Owen & Cooper

We celebrated Owen's 4th birthday this month. This was probably the birthday that hit Mommy the most. At 3, I still could see the toddler/baby in him. Now, at 4, there's no more toddler left in there. It's just so hard to believe he's 4! He's very very proud to be 4. We had a "tricky" party last Sunday. According to Owen, it was "tricky" because he actually didn't turn 4 on the day of his party. That came a couple of days later. The day started like this:

"Mommy, Daddy...I'm 4 now. I'm bigger." He runs into the bathroom to get his step stool. He proceeds to run down the hall, flip the light on in the master ensuite, rush to the vanity, put the stool down, step on it and exclaim to the mirror "I'm bigger now!" In total amazement he says "Wow..." It really was too funny. He clearly expected to see a much bigger boy staring back at him. After all, he's 4 now!

He's doing well at school. This past week was his first parent teacher conferences this year. Both teachers gave a lot of positive feedback....so all is well there. We also recently visited his ENT who said that it was good news...no fluid this time and the last tube is barely hanging by a thread. So, she's feeling confident now that we won't have to have them done a second time. Very good news for us.

O has been taking swimming and skating lessons. He's probably a better skater than Mommy now. He's also doing karate through the school gym program so he's been keeping pretty busy.

Cooper is also doing well. He's trying to speak more but it's probably not very audible to anyone other than Mommy and Daddy. Mommy has just come to accept that her boys are late talkers. If he's anything like O, he'll make up for it later. We're thinking of signing him up for sportball in January. He really seems to love playing ball and hockey so we're going to give it a go if we can find a class time that works. We'll also start him in swimming soon...we're not expecting him to like that part so much. He's not a fan of the cold water!

He and Owen are really playing a lot more. It's hilarious to see them down on the floor wrestling. Who knew it would start so early?? And the disagreements over toys...Cooper has no use whatsoever for his own "younger" toys and he does not mind letting Owen know that he expects him to share. Unfotunately for Owen, the old switch and bait isn't working for him anymore!

Just a little over a month until Christmas and Owen is on the countdown already. A couple of nights ago, I was laying in bed with him reading "The NIght Before Christmas." Afterwards, he said to me "Mommy, if I am naughty and Santa doesn't bring me any gifts, can I go pick some at the store?" I said "Sorry bud...that's not the way it works" He looked a little concerned about that. LOL

As always, we're missing you all in NB!

Michelle, Doug, Owen and Cooper

Only 6 more weeks until our trip to NB! This will be our first trip home in 3 years. It's hard to believe it's been that long. We're looking forward to all but the getting there. It will be a whirlwind trip I'm sure...lots of people to see, not enough time. Still, it will be great for everyone to see the boys.

The boys are doing well. They just started a new school so we're in transition mode right now. Owen took to it quite easily but Cooper found it a little harder (though much better than Mommy expected).

Cooper is really starting to lose the baby...he's all toddler now! He's a runner and climber....good lord Mommy and Daddy can barely keep up. He's into everything and so it goes with second children, he's into everything far sooner than Owen was.

Over the last couple of months, he's really started to develop a sense of humour. He was very serious as an infant but he's definitely starting to come into his own and he's getting lots of laughs out of us lately. Maybe he's just happier now that he's got most of his teething done. He just had 6 teeth come in at the same time. Seriously...I suppose that would make anyone cranky! But he seems quite a bit happier these days.

He's started mimicking Owen a lot more. It's really too cute! They're playing a lot more together now, which also means that Mommy and Daddy are playing referee more too. Who knew it would start this early??

Owen is quite busy these days as well. He recently started soccer, which he really seemed to enjoy. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't cooperated and he's had some trouble with his asthma so he's missed a couple of games but fingers crossed that he gets to play this week. I think he'll full on stage a revolt if he does not get to go. He wasn't at all happy about missing soccer.

He's been talking about going to Moncton for a couple of months now...he says "we have lots of people to see there". I think he's got it all planned out already.

We recently saw his ear specialist and they may have to re-do his tubes again (sigh....). She's going to wait until September to make a decision in hopes that she sees some improvement. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Other than that, he's much the same. He's all boy, loves to get dirty, ride his bike, keep rocks and sticks in his pockets and he's still quite the character. He loves to get a laugh and his favourite saying these days is "I tease ya!"

