The Hamiltons

Cohabitation.

2011-12-19T11:46:00.003-05:00

In the event that we don't have any more children, I feel this overwhelming pressure to make sure my kids like each other. Or at least have a relationship. So, operation make them share a room while it's not awkward that they are boy and girl complete. :)

(After we moved and tucked them back in.)

My babies are growing up.

2011-10-11T21:05:00.004-04:00

Mostly I was tired of the toddler bed in our room taking up space. I figured we would approach it the same way we did with Axl...just put it in the room and start her out in it at naps and bedtime just to get her used to it. This afternoon, the shoe drawer was just too tempting so she ended up back in the crib, but tonight I just went in to see this. :)

(side note: If Erin or Erica are reading this, please still come get the bed whenever you need it. :) Coop and I will have fun picking out a new one!)

(Amanda, the blanket it perfect and oh, so snuggly!)

Also--I'm on Fall Break and I kept Axl home from school and stayed home from the gym to get some serious potty training in. The morning was seriously unsuccessful. We made a potty chart with a picture of some roller skates at the end. Axl was so excited that he would NOT get off the potty, but could also NOT pee. I would say that he probably sat on the potty for atleast 2 hours total just this morning. When I pried him off of it because I was tired of sitting there he cried and cried for roller skates...poor guy. He finally peed on the potty once (Well, he said he did and I saw just a little drip) after Tyler got home, and tonight before bath I asked Tyler to show him peeing standing up. Worked like a charm. Too bad I am the one home this week, because, well...peeing standing up for me would be quite difficult. Anyway, he went to bed with 2 stickers. :) Maybe we're getting somewhere...

Funnies

2011-10-11T20:26:00.002-04:00

Tonight at Penn Station Axl kept trying to "claim" the large fry we had ordered to share as a family. "Dese are my fries," shoving them all into his corner of the basket. Tyler quickly snatched up a handful to put in his basket, I guess hoping Axl wouldn't notice. Axl looked up at Tyler and said, "Are you tidding me?".

On the way home from dinner I asked Cooper if she was ready for night night since she was being awfully cranky. Tyler then said, "Are you guys ready for night night?" and Axl replies, "Aye Aye Taptain". And, no, we do not watch Spongebob; Tyler thinks it came from "Pirate Movie" (Peter Pan).

2011-10-11T11:12:00.001-04:00

Maybe I'll have more luck with her??

2011-09-20T19:20:00.002-04:00

sick Axl + mom at home = the first time I've baked since school started...

Who wants cake? :)

Presh.

2011-09-13T18:54:00.003-04:00

My eyes are almost never closed during the sacrament prayer...sad, but true. When you have two little ones it's too dangerous to close them for that length of time. Most of the time my eyes are glued on Axl, but I looked over this past Sunday to see Cooper doing this.

Sadly, I have never attempted to work with Coop on folding her arms. We're always just bugging Axl. But she obviously picked up on it. Love her little sponge of a mind.

Saturday Morning

2011-09-10T10:45:00.004-04:00

...and the ugliest tooth ever. I really want to push it back up in there. ha. but I love her.

Day 11 and Classroom Update

2011-08-14T18:01:00.005-04:00

11. A photograph of the town I live in.
Good old Nicholasville, Kentucky. A slightly bigger version of Paris that happens to be in closer proximity to Lexington (to which you must travel from both of these towns to do pretty much anything other than grocery shop). I like it. :)

Well, I survived the first three days of school. and more than survived; I actually had fun. :) My kids are the sweetest and I really think that the "bad" things that happened can be shaped pretty easily in the future. Some notable moments.

1. One child insists on calling me "Hamilton". All day, from across the room I hear, "Hey, Hamilton! Did you know..." "Hey, Hamilton! I like..." I really hesitate in correcting him because I CRACK up every time I hear it.

2. After reading aloud a story and asking the class a question about the main character, one child raises their hand and I call on them.
Student: How 'bout we answer that question...with another question.
Me: Ok.
Student: (long pause) How did God really get her here anyway???
Me: (shocked expression) Ok, I see that (insert another student's name here) has a question. Let's move on.
:)

3. I lost a child. Only for a very short amount of time, and to little fault of my own (I count heads approximately 5,397 times daily) but it scared me to death. This child, bless her little spacey heart, will be attached to my hand the rest of the year, ha.

Also--Axl said his first independent prayer today. We have been asking him for a while but he refuses and will only repeat what we say. Today he was READY to eat some rice, so when asked he folded his arms and said "Heavy Fada. Tank tu for daaaaay. da da du. ayyyyyyyyyymen.

Day 9 and Open House!

2011-08-09T06:23:00.005-04:00

10. A photo and description of what's in my makeup bag.

So, I'm letting go of the fact that I missed a few days and am just going to resume. My make-up bag. I don't get into it very often.

1. Neutrogena moisturizer
2. Merle shadow base
3. Good liner
4. Good shadow brush
5. Merle lip pencil
6. everything else is just cheap stuff I've accumulated.

and instead of a picture of this boringness I will share some pictures of my classroom all ready for Open House. It was a success, I would say, and I loved meeting all my students!

and me...a little scared out of my wits.

Day 9 and the countdown begins.

2011-08-03T21:58:00.002-04:00

9. A photo of the last item I purchased.

The last item(s) I purchased was on Ebay. about 2 hours ago. After I sorted through all the hand-me-down books I have been given for my classroom and realized I pretty much have NONE that are on my students' reading level. Hopefully this set will get here before those 42 little eyes are staring at me in ONE WEEK from today!!

Day 8 and Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2011-08-01T20:04:00.002-04:00

8. A recipe.

This is what I made Tyler for his birthday, because it's one of the few meals I have found he REALLY likes that I've made since we've been married.

WW General Tso's Chicken (Tyler calls it Kung Pao...)

3/4 C canned chicken brother
1 1/2 T cornstarch
2 T sugar
2 T soy sauce
1T white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar works)
1/2 t ground ginger

side note: I typically double the sauce for 1 lb of chicken

2 t peanut oil
2 medium scallions, chopped (I leave these out for picky Tyler)
2 medium garlic cloves (I use 3)
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 lb uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 2 inch pieces (we like the pieces smaller)
2 C cooked white rice, kept hot

In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic, and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

Also--when I picked the kids up from Nat's house today, Sophee stood Coop up in the hallway, I FREAKED OUT, and she WALKED to me! It was awesome. Just her little birthday present to daddy. :)

Day 7

2011-07-31T21:27:00.003-04:00

6. A picture of me when I was little. (I'm postponing this because all the pictures from when I was little are at my parents' house.)

7. A picture of someone who inspires me.

oh, so cheesy, I know...but true. I really feel blessed to be married to such a great person. He inspires me to be a better person because I truly feel like he deserves the best, and might have gotten a little shafted...haha. I love you, and Happy Birthday, tomorrow, old man!

Day 5

2011-07-28T07:36:00.003-04:00

5. A photo of myself two years ago.

Two years ago we took Axl to the zoo for the first time. It ended up raining most of the day and was extremely humid and I remember being so shocked at how his hair ended up so curly. :) oh, the curls.

Day 4 and the new couch!!

2011-07-26T17:25:00.003-04:00

4. 20 of my favorite things.

1. my family, they're all great
2. peach rings
3. warm cinnamon roasted almonds
4. Diet Coke
5. Freshly bathed babies
6. new things...anything I know I am the first one to use. I think this comes from my phobia of Goodwill.
7. falling asleep watching tv with my husband at night
8. fuzzy navel sno-cones
9. Reese's Eggs
10. pearls
11. labeled things
12. handwritten notes
13. framed photos
14. the way my kids love their bunny bears
15. school supplies
16. monochromatic outfits
17. listening to music while cleaning
18. Orange Leaf
19. sweet potato fries with ketchup from Smashburger
20. IKEA and OUR NEW COUCH!!**I want to remember that tonight Axl and I laid down together on the couch and read from the New Testament stories book and he actively paid attention and enjoyed 7 chapters--this is seriously big!! He loved to tell me about Jesus and John "fwimmin" a.k.a. "Jesus is Baptized". :) Then we sang songs and he actually sang with me, which also is BIG! Today was a good day.

Day 3 and Super Arm!

2011-07-25T19:54:00.004-04:00

3. A photo of myself and a description of how my day was.

Not the best picture in the world, but we very rarely have the whole fam in a pic and I like that we're all in it :)

My day was pretty great except that it marks the end of our Anniversary weekend celebration. We picked up the couch this morning, came home to pick up the kids, took Axl's cast off (YAY), gave the kiddos baths, had FHE (a rare opportunity with Tyler working nights--HE STARTS DAY SHIFT TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and tucked them into bed.

You could tell Axl was pretty relieved to have his bare arm back as we unwrapped the bandages and removed the splint, but pretty quickly he started to feel weird about it. I guess because he hasn't used those muscles in so long, it is foreign to him. He just walks around like he still has the cast on with his little thumb tucked into his fist. As we got him out the bath he told me, "soupa ahm back" (We called it his Super Arm) :)

Day 2

2011-07-24T08:40:00.003-04:00

2. 15 facts about me.

1. I am extremely obsessive. but only about 1 thing at a time. if I am excited/focused on something, nothing else really gets any attention. :/
2. The best thing that has happened to me in my entire life is Tyler C. Hamilton.
3. I have 2 of the most beautiful children in the world.
4. My mom is my best friend.
5. I did, not sure if I still do, hold the Bourbon County Middle School Record for the mile. 5:59
6. I love to run now, but at a much slower pace.
7. I am addicted to group fitness classes.
8. The idea of couponing overwhelms me so much that I am perfectly ok with choosing to throw away money. much to Tyler's dismay.
9. My life is a cycle. I try to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS, don't ever get quite through it before things start getting messy again, feel overwhelmed, then try to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS.
10. I cry when I think about Axl's curlies being gone.
11. I am a first grade teacher. :) I love saying that.
12. I like to theme things until their cheesy. parties, events, etc.
13. I HATE walking on snow.
14. I love to cook and wish I could get better at it.
15. I canNOT dance.

Since we are away with no kids, we have time to do fun stuff like this.
Tyler's list of 15 facts about me.

1. Born in 1985.
2. Favorite food is cinnamon roasted almonds.
3. A good mother.
4. Loves ugly boat shoes.
5. Favorite drink is Diet Coke.
6. Does not like to do laundry.
7. Always puts her feet on the dashboard when she's in the passenger seat.
8. Gets restless when she sits for long periods of time.
9. Most of the time loves her husband.
10. Good writer.
11. Is a teacher.
12. Makes awesome kung pao chicken.
13. Is beautiful.
14. Would lose her head if it weren't attached.
15. Does great voice impersonations.

Tyler's list of 15 facts about himself.

