Busy Days of June

This was the first summer in my adult life that I didn't have to work during the month of June.   It was nice to be able to enjoy one month of summer at home with the boys, although we didn't stay at home much.  

Little Swimmers:

With a couple of hot days in the month of June, we took advantage of the pool at Grandma Geralyn and Grandpa Mike's house.  We even had our friends Angie and Addie join us for an afternoon of pool fun one day.  Both Mason and Cooper have gotten to enjoy the pool this summer. 

  

I promise that Cooper did enjoy the water a little bit, despite the look on his face.

With the help of a new floating device, Mason has become quite the swimmer.

Children's Museum:

We were able to join our friends Mandy and Henry for a trip to the Minnesota Children's Museum.  Mason's favorite part was the Clifford exhibit and the anthill in the Earth World exhibit.

  

Trips to Red Wing:

We made two trips to Red Wing in June (back to back weekends even).  Our first trip included a wedding shower for Rachel and an overnight for Mason with Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Frank.  The next trip was for the wedding of our high school friend Jinny (we made the mistake of taking both boys to the wedding and did not make it to dinner -- lesson learned).  Mason and Corey also got measured for their tuxes for Rachel and Chad's wedding that day.  They are going to be so handsome.

Zoo Visits:

Mason and Cooper made three trips to the Minnesota Zoo in the month of June (I love our zoo membership).  The "park" is still Mason's favorite part.  Our most recent trip to the zoo was with our friends Mandy, Henry, Angie and Addie.

Mason, Henry and Addie enjoying the Prairie Dogs.

Mason and Addie

Soccer Game:

Tyler is playing soccer this summer.  We went to one of his games and Mason proved to be his number one fan.  He cheered avidly throughout the entire game despite being disappointed that he couldn't play on Tyler's team with him.

"Brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug."

Cooper's 2 Month Stats

Height:  23.75 inches (61st percentile)

Weight:  14 pounds 9 ounces (89th percentile)

Head Circumference:  16.75 inches (90th percentile)

Week 8 Update

COOPER:

I cannot believe that Cooper is already eight weeks old today.  I feel that we are starting to see signs of a routine, which is nice.  I am happy to report that for the most part he is getting at least a 4 hour stretch of sleep (at least on the first leg) at night and in his crib to top it all off.  He has become more alert to his surroundings and warms our hearts with lots of smiles and coos.  

Likes:  Mason, kisses, musical animals, pacifier, mirrors, baths 

Dislikes:  Car Seat (this has been the hardest part since we plan any outings around his naps so that we don't have a screaming baby in the car or at our destination), being overtired, dirty diapers

MASON:

Mason is still adjusting to being a big brother and not being able to do things right now, but is getting used to it.  He does really well with Cooper and it is so cute to watch them interact. Surprisingly, in the last 4 weeks we have seen great progress in 2 of our biggest challenges:  potty training and sleeping in our own bed.  Although we still have a couple of accidents now and then, Mason has been wearing only underwear during the day for the last two weeks.  He is quite proud of himself and his potty successes, which usually results in a call to Daddy afterschool to say things like "Daddy, I went poop on the potty at school" (oh how our conversations in life have changed).  Also in the last couple of weeks, we have not been joined by Mason in the middle of the night, which marks the longest stretch that we have had a kid-free bed in the last 3 1/2 years.

Likes:  Playing baseball outside, Mario Kart Wii, sunglasses, PBS Kids shows, making new friends

Mason has become quite the ladies man.  At our trip to the zoo this week, he made friends with another little girl at the zoo park.  It is so cute to watch him interact with other kids.

Dislikes:  Being told "wait until Daddy gets home" 

"I Gotta Wear Shades"

For anyone who has been around Mason lately, you have probably been asked the question "Do you have eyes?"  This is his way of asking or verifying if people wear glasses, in particular whether their Mii wears glasses.  He thinks wearing glasses is fun and has begun wearing his sunglasses quite frequently (and also has changed his Mii to have sunglasses too).  

Playing Mario Kart.

Eating a peanut butter and jelly lunch.

Just hanging around at home.

I'm Joe Mauer

As I have mentioned before, Mason has become quite the baseball enthusiast as of late.  When we play baseball, it is not uncommon to hear "I'm Joe Mauer" from Mason.  Corey took the day off of work and the Voth family headed to the ballpark for an afternoon game.  Mason cheered on Joe Mauer, who unfortunately did not have a hit in the game.  Cooper slept through 6 innings and woke up just in time for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Although the Twins lost, we still had a great time.

All decked out in Twins gear (Cooper was busy trying to eat his hand during this picture, don't worry, he was fed shortly after).

Cooper in his first Twins shirt

Family photo at the game.  I wish we could've gotten Cooper more visible in this picture, but I was not about to mess with a sleeping baby.

I love this picture.  

The ride home.

Memorial Day Weekend by Mason

Our Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be filled with activities.  On Saturday, Mommy and Daddy were to go to a wedding and I was going to go stay with Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Frank.  On Sunday, we were all planning on going to Lewiston to celebrate Great Grandma and Grandpa Voth's 60th Anniversary.  BUT, Daddy got a migraine on Saturday morning, so we changed our weekend plans, since he had to spend his weekend in bed.  

On Saturday, we stayed at home where I helped Mommy with Cooper.

I brought the Boppy to Mommy when Cooper wanted to eat.

