COOPERS HAIRCUT
After the haircut catastrophe in October, coop looked like this. Of course we knew we could not go back to the same place and some serious preparation needed to occur to not repeat the experience.
We got a book about haircuts and we read it every day and we watched Daniel tiger video about getting a haircut and we talked to him about it alot so he knew it was coming. We went prepared with a movie and several suckers & stickers. And then when it came to the actual event I let Dallin take over because I was SO DONE after last time. Lol Dallin kept distracting him with the movie every time he started to freak out and held him so they were both covered in hair. But it went great and it was such a relief because the woman said if there’s any struggle with him my policy is to stop the haircut. So I thought we were going to end up with a fourth of a haircut but he got all the way through!!! We were so proud of him.
He still had freak outs but we were able to reel him in each time.
Kinley sat in her car seat the whole time like a champ and didn’t cry till the end. It was a miracle between the two of them
He ended up sticky and hairy but his hair actually looked good for the first time in like 4 months so it was great
He got stickers, candy, and juice so it was the best day for him
Potty Training
I don’t think anyone actually enjoys potty training but as far as those things go he did pretty good. I’ve heard horror stories of kids who dig in their heels and refuse for months and it wasn’t like that for us at all so I feel lucky. I read the “oh crap” potty training book and it was really helpful because it encouraged you to stay consistent and refuse to give up even when it’s hard and I think that’s what helped us the most.
We had a week or so of it being really hard. (Maybe 2 weeks) but then it was so good after that. There was some resistance but then once he realized it was sticking around and we weren’t going back to the diapers he finally embraced it. He’s also a camel and not a dribbler so that made it so much easier too. Like 4 trips to the bathroom in a day and one during the night and that’s all he needs. 
Ecfe is so fun. I wish they did it every day. Everyone there is awesome. Coop still struggles socially for some reason. He didn’t in Arizona but he doesn’t want to play with any kids and just wants me. So that part is sad but he is slowly getting better
This selfie was from the first half of the playdate because cooper refused to do anything but silently sit on my lap.
I’ve decided I want to pursue the project manager idea so I bought a course and I’m trying to take it so that I can pass the test and get certified. The only problem is that I never have time because kids are always screaming. It’s become very overwhelming for me because I can’t focus so I don’t understand what’s going on in the class and so I’m nervous about how I will pass the test.
At home
Playing with the toys after christmas. a big hit for cooper was the play vacuum
After Christmas playing with the gifts
Swinging in the door frame video. He looooooved this swing. He would do it for hours!!
When Shelly babysat so that I could go get my hair done I felt like a human again and it was amazing. I hadn't had straight hair in a verrrrrry long time cuz "ain't nobody got time fa dat."
Saying good bye to the grandparents and dogs
Cooper pretends to type on the invisible computer on the caddy in his room lol
The video on the right was Kinley's first video she's ever recorded by herself. She just grabbed my phone and started recording.
At the end it was as if a giant bucket was dumped on the zoo for a few minutes. Ben looked at his weather app on his phone and it said 0% chance of rain and then all of a sudden it was a freaking monsoon. It was crazy timing because I was trying to change kinney's poopy diaper at the time and the diaper broke so I just held it on her and we all ran to the car. We took this picture on the way out. Liam thought it was so funny and coop was freezing and so was i haha
Kinley's first selfie
This was technically the first time she was ever in ocean water. She looked down at it like she didn't like it. But now she does it just took some getting used to.
sun bathing and then the rolls when she is sitting up are hilarious hahaha
Cooper loves toy story 4 now so we made forky's
Kinley has taken up fishing
We had a week or so of it being really hard. (Maybe 2 weeks) but then it was so good after that. There was some resistance but then once he realized it was sticking around and we weren’t going back to the diapers he finally embraced it. He’s also a camel and not a dribbler so that made it so much easier too. Like 4 trips to the bathroom in a day and one during the night and that’s all he needs. 
Don’t get me wrong we definitely had our struggles. Cooper was standing on a kitchen chair and Jake happened to walk right under it when he let out a huge #2 so he got it right on the head. Talk about wrong place at the wrong time! Poor Jake was so confused. And cooper felt so bad you could tell. I think that was another good thing about it for us- coop really wanted to please.
The method the book recommends is naked for a few days then clothes and no underwear. But it really wasn’t hard for him cuz he hangs out in the nude a lot anyways lol
He was clearly so ready to be potty trained but we had to wait because of our circumstances. I almost wish I would have done it before Kinley was born. Cuz he was waaaay past ready
One time Dallin answered the door for the pizza guy and coop was wearing shirt but completely naked on bottom and came to the door. Dallin had forgotten because we’ve both gotten used to it but he realized when the guy made a weird face and acted awkward 😂
Weight loss journey
It’s really hard for me to go on a fitness journey while still keeping a balanced life. Because I have to record every time I eat and work out every day and weigh myself every day, it’s hard not to obsess and feel bad about yourself. Because u see the need for it and that becomes your motivation to keep going, it almost lowers your self esteem even though you’re improving. For me it’s a double edged sword and it’s hard to balance. I gained 50 pounds with Kinley so it was definitely necessary but I became so guilty every time I didn’t work out and I was so stressed and hate cooking but I would torture myself in my head if we ever ate fast food.
