Megan is 1 Month Old!



Megan, 1 Month Old (8/27/11)



Ava, 1 Month Old (6/3/07)

Wow! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone! I swear, it seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital welcoming Baby Girl #2 to the family! It has been a fun, chaotic, memorable time getting to know Megan and introducing her to our family and friends. Ava has proven to be such a wonderful big sister and definitely loves her little 'Meggy'. :)

When I brought Ava home from the hospital, I remember thinking that I did not know if it was possible to love more than one child at a time. How do you spread your time evenly with two kids? Well, I know now, it definitely is possible to love two kids at the same time. It's amazing how much your heart expands to allow you to do that. I also am finding out, it's nearly impossible, at least in the beginning, to spread your time evenly between two children. That seems to be my biggest challenge. I am constantly trying to find ways to spend time with Ava, alone, and to make sure she doesn't feel left out. All the while, trying to feed a new baby and soothe the baby when she cries. There just aren't enough hours in the day. When I was pregnant, a friend told me to make sure when the baby was born that I didn't "shoosh" Ava all the time when the baby was sleeping. That was probably the best advice I've been given so far. Understanding that Ava is still a healthy 4-year old and knowing that she is still going to be loud and energetic is key. Megan has learned to sleep through a lot of the noise. There have been times, however, when the noise is a bit much, and Miss Megan gets woken up by the sounds of Big Sister, or the dog barking at the neighbors...again. I'm learning to take a deep breath and just laugh about it--this is our life now...as hectic as it may be. :)

In the past month we have learned so much about Megan (aka: Meg, Megs, Meggy, Meggy-Moo, Miss Magoo #2). She likes to eat. A lot. LOL She usually sleeps between feedings, but in the last couple of days, she has been more alert for longer periods of time. She likes the pacifier, but only on her terms. Don't try to force it! :) When she's upset, she likes Ava to sing to her. Megan sleeps in the basinet next to our bed and is always making squeaking and grunting noises. I don't mind at all, because as moms of newborns know, you're always checking to make sure they are breathing, that they didn't spit up, etc. With all the noise-making going on, I usually know things are fine. It doesn't stop me from checking on her everytime I rollover though. :) When I first put Megan down for the night, she'll usually sleep about 4-5 hours (ahhhh...heaven), then she'll wake up every 2 or 3 hours after that. Not too bad. She loves the Boppy pillow and occassionally likes the swing. She's happiest when someone is holding her-of course! Megan loves to take naps on Mommy or Daddy's chest--he favorite place to be. She would sleep forever there if we let her.

Megan's had a few baths and really likes the water. It's when she gets out that she starts fussing. And if Mommy takes too long to get her dried off and dressed...you'll hear about it!

For the most part, Megan is a very mellow baby and we are so in love with her. It makes me have more respect for Ava as well. Ava is handling this whole 'baby thing' so well and I don't think she gets enough credit. It's got to be hard for any 4 year old who was the center of attention to get their whole world turned upside-down. In an instant, Ava grew up. But she'll always be my baby. :)

Day at the Lake

This was #1 on Ava's list of things to do this summer--go jet skiing. Mark and his dad took Ava out on the lake last Friday to ride around on the jet ski. She had so much fun! She is a little daredevil--good thing I wasn't there to witness it! Mark said Ava wanted to operate the gas on the jet ski and basically held it wide open--full throttle the whole time! This girl has no fear--yikes! She can't wait to go out on the lake again!

Action cam.

Self-portrait.

Found some warm, shallow water.

Snack break.

Ava and Opa.

Pretty toes.

Acting crazy.

Ava's 'Before Summer Kicks the Bucket List'

Mark is off work until the middle of September for 'paternity leave'. We are so lucky that he gets so much time off to spend with us while we are adjusting to our expanding family. One of his main priorities is spending a lot of time with Ava. We wanted to make sure she didn't feel left out and that she was getting 'one-on-one' time with us. Mark sat down with her to write a list of things she wanted to do this summer. Here is her 'Before Summer Kicks the Bucket List':

1. 
   
   Go jet skiing


2. 
   
   Go to a waterslide park


3. 
   
   Visit Discovery Kingdom


4. 
   
   Tour the Jelly Belly Factory


5. 
   
   Swim in the One Mile at Bidwell Park


6. 
   
   Bike Ride on Trail-a-bike

Welcome, Megan Faye!

On July 27, 2011, we welcomed Megan Faye Cooper to our family! She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20 inches. She was scheduled to arrive on August 1st, but decided to come early--thank goodness, I was ready! I woke up around 12:30am on the 27th to some pretty strong contractions. I had never been in labor before, as Ava was a scheduled c-section as well (breech baby!). I went out to the living room and sat there for about 2 hours, timing the contractions and trying to figure out if I was really in labor. Everytime I had a contraction, I felt like, for sure, this was it. But in the 5-6 minute breaks that I would get, I felt fine and figured I was being too cautious. Is this labor? Or am I just imagining it? For 2 hours I felt like that. Finally, around 2:30am, I called my sister, who works nights at the hospital and happened to be working that night. She answered the phone and when I said "I think I'm in labor", she started cracking up! She walked to the maternity wing and talked to the nurses on duty. They told me to drink lots of water and lay down for a bit. Once I got comfortable on the couch, Lisa called me back and said that one of my doctors was actually on her way to the hospital for another patient. Lisa suggested that I just come in and get checked out--if I needed to have a c-section, at least my doctor would be there. So, I went in and woke Mark up and told him that I thought we should go to the hospital. I already had my bag packed, so I was ready! Mark, on the other hand, didn't have anything ready--I think he was still in denial at this point! LOL At 3am, I went into Ava's room and woke her up. I felt so bad--she was sound asleep and looked so comfy in her bed. This better be the real thing, I thought. Otherwise, I was going to feel so bad waking everyone up at o'dark hundred! It took a minute to get Ava up and going but by the time we were in the car, she was chattin' up a storm! She was in such a good mood at 3:30 in the morning! On the way to the hospital I had several very strong contractions--the kind you can't even talk yourself through. I was pretty sure this was the real thing.

