Blue Rubber Hippo

I haven't done much blogging lately.  I'm feeling a little burnt out.  I thought after the holidays that things would slow down, but they haven't.  The adoption has added a lot on our plate and work is still chaotic for me.  Chris' mom is visiting this week and then my dad is coming in two weeks.  We've been busy!

Anyhow, here are some of the latest updates:

Our homestudy went well.  The interview was very long and detailed.  We had to go through all of our history and our parents' marriage history.  We also discussed our marriage and details about the kids.  We both had our physicals done.  Chris was scheduled at 2 and I was at 4 so that he could get home in time for me to go to my appointment.  It didn't quite work out that way...he didn't get done until 4:30, so I met him at the doctor's with the kids.  I didn't get done until after 6!!  After the homestudy and physicals I felt quite invaded.

Now we wait.  The doctor needs to send in our paperwork, my work has to send some documents in, and all of our references have to send stuff in.  Hopefully things will keep running smooth!

I won an award!  It's an Outstanding Young Engineer Award from Orange County Engineering Council.  It is given to an engineer with ten or less years of experience who shows high potential in the engineering profession with at least one recent, significant engineering accomplishment during the past few years of experience.  I'm not sure exactly what my significant accomplishment is (maybe being promoted so quickly?), but it was nice for my coworker to recommend me.  We are debating whether or not we should got the awards banquet.  With nursing it would be difficult for me to figure out the logistics.  We'll see.

The kids are doing very well.  They both seem to be understanding more and more language.  They understand what 'bath' means and Charlotte yells 'Dat', while Cooper beelines it for the bathroom.  Bath time lately is spent telling them to sit down.  Here's a good picture to show the difference in height between Cooper and Charlotte (that is Cooper's favorite bath toy...the blue rubber hippo):

And here is Charlotte practicing ballet:

And one of her beautiful smile:

They love to push their laugh and learn table around.  Chris was laying in the way apparently. (And check out Cooper standing on his own!)

I think this one is even funnier because Cooper is just stepping on Chris like he's not even there!

Happy baby Cooper:

 

Funny faces:

 

This is Cooper peeking over the desk.  It is tough work keeping things out of his long reach.

 

Here's Charlotte with her arm stuck in the diaper box:

 

I'll have to post again about the visit with Grandma Jacqueline.  The kids have warmed up to her and she seems to be enjoying every minute of it.

Fun Photos

How to keep your brother from playing with your toy.

Learning how to walk, learning how to ride.

Just hangin' out.

Funny face

Graduating from one

to two

Dog toys are obviously more fun.

It's for you.

A glimpse into the teenage years.

Secret Denver Trip

So I have been wanting to meet my friend Heather's baby girl, Ryan Michelle, since she was born on November 23rd.  But with the holidays and Charlotte's birthday, I just couldn't make it work.  I finally was able to make it out to see her, even if was only for about a day and half.

I took Cooper with me so that I didn't have to worry about pumping while I was gone or creating a freezer stash for Chris to feed him.  I also didn't want to leave Chris with two babies for a couple days, since I know it would be really exhausting not to have a break.

We flew out early Saturday, but with the time change and just the travel logistics we didn't make it to Heather's until almost 1 pm on Saturday.  Cooper did so well traveling and hardly fussed at all.  The plane was pretty empty on the way out so we got to spread out over a couple of seats.  The only problem we had was changing his dirty diaper in the bathroom that had no changing table!!  Mighty tough to do with a really tall baby and a tiny toilet lid.  He was not happy about it at all!

When we got to Heather's we realized that her house isn't quite baby proofed yet!  She bought a gate for the stairs, but hadn't installed it yet, so I had to follow Cooper around all over.  During our visit he got into the trash, pulled out dishes from her cupboards, empty the toilet paper roll about 4 times, spilled coffee on the floor, tore up several magazines, nearly cracked his head open on her coffee table, got stuck behind her chair, terrorized the cat and ate the cat food, pulled the knobs off her antique furniture, and nearly pulled her drawers out of her closet organizer.  Heather said she learned a ton by watching Cooper get into everything!

