A Redlands Day

Today we truly enjoyed our little town...we started our morning with a trip to Olive Market, yummy coffee and morning snacks. We walked to story time at the library, where Coopie got to do his very first Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (when it was over we asked Kylie to return Cooper's star with hers, she got very upset and said "I don't want Coopie to loss his star." So Cooper got to hold on to his star for a little more time, she was so concerned that he would be sad if he didn't have it, so sweet. We came home, took a nap, then Kylie and daddy headed to the pool at the Drayson Center while Coopie, Liz and I hung out. When they got home we headed to Market Night, we got strawberries, a rainbow painting from Goldie and Kylie took a ride on Tommy. Next stop Ama and Papa's for dinner, yum!! Thank you again Ama and Papa for feeding us! And last, but not least we headed to the Bowl to watch the first half of Hairspray. It was a wonderful family day, 100+ degrees, but we still enjoyed adventuring around our little town and trying to convince Liz that she should start looking for a teaching job here so we can see her more often :o)

So photos and off to bed...

Natalie

 He seemed to know what to do :o)

Tea time at the restaurant, no better company then your little brother and Big Pink Bear. 

 "This is all i get to eat?! What kind of restaurant is this anyway?!"

 Kylie dancing in her pretty long dress at Ammy and Papa's.

Singing to us on her stage in Ammy's living room.

Home safe and sound

We made it home yesterday, the 4 hour drive took us 6 hours and it was not the easiest of trips. Kylie was awake for the first 2.5 hours, insisting on "one day" stories and complaining about being "uncomfort." Cooper was a little fussy but then fell asleep. Liz drove (thank goodness) so I could stay in the back and nurse Cooper and entertain Kylie. So Kylie finally fell asleep at exactly the same time Cooper woke up (and started crying, then screaming) and we slowed to a dead stop on the road, ahhhh. Long story short, Kylie slept the rest of the way, not sure how because Cooper was upset every time I put him back in his car seat. He would not nurse, or suck on my finger. Toward the end of the drive I resorted to shaking the car seat rhythmically while shushing and holding a little singing moon for him to look at, it worked for a little bit, yay. But we eventually made it home, I don't have any idea how I would have made it back if Liz had not been with me, I seriously think it would have taken me 10 hours, or I would have had to pull off and get a hotel for the night and continue the drive today.

We made it home in time to go to Ama and Papa's for dinner and walk down to the bowl for the dress rehearsal of Hairspray! By the way Cooper had three big blowouts that evening, I guess it was his tummy that was bothering him during the drive, poor guy. We enjoyed catching up with Ama, Papa and Marta, and Hairspray was really fun. Kylie actually watched most of the first half but then enjoyed running and playing with her daddy the second half, she missed him so much.

This morning Craig headed to work and we all went to breastfeeding group. It is so fun to see all my mommy friends and their babies, Kylie and Cooper really enjoy it too. After group we asked Kylie where we should do to lunch, "Panera Bread" was her response, so off we went. We enjoyed lunch with Kerry, Amy, Michelle and all the babies, a total of 5 adults and 5 kids, once again thank goodness for Liz helping us out. We came home, Kylie took a nap, Cooper pretended to take a nap, he was so sleepy but he would close his eyes for 5 minutes then wake up like he had napped for hours, silly guy. Then afternoon Mish came over to play and we decided to do a bubble bath in the little pool out front. Coopie got to spend some good time in his whale tub and Kylie and Mish "cooked birthday cakes" with all the bubbles. Then it was dinner time, a short visit from Ama and Papa, play time with daddy and off to bed.

We are going to try and start getting her to bed earlier, it has been hard on Craig and I to have no time in the evening to talk about life and the important decisions we have to make with work and schedules, etc. So hopefully we will have an earlier night tomorrow even though we plan to go watch some of Hairspray again. During our trip to Portorville Kylie slapped Lala across the face, then smiled. I was unsure how to handle it, but I took her to the other room and talked to her about what had happened. Tonight she slapped me in the chest and looked at me and smiled. I guess it's time for Craig and I to talk about our plan when it comes to agreseive behavior, I know some of it is adjusting to having a little brother, some of it is being tired and some of it is simply being 2. But Kylie has been such a sweet little girl, so cautious and gentle, it is weird to see this side of her. I hope we find a way to manage it that feels good to all of us.

More to come soon,
Natalie

More swimming and a trip to ice cream

Last full day at Ammy and Papa's house. Kylie woke up this morning after another good night of sleep, well she finally fell asleep at midnight, but then she slept through until 7:30 without waking up at all. She enjoyed the pool again today, and once again told us when she needed to go potty, she and Lala came running in with Lala saying "hold it, hold it, hold it" and she did, yay! We went to ice cream this afternoon, Doe got to take her new car for it's first trip to town and when we got back it was pool time again. Doe, once again, helped with bath time and Kylie made it though hair washing without any tears, I hope we can keep it up once we get home. Cooper had lots of naked play time today, when he is fussy the one thing that always seems to work is letting him kick naked on a blanket. He also got to spend some quality cuddle time with his aunties and Ammy.

