemed to love it.

Later that day Babi stopped by for a quick visit and they practiced their letters.

Faces of Casen

I see this skeptical face a lot. LOVE!

I see the face below more often than I would like.

Casen is such an amazing baby! We had another night of 10 hours straight last night! I will take the spit up any day as long as he continues to sleep so great!

Cooper's Actual Birthday/4th of July

I did this little picture comparison the morning of Cooper's birthday.  I can't believe how much my baby has changed!

We got up early and headed to Ennis for the day...it was a little too early for this cutie!

We went to church with my parents and then went to their house for lunch and brownie cupcakes.

Look at how excited he was!!

That smile is priceless

The boys took a late nap.

After the nap we went to my cousin Savannah's 4th of July party. I was so busy talking and swimming with Cooper that I forgot to take any pictures.  You can see Savannah's post HERE. We had a great time and I hated to leave.

When we got home we watched the Ranger game and had this little photo shoot.

We had a wonderful day and Cooper had a great birthday.

I have so many more posts to do..we will see if I ever get caught up!

Random Pics

These are some random pictures that I have been meaning to share.

My sweet boy at about 4 weeks. I love this round chubby face.

You know your a mommy when you use a magnadoodle for a quick to-do list!

Sweet boy hanging out while mommy got dressed.

This is a picture of Casen's hemangioma.  You can't really tell the size of it based on this picture but I wanted to capture what it looks like.

I went up to Cooper's day-care on July 3rd to celebrate his birthday with cupcakes.

I got there during lunch so he was eating a quesadilla.

Then it was cupcake time! I took red white and blue cupcakes which probably wasn't the best idea because most of the kids had icing all over them.  I felt really bad for the mess they made.  Luckily Cooper knew how to eat a cupcake and had minimal mess.

I took this picture of Casen wearing the same outfit as Cooper.

This smile/smirk reminds me of Kyle.

Comparison of my boys.  They don't really look alike at all, but please not that Cooper was over 2 months in this picture.

Cooper is obsessed with two things right now- cars/trucks and his train set.

Remembering Baby C

I have been avoiding this post, but I also feel the need to blog as well.

July 8th marked 3 years since my miscarriage.  Starting on July 3rd it is a tough time for me.  I start thinking about when we found out we were pregnant, planning to share the news with family, sharing the news, and then the process of miscarrying.  It was the toughest thing I have ever been through.  It is so hard to think about but I also never want to forget.  I think about that sweet baby so often. Not every day anymore, but that lost baby is still missed. 

I hate that it is a tough time because Cooper's birthday is on the 4th.  The good thing is I have an amazing little boy that helps make things easier.

Below is the post I shared on October 15, 2010 about the miscarriage.

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This day is today. It is a day to remember the babies we have lost during pregnancy or in infancy.

On Saturday July 3rd my life changed in an instant. It would never been the same. I became a mommy. I had been feeling off for a couple of days so I decided to take a pregnancy test. This is what I saw....

I was shocked and thrilled. I remember Kyle's reaction like it was yesterday. He just couldn't believe it. So we went to CVS and bought more tests to check again.

Yes he made me take 2 more tests. But there was no denying what it said. There it was in plain English. We were thrilled and it was perfect timing because we were going to get to share this with our family over 4th of July. We told my parents with a cute onesie (I don't have a picture of it) and Kyle's parents with a F-35 pool float that is the same type of plane that Kyle is assigned to at his job.

It was an amazing wonderful weekend. That excitement didn't last long as I started bleeding and miscarried my baby on July 8, 2010. I was pregnant for 18 days (almost 5 weeks for the way they medically calculate it).

I know to some it sounds silly and dramatic that my life changed and will never be the same. After all it isn't like I was 8 weeks and heard the heartbeat or 12 weeks with a baby bump or 16 weeks and learning the sex of my baby or 9 month and have to give birth to a child and then lose it. But from the moment I saw the words "pregnant" I became a mommy. I knew that I had life in me and that I would bring a child into this world. But God had a different plan for us. We would not bring a child into this world. After 18 days I was no longer a mommy. I would not get to experience all of those milestones with my baby.

I would have been 19 weeks this coming Sunday and probably already know if we were having a boy or girl.

