Visitors with BIG Hearts

We have had so much fun having visitors during our time at home over this summer. These two pictures are from our visit from Ms. Melanie and Ms. Shannon. Both of these lovely ladies play a very important role in our family. They have both been our helping hands with the kids while we are at work. Ms. Shannon kept Abby from about 8 weeks old through 1.5 years. Ms. Melanie was able to keep Abby over the past year during the work days for mommy and daddy. Although Abby will be going off to preschool this fall, Ms. Melanie will be helping us with our little man Max when I return to work after maternity leave. Both Ms. Shannon and Ms. Melanie are really wonderful ladies and sure do have a BIG heart for our little ones. We love then SO MUCH and couldn't have made it without them!

Making Moves

Although Max is only 7 weeks old, because it was my last week of maternity leave, I put forth the effort and time to re-organize, rearrange and add some boy-ness to Abby's room. It is amazing how much 'stuff' Abby has accumulated in the past 2.5 years, I guess with the help of mommy and daddy too. I imagine Max will make it his room as soon as he continues to sleep 6+ hours at a time. He just started sleeping 5+ hours, then a 3+ hour night time sleep, so that makes for a much more manageable schedule for us all. Abby is a semi-light sleeper, so I don't want to move Max into their room too soon. I know Abby will enjoy her baby brother roommate, the question is, will she sleep or watch him all night long in his crib :)

Family on Wheels

It is summer and boy do the Coopers know how to have fun with transportation. We were able to invest in a double stroller this past weekend. Layton hooked us up with a 20% off coupon from Babies-R-Us, so we used our gift money to purchase this nifty Sit-N-Stand stroller. It is great because Abby can sit or stand in the back of the stroller all while we are on the move. Being a toddler, this is such a smart option, as she is always on the move! We are excited to take family walks in the evening now that we are equipped with the tools to do so as a family of four. Tee gave Abby her very own Barbie Four-Wheeler this past Christmas. Abby loves to sit on it, but has not worked up the courage to push the 'gas' button that makes it GO! Soon enough she'll get the courage and be 'outa here'. Lastly, we wanted to share our new purchase with you. We were blessed with the purchase of a Jeep Commander late June. It is a great investment, as with our car trips to South Dakota and being on the move so often, the 3rd row seat gives us so much more space for us and to have others join in on our adventures. Buckle Up and be safe!

Keeping Cool

It was a great morning spent at the splash park at the Promenade Mall in Bollingbrook with Katie and Anthony. Katie is always find great (free) places to go and invited us to go with them to the splash park PLUS it is only about 10 minutes from our house. Anthony and Abby had a great time running through the water while the mommy's had great conversation. Max tagged along also, and was a great little boy (sleeping) the entire time we were there. A and A had a lot of fun running in the water and used their creative minds by using Abby's crocks as a water bucket. Who says you can't make the most out of what you have, not these two smart kiddos.

Time with Max

Not much new with Max this week, outside of seeing him grow and learning how to smile. As you can tell in the pictures he is a little snuggle bug, loving all the time he gets in the arms of those that love him most :) He smiles on cue if you talk to him sweetly. He also loves taking baths, as long as there is no water on his face, lol. Only one more week of maternity leave at home with little man and Abby, which makes me sad. Both kiddos will be in great hands, as they will be with Tee and Mama during the month of August as we make the transition to a 2 parent working family. September means, Abby heads to school while Max keeps his schedule with Tee and Mama for most of the week. It is easy to love our time with Max, as he is such a sweet little boy!

Abby the helper

Abby has been making a good transition into 'big sister mode'. She keeps busy keeping mommy and daddy updated on Max status; aka, "Max is crying", "Max is sleeping", "Max needs to change his diaper". All while doing the typical 2 year old play activities; aka making food in her kitchen, playing with her puzzles, reading books, playing with her baby dolls. As you can see in the pictures Abby had a great week. We went grocery shopping and she loves to have her own cart. We visited Andi and Connor, and Andi let Abby help her make dinner. I had to go to David's Bridal shop to try on my bridesmaid dress for Jennifer's wedding and Abby insisted she get to try on a 'princess' dress too, so as you can see in the picture, she tried on a dress. Abby is such a busy little girl and loves to be around people. Put on a tune in the car or in the house and you'll find her shaking her hips and shoulders! Gotta love the Ab'ster!

