The Latest

Callie

I can't believe Callie is in 2nd grade! It kind of makes me feel old. She loves school, although she absolutely hates getting up a six o'clock every morning-she is so not a morning person-kind of reminds me of my sister Sue! Everyday she comes home from school with the name of a new friend she talked to or played with-she's extremely social-which can be good and bad, but we are very thankful that she likes everyone and makes friends so easily. Of course she had to have a Hannah Montane backpack. I had to limit her to one Hannah Montana shirt and one Camp Rock shirt when we were school shopping, or that is all she would have picked out-she did insist on Hannah Montana pajamas though! She started violin lessons last week as well, and even though she hates repitition of any kind, she is enjoying it so far. Our neighbor and friend from our ward is teaching her-we really hope she sticks with it.

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Connor

All of our adoption paper work has been turned in to the court and we are now just waiting for a court date in order to finalize. We are hoping that we can do this without actually having to go to Utah, but we will do whatever we need to in order to get this process done, it seems to be taking forever. Connor is such a Ham! He can be so smiley and cheesey. He thinks he is so big now that he can pull himself up on his knees by his toybox, and he loves to take everything out and then put everything back in. Now that Cooper has started rolling and laughing and squealing, Connor is much more interested in him. He loves to torment Cooper by taking his pacifier, climbing over him, patting him on the head and pulling on him. I'm waiting for Cooper to defend himself, I don't think Connor would know what to do. I know they will play so good together once they are a little older. We are doing the Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome on October 25th in Tempe. We are trying to raise $2000.00 and welcome any donations. If anyone would like to walk with us, we would love the company-it is only a mile, so anyone can do it. The website is http://www.sharingds.org/ Our team name is "Connor's Crew"-any donations can be made under that team name-if you have any questions please email or call us.

Cooper

It's hard to believe that Cooper will be six months old in September. Times goes by so fast. He is growing so fast-maybe it's so he can keep up with his brother. Dub says he looks just like Chris did-I don't know if that's a good thing-j/k. He is so cute and happy, and has turned into such a good baby. He is fascinated by Connor-even though Connor likes to abuse him, he just squeals and laughs. He is now eating baby food, and is so picky-he doesn't like any of the fruits we have tried-he gags and spits them out, but he will eat the squash and sweet potatoes fine. He detests peas though, which I can't blame him and cannot bring myself to force him to eat them. I never imagined having two boys so close together, but I love it, it will be so great to have them grow up together.

THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

I know everyone thinks my house is the happiest place on earth, but I was actually talking about Disneyland. So Sue has come and gone, and we had so much fun. She and her kids had never been to Disneyland, so we went for two days and had a great time. We tried to cram as much as we could in two days, so we were a little exhausted, but what the hay-that's right I said hay, not hell Kat!. Anyways, Jared and Holly were out here as well and thanks to Holly for our new family pictures. Not to brag or anything, but my little family is dang cute. We are just waiting on a court date and then we can fly to Utah to finalize Connor's adoption-yeah! We have been waiting so long for this and can't wait to have him sealed. We took Cooper to the doctor today and he weighs 17.4 lbs-Connor only weighs 20! I always new that Cooper would catch, and then pass Connor, but I didn't think it would happen so fast, Cooper is only 4 months old. I have a lot mixed emotions about this and how it will affect Connor-hopefully it just motivates him and helps him progress. Chris is still going to school full-time and going just a little bit crazy, but all is well. That's about all for now, I would lie and say we will be better about updating, but then you all know better-lots of love-US

OK OK OK

I know it has been a while, but we have been just a little busy, but no excuses. Just to catch everyone up, Callie is now out of school and is already bored with summer break,Connor just turned 16 months old and will be starting speech therapy this week(he is progressing well), Cooper is also doing well, I have lost count of how old he is (nearly three months). Kaija is working a couple of day a week while I am in school full-time. We had the oportunity to bless Cooper in church last Sunday (thanks to everyone who were able to attend), it was nice to have family here to share in the occasion. Really there is not alot to report, life has finally taken on what seems resembles a schedule and we have fallen into a routine. We have spent the past couple of weeks working on the house, we have painted, carpeted, and purchased new furniture. It has been alot of work but it was time, we have lived in this house for five years and these were the first real improvements that we have made. The hi-light of the whole project is my new TV (60" DLP HDTV)yes I am a little spoiled but I'm not complaining. We do have to say thanks to alot of people for helping with the house. Tawnie, Paul, and Shelby were a huge help when it came time to paint, also Russ, Jani, and Megan get props for helping with the decorating. AND YES, MY RED DOOR KICKS ASS, AS WELL AS MY LITTLE CHEF MEN IN THE KITCHEN THAT CHRIS ABSOLUTELY LOVES-But most importantly Jordan needs to be recognized for his hand in obtaining and delivering the TV. Thanks again to everyone for your help. We are looking forward to seeing Sue, Jasmine, and Juanito over the next couple of weeks. We are slowly but surely moving closer to finalizing Connor's adoption, we will keep everyone informed of any developments. Connor is now a skydiver-as you can see from his pictures-which is actually quite entertaining-he is used to Cooper now, but all he likes to do is pull his hair and pull the pacifier out of his mouth and watch his reaction-other than that, he really doesn't care much about him. It is now hotter than hell here, but we will suffer through it for the next two months and then it will be nice again-love to all-US.

