getting out

When Owen was 2 weeks old, I felt recovered enough to go back to CBS, MOPS, etc. Then they both got sick--so I went back to "plan A" to wait until he's at least 6 weeks old before going back. But we have not been totally isolated! A fun neighbor gal, who also has a 2 year old and a new baby, dropped by Monday evening. She wanted to bring over a gift for Owen, and wanted to get out of her house now that her husband was home from work to take over kid duty. Then we headed over to her house this morning to play. It's fun to have a change of scenery, to talk with another mom in the same stage of life, and to have Ava enjoy another kiddo's company. There was a lot of toy grabbing and subsequent yelling, but it made for good practice of some new social skills for Ava--like sharing. ha.
It's nice having a like-minded, fellow-mom around the corner for these type of impromptu events! Before moving we prayed a lot over the details of this transition, and asked God to bless us with some fun neighbors with young kids. He has certainly gone above and beyond what we could have ever imaged in this department!

Ephesians 3:20-21,
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

Ava

"Bye, mommy. I'm going on an errand. I'm going to Target to go shopping. See you later." She then "drove" off on her toy train, around the corner and out of the kitchen. I'm amazed every day at the things she says and the ideas she shares.

The first week in our new house we were without our furniture, so our "meals" were picnic-style on the floor. This is very messy with a toddler, so we made a little table from a box and left out a paint can for a chair. She thought this was very exciting, and at every meal would exclaim, "I'm sittin' on the can!"

body art

Sweet Ava got a little creative with the red marker this afternoon. I was feeding Owen while she worked at the kitchen table. When I caught up to her, she had a full sleeve tattoo going. She was very excited about it, but asked if I could please "take if off now" so she could get down from the table. When I told her it might not all come off right away, she got a little upset. Isn't that the most pitiful face you've ever seen? She got so worried! So I told her that we should leave a little bit left on her arm so she could show Dad when he got home. Once she felt like it was her intention to leave it on, she was all smiles again. whew.

On a happier note, she really got into wearing the baby carrier yesterday afternoon. She liked carrying around her baby, who she's named Owen. It was uber cute.

And by the way, it snowed yesterday. Welcome to Wisconsin.

Trick-or-Treat!

Our little town officially goes trick-or-treating on the Sunday before Halloween. This was the first year Ava could really get into the trick-or-treat scene, and she seemed to really enjoy it. Several groups of kids came to our door before she was ready to go out, and she was so excited to see all these fellow children out and about. She practiced saying "Trick or Treat" and then headed out the door with Steve. She got a kick out of carrying around her pumpkin bucket, but she didn't eat any of the candy--in fact, I don't think the word "candy" is in her vocabulary yet. When I bagged up all her loot and sent it out the door today, she didn't mind at all. I don't think she knows that there are yummy-tasting things in those brightly colored wrappers. I'm sure by next Halloween this will have all changed.
But she did love running around in her costume. She was the cutest bumblebee ever. She would make the buzzing sound and "sting" you if she got the chance. This proved to be a good costume choice since it was drizzling and cold and very windy out. Our neighborhood goes all out with this event--we had over 100 kids come to the front door. For real. I'm thinking we may be a "drop-off" neighborhood. We had been warned of this ahead of time, so we had plenty of candy (despite my best efforts to eat it all over the past few weeks). It was fun to see all the cute kids, and fun to say "hi" to the parents we've been meeting.
Owen, on the other hand, did not like his experience at all. Owen and I stayed home to pass out candy, so his evening consisted of 1) being held by mom, 2) being abruptly placed down in his swing, 3) crying his head off while his mom answered the door, 4) repeat. Better luck next year, big guy.Another big event yesterday--Owen had his first tub bath. He was all fussy before, and as soon as we put him in he got all mellow and happy.

yipee for night time sleep!

Owen had a super duper night. I'm not going to hold it against him in case the next few nights are terrible; I'm just thanking God for all the sleep we had. He ate before we all went down for the night, and didn't wake up hungry until 7 hours later! That feeding was short and sweet, and it was another 5 hours before he was up again. Lovely. I'll take it.

Get ready...get set...never mind...

So this Saturday was going to be the big day to start potty training Ava. We talked about it earlier in the week and went to the store to pick out "big girl panties" with Elmo on them. But then Ava came down with a cold and shared it with Owen. By Thursday we all had it. Owen was also starting to show very sad signs of reflux after every feeding, so I took both kids to the pediatrician on Thursday. Between Owen's bad nights from the reflux and giving him medicine with every feeding and general crankiness in Ava from the cold, we abandoned the mission yesterday. Maybe in a couple of weeks, after the meds start improving Owen's tummy troubles. Sorry, Ava!

In other news, we did get to carve our pumpkin on Friday night. Ava scooped out the guts inside with much enthusiasm and she's a big fan of roasted pumpkin seeds. Owen slept through the event.

sweet dreams

This morning when I went in to get Ava out of bed, she was sitting up with her Wendy doll and a book. "Good morning, Ava! What are you doing?" She replied, "I reading Bible stories to Wendy." I asked her, "Did you have a good sleep last night?" Ava: "yes, I had sweet dreams."