We got to the hospital around 4am and met my sister outside. She took Ava to her office so they could color and hang out for a bit. They hooked me up to the monitors to see how strong my contractions were and said it was going to be about an hour for them to decide if they were going to keep me and do a c-section that day, or not. My only thought was, "I'm going to have to have these contractions for another hour???" I know now, that I am definitely not a fan of labor--bring on the c-section!!! They decided around 5:15am they were going to perform a c-section at 6:30am. Again, my first thought was, "I'm going to have to have these contractions for another hour and 15 minutes???" Good thing, the time flew by and before we knew it, I was walking myself into the operating room. Megan was born 25 mintues later and, as you can see, is perfect! :) My parents arrived just 10 minutes after I was wheeled into the recovery room (my sister didn't call them until 5:15am when the decision was made to keep me and take the baby that day. They loaded the car up and made the 1.5 hour drive to Chico in record time!).

My mom stayed the 3 nights in the hospital with me so Mark could provide Ava with some "normalcy" at home. The nurses at the hospital were fabulous and my stay, other than the very uncomfortable beds, was great! We were able to go home that Saturday to start our lives as a family of four!

In the recovery room.


Hello Grandma!

Hello Grandpa!

Meeting Big Sister!

Ava couldn't wait to hold Megan.

Hi Opa!

Meeting cousins Macy and Ben.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

Kisses.

Hi Omi!

Ava singing Rock-a-Bye Baby to calm Megan down.

My sister and Chris bought this cake for us--we went over to their house on Sunday after Megan was born for a BBQ.

Chillin' during the festivities at the Denlay's.

Morning bliss.

My Princess on Parade

Ava went to ballet camp for two weeks at Chico Creek Dance Centre, where she has taken ballet classes before. She was very excited to go, because she knew 'Miss Melinda' was going to be the teacher, whom she adores! They worked very hard for 3 hours a day for 2 weeks. They also did arts and crafts to decorate the room for the performance and the programs for the parents. Ava's friend, Olivia, also did the camp, but Ava made a few new friends too. It was very cute to see them encourage each other and give each other hugs at the end of the day. The performances were on Thursday and Friday of the last week of camp, to allow for the many friends and family who all wanted to see their "Princesses". They danced to songs from the movies 'Tangled' and 'Princess and the Frog'. Ava discovered tap shoes and did a fantastic job! :) She did great with all of her dances.

Enjoy the pictures of Ava dancin', twistin', jumpin', hula-hoopin', and shakin' her groove thing. :)

3rd Annual Father's Day Weekend Camping Trip to Butt Lake!

It was our 3rd annual camping trip for the Coopers to Butt Lake. At first, I tried to get out of it. I was not looking forward to sleeping in a tent, in a sleeping bag, on the ground, 34 weeks pregnant! My mother-in-law and father-in-law were very generous, however, and let me sleep in their camping trailer. It actually ended up being pretty fun--my mother-in-law, Macy, Ava and I all had a 'sleepover' in the trailer. I don't think I could have done it any other way this year...

We only stayed one night this year. I knew I was going to be wiped out, but we wanted to go for a little bit anyway. We looked like we had enough stuff to stay for a whole week though! We had a lot on our agenda for the short time we were there! We wanted to go in the lake, take a ride in the canoe, make s'mores by the campfire (of course!), go fishing, and fit in a bit of relaxation too (I think that was mainly on my agenda!).

Ava and Macy taking a dip in the freezing water! You could walk out forever and it was really shallow-the kids loved it!

Mark taking the girls for a canoe ride

Ava caught a fish with her Barbie fishing pole!!!




Opa caught a fish with his pole too, and he let Ava reel it in-she did it all by herself!

Concentrating...

Omi and Opa and the grandkids

Mark swinging in the hammock

They don't call it Butt Lake for nothin'!!! :)

Ron pretending to throw Ava in the water

After a very long walk, Ava and I enjoying some cuddle time. Is that a beachball under my sweatshirt?? :)

There's a piece of wood all the way at the end of the lake that looks like a sasquatch. Ava wanted to go see it up close.

The kids swinging--they got pretty high!

Saturday morning breakfast- buttermilk pancakes and sausages for the kids. The good stuff came later--Ron always takes eggs, potatoes, bacon, and onion and cooks them in a cast iron pot to perfection. Yum!

Ava and Macy-watching the cooks and zoning out...looks like Ava is enjoying her cup of morning coffee. I think it was just water.... :)

In Omi and Opa's trailer-the girls had enjoyed telling ghost stories at the campfire so much, they continued to do so inside where it was nice and warm. Ava kept telling the 'Legend of Pinkfoot'-you'll have to ask her sometime. :) We also played a hilarious game of 'Telephone'-the message mysteriously changed to the same thing over and over again once it reached Ben. Hmmmm...

Macy eating s'mores. Photo courtesy of Ava.

Ava and Macy in the water...again.

I was watching the girls and taking pictures and I turned to see my shadow--had to take the picture!