Monthly Update

It’s turkey season! Griffin loves being down at the farmhouse during the evenings, hanging with all the hunters, and playing with Briley when he’s there. Cooper is loved by all and gets his typical “that is the happiest baby I’ve ever seen” comments. Soon everyone will be gone and we’ll be getting them in bed at a decent hour again. I don’t know if Drew will have time to take me hunting this year, but I thought I’d throw back to 2013 when Griffin was much smaller and lighter (although it killed me to lift him and the turkey like this!).

I’ll have to get serious next year so that Cooper can have a photo of the same pose. I’m pretty sure Drew can come through with a gobbler, but I may have to use his bird in my picture if I can’t make it happen again! Maybe the boys can do the opposite with me in 20 years. Ha!

Our bath water is working overtime with 2 dirty boys in the tub together now! Griffin loves helping “wash” Cooper. He actually is pretty handy to have around. 

 

Duke is adjusting well to Cotton and will finally acknowledge him. I think he enjoys having a playmate, especially because his playmate is being crate trained while he still gets to sleep on our bed! He knows he ranks higher.

Cooper is way ahead of Griffin in the speech department. In the last month he’s started saying, “Ma ma”! I knew it wasn’t just wishful thinking when Drew mentioned it. Griffin’s first word was “Da da”, so I’m enjoying this. I think he’s realizing it gets a quicker response from me and totally melts my heart to hear it. In the last week, I know I’ve heard a couple “Da da”s from him too. Maybe he will be a much faster talker than his big brother?

He’s also getting much more mobile. Nothing is safe that is in arm’s reach, and I’ve seen a push-up position a couple times. He’s just starting to get those little legs going.

Still on the agenda……moving to the crib. The rock-n-play is working wonderfully and grants us full nights of sleep but he is going to outgrow it sooner or later. I’m still concerned that laying flat right after his last bottle is not going to work out well with his acid reflux.

One other major development is 2 more teeth! He’s two front on top are making their way in. I don’t know who had the major gap in our families (my mom somewhat), but Cooper is definitely making them proud. Maybe it’s the way the teeth are working in, but they sure seem to be a mile apart! They are barely visible here.

 

Griffin and I have gotten some quality time together this week because Drew was on his annual trip to Chicago. Bedtime routine is usually done with Daddy, so I’ve enjoyed the snuggles I’ve gotten and reading books with him.

His bedroom seems to stay a lot cleaner since Cotton has come along. Legos are one of the puppy’s favorite things to find and chew, so Griffin does a great job keeping his room picked up nowadays!

The daycare had their annual benefit a couple weeks ago. Thankfully, Griffin was not the star of the show this year! His friend Kaelyn was, and you’ll see why in the video:

For the sake of posting in the correct month, this month's photos will be taken/added this weekend..........stay tuned.

And here they are:

Cooper's first Cardinals game!

We made it to our first Cardinals game of the year, and the very first for Cooper baby!!

Of course, we chose one that was a "Kids Run the Bases" game (no expensive photos to buy this time though :( darn it!) and since just Drew and I went we have no pics of us in action. Griffin was thrilled because Fred Bird happened to be standing at 1st base and gave him a high-five as we went by. Cooper got a fist bump. Griffin was faster than ever, so Drew chased him and I shuffled Cooper around with a finale of feet tapping home plate. All the old ladies standing around home "awed" and he smiled. 

We went up and back in the same day. Perfect first game of the season. 

 

Meet Cotton

We've gone 9 years with 1 dog. In the past few weeks we've added (kind of) 2 more. 

The black lab that was dumped at the farm has been named Pistol, for now, and is headed to South Dakota to live and attempt to learn how to bird hunt. He will be in good hands up there with a family friend. 

The second dog came because Duke went to the groomer (second time in his life, the first was just months ago when I was on maternity leave and we liked the result so much that we took him again). The groomer has a really pretty German Shorthaired Pointer female named Maggie. He happens to also be a really great caterer whom we hired for the dinner at our wedding reception 6 years ago. Knowing Drew and that he likes to bird hunt, he had mentioned months ago about Maggie having puppies and all the hunting bloodlines that run throughout. Flash forward to last week when Drew was in charge of dropping Duke off at the groomer.......and now we have Cotton.

 

 

  

We've had a few "what were we thinking" moments, but he is actually a very sweet and good natured puppy. We probably wouldn't have survived if he wasn't. 

He is loved by all, except Duke.....and eventually he may start acknowledging him.