Owen's first walk & playing with neighbors

So this is after the fact, but I'm just now getting these pictures loaded. Owen's first walk was Oct. 8th, (which was his due date). On our walk we saw some of our neighbors and introduced them to Owen. We also stopped to meet another family we hadn't talked to yet, bc Steve had lawn envy and wanted to find out what grass seed and fertilizer they used. Boys are so funny. It's a good thing one of us is interested in lawn care. I'm only interested in enjoying the lawn after the work is over.



Steve also changed out the lisense plates on the cars that day. We're officially here. The rest of the pics are in our backyard. At first we didn't think we would like the fact that no one has fences bc you'd be looking at the back of your neighbors' houses--but it's turned out to be a blessing. The neighbors are so fun, and there are lots of kids to play with.
This is the 2 yr old who lives behind us. They chase each other around and it's So cute!

Here are the neighbors behind us who took care of Ava all day when I went into labor. We gave them a last-minute call and they helped us out! Thanks you guys!

a delightful weekend (without elastic waistbands)

We had some fun fall adventures this weekend. For starters, I wore (and buttoned) pants without an elastic waistband for the first time in months. Isn't that exciting?
Also on Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch near our house. It was beautiful out and Ava had a great time. Her favorites were riding a pony, tasting apple cider, and getting butterfly wings made out of balloons. She also picked out the pumpkin for our family and did a mighty fine job. The pumpkin patch had a nice little set-up--they also had a petting zoo and some big inflatables (maybe next year...), and live music. Owen successfully slept through the entire outing.
Saturday evening Papa Cooper arrived at our house and it was great to see him. Ava is a huge fan. He went out and got dinner for Ava and I and himself while Steve headed off to the annual formal dinner/awards ceremony for his company.
On Sunday afternoon the 5 of us went out to pick our own apples. I had never been apple picking before, and we had a great time. Ava ate a lot of apples while we were making our way through the rows of trees, and she helped carry the bag until it weighed more than she did. She also had fun climbing up in the trees in search of the best apples.







Owen, once again, slept through the whole trip.

A few pics

This morning Steve moved the computer downstairs so we could have internet without messing with the wireless adapter we had been using. So now we can finally put up some pics!
The picture on the left is my dad holding Owen the day after he was born. The one on the right was taken shortly after his arrival. The 3rd is Ava greeting Owen on his homecoming. She gets so excited over him. Anytime he stirs she says "Owen movin! Owen awake! I like him!" We have more to post, but this morning Steve's training Lucy on the invisible fence, then we're all heading out to the pumpkin patch. I love the fall!

October in Wisconsin

We haven't posted in a while bc we're having internet troubles. The wireless connection keeps kicking us off--but it seems to be working at this moment, so we'll give it a whirl!
We are having some really beautiful days up here. It's still pretty warm (upper 60's to 70's) and the leaves are changing colors. I'm trying to enjoy all the warm moments before winter sets in for good. Yesterday a cold front came through and it smelled like winter outside--noooo! But it was back to sunny and warm today.
Ava and Owen and I have been getting out of the house again this week. Owen is now 2 weeks old, and Ava and I are sick of sitting around the house. So yesterday we went back to our CBS class, which was fine. Ava LOVES her CBS program. She asks almost every day, "We got to Bible Study today?" She likes singing the scripture memory songs they teach her, and she now prefers to fold her hands when our family prays instead of holding each others' hands, bc that's how they do it at Bible study. There's another stay-at-home mom on our street who also attends this CBS class, so it's nice to get to know her there and we're able to walk our kids over to each others' yards to play throughout the week.
Today, Ava, Owen and I got out again to attend a MOPS group. It was my first week there, and I loved it. Everyone was so super nice, the speakers and were very encouraging, the breakfast provided was yummy (yeah, food!), and Ava had a good time in the nursery program (took some time to get her out of there). It's such a great place for a nursing mom--surrounded by other moms of young children--many with little babies in tow. I think it meets every other week, so I'm looking forward to going back. Also, another one of our neighbors also attends that class with her 2-year-old son and newborn daughter. It's nice to have fellowship on our own block!
Owen is starting to get into somewhat of a routine--like being completely alert and awake for hours at a time in the middle of the night. That's actually getting a little better. We're taking that one night at a time. yikes. But overall things are settling in. My parents were here the first week, which was WONDERFUL, and Steve's dad will be up this weekend. Ava loves seeing her grandparents! She does a happy dance and starts chanting.
We've also had neighbors bringing us meals, which is so sweet since they hardly know us at all. The food has been very tasty! I'm a big fan of food.
Well, we have some fun pics to post of Ava and Owen, but the internet connection keeps cycling me on and off before a photo can finish loading. Maybe we'll be able to post some later.