More Christmas pictures

Some pictures from Christmas morning.

Zay's favorite chair

This is Isaiah's favorite place to sit. He thinks it was built just for him. He also thinks he should take everything out and spread it all over the kitchen. Luckily he can't open the door by himself yet. I'm getting pretty good at getting things from the fridge super fast so that he doesn't have a chance to get in, but one misstep and this is what you end up with!

Christmas Eve

Jerel and Isaiah made cookies on Christmas Eve. Well, actually I made the cookie dough, rolled it, and cut it and then Jerel baked & frosted (the easy part). Jerel had great fun watching me try to let Zay help cut out the cookies. It didn't really work. Zay just grabbed hunks of dough and poked his fingers through the shapes and such. Jerel thought it was funny not because of what Zay was doing, but because my frustration made it apparent I had expected it to work out much better. Oh well. Once we got to the frosting & eating part, Zay knew just what to do!

Because we just had a baby we called off all of our Thanksgiving and Christmas travel plans and spent this one with just the four of us. It was definitely quieter than usual--My extended family has 22 people (11 kids) and Jerel's has 25 people (15 kids) so we're used to pretty noisy holidays!

Our tender-hearted baby girl

At her first doctor appointment at 5 days our pediatrician noticed a heart murmur. She scheduled another appointment for a week later to see if the murmur was still there or if it had resolved on its own. Apparently it's common for babies to have them and then they just go away. But hers was still there so she had us meet with a pediatric cardiologist for an ultrasound. The appointment was on Friday so we sent Isaiah over to his favorite babysitter (his only babysitter) and headed to the hospital for her appointment.

The cardiologist said it sounded like a hole in her heart and then took us in for the ultrasound where he found she has six holes in her heart. Two of them are "patent ductus arteriosus" which are arteries left over from the fetal stage. All babies have them but in most babies they close on their own by two weeks of age. Eliza's are still open and these two (of the six) seemed to be the most concerning to the cardiologist. Even so, it doesn't seem to be anything too serious. He said only about 1/3 of these ever require treatment (surgery) and he felt confident hers would resolve on their own.

The other four holes are called "ventricular septal defect" which is a hole in the wall between the heart's two pumping chambers. These ones he said are relatively common and generally resolve on their own in the first 2 or 3 years of life; if they don't then they have to do open-heart surgery.

Luckily for us none of her holes seem to be very serious. The cardiologist wants us to come back in six months to make sure the two PDA type defects have resolved on their own. But other than that there seems to be nothing to worry about.

Best big brother

Isaiah is such a good big brother. He's always so interested in Eliza and what she is doing. Whenever I put her in the changing table for a diaper change and/or clothing change, he drags in a chair from the kitchen so that he can watch. He spends most of the time trying to force her binky in her mouth and seems completely bewildered when she doesn't want it...he loves his so much that I think he just can't comprehend anyone refusing one. In fact, sometimes when she cries he even takes his out of his mouth and tries to give it to her. His is huge, of course, and would choke her, but it's nice of him to be willing to sacrifice for her!

Zay also likes to copy whatever Eliza is doing. If she is sucking on two fingers, he will take out his binky and suck on his fingers instead. And the other day he was drinking his sippy cup of milk while I was nursing her. He put his cup down and was sort of swatting at his back. I couldn't figure out what he was doing or if something was stuck on his back or something. Then he made this funny noise and smiled and I realized he was pretending to burp himself, including making fake burping sounds.

Anyway, here his is helping me get her ready for church. He even watches her while I run around getting the things I forgot to get for her (I think there may be some eye-poking going on while I'm not watching, but I figure it's good for their bonding). Then when we're done he throws away her diaper and puts her dirty clothes on top of the dryer for me (well, he can't quite reach, but he walks them to the dryer and reaches them as high as he can). He's a great brother and I'm happy he loves her so much already.

Cutie pie

This is how Eliza was sleeping this morning, all curled up. It only she'd sleep so soundly at night...but she's getting better about that. The first week or so was horrible. You may think I'm exaggerating, but it was bad enough that Jerel agreed to the use of a bassinet, which is strictly against his personal belief system. Fortunately a friend let me borrow one and that has helped. She still eats twice a night, but once she drops the night feedings we'll put her back in her own room so that Jerel and I can get some sleep.

First bath

In a desperate attempt to tire her out and get her to sleep, we gave Eliza her first real bath. Isaiah was already asleep and it was risky to try it since the bathroom is right by his bedroom, but tired parents are willing to take risks. We were both dreading it, remembering Isaiah's first bath and how he screamed and hollered. But Eliza barely made a peep! She only wimpered when I rinsed her face; the rest of the time she just relaxed like it was just another day at the Atkinson Spa.

It's kind of sad how she's only #2 and the first-time baby things are already so much less exciting. We gave her a bath and I was like "Huh, I guess we should take a picture, I think you're supposed to put one in the baby book or something." But hey, at least we have a baby book for her, I have lots of friends who quickly gave up on those. Of course hers is still blank waiting to be written in, but one of these days I'll get to it....

