My Sweet Boy!

Y'all, my boy is being so very sweet towards his sister and it makes my heart happy. Ms. Shelley also shared this morning all the sweet things he is doing with his friends at her house. Here are the things he has started doing:

• When Chloe cries, he searches the house for a pacifier and brings it to her.
• When Chloe wants his lovey, he searches the house for hers and brings it to her.
• He tried covering her with a blanket last night when she was laying down on her little sofa bed.
• This morning, he found one of her hair rubber bands on the floor, brought it over to her and tried putting it in her hair.
• He is sharing his food with all of us.
• HE KISSED ME FOR THE FIRST TIME LAST NIGHT! FOUR TIMES!!! This made my day! Work was especially crazy yesterday and honestly, I was ready to have a glass of wine! After that, my crazy day was forgotten.
• When one of his friends is upset at Ms. Shelley's, he'll bring them some food or a toy.

After he does each of these things, he looks at us for some recognition and gives us this big goofy new grin. Can't wait to get this new smile of his on camera. I would also love to get a picture of brother and sister hugging. Everytime I bring the camera out, the show is over! Chloe might be in trouble when she is older. I believe we have an over protective brother in the making. YES! :)

Words

This weekend, Cooper spoke a few more words. He is now saying, ball, ruff ruff, water, paci, babies, Mama (my favorite), book, and uh oh. Chloe points to everything and says this or that. She also says Dada and uh oh.

They spent Saturday evening at Nana's house while we were at Maddie's volleyball tournament. My mom has photos lined up along the fire place. When she would ask Chloe, "Where's Mama? Where's Maddie?", she would point to the right picture and hug it. Chloe's hugs are when she lays her head on someone or something (doll, picture, etc.) and says, "ahhhhh." Simply precious!

Picture from Nana's house, I'm sure Todd will make a comment about Cooper having a doll in his hand.

And, speaking of Maddie. She is becoming quite the volleyball player! Her team did fabulous at this weekend's tournament. Go Maddie! We have a few pictures from the previous tournament but I need to weed out the bad ones. I'll post as soon as I can.

Random Pictures

Hello family and friends! The holidays are over and we are getting back to the daily grind. Here are a few random pictures from this past week. I have a funny story to share though, the babies are eating mostly table food now and Chloe isn't loving her veggies. She eats peas pretty well but not green beans. She is very independent with her eating and wants to feed herself. This evening, instead of feeding herself the green beans, she would tilt her head up at me with a big smile and thrust it at me. She wanted to feed ME her green beans! What a smart girl! She is trying to be cute and "share" so that we won't notice she's not eating her veggies! No worries, we'll keep trying!

Cooper and Chloe went to their friend Zachary's 1st birthday party at the Little Gym last weekend. I'm sure more pictures will be posted soon on the Caraway's blog. But, I had to share this funny picture. Isn't he looking like he's too cool for words...so Todd...

Playing in the bouncy thing...

The babies are feeling a little more independent these days. They are wanting to walk from the car to the door and they get so excited doing it. Cooper is giving the grass a try. You should see how he carefully steps on the grass. When he falls, he tries desperately not to touch it with his hands.

My little cutie pie is loving dresses these days and Mommy is too! We had to stop putting dresses on Chloe while she was crawling because she would get so frustrated with the loose fabric getting caught by her knees. So, here come the dresses! She adds a little prance to her steps too when she is dressed up. She's excited and clapping her hands because we are letting her walk up to the door.

I must confess, I hate toys! Okay, hate is a strong word but they really are driving me bonkers. They are everywhere! I went to the Container Store to see if I could find a solution for organizing/storing all the toys. They didn't have anything that would work and not cost me a fortune. Todd bought this unit when he was single for Madison's toy room (now babies' room). When we were clearing the room out for the babies we reconfigured it so that it would fit in Madison's closet. We made it work because there was nowhere else to put it. We are definitely out growing this house. There is no room in any of the closets or bedrooms to store toys. I decided to move it out into the living room and tuck it in the corner. It's actually works very well. The toys have a "home" and the babies already know what each bin holds. They especially know which bin holds their favorite books and before going to bed they dig out the books and bring them to us to read. For now, I'm okay with this new piece of furniture in my living room!

