What's wrong now!!

I am not sure what happens at the about to turn 3 stage, but the constant whining has begun.  The ongoing whining is at its all time high.  It is all day nonstop for no reason, AND it is making me crazy!!  Funny that Parker is even tired of it.  It is so annoying and funny that when Park has had enough he will waddle over to Cooper and put his hand over Coops' mouth..  Enough is enough and when the baby can't stand it anymore I know we have reached our limit.

 Parker is walking and has been walking/waddling for awhile. Cooper freaked out when Park took off, because Parker is on the prowl. He knows that Parker will get it first and scream at the top of his lungs if anyone tries to take his things. Here we go with the fighting between brothers. I try to tell them that we must share that's what brother do. Oh what sweet boys!!



I know I haven't shared pictures in a while so here are some of our favorite moments from the last couple of months.

Sweet Parkie

A box of fun!

A little static!!

Halloween School Party t shirts

Arrrrrr..a pirate in his rain boots

and his partner in crime!

Get into the Groove

School has started for both Cooper and Josh, and we are getting back into the groove of life.  Summer has been fun, stressful, and hot!!  Oh and Josh is not actually going to school to learn, (well maybe he could pick up a little something if he tried) but his office is at the school with the sheriff's dept, and his other offices are where ever his cell phone is.  Josh has been working nonstop.  We hardly ever see him, but kids are expensive and we have no choice.  Josh and I should have planned our career paths a little better.  A social worker and cop will never be at the top of the pay roll.  I will never understand why the hardest jobs get the least pay.  These are the jobs that change lives and effect human behavior,but unfortunately pay nothing, so that is why Josh has his other company and works a million off duties. We are very thankful that he has the energy to keep going after very long days.
  Cooper has not had any meltdowns this first week.  He seems to like his new teachers and of course Emma and Sophia are in his class so he is one happy little boy!!  Josh is at the 9th grade center this year..Oh to be in 9th grade again, or maybe not.  The flowered shirts with see through arms, and the leather shorts were the big thing when I was in 9th grade.  When Josh tells me about what the kids wear somedays..I think to myself anything is better than royal blue leather shorts, or in Josh's case..a rat tail!! :) 

We have a new babysitter, her name is Meg.  She is wonderful and more importantly she is great with the boys.  Cooper loves her.  He even tells me he loves her!! I think it could be a mix between her fabulous red hair and the fact that she lets him go outside every morning.  Parker gets so excited when she comes he waits by the front door in the mornings.  Cooper has not had one screaming fit when I go to work, and he doesn't even care when I leave.....We are making progress!!  

WE are still trying to sell our house, with no luck.   Josh tells me to quit worrying about it, but how can I?  I know it will happen at the right time, but I really really really want to move into the house we are building.  It is perfect for us, enough space for everyone to have their own little area. 

It is now time for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and pancakes.  Cooper wont eat them, but Park will.  He never misses a meal, much less pancakes!!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Parkie is 1!!  Wow how time flys.  Of course we had a party, and its not a party unless we have cupcakes.  Park ate his cupcake, every last bit, leaving few crumbs behind!! 

These two boys are growing up faster than I can blink. 

Our summer has been lazy and hot.  We finished swimming lessons hopefully a little smarter about water safety.  Cooper could care less about the pool, and Parker loves the water.  These 2 boys are as different as night and day, but isn't that how it always goes. 

Cooper starts school soon, and he can not wait!  Today we were picking out our backpacks and he told me "this one" pointing to the tractor backpack.  Poor Parkie is to little to go to Ridglea, but hopefully momma can keep him entertained and spend fun times with him while Coop is in school. 

We are kind of stuck on our big house move.  We still have not had any offers on our house.  It has only been on the market 2 1/2 weeks, but I am starting to feel panic!  Please say a prayer for us that God will bring the right person to buy our home. 

Moving to the Big B...Burleson that is!!

Well we are in the process of selling and building our home, and saying our paryers that everything works out on time.  We have decided that Burleson is the place to go because it closer to Josh's job and has a great school system.   This summer has been pretty hot and lazy.  Cooper and Parker are both is swimming lessons, which has been an adventure.  Parkie is a little fish that loves to be in the water, but Cooper on the other hand is a nightmare!!  He hates it, he would much rather be playing with the pin wheel on the side of the pool.  He screams and clings  but of course...no tears!!  I'm not really sure of the reason but we will continue swimming lessons until  the screaming stops.  In my opinion I think swimming lessons are a must for kids. 

These boys are growing fast and getting strong.  The funniest part is that Cooper will come tell me that Parker hurt him.  Both the boys are very super tough, but Parker will stay for the fight and Cooper will take his shot and run out of the room.   Josh and I know what is coming, there will come a day that Cooper won't have anywhere to run and  Parker will be in charge!  (We love you Coopie, but your time is comin'!)

