He's Lookin' At You!

Whenever Cooper opens his eyes, Ella exclaims, "Mama! He's lookin' at you!!" And he certainly is! As you can see from the pictures at the end of this post, when he's awake (which is often), he is showing off those big eyes! The jury is still out on who he looks like. Everyone has thoughts but no one is quite sure. I am not even sure myself!

Not showing his eyes here...but instead sleeping peacefully with Baba.

With Helene, our friend from France. She brought Cooper a very cute French outfit!

Lookin' at you!

While Cooper Sleeps...

Ella keeps us entertained! Yes, newborns do not do much except cry, sleep, and poop. While there is nothing like holding a sleeping baby, there is also little that compares to seeing the world through the eyes of a two year old. I wish I could just bottle Ella up right now and keep her this way forever. Her expressions and the words that come out of her mouth are just priceless. And that little voice...is there anything cuter? Her inflection when she says names is great -- NaaaaaaaaaaaaaNa. DaDeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. And she loves to sing lullabies to baby Tooper ("Cooper").

I know people say it is the terrible twos, but so far I see little that is terrible about this age! Yes, Ella has her moments, but overall she is considerate, funny, inquisitive, and empathetic. It is too cute. She LOVES to dance, sing, twirl -- you name it. She would wear a tutu everyday if we let her and always asks me to hold her hands while she twirls and sings some version of "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Sleeping Beauty. And she asks so many questions - in fact, she basically speaks in questions :) She also really listens - just a few minutes ago I was holding her when baby Cooper started crying. I said I needed to put her down, and she said "no, hold you" (which means "hold me"). As soon as I explained that baby Cooper was sad and I needed to hold him she simply said "Otay" ("Okay") and let me put her down without fussing or anything. Whew! And she gives the best hugs! When I got her up yesterday morning, she threw her arms around me and gave a huge hug. What could be better? I could go on and on...but the pictures are more exciting, I know...

Love!

The princess helps Daddy with his work.

In her fancy new tutu from our friends Helene and Robert!

She loves to bow at the end of her performances. She squints her eyes while she bows. Don't know why. It is too cute.

With Bennett. The two blondies from the moms group.

Baby Shower Fun

Hey folks! Cooper's almost four weeks old! Can you believe it? Because I certainly can't!

This past weekend was Auntie Nina's baby shower. She is expecting a girl in early June. We can't wait for the new playmate/Cooper's future wife to arrive! While mom went to the baby shower, Dad, Ella and Cooper spent the afternoon with Uncle Rich and Nina's brother-in-law and nephew, Jack. Ella LOVED Jack. She chased him and tickled him and played Star Wars. It was too cute! I have never seen her interact like that with another kid. She must like older men :)

Mama at the shower.

Uncle Rich practicing for the new arrival.

Cooper approved of Uncle Rich's baby soothing skills.

The Ella and Jack show.

Back home.

Bath time and Tummy time

Life in the Jaskot home currently revolves around feeding people, changing diapers, washing clothes, washing people, putting little ones to bed, adults attempting to go to bed, calming crying babies, and remembering on occasion to feed the dog. I feel like I am operating in survival mode -- i.e., trying to figure out what needs to be done in the next 30 seconds to keep everyone fed, clothed, clean and relatively happy (well, at least not crying). I can't figure out what exactly I did when Ella was a newborn and I didn't also have a two year old to chase around. I guess I spent my time taking a thousand pictures of Ella. Cooper- I apologize now. There will not be nearly as many pictures of you -- but considering that we tend to go overboard when it comes to pictures, that might be a good thing :)

Here are some pics of bath time (for Ella) and tummy time (mostly for Cooper, but also enjoyed by Ella). Despite the craziness, we do still goof around and have fun! Perhaps we are all just delirious from lack of sleep :)

Bath time - the perfect time to practice ABCs!

Ella did NOT enjoy tummy time nearly this much when she was a newborn.

Wake up baby Cooper!

Beauty Day!

Well, this picture isn't exactly beautiful, but we'll start off this post with a picture of a tired (but happy!!) Mama snuggling with her two little ones :)

Now... on to the beauty pics! The whole family headed to the salon this morning where both Mom and Dad got haircuts, and Ella got the royal treatment! Ella got her nails done, her hair washed (just like Mama!), her hair cut (just like Mama!), and her hair dried (just like Mama!). Ella was very serious and followed instructions perfectly, and when she was done she could not stop talking about the experience, showing us her finger nails and telling Mommy that her hair was not messy anymore :)

Ella selected purple nail polish. I was so surprised she didn't pick pink!

Proudly showing her nails to Mommy.

Ready to get her hair washed -- just like a big girl.

Getting her hair cut by the same person that cuts Mommy's hair!

Ta da!

Showing off her nails and new hair to Mommy. She wanted to sit under the dryer just like Mommy.

When we got home, the beauty queen decided it was okay to play in the dirt, so she helped Daddy in the yard. Daddy even bought her her very own princess shovel and garden gloves to help out!

Puzzle time.

Coop says "Hey, don't forget about me!!"

Aunts, Uncles and a Picnic!

Cooper's Aunt and Uncles all stopped by recently to meet the little guy. David and Farrell came to visit yesterday and brought an amazing dinner. One thing is for sure - Cooper's Aunt Farrell is an amazing cook!

Uncle David meets his nephew.

Aunt Farrell getting to know Coop.

Uncle Brent came down from NYC last weekend to meet the little man.

And, with Spring in the air last weekend, we took the opportunity to get out of the house for a bit and have a picnic!

Ella stylin' in her fancy beach chair.