Heather was nice enough to open up all of Ryan's Christmas toys and let Cooper test them out.  He let Heather know which ones were good and which ones were boring.  Mostly though I think he missed Charlotte because he wanted my attention all.the.time.  Chris said that Charlotte acted the same way and kept crawling all over the house and crying when she couldn't find Cooper.

He was curious about Ryan, but realized that she wasn't that much fun.  He doesn't quite understand gentle and hit her on the head once.  We had to keep him away from her.  He was cute when we were getting ready to go on a walk. 

I don't think I have appreciated the fact that Cooper and Charlotte are so close in age.  They are pretty easy to take care of because of it.  I watched Ryan for about 15 minutes while Heather ran an errand.  I was holding Ryan and Cooper got into something, but it was difficult to try and get him away from it, while also being gentle with Ryan.  I honestly cannot imagine having a 9/10 month old and a new baby!! 

Ryan is so precious.  I honestly cannot remember Cooper ever being that little (and maybe he wasn't), but it felt so great to hold her!  Heather is a great mommy and is so patient and laid back about everything.  She had a lot of questions and I hope I was able to give her some good advice, like my mommy friends did for me.  I can't wait to see what Ryan will be like when she is Cooper and Charlotte's age!

Before we went on the walk I had to get the stroller out of the trunk.  I needed to put Cooper down so I could open the stroller and the trunk was the most convenient place.  He seemed to like it!

Cooper got to feel snow for the first time.  He didn't hate it, but he wasn't all that sure about it either.

On Sunday evening we went to have dinner with Mikael, Che and Maile so we could return the high chair we borrowed.  Maile, who is 10 months older than Cooper, kept giving toys to Cooper, who gladly took them, but then when she wanted them back she didn't know how to just take them (Charlotte has no issue with that!).

They are almost the same height, with Maile maybe being an inch or less taller than Cooper.  Crazy!

Cooper was obsessed with this blue chair and seemed so proud of himself to be sitting in it! (We put him in the chair...he's not climbing - yet!)

It was so tough not to drive all over the city and say hi to everyone, but I just didn't have the time!  We got up early on Monday and flew back home.  The plane was packed on the way back and Cooper was cranky at the airport.  Luckily his stroller kept him busy as he pushed it all over and around and around in a circle.

 

He slept most of the flight home and then was in a great mood on the plane.  The business people around us were very, very thankful.

Catch up

I'm super busy and don't really have much time, sorry!We've had one busy week...so here is a catch up post.   _________________________________________________

Adoption update

We had an update hearing for Charlotte on the 15th.  They called us so we could join the hearing via teleconference.  Our CO adoption worker wasn't present so they basically had no updated information on Charlotte.  They relied heavily on us to provide updates. 

We told them what she's been up to, what her favorite things are, how we are all bonding, how she behaves around other people/pets/children, how the adoption is proceeding, and how she is doing medically/developmentally.  It wasn't a big deal, but fun to brag about Charlotte!  They told us that the court date was set for March, but there was a chance that it could be pushed into April depending on how much time CO needs to review our homestudy packet once they receive it from CA.  We are hoping there won't be a delay.

We also had our fingerprinting done (again) last Thursday.  It was quick and easy just like last time.  Traffic was crappy on the drive over there, but hey we live in CA, when isn't there crappy traffic?!?

Tomorrow we have our homestudy and interviews, which I feel a little nervous about.  Not sure why...I guess I just feel a little judged.  I have to keep reminding myself that they are helping us keep Charlotte not trying to prevent it.  Last we have our physicals on Friday.  I'm hoping the doctor doesn't take FOREVER and we can actually get them done within a reasonable time.  With that everything should be complete!

