Bath Time for Cooper

With everything healed (belly button and circumcision), it was time for Cooper to have his first bath at home.
Big Sister Lillian also wanted a bath, so Cooper would not be scared. Thank goodness for a double sink!

 Cooper seemed to enjoy the warm water.

 Time to soap up.

 Now to rinse.

 Lillian was happy to share her cup to help.

 Daddy did a great job of rinsing all the soap away.

 Warm and snugly in a towel with Mommy.

With Cooper safe in Mommy's arms, Lillian enjoyed finishing her bath in the sink.

 She loves playing in the water.

Downtown Chicago

After brunch, we drove to Downtown Chicago to meet our friends Mr. Jim, Ms Emma, and their daughter  Bethan
(Madison would be spending the weekend with them touring the city before returning to Indy on Monday).

We met by Union Station and enjoyed walking to Millennium Park together after a quick lunch.

 Lillian just had to give her brother a kiss!

Every time we stopped (to take pictures) Lillian sat down. It was just too hot and too far for a 3 year old to walk.

(Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the park, it was very clear that it was time for the Sparkman's to leave. Lillian really needed a nap. So we said our good-byes and we began the 9 block walk back to the car).

Brunch with Omi and Opi

Saturday morning (after an early morning swim) we left the hotel and went to brunch with Omi and Opi. We went to their favorite restaurant Andreas. It was delicious.

 Snuggles and hugs from Omi and Opi while we waited for our food.

 Outside the restaurant we snapped a few more pictures.
Omi's gals

 Great Grand Parents- Omi and Opi.

Can't wait for their next visit in 2 weeks.

Hotdogs in Bed!

A trip to Chicago would not be complete without hot dogs from Gene and Judes.
(My husband really loves me... he booked a hotel that REQUIRED us to drive directly by the hot dog stand :)

Even though we had a yummy dinner of pizza with Omi and Opi, we were not too full for hot dogs (well all of us except Madison).

Rob ate his in the car before we drove to the hotel.
I ate my at the hotel while the kids went swimming.
And Lillian ate hers...

 In bed (after an hour long swim in the hotel pool with Daddy and Madison).

 No meal would be complete without apple juice.

 That's a big bite!

I am not sure Big Sister Madison was as thrilled with Lillian's picnic choice but as always, Madison was a trooper!

Belly full... sweet dreams!

A visit with Omi and Opi

Friday afternoon we loaded the car with the kids and headed to Chicago for a brief visit with Omi and Opi. It was our first excursion as a family of 5 and it went relatively well... for traveling with a 9 year old, a 3 year old and a 2 week old infant. Traffic was not too bad and we made it to Omi's house in time for pizza.

 Everyone enjoyed snuggling Omi and she was THRILLED to meet Cooper.

 Lillian and I enjoyed a few snuggles in Omi's chair- just the 2 of us.

 Omi's great grand kids!

 A family dinner of pizza.

 Daddy thought Cooper needed to have a closer look- to see what he was missing.

 It must be good pizza- Opi had 2 slices! Thats a feast for him.

We love you Omi and Opi.

Sparkle Siblings

We have been blessed by many outfits for Cooper (so far he has not worn the same one twice). His Little Brother onesie is one of Lillian's favorites (it matches her big sister shirt). 

Mama's 3 Sparkles!

Cooper's Lion

Each of our children has a special animal.
Madison is our elephant
Lillian our Monkey
and Cooper is our lion.

 Here he is practicing his ROAR!

Mama's Sparkles

My children are the Sparkles in my life and I am very blessed!

Can you tell me how to get...

to Sesame street (I mean the Sparkman's)

Big Sisters Snuffy and Elmo

 and of course, our family would not be complete with out our Oscar!

I wonder which Sesame Street character Cooper will be?

One Week Old

The first week has been a bit of a blur. Adjusting to 3 kids and a family of 5 is a bit overwhelming, but we are all doing really well.

Thursday marked Cooper's first week in the world and he is doing awesome.

At his one week doctor's appointment, Cooper was back to his birth weight of 7 lbs 10 oz (he was 7lbs 3 oz when we left the hospital). The pediatrician was thrilled (they like babies to be back to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age) and will see us when Cooper is one month old.

Lillian loves picking out Cooper's outfit each day and his jp's at night (it is fun to see the garage sale finds on our little man).

Grammie's Sparkles

Grammie arrived Wednesday afternoon to help take care of the girls while I was in the hospital and the days that followed coming home from the hospital with Cooper.

The girls are having a blast with Grammie.

Here they are sporting their new dresses (picked out themselves) for church on Sunday.
They love them.

HGL's newest employee

This is the picture we sent to our office to announce Cooper's arrival.

He already has his company shirt and is ready for his first ISO audit on August 5th.

Ready or not HGL, here comes Auditor Cooper

Cooper's Going Home!

 Getting dressed to go home.

 Hospital gown off and ready for his going home outfit- Florida Gator onesie, orange shorts, matching socks and hat

 Snapping up the Gator onesie

 Decked out to go home

 Cooper Sparkman- the newest Sparkman family gator

 A final snuggle with Mommy before getting into his car seat

 Loaded in the car seat and ready to go home

Good-by IU West hospital, Hello home!