But it did make me happy to see all this progress.
This was a dip I tried and didn’t love it that much.
I loved this though
Can you believe that?! Before Kinley was born I weighed 170
And now the skin on my stomach is all saggy and weird looking
I would feel so bad for going over like this but also feel surprised because I felt like I didn’t eat that much. It can be surprising how many calories are in the smallest things. Because of that I think logging my food for so long was good for me because it helped me learn healthy portion control
Can you believe how much fat is in pizza?!
As it got closer to us leaving on our trip and I was getting so stressed about it and feeling bad about myself Dallin finally stepped in and said this is defeating the purpose and it made sense to me and I took a break. I was immediately so much happier and it was worth it. So it helped me see that I had gone too far and I need to not obsess. But I had also been doing it for so long that I had habits of how big of portions to grab so even without logging or weighing I didn’t gain weight. (I also stopped working out which probly isn’t the healthiest thing to do.) I was so happy about that because what I’ve always wanted was to make it a lifestyle and not feel like im crash dieting and rebounding. So I think I have finally done that and it feels so good. Im still a long way from perfect because I still don’t have perfect confidence all the time but I am so much better than I was before. Since we’ve been in Hawaii I’ve been mindful of how much I eat but not blocking out any foods and not really working out but doing it when I feel like it. I think it’s a pretty healthy balance. My next goal is to develop a habit/lifestyle of working out so that doesn’t feel like a chore.
Thanksgiving
It was so cute watching the parade this year with kinder because I have always watched it by myself. She seemed to like it. I was disappointed that 90% of it is now commercials and you don’t get to see the parade that much.
On thanksgiving I noticed the smell of gas so my dad tried to fix the fireplace but it was hard because the previous owner grouted the cover on.
We went to my dads for thanksgiving and it was a chill day. Good times 👍
Sara gave her this cute turkey outfit
On thanksgiving I noticed the smell of gas so my dad tried to fix the fireplace but it was hard because the previous owner grouted the cover on.
Cold Breckenridge
❄️🌨️🥶
They are so adorable
Poor jakey is getting old.
Coop gave his glow worm to kinder and I thought that was so cute and nice of him but also sad that he’s growing up and doesn’t need it anymore
We’ve had times on and off where she will do well with something and we get all excited about it and think it’s a turning point for her and then it still goes back to fussy again lol
So us finding Cooper’s old magic merlins sleep suit was one of those situations. The first couple of nights of using it she slept really really well, so I thought oh this is perfect. We found the solution it’s going to be fixed. But for her, it could help for a few days and then not make a difference at all. It all seems like coincidence because she’s a wildcard who’s gonna do what she wants. So it stinks because we keep getting our hopes up for nothing. But although she keeps going up and down, it’s like the stock market because the general trend is upward. When I compare it to how she was at 2 or 3 months, she’s worlds better. So we’re making major progress and she’s getting easier the older she gets. But we still have very hard moments and very hard days and very hard nights. Just becoming less frequent
There was so much snow I asked Alyssa if it was more than normal and she said no there will be even more. Lol which was wild to hear because the dogs are like swimming in snow when they go out. But then it will crust over and freeze so they’re walking on top.
Our mailbox is just barely visible surrounded by snow. The whole stick part of it is covered because the snow goes that high.
the tree lighting ceremony
I was excited to get out and do something because we don’t ever do that. And it’s hard to do by myself because Dallin was still in the thick of AEP at this point. But coop didn’t nap that day, it was crazy crowded, nothing for a 2 year old to do because the activities were more for older kids, and I was freaking out about germs the whole time because Patrick had been in the hospital for rsv for days at this point and the record high amount of cases was all over the news in Minnesota North Dakota area. And everywhere in the country for that matter. Plus it was very cold. But I’m still glad we did it because there were some good parts.
The sign by the pool tables said it’s only for age 10 and up, so coop couldn’t do it but he saw the older kids doing it and was so jealous. Outside they had fire pits and they were doing s’mores so he tried it and did so well! I didn’t even have to tell him to be careful around the fire because he already was. And he watched the older kids doing it and and just copied them so he did it perfectly. He had no interest in eating it tho and threw a fit about putting the stick down so he was walking around a crowded room stabbing ppl with this giant stick. But he went immediately over to the pool tables and started playing pool like he watched the older kids do with his s’mores stick and the Marshmello on the end lol I thought it was the funniest thing. He’s resourceful and smart.
They have a royalty there and they were selling baked goods Shelly made to raise money.
The experience was much different than what I'm used to from what they do in Utah, but that's okay. Here's the video of us counting down for the lights to turn on and cooper making his first smore. (He wanted to make it but not eat it.)
This was a picture from when we went on a double date with Alyssa and Matt and we had a blast! They are the salt of the earth and my favorite part about Breckenridge by far!
On the way home and walking out of the restaurant I was so cold my jaw was going nuts
Sadie has her good qualities and bad qualities just like anybody does….. the bad quality is that you never know when she’s chewed up your clothes, blankets, toys, etc. so this was me putting on a shirt only to realize that it is now trash.
