Christmas Day Morning

This year was so much fun for Rob and I to get Christmas ready for the kids. We stayed up late on Christmas Eve to put together the toys we had got for them. But for Cooper and Caddie it was a little overwhelming. Gift after gift they didn't know what to look at and what to play with. Here is the video from our morning and pictures from them opening up their gifts.


Click HERE to see all the pictures from the morning.

Not so exciting...

I think Rob and I were way more excited about the kids seeing Christmas this year then they were. We got up this morning, made breakfast, talked to some family, then decided to bring the kids in together to see all their gifts. This is a video of the big reveal! As you can see Cooper was more excited about running up and down the hall. :)

Caddie's Fake Cry

This is just a sample of the "fake" cry Caddie tries to use on us. At the end of the video you get a little sample of a "real" cry when she falls over and gets her finger stuck! She is a little drama queen!

Cooper 22 months & Caddie 9 months

Ok so call me lazy but I figure I would give you an update on both in one post this month! (Plus I needed a reason to post the cute pictures I have of the two of them together)

Cooper turned 22 months on the 17th and Rob and I are shocked daily at what he can understand and do! He is talking away like crazy and understands directions and a series of actions. For example "Cooper take this and put it in the trash then grab your sippy and lets go to your room"

He also knows all his animals and vehicles and can name them and point them out in pictures. We are still working on singing the ABC's but we have about 40% of the song down. He knows "Row Row Row Your Boat" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". He now says Please and Thank-You 80% of the time, which makes us very happy. He will say "Bye-bye, I love you" most of the time when Rob leaves in the morning and almost always when we are saying good-bye to family on the phone.

We are working on colors now, though green is his favorite and he points it out all the time. He can somewhat count to ten along with me it goes 1,2,3...6...8..10 yea!

He he almost going pee on the potty 100% of the time. He can not figure out the poop part yet, but will tell me the moment he goes in his diaper. He got a new book and potty seat for Christmas so hopefully that will help.

He is just a sponge and is soaking up everything and anything he can. He watches Rob like a hawk and wants to do everything his daddy does.

Caddie is just so active. She is now pulling herself up to a stand and will just hang out there for as little or long as she wants, or till Cooper comes and plows her down. She is moving from object to object very well and would walk if she had enough courage. She got a few new push toys for Christmas so will have plenty of things to practice on.

She just loves food and will let us know when it is time to feed her again. This time around it is harder because her brother will give her little snack throughout the day, which has limited what we are able to give him. But regardless she is holding her own and can gum her way through a cracker in no time flat. We do have 1 tooth that broke through last week but still not enough for steak, yet. Dinner I have been trying to give her as close to what Cooper is eating as possible. But for the most part she is loving oranges, pea, cheese, puffs, blueberries, and cereal.

She is our little sleeper. I thought we had it easy with Cooper, but she will sleep from 7:30p to almost 8:30a most days unless we wake her. She just gets curled up in her crib and is fine to just sleep the morning away. Naps have been a challenge to line them up with Cooper's afternoon nap, sometimes it happens and sometimes it does not.

She is a mover and never stops. It is impossible to change her fast. She is always turning over and crawling towards something she wants. This last week she has figured out how to turn herself around in the cart and stand up, while strapped in (I still don't know how she did it). She is fearless and there is not much that will stop her.

She has figured out a fake cry and we call her on it. She likes to try and pull it out when she is not getting her way with her brother. She also likes to pull out her little grin when she knows she is not suppose to be doing something. It is cute but not working on this mom...now dad is a different story!

She is loving bath time with her brother, though we are working on her staying on her butt and not standing in the tub! We have already had a few falls and that is not fun! But overall she has a blast splashing around with Cooper.

Cooper and her like to play a copy game in the car (which is sooooo much fun for me). Caddie will start by saying "da da da" then Cooper will say "da da da" then Caddie will say it louder then Cooper will say it louder then they both are screaming "da da da". Then they laugh! They always hold hands in the car which is very sweet.

Overall they are both great kids and doing very well. Caddie is always trying to keep up and Cooper is always pushing the limits!