To Tired to Update

Well the title says it all, Cooper has decided that he does not need nor want a shcedule and that we need to be at his beck and cry. But we are finally getting him to sleep for about five hours at a time during the night. All of this has had an adverse effect on Connor, he now needs us to hold his bottle for him, needs to be held when his brother is, and if Cooper is crying Connor needs to be yelling or crying as well. Kaija has gone back to work a couple of days, and I have started classes again. Poor Callie has no idea what to do with herself, she is bored and it is not even summer yet. But things are coming together and life is beginning to resemble a normal everyday routine, as normal as he can be anyway. We have finally received all the paperwork needed to submit Connors adoption subsidy application so hopefully we will be able to petition to adopt in the very near future. Just a quick update on Jed. I spoke with him a couple of days ago and says he feels fine and is doing well. I will do much better at updating the blog in near future now that Cooper is letting us sleep a little more these days. FYI Connor started "Army Crawling" on Friday, this is a big developmental achievement. -Chris

The Latest

All are doing well these days, the baby is gaining about an ounce a day, and Kaija is getting less sleep then ever. I am nursing a blown-out shoulder, not a baby, back to health, while arguing with Social Security over the gender of our adopted son. Connor has figured out that the baby is hear to stay and is building a play book on how to not loose any attention. Callie, poor, Callie she is just here, she is a great helper, but feeling extremely out numbered at times. She has landed the title of "Dirty Diaper Disposal Expert", because Kaija and I are usually changing diapers at the same time. But what can we say, we are blessed, but we don't recommend going from one kid to three in thirteen months to anyone. Until Next Time, Have Fun. -Chris

Adjusting

Well we have had Cooper home for a week now and we are getting use to no sleep or sleep in three hour segments, well I should say Kaija is getting use to three hours of sleep at a time. But I think we are all getting use to the change, Connor is wondering what this thing is that has invaded his room and is competing for what he feels is his attention. But Connor really is adjusting well and the rest of us are doing the same, Kaija is feeling much better and is happy to announce that she can fit back in to her jeans. We are getting schedules and assignments worked out and each day is getting easier. Callie has been on spring break this last week, and she and I have spent alot of time together, while Kaija and her mom got Cooper settled in. Callie had planned "phases" for each day and we visited the library, Bass Pro Shop, the mall, several boat dealers, Lowes, Chick Filet, and many many more places, but it kept her entertained and gave Kaija and the boys some quiet time without the rantings of a bored six year old. Thanks to all who helped through the delivery, and the week following. We lucked out having Tawnie and Paul here when Kaija went into labor, and then Jacque was able to come and stay the week, everyone has been a great help. The baby is doing well and so are the rest of us, I will keep everyone posted. -Chris

New Arrival

Well we finally have a few minutes to update the BLOG; it has been rather hectic for the past few days. It all started on Thursday morning when Kaija woke up around 4:00 am having contractions every 8-10 minutes, so we waited because the doctor said not to go to the hospital until they are less than six minutes apart, so around 7:30 am we dropped Callie off at school and headed to the hospital. We spent several hours in triage and by the time they got us into a delivery room, labor was progressing, the epidural was in, and the doctor broke her water. Around 3:00 pm it was time to get ready to push. After pushing for just a few minutes Joshua “Cooper” Claridge debuted @ 3:13 pm weighting in at 6lbs 13oz and 19 inches long. Kaija did very well and much to my surprise she didn’t even swear. But the baby is healthy, and Kaija is happy that she is no longer pregnant; she spent the last two months on strict bed rest and miserable. But now she is up and around and I am happily retiring from my position as house keeper, cook, and bottle washer. I will however still be on diaper duty, because as Kaija put's it-there are diapers coming out of her a**! -Chris