The Cox Family

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Iowa from my perspective

Dear Reader's of Mommy's blog,

You'll have to forgive my mom-she has been so busy with the move to Iowa (apparently pronounced I-O-WA)...Daddy started his new job at Kindercare as a lead teacher of 2 and 3 year olds on March 28th. He left me and Mommy in Kansas City and lived with Grandma and Grandpa Martin for 2 weeks. It was supposed to be 3 weeks, but by week 3 on her on, Mommy was hanging on by threads (I heard her tell that to Daddy one time) so we got to stay with Aunt Sylvia for a whole week! We closed on the house in Ankeny on April 13th and headed back to Kansas City one last time that following weekend to load up the moving truck and make the official move to Iowa. Mommy and Daddy have TONS of stuff...Our moving truck was packed to the max! I did a pretty good job of napping while so many of Mommy and Daddy's friends helped them pack up the moving truck. I knew it was going to be a stressful day for Mommy, so I was on my best behavior! I heard Mommy tell Grandma Fanous that she was so incredibly thankful for the blessing all her and Daddy's friends were that weekend in Kansas City. It was a long weekend-I can tell you that. We drove from Iowa to Kansas City on Friday night, loaded the truck Saturday morning and drove back to Iowa that night. Then, family and friends from Iowa helped Mommy and Daddy unload the truck. Mommy let me sleep in my swing that day (yay!)

We spent the first week in Iowa back and forth between Aunt Sylvia's and our house. Mommy and Grandma Fanous would unpack while Daddy went to work. I had to adjust to a new home and it was H-A-R-D, hard! I cried and cried and cried when Mommy would put me down for my naps...I got to sleep in my swing a lot so Mommy could unpack...But I got better at falling asleep in my pack-n'-play and that helped Mommy out a lot. Mommy had four weeks to unpack the boxes before starting her new job at Raker Rhodes Engineering. She talks to Daddy a lot about her job-she really likes it! But I'll tell you more about that later. For now, I want to tell you about our new house! I love it! It has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms-I have my own bathroom! Mommy wants to decorate it with duckie's-I like that idea! I get to play with rubber duckies in the bathtub and Mommy sings to me--"Rubber Duckie-your're the one! You make bathtime lots of fun!" Mommy and Daddy's room has its own bathroom and a big big closet! Daddy makes fun of Mommy because she organized the closet by colors! They are so funny! My room is across from Mommy and Daddy's room. It's the coolest! I got new furniture and it just makes my room look amazing! I have the best crib and I love it! Mommy says I'm getting better and better about just falling right asleep in my bed! Mommy hasn't put up all my decorations yet, but its going to be Winnie-the-Pooh. Yay! My favorite blanket is my Winnie-the-Pooh blanket that Mommy's friend Erin got for me-I don't sleep well without it! The kitchen in our new house is so fun. I get to watch Mommy and Daddy cook together and they have so much fun in there. I can't wait to be big enough to help them cook too! The basement is what Daddy calls the "man-cave." Its nice and cool down there. Daddy and Mommy say we'll spend lots of time there this summer. I love our new home!

So Mommy' job...she works at Raker Rhodes Engineering and she gets to do so many different things. She works from 9 AM to 3 PM on Monday through Friday. She does engineering, accounting, administrative work, and human resources work. She tells Daddy that she really likes that her job is never the same thing for 2 days in a row. What do I do while Mommy's at work? I'm glad you asked! I get to go to this really great lady's house! Her name is Miss Lorraine and she is so amazing! She takes really good care of me! She has two boys, Alex and Tyler, and I love playing with them! Mommy and Daddy met her and Mr. Nathan two days before Mommy started her job. Mommy calls it a God-thing...I agree! God worked everything out!

So more updates about me :) I now roll over regularly from back to front and front to back. Mommy and Daddy say I'm super close to crawling! I know I am-I'm just waiting for the most opportune time and then-they'll never be able to stop me :) I started rice cereal when I was five months old and LOVE it! Mommy and Daddy laugh because I get SOOOOO excited to eat my cereal! Mommy says I'm taking after her because I love food so much! I started eating veggies and fruit soon after that-I've had zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans and avacado. I love everything I've eaten so far! Mommy says I'm a good eater! Food=good! And I guess lastly-I'm six months old today! Mommy sat down with me tonight and reminisced the day I was born...she told me that six months ago today her and Daddy's life changed for the better and that she is crazy in love with me! I guess my response can only be--I know! :) Guess I should be turning in...its way past my bed time! Thanks for reading! Hopefully Mommy will post more often-I know she wants to! Talk to you later!