1. First and foremost- Tyler refuses to actually type this list because he says "he's done typing the rest of his life". He just finished his MBA.
2. I'm bald.
3. I don't like onions or salad.
4. I enjoy playing basketball and watching UK basketball.
5. I enjoy time with my wife.
(after having trouble with more..."I'm not really qualified to do this." Seriously Tyler??? You're not qualified to give 15 facts about YOURSELF!
6. I'm an over-eater.
7. I like to be challenged.
8. I strive to be frugal even though my wife may call it cheap.
9. I'm a very picky person. food, clothing, etc.
10. I really like dance time with the kids at the house.
11. I look forward to reading for pleasure instead of reading by force.
12. I have a great circle of friends and family. unsurpassed.
13. I love my wife.
14. I'm grateful for the Gospel.
15. I love to be around people.

aaaaand...my list of 15 facts about Tyler.

1. He is a great provider.
2. He is cheap. ha.
3. He always wears shoes in the house.
4. His intentions are blaringly obvious but he likes to think he's smooth.
5. He loves his babies.
6. He is an awesome public speaker.
7. He is funny, but sometimes not as funny as he thinks he is, ha.
8. He is a list maker and this makes him extremely productive.
9. He takes GREAT pride in his lawn.
10. It drives him nuts when I junk up the garage.
11. When he's going to fall asleep, he's going to fall asleep; whenever, wherever.
12. He gets attached to certain things like shoes and clothing. He is convinced they are the best and none will be as good...so he keeps wearing them, even if they look a little trashy.
13. He loves to watch PTI.
14. He honors his priesthood.
15. When he laughs really hard, he sounds like a wheezy old man. and I like it.

We had so much fun yesterday that I didn't stop to blog. We found some good deals at the outlets, Brio was amazing as always, and we saw Harry Potter in IMAX 3D. We loved it. I really love this time that we're getting to spend together and am SO grateful Granny and Papaw are taking really good care of the Axman and Coop.

Day 1 and 4 YEARS!

2011-07-22T22:11:00.004-04:00

Day 1. A photograph of myself today and three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.1. From July 1st to the 9th we took our first real family vacation. We went to Myrtle Beach and despite a few unfortunate happenings, we had a GREAT time.
2. After arriving home, we were met with cousin Sonia who came to stay and help us out for a week. Axl LOVES Sonia. I'm sure we'll remember this, but Axl is not what you'd call a "people person" and he just melts when Sonia is around. When he saw her for the first time this trip at church (we haven't seen her since Coop's birthday party), he walked gingerly up to her and grabbed her hand, and then plopped himself (not gracefully, with a broken arm) right next to her on the pew. It was precious.
3. Also--within the last 30 days, my classroom was cleared out, furnished by the best custodian in the world, Mike, and opened to me to move in!! I have had a lot of fun working in there and really can't wait to get started. Though I also feel very overwhelmed and nervous.

and the best thing of all...As of yesterday Tyler and I have been married for 4 years! Last week, Tyler was in Columbus all week and when he returned today we dropped the kids at Granny and Papaw's and headed for Cincinnati! I am unbelievably excited about a weekend with my husband and no kids (I LOVE my kids, but there is just something about the feeling of being alone after having children!). Tonight we're rewatching Part I of Deathly Hallows to prepare for a day of shopping, Brio, and Part II of Dealthly Hallows. The next day we plan to go to King's Island for a combined celebration of our anniversary and Tyler's birthday (technically last year's birthday because that's what he wanted and we never made it) and on Monday--the piece de resistance--IKEA for THE COUCH...my Christmas present from Tyler :) :)

All smiles here on Day 1. :)

30 Day Challenge

2011-07-21T13:24:00.003-04:00

I've seen many people do a 30 day challenge on their blog, and most recently started following my Cousin, Tara's, challenge. I started thinking about it, and did some research, and a lot of the people who take on this challenge are attempting to make a habit out of blogging. Where blogging used to be a treat for me it has now become something that strikes a chord of guilt. I put together an awesome book from my first year of blogging and gave it to Tyler for his birthday. He loved it. I think more than I thought he would. Probably weekly or bi-weekly when I get busy, or go through a rough patch, he, pretty politely says, "Remember how much I loved that book. You should try and get caught up.", or "Make sure you put this on the blog". And lately the latter has been a joke we get a pretty good laugh out of because I'm so behind. HOWEVER, though perhaps not as frequently, I have taken pictures, and jotted down things to remember over my absences from the blog and do intend to have a book from each year (none probably as awesome as what I like to call my "honeymoon phase" year). Anyway, long story short, here are the reasons I'm going to do the 30 day challenge. When I do not want to blog I will come read this list--hopefully.

1. I truly do want to make a habit out of blogging.
2. I love the book we have that reminds us of all sorts of memorable happenings our first 2 years of marriage.
3. I love my husband, and he likes to keep record of things. Well, I guess likes ME to keep record of things...but anyway...
4. I have found that if I write one post, I am more apt to go back and catch up on a few other ones since I'm in the bloggy, writey, makin' memories kind o' mood.
5. If I complete this challenge, but a habit is not created, I will at least have documented the next 30 days, (I plan on adding different things to the post other than the original topic) which are going to be a BIG 30 days!!

So, here we go. Unless I fail miserably and don't post another one after today (in which case I probably don't want to hear a WORD about the blog), please motivate me! :)

1. A photograph of myself today and three good things that have happened in the past 30 days.

2. 15 facts about me.

3. A photo of myself and a description of how my day was.

4. 20 of my favorite things.

5. A photo of myself two years ago.

6. A picture of me when I was little.

7. A picture of someone who inspires me.

8. A recipe.

9. A photo of the last item I purchased.

10. A photo and description of what's in my makeup bag.

11. A photograph of the town I live in.

12. A TV show I'm currently addicted to.

13. Something I don't leave the house without.

14. A photo of something that makes me happy.

15. Something I crave a lot.

16. What's in my purse?

17. A photo of something that means a lot to me.

18. A photo of somewhere I've been.

19. A picture of me last year and now with a description of how I've changed since then.

20. My worst habit.

21. Five of my biggest pet peeves.

22. My celebrity crush.

23. Something I could never get tired of doing.

24. My favorite book.

25. Someone who inspires me.

26. A picture of somewhere I'd love to travel.

27. My dream house.

28. An art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc.) that means something to me.

29. A picture of something I wish I was better at.

30. A picture of something I'm afraid of.

2011-07-20T09:25:00.003-04:00

Shopping trip in order to avoid embarassment from Axl attending his "Last Day of Summer Pre-School Pajama Party" in pajamas that were too small ...FAIL. We get there and he chooses these? Yes, they fit, but seriously, buddy? 500% itchy polyester, Woody and Buzz, neon green cheapos? We'll have to work on his taste. He also picked out this gown for Cooper and since none of her summer pajamas fit anymore either, I bought it. He got mad when we got home and realized it wasn't for him, ha.

Cooper Jay...

2011-07-19T13:58:00.001-04:00

...took two steps today!!

might as well...

2011-05-17T21:06:00.003-04:00

...get one more wear out of the Christmas pajamas if it's going to be 45 degrees.

Little Sickle.

2011-05-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a weekend.

On Wednesday, I took Cooper into the doctor because of persistent diarrhea (like 3 weeks). We had been transitioning to cow's milk per doc orders which I thought may be the catalyst so we switched back to formula, but it didn't go away. The doctor agreed that the cow's milk was probably upsetting her stomach and told us to slowly introduce it again once things were back to normal. I told him, at this appointment, about a plethora of snot, and he attributed it to the weather. On Friday, we woke up to a normal (if normal means occasionally scrubbing poop out of the floor and off the walls of your toddler's room--I'm waiting until I'm not fuming mad about this anymore to write about the Axman...-and then once getting to the gym, cleaning yet MORE poop off the baby). We came home from the gym and Cooper pretty much just broke down. She was screaming, screaming, screaming, didn't want to eat, and could not be consoled. It was early, but I decided to just try and lie her down for a nap. We went upstairs to get her ready only to find that her diaper rash was the worst it has EVER been, (this girl has had a rash pretty much since she was born), it was bleeding in places and I could tell that it was extremely painful. I tried to doctor her up the best I could, took her downstairs, and held her on my chest until she went to sleep. While lying on my chest I noticed that her breathing was faster than normal. I thought once she got into a deeper sleep it would slow, so I took her upstairs and laid her down in her crib (this was at about 1:15). I continued to check on her throughout the nap, only to find that it was still very fast, if not faster. When she FINALLY woke at 5:30!! I took her temp and she had a fever, her breathing was fast, and guess what, another disgusting/weird diaper was waiting for me. I decided to call the Twilight Clinic to take her in before we got into the weekend. I hadn't given the nurse any information about who we actually were when she asked for the symptoms, I started with the ones I was most concerned about, "fever, persistent diarrhea, really really terrible rash.." and tagged on, "her breathing is a little faster than usual". The nurse responded with "You need to take her to the emergency room". Really? The emergency room? We've already been there once with this little lady and I'm sorry to say that the first thing that popped into my mind was the WHOPPING bill received weeks later... She persisted that we must go to the emergency room and not the clinic. Not entirely sure what I should do, we called dad and discussed it. Meanwhile I'm putting together EVERY carseat we have because I had disassembled them ALL to wash earlier in the day, the pads still wet. Tyler decides to call Wanda, a nurse friend down the street to see if she could come up and help me decide, but she was working. I called Leslie to inform her we wouldn't be coming to dinner because of all this, and she handed the phone over to her mom, Leah, who is also a nurse. She asked me exactly how fast, and not knowing what it was supposed to be, reported the number I had counted in between phone calls. over 60. Leah then told me she definitely needed to be evaluated and noticed quickly that I was freaking out. She told me to get off the phone, put my hand on her tummy and do another count. With 17 seconds LEFT to go in the minute, I was at 60. (Later I found that the normal rate is 24-38) I got one complete carseat together, put Cooper in it, strapped Axl into the car sin carseat and headed toward the ER. My mind was racing on the way there, but came to the conclusion that there was no way I was going to be able to handle both kids in the ER. I couldn't get in touch with anyone that would be on the way so I still just headed for the neighborhood across the street from the hospital, knowing a few friends who I hoped would be home. The first driveway I pulled into picked up the phone right then. I informed Sarah I was at her house and would it be ok if Axl came in to visit for a while, ha. She agreed, I shewed him in with a sleeve of girl scout cookies and a cup of juice and Cooper and I went on our way. They got us in pretty quickly, got a pulse ox (I don't really know how to use that word, so I'm using it like this, ha) of 90 or 91. I thought that sounded pretty good, but the nurse told me it was low for her. After listening to her lungs and reporting that her breathing was labored, raspy, and tight, the doc told me she suspected pneumonia, ordered a chest xray and a breathing treatment. We did the breathing treatment, went in for the xrays, and got a new pulse ox of 97 :) The doc came back in, told us he saw infection on the xray. "Does that mean pneumonia?" "Yes, we caught it early". Coop gets a dose of Rocephin through an IV :( and they take blood to culture. Now he says we need to decide if they should admit her for the night for observation or send us home. He says his fear is that we get home and in a couple of hours we're right back in when the breathing treatment wears off. "How do you feel about this?" I say, literally, "You are the doctor, I am not making this decision, it's all on you." I was already feeling terrible about downplaying the issue at hand and was not about to make another mistake at the cost of my little baby girl. He says he would feel more comfortable if they contacted UK Children's Hospital (as we were just in an ER and couldn't be admitted there). He orders Tylenol for her fever, and then we wait for the RSV test to come back. The nurse says, "after that, we'll be calling the ambulance." AMBULANCE? what?? The doctor says we go by ambulance so they can monitor her oxygen level, keep the IV, and give her a breathing treatment en route if needed. Cooper, for real, was a trooper through all of this. She rarely cried, and waved at every nurse that passed the door. However, she did not want to go to sleep. She got in a total of about 10 minutes before midnight. RSV test negative, and after a while, the ambulance was there to pick us up.

