Today we had a baby shower for Kelly! This is her 2nd- this time a baby girl, so we had to give her a little sumthin'. Ok, a lotta sumthin'. It's hard to get a bunch of women together, buying presents for a sweet baby girl, and not buy like a billion cute little outfits and girly things. She got lots of great stuff and it was so fun to get together and catch up with the girls. Bryan gave me a free day today and I enjoyed the adult time hanging with the ladies (plus cutie Simon!).

Last night I got to experiment with my new cake decorating supplies. I wanted to make some cool cupcakes for Kelly's shower. This time around I thought I'd try upgrading my tools from a ziploc with a tiny corner cut off to an actual pastry bag with metal tips. It was a lot of fun experimenting and I think the final design turned out pretty if I do say so myself. Her daughter's name is going to be Ruby Kathleen. Ruby and Simon. So cute.


It's weird to think I've been writing this blog long enough to see Kelly through 2 babies. I was skimming over my really old entries the other day and read an entry I had written right after we had a baby shower for her and Simon. That one was a lot of fun, too. I seem to remember the shower lasting until like 1 in the morning because we were talking so much. I love my girls. You all are so important to me. We missed a few of y'all today. Huhhm... Joy, Lauren.


Speaking of people I miss, I tried the pesto recipe- Joel and Jessica. It turned out tasty! Bryan really loved it but damn we had some serious dragon-breath after eating all of its garlicky goodness. We ate ours with ravioli and grilled chicken. The Italian grandmother probably would not approve but it was yummy anyhow. Here's our rendition:

I've enjoyed reading the 101 cookbooks blog where they got the recipe. I love how she makes so many different things and gives little tips and sort of cheers you on by saying things like, "for those of you who think tarts are too fussy - as far as tart-making is concerned, this is about as unfussy as they get." Makes me wanna make a tart for some reason. I can do this!! Lots of yummy ideas- check it out.

In other news, we have spent the last week in somewhat of a personal hell. I woke up last Sunday morning with a stuffy nose and sore throat that turned into a full-blown head cold by Monday morning. By Tuesday night, all 3 of us were sick. I couldn't believe Cooper had gotten sick. It's an awful feeling to hear your baby all snotty and having a hard time breathing. I really kinda panicked when I first realized he was sick. I just felt TERRIBLE for him. We spent the rest of the week trying to keep Cooper as comfortable as possible-humidifier, Johnson's Vapor baths, saline drops, vapor plug-in, sleeping upright in car seat/swing/bouncy seat/babybjörn. Needless to say, no one got much sleep over the last week. It's hard going back to what feels like the newborn phase all over again. Broken sleep, hours on end of rocking, walking, singing, paci-holding-in, butt-patting. At 4am. And 6am. And sometimes all night long. Anything to put the Boy to sleep. At one point, I resorted to pushing him around the house in the car seat/stroller combo making lots of teeny tiny u-turns all over the place. I thought to myself, "If someone looks in my front window they will think I've lost my mind." And I sort of had. All the routines for nap-time and bedtime have gone out the window. I'm hoping we will regain normalcy when he's all better. Today, he seems like he's feeling a ton better. Back to cooing and squealing so I'm pretty sure he's on the mend. Yay. And we are finally better. Sayonara, snot. Please stay away long enough for me to forget how much I hate you.

Now, on with the Coops. I've got lots of sweet little pictures to share with you all. He's growing like a little weed without my permission. FIVE months on November 1st. Jeez.

Here's the family unit:


Baby Boy in his hat:


What Cooper does while Mommy gets ready for work:


He <3's NY:


Uncle Bennie and his charge: