Tmccool's Blog

Good Morning,

A big hello to all the people we met out in Vermillion this past weekend. The 36-th annual woollybear festival was a first for Carter and the kids had a blast!!! Carter went to bed last night at 6:15...  he was wiped out! Cassidy really enjoyed riding in the car and waving to everyone. Dad also taught her how to blow kisses :) I know everyone missed the dog. John and I promise we will try to bring Sam next year. He is so big now and we didn't think we could handle two babies and a 230 pound pup.

I've been updating my photo albums each week and as you can see Cassidy and Carter are growing so fast.  Cassidy  turned 2 last month. She is talking away. She knows her ABC's and she can count to 20!!!  Carter turns 1 in about two weeks. He has his two bottom teeth and he took his first steps a couple days ago. He's still a little wobbly.. but he tries real hard to keep up with Cass.

Enjoy the Woollybear Photo .. Hope to talk to you soon.

Tracy

Good Morning,

Okay, what to do about the bottle???? Cassidy is going on two (this August) she will not drink milk out of anything but the bottle. I've tried the sippy cup, cool straw, big girl glass.. nothing seems to work. One day I handed her a sippy cup with milk in it .. she took one sip.. looked at me like I was crazy  and handed it right back. She has milk in the morning and at night before she goes to bed. It's an ugly scene when she misses out. She loves it so much and  It seems to calm her. Our Family 411 doctor said last week  baby should be off the bottle by 12 months. My husband heard her advice and said we need to get on this right away. Any advice on how to help Cassidy kick the bottle??? Thank you in advance.

Talk to you soon :)

Tracy

Good Morning,

 Sorry it's been so long since I've posted a new blog. I have a lot of catching up to do. John and I are having such a fun summer with the kids. We took Cassidy and Carter to California to see my sister and her family. My brother-in-law is in the Air Force and they live out near Edwards Airforce Base. It was the first plane ride for the kids and the longest five hours of my life!! We had a blast in California.. but I don't know if I will do another plane ride anytime soon. The kids were very well behaved... but Mom was worried sick about what could have gone wrong!!! I

Cassidy is getting big so fast! She will be two in August. She is learning her abc's, she can count to ten and loves to sing and dance ( yes, we've got it all on tape.) It's so much fun watching her grow up and her personality is really starting to shine. She is Daddy's little girl :)

Carter is 8 months old and he just started crawling this past weekend. Well, he's very close . He's doing the Army crawl. Hey,  whatever gets you where you're going, right? He just started sleeping through the night and we're still waiting for his teeth to come in. He is so sweet and loving .. his smile lights up the room.

I've posted some new pictures as well.. you'll find them in the back of the summer 2008 album. Talk to you soon :)

Tracy

 Good Morning...

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. So much has been happening with Cassidy and Carter. Carter is getting bigger by the day. He's 7 months old and just started sleeping through the night... yes!  That is huge because Cassidy started sleeping through the night shortly after I went back to work.. I'd say about 4 months. What can I say Carter is a growing boy! He loves to eat. We are still waiting for the first teeth to come in and he is already starting to pull himself up on his toys.

Okay .. here we go!! John and I are reading to start potty training Cassidy. The big question is .. is Cassidy ready ??? She will be 2 in August and thought we'd give it a try sometime this month. Are boys harder to train than girls or is it the other way around ?? I would love any advice on this one. What worked for you and what didn't work?? How long did it take from start to finish?  What's the best kind of starter potty?? Thank you in advance and don't forget to check out my latest pictures. Looks like I need to do a little spring cleaning. Those albums are getting a little full.  Talk to you soon :)

Good Morning,

Carter (CJ) just turned three months old this week and he is doing great. We had a little trouble with acid reflux when we first brought him home.. but now he is sleeping well and eating without a problem. His cheeks are getting chubbier by the day :) John and I are still trying to figure out who he looks like.