Cute baby
I think this is called a sun dog. The rainbow is coming straight down from the sun and it only happens when it’s really really cold so it’s something they see a lot in Breck-wahp. Dallin shoveled the driveway one day and was saying his back was hurting and maybe we should get a snow blower. I said na we can do this let me go out and shovel today and boy did I learn my lesson. I would push and get only like a foot or two and it wouldn’t budge anymore. And also when you get to the middle you have to carry it all the way over to the side of the driveway. And this snow is freakin dense! I couldn’t believe how heavy it was! So my nose was running, I kept falling, slipping on ice, clumsily dropping snow or the shovel, tripping over it, etc. (it was such a mess and I was laughing so hard at myself the whole time as I struggled…. Which probably made it even worse) then this truck came up the road and I was shamelessly staring because I thought it was my dad and I was wondering why he would be coming if he had to work. But then I saw it wasn’t him and this kid gets out and asks me if I need help haha because I clearly was doing a terrible job. He said his name was jack Johnson and he was born on the same day at jack johnson haha anyways long story short that was the day we bought a snow blower because we felt bad. That was the third time someone in the neighborhood did our driveway so we needed to keep up better. Midwest ppl are so nice. So anyway at the store buying one Dallin said they all laughed at him when he said he moved there from Arizona.
Coopers version on sledding is a lot more tame. And this meme makes me wonder how because it’s so flat…. This meme makes sense for Utah and Colorado but how do u get hurt when it’s so flat u can’t really go fast? Anyway our sled has a rope on it and Dallin or I just pull him around. I thought it was funny that cooper was pulling Dallin in this one lol
We have a hard time getting the dogs to go out to go potty too. I don’t blame them it’s crazy cold
He is still obsessed with that metal stake and Carrie’s it everywhere and has to sleep with it. I think it’s been about 4 or 5 months now.
Coop doesn’t last very long in the cold before he’s begging to go in cuz he’s too cold. So we don’t do it very often because it’s not worth all the work of bundling up when it’s only 15 min. The wind is often so strong it will take him off his feet.
Sadie and Jake bark whenever they see a dog or person outside. Which is annoying because a lot of people let their dogs roam up there. So the only way to shut them up once they’ve started is to put them in the laundry room where they can’t see anymore. This is Sadie trying to break out lol or maybe she’s begging me to not forget about her in there
The snow is beautiful 🤩 when you don’t have to go out and u can just enjoy the view from inside. Also I only find it beautiful when it’s a blue sky. I hate the gray.
We have had horrible internet for a very long time which makes Dallins work situation nearly impossible and everyone from the internet company was an idiot. So we switched to a different company and it got better.
Went to basketball game decked out in ndscs gear and cooper tried to learn how to do a cartwheel from a little girl there
Half time show Native American dance
My dad in the newspaper yet again
Kin kin sleepovers with grandma are the only things that keep me going.
I spotted a red hair
These are funny
Shelly’s birthday
The sun dog
Tried using ice stones instead of ice cubes and they didn’t really work to cool down the wine as well as ice does so I was disappointed
Play date😀
Can you believe that this is what it looks like to drive here! I feel like I’m on another planet.
Cooper talked them into playing swords with the car track instead of cars.
This selfie was from the first half of the playdate because cooper refused to do anything but silently sit on my lap.
I thought if I got this whiteboard it would help keep me motivated to get the class done because it’s really long and also work out every day before Hawaii. As it turned out though I did neither lol
The only children’s play center near us is half hour away in fergus falls and it’s called otter cove. We went for the first time with the play group and had so much fun! They’re so nice to constantly include me in the stuff they do. Coop didn’t warm up to it and start playing till the end but at least he did play a little and Kinley didn’t cry that much so we’re calling it a win.
swimming in the tundra
The school pool is open sundays for a few hours so we tried it. It was fun to get out and do something but admittedly a little chilly
I’m clearly such a good seamstress
I tried the plop for my hair and I wasn’t impressed
After three hours it was still wet
It looked good at first but once it dried it was a frizzy afro
We went back with dad to otter cove and went out to dinner after. One of our rare outings
Toddler time at the library. First time for him using a glue stick!
The water heater was leaking a little so the warranty replaced it. We had to coordinate with a couple companies but luckily it turned out fine and before leaving for hawaii
I love little girl clothes so much!
Coop is passionate about honey mustard!!
dinner at the school
The culinary program at ndscs hosts a restaurant for the month and we tried to go with the parents and the kids and coop did have a few fits but I expected that to happen 🤷🏻♀️
Dallin had to go to slc for work and that sucked because he had delays, missed his connecting flight, and had to be gone so much longer than he did when we lived in az because of it
Her laugh is so funny because it almost sounds like she's yelling.
Haha once I figured out how to put makeup on using editing on my phone I did it to so many people including Dallin and both our dads
Coop is obsessed with singing happy birthday. After Dallins birthday he thought it was the coolest thing and he would bring me the scented candles and the lighter and asking to sing the “happy dare” song (happy birthday) . So I sing, he gets that awesome excited face, he blows it out, and then he says more while signing it at the same time. (Not sure why he still signs it every time he says it)
Coop and I did some temporary tattoos and he was immediately mad that it wouldn’t come off because he thought it was a sticker
McKinley thinks cooper is the funniest person alive, and I’m a close second🤪
stickers on the face- fun at first and then not so much 😝
we sold our house 🏠 !!
