T-Ball!

Cooper is old enough this year to play Toddler T-Ball through the YMCA!  He is officially signed up & ready to play starting May 1st!  Games will be played on Sunday evenings and they will even have practice one night a week on Tuesday's!  He will know most of the kids on his team, which will be so great!  His cousins Ryder, Logan & buddies Payton & Lincoln are on the team & Uncle's Todd & Craig will be coaching them all!!  He is so excited about playing that insists he go out in the backyard & practice daily with his tee and bat!  He has a pretty good arm on him & can really crank the ball!!  I think the adults may be a bit more excited for the games to begin & to watch our little ones attempt to play on the big baseball field!  We have lots of predictions as to who will be doing what on the field!  Look for more updates in the next few months on how the t-ball team is going!

Little brother, Quinn, has been watching big brother & had to have a try too!!

Get Away!

This past weekend Mommy & Daddy got to take a short trip to Chicago with no kids!  This was the first time we have ever left the boys!  The Chicago Bears were playing the Green Bay Packers and with a chance to go to the Super Bowl!  We couldn't pass the opportunity to go and watch Jello's team!  We had planned for the boys to stay with the Weddle's on Saturday and then with their Nana & Papa Grable on Sunday.  We knew they would be in the best hands & were not worried about them at all! 
Saturday morning, Matt, my brother Brian, Dean and I hopped on the Amtrack in KC and headed for Chicago.  7 hours later we arrived at Union Station in downtown Chicago.  Got in a cab and headed for the hotel.  We stayed in the same hotel as the Bears' team and while we were there got to see a few players walking around!  Saturday evening the four of us went to get a bite to eat & have a few drinks and walk around the city.  Later that night, we met up with Jello, after he was through with meetings, and headed to an amazing pizza place.  We had the most delicious deep dish pizza ever!!  It was great hangin out with Jello and everyone was excited for the big game the next day.  We woke up early Sunday morning, got breakfast and then headed over to Soldier Field around 11:00.  The game started at 2:00, so we wanted to have plenty of time to check things out at the stadium.  We got to park under the stadium and had family passes to the Bears' Family Room and to walk around underneath.  What a different world it is under there!  It was so neat to be able to see what goes on behind the scenes.  We got to go out on the field for some pictures, which was really cool!  The weather was really cold during the game, but we had come prepared with layers and layers of clothes and lots of foot & hand warmers!  We had great seats and was able to see all of the action.  The Bears played a good game, fought hard, but weren't able to win. We were all disappointed for Jello, but we knew they had a great season besides the loss.  After the game, we drove back to the Tabor's house in Gurnee, Ill, ate pizza and visited with Nikki & the girls.  We went to bed early as the cab to the airport was coming to pick us up at 5:30 AM.  We hopped on a plane in Milwaukee and was back in KC by 9:30 AM.  We were so anxious and excited to see our boys!  We had a fantastic time, but had missed our boys like crazy!!

Arriving in Chicago off of the train

Getting geared up for the game

On Soldier Field

Bo, Matt, Dean & I at the game

Vince Vaughn waving the Bears flag!

Jello coaching the boys up

Freezing & having a great time!!

Tabor Family Fun Day!

This will be the 3rd year in a row that we have gone to see Sesame Street Live at the Sprint Center in KC.  Cooper has always had a great time in the past and we were excited to take both boys this year!  Cooper really had a blast and was so excited for the whole show!  I just loved watching his face and his reactions to the characters on stage!  He was such a good boy and even got an Elmo light spinner to take home!  Quinn had a great time too!  He got a little tired & was fussy towards the end, but did lots of dancing to the music!  He even got to get a Big Bird of his own to take home!!

So excited!

Ready to see Elmo!

Watching the show

Coop's new toy!

Kisses for my new Big Bird!

After the show, we took the boys over to Fritz's at Crown Center for lunch.  I have heard that it is a neat place for kids, so we thought we'd give it a try.  We got to our seats and were told to order our food over the phone that was on our table.  The food was brought out to us by a train that was on tracks along the ceiling.  It was lowered down to our table and then the train went back to the kitchen!  There were trains going everywhere and the boys loved watching them!  Cooper was so busy looking at all the trains that he hardly said a word the entire time we were there!  

What a great family fun day for the Tabor's!!!

Waiting to be seated

Daddy ordering our food!

Quinn the train conductor

Cooper the train conductor

Sweet baby boy!

Yummy chocolate shake!

First Haircut!

Oh, how mommy dreads her boys' first haircuts!!  With Cooper, I hated to get his cut, but with Quinn, I REALLY hated to get his cut!!  Before we cut it, his hair was so light & soft & wild!  It fit him so perfectly!  I refused to cut the boys' hair before their first birthday, so a few days after Quinn turned one, Daddy said enough is enough!!  I wouldn't make the appointment for him because I didn't think it needed cut.  That day, Quinn woke up from his nap and his hair was out of control!  Daddy called and was told to bring him right in!  So, we all got packed up with the camera and were ready to go! 
Quinn absolutely hated every second we were there and screamed and cried and reached for mommy the whole time!  Even with a sucker in his mouth!  After the haircut, he was an entirely different kid and looked so grown up!  He looked adorable, but mommy was not happy about it at all and it took me a while to get over the shock of how different he looked and that all his beautiful hair was gone! 
Alison Horn @ Friday's Salon, who does mommy's hair, cut Quinn's hair!