It's all good!

Babies are happy! Bottles are gone! It's definitely bittersweet! They have already started to increase the amount of fluids(milk and water) they are taking with a sippy cup. All is well!

Morning of Day 5 of no bottle, second day back on schedule...

An improvement from yesteday! This morning they were both very happy and ate really well for breakfast. Chloe went to sleep last night around 6:15 and woke up this morning at 6:15! Cooper fell asleep (being held of course) starting around 6:30 but everytime we tried putting him in his bed he would wake right back up. We would go back to the rocking chair and he would snuggle in and go right back to sleep! He finally went down for the evening at 10:00 in his bed. YIKES! Hopefully, this will get better soon! He was really happy this morning which is a very good sign that we are moving past the you know what! We don't say the word "bottle" at our house! It will be interesting to see today what they do when the baby at Ms. Shelley's house is given his bottle...Dr. Brown bottle...same as Cooper and Chloe's bottle! He wasn't there yesterday.

Day 4 of no bottles...

A tad bit cranky, harder to fall asleep at night, but all is well! Chloe is actually eating more food which is good. The girl didn't eat much before. Today at the babysitter, they both had their OWN peanut butter and jelly sandwich! We typically split everything we give them. Cooper will not drink milk out of the sippy cup but will drink lots of water. Chloe will drink milk if you hold a regular cup for her. She drank about 8 ounces out of a regular cup last night at dinner. She has the milk mustache working! She doesn't drink as much water but will from the sippy cup. Cooper is taking good naps during the day, eating about the same (he was an eater with or without bottles) but for the last two nights it's been a booger to get him to sleep for the night. Chloe's naps have been sporatic and it's taken her a littlle longer to fall asleep. However, once she's down for the night she has stayed down. Cooper also started walking around with his hands folded behind his back like an old man. It's like he's pondering over something. He has a couple of times gone to the kitchen and looked up at the counter where our bottle station is located. Poor baby! Today they went back to Ms. Shelley's and they both took a nap at the regular time she puts them down. I'm thinking now that we are back to our regular schedule, maybe the naps and bedtime will get back on track. It's official, my babies (AKA little people) are off the bottle! I'm packing them up this evening!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We hope that 2010 brings you lots of love, happiness and the simple things that matter the most!

She's going glam in 2010...

We took Maddie and the babies to have their pictures taken at JC Penney. I never imagined that sports pictures could turn out as beautiful as these. We only scanned two of the MANY pictures we bought.

1 year old pictures!

These are just a few of the pictures we bought as well.

The babies had their 1 year old check up on New Year's Eve! I know, what a way to celebrate, huh? They had four shots and have been off and on fussy since. We were told to wean them off the bottles as soon as possible. We were down to two bottles a day, one in the morning and one right before bed and she nicely told us that we needed to stop that schedule. So, this morning instead of making a bottle for them we immediately fed them breakfast. They were a little fussy and we felt like they definitely were missing it. Tonight, they ate a very hearty meal and Cooper fell asleep without a bottle. He's had two good naps today and went to bed around 8:00. Little Miss, she's still walking around fighting sleep and it's now 9:00 and has not taken a nap today. Is that because of the bottle? Stay tuned...

She also kindly told us to give up the things they were sucking on while we were visiting. Hello, I gave them their pacifiers because they were going to get shots! She did tell us not to give up bottles and the pacifier together which I knew I wasn't even going to try that. When we are past the bottle thing, I'll tackle the pacifier. Sniff sniff...my babies aren't babies anymore. She called them little people.

They both have lost a little weight since walking. Here are their stats:
Chloe: 20.13 lbs (26%) and 28 inches tall (10%; she hasn't grown any taller since the 9/8/09 doctor visit)

Cooper: 23.88 lbs (58%) and 30.5 inches tall (61%)

A few pics from today...

They have discovered the TV!

Christmas Festivities!

