Today, we will not dress up, we will not trick-or-treat.  Indianapolis has delayed trick-or-treating for the night.  And I’m excited about it!  Cooper will still get to trick-or-treat, albeit a day late, and we do not have to drag either kid out in the bad storms that are supposed to take place tonight.  I know that today is “Halloween,” and that if you are tied to a specific date, that this probably is breaking your heart.  But in my mind?  I’m A-OK with changing the date so that we are not stuck in the storms and in the rain. 

Cooper is going to dress up as a tiger, at least that is what he’s decided for this minute…..  The kid has so many costumes, he cold be a race car driver, a boxer, Mickey Mouse, a tiger, an umpire, a baseball player, football player, a transformer……  He loves playing dress-up. 

Katy will be a pumpkin.  We inherited the cutest pumpkin costume from my friend Shannon.  We did put it on her on Monday night just to see how cute she was going to be in it.  I’m so excited that both of my kids will be dressed up and will get to go out and enjoy this holiday. 

Since we haven’t dressed up yet, havent’ gotten candy yet, I thought I’d repost these pictures of my kiddos at the pumpkin patch this year.

  

When I was a kid, Halloween night trick-or-treating consisted of dressing up, going to a few neighbor’s houses and then to my grandparents’ houses.  There was no door-to-door tricks or treats for my brother or me.  And you know what?  That was GREAT!  We got to spend time with the relatives we loved the most.  I remember our cousins being at grandma’s house sometimes, so we got to see them in their costumes.  We always got PLENTY of candy, and I didn’t miss out on the door-to-door festivities in the least.

But now…. I’m excited that my little boy is going to participate in walking around the neighborhood and knocking on people’s doors – I hope I can teach him how to nicely and politely say trick-or-treat, and “Thank you” for the candy that he receives. 

We most likely will not let him eat any of the candy that he gets that night.  We’ll buy him some at the store and he’ll love it just as much.  Tim and I are crazy precautious of candy/food from people we don’t know.  But that’s okay.  Because what Cooper will experience this year, and what Kate will in future years is what it’s all about.  THE EXPERIENCE! 

Tonight, I think we’ll sit at home and watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin! J

So for all of you out there that will be out tonight – have fun!  That’s what it’s all about! 

SWW

SO WHAT if....

....I went to bed at 9pm last night.  I was tired, this getting up in the middle of the night every night for an hour is draining and this girl needed some sleep!

....we still have laundry in the dryer from Sunday.  Someone in the house may be running out of undies soon if mama doesn't get that stuff folded soon.

....I'm addicted to The Voice.  That show is so awesome and the talent that is on it is simply amazing.  Love, love, love!

....my addiction to ink pens is getting ridiculous.  I have a coffee mug full of pens at my desk - and I WANT MORE!  

....my family had our yearly family pictures taken this past Sunday and I'm so anxious to get them back so I can see them!

....I'm supposed to run in my first ever 5k race this weekend, and I've decided not to do it.  I've been too busy/preoccupied/lazy/foot hurting to actually do any of the training past week 1 of C25k, that I'm bowing out.  I will run in a 5k race sometime in my life though, I promise you that!

....all of the surrounding areas (except Indy) are postponing trick or treating until Friday night.  Indianapolis expects us to go out in the pouring rain and storms with our kids?  No thank you, we'll just visit another town and trick or treat there on Friday, done and done.

That's it for me today...  Linking up with Shannon for SWW.

  What are you saying SO WHAT to this week?

Katy 5 months

Katy is FIVE months old!  Man, how does time fly so fast?!?

Let’s talk fourth month details shall we?

Bug, you’ve had a rough couple of months.  You’ve been transitioning from being at home with mama to being with Miss Charlotte and with your big Sissy.  For some reason, you stopped eating as well as you did when it was just you and me home.  The doctor says you were just catching up with yourself.  BUT, you are becoming my little eating champ again!  YAY! 

My little booger, you were given the okay to start solid foods this past month and we started with cereal.  Doc said to give it to you 3 times per day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We tried that for a day, and you just didn’t want that much, so we scaled back to once a day for the first week, then we went twice per day.  It took you a good two weeks to get the hang of eating from a spoon, and you haven't quite mastered it yet, but, you're doing much better than you were when you started.  Hey, it's a learning thing and you're learning it quite well!  You did MUCH better that way.  After three weeks we started veggies.  Now you eat veggies for lunch and cereal before bedtime.  Your finally getting on a schedule!  YIPPIE!  Mama loves feeding schedules!  We finally have something we can rely upon – and we can plan when we’re heading somewhere – when we have to leave somewhere etc.  It’s so nice!