Before shot!

Not happy even with the sucker!

Almost finished

After shot!!  What a good looking BIG BOY now!!

Winter Fun!!

We have gotten a ton of snow so far this winter & Matt has been so great about taking the boys, especially Cooper out to play and sled!  Cooper informed his dad one day that he could stay out in the snow all day!  That child absolutely LOVES to be outside!  Quinn liked the snow and cold for a little while and then he made sure to let us know he was ready to go back inside!  The boys had lots of fun sledding and building snowmen too!

All bundled up!

Wheeeee!!

First time in the snow!!!

This stuff is COLD!!

Snowmen that Daddy & Cooper made! We used spray paint to decorate them!!  Cooper thought they were great, especially the one that was just his size!!

I'm Back!

It has been a while since I have updated the blog!  Our computer was out getting fixed for a couple months & is finally done!  A LOT has happened over the past couple months, so I will try to do my best to get you all on top of things!  Cooper turned 3 on November 19. We celebrated on his actual bday and then had a big Construction themed bday party!  He had a blast and was really excited about it all!  He got tons of great gifts and lots of family & friends were there to help celebrate!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Decorated & ready for the party!

Brand new bike!  He was so excited when he saw this!

We had another big birthday a couple weeks later - Our Quinn Joseph turned one!!!  What a year this was!  Can't believe my baby is already 1!   We have been so blessed with two sweet, happy, healthy boys!  We did two parties for Quinn too.  We made cupcakes for his actual birthday, December 8, and celebrated with Mommy, Daddy, & Cooper.  He destroyed the cupcake!  We then had a big party with lots of family and friends.  Quinn got tons of great gifts and ended up destroying another cake too!  He wasn't so sure about all the attention being on him and cried a little.  He is more like his mother and very reserved and more quiet! 

Happy 1st Birthday!

Yummy!!

Birthday boy!

He made a huge mess!  It was great!

Next came Christmas!!  We all had a wonderful holiday and spent it with family and friends!  The boys got lots of great toys and presents as well as Matt & I.  Cooper was at a great age and was really into it all this year! He helped put up the decorations & lights outside with daddy, made and decorated cookies with his cousins, and was so excited that Santa would bring him toys!  Quinn, on the other hand, did not care for Santa at all and screamed and cried when he saw him at the mall & when Santa came on Christmas Eve!  

We spent Christmas Eve with the Tabor Family like we do every year. Santa made a visit to the kids and we opened presents and ate tons of good food!

We woke up on Christmas Day and opened gifts that Santa had brought to our house!  The boys really had a fun time opening all of their goodies! 

We then headed over to my mom & dad's and spent the day with the Grable Family!  Lots more opening gifts and yummy food too!  Here are just a few photos of the holidays!!

Cooper with Santa

Quinn not so happy with Santa!

 Coop with his new trains from Aunt Nikki, Uncle Jello, Paityn, & Lainey

Quinn & his new Elmo Chicken!

This was the best pic I could get with the two of them together!

The MARBLE Jar!!

We are always looking for new incentives to use with Cooper!!  He loves to challenge mom and dad!!!  So, my sister saw this idea in a magazine and has been using it with her 4 little ones and we decided to give it a try at the Tabor house!!  We got a jar, Cooper painted a monkey for decoration and we used puff paint for his name.  We also got some marbles too.  He gets to put marbles in his jar for going to bed without fussing, cleaning up his toys, doing little chores around the house, helping a friend, ect.  We decide how many marbles he gets to put in & he can also lose marbles for making bad choices!  We start with 40 marbles in a baggie & once all marbles are into the jar, we get to either go to the store to pick out a prize (which cannot be over $10), or he can choose to go get ice cream or a special date with mom or dad! 
So, here is Cooper right after he had filled his marble jar for the first time!! He was so excited to go with mommy to pick out a prize!!! Way to go Cooper!!!!

Quinn is 10 Months old!!!!

Quinn turned 10 months on Oct. 8th.  I can't believe how big he has gotten & so fast too!!  He is not walking yet, but is REALLY wanting to.  He thinks he is so big when he lets go of things to stand on his own and just smiles so big!!  He is also trying to talk and makes new sounds everyday.  He says momma A LOT.  He can also say nana, mimi, night night, and dada!!  I am sure he has a lot to tell us and I have a feeling it won't be too long before he can!  We all just love our sweet, happy baby boy!  He is such a snuggler and and lover!!  We went outside to take a few pics for the big day!!

 Happy 10 months!!!

So big standing all by himself!

 

I love this one with his hair blowing in the wind & his blue eyes!

 

 Such a happy baby!!

 

 Big brother had to join in the picture fun too!

Cooper just loves his brother so much!