Cooper has found a a new place to sleep, well its not exactly new, but it is not in our bed anymore.  It is on the floor next to our bed.  It doesn't matter how many times you take him back to his room he comes back, blankie and binkie in hand and a sleepy little "mama I'm back" happens every night. We are going on about a year of this.  I know its my fault...I should not have let him sleep in our bed EVER!!  I just keep telling myself he wont be in here at 15, I hope! 

We are Done!!

Parker has graduated from the band. We are finished..Yea!!  Here is his final results.....

Hot Hot Hot

Summer is peaking its head around the corner and it is already so hot. I am scared to even take the boys outside in the afternoon because I know they will burn. They are such fair flowers, just like their momma!

What to do this summer? Swimming classes are a must, these babies must learn how to swim. Josh is not too excited because he is going to have to do them with us. Oh well, he can suck it up!! Fort Worth has a great little art studio for kids called Van Grow, maybe they will follow in their Ya-Ya's footsteps, and be little artists. Regardless of what we are doing this summer it will be a time to rest, regroup and hang out with family.

Cooper had his last day of school picnic on Thursday and of course he did not want to interact with the group. Ms. Angie and Ms. Jack as Cooper calls her, her name is really Jackie, laid out blankets for the kids to sit on and eat their lunch. Where did Cooper sit? On the steps by himself! This kid is very stubborn and very independent. He loves school, he talks about his friends, what he does during the day, and is always ready to go back, but for some reason when I show up to his class he freaks out!! Maybe I am invading his space, but does it start as early as 2 years old.? Poor baby has got a long way to go of Momma invading his space!

Oh and as for Parker's head only 2 more weeks left and we are officially out of the band.  It has been a long process, but his head looks great, or at least to me it looks great.  They have told us that it will not be perfect, but I can't tell. 

So as the weather gets hotter we will pull out the sprinklers, put on our swim suits and run wild in the backyard, or get creative with inside entertainment!!!

Moving Along

When Dora comes on our world freezes. I am not sure if this is normal for all other households or just ours. And..Dora is a girl cartoon and we have boys!!
Oh well, if it keeps them entertained we will keep watching!
Josh and I have been debating back and forth of where and when we need to suck it up and move. We have outgrown this home, we have toys in every room and most of them make some type noise! I need a room where I can throw all these noisy toys in one place.. a space where if they accidentally get thrown in the trash no one will ever notice. To our sweet ya-ya nini and nana no more, no more cars with horns, fire truck with sirens and dogs that bark..etc. We are maxed out on inside toys!

Parker has begun exploring our home now that he is able to slither around. He is constantly grabbing at my toes and following me in every room. I sometimes wonder what he thinks about this place. (in the pic above he has found a new resting spot outside his room. He gets so excited when he finds the laundry room. Could it be the constant piles of laundry that he enjoys seeing, the brighter lights, or the on going spinning of the washer and dryer. Cooper has become Mr. Independent. No one can tell him what to do, he screams at the top of lungs when he does not get his way. There are some days where I give in and some where I am a tough, firm, mean mommy. It doesn't scare him though. Cooper knows the look and he doesn't care! Oh Cooper, Mommy still loves you, but we have to work out a deal here pretty soon!! (Notice I gave in on the cowboy boots, since we were only going to Wal-Mart) So, to all of my friends that are battling it out with their 2 year olds..Stay strong!

Here is a quick on the go snack idea that Cooper has come to love. Basically if it is in a baggie he will eat it. So strange I know, but Cooper loves to eat out of baggies.

1 Zip-Loc Bag
handful of pretzels
goldfish
dried pineapple
marshmallows
and Emmy's..(M&M's)

Round 2

We continue to watch and wait as Parker's head falls into perfect shape. He is on round 2 with another band. For some reason I did not think it would be as difficult as the first one, but who am I kidding?! He pulls, tugs and cant sleep with it on. Not to mention the constant sweating. Poor Baby... the price we pay for perfection makes me wonder, what did people do before the DOC band? Would anyone ever notice if an adult had an abnormal shaped head or off centered ears. To this day at the old age of 31 I dont think I could tell which adult had an odd shaped head as a baby and never had it fixed. Regardless if no one can tell the difference we will fix it, we will make it perfect, we will not second guess what could have been.

I made the mistake of putting trucks and tractors on this band. I could not have guessed that Cooper would become obsessed with the stickers on his band. It is almost funny, but I can defintely tell that Parker is getting annoyed with him. cooper is constantly touchung and turning Parker's head so he can see all the dump trucks and tractors. The curiousty of a two year old always seems to amaze us.
Happy Spring everyone, Bundle up!!