Here is your feeding schedule and what you’re eating right now:

These times are somewhat flexible within the time frame, and it normally doesn’t take you an hour to eat, so it’s a plus or minus thing here.

8-9am – 6-7 oz bottle
12-1pm – one tub of baby first foods and a 5-6 oz bottle
4-5pm – 6-7 oz bottle
7-8pm – 6 oz bottle with 3-4 tablespoons of oatmeal cereal

You wake up somewhere between 1am - 3am to eat every night.  You did sleep through the night two times in the past month though, and those nights were amazing for your mama!  Your mama likes to sleep! :)

Moving on from food….  You my girl are a talker!  You babble quite a bit and I just love hearing your not so little voice.  It's so sweet when you start talking.  I cannot wait to hear you utter your first word, even though I'm sure it will be "Dada" and not "Mama" - just like your big brother.

You have the biggest brightest smile!  And, you smile with your eyes, which makes me melt inside.  You've started giggling this month too.  Your laugh is so precious.  I love hearing babies laugh, and you my dear are not the exception!  I love, love, love hearing it!

We pulled the exersaucer out for you this month too.  You can only stand it for a short amount of time, but you do love to play with the pandas that are on the see-saw.

Also, you really like to be able to see the world.  You seem to love sitting in your high chair, the bumbo and anything else where you can see everyone.  Lying down makes you mad, you like to look around!

You've become a very good napper.  You'll take a couple of good 2 hour naps a day these days and sometimes a 3 hour nap!  Your big brother wouldn't do that for us much, but it seems to make you happy!

You wear a size 3 diaper, 3-6 month and 6 month clothes, and we think you weigh about 17 lbs right now.  You were 15lbs 9 oz at your 4 month check-up and you have certainly gained some weight since then!

You seem to be getting some new hair growth on top, and you have extremely dry skin.  I've been smothering you with lotion at night and it does seem to be helping, but I can see some head and shoulders shampoo being on my shopping list for your head relatively soon....  Your eyes are still blue.  Your daddy and I wonder if they will stay blue or change like Cooper's did....  I suppose we'll find out in the next few months!

You can roll over completely now.  At night, you sleep on your stomach, and you get so angry when you flip to your back.  Mama or Daddy come in and flip you back over because you can get so angry that you cannot make yourself turn back over.  It's funny when this happens at 8pm, but I'm not such a fan of it at 3am! :)

You are growing like a weed little Katybug.  You've brought us so much joy!  I love you with all of my heart and cannot wait to see how you grow and change in the coming months!

Here's my baby each month so far:



And finally, I had to do a comparison picture of you and Cooper at the same age.  Looks like he had a little bit more hair than you did, and less chunky-ness??  Precious babies none the less!!

A day in my life....

I haven’t posted one of these in a while, and since having Katy and heading back to work – our routine has changed a bit.

is what we now have in the mornings when the kiddos are going to preschool/daycare.

Let me elaborate…

5:45 – 6:30am – Baby alarm or alarm clock wakes me up and I soothe baby if it was baby alarm and pump, then shower.  Tim watches baby if she is awake.

6:30 – 7am – I get dressed, fix my hair, get the kids up and get them ready (Mondays & Fridays). 

7 – 7:30/7:45am – Fix lunches, finish odds & ends, feed Coop breakfast, get something out to thaw for dinner, pack up the car, then the kids and head out the door.

7:45 – 8:30/8:45am – Drive the 25 miles to daycare #1, drop Cooper off, drive to daycare #2, drop Kate off, then head into work.  Arrive.

8:30/8:45 – 10:00am Work

10:00 – 10:25am – Pump

10:25 – 2:00pm – Work & Eat lunch at my desk

2:00 – 2:25pm – Pump

2:25 – 4:30 Work

 4:30 – 5:15/5:45pm – Leave work.  Pick up kids if it's Monday/Friday, head home.  Arrive around 5:45 if a Monday/Friday, 5:15 Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday.

5:15/5:45 – 7:00pm – Pump, cook dinner, play with kids, eat, pick up around the house, make bottles for next day, clean up dinner, wash bottles.

7:00 – 8:30pm – Feed Katy (cereal and bottle), play with Cooper, start winding him down in anticipation for bedtime, brush his teeth, give kids baths (2-3x per week for Kate, 3-4x per week for Cooper), read 2-3 books to Coop, sing songs to Coop, pray with him and lights out.  In the meantime, the other one of us parents gets Kate ready for bed, gets sleeper and sleep sack on and calms her down for sleep.

