Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Our cute kids




Just wanted to post a couple pictures of our little kids. After a long day and a busy schedule, some days it is stressful and the appreciation of the basics slips away. Then morning comes and a new day starts. Two little faces that are smiling at you makes everything worth the hustle and trails. We thank the Lord for two healthy and beautiful children. They are a blessing and we enjoy our family of four each and every day.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

K'Trina Play Date




The college kids are moving back and Lewis University is a very busy place. With both of us back at work full time (well I am workign 4 days a week now) we needed a day to be just at home with no mandatory schedules (well of course, expect Max's eatting schedule-which is every 2 hours). Needless to say it was a very wonderful and much needed day of relaxation. We had a fun afternoon with a visit from Martha and K'Trina; my co-worker and mommy friend here at Lewis with her little girl (20 months old). The girls played with the kitchen and made us fun food (pretend of course) and pushed around their babydolls in the stroller and shopping cart. The last activity of the day was enjoying the car and slide, which was tons of fun for them. Max was extra spoiled today and recieved lots of cuddling from Martha. Martha and I were able to catch up on life and enjoyed sharing stories about the girls. It is great to have a good mommy friend and it was so sweet to see the girls play and hear their little giggles all afternoon.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Abby Moments




We find ourselves very busy with keeping up with two kiddos these days. Abby doesn't miss a beat and creates many funny moments in our household. She is a truly a girly, girl and enjoys showing off her fashion and style through dresses, purses and shoes. Just this past weekend she was shopping with Layton and found herself a new pair of shoes on the rack, took them out of the box and was trying them on - all on her own doing. She loves to be the mommy to her baby brother, but we encourage her to get her baby dolls to help them out (saves us from hearing a crying Max, who of course, doesn't love having someone in his face all the time, lol). Because Abby is always on the move, tubby time is a must. Check out the tubby where mommy forgot about the running water; needless to say Abby was totally enjoying the "SUPER TUB". We love our Abigail. She is definitely in her busy 2s, but we find many joys in her loving spirit.

Monday, August 23, 2010

BFF Weekend




It was a great weekend with my BFF Jennifer. She now lives in Houston, TX so spending time together doesn't come often enough. Jennifer got engaged last fall and is now entering the final 90 days before her destination wedding in Mexico. She came to spend an extended weekend with us to complete some of her final projects for her wedding preparation. We were very productive and I think she had a sense of relief that several of her 'crafty' projects were completed during her visit here. We did a few outings with the kiddos and enjoyed a night out at a sushi bar. Thanks for the fun visit Auntie Jennifer. Layton and I can't wait to spend a week in MX celebrating her big day (kid free too; our 5 year wedding anniversary to ourselves)!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Growing Kids






This past week marked two big days for our family. Kyndall turned 10 years old and Max had his 2 month doctor appointment. We had a nice birthday lunch in celebration of Kyndall's birthday at The Cheesecake Factory. She got many nice things and seemed to love her "Justin Bieber" shirt (hence the biggest cheese ever in the pictures!)

Max turned 2 months, which meant another visit to Dr. Belicina. He is now 24 inches long and 11 lbs. 12 oz; just about 50% on the charts for weight and 75% for length. He received two shots and 1 oral medicine and didn't even cry! What a trooper. Check out his camouflage bandage in the picture. We are enjoying our moments with our little man and know that he will be a big boy before we know it.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Professional Family Pics





We were able to update our Cooper family pictures while the entire Cooper family was together this past month. We did our first round of family pictures 2 years ago when we were in Florida on our family vacation. Since then Maxwell has joined us and all the little kids have grown so much. This was Max's first photo shoot, and he did really well for a 2 month old little one. Abby didn't show much of her smiley personality, but what are you going to do with a 2.5 year old, maybe next time we'll get more smiles. We always have a fun time and make sure we get lots of pictures to share and show off in our homes. Here are some of the pictures (with more on the right column as our family pictures). Say Cheese :)

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Seale Family Visits




It was a great weekend with Auntie Katie and Uncle James here from MN to visit us. We enjoyed every moment with them. Abby kept Uncle James busy with her games, while Autie Katie gave her loving arms to Max. We enjoyed an adult double date night at Hollywood Blvd with dinner and a movie "Inception". Thanks to Ms. Melanie for keeping the kiddos while we adventured out for a few hours. We enjoy our visits from our family and friends, thanks for making the drive to see us Kate and James!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Indiana Beach Amusement Park





While the entire Cooper family was together, a trip to Indiana Beach Amusement Park was planned. The family loaded up in the cars and took a 2.5 hour drive to the park. It was a sunny summer day, not too hot nor humid but a little too much for little 8 week old Max (so mommy and Max stayed home for this outing). While the little kids enjoyed 'Kiddie Land' the big kids (yes, adults included) enjoyed the roller coasters and all. This was Abby's first time at an amusement park, so her big cousins helped her out with some of the rides. She loved all of them, as you can see from the posing in the pictures. Everyone had a wonderful day and enjoyed the rush of the rides!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Cooper Family Gathering



We are always blessed to be able to visit with our Cooper family from Oklahoma once a year. Two years ago we started this tradition with our first family vacation to FL and Disney World. Last year the IL Coopers road tripped to Oklahoma and this year Len, Steph, Ryleigh, Kylen and Kaden made the 18 hour trip from Ada, OK to visit us all here in IL. We always enjoy every second and every memory with our family gatherings. It is always wonderful to see the kids play together and us adults be able to have fun conversation and outings. The guys were able to get a round of golf in and the ladies took a few trips out to the stores throughout the week. Most of our time was spent at mom and dad's house just being a family together. We were able to take some professional family pictures together, which will be coming soon to the blog. Not many pictures were taken from our camera because we were always having too much fun (and Max kept us all busy, lol) but here are a couple to share with you. It is always wonderful to have our family together, while it is hard to say 'good bye' we know that we will all look forward to seeing each other again!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Adorable Abby





Not much to post but wanted to share these pictures of Abby. We went on a stroller ride and enjoyed the beautiful landscape on campus before all the commotion begins with the start of school late August. Abby loves flowers and decided to be "Queen of the landscape" with her fresh picked flower. What an adorable Abigail JoDee Cooper!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Gandy God Parents


We enjoyed Max's first church service. We attend CLC in Tinley Park which is about a 30 minute car ride. So up we got and off we went to church. Abby's sunday school class was full (we even got to church 20 minutes before service), so she got her colors and coloring page to work on during the service. The Cooper family from Oklahoma was here visiting, so Abby was able to keep busy with Kaden during the service. Max did great, either sleeping or hanging out in Daddy's, Mommy's and Tee's arms throughout the service. We were surprised to see the Fred and Andrea after service, as they usually attend the early morning service. Fred and Andrea are very special to our family and are also Max's God Parents. We were all able to spend time together after the service at mom and dads house for lunch. Church is great and necessary to keep your soul focused on our Lord. We appreciate this day the Lord has made!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Outdoor Picinic Lunch




We had a beautiful day and made the most of the non-humid weather. We set Max in his favorite bouncer chair and got Abby her lunch all ready. Having an outdoor lunch time was fun for Abby. She enjoyed her sandwich, milk and a 'freezer' (aka, freezy) on this beautiful day. We got a princess jumprope from the store this week and Abby had a blast "jumping rope, jumping rope". Really she just runs and twirls her arms with the jump rope. Our summer schedule is making its way to an end, but we'll do our best to make the most of our time together.