More Snow Days

We have had a lot of snow this winter, and this is what we do on snow days at our house....

play candyland...

go out in the snow...

drink hot chocolate (to warm up)...

do fun crafts...

and play with baby dolls.

We love snow days!

Celebrations Continued

Our last day of celebrating Brooklyn's 1st birthday was with the Cooper side of the family. Have I mentioned how blessed our children are to have two sets of wonderful grandparents and four great grandparents?!!!!!!

Haha, I loved this series of cake pictures. The second time around, Brooklyn was a pro at eating her cake..

And clearly she learned the most from watching her brother!

Brooklyn 1st Birthday Party - Part 2

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Brooklyn, Happy birthday to you.

 At first Brooklyn was a little unsure about her birthday cake....

But then she saw her brother take a few bites...

And that was all the encouragement she needed!

 Brooklyn enjoyed opening her birthday gifts, and especially loved the new "babies" that she got....Minnie Mouse and a doll with hair (to pull, haha).

She also had a lot of fun playing with her new doll house....

And so did her brother!

Brooklyn 1st Birthday Party - part 1

We had a little birthday party to celebrate Brooklyn turning one the weekend after her birthday. Brayden was a big helper measuring while Nana was putting up Brooklyn's birthday banner.

I absolutely loved the way the cookies and cake turned out.

I also loved the way Brooklyn's birthday banner and first year of monthly pictures came out.

If you haven't already guessed, the theme was a tutu and tie party. We had so much fun planning and decorating for Brooklyn's party. It was such a fun theme with the girly touch of the tutu's and tulle!

Brooklyn had a blast at her party and enjoyed seeing all her friends. If I do say so myself, she looks pretty darn cute in her birthday onesie and tutu too!

And, as always, Brayden looked very handsome in his vest and tie. Pa, you looked handsome too ;)

Such a wonderful day and 1st birthday celebration for this sweet girl that will never be forgotten!

Brooklyn Louise - 12 months

Brooklyn Louise Cooper, on Jan 6th 2014 you turned 12 months old. A whole year old!!! I won't ask where the time went, because we know the answer....life happens. But yes, 2013 seemed to be the fastest year of my life thus far. 

Brooklyn, the night before your birthday as I read you books and sang to you before bed I was thinking back on your first year of life and all that we had experienced. Although different from your brother's first birthday, I was excited and looking forward to seeing the person that you will become. When Brayden turned one, I just couldn't believe that a year had already passed and that scared me. But now, I see the amazing, smart, funny, handsome little man that he is becoming and I can't wait to see what you will be like at his age. Yes, I am bummed that a year passed by so quickly, but I also know that we enjoyed every moment of your first year (well 99.9 percent of them) and have a lot to look forward to!

Your personality is really starting to shine through these days. You love to smile, laugh, and babble. You are mainly saying "dada", "yaya", "ba ba", with the occasional "mama" added in there. You love your babies and teddies and get so excited when you see them! You also love music and love to dance along. Brooklyn, you love to snuggle and love to be held. You are working on standing up on your own and walking though. You cruise from one thing to the next and are starting to try and climb too. You can also stand up by yourself (without holding onto anything) when you want, but if we try to get you to stand on your own you just sit right down. Soon enough.

You pretty much only want to feed yourself these days. I try and feed you oatmeal and yogurt because they can get pretty messy, but sometimes that doesn't even fly. You pretty much eat all finger foods now and so far are a great eater. Some favorites are sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, strawberries, blueberries, banana, ground turkey, meatballs, waffles, cherrios with milk, couscous, bread, and cheese.

I feel like your schedule has been the same for a little while now, which probably means you are getting ready to change it up on us. Anyway, you typically wake up between 7 and 7:30am. Your morning nap starts between 9:30 and 10am (the very latest) and is usually 1.5 to 2 hours, and your afternoon nap is typically around 1:30pm (the same as your brother) and again is 1.5 to 2 hours. Bath time starts around 7pm, and then you are in bed around 7:45pm. You are still nursing four time a day, in the morning, after both naps, and then before bed. You eat three meals a day and have one small snack in the afternoon after nap. 

You had your one year check up on your birthday (and shots too, I know, not nice Ma) and are going great. Your stats are as follows: Height 39 inches (46%) and Weight 21.8 lbs (75%).

At Doctor's Appt. 

Worn out from shots.

12 months old today!

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea, Baby Girl, Bookie. We Love you!!!!

Christmas with Cooper Family - 2013

The weekend after Christmas we headed down state to celebrate Christmas with the Cooper side of the family! It was an enjoyable day spent in good company!

Of course, a second Christmas celebration meant more gifts too. Brooklyn ended up playing with Brayden's new learning laptop with Aunt Lisa for a long time and loved it!

I feel so blessed that Brayden and Brooklyn are able to grow up knowing and having two sets of wonderful grandparents. What a blessing. Oh, and I am just noticing that it appears that Brooklyn got a hold of a tv remote in these picture. Sneaky girl.

Brayden was so excited that he got a vacuum for Christmas. Now to put it together....that was a challenge. 

Brayden also got a new craft kit (which he loved, since yes he has played with already since I am very late posting these pictures). I just love Brayden's Christmas shirt in this picture too. How old is too old to put him in shirts like this? 20?

Ahhh and the long awaited take apart car!! I think the grown ups enjoyed helping Brayden "work" on his car just as much as he did.

Chilling with Uncle Chris after a long day celebrating, opening gifts, and no naps.

Indeed our children are blessed with amazing family members that love them unconditionally! 

Merry Christmas

Visiting with Uncle B

We had a wonderful, but very quick visit with Uncle B over the holidays. 

Brayden loves his Uncle B so much.

We had a random warm day after Christmas, so Brayden bundled up to play out in the sandbox. Oh we can't wait for warmer days. 

This little girl has decided she only wants to feed herself. So this is how oatmeal goes...

And this little man loves his Daddy. All decked out in Daddy's hat and jacket.

Christmas Day 2013

Christmas Day was spent at home opening presents, relaxing, eating meals together, sharing many laughs, and rejoicing in the reason for Christmas Day! After Brayden was born, Dan and I made the decision that Christmas Day was the one holiday that we would spend at home. We have an open door policy, and any family is welcome to come over, but we stay put and celebrate Christmas Day.

Brayden knew the routine this year and was anxious to open his stocking while we took our time eating breakfast together (and drinking coffee) on Christmas morning.

The kids in their matching Frosty jammies. Not sure how many more years I will be able to get them in matching jammies, so I definitely took full advantage this year.

This sweet face brought us much joy and many smiles in 2013. Certainly a blessing!

Finally it was time to start opening gifts after breakfast. I loved the fact that although Brayden was excited to open his gifts this year, he also enjoyed handing out gifts to others. Stay grounded my little man.

Brooklyn loves her music and "dancing" and Brayden was so happy that he got the remote control car that he had been asking for!