Your friend,

Jaden Paul Cox

PS-hope you enjoy the pictures below!

It's all about the onsie in this picture-Thanks Aunt Ashley-This is my favorite outfit!!!

The back and bum of my favorite outfit-ok...Mommy's favorite outfit :)

Rudy got comfortable in my carseat-he can have it! I still don't like my carseat!

Me on Easter Sunday with my Daddy's hat on-I'm a ham! (at least that's what Mommy says!)

Me with the Easter Bunny (I knew it was Daddy dressed up-that's how come I'm not scared of the scary looking bunny!)

Daddy helped me stand up-but I kept standing, all by myself!

Me sporting my AWESOME adidas outfit!

Me in my cool shades from my Uncle Bassem and Aunt Ingy!

Aren't I adorable??? :)

Me with Aunt Kara and Cousin Ayva. She tried to eat my nose right before this :)

Mom had to take a picture of my "poop" face...how embarassing!

Almost crawling!!!

My friend Alex let me wear his cowboy hat-he's so nice!

Bathtime is my favorite!!!

O yeah-I eat my feet now!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Life's a Whole Lot Busier!

Well-it happened...Maternity leave ended and I'm back to work...hence to lack of blogging :( The transition was and is not easy...I've cried multiple times over leaving Jaden...I am seriously just so in love with our son! So an update since the photo shoot...

Jaden had his 2 month appointment and was 11 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches long. He's so tall! (coming from his 4 foot 11 inch momma!) He had 3 shots that day and he did not like them one bit!!! It was seriously probably one of the saddest things I have had to see since he was born! Here's a few pictures of Jaden at 2 months-I cannot believe how fast time is flying with him!!!

Jaden smiles so much now! He's laughing too! IT IS WAY TOO CUTE! He's talking more and more! We're working on his first word-I want it to be "Dada" :) Chris thinks Jaden will call us Ma and Papa so we'll see ;)

We have been back to Iowa a couple times now and are returning with some big news! We are moving back home! We are moving to Ankeny, IA and we couldn't be more thrilled! We are so excited to be close to family again! God has completely had His hand in our moving and its been absolutely incredible to see Him provide. He provided job interviews for both me and Chris. On the way to my interview, I was talking to my mother-in-law, Joan, and we were joking about houses. Right now, my father-in-law and mother-in-law (Bob and Joan) live out east but they are looking to retire in the midwest. So Joan and I were talking about houses and we joked saying Chris and I would put a downpayment down on their retirement house and then they would repay us when they moved here. I told Chris about it later that day and he said "are you sure she wasn't serious?" AND SHE WAS!!! So literally 2 weeks later, Bob and Joan are in a signed contract and will close on a house by mid-April. Chris is moving to Iowa in a week and then Jaden and I will follow shortly after. :)

On a fun and exciting note-Jaden rolled over for the first time on Sunday, March 20, 2011. It has been fun watching him try and try and try and then finally him getting it. He still struggles to do it on a regular basis, but he'll get there :) Enjoy some pictures of Jaden :)

Grandma Fanous feeding Jaden a bottle-he had a bit of a rough time transitioning to the bottle when I went back to work, but now-he's a pro!

Jaden sporting his AWESOME soccer outfit with his Aunt Sylvia

Adam and Kara's dog Oscar found Jaden's carseat super comfortable apparently :) This was way too cute for us to pass up a picture!

Jaden with Daddy at 3 months old

Jaden with Mommy at 3 months old

Jaden with Grandma Cox

Grandma and Grandpa Fanous coo-ing over Jaden-they had him smiling a lot here!

Grandma Fanous telling Jaden stories-he liked them a lot!

Jaden telling Grandma Cox all about his day-this was one of the first times we heard Jaden laughing and squealing-it was incredible and 100% cute!

Aunt Sylvia and Jaden snuggling together

Me with my baby-I love him!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Thoughts from Jaden!

To Mommy's readers:

These last 3 weeks have been memorable for sure! I met my Grandpa and Grandma Cox and Uncle Nathan and LOVED them! I met Mommy's good friend Erin and her fiance Jeff at this really amazing burger joint-Red Robin. Mommy thinks they have some pretty muffins burgers! (Daddy says that "muffins" is the new "awesome") I am loving bath time more and more and can't wait until I can splash and splash and splash some more! Aunt Kara and Uncle Adam got me this Winnie-the-Pooh robe that Mommy puts me in after every bath! I look stellar! I smile now and Mommy says I've got one killer smile! I smiled for Daddy first on January 27th and for Mommy on the 28th-they love it when I smile!