8:30 – 10:00pm – Clean up the downstairs some more, try to sit down to relax and unwind if there is time.  Pump and try to sleep by 10:30.  Most nights, we're lucky if we have time to sit down by 9:15.  Cooper gets up to use the bathroom (#1 and #2) at least 2x between the time we tuck him in and 10pm.  

The days are short - but so very worth every minute of it.  I'm exhausted, Tim is exhausted and there are days when we just want to lay down and do nothing.  If we could take the kids to the daycare and come home and sleep sometime, it might make our life!!!  But.... alas, we don't do it, we suck it up, because there is no crying in baseball, AND these little blessings make our world complete!  

Sometime this week, I plan to post about Katy's fourth month of life!  She turned 5 months over the weekend! :)

Happy Monday to you all!  

Five on Friday

It’s that time again – time to share my *five* on Friday!

{one}  Katy began to eat well again this week!  She hasn’t really eaten very well since I started back to work in August, I guess she either caught up with herself finally or decided not to eat when others were feeding her.  BUT this week, since we started veggies, girlfriend has been eating quite well.  More details to come on her five month post, yes, she will be *GASP* five months tomorrow!!!

{two}  Husband gave me my “push” present this week.  I told him via the blog that I wanted one of these when Kate was born, and he came through, if only almost 5 months later, LOL.  He did good though in all seriousness.

{three}  Cooper boy is growing up so fast.  This week he’s been a “fireman” or a “soccer player” every day.  He is doing more and more on his own and gaining his independence way too soon.  I love seeing him grow and thrive, but I just wish I could hit a pause button.  Before I know it, he’ll be all grown up and he won’t want to snuggle with me.  For now though, I am treasuring every second of snuggle time with my big boy.  He melts my heart with his sweetness on a daily basis.

{four}  We have family pictures this weekend!  I’m so excited for The lovely Kerri Sparks to take our pictures again this year!   She takes amazing photos and we’re going to a different location this year, so I foresee greatness!

{five}  Sorry to end this list with a sad note, but prayers needed please…. Stephanie’s friend went into labor the other day, she has two kids at home and her husband is away right now.  When the anesthesiologist gave her the epidural everything seemed fine, but when she was moved to her new room after delivery, a bubble went up her spine and to her brain.  She was unresponsive as of yesterday and in critical condition.   Please take a quick moment to pray for her, her new baby and the two she’s got at home. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Linking up with the good life blog for Five on Friday!

Randoms......

Kim & Kanye engaged.  Who cares?  While people may not 'care' it is like other Kardashian stuff, a train wreck that we all watch/hear about....

Not related to the engagement, but I think she needs to go back to the dark brown/black hair, this color doesn't do her justice.

Kelly Clarkson is married!  I love her wedding dress.  She looks like she's slimmed down too, no?

Now time for some non celebrity randoms....

I tried this Greek yogurt last week.  Delicious!

Cooper has learned how to take pictures with my phone.  He's loving it.  Here are a couple of his best pictures so far.

He needs some practice, but he'll get better.  I'm thinking we'll get him a toy digital camera for Christmas.

Katy thinks she needs to hold her bottle already.  It's too early for this!!

We got to watch Soup on Saturday night. She's such a cutie pie!  Love her!!!

I think that's it.  I really need to come up with some blog topics, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

Happy Tuesday!

Sometimes....

I don't feel like being the happy/positive person that I normally am.  And when I am down or quiet for a day, it really freaks people out.

I don't want to do anything but lay around and be lazy.  I think that might happen again in 18 years, until then, a girl can dream, right?

I want to go shopping and not have to worry about money.  It would be so nice, if only for once!

I think that what people choose as 'stylish' clothes are ridiculous.  Don't get me wrong, I do not feel that way about ALL trends, but there are a certain few that I cannot wrap my brain around.

I would like to know what changes people.  One month I might be really close to one person and another I barely talk to them.  (A month might be a year or any unit of time in this case).  This has happened to me in the past couple of years and sometimes it really hurts.  Maybe I need to reexamine how I have changed...

I want to go out on a date with my husband.  We don't do it very often, and especially not now that we have a <6 month old baby to think about. But I sometimes want it.

I wish I hadn't ever had foot surgery.  The amount of scar tissue/pain that I have now is annoying.  But then I think about how much pain I was in prior to surgery and know that I made the right decision.

I contemplate going back to school.  I really dislike the thought of going back, but finding a job that I love or one that would allow me more time at home with my kids, it tempts me for a minute. (Thinking nursing...)