We were so relieved because the market was going down and people had stopped buying so we got lucky for sure! It was bittersweet because we have so many good memories there
Alyssa let us borrow her jump jump!” Kindle fire” loves it (haha yet another of her zillion nick names)
Her and cooper interacting
She got some shades for Hawaii lol
Kinley has loved (even demanded) playing with toys since she was like 5 months which is crazy because coop didn’t have any interest in toys till he was like 9.
This is her refusing to sit back and relax in the swing thing so she is practically breaking it lol
Her laugh is so funny because it almost sounds like she's yelling.Her falling asleep in the high chair
Here is a video of cooper “reading”Cute Kids
She loved the rattle at 4.5-5 months. It was cute to see her excited about it because that was like the first toy she ever played with. and the stregnth of her grip was impressive!
This cute athletic outfit reminded me of a tennis outfit so I had to edit a little racket in there
5 month pics💗
We can’t always get coop to wear clothes obviously 🙄 but it is cute how much he loves his sister
the soap opera of kinley and the monkey
first she was scared of it....
then intrigued by it...
Then they were friends....
She quickly fell in love and she went in for the kiss...
He turned her down. I guess the feeling was not mutual...
So she reared back and smacked him into the next dimension.
The end 📖
Wasn't that a beautiful tale? Can you believe it all happened within 15 seconds?! lol her boyfriends in high school are in for some serious mood swings.... 😨
6 month pictures
6 month babies are to-die-for cute!!!! Especially this one ⇩
The differences and similarities between the two kids both at 6 months old.🠟 They’re both in the 90’s for weight so they’re both big! I think cooper is Dallin's mini and she’s mine with both temperament and looks (as a baby I cried a lot too because of reflux/lactose/stomach issues)
This was cooper’s 6 month old cake so we tried to recreate it for mckinley.
Cooper
McKinley
Coop blew out the candle for her
She is just so dang cute. She has such a big personality now too and she is ridiculously smart.
This is from her 6 month appointment
more pics
Big Bro and Lil Sis
He doesn’t hold her very often so when he does it melts my heart
He’s so careful with her and always has been
He was helping give her the bottle
The two kids eating lunch together and just chatting away in baby language 😂
“Kin kin don touch it!” Lol
They like taking baths together cuz they splash each other and play with toys and stuff. Kinley thinks anything cooper does is amazing and hilarious
The two kids playing with magnatiles together….. one of them happens to be in the nude but that’s ok 👍
kids say/do the darndest things
This is kinder with a huge booger on her forehead lol after tummy time they always come out and she wipes her face in them on the ground it’s the weirdest thing
It’s so funny but it got old real fast. I had to hide all the candles and lighters. So then he would bring the cake looking dog toy to Jake and say “jakey ‘mere! Happy dare!” And pretend to sing to him and then blow out the candles. It was so cute
He would say owie toe ouch for a couple days and then it went away so I’m not sure what happened
She needs constant entertainment. So even if she’s not crying over the reflux thing it could be that she’s bored, she dropped her toy, she wants something she can’t reach, etc. Of course all the usual baby stuff still applies too like being tired, hungry, or needing a diaper change. But it also seems to be that her mind is so active shes not just content to sit there- she seems to love it when you give her things to do. So I will spend hours just handing her toys when she drops them over and over again. She had the “object permanence” thing sooo early on because when she would drop something she didn’t assume it was gone forever she would immediately stare at where it was on the floor or where she thinks it fell if she couldn’t see it and cry. Sometimes I swear it looked like she was pointing at it or reaching for it too.
It’s so cute to see her in the high chair because she looks so grown up in it
She holds her own bottle on a daily basis now and it is sooooo nice that she will do that on her own so I can be doing other things. Coop never did that for some reason.
This pictures are so funny. As much as I complain about Sadie sometimes being a nuisance, she really is such a good dog. I think it’s so cute how her and Jake and Josie all have just naturally known that they’re babies so we have to be gentle and patient with them. But I have now seen that Sadie also knows that she needs to share with them too! Haha
So here they both are wanting the same ball and taking turns without me even asking. So nice 😊
This was Sadie’s turn
She could see that Kin wanted a turn so she gave it to her
Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!
And now Kinley’s face is like “well maybe I won’t give it back now” lol
And you can tell now that Sadie is tortured over the situation wondering if she’s allowed to take it back now or not lol
One small attempt to get it
And then Kinley grabbed it and Sadie gave up
Eating lunch together while coop does some reading 😂 this picture cracks me up because he's holding it out and looking at it with this discerning look on his face like an old man does reading a newspaper lol
Kin kin trying to do a 4 hour wake window lol she is so hard to get down for a nap. Conditions could be perfect and she still won’t even though you can tell she’s so tired she just can’t fall asleep.
