Dog Days

What do you get when a little boy who loves dogs has some great neighbors WITH dogs? The BEST of both worlds! He can play with a dog and YOU don't have to clean up after it. We are lucky to have such a situation... thanks to our neighbors Pat & Molly and their sweet lab, Darby.

C.J. is getting bigger! She has discovered her hands and will suck her thumb if I don't have a pacifier handy for her. Already she just goes with the flow.

We had a cook-out with a few friends before the days got too humid and sticky. Cooper couldn't get enough of the fire pit. By the time we left for home he was COVERED in a mess of chocolate, watermelon, marshmallow and ash. Below is a picture of the kids with Kyle telling Cooper to BACK AWAY (we all told him multiple times, he likes to test his limit aka: our limits).

And me with the girls left to right:

Erica, Darci, Rivka, Amy (still losing the baby weight)

And Randy convinced me it would be MUCH easier to buzz Coop for the summer. He and I were both against it at first, but the thought of not having to comb his hair or cut it ever two weeks won me over. Cooper was not so convinced.

When he realized he and Daddy were now twins, it made everything ok.

Not bad, not bad at all.
We hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are. Love to all of you.

Catching Up

I don't know where anyone finds time to blog (or sleep) with a new baby and a toddler. I have so much to catch up with, but it's been LONG ENOUGH since my last post. CJ is already 9 weeks old and smiling. We had a few visitors in April-May because if you have a baby... they will come. (a little Iowa humor). First my mom came and graciously stayed for 2 weeks to help me - I needed more help with Cooper than anything. She was AWESOME to take him out and about which is no small task if you've seen his running skills.

Grandma McAffee & Caroline:

Then Randy's mom & dad came a few weeks later. Seriously, is this not the cutest picture?(below)

Grandpa Clark & Caroline:
We blessed CJ at church while they were here. She's in the dress my mom made for the occasion below.
Grandma Clark & Caroline:

Our expanding family:It's always so sad when family leaves. Thanks for coming to see us!

Now on to Cooper, he learned to usethe sprayer on the hose while Grandpa Clark was here. It was funny at the time but now you can't go outside without him trying to spray you down. And even if he doesn't get YOU, he soaks himself which means you get wet taking care of HIM anyways. But it's still pretty cute.
We were able to take a tour of the helicopter at the hospital last week. Cooper thought it was the coolest thing. I was able to get him to do anything I wanted for a few days prior by reminding him of how we were going to see the helicopter. When our big moment finally arrivedhe was so excited to sit inside, but then refused to get out until I went inside after him.

We're still talking about the "helicopter take off, mommy".
We had one more big thing last month - Cooper turned 2!!
My friend, Heather, gave me this idea for his cake and let me borrow her son's dump truck. It's a dirt cake with brownies, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, crushed oreos and worms all mixed together. Be sure to line the dump truck with plastic wrap if you try this. All the kids LOVED it and I loved the chocolate!
There are more pictures and stories to share of our adventures the past weeks, but both kids are asleep right now, so I'm going to RELAX with a good book.

I can't resist, one more picture: CJ in her bath tub.Love to all - can't wait to catch up on reading everyone's blogs!