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and is enjoying the time with family and friends! We have had a fun filled week and now it is time for rest! This post has a ton of pictures and I believe has taken me over an hour to upload them all! But, so many sweet memories, sweet faces, sweet outfits....

On Tuesday morning we headed to San Antonio to go to Fiesta Texas' Holiday in the Park. We had a total of 6 children with us! Are we insane!? We had a blast! Honestly, I am not an amusement park kind of gal. At least I wasn't until this trip. We tried going over the summer and it was so miserably hot that we all felt sick by the time the day was over. That's just not fun to me. It is a totally different experience in the cold weather, with Christmas lights, Christmas music, Carolers, Santa and even a live Nativity. Riding a roller coaster with the cool breeze in your face, overlooking all the pretty lights and at night is totally awesome! (Words straight from Maddie!) I even rode my first roller coaster that went upside down which inspired a couple of other chickens to do the same! By the time the night was over we had rode it 5 times! It was called the Goliath! It twists and turns you upside down so fast that you don't even realize it...well...who am I kidding...you know it! It sure is a rush though! That's what I said to the other chickens to get them to ride it! hehe

We had so much fun that I didn't really take any fun pictures. I just kind of forgot about the picture taking part. The babies did awesome. Chloe slept in the stroller most the night and Cooper took it all in. He was trying so hard to not fall asleep. Did I mention how much fun we had!? It was a wonderful short trip and we have decided to make it a tradition every year. Next year, Grammy and Uncle Ricky promise to join us. It's going to be a Cummings' Family Tradition! (We'll still let McKenzie come!)

The six children...two nephews, one cousin, two daughters and one son...Todd was inspired to sing the Brady Bunch song the whole trip!

Fake snow! Sledding in Texas?

A blurry Trevor (nephew)...

A blurry Brett (nephew)...

A blurry Madison...

A blurry McKenzie (my cousin's daughter)...

Madison and McKenzie getting ready to sled down with Cooper and Chloe...

The babies' first ride!

Todd was taking the picture in the other tea cup and then the ride started.

I didn't get a chance to take one of him and Chloe.

Cooper loved watching these games. Chloe is now asleep in the stroller.

We headed back home Wednesday and these are random pictures taken.

He's starting to want to wear ball caps like his Daddy!

Often, you will find the babies hanging out the doggie door.

You will also find toys on the other side!

This year, we had Madison until Christmas Eve night.

Santa came Thursday morning (Christmas Eve morning).

Madison was the first one to wake up at 5:15 AM! Dad received a tap tap on the arm with her whispering, "Dad, I'm up!" Last year it was, "Dad, I think Santa came!" We quickly told her that the babies weren't even up and to go back to bed until they woke up. Chloe then woke up at 6:00 AM which woke Madison back up. We then waited for Cooper. That little stinker, he is the first to wake up every other day of the year and we all were waiting for him to wake up! I finally allowed Madison to wake him up. I know, never wake a sleeping baby. We paid for it later. I took these pictures before the kids destroyed it all!

Tight fit but Santa made it work!

Look at the hair! This was taken right when she woke up.

She's probably thinking, why so early Mom!?

Later that afternoon, we went to the early Christmas Eve service with Nana.

Look how pretty they are!

Sweet Baby Girl!

Diva!

Handsome Bubs!

It is very difficult to get a family picture taken with two babies!

Cooper decided that he could walk all the way down the hallway from the church sanctuary to the parking lot! I guess he was feeling like a little stud muffin!

Proud Papa!

After the service, we opened presents with Nana and had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Our Christmas Eve dinner is more like an appetizer party with tamales, queso and pigs in a blanket. The pigs in a blanket are for Maddie. After all, an appetizer party should include everyone's favorite appetizer!

This is Maddie trying to hold the babies for a picture...

Oh well...

Chloe and Cooper seemed to like the bows, ribbons and paper more than the presents!

This is Cooper's new thing. He even does it to Chloe. He backs up into your lap and plops down. Typically, he has a book in his hand for you to read.

New robe from Nana!

Christmas Day at Uncle Joe and Aunt Donna's house!