Like mother like son. This was mine back in the day and I did the same thing. I vividly remember my dad telling me to not to do that because I might fall off. And then one day I fell off and it knocked the wind out of me and my dad said from the other room “did you just fall off that kitchen?” And I was in so much pain but I had to pull it together for my pride and say nope I’m fine lol
She looooooves eating food! There hasn’t been anything we’ve given her that she hasn’t loved
She loves her little purse toy it’s so cute she’s so girly
She also loves to look at herself in the mirror
Cooper watching songs he likes
Dallin thinks he's so cute when he's eating so he will just sit there and stare at coop when he eats. It's so funny haha he's such an adoring father
On the topic of kids saying the darndest things- cooper learned from Jamie to say "oh kids" and he puts his hand on his head. It's hilarious. The other thing he does that is so funny is he says "meeeee?" and "I am?!" in the same tone and at the exact same time as woody in toy story 4.
Christmas
“All I want for Christmas is a break from parenting”🎵 . That should be a song. So much better than 2 front teeth.
Our big tree and the big windows and the snow outside and the fireplace made for a very magical Christmas setting.
When the trees frost over on all the branches it’s so beautiful. I also love when the snow looks fresh and sparkly almost diamond-ey. It happens a lot because of how often it snows
We started reading 3 Christmas books every morning first thing after he woke up and that stuck for a while even after Christmas. I liked it at that time better than before bed because the “one more book” delays bedtime whereas during the day it’s fine. We were reading alot and keeping track for the “thousand books before kindergarten” challenge with the library. But ever since getting to Hawaii we haven’t been reading as much. More outdoor activities here I guess
"SANTA!!!!!! I KNOW HIM!!!!"
(this was one of two outings in the whole month.)
Obviously the visit to Santa was not their favorite…… haha if you blinked you missed it for coop cuz he was just like nope I’m outta here.
She didn’t cry at first then coop sat down looking uncomfortable and then she was crying and he looked at her like he was worried about her
And then jumped off and ran to us saying "all done"
It was definitely a different experience seeing Santa at a tractor supply store haha not as festive as bass pro shop in Mesa but also we were there in 2 minutes, in and out in 5, and in the twin towns newspaper! Lol efficient and I hate crowds/lines and waiting so it was nice. It would be especially annoying to wait for two hours if you're just going to get a reaction like we did from our kids anyway haha
He’s still looking at her like “you good sis?”
Merry Christmas to Sadie and Jakey
We accidentally got someone else’s Amazon package and they told us to keep it and refunded the other person. It was an advent calendar for dogs full of different fancy treats. Jake and Sadie liked the treats and cooper liked giving them. I couldn’t believe it was 50$!
The Nutcracker!!!
(this was one of two outings in the whole month.)
I went for a girls day with destiny and Alyssa to lunch and the nutcracker ballet in Fargo and it was glorious! I don’t get kid-free days like ever so I was sad when it had to end. They were so nice to invite me and we got along so well and had a great time. It was so nice to not feel like a third wheel because they are both so inclusive. The ballet itself was a little different than I've seen before because it was all volunteers, but I still loved it. And good for them! for putting this on and giving people the chance to just dance and have fun even if they're not pro's. I'd love to do something like that.
It was so funny walking in and seeing giant rows of coat racks lol you don't see that in arizona thats for sure.
I dated Clint for a while in college and still seem to find him everywhere lol This book was what my mom sent me for christmas. When I asked her if she did that on purpose she said no I didn't notice who it was by! haha but good for him for achieving his dreams like he has. Omg Shellinor made the cutest bow for kinder.
We took a bunch of group photos of all of us wearing the matching pj's on christmas on the camera and the computer proceeded to eat and destroy the memory card so those are lost forever. 🙁
Cooper got a children's broom set from nonna and pa and was ecstatic about it! Here's a shot of the tree loaded up on christmas eve..... holy smokes!
Kinder even opened her own presents!
watching the game we had tickets to on tv because it was tom brady in phoenix 😢
Isn't this beautiful?!
christmas morning breakfast
The biggest present was from my dad and shelly to cooper and it's a massive mack truck that he can ride in and drive. It's so cool because it has sounds and lights and reverse and walkie talkie and a horn. Coop likes to play in and on it but he can't really drive it yet. That will be exciting for him to grow into.
Even the dogs wore matching pj's!! (Seeing this reminds me of buying them for Jake and Josie back in the day and seeing Jojo in it and it makes me miss her. RIP sweet jo.)
This picture of sadie is hilarious because she's like the princess and the pea with three pillows stacked up.
When cooper first opened it up I think it scared him a little lol it is really big
After Christmas playing with the gifts
Swinging in the door frame video. He looooooved this swing. He would do it for hours!!
The tough stuff
This post wouldn't be an accurate depiction of our lives right now if I only posted the great things. The truth is we're still in the thick of a hard phase.
I found this knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud, hilarious. On an average day I may get one of these eleven things if I'm lucky. Thus, the comment above about this being a hard phase. lol
I felt that the following memes summed it up quite accurately from my perspective.
For example, I left the house to do something a grand total of 2 times in the entire month of December. (and one of those took 10 minutes total so I'm not sure if that even counts as an "event"...) 😫😨
Found out during this process that antidepressants are not for me. When i was talking to the doctor she asked, "oh why don't you just get daycare?" lol biggest face-palm moment of my life.