It wasn't until we got there that I realized they were simply sending us to another er for them to determine whether or not she needed to be admitted...We got there atleast 2 hours after the breathing treatment (enough time for it to "wear off" if it was going to) and Cooper was great. With the exception of being over tired, she was peachy. It was determined after a while that we were going to be able to go home. Doctors were in and out, but all of them were saying good things, so I called Tyler when one of them told me it would be about 30 minutes. This was probably at 2am. Tyler woke Axl and came to pick us up, only to realize that we were going to be forgotten about for another 2 hours, while we were only waiting for instructions on how to use the inhaler they were sending us home with. (these doctors were thinking more along the lines of an asthmatic type thing versus pneumonia...looking at the same x-rays...) So after a long two hours for Tyler (Axl was running laps INSIDE the car in the parking lot) we were able to go home and finally get some rest. We had a prescription for prednisone, an inhaler, and instructions to go to the Twilight Clinic the next day.

We went in the next day and the third doctor had yet another opinion, but I felt like the conversation I had with him was the most productive I had had in the last 24 hours. The RSV test came back negative, but he told us there are many more viruses that cause bronchiolitis in babies. He said the reason the other doctors probably ruled that out is that these viruses are typical of mid-January. He named Cooper the last baby of the season, gave another Rocephin shot and sent us on our way, with instructions to go in AGAIN to our pediatrician on Monday for a final ear check.

Dr. Boarman determined that her ears were healing well enough that we didn't need a third shot and made even more sense of the whole situation. He agreed with the Twilight doctor and went on to explain that if bronchiolitis has progressed to the point of completely blocking off some tubes, areas of lung tissue will be cut off and show up like pneumonia on an xray! He said all of the doctors were "right", so that made me a little less frustrated. If I understood everything correctly, this means Cooper does not HAVE asthma. If in the future she continues to react this way to these viruses, this could possibly develop into asthma. Sounds better to me. :)

so....we've only had to use the inhaler one or two times a day, and Cooper is doing very well. It is safe to say that I never want to have to watch one of my children get an IV again; though much props to the nurse, she was awesome.

Glad you're feeling better, sickle!

time to pay up...

2011-05-05T17:43:00.000-04:00

4/26/2011
Cooper probably deserves to have the first year of her life documented... so for her, and Tyler (who keeps bugging me) here come the updates.

Trick or Treat
Axl's First School Picture
Thanksgiving Party
Cooper is 8 months old!
Call Family,

Cooper is mobile!!

2011-05-03T14:03:00.006-04:00

Does she crawl? No.

Does she cruise? No.

Does she creep? No.

Does she walk? No.

...

But, today, she figured out how to actually go where she wants to go in her new walker. :) I loved looking up from folding our endless piles of laundry today and seeing her popping her little head around the corner.

Baby and Axl

2011-04-30T12:46:00.003-04:00

I think we can say that Cooper has said her first word. Axl. Axl, Axl, Axl. We'll say it's because she loves him and not because she hears me yelling it all day. ;)

I usually put Ax and Coop to bed at the same time, but a few nights ago Axl was especially cheery and Coop was especially fussy, so I put her down first. A short while later Axl was playing with his vacuum and telling a story about the baby...he stopped abruptly and exclaimed, "UH-OH, where's the baby??". Love seeing that he was concerned and actually knows she exists.

Yesterday in the car I heard Cooper giggling in the backseat. I hardly ever hear from her in the car, so I turned around to investigate. Coop was still giggling heartily as Axl counted her fingers..."One, Two, Tree, Pour..." Love these babies.

I knew it was coming...

2011-04-26T18:34:00.004-04:00

...I guess we couldn't get through infancy without Cooper trying to show up her brother...

Luckily there's no real story to tell as Cooper is proving every day that girls are way less gross than boys...case-in-point=they don't eat their poop. :)

Zebra Easter :)

2011-04-20T12:57:00.005-04:00

Well, in my typical "Mom of the Year" fashion, I forgot the camera today when attending Axl's Easter party at school. Axl, by far, behaved the best he has in this type of situation (parents at school) so far. Though he didn't participate much in circle time, eat corn, green beans, or say thank you to anyone unprompted, I never had to drag him up off the floor, leave for a temper tantrum, or hang my head in shame as we walked out the door. :) He ate chicken nuggets and snickerdoodles galore, shared a yummy roll with me, drank lots of orange soda without spilling on the floor, dyed an egg blue, dyed his face blue with an Easter treat from a friend, and showed mom a wonderful time. When it was time to bless the food all the children were clasping their hands together waiting to pray and Axl folded his arms, and said about three of his prayers, "heavyfa, debache de oooooooooooooohman". He was SO hungry, it was adorable. Sure do love you, buddy! We enjoyed the one-on-one while Cooper napped at Aunt Cindy's. :)

NO!

2011-04-16T08:27:00.002-04:00

a whopping three days after our clean bill of health??

Why HELLO ear-infection-FREE children...

2011-04-13T13:58:00.003-04:00

So nice to see you, it's been a while!

2011-03-11T22:41:00.002-05:00

I've gotten strangely attached to hearing "Love you, you're welcome" at bedtime.

Cooper is 8 months old!

2011-01-22T18:44:00.000-05:00

This month has been pretty rough, but we're getting by. We have started weaning Cooper, but she is refusing to take the bottle. Even the nursing strike didn't seem to work as Coop held out much longer than I expected, and then would only eat yogurt...We're dipping the nipple in some yogurt and that tricks her through a few sucks; she is one tough cookie. We love her so much, though, and wouldn't trade a thing for this hard-headed little one. :)

1 month old

2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old
7 months old
8 months old!

Laundry is hilarious!

2011-01-17T15:18:00.002-05:00

pretty strong little toddler...

2011-01-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

Cooper is 7...ok ok...7 1/2 months old!

2011-01-05T16:31:00.001-05:00

1 month old

2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old

7 (1/2) months old

I am now redeeming the "may be late once in taking the bear pictures in your child's first year" coupon. With the whirlwind of Christmas, the 21st just came and went and today was the first day that I thought about taking the picture when I could actually take the picture. So here you have it. Considering Cooper is VERY ill at the moment, it turned out pretty darn cute.

I sure hope you feel better soon, little sickle. I love you!!

What a day.

2011-01-03T19:49:00.004-05:00

About 10 am I call and leave a message for the nurse to discuss Cooper and whether or not I should bring her in--tell whoever I'm talking to all the symptoms and everything that I will have to repeat again to the nurse (fever about 102, can't get it under 100, nose constantly running cloudy, persistent cough, seems hard to breathe, very fast, a little raspy and her shoulders move up and down) and she says, "Have you tried a humidifier? I'll give her the message."

About 12 I call back; this has happened before and the nurse never got the message. Lady says, she's in with a patient and to call back if I haven't been contacted by about 3:30. All the while, trying, if I need to take her in, to get an appointment before Tyler goes in to work at 2 because it would be impossible to take Axl with me.

Nurse calls back at about 2. "What time did you call? I'm just now seeing your chart and we're booked for the rest of the afternoon. I think she needs to be brought in so you need to go to Twilight Clinic (AKA- HELL placed right smack dab in the middle of UK Campus)".

Call Twilight and make an appointment, then find a babysitter. Load Coop up in the car and drive into Lexington. Get her out of the car; she seems oddly cool, nose dry as a bone, and she looks up at me and giggles. Seriously?

Nurse takes temp and says cheerily, "98.5". Great.

Doctor says he hears some wheezing and after pulling A LOT of ear wax out so that he can see, says she has a really bad ear infection. He prescribes antibiotic that will take care of the ear infection and possible early pneumonia (whatever that means...).

I stop at Wal-Mart to get scipt filled and Tyler suggests I pick some groceries up. Cooper's illness suddenly returns and she cries and screams the entire venture. I race home to relieve the babysitter-that thinks I was going to be home about 45 minutes ago. Cooper continues to scream while I unload the groceries onto the counter and try to figure out if I should lay her down or feed her. If I fed her then she'd be going to bed at about 7:30...not a good idea. I set Axl up with some food and take her upstairs, calm her down, give her the medicine and lay her down.

I come downstairs to find this. I just had to laugh.

I have a pretty smart little 2-year old and a sick little 7 month old. Each day has it's own challenges, but we're surviving. :)

2010-12-23T14:20:00.001-05:00

Call Family,

2010-12-15T16:29:00.000-05:00

You pretty much made this little boy's Christmas when you passed on this train to us. :) Love you guys!

Cooper is six months old!

2010-12-14T09:56:00.005-05:00

HAMILTON FAMILY FLASHBACK!

1 month old
2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old

Six month stats
16 pounds 6 ounces--70th percentile
27 inches--90th percentile
HC 43 cm--50th percentile

about 8 wake up and get meds
8:30 nurse and yoyo baby with cereal
(she has had vanilla, blueberry, and banana yogurt)
10:30 nap
12 wake up and get meds
12:30 nurse
2 or 2:30 nap
4:30 or 5 wake up and get meds
5:30 nurse and vegetable or fruit with cereal
(she has had sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, squash, bananas, apples, plums, pears...she's tried but didn't like turkey and potatoes)
7:30 nap
8:30 wake up and get meds
9:00 nurse
about 10 bed

At the 6 month appointment they told us that we should not stop the Donnatal yet...though I am feeling like she may be getting to the point that she does not need it anymore. He wants her to outgrow the dose so that she is weaning herself from it. She also still takes Zantac twice daily.

Cooper is such a fun, pretty little lady. We are still grateful every day for the good baby that she is; with colic Cooper still fresh on our minds. Though her stats are all pretty high things about her seem so petite--like her tiny little hands and feet. I can not nurse Cooper if Mickey Mouse is on in the room. Whenever she hears his voice she turns her head to the TV and smiles one of the biggest smiles. The only really hearty laughs we get from the little girl are the result of her brother banging something on something else; she really loves him. And she always has a ginormous smile for Dad when he comes into view.

I am proud.

2010-12-08T17:49:00.003-05:00

With the help of my great friend, Rachel, I made a pair of pajama pants for Axl today on my snazzy sewing machine! It has not seen as much work as I had hoped thus far, but seriously...they actually look like pants...and are cute, to boot!

Thanksgiving Party

2010-11-30T18:29:00.000-05:00

After the Halloween Party disaster at school I wasn't really looking forward to Thanksgiving...Axl did a pretty good job, though. :) We started out by making a place mat, which we used for a while to identify shapes and colors. I really liked watching Axl choose things to put on his place mat and telling me where to put the glue. Then we had a Thanksgiving meal, of which Axl did not partake, ha. He enjoyed his apple juice as usual.

