Christmas Song

Here is a video clip of Cooper singing "Jesus Loves Me" at church last Sunday.

Ren Fest 2010

This is a video clip from Cooper's Trip to the Renaissance Festival yesterday with his grandparents.

Almost Crawling!!

This has been a very exciting couple days with Emma. She is starting to clap, trying to get into a sitting position, trying to pull up on things, and really really close to crawling. She is a bundle of energy and doesn't want to take time out to nap.

Here is a short clip of her trying to get going crawling. She is up on all fours trying to move hands and feet and even making motor noises but she is just short of putting it all together. Enjoy.

More Fun in Iowa!

Cooper and two of his cousins were driving the little gator all around last night. Cooper says he is not going back to Texas. He is going to live here in Iowa. He says he likes the cooler weather to play outside. We had not had the opportunity to visit in the cold weather since he has been a baby. He also thinks Grandma and Grandpa Balk have lots of cool tractor toys.

Cousin Time!

This blog is currently being written from my parent's farm in NE Iowa. I brought my two kids to Iowa to play and bond with their cousins. Last night, we met to of his cousins at the Winneshiek County Fair. They played in the sandbox, ate, looked at all the fair animals, and listened to the band. The short video that follows is my son, Cooper, and his cousin, Bree, dancing to the polka band.

Splashing In The Rain!

We finally got some rain at our house last week. My son loves to splash in the puddles and with his boots on I am all for it. There is nothing better than splashing through puddles. Here is a short clip of carefree happiness.

Father's Day 2010

We had a quiet day at home for Father's Day. We celebrated the day by giving Emma her first bowl of rice cereal. Of course, we captured some of it on video and some in digital snapshots. None of this video shows the very first spoonful but it is all from the very first feeding. Even Cooper got a chance to feed his sister some cereal.

Cooper Down By the Bay

You can see his confidence growing as he keeps on singing.
He sings it so much I have the song stuck in my head.

Using My Arms

Emma is now almost 5 1/2 months old and so much fun! In this video clip, she is showing how much she can do with her arms. She is not content just to sit and watch us but needs something to play with and manipulate.

Houston Zoo - June 8, 2010

Team Daugherty and Grandma Young took on the Houston Zoo. It was hot and humid and by 10:00 I was afraid we would have to cut our visit short. We took relief in the Natural Encounters building where Cooper was entertained by crawling through the piranha tunnel again and again. When we were about to emerge to face the heat again, we were greeted at the exit with heavy rain and thunder. We took shelter under a covered walkway and waited out the worst of the rain. Lucky for us, the rain cooled the air and reduced the crowd considerably. Although many of the animals were indoors, we had a wonderful couple of hours wandering the rest of the zoo.

Cooper was even able to ride the Wild Life Carousel. He was so excited. I am attaching a short video of his first ever carousel ride.

Mother's Day 2010

On Mother's Day this year, I found myself in a hotel room in Seguin. We had not made plans because with the recent move we just didn't have time. I did receive an unexpected surprise thanks to Grandma Young. She had come with us for our trip to help watch the kids while we did some work at our former residence. As it turned out, the work was finished early and my husband and I got to go out to a movie that night. Cooper was still awake when we returned. He had been working with Grandma Young "reading" a book to give to me for Mother's Day. He "read" the book to me and it was the best Mother's Day gift ever. I tried to get him to re-read the book to me once he returned home so we could get it recorded and his response was always the same, "I already read it to you at the hotel."

Yesterday, Daddy had a brilliant idea. He asked Cooper to read the book to Emma. He thought about it and that he was willing to do. She was being fussy and he thought that was just the thing to make her feel better. As he rushed and grabbed the book, I rushed and got the camcorder ready. So here is Cooper "reading" the book to Emma that he read to me on Mother's Day. I almost go the whole thing. :)

The book is titled I Love My Mommy because... by Laurel Porter-Gaylord. I also received a book from Emma titled Mommy's Best Kisses by Margaret Anastas. I treasure them both.

Rolling Over - Tummy to Back

While Cooper was napping Emma had tummy time yesterday. I missed the first rollover but was working both the digital camera and the camcorder soon after. With Daddy at home, he got to join in the fun.

Ooching!

Emma has places to go and she is trying to get there anyway she can. She turned 4 months last Thursday.

I have lots to say!

Emma is working hard to communicate with us. She has lots to say. Here is a short clip of her "talking" to me this morning.

Smiles

We are waiting for giggles. We are close but we do get beautiful smiles. Just thought I would post these for far away grandparents to see. She is growing fast.

Snuggling in Big Brother's Bed

One morning, Cooper slept in and Emma and I went into his room to wake him up. He asked if she could snuggle with him. I ran and got the video camera and here is a sweet 2 minutes of him being gentle with her and talking to her. He still talks about the day when Emma snuggled in HIS bed with her. Enjoy.

Using My Legs

I know it is has been a while since I have updated this blog. A lot has happened in a short time. We had a beautfiul daughter, Emma Ruth, on January 6th of this year. Carl got a new job at BAE Systems and we moved from New Braunfels to Sealy over Easter weekend. So life has been busy. Emma is now 3 1/2 months old and here is a short video of her using her legs.