Took everything I had not to respond back to that in a very sarcastic way. 🤣
So here is the story of us finally getting a babysitter for the first time in mckinley's life. This is what I feel like going out now haha
We tried to put them both down first so that she wouldn't have to do anything, but of course kinley refused to go down. We went to the restaurant and 30 minutes in the poor 17 year old girl couldn't take the screaming (because no one can fully be prepared for the wrath of an over-tired McKinley... 😱) so I left and put her in the car seat and went to the restaurant. Luckily, she fell asleep in the car and she sat next to our table so we could finish eating. So date night now days is significantly different to say the least. She slept in her car seat while we lamented the days of easy date nights and dallin played a little slots.
I have gotten really into my book series and that has helped me a lot to feel like I have something to myself. This was a quote from the book I'm reading now that I liked.
I liked this quote because I'm sure I'm going to look back on this time in the future and feel glad I did it. I may not know the meaning of it all right now but I do think that everything happens for a reason.
Kinder has gotten easier little by little as she has aged. (I think that Dallin, Cooper, and I have also learned to cope with the crying better too. You get used to it.) I think we sometimes set ourselves up for failure by thinking "okay now we've made it, see she's calmed down so we're good from here on out." Because it's still just very slow progress and it's not realistic to think it's suddenly going to be 180 degree difference. We have tried everything during the day- baby wearing, 90 minute sleep rule, reflux medicine, gripe water, walking around holding her in different positions, toys, car rides, etc. So here is a picture of one of the things that seems to calm her down when she is fussy. She liked it when it pushed her around the house in the stroller (because it's way too cold and snowy to use it outside.)
Here is a picture of another thing we tried. BABY CHIROPRACTIC! Did you know that was a thing?! It's very popular in breckenwahp. And I think it really helped both her and I a lot. I am so glad we did it.
Sometimes I really am happy about it. If I can get myself to just calm down and accept it- like just get over the fact that it's not how or what you want and see it for what it is- there are so many cool things happening that I get a front row seat to be there for. And I am lucky in so many ways too. I know that. Sometimes. lol
So some days it's really easy for me to go full into mom mode and try things I saw on pinterest and be really into it and some days I look at my life and go holy crap this is exactly what I never ever wanted to become. This picture is kind of a combination of the two. I looked and thought wow I can't believe I have kids art work displayed on my fridge, toys everywhere, baby food and two high chairs and bubbles on the table. Part of me was excited that coop is old enough to start making things and it's cool to see that kinley is old enough to be eating in a high chair now too. And the other part of me was thinking I cannot allow us to get a minivan because that is the only shred left that I haven't done from the list I had of who I would never become. lol
But I saw this thing that was a post about having the right perspective and it said "now's not the time for fancy resorts or perfect houses, but it is the time for first steps, morning cuddles, and so many other amazing things. Don't miss it wasting time wishing for what you're going to have back again in a few years anyway. This part only happens once." And that definitely put it in perspective for me.
Minneapolis
Packing was hard because I felt like there was a ton to fit in and I was constantly trying to get rid of things. But we made it all fit in the bags and then when Nick came, he had to play tetris to try and fit it all in the back of his car. I am lucky he was there because dallin immediately gives up and says it's not going to fit. I'm so glad nick kept trying and figured it out because we have used the stroller so much on this trip and that was what we almost had to leave behind.
Then we had the 3 hour drive with nick to minneapolis, and it actually went fine! I was so surprised! kinder slept the whole time and coop slept a little bit too so we lucked out! I was prepared for screaming the whole time. But it didn't happen once!
Once we got there it was a blast to see gianna and nick and luca. So much fun to be in a city again that has restaurants and things to do. We all loved luca so much and he seemed to be so comfortable with us too. He would give me hugs in the morning and ask to be picked up by dallin it was adorable. Coop and luca liked playing together too.
Getting the kids to sleep at their house was a challenge. Cooper screamed for hours. He was so confused why we weren't going home. We caved and let him sleep in our bed, and that was a bad idea because that meant no one was sleeping. So finally we gave up and gave him benadryl. we learned our lesson and did it again the second night and it worked great.
When they ate together at the little table it was so cute
So this started out as me just taking a pic of kin
and then she tried to grab luca's pillow and he was mad about it
And then I thought hey lets take a picture of all the kids together and they turned out so cute I couldnt delete any of them
After that luca and cooper played this matching puzzle type game on my phone and it was so cute to see them do it because they were actually really good at it!
I edited my favorite one and made it my phone background because I loved it so much
We went to the airport so nervous for how the plane ride was going to go. Gianna gave cooper this magnet thing with frozen characters and an activity book and he loved it.
I felt bad for everybody else on the plane but luckily the both kids got it under control quickly whenever they lost it. And everyone around us was really nice and smiled at us a lot so we didn't actually get these looks from people.
Cooper was trying his best to behave in the airport. There was a minor meltdown but he regained himself quickly.
Cooper was amazed that the screen in the back of seat worked and had so much to do on it plus he had his "phone" (tablet) and he took a pretty long nap too. There were a lot of open seats so we each had a full row to ourselves! I had three seats with kinley and dallin had 3 seats with cooper. We had to trade a couple times because they both had times of problems. I was surprised at how well it went overall though. Mckinley was harder than cooper ended up being and I thought it would be the reverse. We gave him benedryl with about 3 hours left because the whole ride was 8 hours long so he did pretty good.