My son cracks me up.  Last night he was playing basketball in our toy room and he was super hot and sweaty.  I got a cool wet washcloth and put it around his neck and he loved it.

I just want to sleep for 8 straight hours!  I ALWAYS want that actually, not just sometimes.  Getting up in the middle of the night when even the baby is asleep because I have to pump is painful!  I just have to remind myself, it's only for a year.

(or until I have a big enough stockpile to quit early!)

Katy sleeps from 7pm to 6am and I am not used to that.  Last night I made Tim get up and feed her while I pumped because I was sure she wouldn't make it until this morning without eating.  Cooper never did this, but I have heard it's not that abnormal for other babies......

I dream of moving to the country.  Maybe not as far out as where I grew up, but it sounds divine to me to have a little bit of land and some privacy too.

Okay, that's probably enough "Sometimes" for you for today.  I wish you all a wonderful Tuesday!

Cooper's 'Friend' Party

This weekend, we had the second (and last) of Cooper's birthday parties.  The child isn't spoiled at all....

Anyway, we started around 11, ate lunch and took pictures around the gigantic Mickey Park Posters that I picked up at Party City.  Only one family didn't get pictures because My friend Jill was feeding her son and I forgot to make them come in once she finished.  Sorry Jill!

Here's the family picture with the Mickey Park Banner.  

After that, we let the kiddos jump on the trampoline for a bit then played pin the nose on Mickey.  I am thinking these kids are pure genius though cause all but one of them got the nose in exactly the right spot. Genius or they could see through the mask?!?

I try to make it a tradition to take our picture with Cooper and his cake each year, so here's this year's picture.  I made a Mickey Mouse cake, you can see it better in a picture below.  After the games, we sang Happy Birthday, blew out candles, devoured cake and ice cream and then opened presents.

                                              

I had all the kids sit on the floor to eat their cake and ice cream, I figured it might be easier, to keep the mess closer to the floor??  They actually did pretty well though and I was impressed!

Here are a couple of pictures of Coop with some Mickey themed presents he received.  The first was a Mickey Mouse Costume.  It's adorable and he had to stand by Mickey Park once he dressed up to get a picture! 

Then Stephanie, Ryan and Soup got Cooper this Mickey Mouse Scooter.  OH MY, the kid LOVES this thing.  I think it might be his favorite present of all.  I'm not really sure how Steph and Ryan always seem to get such great presents - but they do! :)

                                               

Steph and Coop with his scooter.  He had to ride it as soon as it was ready!

All in all, I think it was a great party, Cooper had a lot of fun and I sure hope the guests did too! :)  Hopefully, I'll post about Cooper's family birthday party soon, I didn't take too many pictures during that party, but maybe I'll steal some from others who did!

Hope everyone has a Happy Monday!

Five on Friday!

FRIDAY, finally!! So happy to be nearing the weekend! Here are my 5 for this Friday.

1) My husband - Tomorrow we have the second of Cooper's two birthday parties, so this week has been a whirlwind - getting the house in party ready mode.... To be honest, my hubby has done the majority of the work. By the time I do the baby stuff at night and eat it's time to get the kids ready for bed which doesn't leave much time for me to help. This guy is definitely my hero this week, Love you Babe!

2) Stephanie - Girlfriend has been wonderful taking care of our kiddos. I knew she could do it, I just questioned if she would WANT to after dealing with my extra two.... She's proving to be quite the pro, God has blessed her with more patience than I have, that's for sure! I love this young lady and am so fortunate to call her my daughter and friend.

 

3) My new purse and wallet from Thirty-One - I love these. Not only do my phone case, wallet/wristlet purse all match, but the purse can be worn three ways! So convenient as a backpack when my hands are full of other things. LOVE.

4) Fall TV - I am obsessed. I watch too much, and I need to stop. My DVR is constantly full and sleep is lacking more than it should. Please send me to a twelve step program, I am addicted to TV.

 

 

5) Cinnamon Rolls. These guys have been calling my name this week. I will make them soon. Maybe even this weekend. We'll see, our weekend is already pretty full......

 

 

What are your five this Friday? Any big plans? Cinnamon roll fan?

 

SWW

Another Wednesday!  Linking up with Shannon for SWW....

SO WHAT if....