Our visit has been wonderful, I am so glad we got to spend some extra time here with the Johnson group, especially Jill and Mike who have to head back to New York soon. We have been missing Craig, Ama, Papa and Marta and we are eager to see them tomorrow, but I know Kylie will miss all the love and attention from her Aunties and Uncles. We drive home tomorrow accompanied by Liz, I am so thankful to have some help for the drive.

More to come soon,
Natalie

With Love from Auntie Jilly

Auntie Jilly guest blogging tonight.

Today was another busy and fun day. We began our morning at church. Kylie and Cooper started the service in the sanctuary both attached to Mom. Kylie got very excited when she first heard and then saw Uncle Timmy get up in front of the congregation to give the announcements. About half way through the church service Kylie decided that she wanted to go to Sunday school. Leaving Cooper in Ammy's arms, Kylie and Mommy went to the 2's class. Natalie said that Kylie had a very good time and seemed to really enjoy the structured style of the class. One more note about our time at church. Kylie was thrilled to get to meet one of the characters from Doe and Lala's "one day" stories today at church.

After church we all went to the favorite Mexican food restaurant in town and enjoyed a delicious lunch. YUM!!! When we got home it was nap time for many. Cooper, Kylie, Natalie, Uncle Mike, Uncle Timmy, and Auntie Tay Tay all took naps. Papa David had other plans for Ammy and Doe though. He found a great deal on a car for Doe and wanted to jump at the opportunity to get it. The only problem...the car was in Northridge, CA about 2.5 hours away. At 3:30pm they all hopped in the car to drive down south and get Doe her new car. We are all very excited for Doe!

While Kylie took a nice long nap today, Cooper has not been so interested in sleeping. Despite lots of different arms holding him, lots of bouncing and lots of nursing he has not wanted to sleep for spans of much longer than about 10 minutes. Even though he has not slept well today he has been one little trouper and has been happy, smiley Cooper.  For Natalie's sake, lets hope that this day of little sleep will mean that Cooper will sleep extra well tonight.

When Kylie woke up from her nap she was ready to go for a swim. Lala took her out to the pool while Natalie changed into her swim suit. A few minutes after Kylie and Lala went out to the pool they came rushing back inside. Kylie had to go potty and she told LaLa that she needed to go. Yay!! Such a big girl telling us when she needs to use the potty.

Tonight we had pizza for dinner, and it wouldn't be a proper dinner without "one day" stories. Her favorite stories tonight were one about three bears and a little golden haired girl told by Uncle Timmy and a story about spicy Thai food, told by Uncle Mike.

After dinner tonight Kylie got to Facetime with Ama, Papa Gene, and Marta. Ama and Papa Gene have been traveling for the last couple of weeks and haven't had much time to spend with Kylie and Cooper. Thank goodness for technology that allows us to keep in touch when we are far away. I know that Uncle Mike and I sure do appreciate Facetime when we are in New York and are missing our sweet niece and nephew.

Kylie has been in a very imaginative mood tonight. Just a little while ago she had LaLa, Uncle Timmy and Uncle Mike jumping up on furniture because of an imaginary raccoon running around the living room. She went on a "walk" to the bowl and to Market Night with Uncle Timmy and saw dancers and fireworks. And right now LaLa is pretending to be a goat that retrieves whatever Kylie asks for.

It has been such a fun day!!

Kylie and Cooper you bring Uncle Mike and I so much joy. We have enjoyed spending so much time with you both this summer and will miss you so much when we go back to New York. We love you both very much and can't wait for the next time that we get to be with you.

Good Night for now. More Kylie and Cooper stories coming tomorrow.

Love,
Auntie Jilly

 Coopie got to enjoy the pool with Lala and Ky this afternoon.

 Kylie at Sunday School, this was the first time she had been in any organized "school" setting. She did really well and had fun playing with all the other older kids (the class was 2-5 year olds). Even though she didn't play with me, she insisted that I stay in the room with her the whole time, which I didn't mind one little bit.
-Nat

 Kylie insisted that we take a picture with "all of us" and "funny faces" so this is our selfie with all of us before Ammy, Papa and Doe got home.

 Yummmm! Cooper's first of many trips to El Tap.

 Little baby on a big bed.

 

Cooper is 7 weeks old, ahhhh.