He was so excited to be in the airport
Dallin was playing peek a boo with kinley on the plane because she was fussy. I think she was bored or something because I had to keep lifting her up and down, walking around, giving her toys, letting her touch my phone, etc. and Cooper was happy as a clam just zoned out on the show he was watching lol
HAWAII!!!!🌴🌞🌅😎
The flight was sooooooo worth it. Hawaii has been amazing. I have realized that the simple ability to just go out and take the kids for a walk makes a GIGANTIC DIFFERENCE IN ALL OF OUR HAPPINESS LEVELS.
Dallin got a new work computer when we got here but he didn't need to use it for the first month because he was on his sabbatical. He got 4 weeks off paid for being there for 10 years. He just went back to work this week and he said it's been hard to get used to it again because he got so used to not working anymore. He said having that much time off really did fully recharge him and he felt more relaxed than he has in a really long time. He hasn't taken that much time off work since 2011. Can you believe that?! He said he has learned that he needs it and he wants to start using more vacation time every year because he pretty much never uses it all.
I think the "wow" factor of the photos speak for themselves....
At the risk of sounding like humungous weenie- I will admit I still have hard days here. (I know what you're thinking, "You're in hawaii for two months and your husband's on sabbatical for 4 weeks- tell us really how bad you have it?!") But the truth is there are definite downsides, it doesn't always feel like a vacation, and you still have the typical mom issues that you would have anywhere. Unfortunately tantrums, crying, feeding, cleaning, dishes, messes, night wakings, fights over what you want them to do, etc. are going to happen even if you're in Hawaii. (Exhibit A: I had a bloody lip after the fight and holding cooper down to brush his teeth.) When you're having those same bedtime battles at home, you're thinking, "but I will be in Hawaii in a few weeks so it'll all be better." But none of that changes. I think that was the hardest part about it for me when we first got here because I wanted to be in vacation-mode not mom-mode because I have been in mom-mode for like a year straight now and I was ready to be done. When I am having my hardest times it's because my brain gets overwhelmed thinking about the future and feeling trapped in this forever. Dallin's first day back at work, Cooper screamed for daddy for hours. I'm not exaggerating. HOURS. NO MATTER WHAT WE DID. We were walking down the street with him in stroller screaming bloody murder while onlookers stared... lol So anyway.... moving on....
Coop is in absolute heaven here. We're all going to be sad to go home but I think he may be the saddest of all of us.
Cooper wanted to make "more boys vido's." lol so here he is with dallin
This was the doggie birthday party! The other video is cooper falling asleep in the car and it was so sudden that it was cute. He was up one minute and the next completely out. (Coop has done really well all things considered with still napping and sleeping at night in his own bed here. He's still in the pack n play but he is able to hold it and go on the potty and even if he's awake still be happy in his bed.)
Evelyn has taught cooper to be more social while we've been here. He plays with kids at the park easily now.
Kinley is fascinated by everything cooper does.
We love going to the beach right across the street, the park, the kids play center, and on walks.
He tries to act like spider man. He's really into that and toy story 4
Morris the slug
We found a bunch of these cool creatures at the beach one morning! They are technically sea hares, but they look like big slugs.
I named the first one morris and then we found a bunch of others. They move kind of fast! They feel squishy. It was so cool because I had never seen anything like that before.
More beach stuff
It's so beautiful. Even when it's cloudy and rainy I love it because I love rain. I will listen to it or sit on the porch and watch it and it makes me want to fall asleep.
Lovely littles
Honolulu zoo
This day was so fun! I loved getting to do things with dallin too and not just being by myself with the kids.
The monkeys were cool
Coop wants to do anything evelyn does so when she walks, he walks. When she sits in the wagon, he wants to sit in the wagon.
The weird noises Kinley makes....
We call her our baby pterodactyl lol
What a place, am I right?! There is just no possible way to feel stressed or any negative emotion when you're sitting on the beach. I don't know why but they just kind of go away for a little bit. I will be honest-it is harder with kids because you're trying to keep them by you and stop eating sand and all that but still.... the beach is great. I like to look/hear/ feel it but not necessarily be in it. I will go up to my waist but I don't want salt water on my face. No thanks.
pool
sleep issues😴
When we first got here, she was taking these great naps and never sleeping at night. We could put her down for a nap so easily and she would sleep by herself for so long in the day but then at night time she would only last like an hour and then she would wake up and demand to be held. Dallin ended up holding her all night for like two weeks. Finally one night I was holding her and I tried walking, bouncing, swaying, swinging, rocking, sitting, standing, singing, you name it I tried it and nothing was working and she just kept crying no matter what I did. So I just explained to her "if you're going to cry even if I hold you then it doesn't make sense for me to hold you and I'm just going to put you down and we're going to do sleep training right now okay?" (I know I sound like a crazy person because I was having a full on conversation with a screaming 6 month old but I was losing my mind from all the crying and sleep deprivation. Also I think partly I was explaining myself out loud to help myself to understand and come to terms with what needed to be done and feel okay about it. Sleep training has it's haters so part of the reason why we haven't done it before was because there's so much conflicting information about it out there and then it makes you question if you're doing the right thing and you feel bad doing it. But I decided not to listen to the opinions of others and just go with my intuition because every baby is different.) I went on to explain how sleep training works and why we do it and what it's for and how everyone needs to sleep and this pattern cannot continue. And then I just started doing the "taking cara babies" method we did with cooper to sleep train. I did the 5, 10, and 15 minute check ins and then after that it was like she understood what was happening and completely stopped crying. And she's slept through the night every night since then. And that was like 2 or 3 weeks ago. Seriously!?! I have been telling everyone that she's wildly intelligent but this!? This is reeeeally out there. Way too much to be a coincidence too. Cooper screamed for 3 hours the first and 2nd nights and then like 2 and 1 and half hour each night after that. So it took a while and it does for all babies! This whole "We sleep trained in 15 minutes" thing is freaking unheard of! I think she just needed me to explain it to her and now she gets it. lol you go girl!