So...count down is on to NB, we'll see you all soon!

Missing you much,
Michelle, Doug, Owen & Cooper

The boys are doing well....we're all thankful that spring is almost here and the weather is getting better. Mommy and Daddy are so over all of the winter gear as are the boys. We spent much of the day outdoors today and it was really nice to finally shed all of the layers and have some fun. Mommy went a little snap happy (see April pics)...but hey we've been a little lazy on the pic front since Mommy went back to work. So enjoy!

As you can see, Cooper is looking more like a toddler everyday. He's still in desperate need of a haircut and Mommy is still holding out. I think this will be the month though. At some point, Mommy needs to accept that he can't keep his baby looks forever.

He's still not walking on his own but we're expecting it any day now. He stands on his own until he realizes he's doing it but then drops to his bum. Same with walking, he barely holds on to a finger to walk but then drops slowly to his bottom as soon as you pull your finger away.

He's trying to speak more and even said his teacher's name the other day (Isa for Lisa). We were both shocked! He's also doing some sign language now and signs for "more" and "milk". He also shakes his head no to make it abundantly clear when he's not into something. "Isa" says he also nods yes...but Mommy hasn't seen that one yet. Wonder if that means something?! LOL

His molars have finally broken through so he now has 10 teeth and one more on the way. Hopefully, it will let up soon. He's a very unhappy teether!

Owen is also doing well. He had a major growth spurt over the last month or so. He's getting to be such a big boy (and a little clumsy too as he's trying to adapt to his new, longer limbs). Poor kid has more than a few bumps and bruises these days! His teachers say he's doing really well in school and has adapted very well to the new class.

As always, he is quite the character. Yesterday when he woke up, he came in to our bedroom. I said, "good morning sweetie". He replied, "good morning bootiful" (beautiful) Clearly, he's picked up the expression somewhere. It was hilarious to hear from a 3 year old.

We have signed him up for outdoor soccer in May. So that should be fun. Mommy just bought some cleats for him...way too cute. We'll be sure to take pics for everyone to see. We're also thinking about signing him up for skating school this summer but we're still undecided about whether we want to be tied to another scheduled activity this summer. Now that both Mommy and Daddy are working, time is precious and we're trying to jealously guard our time together.

We're still thinking we'll get to NB this July. We just haven't decided how we're getting there yet. It looks like we'll be driving but we are dreading that drive already. Still, we're determined to do it since we haven't been home for 3 years.

That's all of our updates for now. Miss you much!

Michelle, Doug, Owen & Cooper

Well...what a month it's been. You'll see from our pics that none of us look so hot this month. Since the last time I wrote, we've all had the stomach flu, neverending colds and 3 incidents of pink eye. Really?! So this is the way it's going to be...again. Gotta love daycare! Oh well...we trying to make the best of it.

Cooper is 1!!!! We can't believe it's been a year already. Poor kid didn't even get a real birthday party. Mommy woke up with pink eye (for the second time in 3 weeks) on the morning of his party. Given that it's so contagious (as evidenced by the fact that we keep passing it around!), we couldn't chance giving it to the other kids. So we canceled but did celebrate with our own little party of 4 since we had the cake, decorations and all the loot already done. We just made our own fun!

Mommy's been back to work for 2 weeks now and it's been a bit of an adjustment for all of us. Mommy's learning how to get two kids out of the house by 7:00 am (wowsa...not an easy feat. Dadddy's learning how to get two kids home and fed after school also not as easy as one might think!). The constant battle with one virus or another is not helping either! But we're trudging along and things are starting to fall into place.

Cooper is now doing much better at daycare. He's finally decided that the hunger strike was futile and he's eating well again. The teachers say his mood has improved quite a bit as well. He's actually giving them lots of smiles (and he doesn't give those away to just anybody). He's still not walking on his own but he can walk with the aid of only one finger so it's just a matter of gaining his confidence to let go. He's in need of a haircut but Mommy just can't bring herself to do it because she knows it's going to make him look like a big boy...she's just not ready yet.