Spring Fever

The Waldran clan is happy that the snow is gone and the playground is dry. Cooper still wakes up most morning saying, "It Snow." Unfortunatley he has learned to expect snow on a regular basis from all of this crazy weather. Cooper is loving school and all of his friends. His best friend Bo is our main topic these days. He just cant seem to quit talking about him.

Parker is doing great. WE have made progress on our head, and the little(big) knot that was there has miraculiously disappeared. WE are going into our 2nd band because his ears are still quite off centered. We are working hard to get this corrected, because some of the long term effects could be chronic migraines, hearing problems and TMJ. So our ultimate goal is to get it as straight as we possibly can. But you are only as good as what you start with, so maybe we can at least get back to where he started.

Learning to Listen

Life at The Waldran's is going well. Parker's head is changing dramatically, and he looks like a completely different baby. The only thing that is killing me is driving every week to Dallas. The majority of our lives our spent in the car these days!
Cooper on the other hand is having issues with listening to his teachers. He got his first report card from school, and in the comment sections it says..."Cooper need to work on following directions!!!" Are you kidding me!? He just turned 2, we are working on it. He cant even say his name yet, he barely understands the words "leave it alone." But.. we have mastered Time Out! Something tells me he is in time out quite often at school! The next issue is that he won't say his own name. I have decided that he would just rather hear his name then say it. He responds to his name, but he calls himself momma. His teachers tell me that he is just a "free spirit." Great..what does that mean? :) One day we will get there, let's just hope that this is not the beginning stages of a little monster!!

New Boots

Well this week is Western week at school. Tonight we have our 1st school prgram. I am really wondering what all Cooper's program (the 1 year old class) is going to do in this program. Cooper's part will probably be screaming his head off!! That is why momma is sitting close just in case I have to yank him off the stage. No matter what we will have our cameras and video cameras ready to capture every anticipated moment!

So I bought Cooper a pair of boots for western week. I searched everywhere and finally found some at good ol' Walmart, and they were actually cute. Toy Story characters all over them. I brought them home yesterday and showed them to Jennifer and we both thought they were darling, and Cooper would love them. Much to my suprise his words were "don't like." I shoved his foot in there anyways and he kept telling me "all done, off, off." I thought you little monster,you are going to wear these!! This morning I asked him again, do you want to wear your boots to school? HE shouted out Noooo! I guess he will celebrate Western week in his converse!

We have Blinged Our Band

Here are some cute pics of Park rolling around with his band. Just thought everyone would want to see the front and the back.

update on Parker

Parker is doing great in the band. It does not bother him at all! We had a little bit of a heat rash the 2nd week, but nothing a little cortisone could not clear up. The back of his head has already rounded out after only 3 weeks. I think we only have 8 more weeks left. I am so amazed how quick this treatment is!!
They have told us that the facial features take a little longer to straighten up. He still has quite a bit of assymetry in his face ,but we are hoping it will start moving along a little faster since the back of his head rounded out so fast. The main issue is his ears. He doesn't look like Chunk from the Goonies, but there is a significant difference in the placement of each ear. Way to go Cranial Technologies for making my baby's head a little rounder! We have blinged out Parker's band, thanks to blingyourband.com. HIs band features the flat tires, with "just fixin my flat on the back." I thought it was too funny to pass up, and we have gotten so many compliments. People actually understand the purpose of the band when they read his, instead of blank stares, or what is wrong with your baby?
Needless to say his head will not be perfect, but whose is? As my sweet friend Lauren says, just tell them to leave a little more hair on that side when he gets a hair cut. No one will ever know the difference!

Life's little adjustments

Many of you know that Park got the Doc Band. Well we are adjusting!! We have not made it up to wearing it 23 hours a day,but we are getting there. I am amazed how light the band actually is. Of course we are hoping that we get it off soon, but Parker does not seem to mind it. The only problem with the bands are they are very hot. It is like wearing panty hose on your head. Thank goodness for Aunt Michael who has been babysitting this week and checking his band every hour. His poor little head gets so hot we have to wipe the sweat off. No more long jammies, he is now living in onesies with light blankets so he does not have a heat stroke!! HIs body temp should adjust soon. Hopefully sooner with the Arctic blast. I cant imagine how parents keep their babies cool in the dead of summer.I guess if he has to wear it, no better time than right now! I think the hardest one adjusting is Josh. I keep reminding him as perfect as Parker is, somethings just need a little tweeking.

Today Big Brother turns 2!! Wow,where has the time gone? Happy Birthday Cooper!! Now we must get ready for our big party. Mom of the year here planned to blow up his bounce house for the party on Saturday. What in the world was I thinking it is going to barely be above freezing... well I guess we will bundle up!!!