I helped push the stroller on our walk to the park, which Cooper enjoyed - see.

On Sunday, Mommy, Cooper and I went to the cabin.  Grandma Geralyn, Grandpa Mike, Tyler, Aly and Joe were all already there and ready for fun.

I got to sit in the driver's seat at the dock and press the horn button (a lot).

Later, Grandpa Mike even let me drive the boat.

I got to play lots of baseball.  Everyone played with me, including Joe and Tyler's friends, it was a lot of fun.

I learned some new dance moves from my Auntie Aly.

I got to spend time with my cousin Tyler.  "Tyler is so funny!"

Cooper enjoyed the cabin too.

On Monday it was Grandma Geralyn's birthday, so it was nice to see her on her special day.  We stayed at the cabin for just a little while after breakfast (enough time for me to get in another boat ride and some baseball) and then we headed home to see Daddy, who was feeling better.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Cooper's First Trip to the Zoo

In an effort to get out of the house for a couple of hours, the three of us ventured out to the zoo for an afternoon.

Sleeping Cooper enjoying the Sea Lions.

    

Mason getting a glimpse of the bears during their lunchtime.

    

Despite all of the fun animals there are to see at the zoo, Mason's favorite part was the playground (he even made a friend during his playtime there).

Cooper slept our entire visit, which made for a much easier visit for mom.

Special Day x2

Not only was it my first Mother's Day as a mother of two, we also celebrated Cooper's baptism at St. Michael's Church in Farmington.  

Sleeping soundly in his baptismal gown.

Alyson Wadley (Godmother), Megan, Cooper, Corey, Kari Voth (Godmother)

After the baptism, we were able to continue the celebration at our house with all the moms, grandmas/great grandmas in our family.  A truly special day all around.

Reflux

After increasing fussiness last week followed by a day of no sleep and extreme restlessness last Friday, I brought Cooper into the doctor Saturday morning with what I thought was our first ear infection.  Turns out that I was wrong on my ear infection hunch, but right that there was more to the story than just a fussy baby.  After providing the doctor a very detailed story, she concluded that Cooper was suffering from reflux.  Now we have the joy of giving him baby Zantac twice a day to try to give him some comfort and relief.  We have seen some improvement with the medicine, but we have had some pretty rough nights with very little sleep for Cooper and I.  I hope he will start feeling better soon.

On a lighter note, our doctors appointment also gave us the opportunity to get the height and weight stats for Cooper at one month.  He weighed in at 12 lbs 3 oz (80th percentile) and was 23 inches (75th percentile).  We have quite the growing boy on our hands.

Week 4 Update

COOPER:

It is hard to believe that Cooper is already 4 weeks old, time flies by way too fast (I should know this since somehow Mason is already 3 1/2).

Likes:  Looking at himself in the mirror, being held and walked around, Mason, rolling from his belly to his back (first accomplished at 13 days), sleeping, baths (we had a couple of rough ones at the beginning, but now he has come to enjoy bath time) and late night feedings.

Dislikes:  Car seat, gas, people sitting while holding him (only during his fussy times), wet diapers.

MASON:

I think Mason is adjusting well to the addition of Cooper.  There are definitely some things that aren't as fun now that there is a baby in the house, for example, we can no longer play baseball in the living room while Cooper is in there and he has to wait a bit longer for things if Mom is feeding Cooper (I get a lot of "He is done eating.").  

Mason is a proud big brother and gets excited when all of his school friends want to see his little brother when he gets picked up from school.  

Likes:  Wii Sports, Wii Fit, baseball, golf, playing outside and hockey 

Dislikes:  Potty training, sleeping in his own bed and waiting

First Night Out

Many weeks before Cooper's arrival, we planned our first outing and bought tickets to the Elton John & Billy Joel concert.  We even did a test run with a bottle on Sunday, which he took like a champ and made me a little sad, so it looked like we were ready to go.  

I received a call from my mom (and scheduled babysitter for the evening) the morning of the concert from the hospital where she was admitted the night before and needed gall bladder surgery (the surgery went great and she was discharged the following day).  

After contemplating our options at length, we decided to still go to the concert and enlist Auntie Emmy and Auntie Aly to watch the boys.  It was very hard to leave Cooper and I only sent 5 check-in text messages during the show.  

We ended up having a great time and the concert was amazing, as only it would be with those 2 performers.  The boys had a good time themselves and everything went smoothly in our absence.  

Thanks Emmy, Aly, Elton & Billy!

Family Filled Weekend

We spent time this weekend with both of our families.

On Saturday, Cooper made his first visit to Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Frank's house in Red Wing and slept pretty much the entire trip.  Mason on the other hand enjoyed lots of time outside with Grandma and Grandpa (and later Chad) playing both baseball and golf.

On Sunday, we celebrated Tyler's First Communion (the first of the two week sacrament celebrations for the Wadley family).  It gave us an opportunity to get the first picture of all three Wadley grandsons.

Mason has changed sports with the warmer weather and now has become quite the baseball player.  After celebrating Tyler's First Communion, he enjoyed some softball/baseball with the Wadley crew.  Players included Mason, Daddy, Grandpa Mike, Tyler, Auntie Emmy, Erik (Emmy's boyfriend), Auntie Aly and Joe (Aly's boyfriend).  Mason had a blast batting, pitching and just running around.