A few randoms worth remembering...

2010-11-22T16:12:00.003-05:00

Axl has never been one to sing. For a while now he has been enjoying music, asking me to sing a song, or learning and doing the movements to songs at school and at storytime, but he has never tried to actually sing them. About a week ago I heard him trying to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I'd hear a babble of words, each kind of a different note and then "star" at the end of it. I pointed it out to Tyler and he wasn't really convinced that Axl was actually singing the song. Last night, Axl was getting bored in the car and we were all really quiet. He started singing, "waa waa waa...bus...waa waa waa...bus". I looked back and he was doing the movements for the crying baby in "The Wheels on the Bus". It was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard. I then asked him to sing, "Twinkle Twinkle" and he very clearly sang to the tune, "Twinkle Twinkle da star, wawawa star". Love it.

Cooper started blowing raspberries a couple of days ago. She doesn't just use her lips, she sticks her tiny little pointy tongue out and blows. Everything gets covered in slobber but it sure is cute!

When I went up to get Axl up from his nap today he was stark naked lying on the floor neatly tucked in by his blanket pretend sleeping (making the breathing noises..ah-soooo, ah-soooooo). He was, of course, scolded for disrobing and removing his diaper in the middle of the day, but I couldn't help but laugh.

Dear Axl,

2010-11-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of your entire life that you had no nap. None. Not even a little one. Please, don't ever do this again.

I love you,
Mom

Bactrim

2010-11-02T16:32:00.004-04:00

This, and any other sulfa-drugs, will never find their way into our house again!! As much as I don't think we will even want to remember this experience, I think I should document it, because it definitely threw our family for a loop! This is an EXTREMELY abbreviated version of the story--I don't really want to think about it all that much.

On our way to Tennessee for a weekend trip, Tyler noticed a rash on the backs of his arms. The rash continued to spread and Tyler began to feel a little off. He wasn't sleeping, waking up burning up or freezing cold, shaking in his sleep. I, at this point, was very worried. Tyler was bound and determined to make the best of his trip, so he pretty much just did his best to ignore it. He got a steroid dose-pack called into the pharmacy and began to take it the day before we came home. The rash went away, but Tyler continued to feel worse. On Wednesday of the next week, I pretty much made Tyler go to the doctor, by making the appointment myself and sending him out the door. They told him there that they were pretty sure the symptoms he was experiencing were an allergic reaction to an antibiotic he was taking. They told him to stop taking it, which he did that day. He stayed home from work, but returned the next day. Taking even more call-outs than usual throughout the rest of the week because he still wasn't sleeping well. Saturday, Tyler wasn't himself. While he dozed on the couch, I was getting the kids and everything ready to go to a birthday party Axl had been invited to. I woke him up when it was time to go out the door and he told me he wanted me to take him to the hospital. I was more frustrated than anything (I feel bad about this now) because I had been trying to get him to explain to me for a week and a half what exactly was wrong and most of the time I got a, "I've just never felt like this before". When I saw that his fingers and lips were turning blue, I decided we just needed to leave. Erin met us at the hospital and took Axl with her for the evening. Beginning when they took Tyler back into the emergency room things just took a turn for the worse. The rash started spreading like wildfire and Tyler began itching and swelling everywhere. His face looked bruised and of course, he was feeling like crap. They admitted him that night thinking that he was suffering from a tick-borne disease called Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Late that night he was moved to an actual room where the plan for me was to take Cooper home at 11pm to put her to bed and then return in the morning. At 11, though, she was sleeping soundly and Tyler was having a ROUGH time. He was not very responsive and his face and ears were extremely swollen. When I talked to the nurses about leaving they didn't sound very supportive so I decided to stay there with our infant daughter. Tyler was sweating through the sheets in his sleep and after the second sheet change the nurse took me to show me where the clean ones were so I could get them myself. Another nurse saw us in the hallway and said, "Oh, you came back". I told her that I had never left to which she responded, "We're just worried about your baby". I asked why and they told me that we were on the INFECTIOUS DISEASE floor. I was fuming mad as I walked back to Tyler's room and saw that we were surrounded by people with the notice on their doors. I guess the nurses didn't think that was important enough information to share at 11...only at 3 in the morning after whatever damage could have been done was done. I kept Cooper quarantined in our room until morning and took her staight home after that. Neither of our kids returned to the hospital after that. Over the next couple of days they would determine that it was, in fact, a SEVERE reaction to the antibiotic. Our life was thrown upside down for the next five days that Tyler was in the hospital waiting for his liver to repair itself from the allergic reaction (HUGE thanks to everyone who helped take care of our children), and then even more over the next three weeks that he was off work. (though by the end of it we were just enjoying his time off! :) ) I wish we had taken pictures everyday to show the progression, but we came home with just these.

So extremely grateful that all is well now. :)

Thank You, You're Welcome

2010-11-01T17:47:00.000-04:00

Trick or treating with the kids this year was a blast. Axl and Cooper went as Mickey and Minnie. I put both their costumes together mostly with things we already had and they turned out really cute! We were able to double dip as we went with the Coopers in Paris and the Hamiltons in Nicholasville! The highlight was probably Axl barging into random people's houses as they opened the door. I guess I'll be willing to admit later in life that I backdated this post for the sake of a funny. As you can imagine and relate, Axl had a whole weekend of the words "Thank You" being followed immediately by "You're Welcome". If I had doubts before, this experience has shown me that reinforcement really does work...6 months later, when I fill a bowl with goldfish and hand it to Axl, saying, "Say thank you", he answers with "Tank you, welcome" without fail. :)

Cooper is 5 months old!

2010-10-28T16:50:00.007-04:00

1 month old
2 months old3 months old4 months old5 months old!!

Wow- we're getting dangerously close to half a year!! Each day gets more fun as Cooper continues to grow.

She is now EXTREMELY interactive.

She gets really upset if you leave the room--especially if she's having an off day.

She loves loves loves her brother. If he is standing in front of her, she is happy.

She's getting a lot better at holding her head up and can sit comfortably now in the Johnny Jump up and Jumperoo.

She's figured out how to grab her pacifier and will pull it out of her mouth and hold it in front of her face studying it, just like she does with her hands.

The hair on the back of her head is slowly starting to grow back in.

Cooper had her first set of pigtails this month. They were more humorous than cute as they had to be right on top of her head because of her lack of length on the sides. :)

She eats babyfood 2-3 times a day. She has now had apples, pears, cereal, sweet potatoes, and plums. (in that order) She nurses 4 times a day.

Still on Donnatol and Zantac.

She has found her feet!!

Open House and Harvest Party

2010-10-28T15:22:00.000-04:00

I took Axl to the his open house at Great Escape and we had a pretty fun time together. He showed me some things in his classroom and then we headed down to the gym where he played with a lot of the equipment they play with on the days they have PE. For the most part we have been happy with his experience so far at Great Escape and he is definitely getting a little more used to it.

The pumpkin we made together was on display in his classroom.

Axl had a Halloween party in his class that I was WAY more excited for than he was. They were to dress in their costumes, the parents signed up to bring in party goodies, and we were supposed to join them at 11:15. Well...by the time we got there at 11:15 they had already done all the party stuff...it was a pretty big let down for me, considering Axl acted like a crazy person the whole time, too, lying in the floor, whining, and trying to leave. Happy Halloween, Mom. The night before the party I decided to make little treats for his friends. This would not have been a big deal had I not made an entire batch, realized I may not have washed my hands after I used some cleaner with bleach before I rolled them out, had visions of a classroom full of two year olds passing out and frothing at the mouth, forced to make an entire new batch at, oh, about midnight. Yeesh. Axl did look adorable in his Mickey costume, though, and he really enjoyed his treat on the way home. :)

Rolling!

2010-10-26T17:33:00.001-04:00

Cooper rolled over (from back to front) for the first time TODAY! I was out and Tyler actually got it on video...the FIRST TIME! He's pretty awesome.

Absurd amount of cuteness+Halloween Sneak-Peek!

2010-10-25T13:28:00.003-04:00

The other night at Jay and Brooke's we realized it was time for the Johnny Jump Up when Coop had a blast in her cousin, Lola's. This is her first time in ours and she, again, loved it!

Also--this hat is the cutest and we can't wait for Halloween--I love how her little ears stick out below it and this smile is just too much!

Boyd Orchards

2010-10-20T13:49:00.000-04:00

We went to Boyd Orchards to pick out our pumpkins this year! Fun was had by all, especially Axl who LOVED the inflatable train that you crawl through, the many slides, and the goats. He was pretty spent by the time we actually picked the pumpkins, but we survived the trip and will definitely do it again. :) ...and somehow we didn't get even one picture of Granny...she joined us :)
I included the following picture because it REALLY makes me laugh!

Feeding the goats

For a short time Axl thought pumpkins were apples...

Gickey and Ninnie

2010-10-15T16:11:00.002-04:00

Epic fail finally trying to 1. squeeze Cooper into the pj's (they are 0-3 months), 2. get a decent picture.

Looking like they can't stand to sit beside one another.

Dancing a jig.
Post-head bonk.
sweet little hug.

Fall?

2010-10-14T09:44:00.005-04:00

Despite the mid-80's in mid-October, we've been trying to get into a fall-y mood. Yesterday actually cooled off just a little bit and that was enough to motivate me!

It started two days ago when I had been looking several places for flower pots--nothing fancy, just small, simple flower pots that I wanted to plant some mums in. I talked to Tyler about how expensive they are! Nothing to break the bank or anything, but a flower pot is not something I feel justified in spending a lot of money on at this point in our lives. On the way back from dropping Axl off from school that very day I saw a pile of flower pots on the curb!! I went to the door of the house they were in front of and talked to the owners and they told me to help myself! I got two small, very faded, but usable pots and one large, nice pot! So yesterday I got to work. I bought some spray paint and painted the faded pots black and haven't decided yet what I want to do with the large pot. When Axl woke from his nap we got to planting!

Also two days ago, the LONG AWAITED sewing maching arrived! (my birthday present from Tyler) I've been waiting so long that I have tons of ideas for projects that I want to try from some investigating on the Internet. I started with something very simple, and though it's not by any means perfect, I am considering it a success!

Axl is supposed to wear black or orange every Wednesday in October to

school, so that was the motivation for this shirt.

Conference Weekend

2010-10-14T08:45:00.004-04:00

We took a fairly short trip up to Tar Fork for October conference, which really ended up being just the right amount of time. We had just about sworn off weekend trips for the duration of Axl's toddler years, but once again, we decided to give it another shot. All in all, it was pretty enjoyable, though neither of us were really able to enjoy the conference talks. It seemed the kids were always napping when conference wasn't on, and when Axl is awake, well, it's just not an option to sit down. ...that's why they print them though, right? When we left, nobody really felt like their head was going to explode and we all survived. :)

And I guess this is the only moment I deemed photo-worthy.

It is pretty cute. Axl sure does love these girls;

enough to watch Strawberry Shortcake, ha.