Owen is doing well. He too has been hit by more than one flu bug this past month but he's a trroper as always. It was always apparent to Mommy that he has Daddy's personality but it shows more and more as he gets older. He loves to get a laugh and what a bugger! Today I was at the grocery store with him and he looks at a woman standing in the aisle and says "Momma." I said "what are you doing...that's not your Momma. I am your Momma!" He laughs like he's just told the best joke ever and says "I'm teasing you!" Of course, because he loved the reaction he got from me...every woman in the store got a "Hi Momma" before we left. Bugger!

Enjoy the pics! We miss you all,

Michelle, Doug, Owen & Cooper

2010 already. Doug and I were marvelling at the fact that Y2K was 10 years ago! Wow, a lot has happened since then!

We had a wonderful Christmas. Owen seemed to really get it this year and he was excited about Santa coming. Half of the fun was the anticipation. We made cookies and a card to leave for Santa, left milk and we ended up leaving carrots for Rudolph on the kitchen table because Owen was concerned about them "getting dirty" outside. We had a great time with all of that. Santa was very good to the boys. Owen got the books and blanket he asked for and a nice little "bonus" as well....their very own bouncy castle. We knew that unfinished basement would come in handy at some point! The Arsenault's were here for Christmas as well so the boys got to enjoy some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa as well. All in all, it was a great Christmas.

Cooper is crawling and cruising like a madman. We can barely keep up. He's into absolutely everything! He has started walking with the help of a push walker too. Before we know it, he'll be walking on his own. He now has a few words that he is saying. His first word was "wow". He's picked that up from his older brother. I never realized how much Owen says that until Cooper picked it up. He's also saying "ball" and "mama" and signing the word "milk". He's a much better eater than Owen was at this stage. Although both enjoy a very healthy appetite, it took quite a while for Owen to move to table food. Cooper, on the other hand, would eat pretty much anything you give him. We finally finished weaning a little over a week ago. What a tough one to wean! He's still refusing a sippy cup but given how long it took him to even consider a bottle, we're not surprised. On the sleep side, he's been doing great. Down at 7:00 up between 6:00 and 7:00. Yay for Mommy! Just in time for me to go back to work... Oh well...I'm not complaining. For a while, we were thinking we would be getting up 3-4 times through the night and working. So, we're happy. Hopefully, it lasts.

Owen is also doing really well. He's given up his afternoon naps. We struggled to get both boys to nap at the same time when Cooper was napping 2X a day. And now that Cooper is ready to move to one nap, Owen has decided to kick the nap habit. Isn't that always the way?! No complaints though, Owen is now going down much easier at night so it's a welcome trade-off. He started in his new classroom on Monday. He looked like such a little man in his uniform (see pic)...it made me a little sad. Before we know it, it will be his first day of high school! He is really enjoying the new class. We thought the change might be hard since it's much more structured and some of the kids are so much older but he's come home everyday excited to tell us about his day. And dare I say...drop-off has actually been easier this week? Again, fingers crossed that it lasts. He and Cooper are starting to really play together a little more and Owen is really liking that. He's also taking his big brother role very seriously. The other day, I firmly told Cooper no and he started to cry. Owen became teary-eyed and says "Mommy don't talk Cooper like that. You made him cry" Being second guessed by my 3 year-old already! But it did make us laugh (if only when Owen wasn't looking).

Only 3 more weeks at home with my boys...sniff...sniff. Part of me is sad about it and the other part is looking forward to getting back to work. It's that initial transition period that I would like to skip over. We're now in the process of getting Cooper transitioned to daycare. He just started this week and it didn't go very well in spite of the fact that we started slowly (just a couple of hours a day). He's been crying a lot. He's refusing to eat at snack time (that's how I know it's bad! LOL) Poor little guy is finding it hard (as are the teachers...my boy has a temper and is LOUD when he's unhappy!). In 6 months, he probably won't even flinch when I leave but it's sure tough seeing him sad now. Luckily, we had the foresight to enrol him early so we've got a few more weeks to get him used to it.

That's it for now. Missing you all in NB but not sorry that we don't have all that snow (so far...).

Michelle, Doug, Owen & Cooper
xoxox