Great Grandmother Rennie!

Stinker...

He's exhausted by this point. This was the 4th day of being off their schedule. However, this picture shows his baby blues!

Aunt Donna took the babies' exersaucer after they grew out of it for the kids at her house. Cooper and Chloe immediately recognized it and played with the same toys on it that they would play with when they were using it. (Picture includes Cooper, Chloe, Bella (cousin) and Lily (cousin).)

Look at this precious Angel...

I can't believe it!?

Is this actually a picture of the Mom and Dad?

The Men!

The Divas!

That's all folks!

Again, we hope that everyone had a wonderful time with their families and remembered the true reason for the season! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Happy Birthday Cooper and Chloe!

Happy Birthday to our precious Cooper and Chloe! You have brought us such joy and we thank God everyday for both of you. In your one year of life, you have stolen the hearts of many!

You both are walking everywhere and have completely stopped crawling. You are playing with one another and seem to be having your own conversation using secret baby language. You both LOVE taking baths. You are eating more table food and have stopped taking formula. You drink whole milk pretty well but it has to be heated up a little. You both are making a hug mess with sippy cups but we're still trying! Soon, we'll be taking the pacifiers away and we hope that you both will be okay. Right now, you really only use it when you are falling asleep. You both fall asleep between 7:00 and 7:30 and wake up around 6:00. And, you both are obsessed with the dishwasher! Mommy and Daddy can't get the dishes done if you are awake!

How are Mommy and Daddy doing? Well, it is a little tough sometimes because you have a Mommy that has to have all her ducks in a row and you guys...let's say...scatter them daily! You are keeping us quite busy and sometimes we have to go for convenience over what we really want. Only one of us really can do any type of chore while the other is watching the both of you. You have lots of energy and love to head for the not so baby friendly places! Your toys have taken over the living room but the dishwasher brings you more fun! However, you have stolen our hearts and Mommy's ducks lining up right don't seem to matter as much. Mommy and Daddy are blessed with great jobs where we can spend time with you that many other working parents aren't able to but it still seems like we could use a few more hours in the day.

This is your last brown chair/bear picture and you were ready to turn the sentimental moment into a happy care free moment. I decided to include all the pictures so all of your friends and family could see how funny you guys were being this morning.

After Daddy took you to the babysitter,

I walked into your room and this is what I saw...

sniff sniff...

To Our Little Man,

You bring us lots of laughter. You have become quite the ham and everyday we find ourselves tickled over various things you did that day. Your big sister, Maddie, makes you laugh and you love to play with her. You love to dance and you have added more moves since the last video that was posted. You have particular tunes on your toys that get you to dancing and will push the button until the particular songs play. You are very curious and figure out how your toys work easily. Right now, you are playing with a Elmo Jack in the Box and you are cranking the handle over and over so that Elmo will pop up. You love books too! You have your favorites and will dig them out of the basket and bring them to us to read to you. Your newest favorite book is a Dr. Seuss Book, The Foot Book. You look absolutely adorable when you walk up to one of us and raise your arms. It's your way of telling us you want to be picked up. You say "ma ma ma ma ma"and "uh oh". You wave bye bye and give high fives. You climbed four steps on the staircase before we grabbed you and you were quite pleased with yourself. You love to swing and ride in the wagon. You aren't very shy and will be held by anyone.

Right now you weigh a little over 24 lbs and have 6 teeth. You are eating more solid foods. You prefer meat and cheese over vegetables at dinner time but will eat them after the meat is gone. For some reason, you don't need to be rocked to sleep for nap time if we lay you in the playpen. You go right asleep. But, when we try just laying you down at that same time in your crib you cry very hard and won't give in. And, Mommy just can't let you cry for too long. It's strange. Mommy really wants to figure out why your bed isn't as comfy cozy for you! I'm starting to wonder if you might be scared of the dark. Your crib has the bumper pad around it and thick wood slats so maybe you don't feel like you can see your surroundings as much?? You do get rocked to sleep before bedtime and sleep in your crib, because that's where you are supposed to sleep Little Man! When you wake up during the night, your Daddy rocks you back to sleep. Daddy can go without sleep much better than Mommy!

