New Kid on the Block

Gracie and Cooper were blessed with a new cousin, Hunter Luke, on Tuesday, March 15. We all went to the hospital to await his arrival. After waiting for about 7 hours, John and the kids went home around 10:00 pm because it was an hour past their bedtime and the kids were both on the verge of meltdowns. Both kids did surprisingly well, considering how long they were up at the hospital. John was very disappointed to have to leave, but he decided to let me stay. Megan did awesome and pushed for 3 hours, but eventually had to have a C-Section because the baby was just too big. How big? 9 pounds 15 ounces!!!!!! And he’s her first baby! He’s a cutie, too! We came back up to the hospital the next morning, so that John and the kids could see Hunter. For the next 3 or 4 days, when Gracie woke up in the morning, she would ask, "Are we going to see baby Hunter today?"

We are all so excited for Megan and Josh and all of the wonderful things that they will get to experience with their new little man. We are so thankful for a healthy baby and mommy!! Congratulations Megan and Josh!!!

Ever since we found out that his name was going to be Hunter, we've been referring to him as "Little Hunter" and Gracie's other cousin as "Big Hunter"...but I'm starting to think that "little" is not the word to describe him! He's precious!

Birthdays!!!

Gracie and Cooper both had a birthday on March 4th. Gracie turned 3 and Cooper turned 1. Throwing a birthday party for two children of the opposite sex was interesting, to say the least. Everything went pretty well and my family indulged me by singing Happy Birthday twice so that Cooper could have his own birthday song (since it was his first). I got a little frazzled during cake time because I wanted to watch both children enjoy their cakes, but they were sitting at different ends of the room. I’ll have to adjust my game plan next year.

We were so thankful for all of the family that got to come celebrate with us. Gracie and Cooper also got a lot of great gifts and had a great, LOUD time with their cousins. It was cold and rainy, so we didn’t get to play outside. Still, it was a great day. Having two happy, healthy children is such a blessing and I am thankful for all that the Lord has given us.

I had two banners, one for Cooper and one for Gracie. I couldn't get both of them in the picture!

Here's my little birthday man in his hat, which he took off as soon as he could.

A birthday isn't complete without the COUSINS!!!

Presents!!!

Tissue paper flying

Cooper tried to grab his candle instead of blow it out.

This is Gracie's Cinderella cake that she was soooo excited about.

He's Got the Beat

Cooper jamming to some classic Newsboys. Can you tell I Jazzercised with him in the womb?

Just Living Life

I have been putting this off for a long time. I know I am behind on the blog, and I don't want to work on it unless I have time to catch up. Well, I'll never have time to catch up! So as the FlyLady says (http://www.flylady.org/) don't try to catch up, just jump in where you are. I'm going to try to give a very brief summary of what has been going on and then share pics from the last few months. (At this rate, when I have 3 kids, I'll update the blog quarterly. Haha!)

• Gracie will turn 3 on Friday and Cooper will turn 1. Yay! We're so excited! A party with family is planned. (I should post pictures before their next birthday.)
  
• Gracie had her first haircut.
  
• Cooper is crawling and pulling up on things. He seems very close to cruising.
• Cooper has gone from no teeth to 5 and has two more waiting to come through.
• Cooper's personality is really starting to show. He is much more shy than Gracie when he is around other people, but he is very loud and very assertive at home.
  
• Cooper went from sleeping and waking once to waking up about 3-4 times every night. My breastmilk dried up, and at first, we thought that was the problem. When the night-waking continued, we thought it might be teething. Nope. We tried switching formula, baby food, more food, less food, more clothes, less clothes...all kinds of stuff. I was like a zombie for about 5 months due to lack of sleep. I got so tired of getting out of bed from a dead sleep that I eventually dreaded going to bed. I knew we HAD to figure out what was going on. Eventually, when Cooper had an episode for a few days in which he could only sleep sitting up in his swing or carseat, we realized that he must have reflux. Poor thing, after months of no sleeping (for both of us), a prescription of Zantac did the trick. Now he is sleeping through the night, and I have a new lease on life. Haha!
• Cooper had RSV and we had to venture out in the snow to get him to the doctor.
• Gracie had a very bad allergic reaction to antibiotics in late January, which gave us a big scare. All of her joints swelled up and she couldn't really walk or climb for about a day and a half. At first, she was misdiagnosed, which made things worse. She was tested for all kind of scary stuff like juvenile arthritis and lupus. Steroids and benadryl (along with a lot of prayers) helped Gracie make a speedy recovery.
• The kids have 2 cousins on the way. Hunter Luke should be making his appearance in the next few weeks (Woo-Hoo) and "Sweet Baby" (name unknown...Gracie came up with that one) will be here in June. We pray for them every night, and Gracie talks about her new cousins and what she will teach them.
• The Lord blessed us with a van. We LOVE it! Oh my gosh, I am in heaven with my van! I can't even begin to describe how much easier it has made things for me. No pics yet. I keep forgetting to get one.
  

There has been a lot of rough stuff in the last few months for us, but the Lord has brought us through it all. We still feel very blessed, and while it is always hectic, I am thankful for every day that my family is healthy and safe.

Gracie's first haircut. I only got a couple of pictures and then my camera died! Ahhh! Rookie mistake!

Cooper's first tooth

Gracie got these awesome coveralls in a bag of hand-me-downs from someone at church. They really came in handy in the snow.

An impromptu picnic at Tallulah Gorge on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon

Christmas in March

Due to my lack of free time and general slacker-ness, I have decided to continue the pattern of posting pictures several months after they have been taken. Oh well, better late than never.

Visiting Santa at Babyland General

I have always wanted to make a gingerbread house. I got a kit on sale and Gracie and I spent about an hour on Christmas eve making one. It was fun...and sticky.

For the second year in a row, I forgot to take pictures of the kids opening gifts on Christmas morning. I got everything on video, but I guess I was so excited to see them open their gifts, that I didn't think about the camera. I could kick myself!!

Christmas Shopping