Randomness

Let me start by giving a shout out to my sweet husband of 8 years (yes honey, it HAS been 8 years of marriage already). The wind had blown our BBQ over numerous times so for Father's Day we got our chief grill master.... ta da - a new grill! Love to you and all you do!

We are taking advantage of playing outside while the weather is nice here. So much so that Cooper will fall asleep quickly in unusual places.

I'm learning that the reason 2 kids are difficult is because when one is asleep...

the other one is wide awake.

But how could you mind with a sweet face like that!

I've been feeling so great lately that I actually mowed the lawn! It's AWESOME to get out and work - I'm feeling the baby fat FINALLY begin to melt away. While I mowed the lawn Cooper enjoyed an ice pop (ok, 4 ice pops, but it was the only way I could keep him from wanting to HELP me mow).

Cooper is all about doing things "by meself, mommy" so this is the face he gave me when I tried to help him with his bike.

Love to all!

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!

Bring on the Bows

Our sweet baby girl is finally here!!! I can't TELL you how nice it is NOT to be pregnant any more. Can I just say that I am a fan of being induced - it went so well. We went to the hospital around 5:30 am and had her just before 2 pm, much faster than with Cooper. Plus I didn't feel like I had been hit by a truck when I came home from the hospital. My doctor says it's because my body knew what to do since it was my 2nd pregnancy.

Here's our first picture together after they took me to my room

Randy got some snuggle time in with her as well...

Cooper didn't want much to do with her in the hospital, but when we came home he decided he liked her after all and was probably a little too affectionate at first. He's been a wonderful big brother - minus the extra tantrums he's displayed which I think are attributed to not being the only focus in the home.

Here's a little clip of Cooper saying, " hi baby CJ". I'll post more when I'm not so TIRED.

Sweet Flooring and Diggers

Thought I would just post some pics of activities we've done this last month.

Randy took a few days and ripped up the carpet in our dining room, then layed wood laminante flooring through the kitchen, hallways and dining room. It turned out SO WELL! I'm always impressed by his mad skills.

He even did it with Cooper's "help".

Getting close to the finish:

All done with the furniture back! I love my hard-working boys.

Later that same week we took Coop to the John Deer Pavilion in Moline, IL. Nothing is cooler for him right now than "diggers and dump dumps" which means he was in HEAVEN when we saw some life-size equipment AND got to climb inside of it. If you live in the area and haven't taken your kids to this place, YOU NEED to do it. They let you climb around in all kinds of farm equipment and it's FREE.

Cooper cried when we finally left, but we did buy him a new "digger" which made things a little better.

And just a baby update: my doctor decided I've suffered ENOUGH and he's going to induce labor this Wednesday. That's right, April 1st, an April Fool's baby - I'm excited and nervous. I'm a little sad that it won't just be me and my sidekick anymore, but I am TOTALLY ready to not be PREGNANT any longer. My feet are swollen enough that I ALMOST wore flip-flops to church yesterday. The only thing that stopped me was the snow on the ground.

Wish me luck!

It's Just a #... Right?

Hooray for me - I turned 30 on Monday. I feel like I should have some earth-shattering words of wisdom to share! At least that's what I thought about people this age when I was a kid, or a teenager, or even in my early 20s, that they had it all together and knew everything (and were SOOO old). Now I know the truth, that even at 30 you are still just doing your best, learning something new each day, and not feeling like your age reflects who you are.

I DON'T FEEL OLD.

I do feel like I have more confidence than I did in my 20s, I'm not self-conscious about my looks or what others think about me... which is why I told Randy we had to find a karaoke bar so I could sing my heart out to celebrate. And, being the good sport that he is, that's just what we did. Here is Regan, Heather D., Heather C., me, Katie & Jen at the karaoke bar:

I think the best part of the night was when Randy and Jon sang "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot. Or maybe when some random guy hopped on stage to help (unsolicited) Randy sing "Low Places". So for all of you who missed it, we'll have to go again as soon as I feel up to getting out after the baby arrives.

I figured out how to do video on my new camera - Randy taught Cooper how to say "happy birthday, mommy".

Making the Cut

I finally DID IT!

When my sweet mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer last year I, like I'm sure everyone else in the family, felt helpless as to what I could do for her. When she underwent chemo and lost her hair she bought the COOLEST wig to wear. Through the whole orderal she has been the positive one and has had the best attitude, teaching us all how to cope with hardship. I'm happy to say she is doing well and just the other day was able to ditch the wig. I've been growing my hair to donate it in her honor and FINALLY made the cut this week. I ended up donating a little over 10 inches.

Here are a few pics to enjoy and Bonnie - this cut is for you:

My new do (and 35 week pregnant belly):

If you're thinking of cutting your hair, it only takes 8 inches to make a donation through Pantene Beautiful Lengths (click on link to find out more) and could mean SO MUCH to someone in need of a wig.

LOVE YOU, BONNIE! I couldn't have asked for a better 2nd mom.