Cassidy is doing excellent. She just loves her little brother and  is so close to saying his name. A lot of people ask me if we are going to call him Carter or CJ.. John and I are going to let Cassidy decide. Whichever name comes out of her mouth first is the name that will stick.

John and I are counting down the days til Spring. We have cabin fever .. big time. We are becoming regulars at the mall in an attempt to get the kids out of the house.  Great exercise.. but bad for the bank account. The kids are so small it's hard to find things to do in the winter months.  Cassidy gets bored at home.. can't blame her. I'm sure we're not alone. I posted a bunch of new pictures... enjoy!! Talk to you next week.

Good Morning,

Boy, 9 1/2 weeks went fast! I started back to work last Thursday after my maternity leave. It was really strange .. it kinda felt like the first day of school for me :) I was really nervous the night before. Carter still isn't sleeping that well at night and I was worried John would be exhausted the next day. I got up at 2 am and fed the baby and luckily he went right back to sleep for a few hours .. so it turned out okay. I was also excited to see everyone at work. I really missed everyone and the fun we have each day... so it was great to walk through those doors at 4am.

Carter is getting big so fast. He had his two-month check up and he already weighs 12 pounds! He doesn't miss a meal. Cassidy is a little cutie pie. Her personality is really starting to come out . She has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Thanks to all of you who visited my blog while I was gone... I will continue to post new pictures each week. Talk to you soon...

Tracy 

Good Morning,

Carter is nearly 7 weeks old and we are finally getting more sleep at night ... yeah!!  Thanks to all of you who sent in your advice. It really helped us get  Carter on a pretty good schedule. Carter gave us his first real smile this week and coos when we make funny faces at him... it's so sweet.  I'm getting out of the house with the kids a few times a week... but running around ( even going to the grocery store) is a challenge with two small children. I haven't figured out how to do it alone. I think it just takes some practice :)  

Cassidy is growing up so fast and just loves her little brother! I can't wait until Carter is old enough to play with her. She started walking a couple weeks after Carter was born and she is all over the place. She has also been a real trooper this week. She has so many teeth coming in right now and has hardly fussed one bit. 

Hope you have a great week .. talk to you soon 

Tracy

Good Morning,

It was another busy week and Cassidy and Carter are bonding well. It's so cute.. when Carter is sleeping Cassidy will go up to him, put her finger over her mouth and go HUSH! She wants to make sure no one wakes her little brother :)  Speaking of sleep.. Mom and Dad aren't getting much. Carter still has his days and nights mixed up. John and I have been sleeping in shifts to get us through the night. I figure Carter  is still on my work schedule... hopefully he'll get things flipped around real soon. If you have ideas on how to get the little guy on schedule we would love to hear them .

 John and I are really looking forward to the Holiday. We have so much to be thankful for and count our blessings everyday. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving .. Thank you for all your kindness and words of encouragement.  Talk to you next week.

Tracy

Good Morning,

CJ is almost 3 weeks old and things at home get crazier by the day. I'm typing this blog with one hand while I'm feeding the baby.  John is getting Cassidy in her jammies  and cooking dinner. The one important thing we are learning how to do is multitask.  One baby is a lot of work .. two very difficult. I have a whole new respect for all parents out there juggling work and children. I can't imagine what it is going to be like when  CJ starts walking. No complaints here...  John and I have been waiting years for this and welcome the challenge:)

 This week was nuts! Our hot water heater leaked and soaked our new carpet in the  basement .. our phone has been out for three days .. but by the end of the day John and I can always look at each other and smile as Cassidy pulls another trick out of her hat.  She is the sweetest little girl and loves to put on a show with a big smile. It's amazing how a child's love can melt away all your worries.

Hope you have a fantastic week... Tracy

Good Morning,

What an incredible week!!!   We are enjoying every minute with our new baby.  Carter is such a good boy even though he has his days and nights mixed up... the little guy is still used to getting up with me at 2am.  The first day home was a little rough with Cassidy.  I think she was upset with me for leaving her for a few days and she didn't want to have anything to do with me when I got home from the hospital. She was fine by the end of the night when she crawled up next to me and gave me a big hug. Cassidy loves Carter. She is adjusting well to being a big sister. Her eyes get really wide when Carter cries and she giggles when I burp him.  

