Thursday, June 27, 2013

Hilton Head Family Vacation

We were able to spend a wonderful, fun-filled week in Hilton Head.  We had a great time swimming at the pool, playing in the ocean, riding bikes, fishing, holding alligators and riding the golf carts.  Such a special time we were able to share with our family.

 Breakfast with William; these two are best buddies
 Had so much fun at the beach splashing in waves, finding sea shells and building sand castles.






 The famous Hilton Head Light House.  On the way I saw an alligator!

 Bike ride along the beach





 Cooper had so much fishing with Daddy and Gumpa.  They caught 4 fish!



 Was pretty tricky trying to catch a good picture of Nana, Gumpa and the Grandsons.  This one was just hilarious and pretty much summed up the week.



Cooper got to hold a baby alligator, he was so brave!
 A slip at the pool resulted in a trip to the ER for 5 stitches, a pirate band aide, and best of all, a popsicle at the end for being so brave.

 Enjoying smores by the campfire.  This must have been prior to consumption because Coop was a sticky chocolate mess when he was finished ;)
More fun at the beach!






Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Fun-Filled May!

This will be a pretty random post, we have been quite busy since the last time I wrote!  Field trips, graduations, Track and Field Day, Mother's Day, and a visit from Grandma Cyndie and Grandpa Carroll.

I was able to join Cooper's class on their field trip a few weeks ago.  We went and saw a puppet show downtown but the real highlight was getting to ride on the school bus!


May 4th is known to some as Star Wars Day.  "May the fourth be with you."  My little Star Wars fan and I went to a Star Wars Party at Wild Rumpus Bookstore.  Cooper decided he should wear his Star Wars Halloween costume to celebrate the occasion ;)  He asked where my costume was and was a bit surprised when I told him I didn't have any Star Wars gear.


There was a Mother's Tea at Cooper's Preschool.  A very special morning where we enjoyed ice cream sandwiches, a song by the class, and were presented with hand-painted bird houses and a handprint bouquet of flowers on a laminated place mat.  Cooper had so much fun showing we around his room and participating in a variety of activities the teachers had set up.  Mother's Day was also very nice.  The boys treated me to a really great day full of quality time together and some relaxation all on my own.  Both very much appreciated!  I feel so lucky to be the mother of these two amazing little boys.  They bring smiles to my face each and every day.



Cooper had Track and Field day at school and Jennon was able to be a helper.  He took Cooper and two other little boys around to their events which included, trike race, weight lifting, sack race, rolling down the hill, bouncy house, balance beam, long jump etc.  Jennon said it was a really fun morning and the day came to a close with a medal ceremony and visit from the ice cream truck!  We really can't say enough great things about Cooper's preschool.  The teachers and staff have been so wonderful and have provided Cooper with a year full of amazing experiences.




Last week Drew had his graduation from ECFE.  So crazy to think how much this sweet little buddy has grown and developed since he started in the fall.  At that time he couldn't even walk and said very few words.  He is now completely on the move, often running everywhere he goes, and is chatting up a storm.  He has developed a real love for basketball and will shout out, "Basketball!" which actually sounds more like bicycle whenever he sees a basketball hoop while we are driving in the car.  Whenever he is at kids gym, Lifetime Childcare, he bee lines it to the basketball court and tries to make baskets.  He is also quite the climber.  I was at the kitchen sink the other morning and turned around to see him sitting up on one of the bar stools!  He also had a blast running through the sprinkler the other day when it was actually warm enough this year. Below is a picture from Drew's first day of school and a few from his graduation day ;)




Today's was Cooper's last day of school.  They had a performance of songs they sang and then a cookie and juice reception in the gym.  We actually made a special trip to Yo Yo's Donuts before school to celebrate the special occasion with Cooper's favorite donuts.  Cooper did a great job singing along to most of the songs and gave us a few waves while up on stage.  We will definitely miss Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Cyndee next year.  We were writing them thank you notes this morning and this is what Cooper said he wanted to write.  "Thank you for being my teachers.  Thank you for teaching me to write, play nice, and love God."  Doesn't get much sweeter than that!  The first picture below is from Cooper's first day of preschool, the second was taken today.  I can't believe how much he has grown up!





Last weekend Grandma Cyndie and Grandpa Carroll came up to visit.  We celebrated their birthday's, Gavin's birthday, and Mother's Day.  Although Saturday morning was rainy, it cleared up by the afternoon and we were able to enjoy time relaxing and playing outside.  It was a really nice weekend full of light saber battles and snuggles while reading books.
Although a little fuzzy below is a pic of the whole gang at The Gold Nugget.