An early Christmas for Cooper

With the temptation of all the Grandparent's gifts coming in this week we knew it would only be a matter of time before Cooper got into the gifts. Sure enough we heard him in there opening up a gift. Being the smart kid that he is he happened to pick his own gift and was very excited about it. I, after taking this video, took the gift away and put it up in our closet to re wrap for Christmas. The next morning he woke up and went right into our room and pointed to the closet and said "Please Daddy, choo choo. I so sad Daddy choo choo". Well Rob gave in and Cooper got an early gift. He has left the rest of the gifts alone though so maybe it was a good thing :)

A visit to Santa

While at the mall picking up our last minute Christmas gifts I noticed that the line to Santa was really short. So I made a quick u-turn and took the kids down to have a visit. While in line Cooper was so excited. I kept asking him "Are you excited to see Santa and ask him for a choo choo" He kept nodding his head and trying to cut in line to get to him. When we got up there he walked right in and watched me sit Caddie on Santa's lap. Well the minute I sat him on Santa's lap all hell broke lose and he went nuts. We took 5 pictures trying to get him to settle down and smile, but as you can see it did not work. I know this is going to be a picture we will laugh about 15 years from now. Good thing he won't remember it...

Come get me!

Cooper loves to play chase with anyone who will chase him or let him chase them. He would run around for hours if we could keep up. He was having so much fun and laughing so hard last night I just had to get a video of him and post it for all to see.

Caddie Walking More

With the help of "aids" Caddie has been moving all around walking. She is really good at moving from one object to another and with a walking toy she is all over. We got a little video of her with her new baby carriage getting around like crazy! It won't be long till she is all on her own and all over the house.

Just like Dad

Every morning Cooper is Rob's little shadow. He will follow Rob around and copy everything he does. He wants to take a shower everyday and starts to undress when Rob is getting ready to get into the shower. He loves to watch Rob shave and today got a chance to "shave" a little. It is so cute to see how much he wants to be just like his Dad. It amazes me how much he is picking up day by day and how much he understands.

Caddie getting so big

Caddie is getting more and more active by the day. She is now pulling up more and moving from object to object. She can push a toy around the room, when Cooper is not there to take it away. She is always moving and never stops till we put her in bed for a nap or bed time. She is holding her own with her brother and does not give up easily. She has Rob's personality, very laid back and chill but will fight for what she wants.

We still are waiting for teeth to pop through, but we waited a while with Cooper as well. She is chewing on anything she can get her hands on and nothing stays out of her mouth.

She is the sweetest baby and just loves to be held! She wakes up grinning and unless hurt always is in a good mood.

Dinner Time

Eating with his fork
Doing so well in his booster seat

He still has to use his hands every once in a while

Loving his yogurt in a tube

So excited to eat dinner

Yea food

More Please

So Big sitting in my high chair

More tube yogurt

Cooper has graduated to the booster seat and Caddie has taken over the high chair at dinner time. They are both doing really well with eating and trying new things, but it has also been a challenge to get them both fed at the same time.

Caddie has been trying new baby food, but we have also added in some soft veggies, pastas, and, fruits for her to feed herself! She is loving eating like a "big girl". She wants everything that Cooper has and works very hard to get it.

Cooper has been doing better with keeping things on his plate and eating with a fork. We have also introduced yogurt in a tube, which have been great and I wish there was more food in a tube for him to eat...he does very well with them. :)

Both are also pros at eating out, which is something we do often. So they have become great diners at our local spots. They, like their parents, love Mexican. Caddie is crazy over the beans and Cooper is doing better with the tacos! We enjoy our Sunday trips to Mexican after church!

"I am so sad"

Last week I asked Cooper for a hug and he was too busy playing to come give me one, so I said "I am so sad". Since then Cooper has been going around the house saying "I am so sad". It is really funny and most of the time he is saying it while smiling and putting his hands over his eyes. I was able to get him saying it on video last night so I thought I would share his newest phrase.

Playing together

With Caddie not so little anymore Cooper is loving the freedom we give him to "play" with her more. She is so active though that she is always chasing him around the house. Today I found them in Caddie's room and Cooper was reading her a story. The only issue we are still working on is the way he "hugs" her....right down to the ground. I think he is just working on his football moves but we are working on the gentle hug!