John has been amazing!   He's cooking, cleaning, doing lots of laundry, changing diapers,  taking care of Cassidy and  manages to work full-time.  Mimi, Pa and Great-Grandma are also chipping in to help until I'm able to do more. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and family.

No doubt .. this has been a week filled with many emotions. John and I cried tears of joy when we welcomed Carter into this world, we laughed and laughed when John got squirted during the baby's first diaper change and we've had many sleepless nights in Akron. John and I absolutely love being parents and we're thrilled to share our great news with all of you.   

 Thank you so much for all the kind emails and phone calls. Enjoy the new photos!

Tracy

Good Morning,

We are just days away from introducing Cassidy to her new baby brother. John and I are almost ready... but  we are still trying to come up with a name. Thank you for sending in your ideas. I think we are going to go to the hospital with three or four potential names and just wait to see what the little guy looks like.

John and I took a break from all the baby preps and spent the day with Cassidy . We stopped by Szalay's Farm Market and picked out some pumpkins. We had lots of fun carving them .. I should say John had lots of fun carving them. He did all the work .. Cassidy didn't like all the goo :)

A lot is happening in Cassidy's life right now. She has four or five new teeth coming in and she is starting to take a few steps on her own. So this is going to be a interesting month .. one that is filled with so many blessings.   We'll keep you posted....

A big hello to everyone we met out in Vermilion this Sunday. Cassidy had such a great time at her very first woollybear festival. She was such a natural. As soon as she got in the back of the truck she knew exactly what to do. She was waving like crazy and shouting out to all the people she met along the parade route. She was a real trooper because it was nap time when the parade stepped off. John and I also brought our other baby (Sam .. the big dog) he seemed to be a hit. Cassidy and Sam were pooped by the end of the day.  She fell asleep before we even pulled out of the parking lot. Sam also slept the entire way home.  John had to physically lift him out of the car because he was so tired. Thanks again for the warm welcome in Vermilion.   It was great meeting so many viewers this weekend. Hope to see you next year. We'll have to get a bigger truck with baby number two!!! Talk to you next week.... :)

Good Morning,

It's crunch time!!!  John and I are scrambling to get everything together for Cassidy's new baby brother. It's a little overwhelming thinking of all the things we need to do. We are still trying to come up with a name for Junior and the little guy still doesn't have a place to sleep.  I'm not stressing yet because we still have about a month or two to go. Just hope he doesn't come early -- yikes!  We've been talking with other parents with children born close together. The one thing we keep hearing is it's a lot of work and difficult at first .. but it's well worth it knowing they'll be so close when they get older.  Room or no room .. John and I are certainly ready for the challenge and so excited to share our love as we welcome a new member to the family.  Don't forget to check out my new pictures of Cassidy and have a great week.

Good Morning,

It was a huge week for Cassidy. Our little girl turned one last week and she had a blast on her birthday. John and I took the day off .  We took Cassidy  to get her picture taken and had a nice dinner. She thought it was so cool smashing up her little cake. She had it all over the place .. it was so much fun to watch. Cassidy would like to thank all of you for the birthday wishes. John and I are working to get her video organized .. so hopefully we'll have new pictures very soon. Have a great day :)

Good Morning,

It's a huge week for Cassidy! My baby girl turns one tomorrow (Tuesday.) John and I are so excited to celebrate. It's been one of the best years of my life ...  filled with much joy and lots of smiles. John and I are blessed to have her.  We are having a family gathering for the big day.  I can't wait to see what she does to her little smash cake. I promise I'll get some video of her digging in and share it with you next week.   The next big event in Cassidy's life will be introducing her to her new baby brother.

 Talk to you next week