Phone Photos

Cooper has had a stack of sight words for quite some time. His interest level in learning them comes & goes, as does our motivation to work on them. Having homework next year could be rough. I finally decided to give him a little motivation to work harder. He's constantly asking to go to the Build a Bear store in the mall. We usually look, but have never bought anything. They released some Ninja Turtle bears and he wanted one. We agreed that once he learned all of his words, he could get a Ninja Turtle bear.

It was pretty funny watching him in the store, because he had no idea that you actually got to build the bear. In his mind, we decided on a bear and they sold you a stuff one. Needless to say, he was even more excited.

Caitlin has hated having anything in her hair for a long time. Recently, though, she started asking for a bow. It's pretty cute to hear her say bow, since she draws out the "ow" part. We were cleaning out her closet and she kept bringing me bows to put in her hair.

She also discovered and fell in love with her stick horse.

Jason went to the Cowboy's Monday Night game a few weeks ago. Cooper was pretty involved in the game and Caitlin yelled at the TV every time he did.

School picture day came around and I decided to send the kids in something fun.

We finally carved our pumpkins - Transformers & Spider-Man.

One final Halloween outfit:

Cooper attended a birthday party at the Aquarium. He was very excited & kept asking if he could have his party there also.

After the party, Cooper came with me to get a pedicure. He kept telling the ladies that he did not want his toes painted.

Trick or Treat! Halloween 2014

Halloween fell on a Friday this year, which meant we could stay out a bit later than in the past. Nana came in Thursday evening and took both kids to school Friday.

The kids all had a costume parade and then sat down for their Halloween parties.

That evening, we went to Reagan, Abby & Quinn's house to Trick or Treat. Sarah & Jacob joined us and after forcing the kids to eat dinner, we headed out.

Caitlin wanted to be like the big kids & loved running to every door. Even if she had no idea what she was there for!

Cooper was pretty pumped about all of the candy, but he really loved the glow necklaces & bracelets swords.

The kids managed to stay out for quite a while, stopping back by the house for one potty break. Quinn was not a fan of the adults in costume at the door...

But my strange child would just laugh at anything scary. She especially loved the headless bride outside of one door that laughed at the kids. Some days I really wonder about her.

We finally wrapped it up & headed back to the house where the kids decided to sort through their candy and beg for more than one piece.

Fall Festivals - 2014

We usually make a trip to the Houston Zoo in October to attend Zoo Boo. It's a bit crazy & crowded, but Cooper started mentioning it well before October rolled around. The weekends, though, were just a bit too crazy to make it work. Instead, we opted to attend a few fall festival activities with friends.

First up, the Boo Bash with Reagan Elsa, Abby Anna & Quinn Olaf. We walked to Reagan & Abby's elementary & spent the evening playing games.

Caitlin spent most of the evening trying to run away.

The last game of the evening was the three legged race. Jason raced with Cooper and I think they had the most fun with that game!

That Sunday, we also went to the Trunk or Treat with Eileen Sophia & Evan. Caitlin was mostly interested in eating chips.

We closed out the evening by teaching the kids a valuable lesson. They were very interested in checking out the police car, so we told them this would be the only time they'd ever be this close to a cop car!

 

Caitlin: 18 months old

I honestly feel like we just got back from vacation. In August. Yet, here it is November and I'm not sure where the time has gone and what I've accomplished.

Caitlin has 7 teeth now. We are waiting for the last one to come in and even out. A few weeks ago, she ran fever and we kept her home. I'm pretty sure it was related to a slight ear infection, but I also waited on that 8th tooth to break through.

We're still wearing the 18 month clothes, though we unloaded the 24 month container last weekend. I was pretty sad doing that, because I wanted to go shopping for new stuff. Thankfully for my wallet, Caitlin has many hand me downs. We've been in the size 5 shoes for a while, but I am starting to think they are getting too small. The girl does love her shoes. I find it hard to try new ones on, because I can't get them off of her. I also find her putting on our shoes and trying to walk around the house in them.

She's never had a big vocabulary. Definitely not the vocabulary Cooper had at this age! However, I haven't been worried. I knew at 18 months she would start to hit that word explosion stage. The past two weeks I've heard more words than normal. Her favorites are bow and shoes. She gets dressed, goes to the bow hanger and brings a bow to us while saying booooowwwww. I also think she only wants to wear the bows so that she can yank them out and throw it down when she is mad. And she loves to wear 3 or 4 bows at a time, even if they don't match.

She's also sort of said pumpkin, sit (sounds like shit), chips, and Cooper. It isn't often she will say Cooper, but I find it stinking adorable when she does. I've also gotten her to say nana a few times when referring to a banana. She will say dog, baby (baba, which is also sort of what she calls Cooper, but they are just a little different). She signs milk but won't say it, and will also sign more.

Caitlin is still as dramatic as ever. She is a great fit thrower and can get pretty angry when she doesn't get her way. We're working really hard on the hitting and slapping, which happens to be her favorite way to lash out. She also screams baby talk, which sort of reminds me of Ricky Ricardo yelling at Lucy in Spanish. For now, she is put on the stairs in the time out spot when she's really rotten. She isn't really old enough to know to stay, but the entire process of putting her on the stairs and leaving is enough. Unfortunately, Cooper gets the brunt of most of her attacks. If he is nearby, she will get mad at me & hit him. He's been really good about not getting mad at her and hitting back, which I am thankful for.

I am really happy that we've hit the age where she will occasionally play alone. It doesn't last long, but even 15 minutes makes me happy. Most of the time she wants to play with Cooper's toys - the Bat Cave and any trucks that make noise - but she also loves her Little People Princess Castle. She's figured out how to make the songs play and will dance while they sing. Cooper has also learned that if he wants her to leave him alone, he needs to play with her toys for a few minutes. Most of the time, he's great about playing with her. Though it does break her heart if he wants to play with the Legos upstairs and she can't follow him in the gate. She will cry on the stairs until I drag her away.

My mom found one of my old dresses and I put Caitlin in it one day to get a photo. I am amazed at how much she looks like me as a baby.