July Updates

Wow! It's amazing how quickly this summer is flying by! So sad in a way, as we wait and talk all year about this time, and then it's gone. We are truly enjoying out days together, although they seem to pass by in a blur for me. Days that John works I feel like it is a constant high speed chase to stay on top, whatever "top" is. Running from here to there and not going anywhere. Trying to keep both boys happy is a full time job, and by the time John walks through the door I'm almost giddy with relief. Then I can switch gears and focus on one child for awhile.
Cooper updates....Cooper is a treasure. He is a beautiful little guy, full of full mouth smiles for just about anything. He loves to lay on his changing table, loves his bathtime, loves to sit in his swing and so far, enjoys his times when he is stuck in his bouncy seat while I chase after Thomas. He does not love to ride in the car, unfortunately, and is somewhat reluctant to go anywhere outside of his routine. I took him to the park the other day hoping that he would fall asleep on the car ride, only to have him fuss and cry for most of the time at the park, which was no fun for any of us. He is sleeping through the night pretty consistently, which has allowed me to contemplate going back to my early morning visits to the gym. So far, I am just talking about it. It is still a great relief to be able to wake up only once in the early morning hours then try to get a few more hours in before the world rocks with the awakening of Thomas. I haven't yet figured out his daytime routine, and he only sleeps in short bursts during the day, but I'm not complaining after a pretty full night's sleep. It would be easier on Thomas if I could figure the day out, as just when I think Cooper is down and we're out on the beach, Coop's eyes pop open and we're back to in and out of the house to hang with Cooper again. Tommy doesn't fuss about it too much, but is more and more prone to saying, "Grandma will do it" or "I'm going upstairs" when I have to put him off on something with Cooper. Sometimes I'm totally talked out trying to reason with Tommy about this and that and about his time upstairs. Sometimes I just give up and watch him march upstairs. He's starting to take more interest in Cooper, but it is still limited. Cooper still has to put up with rapid increases in his swinging rhythm when Tommy thinks I'm not looking and rapid bounces in his bouncy seat. Most of the time Cooper has his full mouthed smile in place, though.


Tommy Update

Tommy is an animal in the water. He loves to jump off the dock, both in the shallow end and out at the end into the deep water. The other day he was out inner tubing and I asked John how fast we were going. Tommy was yelling to go faster, the smile on his face huge. We were going 30 miles an hour. 3 years old and going 30 miles an hour! It just didn't seem right! I would never have imagined the fun we would be having! He can't quite swim, but loves to dive under water, and seems to get particular delight in going under, swimming around and doing circles, then coming up gasping for air. He loves to be out on the tube, up at the dirt pile and lounging around in his personal hot tubs out by the hot water shower. Legos are his new thing, although they are put together and from there I'm not sure what happens to them and their tiny pieces. He loves to cuddle up at night AND in the morning, and still refuses to cut his hair. Just yesterday we were finally able to get him to cut his hair, in stages throughout the day, with tons of bribes. He ended up with two toys from a trip to Fred Meyer, a trip solely to get him his haircut toys! By this time, we'd have bought him the toy aisle just to get his shag cut off.