Slumber Party with the Carters

We had a slumber party with Jo-Lynne, Kyndall and Chase this weekend. We were able to watch movies and watch the kiddos entertain us. Kyndall is such a great big cousin and keep the younger two focused in keeping the toys in the room to not get too out of control messy. Chase and Abby asked to watch "Toy Story" while us 4 watched "Dear John", I guess they wanted a kids movie to watch, lol. It is always fun to get some time together with the family and to watch how much fun the kids have together. We all know that Max will fit right in when he gets bigger!

Abby visits her school

It is hard to believe, but yes, Abby is going to start pre-school at "The Learning Center" in September. The center had a birthday party for their mascot 'Mr. Bubbles' so we thought that would be a great time to have Abby visit the center for the first time. Max, Abby and I went to the center and had a great time touring around. Abby seemed very excited when we arrived and she was told that this was her new school. She knows what school is as she is able to go with her Mama to pick up her cousins from school on her days at her house. Abby loved her time at the center and I feel will do a great job transitioning into a school routine this fall. She was able to meet 'Mr. Bubbles' at the center as you can see in the picture. She even got to give him a high five :) The only thing that would make Abby more excited about starting school is if she could ride a school bus. You should see this little girls eyes light up when she sees a school bus, oh too cute. After our visit at the center we made a stop at the park down the street from our house for a little outside play time. We can't believe our little girl is starting school this fall, hoping that her sweet manners will remain after interacting with other kids all day long (we can hope right?!)

Maxwell's 5 week Dr. visit

Abby and I took Maxwell to his 5 week check up with Dr. B. He did so good with getting weighed, measured, physical review and of course a shot. Abby and mommy where more sad with the shot then Max was. Abby read us books while we waited for Dr. B. Dr. B was very happy with how Max was growing. Max gained 2lbs. 7oz. and grew 1.25inches in just 3 weeks. He is 9lbs. 13oz. and 22.25in. long and is doing well. We are hoping he starts to get into a routine of eating every 3-4 hours during the day instead of 2 hours, but we are thankful he is doing so well nursing! At night Max is waiting around 3+ hours to eat, so that is wonderful (at least for mommy!) Dr. B also made a request that Abby get her very own doctors kit so she can keep a eye on Maxwell while we are away from the doctor's office. So after our successful doctors visit, off us 3 went to Walmart for a two hour shopping trip. Getting to the store is not a very frequent option for us at this time so we had to make the most of our outing. And yes, Abby got her doctors kit (she loves it)!

Max meets more friends

Summer was a great time of the year to have a baby! Friends and family are able to visit us with much more ease than a winter maternity leave. Max was able to meet Ms. Stephanie who is a friend of both Layton and myself from our good ol' days of Job Corps. She now works at Lewis with me, so was able to take her lunch break and join us for fajitas and kiddo time. Katie came over to visit Max for the first time and of course to visit with Abby. Katie has been Abby's big girl friend since birth 2.5 years ago and we are so excited to have her finally be able to meet Max. Max's Godmother Andrea came to visit us again before her trip to Mexico for her vacation. She came bearing gifts for the kiddos. Andrea is a great garage sale finder and has equipped Max with a great wardrobe and Abby really great new toys, including a new cabbage patch baby doll (remember those!!) We enjoy all of our visitors and I am trying to get better at taking pictures of all of them when they visit. Anyone want to stop by, just give us a call, email, text or facebook msg. We would love to have you!

Visit to South Dakota

We love visiting our family in South Dakota and had another great vacation over the 4th of July! We took a 13 hour car ride with both kiddos and they did great. Layton drove the journey and we enjoyed our first car trip in our new Jeep Commander. The 3 row seats came in handy with a little newborn and toddler! Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Sandve in Huron and an afternoon with them at Storybook land was great fun. We spent a few days on the lake with Grammie, Grandpa Bob, Maggie and Matt. Lots of visitors to meet Max for the first time and of course to see how big Abby has gotten. Grandma Great made Max his very own blankets (which was Abby's favorite gift from her when she was born). Max is very lucky to have been able to spend some time in all 3 of this great grandparents arms on this vacation. We also had a bridal shower and bachelorette party for Jennifer (Weishaar) while we were home. It was the first night out for me and very enjoyable. Layton gave Max his first bottle and that went very well while I was out with Jenn and the girls. Yea Max! The vacation was great, as always, and even more reasons to wish to have a longer vacation in South Dakota! Thanks for the great memories family and friends. Can't wait to be back in SD over Christmas (even if that does mean there will be snow!)