Santa's Little "Helper"

Cooper is understanding more and more as the days go on, so it was not a shock that he wanted to help with the tree this year. He caught on really quickly that the balls were suppose to go on the tree and not get thrown across the room. For next year we will work on spreading the balls out and not putting them all on one branch :)

Cooper is also loving the lights outside on the house and loves to drive through the neighborhood and look at everyone's decorations. We have also begun to read his Christmas stories and are counting down to the various activities we have going on in the month of December.

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas...

With it being so warm here it has been hard to get into the Christmas spirit. So setting up the tree felt really weird with the windows open and it being 82 outside. I turned on some music and began the process of trimming the tree with the kids. Cooper was cracking me up dancing to the Christmas music I just had to get it on video. More to come....

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we had so much to be thankful for...

We have a healthy and active toddler, Cooper, who is so happy and full of life. He brings so much joy and laughter to all he meets. He is teaching us patience and to take life completely in. He is such a loving and compassionate boy who can warm the coldest heart with his laugh. He is always on the move and getting into something new around every corner. We are thankful that he is so smart and active.

We welcomed into our world a little girl, Cadence, this year. She is such a doll and so loving. Her face lights up with excitement and joy with every smile. She has found the tender spot of our hearts and wins us over more and more as the days go by. It has been a blessing to see her advance through out the first 8 months of her life. She is so determined and works hard to do what she wants to do. She is so happy and we feel blessed to have such a healthy and loving 8 month old.

We made a move to Orlando this year, which was a huge leap of faith. With the unknown of the Orlando market and what it would take to open up a new restaurant under Ruth's Chris, Rob and I took on the challenge with open and willing spirits. With a 13 month old and a week old baby we made the move over to Orlando. We have adjusted well and have found our spot in our new community and have already met some amazing people who have welcomed us with open arms and hearts.

We found a new church home. This has been the biggest challenge of the year with the move and the amount of hours that Rob was working it took us a lot longer to find a church then we had hoped. But a couple of weeks ago we joined Oviedo Baptist and feel right at home. They have an amazing children's ministry and support for Rob and I. I have joined MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) and have met some amazing mother's and have begun to feel connected.

We are blessed beyond what we deserve and are so thankful for our family and friends and the support we get from all of them.

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Orlando. Rob surprised me with an early Thanksgiving dinner for our close friends that live here the week before. We were able to have all of our friends over and had a great meal with a wonderful time of conversations and games. A week later Rob woke up early and made Thanksgiving for his entire staff at the restaurant. All day his staff trickled in and out and enjoyed the wonderful food that Rob had made. We were even able to open up the bar and serve some guest that did not have a place to go for the holiday.

Overall it was a fulfilling and uplifting Thanksgiving. It was a great time to look back at the year and see how far we have come and to look forward to the upcoming Christmas season and all the fun that will hold this year.

Caddie has been more and more interested in what Cooper is eating and doing. So we went out and got her some puffs to begin the process of moving towards table food. She has been doing really well with them and will even sit with a few and eat them herself. I think Thanksgiving will be the first time that we start giving her a few more "soft" food items!

Pulling up

Caddie from the time we went up to Indianapolis has been pulling up and has even began to stand a little on her own. She can go for almost 30 seconds before she will fall but we are getting closer and closer to walking every day. This new found freedom also has its downfall, she is now able to pull herself up in bed. The way we have her room her bed is right by her door, and she has figured out how to open that door by standing in the corner of her bed and reaching over to the door. It is really funny and the first time you see it you will jump a little to see the door just opening.

Halloween

We spent Halloween this year up in Indiana. We went out trick-or-treating with my Mom and Robert to the square in their town. We only got 5 pieces of candy but it was enough just to get the two of them out and get some pictures. Cooper was a train conductor and Caddie was a bumblebee.

Caddie was fine in her costume but Cooper we had a harder time getting him to wear it. Thankfully Rob had his way with Cooper and we got all the parts of the outfit on and kept them on for the trick-or-treating part of the day.