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Cooper's Doctor Appointment

We had Cooper's 9 month check up last Friday.  He is a big boy!!  He weighs 23 lbs and was 32" tall, which keeps him in the greater than 95th percentile for height and the 75th-95th for weight.  He's growing 2-2.5 inches every 2-3 months...that is crazy!!  I honestly can't believe he can wear 18-24 month clothing (they are a little big, but 12 month are just too small now).

He got his final Hep B shot and also a finger prick to check for anemia (all clear).  He is about average for his verbal and fine motor skills, while he is advanced for his major motor skills.  She said he looks very good, happy and healthy.  She was glad to hear that breastfeeding is still going well, and that he is also doing well on solid foods.  She asked about the choking incident and thought we did everything right in responding to the situation.  She was glad that he was okay.

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Cooper Update

Cooper is now standing on his own for several seconds.  He regularly walks around with toys and gets very frustrated once he runs into a wall.  His tantrums are starting to happen more often, but mostly when he is tired, hungry, or frustrated.

He is starting to say all done, but still doesn't sign it.  He spends much of the day saying 'da da da da' or 'ma ma ma ma', but we're sure he doesn't understand the meaning yet.  He eats just about everything, but is fairly slow at eating since he isn't so coordinated with his hands yet. 

Cooper loves to play with complicated toys.  He likes putting things in and taking things out of containers.  He loves to crawl into small spaces, in/around/under things.  We made a small fort, but he wasn't sure what to do with it, so he pulled the blanket down.  He likes to wrestle and tries to do so with the dog and Charlotte, but neither of them like it to much...which means that he tackles me and Chris quite a bit.

Cooper has done extremely well with transitioning to his crib.  He loves being in it!  He sleeps for a solid 2 hours for one of his naps, and sometimes even both of them.  He has started to increase the amount he eats during the day and has dropped is 11 pm feeding.  He still cosleeps with me from 1 am to 5 am since he eats twice during that time and it's the only way I can function.  He likes to be put back in the crip after his last 4:30/5 am feeding so that he can stretch out and roll around.

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Charlotte update

Charlotte is now standing on her own for up to a minute.  She can eat, drink, clap, play with a toy, and raise her hands above her head all while standing.  She regularly walks around with toys, but if she runs into a wall she will either start screaming and crying or just give up and crawl away to something else.  She is also crawling all the time now!  It's so cute, because she also begun to bear crawl up on her feet and hands.  It cracks us up.

Charlotte really watches our mouths when we say words and she tries a little to mimic some of them.  She still uses her sign language, but she does verbalize most everything.  She understands basic commands like sit down and stand up.  Charlotte also likes to scold the dog for whining at her while she eats dinner.  She says "Tout, eh, eh, eh".  It's very nice that she corrects the dog for us!

Charlotte is getting two more molars in, so she is very cranky.  We also think she is growing again because she is looking slim these days, plus she is eating nearly twice as much as normal and she is also sleeping 2-3 hours for two naps a day, plus 12 hours a night!  That is quite a bit for her!

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Us Update

Chris and I feeling reconnected again in our marriage.  It has been a stressful year for us, but we finally feel like it has all fallen into place.  We are spending a lot of quality time together and we have stopped snapping at each other when we are tired/stressed and instead communicate like we used to.  It's just comfortable again and I'm enjoying it!

Chris is really enjoying being a stay at home dad.  He loves how much time he has with the kids and gets a kick out of teaching them new things.  He has also had time to think about what he really wants to be 'when he grows up', which he hasn't thought about in a long time.  I love hearing all the ideas he comes up with and I can't wait to see what he decides.  I'm hoping that whatever he chooses may give me an opportunity to switch roles with him and be the stay at home parent!

Work is extremely busy for me right now.  I am constantly being challenged, but I really love my new role as a supervisor.  The industry as a whole is slowing down in activity, so it adds a little tension in the system.  However, I think everyone is handling it rather well.  Life seems to keep on going!  In fact I was presenting to the management team on an important topic and the GM busts out asking who had watched American Idol.  About 5 minutes was spent on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the contestants.  I was sort of floored that we were talking about American Idol during the management team meeting!

