Cooper's 2nd Birthday Party!

We celebrated Cooper's 2nd Birthday Party a couple weeks after his birthday to give us enough time to get settled with Kennedy before having all of our family and friends over for a big party! Needless to say, Cooper had a blast with all of his friends and cousins playing on the slide that landed the kids in the pool, zipping down the slip-n-slide, and bouncing around in the huge Bounce House that our friends brought over for the kids to enjoy!! From the crazy gift opening (courtesy of ALL the kids wanting to help open theirs up for Cooper) to the dozen left over cupcakes that ended up on the kitchen floor compliments of Cooper's cousin, Lexi- the day was perfect and we are thankful for everyone who made it a very special day for Cooper!!

Kennedy Meets Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton!

Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton came up from Georgia to meet Kennedy for their first time and attend Cooper's 2nd Birthday Party!! During their visit, Grandma Hamilton (who Cooper calls "Grammie Bear") got a lot of cuddles with both the boys!! We took Cooper and Kennedy to the Zoo and Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton treated Cooper to his first visit to a Japanese Steak House. Cooper was scared of the fire at first, but quickly got over it when he got introduced to chop sticks!! It was a fun filled weekend and we were thankful that they made the trip up to Iowa to meet Kennedy and help celebrate Cooper's 2nd Birthday!!

Comparison Project- The Hamilton Brothers

Clearly there is a lot of time to kill when you are on Maternity Leave... everyone kept asking if we think that Cooper and Kennedy look a like... well- you be the judge :-)

Brotherly Love :-)

Cooper- 2 Years Old

Kennedy's First Trip to Dubuque!

We headed to Dubuque this weekend to introduce Kennedy to his Mommy's home town and more family! Kennedy met his Great Grannie Kennedy for the first time and needless to say they loved each other! Kennedy also met some more cousins and was love not put down for a second the entire time we were there! Enjoy some pictures of our weekend!

Sick Mommy :-(

We had a feeling that the ease of bringing Kennedy into the world might be too good to last too long... about 5 days after we brought Kennedy home- Mommy got mastitis (an infection in your breast from nursing). Basically the symptoms are flu-like (high fever, chills, and bad body aches- not to mention your chest feeling like knives were being stabbed into it). Needless to say- mastitis is not a great experience. It lasted 2 weeks long with lots of trips to the doctor, one trip to the ER, lots of antibiotics, and lots of sleepless nights. Finally, enough was enough- infection was not going away- so doctors admitted me into the hospital for 24 hours of antibiotics through an IV. Got admitted on Monday morning and released feeling like a new woman on Tuesday afternoon- JUST in time to take Cooper to Chucky Cheese for his 2nd Birthday celebration!! Kennedy was just 3 weeks old when Mommy had to spend her first night away from her baby- NOT FUN- but it was for a good cause because Mommy can now hold her baby without being in pain!! Thanks to everyone for all of the prayers, love, and support though this crazy time(especially my parents for coming to visit me in the hospital, Lynn and Clark Johnson for taking care of Kennedy while Mommy was in the hospital and Daddy was working, Mommy's good friend, Christian for visiting Mommy in the hospital and making her laugh so much it helped her forget for a second that she had to spend the night away from her baby, and most of all- Mommy's love of her life, Mark- for being the best Daddy and Husband any woman could ever ask for)!! Thank God, Mommy is feeling MUCH better!!

Cooper's 2nd Birthday- Celebration at Chucky Cheese!

We celebrated Cooper's Birthday at Chucky Cheese with "Grammie" Lynn and "Papa" Clark... We have an official family and friends Birthday party planned for him on July 30th, however, we wanted to celebrate his birthday on his actual day of birth as well!! Cooper had an amazing time (as you can see from the pictures below)!! He LOVED putting the tokens into the machines more than he liked playing the games. He enjoyed the dancing characters on the stage, however, he could do without seeing the actual Chucky Cheese mascot ever again!! Cooper loved sharing his big day with his little brother... he even let him take a ride on the "horsey" with Cooper!! All and all, it was an amazing night with lots of fun, pizza, games, and down right belly laughs!! 2 Year Old pictures will be posted soon....