I overheard Mommy tell Daddy I am growing up so fast! Then she said something about taking pictures of me and before I knew it, she was doing a photo shoot of me. Outfit after outfit after outfit-it seemed like it would never end. Daddy kept telling me "Mommy's crazy" and I think that maybe I agree! She said it was all because I was going to outgrow all these "cute" outfits! O Mommy!

I nap in my bed now-Mommy made me learn. The first day was a very hard day-I cried and cried and cried. I overwhelmed Mommy that day-she said I only napped an hour and a half the whole day! But now I'm pretty good at falling asleep in my bed for all my naps and for bedtime. I'm still trying to get the hang of sleeping through the night-I am still going about 5 to 6 hour stretches. I'll get there!

We had a blizzard here in Kansas City this week. Mommy got scared because our power went out-I got to sleep next to Daddy that night so I was ok with the blizzard. The power came back on and Mommy moved me to my bed but I still got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room! And the best part about it-Daddy got to be home for 2 days this week from work! It was MUFFINS!

Well-here are some recent pictures of me-including the ones Mommy took of my "photo shoot." Enjoy looking at pictures of me! Mommy says I can write my thoughts on here every once in a while, so I guess until next time...

Sincerely,
Jaden Paul Cox

Me admiring Grandpa Cox

Me chillaxin' with Uncle Nathan

Me snugglin' with Grandma Cox

Me with Mommy's friends Erin and Jeff. Red Robin-YUM!

Thanks for the robe Aunt Kara and Uncle Adam-I love the little slippers!

Daddy can get me to smile really well! He was tickling me here-I am really ticklish under my armpits!

Me smiling for Mommy

My first photo shoot outfit

Another outfit

Another outfit-by this point I really caught on to Mommy's plan-I wasn't very happy but Daddy got a picture before I got too grumpy! Aunt Sylvia gave me this hat-I look pretty cute in it (at least that's what Mommy says)

This was my first Christmas outfit. I look pretty handsome-don't ya think?

Look at these muffins pants! I love them! Thanks Aunt Kara!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Jaden Paul-1 month old!

I cannot believe our son is one month old ALREADY! Seems like only yesterday he was born! He is growing like a weed! I call him a hoss because he's so big! At his 2 week appointment, he already weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, so I think he's definitely on his way to 9 pounds by now! He is definitely a good eater. Can't say much about being a good sleeper quite yet, but we're working on it! So some updates...

As I mentioned earlier, Jaden's 2 week appointment went well. He's grown to 20 inches and already had gained a whole pound! I can't believe how big he's getting. At one month, he's almost outgrown the newborn outfits. I'm thankful he still swims in the 0-3 month outfits :)

Jaden enjoyed his first Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Martin and Grandma and Grandpa Fanous. Let's just say he stole everyone's hearts this Christmas. He's such a stud! :) We got to go to Iowa for a week and a half and it was positively amazing to be with family for that long. Chris and I were so grateful for the help of family :) Jaden got several ridiculously cute outfits from family but I have to say our most memorable gift was from Uncle Ty-pee pee teepees. Seriously-no joke! They are these cone shaped clothes that you put over baby's wee wee while you change them so they won't pee on you! We love them! Thanks Uncle Ty! :)

Jaden helped Daddy celebrate my birthday on the 7th. They took me to Red Lobster-love their cheddar biscuits (I think I ate 5 or 6 of them!) and then to the mall. They bought me my annual pair of fat pants and a comfy shirt and sweatshirt as well. It was a great birthday with the family and very good to get out of the house!

I'm recovering well-thankfully. I feel as though I'm almost 100%...I still have to be careful not to overdo it when we do go out, but so much better than right after birth of course :) Jaden is sleeping between 3 and 4 hours at a time at night so mommy and daddy are thankful for that! We are definitely looking forward to the day when he pulls his first 6 hour stretch! :)

Other than that, not much else to report! Enjoy some pictures of Jaden in his first month of life! :) The last 2 pictures are some of my favorite! Aunt Kara and Uncle Adam got Jaden some Winnie-the-Pooh bath attire and towels-he looked so ridiculously cute in his robe and slipper/booties! I LOVED IT!!!