We had worked with Cooper all week to say "trick-or-treat". He was a pro at it saying it all week. When we finally got out and about he clammed up and would not say a word....oh well :) We were so proud of him waiting his turn and saying please and thank-you.

Caddie looked adorable and was flashing huge grins to everyone! She was the sweetest bumblebee ever.

We had a great time getting them all dressed up and out for a while. Another year in the history books!

Caddie is 7 months old

Our little Caddie is quickly moving through her first year. She is now 7 months and has made huge steps this last month. From sitting up on her own to pulling up and now moving around the coffee table and across the couch. She is active active active.

She is eating a little bit more and with her teething she is always wanting to chew on ANYTHING. She is our professional sleeper and is still going through the night without issues. She is still so tiny but she is not letting that keep her down, she is all over the place.

She is beginning to gab a little more. We now get the normal goo's but have added in the Dada and lots of laughs and screams!

She is obsessed with keeping up with her brother and gets very frustrated when she can't move fast enough or do what he is doing. She laughs at him all the time and he is always putting on shows for her to get her to laugh.

She now understands when you leave the room that she is all alone and she does not always like that. She has started to cry when we leave the room or walk away from her being able to see us. She will some times cry and follow us through the house...so sad!

Overall she is really laid back and has such a sweet spirit about her. She loves to be held and cuddled and loved on.

Cooper is 20 Months

Right before our trip to Indiana Cooper turned 20 months old. I can't believe we almost have a 2 year old on our hands. It is daily that he is learning new things and understanding more. He can say so much now and we are understanding him more and more each day.

He can count to 5 and some times can get 6, 8, and 10 out if I count to 10. He knows how to sing row row row your boat and loves to to all the motions. He can point out multiple family members in person and while looking at pictures. He does the same with animals and all things with wheels. He will point out a bus, a car, a truck, a bike, a plane, and a boat. I have noticed he is becoming a more independent player and not needed me as much to keep him busy.

He loves his sister but in the same aspect will push her down or roll over her with his toys or hit her in the head. So I feel that they have a very "normal" brother sister relationship :)

Potty training is still an interest of his. He will let me know when he needs to go pee but will never let me know when he has to poop. So we will keep going at his pace for a little longer then hit is hard core soon :)

Overall he is just a busy toddler with so much to say and do! He is just a happy kid with a love for making everyone laugh!

Trip to Indiana

We just returned from a 2 week visit to Indiana. It was a bitter sweet trip with being able to see family and friends but also having to say good-bye to Grandma Schaal. Rob was really bummed that we did not make it back in time for her to meet Caddie, but we know she is looking down and is watching over all of the kids now.

So we spent some time up in South Bend with Rob's family, visiting with the Grandparents and cousins. We were able to go out to eat at some of Rob's favorite places and even got a Notre Dame football game in. We also were able to spend some time in Frankfort, IN with my mom and got to see some friends in Indianapolis. We went to a Colt's game and went trick-0r-treating with the kids.

It really didn't seem like much of a vacation because Rob had to make a trip to Ohio in the middle of it and we were so busy seeing everyone that we really didn't have too much down time. The kids did awesome on both plane rides and even the rides back and forth to South Bend.

It was so nice to get to spend some time with all the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins but it was also so nice to get back home and get back to "normal". It was hard to live out of a suitcase for 2 weeks with 2 little ones.

Pulling up

Caddie is finding more and more to pull up on.

My little helper

Cooper likes to "help" around the house. Now if I can just get him to do some dishes :)

Truck

Every Monday and Thursday we have trash pick-up. Cooper loves the truck and will sit and watch them and wave. Just had to get a video of it.

Snacks on the patio

Cooper is loving the cooler weather and is loving it even more that the back door is open all day. He thinks it is neat to go in and out bringing his toys back and forth. He also loves to have his snack outside.

Play date

Cooper and Caddie went to a play date last week at a new friend's house in Oviedo. It was a Halloween themed and Cooper was able to make a jack-o-lantern out of paper. I think they just enjoy having a new set of toys to play with and other kids to play with them. I like it because it gets us out of the house and some adult interaction.