good times at home (Our Hawaii Home, that is)
The best part about being here for so long is that cooper (and all of us really) could get used to sleeping here. And it takes like 4 days to fully get used to the time change because it was 4 hours different so the first day we woke up at 4am because it felt like 8 to us. Change of any kind is hard for toddlers of course so it has been good for cooper to have everything stay the same for so long. I think if we were only here for a week we couldn't enjoy it because it would just be dealing with the change for him and the sleep issues and then before you know it the vacation is over and you have to do the crazy long flight again. So I've been so grateful we get to stay for two months.
This was cooper coloring on the front porch. Nonna gets him the coolest toys and crafts and clothes and other treasures for amazing deals because she hits garage sales and thrift shops.
This was dallin trying to teach cooper how to ride a bike. He didn't really get it yet
Don't worry Kin kin- we all have an outfit that fits us like this lol
This is what happens when you put a 6 month old in the 93rd percentile for weight in 6 month old clothes. It's the Graff genes. They make big babies. We got her a bunch of 12 month size clothes from the thrift shop and they fit her like a glove. Even the 9 month stuff is small for her now! Can you believe that?!
More cute photos
After the bath together 😍💙💜
The cousins all love each other. Evelyn loves kinder and coop and evelyn are also really close.
Liam and Kinder have also hugged and played patty cake and peek a boo several times and they will play side by side with toys it's cute
Kinley is officially crawling now
Playing in her own spit up
Her Aloha shirt :)
We go on walks every day because both kids like the stroller. Coop likes walking too sometimes so he does both
It is a game changer being right across the street from the beach. I love it so much
The pool we go to has a little kids area and it's called the kroc center.
I got sunburned this day because I remembered to put sunscreen on the kids but not myself lol The pic on the right is coop out there with katie and he freaking looooooves her so much he asks for her all the time. And she's so nice she will go with us anytime he asks and she's so helpful and babysits all the time.
"Hey good lookin'!"
Good times with "Paw"
They went to the marriot resort for their anniversary and we went to visit them and swim in the pool one day and it was really fun because they have sand and beach by their pool in the kids area with sand toys and you can order food by the pool and we did and it was bomb
such a pretty resort and cooper liked watching the fish in the pond
More beach pics
Warhammer
Dallin and ben have been playing warhammer a lot here and they both love it. Dallin has only played video games once since being here which is a record low for him in like 10 years. He says he likes warhammer more and he's feeling over it with video games
Kinley's 7 month pictures
the comparison. Wow time flies.
She's so stinkin' cute. Got this outfit at the thrift shop for so cheap too
her eyes are gorgeous
Pedicures with Katie
We were twinners and both got white. It was sooooo relaxing. I think maybe I should do that more.
Goofy
Cooper just refuses to wear pants sometimes like goofball.
The one on the right is him doing the weird silly face while he makes the weird silly sound lol
"Yuv you Ocean!"
Cooper talks to objects often ("Hi moon, hi car, see ya later house, bye park, etc.) So whenever we leave the ocean he says bye bye ocean, yuv you! haha he pronounces L's with a Y sound
These pics are so dang cute!!!🠛 Just a girl happily eating sand... ☺
Cooper loves toy story 4 now so we made forky's
Cooper has learned so much from evelyn. and seeing them run together on the beach is so cute
Got this wheeley walker thing at the thrift store for 5 bucks! so she's learning to walk around in it!
Dad Selfies
The babies of the group
Kinley's cool eyes and Liam wearing a hand-me-down from Cooper
Date night for the parents while the kids go to the play center
This double date was so fun! I loved the food but dal wasn't impressed.
the kids had fun with nonna pa and katie while we were away too!
Cooper and Evelyn
They're the happiest cousins you'll ever see one minute, and the next they're fighting. Then give it like 2 minutes and they're back to being besties again lol
another round of kid city because we love this place!
We went to olive garden after and that was so nice because we havent' been there in like 3 years. It was cold so dal took my pic wearing the spare outfit we have for cooper in the diaper bag on my arms like a jacket lol This is a video of kinley loooooving the spaghetti
cute pics at the table
Meanwhile at home....
my dad and shelly have been watching the dogs for us so that's a lot of work and we're grateful because they had a few huge storms and they have shoveled the driveway for us a few times! We miss you guys! But not the weather lol
This blog took me forever! holy crap. let's hope i dont wait 4 months to do it again next time. Sheesh.