Mommy and Daddy love you very much and we are so proud to call you our son!

It snowed on December 4th! You weren't too fond of the cold and wet stuff. Unfortunately, we all got home after the actual snow flurries stopped falling. Mommy was at work while it was snowing and I was wishing I was home with you and Chloe! But, you look adorable all bundled up in your coat!

Over the weekend, we got together with your Uncle Ricky, cousins Brett and Trevor and Grammy. Uncle Ricky has a beautiful new HUGE house with no furniture! You loved the wide open spaces! It made it easy on Mommy and Daddy too!

Grammy brought Birthday and Christmas presents. You escaped with your gift and found a spot by yourself to open your present.

You get your "ham" from your Daddy! You both love a crowd to please!

To Our Sweet Little Miss,

You are so sweet. You give hugs! You hug us and your stuffed animals. You've even hugged your brother a time or two. You cuddle when you first wake up with us. You always have a smile on your face even when you aren't feeling well. You are on the shy side and stay very close to us when you aren't familiar with those around you. You clap your hands when you are excited. You occasionally throw the cutest little temper tantrums especially while we are trying to dress you. You truly cannot stand to be dressed. As soon as it's over, you are all smiles again. You love to get under the kitchen table and chairs. You like to find your own little hiding places. You go from one toy to the next. You like to move around more than sit and play with something. You will join Cooper when a book is being read to him. Cooper likes to grab your hair for some reason and that makes you upset. You dance too but more to yourself. You sway back and forth to the music. You laugh at your brother when he is being silly. If Mommy or Daddy says, "No no Chloe" you shake your head no! You quietly say "bye bye" while waving.

You weigh a little over 20 lbs and have almost 3 teeth. Your bottom two teeth have been in for awhile but the top teeth are not being very nice to you! Your third tooth finally broke through two days ago. Little Miss, you are very picky when it comes to your food. I'm not sure what your favorite foods are; yogurt, applesauce and cheerios for sure. You barely eat. You are picky to different textures and will definitely not take a bite of something until you are ready. When you are finished eating, you shake your head no. You are a better sleeper than your brother. You also sleep through the night without waking up.

Chloe, Mommy and Daddy love you so very much and are so blessed to have you as our daughter.

You weren't very fond of the cold and wet weather either.

You are so adorable and Mommy finds great joy dressing you in cute clothes! You have enough hair now to put in a pony tail on top of your head. I always thought I wouldn't do that to my daughter and here I am doing it! You just look too cute!

You found Uncle Ricky's Christmas tree and loved the lights and pretty ornaments.

Your eyes are beautiful.They seem to be getting bluer everyday.

Grammy came to Houston to celebrate your birthday. She came with gifts for Birthday and Christmas.

Tonight we will have one last little celebration for your actual birthday!

Princess Chloe and Prince Cooper had a ball!

I am going to try and get through this post without crying! Words can't express how blessed we felt to have all of our friends and family celebrate Cooper and Chloe's first birthday. Cooper and Chloe are so very blessed to be loved so much. Planning their party was fun but when the day came, I had to keep myself busy so that all the guests wouldn't see me break down in tears. It was so touching to see them being held, loved on, and played with from the very people that prayed for them to arrive! Now they are turning 1! Oh my! To everyone, thank you for loving them so much!

Taken before the party began....there will be another one on their actual birthday!

This was the best we could do with the hats!

Twelve bear/chair pictures!

Cooper and Chloe's first birthday cake!

All our friends and family singing two Happy Birthday songs!

Hmmm...what's this?

Not so sure about this, it looks messy...

hmmm....

Big Sis coming to help with the situation...

Aunt Donna giving it a try...

Then, this happened. It must have happened when I blinked!

Present time!

Sweet Nathanial who has a birthday coming up too in a couple of months!

Cutie Pie Zachary who will also be celebrating his 1st in a month!

That's all folks for now!