• I haven't blogged consistently for the last 4 months.  I am determined to change that, just need to find some TIME!
• We are having Cooper's second birthday party this weekend and I'm not even close to being ready for it.
• I'm super excited that after Cooper's party our house will be super clean for a few days.  If only we can keep up with it!!
• I started changing my blog design a couple of weeks ago and still haven't completed it?  What's the hurry anyhow?
• I am super excited that this is Cooper's last week of swim lessons.... Two days a week with one of us being gone - even if it's only a half hour is killing me.  I just need us all to be home in the evenings - so after Thursday, I will be a happy camper.  I just don't know how you moms of multiple children in all kinds of different activities get anything done!
• I'm eating terribly.  I've fallen off of the wagon BIG TIME and I just don't care at the moment.
• All I want to do is be lazy when I have a million things to do.  Just for once, I'd like to have an evening where we get to sit down and relax before 9pm.  I know that is not going to be a reality until the kids are much older, but GOSH, no one told me this being a mom thing was so tough!
• I'm loving this FALL weather.  I was getting tired of the hot and the clothes that went along with it.  Bring on the cooler temps!
• I'm jealous of all of you Target coupon-ers who went and got free watches.  I need to learn how to get bargains like that!

And finally....

Cooper is FOUR!!! - A letter and 20 Questions

My little boy is FOUR today!  I can hardly believe my little bitty baby boy is already four years old.

Cooper,

Buddy, you are my first baby and I love you.  You are so special to me.  Your smile lights up a room and your laugh is contagious.  

You are so curious.  You want to know about everything.  

You're growing up so fast and furiously that I cannot seem to keep up with you.  

You're writing now!  You have been practicing writing your name, Daddy, Mommy, Sissy, Katy, Kampbell and Bobo with your Big Sis.  

You LOVE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Special Agent Oso, and many other cartoon shows.  You are seriously in love with the TV right now.  We don't let you watch all that you want to, because if we did, you'd be in front of the TV your entire day.  

You also love wrestling with your Dad.  

You are obsessed with sports.  Any kind of sport, you love it.  Soccer, baseball, football, tennis, hockey, volleyball, swimming, you name it and you love it!  You also love to dress up in your "uniforms" for playing these sports; and you want all of the accessories.  Football gloves, a chin strap for your football helmet, special shoes for every sport, special socks and so much more!  You're the most detail oriented kid I've ever known.  You know about all of the details of each uniform and you make sure you figure out how to have them.  You've used many different things as your umpiring mask - a Tupperware bowl, a basket, and a small plastic filing crate among others.  

Most of the time, you are a good boy.  You mostly behave and you are a real sweetheart.  There are times though, that you throw one monster of a temper tantrum.  Mostly just when you aren't getting what you want.  It happens, and we work through it.  

You say the craziest things sometimes.  Because you love being in your pajamas all of the time, you change into them as soon as you get home.  The other night in the car on our way home, you said "Jammies here I come!"  I thought it was the craziest yet cutest thing you'd said in awhile.  I don't know how you come up with some of the things that you say.  You often say "That was close" or "That was a close one" when talking about things that could have happened.  Usually they aren't even remotely "close" to happening, but you act like a super hero that just saved the day!  You love to say "That's a good idea!" - it can be about the smallest things, but to you, it's a big deal!

You've become a much better eater in the last six months or so.  You will eat chicken, and not just chicken nuggets!  You eat several veggies, and you still love fruit.  Peanut butter sandwiches are still a big favorite, but thankfully, they aren't all you'll eat anymore.  We are glad that you've decided to start eating better, and that you'll try new things.

In the past month or so, you've started doing one amazing thing that I just cannot forget to post about!  You've started to wake yourself up when you have to pee during the night!  You've actually taken yourself to the bathroom two different times in the middle of the night without waking us up!!  The first time was on September 24, then you did it again on September 30.  Each time it was around 2:45am, you got up, went into the bathroom, switched on the light, peed, flushed, turned the light off, then back to your room!  We are super proud of you little buddy!!!!  (Can you tell I'm a little excited about this with all of the exclamation marks???)

You love puzzles and reading books.  At nighttime, after we put you to bed, you often bring big stacks of books into your bed with you, to "do your work."  You stay up until after 10 some nights reading in your bed.  I cannot imagine what you'll do when you actually do know how to read.  Will you stay up until midnight?  One? Two?  Goodness I hope not, you're already a bear trying to wake up in the mornings as it is!!

Cooper James Johnson, you make your Mommy and Daddy so proud.  We love you to the moon and back!

Now, onto the twenty questions portion of the blog post.  I started this last year, and you can go HERE to read last years interview.  Each year, I plan to ask Cooper these same 20 questions.  The idea is to see how his answers change each year.  I voice recorded our interview this year, and I'm excited to share his answers with you.  He's such a stinker!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOPER!