Little girls

I am so happy I have this little girl.  I won't be able to call her little for long.  She's into dresses, lipgloss, singing with her MP3 player at the top of her lungs, pretty sparkly jewelry, and everything else little girls are supposed to be into.  Its a short jump from tights and mary janes to high heels.  Can she stay little forever?

A snowy lazy day

I have apparently in 5 short years created a Sat. morning monster--not a bad one though.  I have apparently taught Paige that Saturdays are meant for laying around in your pjs all day!  Today a light snow started falling, we had no schedule to be anywhere or do anything in particular, and I was lacking ambition.  A perfect combination for a lazy Saturday.  Paige was the only one who stayed in her pjs--Cooper and I at least put sweats on.  The morning started with homemade chocolate chip waffles.  I own a Cuisinart waffle maker (from Christmas last year) and it makes the best waffles ever.  I don't dare ruin it with batter from a box, so I make my own waffles and Paige likes them with chocolate chips.  Chocolate makes everything better.  So we started out our day the correct way.  Here a few pics from the week.  

 Paige showing off her headband and looking tough.



 Paige with a real smile and not a pose.  She's big into posing lately.

Cooper helping with waffles this morning.  He's a pretty good counter sitter--and will just watch me put things in a bowl.  He needs his own spoons and measuring cups most of the time; but it allows me time to finish things.



Diaper cake

This is my diaper cake I made for my friend's surprise baby shower.  The diapers I bought had a lot of purple on them unfortunately--so we went for a green theme.  Its a bit more vivid in person; but I was a fan of the spiral cake as I didn't have to sit and roll diapers.  Plus, these held their shape really well and will stack nice when she dismantles it and uses them.

a relaxing Sunday

I am sitting in my sweats watching Harry Potter.  Cooper was camped out with me eating the great Boy Scout cheese popcorn we had delivered the other day.  I don't think it will last much longer with his growing appetite.  More than once this last week, Ryan and I have looked at each other in amazement while eat keeps packing away food.  While Cooper and I are loafing, Miss Paige and her Dad are at a 4-H meeting bedazzling her new purple sweatshirt.  They have been gone for over three hours now.  I am concerned that Ryan is going to come back covered in rhinestones!  The girls might have ganged up on him.

We had a lovely long weekend with a surprise baby shower for a dear friend that actually stayed a surprise and she was excited.  I had another friend say she's expecting today.  Lots of happy news.  Here is hoping it continues for the week and its a good week.  Last week sucked--so here is hoping:)

I moved the play kitchen up to the living room--Cooper loves to play with all the gadgets and was entertained for a few hours this afternoon.

Miss Paige finally returned from her 4-H meeting with a 'bedazzed' headband/bandana.  Its kind of hard to see; but its her dad's brand.  Sad, I know!

Halloween

Halloween prep pictures

Paige, Ryan & Piper posing by our pumpkins.  Cooper was too busy running up and down the sidewalk to sit still.  So the three that cooperated took a really great picture. 

Paige and Ryan went to a 4-H meeting this afternoon.  They carved pumpkins and Paige made a ghost for us.  Its super cute and due to our lack of trees in the front yard, he will hang out in the living room for a while. 

Cooper trying to figure out if he could be helpful.  He couldn't do much, but the pumpkins were almsot as big as he was!

Paige and her pumpkin we carved.  She did all the tracing and Mom assisted with the small cutting areas.

October recap

So its been a lonely month on the blog.  I had thought my new laptop would make it easier to post.  I realized the other day that I have barely taken any pictures this month even.  Apparently we are just too busy :)

So here is a brief recap--Cooper was diagnosed with his 3rd ear infection in 3 months.  Not very fun, but I caught this one bit earlier than the others and fortunately he likes lemon amoxicillian and takes it like a champ.  However, this has been a month of no sleep as he is still not sleeping consistantly and we are still up in the middle of the night.  He is getting to be a big boy in every other way--about 22 pounds, running everywhere with a smile on his face most of the time, chasing his sister, trying to eat with his fork and spoon when he can, babbling non stop.  He loves the kitties at daycare, is learning more about Piper and how to be friends, is always into something and moving something around.  I have realized that people who have cabinet safety latches, etc. are parents of BOYS.  I never installed a safety anything (other than an outlet plug) with Paige.   She didn't care about pulling the contents of every cabinet, drawer, or shelf out.  I have even gave Cooper his own drawer in the kitchen so he can cook with me and use the toys I put in there instead of him trying to lift my 12 inch skillet and dragging it around the house.  He is into mimicing grown ups--he vacuums, dusts, cooks, combs his hair, etc.  Overall, the word to describe his activity is busy. 

Paige is doing well.  She is thriving in school and we had a very good conference a week or two ago.  She is in the routine now and we have a schedule that works and keeps everyone pretty happy.  She is learning so much as a kindergartener that  its completely amazing me--she is reading, and loves to learn anything else she can about words or letters.  You can't keep paper and pens out of her hands as she is always writing or drawing something.  She really enjoys art class at school and music.  The songs are sung quite loudly and off key; but she has fun.  She is a pretty busy little thing with school 4 days a week and Sunday school and now 4-H meetings on Sundays too.  She and her Dad are doing that; and she's had quite a bit of fun the last few weeks going.