I know that someday I will get to experience all of those milestones but I can't help but think that I wanted to experience those with that baby. The next pregnancy will not make up for the lost one. I will always miss those unexperienced milestones. I will always think of that baby and what he or she would have been like.

I look forward to the day when we see the words "pregnant" again, and we hear a heartbeat, find out the sex, and bring a baby into this world. Today however is for the baby that Kyle and I lost.

In remembrance of Baby Cline lost on July 8, 2010 and due March 14, 2011.

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I actually found out I was pregnant with Cooper two weeks after I wrote this post.

I found out on July 8, 2013 that my sweet cousin Whitney lost her baby.  My heart aches for her as she goes through this. It is such a tough time and she will forever be changed.  Please pray with me that she find peace and comfort during this difficult time. Also pray for those around her to offer her the love and support she needs. It is so hard to know what to say and do when someone is going through something like this.  I remember so many people meaning to offer words of love and encouragement and instead they were hurtful.  I pray for Whitney to have understanding and patience for those around her.
 

Casen is one month old!

My sweet baby boy is 1 month old!

 

Here he is about 1 week old for you to compare.

 

You wore newborn diapers until July 4th (day after your turned one month old) when we finished off a pack.  I actually thought we didn't have enough newborn diapers before you were born and bought some and now we didn't even need that box.   I plan to exchange it for size 1 diapers.

You only wore newborn clothes for the first 3 weeks and honestly I probably could have moved you up sooner but I wanted you to get to wear more of the newborn clothes.

Since you were almost a pound bigger than Cooper you definitely didn't need newborn stuff as long.

I took you up to the doctor for a weight check at 1 month and you weighed 9lbs 13oz but that is with clothes on.  So you probably weigh a little over 9 pounds without clothes.

You are exclusively breastfed and I am proud to say you haven't had a single drop of formula. With Cooper he got a very small amount of formula in the beginning while waiting for my milk to come in.  You were satisfied until my milk came in so we didn't need formula.

We are going to try feeding you a bottle soon.

You spit up a lot. You don't seem to be in any pain so I don't think it is reflux.  It isn't anything to worry about since you are gaining weight fine, but it is a nuisance.  The main thing is the mess it makes on your clothes and other people.  You also tend to spit up in your car seat which makes a mess. 

I slept on the couch for the first 2 weeks with you but after we got a little routine down I moved to our room. You sleep in the bassinet. At 2 1/2 weeks you were sleeping 6 hours straight and after that will sleep up to 8 hours some nights. You probably would have done that from the beginning but I woke you up to make sure you would eat and gain weight.  You are such a great sleeper and I love it.  The only thing we need to work on is your bedtime.  Sometimes you don't settle down for the night until 11 or 12 at night.

You have so many different facial expressions.  You smile, pout, frown, play with your tongue, and smack your lips. I love watching all the different faces you make.

You are bright-eyed and love to look around.  You look for me when you hear my voice.  You do great at tracking and watching. 

You have started grabbing things a little bit but it is usually my clothes, hair, burp cloths, and blankets.

We gave you a pacifier for the first time at 2 1/2 weeks.  We waited a lot longer with Cooper, but you are doing great with it and it didn't affect nursing at all.

You are losing your hair on top but still have it on the sides and the back. You are starting to look like a little old man.

You don't like bath times when you get cold but who does.  Once you get warm in the water you seem to do great.  We give you baths on the turtle sponge that we got for Cooper and it seems to work great for you also.

You currently have cradle cap so I got some shampoo to try to get rid of it.  You also have a little dry skin so I don't give you baths too often and use some lotion (but I am not great at doing it).

You have a hemangioma on your tummy. It is a patch of red blood cells that look like red dots and are slightly raised.  It started out about the size of a pee and is now somewhere between a dime and nickel.  The doctor said it is nothing to worry about, but it will likely get bigger before it starts to go away.  Most of the time they are gone by the time a child is 4 years old.

You are such a sweet little guy.  You are laid back like your brother. You like to be held and I think you will be a cuddler.

Up to this point I have never been away from you.  Not even for an hour. To be honest I am looking forward to some mommy time in the near future.

Click here if you want to compare to Cooper at 1 month old.