Back in Baby Food Business

2010-10-06T10:55:00.003-04:00

When we left Cooper's 4 month appointment a couple weeks ago, I was supposed to start babyfood. He asked if I wanted to start food or just continue breastfeeding, and I most certainly was NOT ready to start food, but I responded with the fact that we had started cereal now with Axl because of the diarrhea the Zantac caused (which Cooper has had as well since we started it). I guess he took that as me wanting to start it and gave me instructions to begin with fruit because starting solids either helps Donnatol babies or makes them worse and fruit is the easiest food to digest. Well, with that info, I just decided I was going to wait anyway. If everything is going well with her (weight gain, colic, reflux, etc.), I'd rather not mess with it.

Then, I just got completely tired of the blowouts. (I realize that's too much information, but I'm just stating the facts.) The problem at this point is that I think fruit will probably make it worse. But I have to do the fruit before we can move on the cereal...so we're just going to try and stick it out.

Cooper really LOVED the apples I made this morning. I was so happy to see that she kind of knew what she was doing. I was hoping Axl would like to be involved, but it just so happened that Abby's Flying Fairy School was on at the time and he was just too busy. :)

How handsome is this little guy!?!?

2010-10-05T20:42:00.001-04:00

I really love how Axl's first ever school picture turned out!
Axl J. Hamilton
Great Escape: Zebra Classroom
2010-2011

4 month and 24 month Doctor Visit

2010-10-01T20:46:00.002-04:00

Axl- 24 month visit

29 pounds 7 ounces- 70th percentile
36 1/2 inches- 95TH PERCENTILE! (I was weary, so we measured him when we got home and she was about and inch and a half off, haha)
Head Circumference- 49 cm- 75th percentile

Cooper- 4 month visit
14 pounds 9 ounces- 75th percentile
26 inches- 95TH PERCENTILE! (I think she was right on this one)
Head Circumference- 41 cm- 50th percentile

Tyler's Proof

2010-09-22T11:07:00.004-04:00

*I couldn't find the perfect picture of Cooper for the comparison, but I can DEFINITELY see her in this picture of Tripp

Tyler has been insisting, pretty much since Cooper was born, that Cooper looks like my brother, David. I somewhat agreed, but didn't think it was that obvious...until I saw a picture of Tripp at her age. Tripp is nothing short of a miniature David, so now I guess we just need to decide if David would make a pretty woman! :)

Cooper is 4 months old!

2010-09-22T10:05:00.006-04:00

Little Miss Cooper is now four months old! It's extremely hard to believe that so much time has passed and she is becoming such a little person--interacting with people, sharing her feelings, and growing growing growing!!

We have definitely been able to pick up on more of her personality over the past month or so. Tyler made the comment that he thinks Cooper is more like him and Axl is more like me. "You know, Cooper loves for people to be around and Axl is just really whiny...". So basically, Tyler thinks I'm a whiny introvert. Thanks again, dude. But in all seriousness, it may be kind of true. :)

Whenever we hear Cooper waking up upset or gets upset in the next room as soon as you come into sight the cry turns into a screechy squeal and her face just lights up; making it hard to put her pacifier in because of her goofy grin! This morning marked the first (atleast that I can remember) time waking up and just cooing in her bed. She doesn't usually get overly loud, but you can tell she's ready for someone to get in there! I got her a new play gym which we keep in the pack 'n play so she can actually play somewhat independently without Axl attacking her. She will just coo and squeal (rather loudly) for quite a while, but definitely lets you know when she's done and ready to move on to something else.

Her schedule has relaxed quite a bit in the last week or two and I am loving it! I could tell she was wanting to drag it out a bit because I was waking her up from her naps, but if I didn't she would end up going to bed way too late because of trying to get that last feeding in. But I finally got up the nerve to play with it a bit and here is what she has kind of set.

about 8 wake up and get Donnatol
8:30 nurse
10 or 10:30 nap
12 or 12:30 wake up and get Donnatol
12:30 or 1 nurse
2 or 2:30 nap
about 4:30 wake up and get Donnatol
5 nurse
6:30 nap
8 wake up and get Donnatol
8:30 nurse
about 9:30 bed
10:30 or 11 dream feed (I added this back in when she stretched her schedule out, so that she would still sleep through the night)

She sleeps through the night and takes 3 FABULOUS naps a day! I was just looking back at Axl's four month post and saw that his naps were still 30 to 45 minutes long and he was eating 6 times a day!! I think I would be dead if Cooper hadn't figured out how to take good nap by now, though I think his issues probably had to do with his reflux at this point because we were just starting the Zantac.

Cooper has her 4 month check up on Friday and I'm anxious to see how much she's grown...and how a double-doctor's appointment goes when both my children are going to be due for shots. ugh. Wish me luck!

1 month old

2 months old3 months old4 months old

Ponytail!

2010-09-19T17:49:00.002-04:00

Such a cutie!

Please, someone tell me what program is good for just sifting through pictures and fixing red-eye. I just want to be able to do it easily as I look through the pictures. Any ideas?

Axl is 2 years old!!

2010-09-19T09:59:00.000-04:00

...and I can't believe it!! Though sometimes it feels like we've been in the terrible two's for a while now! ;)

To celebrate Axl's birthday this year I decided to just have a family party and we invited one of Axl's friends, McKay. Given that our families are large, it was still quite an affair! The theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, as this is Axl's favorite show at the moment. The day that worked out the best for the party was actually the 12th (my birthday), so we attended church, came home to put Axl down for a good nap and the guests started arriving at 5:30. We tried to fill the day with Axl's favorite things: Mickey Mouse (Gickey), pizza (teetza), Toodles (tootie), balloons (this word is essentially unrecognizable unless you are Axl's parents), and Gabi (Babi, meaning ALL of his cousins collectively, ha). The party went extra smooth, as I didn't really have to do anything because we had purchased Papa Murphy's pizza (which didn't end up being very good) the day before, and I also made the cake the day before. Though it was pretty stressful, I was really happy with the cake. The only other cake I had ever decorated was for Axl's 1st birthday, and it was TINY; so this was a challenge, but I did it! Toodle's face was chocolate cake with strawberry filling, and the ears were white cake with strawberry filling, and the icing was buttercream (my first ever successful (meaning it didn't taste like straight butter AND didn't turn to sugar) icing--and I have tried so many times!!) Axl didn't eat much pizza (he's pretty much a hot 'n' ready snob, ha) and as I predicted was much more enamored with the idea of the cake (du-day or birthday) than actually eating it (didn't even take a bite). He did blow out his candle, which surprised me because we haven't been to all that many birthday parties where he would pick up on this...anyway...he had a wonderful time running around with all of his cousins and all in all it was a success!

By the end of the night he was hot mess covered in sucker and ready for a bath!!

Side story: On Sunday, the day of the party, I was packing Axl's church bag and threw in the figurines that I didn't use for the cake. I only used Mickey and Pluto because those are the only characters he has ever acknowledged or talked to me about. As I opened the zipper of his bag in the middle of sacrament meeting, his eyes got so big they looked like they were going to pop out as he reached in a grabbed each of the figurines one by one..."Daaaaaaaaaaisy", "Goo-gee" (goofy), "Ninee" (minnie), "Ga-na" (Donald)! It was one of the cutest, most surprising things. If someone saw me they were probably wanting to lift my jaw up off the floor because I just couldn't believe he knew all of them; he really is a smart boy!!

Mummy Milestone :(

2010-09-18T09:44:00.002-04:00

We can now say that Axl slept his first night ever without a yummy before he turned two--his birthday is tomorrow. Over the last couple of days, at naptime and bedtime, when Axl would go to the little drawer where his yummies are kept, one of them would be "broken". He would bring it to me and tell me it was "break" and needed to go in the "tash". It kind of worried me that he was getting excited about the process, but always, of course, going back to find one that wasn't broken. So, last night, I took the three yummies that were left, broke one (I know, can you believe it!? I am the culprit!), placed it back in the drawer and hid the other two. When Axl found the lone broken yummy, he put it in the trash and went back looking for another. We told him they were all broken and we had put them all in the trash. When we left his room he asked for Mickey and juice, and I got both of them, impressed he had accepted the "broken yummy" situation. It took him a LONG time to go to sleep. And the funny thing was that he would cry, but it was TOTALLY a fake cry, he has become a master whiner! We would go in and he would be EXTRA EXTRA snuggly and tell us to lay our heads on the pillow and tell us the story about "break" and "trash", but never really ask for the yummy. ...but, moral, of the story...he did eventually fall asleep, I think at about 10:30.

So, last night when I went to bed I was most certainly not fake crying. My little boy doesn't have a yummy anymore and it hurts my heart to know that he doesn't. Tyler and I were trying to think of things to compare it to, to try and relate to him. We don't have anything, as adults, that we are attached to because of the comfort it brings us. I determined the closest thing was me trying to go to bed without Tyler. It's really hard for me to fall asleep and it, quite frankly, makes me sad. Tyler responded, "I can go to sleep anywhere". Oh, thanks dude.

Let's hope Axl takes after his dad and isn't as traumatized as he could potentially be. The day so far has been great and he hasn't mentioned the yummy. I'm not looking forward to "mummy" going missing from our vocabulary, either!

Push-ups!

2010-09-17T17:31:00.002-04:00

Broken Yummies.

2010-09-15T20:08:00.003-04:00

Axl got a yummy today which mysteriously had the end snipped off of it. He brought it over to show me and I told him it was broken. "Should we throw it in the trash?" and then he threw it in the trash. Later, in the car, he asked me for his yummy and I reminded him about the broken one and he remembered and told me about the broken yummy, no crying involved.

I'm thinking maybe this will work but am torn between two options. Should they all be "broken" at once or would it be just as traumatic for him to find a broken one every day and then the final day realize there are no more? I'm leaning toward the gradual option, but thinking it may just be delaying the inevitable.

And really, there is a huge part of me that doesn't want to take it away at all, because I want him to have it. Being a mother is both hard and weird.

...and, of course, wonderful when you're not having to take away one of your son's life sources.

Stuck!

2010-09-15T15:04:00.002-04:00

I tried to come quickly when I heard Axl yelling from the living room, "Stuck, stuck, stuck!" When I got there, I found this. He has figured out how to get INTO the shoes, but not OUT. He got even more frustrated when I left to find my camera, and I came back to him pouting, like so. :)

Bo-K!

2010-09-15T13:41:00.007-04:00

Last week, Axl started attending a Mother's Day Out program at Southland Christian Church called the Great Escape. He is in a classroom with about 15-20 kids and several teachers and attends on Tuesday and Wednesday from 9-12. Axl and I went to Wal-Mart before his first day to find a backpack (people laughed at me -really just Tyler-but it's a good thing I did this because ALL the other kids have backpacks!) He picked out this really, really ugly Cars backpack covered with a huge hologram and I just couldn't support the decision. I tricked him into putting it back and found a small, little plain black backpack and jazzed it up a bit with some iron-on lettering and some "tuck" buttons Axl picked out at Hobby Lobby.

