Brian and Moria come to town!

A couple of weekends ago we were excited to welcome Brian and Moria to Kansas for the first time. We were so incredibly excited to have them coming to see us. While we were lucky enough to overlap with Moria in San Diego back in March we hadn't seen Brian since their wedding last October. It was definitely time. I have quite a few pictures from the weekend so I will separate their visit into a couple posts. 

Moria meeting Jane

 They brought Anna a very cool vet kit complete with a stethoscope, a syringe for shots, keys for the kennels, and a little cat and dog. It was a huge hit with Anna and she spent most of the weekend "checking" us with the stethoscope and giving us shots. She's still loving it now that they have left. 

Brian playing with Anna

 It was great being able to show our house to them (although there are a lot of projects left and very little decorating done...life with two kids :-) ).

Brian snuggling Jane

 After dinner we decided to check out a couple playgrounds not far from our house. It was pretty hot and humid and threatened rain but we had a little time. The first was a little old for Anna although that didn't stop her from trying to climb things. 

Our little climber

 Anna still had fun running around though!

 We then headed over to the other playground that seemed a little more age appropriate. It wasn't bad...not sure that it is a favorite but it's nice to know we have it close if needed. 

So much fun!

Eventually we were all hot and it was getting late so we headed back to get the girls ready for bed. Anna enjoyed having more people available to read to her.  

Reading "Eyes" as Anna calls it (I Can Read With My Eyes Shut)

 While Moria and I were with the girls, Kevin and Brian were preparing the breakfast casserole for the next day. 

Hi Kevin and Brian

 The next day we all headed over to the YMCA so that Anna could do a little swimming. Moria used to be a swim instructor and she had fun working with Anna on a few little things in the water. 

Floating practice

All was good until Anna spotted Mommy!

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy

We managed to get Anna back in the water and she had so much fun swimming with these guys! She did keep me in her sights though.

I see you Mommy

 After this it was lunch and then nap time for the girls. We took advantage of two sleeping babies and played a few board games before getting ready to head out to dinner. We couldn't have them come to Kansas and not have a chance to experience a little barbecue! 

Jane: 2 Months

I was actually proud of myself for getting Jane's 2 month pictures done just a few days after turning 2 months but then I dropped the ball on getting the post up! Well...almost 2 weeks ago our little hit the 2 month mark. We can't believe how fast it is flying (even though you'd think we'd know by now).

Jane's second month gave us our first smiles from her! She gave us the first one right around 6 weeks old and has gradually been giving us more and more. We finally finished making her a mobile for her room so we've enjoyed watching her look at it during diaper changes. She has also been cooing and "talking" to us when we make noises for her. It's fun being able to interact with her more. She's such a happy baby!

 This little Missy is also a fantastic sleeper at night. She has slept through the entire night (7-8 hours) several times but typically wakes up once around 5 or 6 am before going back to sleep for a few hours. Right now we'd just like her to start her long stretch a little earlier so we could get to bed sooner and get more out of it. She's calling the shots on that one though. 

 We also had Jane's 2 month appointment last week are her stats were as follows: 

Weight: 12 lbs 13 oz (80%)

Height: 23.5 in (86%)

Head Cir: 16.1 in (97%*)

Kevin was a little disappointed that Jane's head was only 90% but I was looking back at Anna's and at her 2 month appointment her head was 16 inches and they indicated it was 98% so not sure what's up with the difference.*I corrected her head percentage to 97% after looking it up on the WHO charts. The office rounds strange so I have to calculate it on my own from now on! (Either way she still has a big noggin'). We're a little surprised that we have a tall baby (tall for now) since Anna has consistently been well below 50%. It will be fun to see if she stays tall. 

 I've had to pack up a lot of clothes already. Jane can still wear some 0-3 month stuff and most 3 month items depending on how sizes run. She may get to wear more of Anna's adorable dresses than I thought she was going to be able to wear if she continues to grow so fast!

 You may be able to tell in some of these pictures that we have a little slobber monkey on our hands. I love seeing those spit bubbles...so cute. 

 We feel so lucky to have such an easy going baby. She's so chill (for the most part. When she gets mads she is mad. Must be the red hair). 

We love this little lady so much and its so fun watching Anna with her. As Jane becomes more alert and interactive it is going to be more and more fun watching them together. 

More Birthday Celebrations

This particular weekend was filled with more birthday celebrations. My Mom's birthday was in the middle of July but with the craziness of the summer we were a few weeks late in recognizing it...sorry Mom! We headed out to the farm on a Friday evening and we celebrated both her birthday and Hailie's birthday which is in mid August. 

Happy Birthday!

The timing worked out well for us though. I already had a girls day planned with my Mom the next day so we decided to just stay the night in Topeka so we were able to make it out to the farm. Most of the Copp side of the family hadn't met Jane yet so it was fun to introduce her. I didn't get pictures of everyone that got to hold her but I managed a few. 

Meeting Aunt Laura

Grandad and Grandmom had met Jane once before but this time there was more opportunity for snuggles. 

Hi Great Grandmom!

