Walking and Signing "More"

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch!

Look what I can do now!

Maddox is now waving bye-bye, pulling up, cruising around furniture, and even taking a few steps of his own (see the first picture!) I have been HORRIBLE about keeping this site up to date, but we are busy these days! He is 11 months tomorrow - which I can't hardly believe. Love to all of you!

Dancin' and Crawlin'

Check me out! :)

Recap of July

We had a busy, busy month! Hard to believe July has come and gone. Here are a few highlights:

~Off to Lake Geneva for the 4th of July weekend with our favorite travel buddies - The Bevels! We had a fantastic trip. A little shopping, great food, pools, boats, and a few cocktails while playing Euchre...we had a great time. Maddox enjoyed his first boat ride and fell fast asleep.

~Joe took another week off in July and we spent lots of family time together, including a fun trip to the zoo, picnics, and pool time.

~Maddox had his 9 month doctor's appointment this month. He now weighs 20 pounds, 13 ounces. The doctor found a gluteal cleft, which can be indicative of spinal defects, but an ultrasound found nothing abnormal - which was a relief. We are still not crawling, but Maddox is able to "walk" around the house holding onto our hands. He may be one of those kids who goes straight to walking...who needs that crawling stuff anyway, right? As of 2 days ago, Maddox has one tooth. He's getting so big!

~Maddox and I also went to St. Louis for a friend's baby shower and also just to take some time to catch up with old college friends. It was fun to get all of our babies together and play. It was interesting to see how far our lives have come in just a few short years. :) Maddox has decided that long car rides are "for the birds" as he proceeded to throw a 3 hour long car seat tantrum. It was a trying ride for all parties involved. :)

~Joe's dad and his wife, Ann, came up for a visit this past weekend. It was great to spend time with them. We did some shopping and Maddox was SPOILED...thanks guys! :)

Our summer is coming to an end quickly as I head back to work in just 1 1/ 2 short weeks. This will be a very difficult transition for me as I have thoroughly enjoyed spending all summer with our little one. I am thankful that I made the move to the schools and look forward to next summer.

Hope this update finds you all doing well and enjoying summer!

Walking...Kind Of...

I just had to put this video up. Phil and Froukje gave us a walker this past weekend and Maddox LOVES it. He is just thrilled with the idea of "walking" to get somewhere, as you can see.

Louisville!

Had a blast on our trip to Louisville!

Maddox and I had a rough start as our flight was canceled and they couldn't get us out until the following day and then lost our luggage on the way back. Maddox did great though, he either slept or entertained the entire plan with his contagious giggle. :) My dad also flew out from Arizona so we were able to spend Father's day with our dad...first time in years.

The weather was perfect which allowed us to spend plenty of time poolside. We ate well and laughed hard. It was so fun to get all the kids together. I only wish we could do it much more often!

Almost 8 months

Here are a few pictures taken from the past few weeks.

Maddox is almost 8 months and is getting frustrated with his immobile status. :) He has places to go and things to see, but just can't quite get going yet. He has figured out how to get to his hands and knees and can push himself backwards...he has to be close.

He has also just recently learned how to use his vocal cords. He loves to talk at completely unreasonable volumes. It cracks us up and gets us a whole lot of attention in public!

It's really amazing to see his growth and development. He is so curious and wants to be involved with anything and everything that is going on. He can hear the softest sound and can see the smallest freckle on my skin. He is figuring out how his world around him works and it is truly amazing.

We took him to the doctor on Monday and he now weighs 18 pounds 11 ounces. My arms are getting a great workout! I am home for the summer and we have been enjoying every single second of it. Lots of errands and catching up on household items this week, but the fun will start next week...Joe is off and we plan on spending lots of family time together.

Growing like a weed...

Can you all believe that I'm already 6 and a half months old? Time is flying. I just went to the doctor Friday and he said I weighed 18 pounds. I love eating my baby food - any flavor - I'm not picky. I spend my days sitting up and putting EVERYTHING in my mouth. I also enjoy exploring all items within my reach. I'm a happy baby who is sleeping fairly well at night and taking 2 long naps during the day. I like daycare, but I can't wait for my mommy to be off work so we can spend the whole summer together doing whatever we want to do. I wish daddy could be off all summer too! Mom just told me we are going to visit my cousins, Noah and Landry, in June. Can't wait! I also just LOVE getting my picture taken. The photographer called me a "ham". Here are a few from my latest photo shoot. Love you all!

First taste of "real" food

Runny rice cereal....yum! After we turned the video off, he was crying between each bite because he wanted another. :)

Look at my new trick!

Maddox is sitting up on his own now! He topples over every once in a while, but for the most part, he does pretty well. Enjoy!

Back from vacation!

What a fantastic trip! Here's a quick recap:

~New Orleans Saturday and Sunday. We got to send time with cousins Noah and Landry as well as my sister and her husband. We ate some phenomenal seafood and even made it down to the French Quarter with the kids in tow to eat at Margaritaville. The weather wasn't that great, so we did some shopping, relaxing, and definitely did some eating. :)

~Destin Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Joe and I snuck off to Florida to stay at a beautiful resort in Destin for a few days. Alissa and Donny took great care of Maddox. I have to say, it was VERY difficult for us to leave him behind, but we managed to have a great time. We did alot of eating, drinking, and lounging on the beach. It was rough. Weather was beautiful and the beaches were comparable to those in the caribbean. We are already planning our next vacation there...this time, with Maddox in tow.