The first day went great--he sent me off with a smile while I cried all the way home. Since then, we've had a bit rougher time. The second day he started crying before we even got into the room because you have to pass the play room to get there, and I guess he wanted to go there instead. He had a really rough night this past Monday night, so I wasn't even sure I would take him, but he woke up in a good mood so we went anyway. Tyler picked him up and the teacher said he fussed on and off all day. I was a little frustrated that I had told her about his bunny bear and yummy in the bag and they never got it for him or called me like I asked (since I knew he wasn't feeling great because of the night before). Anyway--he survived. Today he threw himself on the ground as soon as we walked in the door...nice. I reminded her about the yummy and when I picked him up, she told me he had it all day--hopefully this doesn't foil my plan of taking it away next week. I kept trying to get his attention, but he was acting oblivious. As soon as he realized I was there he broke into a huge cry and started telling me he wanted to go "bye-bye". I'm hoping he starts to actually enjoy it. It's hard to tell if he just needs to get used to being away from us (which doesn't make much sense because he goes to nursery at church just fine every week) or if he really just doesn't like it. Do you give a child that age the choice and just quit going after a month or so if he's still having trouble? Anyway, other than the fact that I'm worried about him for the three hours he's there, I am getting a little bit more done and the worry is perhaps worth the lightened load of stress.

We gave it to him the night before his first day and he REALLY liked it. The first day. I did take the headband off his head before we left. :)I love that he is bringing home little art projects. However, it's also funny to distinguish what he actually did. He HATES coloring so I know he didn't do most of this page. The part I believe he did is where you can see he was banging the crayon on the table. :)He pulled the eyes off this little guy before we got it home. Guess I need to take the pictures AT the school! ha

Also--the title. Since the first day, Axl has been saying, "Bo-K" ALL the time. It's different than book, but tells me no when I ask if he's saying box. No idea. Hopefully we'll figure it out soon. Sometimes he gets so frustrated after about a minute of me trying to figure it out that he just changes it to book and accepts one, ha.

It's official.

2010-08-26T15:52:00.002-04:00

We've been waiting to hear about this for a long time. Tyler got the promotion he applied for but will be kept on nights for atleast another 6-8 months. Barf.

That's all I have to say about that.

Problem Solving with the AxMan

2010-08-26T10:52:00.006-04:00

I feel the need to blog a little about Axl. It's been a while since I documented some things about him and his 23 month old self and found a few minutes to actually sit down and do it! (Though this post will most definitely not be overwhelmingly positive, as most of the posts about my kids are, know that I love my children with all my heart and wouldn't trade them for the world!)

He is talking A LOT. We still can't understand many of the words he says, but it seems like everyday I am able to translate one or two more that he has been using a lot. Most words sound at least a little bit like their actual pronunciation, but there are still a few that just have a mind of their own..e.g. blanket=Gigi??

He has consistently gained weight..around the time Cooper was born, Tyler and I noticed that he was getting pretty thick! Right now he weighs about 29 pounds. I don't think he looks too chunky, but he is definitely VERY dense. We can't really figure out how he keeps getting bigger because we have a very finicky eater on our hands. (this is problem #1) He is always wanting snacks and typically will not eat anything we serve him at meal time unless we give him "snacky" foods. Goldfish, gummies, occasionally fruit (grapes, pineapple..but this is hit or miss). There are a few "meal-type" foods he will eat most of the time (tortellini, chili, pizza (teetza), and hamburger and rice), so I try to fix these often. He is a juice monster. If I give him milk and he wanted juice, he throws the cup, refuses to drink it, and sometimes goes into tantrum mode. (of course we address the throwing...and the tantrum). Because he has been such a poor eater, he would go evenings without eating anything, which started a bad habit (my fault completely). I felt bad that he hadn't eaten anything, and didn't want him to go to bed hungry, so I would send him to bed with a sippy cup of milk because I'd always find it empty when I went in to check on him. I was always so prideful in the fact that I never gave him a bottle in the bed...then I realized..."um, JoAnna...this is the same thing.". So..,.as of two days ago, no sippy cups in the bedroom. He asked me for it last night, but went to sleep fine after I left.

He is crazily attached to his yummy and bunny bear. They have become a package deal. Both are, in theory, confined to the bed, but if he finds one or the other, he starts frantically looking for the counterpart. He only gets them in the bed, unless we are going out, at which time he almost always gets them in order to keep him quiet in certain places, or to ward off an upcoming tantrum in the middle of a public place. (Case in point...I just noticed that the gate was open when I heard Axl scrambling up the stairs...by the time I made it up there he was already ON TOP of the counter getting into the storage drawers where we have decided to keep the yummies and bunny bears; thought they were inaccessible..wow.)

(Now for problem #2) He watches ENTIRELY too much TV. Shrek was our savior around the time we brought Cooper home from the hospital and it kind of morphed into us having the TV on for the better part of the day. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't actively watch the tv all of that time, but it has definitely become our "go-to" in bad situations...How about some Mickey, Axl?

(and problem #3) He is B.A.D. Any of you reading this are probably saying, "oh my, I can't believe she's saying this about her child!"...but really, I have no qualms saying this because I KNOW that's how little boys are SUPPOSED to be. Their mothers, however, are supposed to be able to find a way to cope and not go completely crazy, which I currently am in the middle of. On our way home on Monday from a weekend trip to Tyler's cousin's house, it just completely hit me that we DO NOT have control of things. I started crying as I came to the realization that we were going home and another week was starting of Axl finding everything possible he knows he's not supposed to be into (kitchen cabinets, desk drawers, doors to places he's not supposed to be (even though we have the doorknob thingies), climbing on our desks to find things like screws and scissors, tantrum throwing over the slightest correction, yelling and pointing his finger at us as we're trying to discipline him, just overall craziness.

As Tyler and I talked about it on the way home, we made some realizations.
1. He is snacking too much! I wonder why he doesn't want to eat the lunch I've prepard him when his "stick" (pretzels) bowl has been on tap since 10:30...
2. He is BORED. For the better part of Axl's life, he has been on a schedule...and it worked beautifully. As he got older and more independent, it kind of just became a free-for-all. The only thing sure to be in the schedule was a BIG NAP! Especially when Cooper came along, schedule mode went to her. I wonder why he is getting into anything and everything in the house when he is expected to stay in the same room with the same huge overwhelming assortment of toys he sees everyday...

The past three or four days have been devoted to fixing these problems...I purchased the Babywise II book (5-15 months) which I had never read, thinking it would be helpful in the coming months with Cooper. It had a LOT of pointers on what I could do with Axl! It reminded me that keeping a schedule is a good thing, and we have implemented a few suggestions regarding room playtime and designated time set aside to play with mom and dad.

The first day of our schedule was magical. He was in time out ONE TIME. Did you hear me??? ONE TIME. I couldn't believe it...and I shouldn't have, ha, because the next days didn't go nearly as smoothly, but still overwhelmingly better than they had been.

So, that's where we are. Trying every day to keep things at bay while Axl moves through this toddler phase. People keep telling me, "I promise it won't last forever" and I just say, "well, I should hope he won't be throwing himself to the floor, baring teeth, screaming wildly when his teacher asks him to wash his hands."

Love you, little guy.

Cooper is 3 months old!

2010-08-24T21:06:00.003-04:00

I really can't believe it. She is growing up so fast and it is such a different experience than a first child. I felt like time flew and I missed things with Axl, but this is that feeling magnified! It seems like we just brought her home from the hospital and it has already been THREE MONTHS!

She is such a blessing. The medications, I'll say it again, have just saved us. She is so very comfortable and just really a cheesy, goofy, happy baby nearly all the time. We do have to keep her schedule pretty set, but I've found that I really like it that way. She wakes up in the morning between 7 and 8...I'm working on making it a more consistent 7:45-8 wake-up time. She gets Donnatol every 3 hours, and eats 30 minutes after each dose. Her waketime is an hour a half, followed by an hour and a half nap. At this point she either has a good nap day (all of them go well) or a bad nap day (waking up early from all of them); on the bad nap days, she typically wakes up in the night and the good nap days makes for a sound night's sleep. Babies and their sleep is such a mystery to me... She goes to bed between 9 and 9:30, I wake her up for a dreamfeed at about 11:30 and then she sleeps through until morning. I'm hoping that within the next month or so we'll cut out the dreamfeed, but I'm afraid to do it yet.

She loves the boys--just like Axl was, we have found that if Tyler is in the room when I'm feeding her, he can't talk, or she's just craning away trying to find him. I've caught the two kids smiling at each other a lot lately and Axl has started asking to give her a hug and a kiss. She is always smiling after; even if his idea of a hug is barreling his noggin, and subsequently the rest of his body weight, into her tummy while she's sitting in the bouncy seat (scaring me to death).

She doesn't much like tummy time, and I haven't helped the situation by NEVER doing it in order to avoid an Axl attack. But we've made use of his nap time the past couple of days, so hopefully those shoulders will start to strengthen up and she'll begin to enjoy it.

Cooper, we love you and can't believe your little life is moving so fast! Slow down, little girl, and let us enjoy it!

A little confused??

2010-08-24T17:34:00.005-04:00

I think Axl is a little confused about which toys are his and which toys are the baby's. He set this up for himself this afternoon. :)

Also--as I was typing that I overheard Axl say, "hug". I looked over and he was giving Coop a hug. After he was done, he laughed at her smiling and said "tiss", leaned down and gave her a kiss, complete with the "mmmmmm".

Hamilton Family Reunion

2010-08-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

The Hamilton Family Reunion was an interesting weekend to say the least. On a whim, I took both kids up the day before we planned to leave with Jay's family, without Tyler. Axl refused to go to sleep in the van--we didn't get there until like 11:30 or 12, but both kids went down fine once we got there. I stayed up and talked until about 2:30 and Axl woke up at 3:30, refusing to go back to sleep. At home, we would have made sure everything was ok and let him cry it out (which really doesn't ever happen), but we could have atleast let him cry. I couldn't do that because there were so many people around. He ended up waking up Cooper and I had to nurse
her to get her to go back to sleep, which I haven't done in a while. Axl didn't go back to sleep until 7. In the meantime I called Tyler at 4:30 in the morning asking what exactly I was supposed to do with two screaming children in the middle of nowhere with 20 other people in the house and no car...to which he had no answer. We all slept from 7-8, after which I called Tyler and informed him that he needed to take the day off and get to Tar Fork ASAP because doing tired cranky Axl on about 45 minutes sleep myself is just not an option. The rest of the weekend was a great time. Lots of catching up and pinochle. Tyler and I pretty much just swapped shifts at the creek, where Axl camped out. We have, perhaps, decided though, that in order to remember that weekend trips ARE NOT a good idea, to just ban them for the next 6 months or so. We always forget how tough it is and get all excited, only to spend the weekend feeling like our heads are going to explode. We're hoping if we give him a little time Axl will be more manageable.

Tyler's Birthday/Cooper's Blessing

2010-08-14T09:03:00.009-04:00

Cooper and her daddy seem to be sharing a lot of days; her first Sunday to church was on Father's Day and her blessing day fell on Tyler's birthday!