My Dad and Hailie took Anna outside since it was a pretty nice evening. They were having fun hitting the propane tank with their hands and hearing the sounds it made. They came across this blue barrel and when they hit on hit a mama cat came running out. I happened to come outside shortly after this and Anna was so incredibly excited. There were several very new baby kittens inside the barrel. She had a blast looking at them and had to tell me all about it when I came over. 

Checking out the kittens

Then it was time for some water fun!

She had a blast with Grandpa and did not want to come inside.

After leaving the farm we headed over to Kevin's parents house where we were staying. Since I was spending most of the day with my Mom, Kevin had plans to hang out with the girls over there. 

A few snuggles before heading out for the evening. 

 It was late when we got over there so Anna didn't have much time before we put her to bed. The next morning Patti and Kevin made us a delightful breakfast. Since there was plenty of food Kevin convinced James and Scott to come on over. Eventually I had to leave and I didn't end up taking the camera with me but my Mom and I had a wonderful day. We went to lunch and did some shopping and went out for coffee and just enjoyed each other's company kid-free. Although it was officially for my Mom's birthday I felt like it was as much for me. It was the longest I'd been away from both girls and I needed some adult time. 

While I was gone the girls and Kevin seemed to have a good time based on pictures. 

Ears!

 Gama had a chance to give Miss Jane a bottle. 

 Uncle Scott got a chance too. Scott even got some nap time snuggles after this. 

When both girls were napping Kevin played Marbles (aka aggravation). 

It was another fun weekend! 

Grandpa Kent's Birthday

I can hardly believe that the month is more than half over already. It's been a pretty busy month and we've been in Topeka the last three weekends. I have a quiet moment with both girls napping so I'm going to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee see what I can get done on here!

The month started with celebrating Kevin's Grandpa's 79th birthday. Kevin's Mom prepared a really nice dinner with many of his favorites and we were glad it worked out for us to be there that weekend. 

Grandpa Kent

Anna loved being able see her uncles.

Reading with Uncle Thomas and Uncle Scott

Anna especially loves getting to play with her cousin Adell. With them both being a little older now they are really starting to play together and it is so much fun to watch. Sometimes they get a little crazy....

Crazy girls!

 It's going to be fun to see all three girls play together in the next couple of years. 

Jane hanging out with Gama

 All three girls with Gampa and Kevin's Grandma hanging out on the couch. 

Jane enjoying a bottle from Aunt Serena. 

We were glad it worked out to make it in! Next post...more birthday celebrations!

Water Table

I promised a post about the water table we ordered so here it is a couple weeks late. I found a really good deal on this table and based on the reviews I was sooooo excited about it and seeing Anna's reaction. When it came in the mail Anna "helped" me put it together. 

The best reaction to it was when we were filling it up with water. We have a video of it but it was too long to load on here. She loved filling it up! 

 It was definitely a hit but she got tired of playing with the boats pretty quickly.

 That's when she started just trying to climb in which we had to put a stop to. This lead to us stripping her down to her diaper.

 Anna had a good time but she doesn't love the water table as much as I had hoped. We were playing with it last night and all she wanted to do was climb in it. Starting to think we should have just bought a plastic kid pool...perhaps we still will.

 After playing in the water and getting a bath Anna enjoyed hanging out with Jane. We moved the pack n play downstairs and it is nice having an area where we can set Jane down and she is safe from Anna.

July Wrap Up

It's crazy that July is over already. To finish up July posts I wanted to post some more pictures of random things we've been up to this past month. 

Jane had her first bottle. So far she's doing well with it and we haven't had to change bottle types like we did with Anna so that's been nice...especially for Kevin since he's the one who feeds her the bottles :)

Our little sweetie snoozing away.

We decided to take a walk one evening to play on the playground that Anna and Kevin normally bike too. Anna loved it but it took forever to get there because she likes to stop and pick up every stick and leaf that she sees.

After walk/running there and then playing hard at the playground Anna was pretty exhausted. Jane didn't want to be in the stroller so Anna sat in it on the way home. She slept hard that night!

Jane's been rocking tummy time and gets stronger every day.

Whenever we do tummy time Anna is right there with Jane. She will give her kisses and pat her and say "tummy". It's pretty sweet to watch. 

Anna likes getting into baskets. I found her in Jane's room one morning just hanging out with her Violet dog. 

Kevin's cousin Val and her family stopped by one evening to bring us dinner. They live pretty close to us and it was great getting to catch up with her family for a little bit! Kevin's Aunt Connie (Val's Mom) also stopped by one afternoon when they were in town to bring food by. We were very appreciative!

Val meeting Jane

We had another visitor is past month. Laura was in Kevin's lab at Stanford and is from the area. She's back home for a bit while in the process of moving to the East Coast for a job. Laura came by for dinner and to meet our girls. Anna was unsure at first but decided she was okay and let Laura read the book she'd given to Anna when she was born. 

Anna has been seeing us swaddle Jane and has started wrapping anything and everything up. From babies, to bath toys, to tiny plastic animals. One day Kevin asked her if she wanted to be wrapped up and she did.Watching her get out of it was pretty entertaining.

Sleepy time with Daddy

We haven't been back to Topeka as much this last month but Kevin's Mom and Dad have stopped by a few times and even took Anna for a couple days while Kevin was out of town. I also spent a little time at my Mom and Dad's during this time. It's been busy and I know August is going to be busy too!