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Current Events

I am so excited about the new president!  I don't really talk about politics on this blog, but really this is a moment in history that is too big NOT to talk about.  Our president inspires me to be a better person and I am looking forward to enjoying listening to our president speak.  It has been 8 years of avoiding the TV when the president spoke, so this is refreshing.  I especially love how the new president is using technology to connect with the people.  Check out the blog I added, and I hope to catch is video updates on youtube as well as enjoy my email updates!

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Other

I will do a separate post to talk about my super quick, secret trip to Denver last weekend, and load some pictures and video of the kids.

Official Date!!

We found out great news today!!!  The court date to finalize the adoption is scheduled for Monday, March 16th!  We are so excited!!!  Of course we'll be going back to Denver for a super quick visit at that time...so we'll keep every one in the loop.

Yay!!!!

Sunshine

This weekend was so beautiful!  It was near 80° so we went to the park today to enjoy the sunshine.  It's not actually a park, but the school that's a block away from us.  It was great to just sit and enjoy the sunshine.

We played on the swings:

We went on the slide

Then we sat on the grass and played (and they ate some leaves).

 

Charlotte seemed more interested in the stroller

Cooper wasn't sure about the grass and kept crawling around like a bear

Charlotte didn't mind the grass at all

Scout got to be let off leash and did really well.  (We took the leash off right after this picture because she was behaving.)  She ran and ran and ran...she slept the remainder of the afternoon.

A new kind of hand lotion

We got Cooper and Charlotte's clothes from Crazy8 and I love them!!  They are so cute and you can't beat shirts for $2 and pants for $4.  The quality is outstanding (similar to babyGap) and the size chart is accurate.  I bought Charlotte 12 mo and 12-18 mo sizes and they fit her great.  I bought Cooper 18 mo and 18-24 mo sizes and they are just a little big, which is what I expected.  I highly recommend Crazy8!

Sometimes Scout goes to the bathroom on the patio, especially when we aren't able to take her out in a timely manner.  We put puppy pads out there for her to help with clean up and to contain the mess to one area.  Although I hate the clean up, I'm glad she is house trained and knows to go on the patio and not in the house.

Chris called me at work on Friday morning and relayed the following story: 

Scout decided that she couldn't hold it until she walked over to the puppy pad and decided to poop right outside her doggy door.  Cooper being intensely curious about the doggy door, reached through and picked up the poop!!!  He brought it inside and proceeded to squish the poop with both hands (apparently he thought it felt really cool). 

Just as he was putting his hands in his mouth (yes he did manage to put a little in his mouth), Chris scooped him up and wrapped both hands in baby wipes.  After Chris removed the poop from his hands and mouth, he scrubbed his hands in the sink.  Chris said the smell was awful, but Cooper didn't even seem to notice.

It's funny, but really gross.  I think Cooper is going to be a typical little boy and I'm sure he will be bringing in all sorts of things to the house.

Charlotte has become very lovey with everyone in the house.  Including her stuffed animals.  She regularly gives hugs and kisses to everything and says 'awww' when she does it.  She even does it to Cooper.  The funniest is when she makes out with her toys.  Here she is lounging on daddy.

(This one is a little blurry because I was fighting off Cooper while I was trying to take the picture.)

And here is funny faced picture of Cooper. He looks very much like Chris here with his scrunched eyebrows.

Parenthood vs. Marriage

We finally are making headway on the adoption!  We went from making zero progress to a hurry up, get it done, like yesterday.   We received a huge stack of papers with a zillion questions and document requests, so it's a bit overwhelming.  We are having to think about answers to questions like: 

• Characterize the relationship with your mother/father/caretaker/siblings
• Describe parents' relationship, your childhood, parents' disciplinary style
• Describe your early dating experiences, first sexual experiences, parents' attitude toward sex
• Describe your marriage, characteristics of spouse, the roles each person plays in the marriage
• Describe areas of disagreement, how often you argue

We also have to provide a thorough financial statement and certified birth and marriage certificates.  Then we both need to get a physical, fingerprinting and background checks done.  That's just the paperwork!  We will still have in person interviews, a home inspection and possibly classes to take.  It really amazes me that we were able to just wake up one day and decide to have a baby before we had Cooper, but we are required to prove that we will be good parents in order to adopt Charlotte.  Unreal!