The day before the blessing was the Wade Family Reunion, so we asked my parents if they'd take Axl from there and keep him overnight so we could celebrate Tyler's birthday that night. We met Young at Catherine at Jalapenos and had a yummy dinner, then headed to the movies, with Cooper in tow, to see Inception. Cooper did ok in the movie but I spent the majority of it sitting with her in the isle. She did let out a huge belch right in the middle of a really quiet part that gave us all a good laugh. :)

Coop was lucky enough to share her blessing day with both of her cousins, Maya and Lola. It was such a special day and we FILLED the chapel with Hamiltons, Coopers, and tons of friends! My mom and I picked out a special blessing dress for Cooper that had matching socks, I got little infant bracelets for all three of the girls, and the talented Shawna made Cooper a beautiful bonnet. She could not have looked cuter! The morning started off a little rough for us--my mom called me on her way there telling me she needed extra clothes for Axl because he had puked. I later found out he puked ALL the way to Nicholasville from Paris...I'm so grateful my parents had him that morning to take care of him because I think if he were with us, Cooper would not have been getting blessed that day. Axl didn't feel well all day and we think he may have been suffering from heat exhaustion from the day before at the park. After church we all went to the Hamiltons' house for lunch and cupcakes. It was a great day to spend with family and friends, and even though she won't remember it, a very special day for our little Cooper Jay.

Since the family reunion was the day previous, Cooper had some special out-of-town guests for her blessing. Mamaw Fox (My dad's mom) and Bill were in from Michigan, Johnny (my dad's brother) was in from Tennessee, Jeff (another of my dad's brothers) and Chris were in from Utah! And of course we were just as happy to see those that live close and came to celebrate with us!!I'm including this picture because I think it's funny that my dad and I are sitting the exact same way. When we got home on Sunday night, we had a family movie night. Axl has started cuddling with his dad like this when they watch tv and that day he was especially cuddly because he was sick :(

Please bless Papaw...

2010-08-11T22:06:00.003-04:00

Axl and I pray together every night before he goes to bed, but I gave up a long time ago on getting him to actually participate with words; he refuses to say anything or repeat anything, so we both fold our arms, I close my eyes, and say the prayer, and at the end he shouts, "AMEN".

Two nights ago though, I have my eyes closed, going through our typical prayer, "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for this day. We're thankful for our family, Daddy, Mama, Axl and Cooper. Please bless us with a good night's...(Axl interjects)PAPAW!...Please bless Papaw." I opened my eyes to look at him and he's just bursting with pride and a big ol' grin.

Now we know that Axl is thankful for his Papaw. :)

Ice Cream!

2010-08-09T16:36:00.003-04:00

Axl finally decided to try out an ice cream cone...and actually kind of liked it :)

Rosie

2010-08-09T16:22:00.004-04:00

We dog sat for Tom and Bonnie for the weekend and Axl had a great time with Rosie! She is definitely a puppy and Axl lost a few items of clothing out of the deal, but it was worth it and we had a great time with her! Axl liked to peek out from behind the columns on the porch at her and say, "Heyyoooo". Every morning since she left, Axl has gone to the back door calling, "Puppy, puppy!"

Wade Family Reunion

2010-08-07T17:25:00.001-04:00

This reunion is for my dad's side of the family. It's an annual event and this year it was ESPECIALLY HOT! It is held at a park, where we have a potluck lunch, let the kids run around on the playground, and play lots of Bingo! Axl had an absolute blast playing with his cousins and running and running and running and running and running...getting WAY too hot and not drinking enough...perhaps resulting in a mild case of heat exhaustion the next morning. We had a great time, but were ALL relieved to get into some air conditioning!

What a man, What a man...

2010-08-04T12:53:00.004-04:00

What a mighty good man!

This afternoon as I was hectically running around trying to get everything together to take the kids tonight up to Tar Fork for the Hamilton Family Reunion without Tyler because he has to work tomorrow, someone rang the doorbell. I was sure it was Kate, Matthew came to visit for a while today, but I opened the door to find a big bouquet of chocolate covered fruit! I've got a "mighty good man"! Yummy!

Excited for smiles!

2010-07-29T15:51:00.006-04:00

Cooper is really starting to interact with us! occasionally Daddy will get a smile, and sometimes I'll catch her smiling at big brother...but these were ALL mine!

and if you look closely at the last one you can see those lashes sprouting as Axl's did at about this age... :)

Jessamine County Water Park

2010-07-24T13:10:00.000-04:00

What a difference a year makes! I thought we had fun last summer taking Axl to the pool, but this trip was a totally different story! My mom came down and kept the girl while Tyler and I took him to the water park for the morning. John and Erin joined us with Abby! The height of the water where all the kiddie slides and fountains are was perfect for the Axman! He ran around like a monkey and we just followed him everywhere he went! I'm so glad he doesn't seem to be afraid of the water, but sometimes he does get a little too big for his britches, so we've gotta stay on our toes! Hopefully we'll get a couple more trips in before the summer's end!

Unless we had blocks for dinner last night...

2010-07-23T20:00:00.002-04:00

...he doesn't get it.

Three Year Anniversary!

2010-07-23T17:42:00.004-04:00

We celebrated a little early this year, on Saturday, since Tyler works nights throughout the week. We took Axl over to Grandma's house and Cooper tagged along (she was a decent 3rd wheel and just slept the whole time, ha). Our first date was at Culver's so that is where we decided to celebrate...also, one of my favorite things in the world is a good cheeseburger and my post-pregnancy diet has not allowed any of those lately! Since life with 2 kids doesn't allow for much alone time, Tyler and I had a great time catching up, having adult conversation, and reminiscing over the last 3 and a half years in that same booth! :) I love him more everyday and I love little experiences that remind me of that. (like looking over and seeing him cuddle our two children...too cute for words)

On our actual anniversary, Tyler came home from work with a dozen roses and I had a spice cake waiting for him. (epic failure, by the way--maybe by our 50th anniversary I'll be able to make a decent cake)

Cooper is 2 months old!

2010-07-21T12:59:00.000-04:00

2 month stats:

Weight: 11 pounds 14 ounces 75th percentile

Height: 24 inches 90th percentile

Head Circumference: 38.5 cm 55th percentile

Our little girl is just growing and growing. I cannot express how grateful we are to have worked out her issues and to finally be able to enjoy having a second child. She is on two medicines, Zantac morning and night, and Donnatol, which she gets 30 minutes before she eats. Donnatol, once we worked out the schedule, has literally saved our lives. She is on a pretty strict 3 hour eating schedule, so that we can ensure she has the Donnatol on her tummy the right amount of time, but the schedule is definitely suiting her well. She is awake for and hour and a half and then typically takes an hour and a half nap. Now this has only been going smoothly for about a week, so I hope it continues! And even bigger news...She has been sleeping through the night for about 2 weeks! She lies down shortly after Axl goes to bed and I wake her up to feed her at 11 or 11:30 and then she doesn't wake up until between 7 and 8. I am of the opinion that Babywise is just magical. I started it with Axl at about 3 or 4 months so we didn't reap the full benefits (he was still waking up to eat in the night at 6 months), but it has just worked wonders with Cooper. I think it definitely helps with her reflux and colic to be on a good schedule.

Her waketime is full of fun; she is giggling a little bit, cooing, and her arms and legs move at about 90 miles an hour while she lies under her toys. She just started to be able to hold her head up a little in the last couple of days.

Most of the time Axl doesn't really care what's going on with her, but I thought I'd note that whenever we leave a room or get out of the car, he ALWAYS reminds me to get the baby. Which is good, I guess, because we wouldn't want to leave her behind. :)

I can't, for the life of me, get Tyler to stop calling her "little David". I think he calls her this more than he does Cooper. I do agree that she looks like my brother, but she is a girl for goodness sakes!

Happy two months, Cooper Jay!

1 month old 6/21/2010

2 months old 7/21/2010

Updates!

2010-07-21T10:05:00.000-04:00

Axl and Axl Bear...the Year in Review
It's official...I'm a Graduate!
Hey, It's Mario!
Oh, Christmas Tree
Thanksgiving
Hair brushing!
Favorite Place in the House!
Christmas!
Finally, some teeth to brush!
Visit with Savannah Rayne
Hamilton Family Cruise 2010
Snow? No, Thanks.
Catherine's Wedding
First Steps
We're talking! ...a little.
Erin's Book Shower
Big News
Date Confusion
It's a...
Axl loves his Papaw
Tennessee Getaway
Dr. Fade and Axl's First Haircut
Swimming Hole
First Trip to the Zoo
Axl is 11 months old!
Gasp! Axl is one year old!
12 month stats

Bathed babes in clean sheets...

2010-07-20T22:08:00.002-04:00

...it's a good night. :)

He woke up when the flash went off, whipped his head around, pulled out his yummy, said, "teeeeeeeese", and made this face. oh, my how I love him.

Big Boy...Big Bed

2010-07-19T21:46:00.002-04:00

If this sticks...the toddler bed stage was insanely short. He asked to lie down in the twin bed for nap this afternoon (in the picture). And then again tonight he wanted to go to bed there. He really loves the fluffy "pwoes" (pillows). :) It was more fun to lie down with him for a minute in the twin bed than it is in the toddler bed (glad no one has a picture of that, ha!). We talked for a bit while we listened to the thunder and "wai" (rain). Glad we're still finding time for just the two of us.

Sweet Relief

2010-07-17T07:36:00.002-04:00

Honestly...I had never imagined having a baby with colic. I had heard about it, even talked to people who had "colicky" babies, felt bad for them, and NEVER gave it a second thought. Until Cooper. This experience has definitely been an eye-opener for me. Perhaps the hardest thing I've dealt with thus far in my life...When the bouts of crying and projectile vomiting (from the reflux) started I would guess she was about 1-2 weeks old. I felt helpless and so sorry for this little child who had no idea what was going on and couldn't tell us what to do to make it better. As they continued I didn't necessarily notice the change in myself, but things were definitely getting bad. I felt like I was fighting a battle that had no end, no hope, and honestly, I just started to shut down. Each day I went through the motions, tried to schedule someone to be here from the time Axl woke from his nap to when he went to bed (and Tyler was at work) at which times she usually slept soundly until they walked out the door. and then the screaming resumed for me. One specific day I remember thinking that I was definitely going crazy. That if someone came to my house and spoke with me, they would admit me into an insane asylum; I prayed that things would get better. It was the next day that Cooper did something Axl used to do when he nursed, stop for a while, look up, and give me a big, huge smile. It was at that moment that I realized that I wasn't even really looking at her as a person anymore. Just something that I was trying to SURVIVE. Heavenly Father and Cooper both knew that I needed something to wake me up, remind me that I have a daughter...and it worked. I had resisted calling the doctor as so many people kept suggesting to say, "my baby cries all the time" for fear that the response would be, "that's what babies do". and then I'm not sure what I would do to the person on the other end of the line. But I believe it was that next day that I made the call. After explaining everything the nurse called back, gave me some coping strategies (all of which we had tried) and said that the doctor did want to see her again. So we went back, which I already wrote about, and she has been on the Donnatol since. The first few days were TERRIBLE. She vomited probably 3-4 times as much and began puking up both the donnatol and the zantac. I remember telling Tyler that I was about to quit both the medicines, because it seemed they were making her vomit even more, when Bonnie came over one Thursday evening to help out. We trouble shot some of the dosing things...(the script was written for .5 every 4 hours, but she eats about every 3 hours and she should have the medicine on her stomach for it to work), so anyway, long story short, we came up with something that is working BEAUTIFULLY, a pretty rigid schedule, but it is definitely working and totally worth it. It is seriously like we have a different child. Sure, we have some colic episodes breaking through on occassion, but I am so rested that I can totally handle it without feeling at all like I did before. She is doing fabulously. It is so wonderful to see her be happy and content. I definitely hope we can keep this up and that she outgrows the medicine soon so we can just be! :)

Getting a little daring...