We had a wonderful lazy Saturday. We enjoyed the swimming pool this morning and this afternoon. Had another wonderful breakfast and a big family dinner. Other highlights of the day include...Kylie going pee on the potty twice! and zero tears while we washed her hair in the bath!!! We have not really been potty training, but she has started to show more interest and often wakes up from her nap dry. Today she actually asked to go to the potty, so exciting! She has also been screaming when we wash her hair, but today she was fine. Her aunties spent a lot of time in the pool playing "beauty shop" with each other. Washing everyone's hair (except Kylie) and talking about how fun it was to get their hair washed. Kylie wore her new goggles the whole time she was in the pool but refused to get any part of her face wet. So when it came to bath time I was unsure how things would go. She didn't want to wear her goggles and she was willing to watch Auntie Doe's presentation of all the products in their bathroom as I rinsed out her hair. When we were done she said "I not cry" with a big smile on her face.

We rushed down stairs to tell everyone what a good job Kylie did in the bath, she was so proud of herself. She then entertained us all by dancing around naked until she stopped and said "I go pee pee." I grabbed a cloth diaper and put it between her legs but then noticed she was not actually going. "Let's go to the big girl potty." "Ok" she said and we ran to the potty. She went pee, climbed down, wiped herself and tossed the tissue in the potty telling me "this is the tissues swimming pool." She flushed the toilet, walked back in to the living room and laid down ready for me to put her diaper on.

Who is this kid? When did she grow up? Not to mention Cooper is 7 weeks old, when did that happen? He is such a sweet baby, he has been eating and sleeping a lot, well except for being awake from 3:30-5am this morning. After eating and spending some time naked during his diaper change, he was still not interested in going back to sleep, he was so sweet, just cooing and smiling. He finally fell asleep right before Kylie started to stir. I jumped down to her bed and nursed her before she woke herself up then climbed back in bed with Coop. Kylie didn't wake again until 8:20 and Cooper only nursed one more time. It was awesome. I am hoping for a good night again, Kylie wore herself out today and ate a big dinner, so I think she should sleep well.

More to come soon,

-Natalie

This is how she often sleeps on her bed at home, sometimes her feet are hanging off, but she always seems to turn herself around, even when she is sleeping between Craig and I, silly girl. 

 Pool time today, yay for goggles even if she didn't use them.

 They also make a good headband.

A few photos from beach week from Ammy's phone :o)

Swimming and shopping, perfect activities for a 104 degree day.

Kylie and Cooper had a good day in Porterville. Kylie woke up early and got in lots of good play time. She got to swing to the moon, and got to partake in her other favorite Ammy and Papa's house activity: she got to go see the cows. She LOVES walking over to the neighbor's house to see the cows, sheep, mean sheep, the doggies, and the horse. It was very hot on our walk to see the animals, so when we got back we decided to go swimming. Kylie, Lala, Timmy, and Jilly had some fun playing in the pool while mommy was having a fun trip to Target and Marshall's. Natalie was so excited to get the chance to get to Target while Kylie was sleeping, so she went with Tay Tay and Cooper with the hopes of getting back before Kylie woke up. That didn't happen, but Kylie was happy to go see the animals and go swimming with her uncle and aunties. Cooper continues to be a very happy baby. He eats, sleeps, pees, poops, and smiles. What more could we expect from him? He's precious.  The kiddos are going to keep everyone busy the next few days, so it's off to bed for me. 

Love,
Lala

P.S. Craig took a nice long bike ride to Riverside this morning, when he was just about ready to turn around and head back (25 miles from home) his back tire popped, he looked back to see what happened and he hit a bump and crashed. Luckily he was not going to fast and didn't get hurt, besides a little scrape on his leg. After unsuccessfully trying to patch the hole he walked 2.5 miles to the nearest bike shop, they got him all fixed up and he headed back home. By the time he got home, his 2 hour bike ride had turned in to a 6 hour adventure. I am glad he didn't get to badly hurt and I am glad he made it back home safe and sound, and I am really glad his work didn't end up calling him in while he was stuck 25 miles from home with a broken bike. We got to skype with him this evening, but we still miss him a lot. 
-Natalie
Cooper is up on Taylor's blog! http://wp.me/p3Ct4v-eo

Cooper was a happy boy during our shopping trip. 

" You got decaf coffee at this Starbucks, right mom?"

 "Look at how strong I am in my Super Cooper outfit."

 Smiles for Uncle Timmy.

 After waking up at 2:30 with Cooper who had soaked through his diaper and pjs, waking up at 4:30 with Kylie who soaked through her diaper and pjs, and again waking up wet with Cooper pee at 6:30 (he also spit up all over my chest when we sat up), we decided to take a little early morning nap while Kylie played with her aunties. He also wet through during this nap and so I ended up peed on again. My shower felt extra wonderful today (and I am starting to think that my extensive diaper stripping yesterday did not work well).

 We got Kylie some silver sparkly goggles in hopes that they might make bath time hair a little easier since she complains about the water in her eyes. She wore the goggles on her eyes and as a head band almost all evening but refused to put them on in the bath.

 Visiting the cows!

 Kylie or Cooper??????

 (the first two are Kylie, second two are Cooper, almost at exactly the same age)