Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Beach Time

Over the weekend we had some friends come down for a visit.  Of course we took them to the beach!  The kids all thoroughly wore themselves out swimming, playing in the sand, and boogie board sledding...
It was hard to keep Cooper reined in...all he wanted to do was be in the water.
Penny, on the other hand, prefered dry land.  She sent Mama countless times for buckets of water until we got smart and filled up the toy bin for her.
That got everybody interested.
Until Daddy got them going on our new beach activity...boogie board sledding.
We were glad our friends had fun!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Our Time

Now that summer is two-thirds gone, I couldn't help but stop and reflect about our time lately.  We've been spending our time doing ordinary things whilst enjoying the flexibility of summer.  Needless to say, I have not been spending my time whipping out the camera.  The iphone has been the only means of recording our comings and goings over the last month.  I take that as a sign we have been living in the moment...just as we should be for our time right now.

Pool Time.
Aquarium Time.
Haircut Time.
Pit Stop Time.
Nonnie's House Time!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Evolution of the Bedtime Routine

Most parents of young children can vouch for the effectiveness and necessity of a bedtime routine.  Cooper is a champion sleeper at nearly five years old, though he didn't start out that way.  In fact, if you were to go back and read blog posts from 2008 and 2009, the general theme you would clue in on is the fact that he NEVER slept and his parents were in despair.  So we implemented a bedtime routine, hoping to get him sleeping well on his own.  This began simply as a bath, pjs, short story and song, then lights out.  Over time it worked!  And over time, the bedtime routine has evolved...

8:00 p.m.  Both kids take a bath. i.e. Both kids fight over bath toys until Mom gets fed up and starts the getting out process.  Cooper INSISTS he gets out first.

8:15 p.m. Cooper insists on putting on his own pajamas.  Mom helps Penny out and gets her pajamas on.

8:25 p.m.  Mom tells the kids its time for vitamins.  i.e. Mom says, "Time for gummy bears!" and a race to the kitchen ensues.  Cooper gets upset if he is not the "leader."  Cooper ALWAYS wants two red gummy bears (vitamins) and Penny always wants one orange and one yellow.

8:30 p.m.  Kids brush teeth.  Again,  Cooper gets upset if he is not the leader in the race to the bathroom.

8:35 p.m.  Penny goes to bed.  From here, all it is for her is a story and three songs.  Goodnight!  Cooper is allowed to play iPad while Penny is put to bed.

8:45 p.m.  Cooper gives us some lip service when we tell him to put the iPad away and to go upstairs.  He reminds us that he has to give Mom a hug first, and Mom has to be sitting on the couch when he does it.

8:50 p.m. Cooper bounds upstairs and hides behind the chair in his room, only because Mom threatens to be the leader upstairs.

8:52 p.m. Daddy comes upstairs and "finds" Cooper behind the chair, then tells him to go to the bathroom one last time.  Cooper is in NO hurry to do this and requires some prompting, i.e. threatening.

8:55 p.m. Mom reads a story.

9:05 to 9:10 p.m. (depending on story length and number of interruptions)  Cooper has to "look at the pretty lights."  This means he has to gaze out the window at the lights across the bay.

9:11 p.m.  Cooper has to "do his ahs."  This means he has to run from his room across the upstairs to our bathroom, then turn around, run back, and dive into his bed while yelling "AAAHHHH!"    Lately Cooper has wanted Daddy to do the last two steps with him.  Daddy has obliged...

9:12 p.m. Cooper says, "Roll Daddy Roll!"  This means Daddy has to roll onto his stomach so Cooper can cover him with his two blankets, which he calls the warm blanket and the cold blanket.  Then Coop crawls under the blankets with Daddy.

9:14 p.m. Daddy stands up and holds out the "warm" blanket like a bullfighter so Cooper can "bang" into it.  Cooper always says before this, "After I bang into the warm blanket I can bang into the cold blanket."  At which Mom says NO because we REALLY don't need to add any more steps to this routine!

9:15  Cooper dives into his pillow and we cover him with his warm and cold blankets.  At this point the light goes out and Daddy says goodnight.  This should be the end...but it's not.

9:17 p.m.  Mama sings Cooper a song, lets him have one last sip of water and THEN the lights go out!  Whew!

Yes, Cooper is a champion sleeper, but I can't help but wonder how in the world we got here!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

This Blog is Going to Need a New Name...

I believe the cat is already mostly out of the bag, but yes, we are adding to our family on or before January 3rd!  Mama and Daddy are happy and excited.  Cooper and Penny aren't sure they fully understand, though they have each put their order in.  Cooper wants a baby sister, and Penny wants a baby brother.  We will get to see who gets their wish in August!

P.S. (THREE kids and three dogs...have we lost our minds??)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Mini Vacay

Last week we had the privilege to take a mini-vacation to our favorite getaway spot, the lake.  Nonnie met us there for four nights of relaxation and fun.  We managed to get out and "do" every morning, but we spent every afternoon hunkered down indoors trying to escape the heat.   We marveled at how beat we all were after being outside for any period of time in the morning.  

On the first morning we went for Cooper's favorite activity...a train ride in Brackenridge Park and the zoo.
The deer spent the afternoons similarly to how we did...in the cool.
On the second morning, Cooper, Penny, and Brewster hung out with Nonnie while Mom and Dad set out for an outing alone.  (Yay!)
On the 3rd day we attended cousin Charley's birthday party.  Thank goodness it was a pool party!
Cooper, as usual, was quite the little fish at the party.