~New Orleans Thursday and Friday. Joe and I were so sunburned that we couldn't head out to enjoy the beautiful weather on Thursday, so Alissa and I took the kids to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. What a cool town! Friday, we all headed to the pool to enjoy our last day in town. Maddox went swimming for the first time.

Saturday, we were up early and had a long day of flying. We all made it back safe and sound. Unfortunately, Maddox caught a nasty cough/cold and isn't feeling that great. We started some breathing treatments with him and hopefully he'll be feeling better in no time.

4 month stats

Maddox now weighs 15 pounds, 13 ounces and is 25 inches long. He's in the 50th percentile across the board. He hit quite a growth spurt from his last visit just 4 weeks ago. Good to know he is progressing perfectly. He thoroughly enjoyed laying on the doctor's table...the noisy paper was a whole lot of fun for him! Doctor says no solids until 6 months so we'll be holding off for another couple of months, which doesn't disappoint me - I just can't stand to see him "growing up". That will be another hurdle for me, just like moving him into his own room. :)

We are eagerly anticipating our visit to New Orleans in less than two weeks. Maddox can't wait to spend time with Aunt Alissa, Uncle Donny, and cousins Noah and Landry. Joe and I are going to Florida for a few days (if we can handle being away from Maddox that long). We are looking forward to spending time with family and warmer weather! I'm a little nervous about traveling - planes, dirty airports, layovers, UGH. I'm sure it will go more smoothly than I think.

Hope this update finds everyone doing well!

Love,
The LaCopos

4 months now

We are headed to the doctor today, so I'll have to update the "stats" later, but I wanted to put up this video. We finally caught Maddox rolling over. He's growing up so fast!

The cutest little bare bum in the whole wide world. :)

Bath time with mommy.

A few new photos

Our little muscle man...

Maddox in his Bumbo seat....he loves this thing! Also, you'll notice that he has found his feet. His toes are his favorite new toy!

Is there anything more fantastic than a laughing baby???

Maddox is being a bit camera shy here...he is usually in an all out belly laugh. This was going to have to do!

3 month photos

Just wanted to share a few photos from Maddox' 3 month "photo shoot". He's such a little ham. He really seemed to love the camera. We are thrilled with all of the pics. Good thing we did it last weekend because he has come down with his first cold and hasn't been real happy lately. :(

I couldn't post any more pictures on this site, but more are on my Facebook page if you are interested.

3 months old now!

I can hardly believe it myself. Time flies. Maddox had a couple of shots at his 3 month visit which led to a difficult night or two...poor little guy. But, all is well now and he's feeling much better.

He has finally "graduated" from our bedroom into his nursery and has been sleeping in his big boy crib. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but Joe thought it was long overdue. I guess it's a sign that he is too big for his bassinett when you wake up and see your little one with his legs hanging over the end of it. As Joe put it, "Erin, he's not going to college, he's just sleeping in his own room." :) I'm happy to report that Maddox loves his new bed as he has been sleeping for 8-9 hours straight every night since we made the big move.

He seems to be doing very well at daycare, but we sure have enjoyed the abundance of snow days lately. Funny how your feelings about snow (and winter in general) change when you work in a school.

Much love to all of you!

Playin'

My latest and greatest toy - thanks to Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mike. I'm not too sure what to do with it yet, but I had fun anyway!

We survived..

Well, we did it. We all survived my first week back to work. It was a trying week for all parties involved, but we survived. Joe battled the respiratory flu as well as the stomach flu, I battled my emotions and a mound of paperwork waiting for me at work, and Maddox had to get used to being somewhere else for the entire day. What a week!

Maddox did well at the sitter's house. He's starting to fall into a routine, which is nice. He sure was worn out in the evenings. We had a little accident on Friday morning. I slipped on the ice while holding Maddox (in his carrier). It was quite the scare...Maddox is just fine, I'm a little sore, but no major injuries.

We are really enjoying the weekend just spending quality time with eachother. We are doing lots of resting and snuggling. I miss him so much when I'm at work all day. I'm already looking forward to the summer!

Here is a short video of Maddox in the bathtub. He is starting to outgrow his little tub already!

Happy New Year

Hard to believe that 2008 has come to an end and a new year is now beginning. '08 was unbelievably fantastic...we can't wait to see what '09 has in store for us.

Maddox is doing so well. He enjoyed his first Christmas with family and friends. Of course, he was spoiled with all kinds of clothes, toys, and other useful gifts (diapers in his stocking). He is sleeping like a champ now. Only waking once in the middle of the night to eat. Feeding is definitely successful as he weighed in at 12 lb 7 oz at his 2 month check up.

Parenthood is completely amazing and we are enjoying every single second of it. We have so much to be thankful for.

Here is a video of our little guy playing (and doing some "talking" too). Happy New Year!!!