There are many things that we miss about Washington, but at the top of that list are our friends Katie, Jude, Ethan and Greyson. We said a tearful goodbye to them at the end of July, and it had felt like an eternity had passed since then when their minivan arrived in our driveway late February. They had made the roadtrip to come visit us! Katie's boys had never even been to California, and none of them had met Cooper, so this was a very special occasion! We all picked up right where we left off, which is a true sign of a great friendship :)
Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our time together (in no particular order!) (also, I'm not sure how Joe avoided the camera, but he was here too and having a lot of fun with his buddy Jude!).
Thanks so much for visiting, friends! We missssss youuuuuuuu!
Let me share a bit about my newest little lovebug, Cooper. He is growing so fast!
Cooper's first nickname was Buddy the Elf, because he arrived on Christmas day, and when he is mad we like to say, "He is an angry elf!" which, of course, is a funny line from the Christmas classic Elf.
Other nicknames include Coop, Coopy, Coops, Loop, Coopini.... mostly Coopy :) Sometimes Coopy Coopy Coo.
Coop took a while to gain weight. For his first month, he rate of weight gain was only half of what it should have been, so we went to the doctor weekly for weight checks. He was just a little tiny guy :)
Since then, he has had no trouble getting chunky! This boy loves mama's milk, and he has the rolls to prove it!
So far, Cooper is our go-with-the-flow baby :) You can find him at baseball games...
At work at Nest...
At work at Sleep Shop...
At the neighborhood pool...
He goes everywhere!
And he is competing with Max for the title of "Lover Boy". Watch him give Devon some love-
Then things just get wet and silly!
He has a really sweet giggle.
And that is all for now! I've got to go change a diaper!
I don't want to jinx myself, but I think I might finally be coming out of the pregnancy fog. I'm feeling a bit more human. I'm regaining some control over my emotions (no really, I am!). I'm desperately in love with Cooper, who is 4 months old now, and I'm beginning to remember that I am an individual apart from this tiny love bug curled up on my chest as I type this one-handed.
Also, I see that we've moved to California. When did that happen? So, there/s that.
And in other news, life is full, kids are busy, and parents are tired.
I'm so behind on this blog... where do I even pick back up?
How about Lucy's 7th birthday way back in January.
our toothless birthday girl went to school with a plate of brownies to share with her class
at the end of the day she was also able to share her new little brother!
we always love to celebrate at Leatherby's!
their ice cream is the best!
since Cooper was only 3 weeks old, I went the easy route for Lucy's birthday party and rented Gold Country Gymnastics
Lucy invited her cousins and some friends from her school for some fun at the gym!
the big kids had fun too :)
do I look tired? I was tired :)
So, now our Lulu is 7 years old, and she is growing up and changing so much. She is doing really well in school and has transitioned to California with ease, though she still misses her friends in Washington, of course.
She will never admit it, but her best friend truly is Max. I joke that they are "frenemies"- friends and enemies combined!
And Lucy loves being a big sister to Cooper. She cares for him at any opportunity. She sings songs to him, makes faces, tells him stories.... now that he is giggling, we can tell that he is very entertained by his big sister. Cooper has joined the rest of us in Lucy's fan club!
