A note from my mom

Greetings,

Fact...There are good reasons you should have children when you are young ...I spent the morning at the zoo with Taylor. She was teriffic and who wouldn't be when you get to ride around in a stroller? What was I thinking when I put on flip flops this morning? We had a grand time. We were there for 3 hours and Taylor was sound to sleep before we got on the freeway. Shocker...I didn't even go into one gift shop. I did however buy Taylor a Zoo bucket happy meal. The San Diego Zoo is fabulous and I hope to go back at least one more time before I return home. The pandas were wonderful. The 11month old panda was entertaining everyone climbing down the tree. Enjoy the pictures.

Love, Cathy

Cricket

Seriously he is the best baby ever... and pretty damn cute if you ask me. It's funny how his cowlicks make him have a mohawk, he looks like a little rebel. Great news, our little man gained 1 lb last week!!! So we are officially at 6.8 lbs... only a few more to go until we can get out of the cave and explore the world.

4th of July

I love the 4th of July and I am extra thrilled that my mom will be with us to celebrate this year. We are getting together with a very small group of close friends for BBQ and fireworks. I'm going to make this little pretty tart from Paula Dean. Check out this link for the recipe.

Weekend Happenings!

We had a wonderful weekend with Aunt Allie. Here are some pictures!

She brought lots of pretty presents for Taylor. All wrapped up with pretty ribbons. Unwrapping was just as wonderful as getting the gift.

Here it is, the tackiest dress EVER with bracelets to match, Thanks Allie!!!. OHHHHH Taylor loves it. We have had quite a few tears when getting undressed for bath time. ( and she made us tie the ribbon from the gift wrap in her hair)

Still loving Grammies food. She made us blueberry pancakes!

Allie and her mini me. Both completely accessorized.

Tummy time with Daddy. It's sweet how they just stare at each other. Cooper loves tummy time and of course Taylor joined too.

Did I mention...

that the three of us ( some of my dearest friends in San Diego) all had our babies within 5 days of each other. Kristin's daughter Rylan was born on June 11th at 12:18am. Cooper was born June 15th at 12:18pm (what are the odds of the time being like that!!!) and Mariella's daughter Sophia was born June 16th.

Have a wonderful weekend

I hope you have a lovely weekend. We are trilled that my sister is making a surprise visit for a few days. It was very short notice but we are trilled to have her. I often say that I think Taylor is more her child than mine. Obsessed with clothing and accessories, a little over dramatic and a hint of diva. Taylor is like her mini me. We have been counting down the minutes until her arrival.

Reason # 349 and #350

Just another few reasons we love to have mom here taking care of team Dunaway. Seriously, Dusty and I keep telling her that we are going to chain her to the house so she can never leave. Dusty keeps adding that we're not quite sure how we are going to get along without her. I agree 100%Even my girlfriends have asked her if she could give tips to there moms or if there was a way to clone her.

She has brought little educational toys and lessons for Taylor that she brings out every few days. This one works on Taylor's hand eye coordination along with colors and counting. It's like we have our own little preschool. Since my mom has been here Taylor vocabulary and sentence structure has improved immensely.

She has also made all of our meals helped with the laundry and cleaning the house. etc etc etc. (by helping I mean she has done 100% of it, while I have been spending time with Cooper and Taylor) This is the dinner that she made for Dusty on fathers day. Ribs, Potato Salad and Corn on the cob. Yummy!

What we have been up to...{round two}

Lucy Faye meets Cooper

Taylor giving Dusty his fathers day gift. She gave him a rock that she painted in preschool that says " you rock" on it. We also got him 3 1 hour messages.

Lots of sports with Daddy and Cooper ( world cup )

Big night. Dusty was thrilled to share the Lakers big win with our little man. He even asked me to take this picture by the TV to memorialize the moment. SO funny.

Dusty and I took Taylor on a little outing to the fair on Wednesday. We are working hard to make sure she feels like she is getting her special little moments while Cooper is so small. We are so lucky that my mom is here so help us this Cooper so we can do these little things. Taylor loved the goats... and cows... and chickens!

Riding the Merry go round with dad. She giggled the whole time and waved to everyone that was watching.

Size

Cooper 1.5 weeks Taylor 1.5 weeks

What we have been up to...

Lots of Big Moments. Taylor snuggling Cooper

Lots of Kisses

Lots of deep thoughts

Lots of Visitors

( This is one of my dearest friends, her second baby was born 4 days before Cooper)

Lots of Naps

Cooper Update

(Fathers Day 2010)

Can you believe that it has been one week since Cooper was born? Time flies when you are exhausted :) Our little man has been to the doctor twice to monitor his weight gain and we are happy to announce that he is on the right track. He gained 4 ounces over the last 3 days and is only a few ounces away from his birth weight. At this point we are on lock down and have been told to treat Cooper like a preemie until he is 8 pounds. He is only allowed to visit the doctor and than right home to our little cave.

We also found out that his length measurement was off at the hospital. He was pretty upset after the birth so it was hard to get an accurate length. He is really 19.5 inches long not 18 inches. Which makes him taller than Taylor at birth. He is sleeping well, going for a nice 5 hour stretch, quick feed and than 3 more hours. It's been nice to have some rest to Dusty and I can get back on track. Taylor has been a super star. She loves Cooper so much, she is extremely gentle and loves to give him kisses.

Ouch

The day we brought Cooper home from the hospital Taylor took a big spill and got her first big goose egg. She was such a trooper. It made for a dramatic moment. Cooper was fusing while I was changing her diaper, Taylor was bleeding and I was trying to figure out who to take care of first. (it's amazing how little you handle when you are working on 3 hours of sleep and full of post pregnancy hormones) Thank heaven my mom was here. She was calm and collected and got everyone settled in seconds.