We have another birthday celebration this weekend with

Grammy, Uncle Ricky, Trevor and Brett. We can't wait! More cake!!!

More pictures to come!

Wearing Daddy's hat is more fun than the crown!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

We certainly did!

I am most thankful this year for these three little turkeys...

The babies got a new swing set for their Birthday! They love to swing so we were very excited to get this for them. I am so very thankful that we are able to purchase a gift like this for them and I'm thankful for our friend, Fred, for coming over to help Todd put together. It's quite the task!

We hosted Thanksgiving this year for my family. Cooper definitely enjoyed the attention and turned on the charm. He played ball with everyone, got them to read a book to him and did his dancing jig!

My cousin Zachary, their second cousin.

Chloe was on the shy side today but warmed up to Uncle Chad.

Cooper sitting in Grandpa's lap!

We hope everyone felt as blessed as we did!

Back by popular demand...

He's got more moves...he stops in the middle of the video and then starts again at the end...

Need a laugh?

Four Years!

Four years ago today, I married my wonderful husband! We celebrated tonight at Perry's Steakhouse and it was sooooo yummy! For the last two years, we weren't able to do much because I was on bed rest both times. I had my first round of IVF and was on bed rest after the procedure for our 2nd anniversary and then for our 3rd anniversary I was on bed rest with the babies. Tonight was very special and felt very different for me. I was a mom sitting at that table with the father of my children. I don't know why, it just felt different. I also think of this day as gaining a wonderful step daugther. Man, what a deal I got! Todd and Maddie both stole my heart and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

When we arrived, rose petals were waiting for us in the shape of a heart....
They brought this out to us after the meal...YUM!

And, couldn't leave these pics out...

Yesterday's ride in the wagon with wearing their new coats...

They love the swings! I can't wait to give them their birthday present! Stay tuned...

Here's to four years Hubby! I can't wait to see what the next four years has in store for us!

Cooper Dancing

Cooper has this little dance that he's been doing for about a month now where he shakes his head back and forth. We haven't been able to get it on video yet so tonight I did it with his back facing me so he wouldn't see the camera. He had been doing this for a good 10 minutes over and over. He figured out which button played the music on the toy and was jamming to it. This brings laughter to our home! Enjoy!

Sorry it's so dark!

Mommy time!

On Friday, I took a personal day off to have a Mommy day! I had a much needed doctor's appt. in the morning and then I headed to the Nutcracker Market with my friend Amber. It was CRAZY! So many woman trying to fit into very little spaces. I didn't really get too much there because it took so long to pay for something. You had to REALLY want it! I enjoyed the day off though and I knew I had one last show to attend on Saturday so I wasn't all that concerned with trying to buy stuff there. I really wanted to look for some unique Christmas gifts this year at all the shows and buy things that I felt were really fitting for the person. I didn't want to just buy to buy, ya know!? I wanted the item to jump out at me. Let's see, I believe I attended maybe 5 shows this year? The top winners were the Second Baptist Celebration show and yesterday's show at the Merrell Center. Here are a few of my favorite things that I got...I can't show you what I got Maddie. I mostly bought stuff for her but those items are hidden for Christmas!


These adorable hats were given to me by a friend of mine who sells them at Second's show....when I got to her booth she insisted that I pick two out for Cooper and Chloe.

I had to add these...they weren't actually craft show items but they are crafty! My mom's co-worker had a friend who sold these appliques that you iron on. (www.zingotots.etsy.com) I just finished them. They cost less than $10 with the onesie from Target! Aren't they cute? I'm sure you'll see some pictures of Cooper and Chloe wearing them soon.

This necklace called my name at Second's show...this is how I feel...totally blessed....I had to buy it! And, Todd calls me Mama to the babies. Cooper is now saying, "Ma Ma Ma Ma."

And, Craft Show Season wouldn't be complete without a crazy pair of shoes! I bought these at the Nutcracker! So fun!

Last year, I was on bed rest so I was unable to attend many of the shows. I just love to get together with the girls and go to these things. I don't typically buy a whole lot but it's still super fun. You do leave with lots of cute ideas that you could make yourself though!