2010-07-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

I've never had to worry about being one of those moms who says, "oh, he can't have that", "I don't like him to have too much sugar!", or "no ice cream!", because frankly, I knew that by whomever, however, and whenever it was offered to him, he would just snarl up his nose and walk away. Secretly, I was actually wishing he could enjoy things like ice cream as much as I do! Well, I still offer him creamy sweets every once in a while (side note: he has never refused a cookie or a popsicle, though, ha) and just the other night, he finally decided to discover chocolate and pudding all in the same sitting!

The Many Faces of Medicated Cooper

2010-07-12T20:33:00.003-04:00

Who knew this little girl could make a face other than the gaping-mouth scream we've all gotten accustomed to... :)

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-12T20:14:00.007-04:00

We returned to fabulous Karen's house this year for the 4th of July. Just like last year, we had a blast! I was very worried that it would be a miserable trip considering our fussy infant and ON-THE-GO toddler. However, the life jacket we bought last year proved to be a real "lifesaver"...Axl just ran around the pool all day (and by all day I mean it...he wore all the skin off the bottoms of his feet on the first day so he could stand on them without sandals on the rest of the trip!) and something about Tennessee brought the absolute best out of baby Coop.

Cooper had her first swim...at first she didn't like it much, but very quickly decided she could relax!

Axl being his goofy self...eating a hamburger.

getting his flirt on, he really LOVED Sonia

trying to get a picture of them together...nearly impossible

Karen bought the little kids bubble wands...Axl tried his heart out but mostly just licked it.

Dad tried to convince Axl that he liked the sparklers, but it didn't work.And ALL the kiddo cousins together!

Thank you, Karen and Dave, for a GREAT weekend!

Jaxon's Birthday

2010-07-11T17:03:00.000-04:00

One of my best friend's from high school, Julie, now has a son named Jaxon who turned a year old this month. Axl was invited to his birthday party, so while Granny kept the little girl, Tyler and I used it as an opportunity to get out with the little man. :) It was great to see some old high school friends, Axl wore himself out chasing around their children, and we loved watching little Jaxon tear into his cake! They pretty much could care less about each other at this point, but I hope in the future they become great friends, just like their mothers! I sure do miss those old marching band, young womens, and seminary days! :)

Big Mistake

2010-07-10T21:33:00.001-04:00

Today, after deciding that Axl needed a trim,I took him to Kiddie Kutters. Upon entering the door Axl decided to completely lose it. I had to hold him with all my strength, maneuvering his flailing, screaming, absolutely ridiculously acting self for the hairstylist...eventually forcing her to take off MUCH more than I wanted all the while getting slathered in spit, tears, sucker, and finally, hair. I will never do it again. I hate it. Please grow back.

Wait a second...I DIDN'T forget Father's Day!

2010-07-08T21:18:00.006-04:00

In typical fashion for our marriage, (neither of us have an ounce of patience when it comes to gift giving), I had given Tyler his Father's Day present a little early...Catherine took these photos while we were visiting in Iowa. We really LOVE them!

And Tyler...shame on you for not reminding me you'd already received your present! haha :)

During the same photo shoot, Catherine also captured the most hilarious picture of all time.
Love you and miss you Aunt Catherine! Thanks again!

Cooper Update

2010-07-06T20:20:00.001-04:00

We're still giving Zantac twice daily, still projectile vomiting at least once daily and most days (with the glorious exception of this past weekend) are pretty rough. We had another appointment with the doctor today (side note: she weighs 11 pounds 5 ounces) and he tried to refer us to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist but they gave us an appointment for October 7th..hmmm..he says, "don't worry, I'll have her well by then". :) We started Donnatol every four hours for "colic". If she's not better in two weeks he will send us to Cincinnati Children's (I definitely didn't get the impression this was because it was extremely serious--just that they could see us sooner than UK). Keep her in your prayers as I don't feel 100% great about giving her so much medicine all the time...I just hope we get this figured out soon.

Baby Jennifer

2010-06-28T12:03:00.003-04:00

Cooper met another one of her many peers :)
Jennifer IdaMay was born June 4th, at 8:22 am.
She was 7 pounds 9 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Jennifer is the daughter of Luke and Kate, a couple of our best friends! I'm sure these girls will be spending a lot of time together in the future. :)

Father's Day and Coop's First Sunday at Church

2010-06-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Life has proven to be entirely too stressful for me with two kids and I have to admit that I came extremely close to completely forgetting Father's Day this year. I distinctly remember having several conversations with people about Father's Day...I just didn't make the connection in my brain that I do, in fact, have dependents who are unable to put a gift together themselves, who have a father, my husband...Someone very deserving of a holiday held in his honor!

Axl and I did remember, though, just in time and picked up a fun activity for Axl and Daddy to do together. Cooper can watch. ;)

Two water guns!After church we went to Tyler's parents' house to have lunch. We tried to take a picture of the family to document Cooper's first Sunday at church, but by the time we got everyone together, both kids had pooped all over their special outfits and Tyler had given up and changed...ha. So this is what we got. Maybe I'll recreate it another time. :)

Axl, having a little fun during wardrobe change...That evening we headed to Paris to meet up with my family. We had a great dinner and the kids had a great time (between fighting over toys) playing together :)

And...I got to wish MY DAD a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

It was a great day...one of those days that is pretty stressful dragging around kids everywhere, but totally worth it to spend time with those you love!

For the Record

2010-06-22T17:15:00.002-04:00

It was brought to my attention this past Sunday that a lot of people are seeing this mohawk and think that we are styling it this way. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all this hair. But, probably like her in the future, I don't particularly "like" the part and cowlick that form this phenomenon. :)

Cooper is one month old!

2010-06-21T11:43:00.006-04:00

Wow. Time flies.

A month has passed and it feels just like yesterday that I was hating pregnant life. I'm most definitely glad that I'm not pregnant anymore, but a newborn has its own set of stresses.

We love little Cooper to death, but she sure is a handful. As a newborn, Axl didn't cry real tears. I remember asking people, "When do babies start crying real tears??". I don't think I actually wrote down when he started but it was well into his first year. I knew I was in trouble when I saw those first tears roll from this little drama queen's eyes IN THE HOSPITAL.

Don't get me wrong, she really does have a lot to cry about. She has been diagnosed with reflux and put on Zantac (1.5 mL twice daily) due to projectile vomiting and pretty constant discomfort. All the crying leads to gas and more gas so she gets several doses of Mylicon a day which doesn't seem to make a lick of difference. She has a definite "fussy" period each night, usually lasting about 2 hours starting at 7 or 8. This consists of inconsolable crying which breaks my heart/drives me entirely insane. :(

In the past couple of days though, we have seen our first smiles. The Zantac has brought us atleast a little bit of pleasant waketime throughout the day. She nurses about every 3 hours. A couple of nights during this first month she tricked us into thinking she would sleep five hour stretches...but it was just a tease. :) Dad will often bring her downstairs after a middle of the night feeding when she is confused and wants some waketime/screamtime. (btw Tyler is being very helpful! Much more helpful than with Axl, which is saving my sanity.) We're pressing on with Babywise (a different experience for me since I didn't start it with Axl until he was like 2 or 3 months old). She hasn't gotten the hang of it yet, but I'm hoping things will work themselves out in the next couple of weeks.

Axl and Cooper have a love/hate relationship. One second he wants to kiss her, and the next he is in attack mode; charging across the room, hand raised, ready to smack her. I'll take an opportunity here to check in with our little man. Boy, did he have a rough first week. The first two days he was totally enamored...crouching down beside wherever the baby was and talking in a high pitched little squeal. Then it was a like switch was flipped. He started acting out, trying to hit her at times, and just generally sour. Tantrums galore and really worrying us. The weeks since though he has made leaps and bounds of improvements. I don't feel as guilty as I did at first; I spent many nights crying. Feeling as if I'd taken his "babyhood" away before we could really sit down and reason with him what was going on. All he knew was that every time he looked over I was holding this new thing and unable to hold his hand and let him take me somewhere (his favorite thing to do). Each day seems to go a little smoother and I'm extremely grateful for that. I know in years to follow, they will both be happy they have a sibling so close in age.

Of course, before Cooper was born, Daddy and I went and made a "Cooper Bear" in order to continue with the same monthly pictures. :) And Axl's gift to Cooper in the hospital was her own pink "bunny bear".One Month Old 6/21/2010We love you, little girl, and hope we can help you to feel better soon! :)

Axl's Photo of the Day

2010-06-21T11:40:00.001-04:00

...Where does he even find this stuff...

Triplets

2010-06-21T11:12:00.003-04:00

...the set of Hamilton triplets is complete! ...though one of their last names is Diaz :)

Maya Naomi Diaz arrived on June 13th, 2010 weighing in at 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches.

Here is the first (of many, I'm sure) picture of the three of them.

Cooper, Lola, Maya

Baby Lola and a house FULL of fun!

2010-06-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law, Brooke, had her baby, Lola Glow Hamilton on June 4th, 2010 at 11:01 pm. She was 8 pounds 1 ounce and has beautiful red hair :)

So, speaking of red heads... we were able to have the other three over to our house for a fun-filled cousin sleepover the night that Jay, Brooke, and Lola came home from the hospital. We all had such a good time, especially Axl...I think he gets bored around here with two adults with lots of stuff to do and a baby slug that can't move around anywhere...and his cousins are SOOO good to him! :)

During our Shrek marathon Ava and Asha had TONS of fun with the blocks. This is one of the countless awesome giraffes Asha built because Axl the Destructor kept attacking them!

Uncle Tyler and I tried to move it to the top of the shelves so that he couldn't get to it, but we ended up destroying one of them as well...So sorry, Ash...

Ava's castleBecause of the new baby, I couldn't be very hands-on in keeping the kids entertained. I was surprised (but shouldn't have been) at how great Tyler was. He jumped right in there and had a blast with them playing dodge ball. I loved watching them play!

The girls' fort

Rock's fort

I am so glad that my kids have so many cousins that live so close since we live pretty close to both of our families. He already loves all of them so much...two of the very few people he calls by name are Rockwell and Gabi (...and Gabi refers to both Gabi and Elena...I guess they are a package deal!)

Anyway, you readheads better be ready for another sleepover soon because we had too much fun with our Shrek marathon, block building, dodgeball, cereal and popsicle dinner and early morning dodgeball to wait too long for another! :)

Our Afternoon

2010-06-15T17:07:00.004-04:00

We finally got a sizeable pool! (The one we had before was about a foot in diameter...not exaggerating.) Axl, willingly, stayed outside for more than 20 minutes today...
and it was GREAT!

We sure do make cute kids...

2010-06-06T10:39:00.001-04:00

...If I do say so myself!