We found out a few days later (after a trip to the doctor) that she should have had a stitch to help with the scaring. Oh well, she will have a little mark to remind her of her brother being born.

Cooper's birth

Yes Please..

Do you read Smitten Kitchen? You should! Look at these Lovely Chocolate Donut Holes. She inspires me to bake more. I wonder how I could fit that into my new schedule. Nursing every 2.5 hours doesn't lend well to make creative moments these days. I'm going to add these to my to do list as things slow down.

Hello World

Cooper Cole Dunaway was born June 15th at 12:18pm. He is a tiny little man, just 5 lbs 14 oz (exactly 2 lbs less than his sister ) and 18 inches long.

Our little birth story...

The plan, as you all know, was to have my mom come on Wednesday June 16th and spend a week with us before Coopers arrival. On Saturday, my mothers intuition and some mild contraction set in and I called my mom and asked her change the ticket and get out here asap. I had a little feeling that our little man would be making an early arrival. She arrived Monday afternoon and we spent the day grocery shopping and playing with Taylor.

9:30 pm on Monday June 14th San Diego was hit with a mild 5.7 earthquake. I had just laid down to go to sleep so I jumped up checked on Taylor and had a good laugh about it with Dusty and my mom. {I don't do earthquakes well, In fact I really can't stand them, they freak me out }

9:40 pm Dusty and I went back to bed, the second I laid down my water broke. Of course!

10:30pm We headed to the hospital, when I got there I was dilated to 3 centimeters and my contractions were irregular and not painful at all.

6am. June 15th. Still 4 centimeters and not progressing. Stubborn Ashley DID NOT want pitocin.

10am... still 4 centimeters, Stubborn Ashley and Nurses have tried EVERYTHING to move things along.

11:00 am Suborn Ashley gives in and gets the lowest amount of pitocin and an epidural (since Pitocin increases your contractions, and pain ) We also a nice little visit with Taylor and Grammie.

11:30 am Nurse checks me ... STILL 4 centimeters... seriously!

12:00 pm I call the nurse because I'm feeling pressure. She checks me and says "oh dear, DO NOT PUSH. Calls my doctor... ( yes, that would be 4 to 10 centimeters in less that 30 minutes)

12:18pm: 3 pushes and Cooper joins team Dunaway.

Cooper was little firecracker from the first few minutes of life. He had quite the upset belly when he was born. The first 12 hours he was very upset, lots of tears and wiggles until he was able to pass some air bubbles through his system and get some much needed milk from mom. WOW he was so hungry ( and he is a great little eater. He loves to nurse ) As soon as he got those air pockets out of his system he melted into the most wonderful, calm creature. He is sleeping well ( a little day/night confusion) eating very well and staying a good schedule for the few days of life.

Taylor LOVES him, she has been gentle and kind and loves to give him kisses. She walks around the house saying Baby Brother Cooper. She is quite the nurturer.

Our whole family is healthy and happy we are smitten by our newest tiny team member and have been counting our blessing every second. Here are some pictures.

Our nurse ( her name is Ashley too) She was darling and beautiful, she has just moved to San Diego from the Midwest. Dusty needed a picture :) to funny!

Grammie and Peanut visit

Minutes before delivery, ready to GO!

Seconds old.

So tiny, look at him compared to Dusty's hand.

Taylor meeting Cooper for the first time.

The hospital let Taylor push a button that played a lullaby around the entire hospital... a little announcement to welcome Baby Cooper to the World. Taylor loved IT!!!!

Family Pictures, So glad Grammie was there to catch these little moments.

Dusty holding little Cooper.

Little Man. He is so alert and strong, it's amazing that a baby so small and skinny can hold his head to well. Strong like his daddy.

Big Yawn.

( please excuse the grammatical errors... I'm a little pooped)

Shoot...

I linked to the wrong place.... Thanks to Nicole for pointing this out! Look at THIS!!!! Hello Talent. And please see corrections made to post below. "Baby on the brain" Not one Charming Party... It's Acme Party Box. Silly Silly on my part. Take a looks for the perfect party inspiration .

RIP breakfast Man

I'm not sure I want to live in a world without the king of breakfast. My life and cooking is a little better because of Jimmy Dean. I think I will make a breakfast casserole in his honor. RIP.

Acme Party Box

I've been eagerly waiting for this website to be up and running. How darling is this? A little Sussy took the photos and has been posting little blurbs here and there. What great ideas! Take some time to look through the website, it's so inspiring.

Best Mom EVER

Over the past few days I have been feeling... well.... like crap. Like our little man is going to be joining us any minute! Lots of strong contractions that come and go. Like last night, I had a good 2 hours of contractions that were 10 minutes apart and than poof they went away. So what does the best mom in the world do? Change her airline ticket, cancel all of her very important meetings and join the Dunaway family a few days early. WHAT A RELIEF!!! I have been overly worried about what our plan would be if Cooper came early. You know me, I need a plan for everything and the idea that this little man has been teasing me with an early arrival has made me a little on edge. By early I mean that my schedule is not blocked off for him until the 19th of June and it's the 14th.... That just doesn't work for me. What does work for me is having the best mom in the world swoop in and save the day. Loves and Kisses to Grammie the Dunaway life saver!!!

Dad... can you make me this?

A bench for two little butts but with a toy box as the seat. ( like we have in the kitchen) All wood and pretty like this....