Creation Station

One of my MANY favorite things about St. Louis is the extraordinary amount of family friendly activities (for a relatively low price, too!). Last Friday we met up with Ali (Zick) Francis and her boys, Tyler (3) and Nathan (10 months) at the Museum of Transportation. The best part about this musuem is their 'Creation Station' a massive play room for little boys (and girls too, I suppose!).

Somehow Ali has the time to raise 2 boys, work, and blog! She's always been an inspiration to me, and I'm so happy to be living close to her again. Because I haven't even thought about uploading my pics from last Friday, I'll send you to her post. Ali.. I promise I'll get my pics up soon, too. Love you and your boys. xxoo

3 Months: Tell Me I'm Pretty

This post could have been titled major blow out.. because she had at least one a day during the entire 2nd month. I've even tried switching diaper size, and the blow outs continue. The girl is a good pooper..but I figured the title should be something more 'positive'.

This post also could have been titled rolls. Her neck overfloweth with rolls (though no cell phone has been found. If you do not know this story, please ask me stat). She also has chunk on her legs. I am thrilled with her rolls seeing as I am the sole provider of her nutrition. Owen never had rolls... so breastfeeding is obviously going much better this time around. I could have called this post: rolls... but I thought that would be quite confusing. Millie is no where near rolling over, though she is much better at tummy time and can actually stay 'up' for at least 5 minutes.

Instead I titled this post "Tell me I'm pretty" because the girl loves.to.flirt. If you tell her she's pretty she will goo and ahh and grin and giggle. She also has a vocal sound that seems to somehow start in her nose...but she'll really throw it out to ya if you tell her she's pretty. So, naturally, I say it over and over and over and over, etc.

This is my serious face. Is there a flower on my head?

"TELL ME I'M PRETTY". See.. you would tell her over and over, too.

Santa Baby. Mid December. This pic is now the background on my phone.

This is the night of the Bragging Rights game. Mike and I were supposed to each get to dress one kid. He had Millie. I had Owen till he puked on every other pair of sweats except his Illini pants. I digress. The thing is, I think she looks pretty in Orange. I really like her in bright (vs pastel) colors. They are pretty with her dark hair.

 

I've found both my left and right hands, and now I can grab on to toys and love on them. Sometimes I can get my paci back in to my mouth as well.

Sometimes I find cars seemingly coming out of her head. This is evidence that we've been working on sharing with Owen.. and that he loves her so.

I look just like my daddy.

TELL ME I'M PRETTY.. and change my pants. I'll be your best friend forever. (This baby actually does care when she's poopy or wet... as opposed to her older brother.)

NYE. Out on the town. Nothing rings in a new year like a tutu.

How gorgeous is this dress?

And yes, she even had a rosebud on her butt. Obviously it needed to be documented.

She got all dressed up for her 2nd date with George (2 mo & 15lbs).

 

Amelia's growth and development are progressing along well, and we love her more and more every day.

• She's awake more and more all of the time (fortunately just during day time hours). 75% of her nights she wakes to feed at 2am and 5 or 6am. Some nights (like last night) she was up at 12, 4, and 6. Those nights sure wear on me. We have no day time schedule yet, but I'm trying to wake her between 8 and 8:30 a.m. each day to help her set one.
 
• She's now eating every 2.5 hours more consistently. This is so much easier than every 2.
 
• I'm still requiring caffeine in the afternoon to sustain myself until Mike gets home for dinner. I'm so tired.
 
• She's wearing 3-6 month clothes, though she can still wear 3 month pants. She grows out of clothes b/c they get too short, but it must be her torso that's XLong. She also has her MiMa Cooper's orangutan arms that are too long for every outfit her size.

• Her face gets quite blotchy when she cries. The eyebrows are the worst. She'll hate that when she gets older.
 
• I think she's SO PRETTY. 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Explosion

As you know, Christmas and the week after offer a birthday extravaganza for our family. We start with MiMa Wade on the 25th.. celebrated by her traditional red velvet cake. (She threw in mint choc chip ice cream this year which I was a big fan of as well!)

 

Birthdays on the 27th are shared by both MiMa Cooper and Owen, of course. I'll never be able to give her as nice a gift as I did when she turned 54... sorry mom.

We took Owen to an AMAZING bakery (MacArthur's) and let him pick out his own BIG donut. Normally (infrequently) he gets 2 donut holes and that's about it.

We got a kick out of him because he ate around the perimeter of the donut.. his tiny little bites were hilarious compared to that big donut. I was glad that he only at about 10% of the donut and then tore it in to little pieces. Everything is a game, yes?

After mega donuts with MiMa and Papa Wade, O came back for a short (normal for him) 50 minute-ish nap, and MiMa and Papa Cooper came for lunch. Millie wore her 'Grandma's little cupcake' shirt in honor of MiMa Cooper's birthday. They got a few pics in at least before Millie blew that outfit right out of the water. This girl can poop.

 

I do love this pic of the 3 of them =)

Then we took off for the science center. I was a little unsure about how O would like it.. .thought it might be too old for him, but he had a blast. (Especially since he had his left hand man.. Papa C).

Exploring

He loved this major contraption that moved balls in every direction, and he held his hands up in an attempt to catch them. a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.

He also laughed hysterically at this window over HWY40. He loved watching the cars zoom under him.

 



Learning about space with daddy. I absolutely LOVE that the science center is yet another free attraction for families in St. Louis.  This city is soooo family friendly. I love it.

 

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My birthday came on the 29th, and by that point, Mike and I were celebrated out.. but we had a great day. O and Mike made breakfast (even coffee) for me. I had to teach Mike that you measured the water in the pot but then you actually had to pour it in to the machine to brew. I love that guy! This cracked me up royally... especially since I was so appreciating the gesture. After breakfast we got ready.. I got to shower and get ready in one fell swoop without the accompaniment of children. Again, it's the amazing little things.

 

We dropped the kiddos off at my folks, and Mike and I went to the Fox to see Wicked. We loved the show, of course, and we also loved being the ones to be entertained.. not to do the entertaining. Sitting in one place for 2.5 hours was also incredible. We ran back to my folks, fed Millie, and then went out for a quick bite at an Italian joint down the street. We sat at the bar, had red wine, toasted ravioli, and a big salad. It was perfect because we still had home made espresso cheesecake (made by Mike!) to devour with both of our sets of parents. It was a wonderful day.

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Sunday brought Owen's 2nd birthday Choo Choo Train party. Just because his birthday is Dec 27 doesn't mean he doesn't get a party! (We kept it small with immediate family this year.. and had it at my folks so that I didn't have to clean on my birthday!)

He loved his Thomas the Train balloons and choo choo 2 t-shirt.

 

Still smiling and happy. I suppose we had just a little party left in us!

This guy sure did!

 

O and MiMa W playing with the new train set.

Ava walking alllll over the place! I LOVE this age.

'Open presents MiMa and Papa's house?'. We did this for a week straight, so now he expects that is a regular activity.

He was very good at it by the end of the week.

Cozy Coupe from MiMa and Papa Cooper.

Red Tricycle from MiMa and Papa Wade.

(We're having a blast with these on.the.move toys, by the way).

Loves his Uncle Ryan!

 

We finally feel recovered from our illnesses and party explosions, and we're looking back on all of it with fond memories, now =) We sure are proud of how well our O is growing and learning. After all of his holiday treats, donuts, and birthday cakes, he came in at a whopping 26lb 13oz (25%) and 35.5 inches tall (75%- 90%). He does at least have enough weight on him to drop down to 2% milk at least!