Looking forward to a fun-filled summer!







Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

We had a fun-filled week with Auntie and William, or "Wee-yah," as Drew calls him, visiting for Auntie's spring break.  Drew and William had fun racing cars and Cooper and William got in some pretty hilarious wrestling matches.  Every morning William would wake asking for "Dew" and "Pooper."  The boys had a great time hunting for Easter eggs at Nana and Gumpa's and celebrating Auntie's birthday.

Easter morning we had another Easter egg hunt at our house.  This year it had to be inside because our yard is sadly still covered in quite a bit of snow.  Off to church we went and then to Nana and Gumpa's for tasty Easter lunch.  It took a little convincing to get Cooper to wear his bow tie.  We had to show him pictures of Super Man wearing a tie, Daddy also had to wear a tie, and then he decided it maybe wasn't so bad.

Cooper and Jennon then spent the rest of the afternoon assembling and riding Cooper's new bike!  He is in heaven!  His pure joy and excitement took me right back to the days when I was little and would do nothing but ride my bike around the neighborhood for hours on end.  I definitely see that in Cooper's future.   It has been a great week full of wonderful memories.  Happy Easter!






Drew loved the stickers he found in some of the eggs, decided to wear them all at once ;) 
Ready for church!




Sunday, March 10, 2013

Drew is now 18 months!

The little guy is actually getting close to 19 months by now but I am a little behind posting and he was a week or two late getting his 18 month check up.  Other than his weight being a little low all is going well for Drewbird.

A few of Drew's new favorite things:
Game-Playing Hide and Seek or racing around/climbing on the couch
Toys-Cars, puzzles, light sabers
Book-Roadwork, Brothers Forever (melts my heart about the second one)
Food-Hummus and crackers

Growth stats:
Height-33 in, 67%
Weight-23lbs, 22%
Head-19.75 in, 96%

He is a spunky little guy with a sense of humor that has us laughing and shaking our heads on a daily basis.  He also continues to be a cuddle bug right before bedtime much to my delight!

Cooper is also continuing to grow, develop and keep us on our toes!  He is really enjoying preschool and has been busy all winter with swim lessons.  He has made some great progress with his skills and comfort level in the water and is already asking when we can go to the Edina pool.  I keep telling him, sadly not for awhile ;(

 Drew LOVES Gus, and thought he would enjoy a monster truck massage.

 Loving some banana pancakes for breakfast!
 Helping me shovel the snow by taking it from the side and throwing it onto the sidewalk ;)
 Coop enjoying his banana pancake on his first Snow Day from school!
 Silly guy at dinner
All ready for Wacky Day at school.  Cooper picked out his own outfit and LOVED his Electricity Man hair!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Las Vegas and Ice Castles

Jennon was in Las Vegas for work so I joined him once his conference wrapped up.  Joel and Kelly joined us there on Friday.  The boys went gambling while Kelly and I spent the afternoon at an amazing spa.  I realized my body is great at relaxing, my mind, not so much.  My parent's stayed with the boys at our house and other than my mom and Drew catching colds I think everyone had a lot of fun.  I was only gone for three days and two nights but I sure missed those little guys!  Missing the boys aside, it was a really fun trip and I'm so thankful we went.
I took the boys to the Ice Castles in Bloomington today.  They LOVED it!  It really was impressive, I can't imagine how enormous it all seemed to them.  Definitely a fun way to embrace this Minnesota winter!







Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Dad's and Doughnuts

Jennon and Cooper had such a special morning together today.  It was Dad's and Doughnuts Day at Cooper's preschool.  They got to enjoy Yo Yo's Doughnuts, Cooper and Jennon's favorite, and watch a science experiment show!  Cooper painted a great picture for Jennon on canvas and all the Dad's were presented with these adorable hand-made ties.  Jennon even wore his to work after having lunch with us ; )  The boys are so lucky to have such an amazing man to look up to and admire.  We love you Jennon!


On the Drewbird front, he is currently fighting a cold ;(  His vocabulary has definitely taken off and his new favorite past time is running around the living room.  He has just discovered running and giggles the whole time he runs his laps.
Take care!
Beth

Ultrasound on Week 20

Ultrasound on Week 20

Ultrasound on Week 12

Ultrasound on Week 12

Tummy Tracker

Tummy Tracker
Week 36

Week 32

Week 28

Week 22

Week 18

Week 14