One of the blogs I read, dooce, has posed the question...Which is more difficult, parenthood or marriage?

My answer?

Parenthood.  Hands down.  Marriage has been a piece of cake...even when it's been hard, being a parent is so much more difficult.  Baby blues are awful.  Postpartum depression is worse.  Healing after giving birth was traumatic for me.  Having one baby and then a second only 3.5 months later is an enormous undertaking (there is a reason pregnancy is 9 months!).  Having your freedom completely taken away overnight and being held hostage to a 3 hour schedule is frustrating and has made me depressed and angry many times.

Experience in marriage actually means something...you can learn from mistakes and build on what you know.  With parenting, as soon as you figure it out, everything changes and you have to start all over again.  Like every 2 weeks.  Even having two kids doesn't help...they are completely different individuals and what works for one doesn't work for the other.  Experience means zilch.

I think a great follow up question is...which makes you happier marriage or parenthood?  The amazing thing is that no matter how hard being a parent is and how easy marriage is, the joy and happiness is equal.  The surprises are endless, the laughter never stops, and the butterflies of happiness in my belly are constant.  Really.  It. is. the. best. thing. ever.

(You must read what the first guy commented in response to dooce's blog.  Bawahahaha!!!)

Time with my family

I took some time off work this past week.  Although I am super busy and ended up working during my days off anyhow, it was really great to spend some time with my family.  I feel so much more relaxed...which is great because I was starting to feel a little burnt out.  The kids seemed to be so happy that I was home a lot more.  Even Charlotte, who is taking her time getting to know me, seemed to want me first over Chris.  There were moments where the kids fought over my attention, so sometimes I felt a little torn.  Cooper loves to play rough...wrestle, pound on things, tickle monster, 'eat me' (or maul mommy as I like to refer to it), while Charlotte loves to be girly with me...watch me do my hair and makeup and then play with her hair, get dressed over and over, play with necklaces and dolls, sing songs, and talk.  I've had so much fun that I'm a little sad to go back to our normal routine.  I think tomorrow is going to be rough for all of us.

We officially child proofed our house.  For the time being.  Until they figure out how to get into something else.  We put doors on the bookcases so they can't destroy the books anymore, we put a lock on the hall closet so they can't get into the dog treats and food anymore, we put up baby gates around the 'office' (dining room) and kitchen so they can't get to the computers, Scout's bowls or play in the kitchen drawers.  It feels so great to know that they are safer.

Here is Cooper helping daddy put up the Plexiglass around the island (we know they would eventually crawl through).  He was obsessed with the tools!  He even had a 'plumber crack' because his pants kept falling off when he would crawl.  Charlotte showed a little interest but would easily be side tracked into something else.

(It is so hard to get a picture of Cooper with his eyes open!)

The kids have also started to let us know when they are done eating.  I mean really done.  Charlotte used to say all done.  Now she copies Cooper.  Cooper starts growling, flops sideways in the high chair, and rips off his bib.  When the bibs come off, they really mean they are really done.

They've also started passing food and sippy cups to each other.  Notice Cooper has both sippy cups.  (I also put Charlotte's hair in a pony tail for the first time...she doesn't like it too much and I think she looks a little like Pebbles Flinstone.)

 

This is the kids in their new double stroller.  They often reach over and play with each other.  Sometimes they like it, other times they get really mad at each other.

I've uploaded December pictures to the shutterfly sites.  I also created a shutterfly site for Chris and I and one for Scout.  Enjoy!

p.s.  Cooper is a-okay from his recent choking incident.  We haven't seen anything unusual.