Eliza's church debut

Eight days after her arrival, little Eliza was ready to make her grand appearance at church. I had such a smooth recovery this time that it seemed silly to stay home from church when I felt so good. Don't get me wrong, I still couldn't quite stand up straight and I was partaking freely of pain pills, but compared to last time this was a breeze.

I told everyone I know not to buy any newborn size clothes for us. Isaiah was never little enough for them. Eliza came out just 4 ounces shy of Isaiah's birth weight, but she has shrunk a bit since then and has been happily wearing newborn size clothes for 3 weeks now. Fortunately at my baby shower a friend gave me a bag of newborn clothing her daughter had grown out of so that has come in handy.

So we had a dress for her to wear and the only other requirement for taking little girls to church seems to be that they have a headband with a huge flower on it. The preference seems to be for flowers that are at least as large as the baby's head. I don't think this one quite meets that standard, but it was as enormous as I was willing to go.

She did great at church and slept most of the time. We kept her in her carseat and Isaiah spent a lot of sacrament meeting standing next to it alternating between staring at her and rocking her...he's a pretty aggresive rocker so she may end up with whiplash, but it's cute to see him try to take care of her.

Isaiah & Daddy

Isaiah definitely looks like his daddy! (Dad on left, Zay on right)

Babies

Everyone asks who Eliza looks like and I don't really know. So top left is me as a baby, top right is Jerel, bottom left is Eliza, and bottom right is Isaiah.

More pictures of Eliza

You can see more pictures of Eliza here

The play by play

This post is for those of you who like to hear every last detail of the birth process.  Okay, not every last detail, I prefer to keep it PG for sure, but a more extended version than Jerel would provide (so longer than 5 words at least).

The c-section was scheduled for Monday Nov. 29th.  We didn't want her born on a day that could end up being Thanksgiving.  I was shooting for BEFORE the thanksgiving days, the doctor chose a day AFTER.  Eliza chose her own day.  I woke up Saturday morning and thought "Maybe I'll have Cheerios for breakfast...oh wait, there is leftover apple pie, I will definitely have that."  So I got up at 6am to have my pie for breakfast and wasn't even down the stairs before I realized something was wrong--my water broke.  My first thought was "Huh, I wonder if this means I'm having the baby today."  Followed immediately by "Ugh.  You can't eat before surgery, that means no apple pie for breakfast."  Definitely the biggest disappointment of the day.

So I took a shower to clean up, then tapped Jerel on the shoulder and said "Um, I think my water broke."  He responded "Really?"  Me  "Yep.  I"m not really sure what that means."  Him "Aren't we supposed to go to the hospital or something?"  Me "I dunno.  I guess I should at least call the doctor."  Now, before you conclude that I am completely an idiot, keep in mind that I was induced with Isaiah so I never had the normal labor/birth process.  Also I had no had any contractions, so it didn't seem like delivery was imminent.  Anyway, so the on-call doctor called me right back and asked if my water had broken, yes, then she said I should come to the hospital.  Me:  "Like right now?"  Her "What were you expecting me to say?"  Me (thinking great, now she thinks I'm an idiot) "Um, well, I just meant do I have time to drop off my son with a sitter or do we need to come immediately?"  Her "You have time, be here in 45 minutes."  So I told Jerel he had to get up, then called Tammy (our super babysitter) because I thought it had probably been awhile since anyone woke her up at 6am on a Saturday and told her Isaiah would be spending the morning with her.  This is when I started thinking it might have been a good idea to pack my bags early.  But remember I thought I had until Monday...so I threw a few things into a backpack and off we went.  Dropped off Isaiah and got to the hospital around 7:15.

First things first--they check to see if my water really broke.  I crossed my fingers because there was always the possibility that I just wet myself and that would be embarassing now that I'm past kindergarten. So the doctor comes in (the one who already thought I was a big dummy) and I proved her wrong by actually having ruptured membranes, so there!  I felt much better because now she probably just thought I was moderately stupid instead of all the way stupid.  Anyway, so since it was a weekend they had to call people in to assist with the surgery, so we had about an hour to wait.

A scheduled c-section was so different from my emergency one with Isaiah.  This time they actually explained everything that was going to happen.  The downside was there was more time to freak out and notice things.  For example I don't remember the epidural hurting at all with Isaiah, but this time it hurt a lot (and this time was a spinal which is a smaller needle).  Also with Isaiah I don't remember all the tugging during the surgery but this time it felt like they were pulling me all over the place.  At one point I even asked the doctor why she was sitting on my stomach.  And I made the anesthetist laugh because he put something on my arm and said it was a heart monitor.  Well I didn't want him to go around embarassing himself so I tried to discreetly let him know that the heart is not in the arm after all, it's in the chest.  It wasn't really even funny, but I felt since I'd dragged them all out of bed I should at least entertain them a bit.  It wasn't all one-sided though...when the doctor was stapling me shut it sounded gross because it sounded just like a stapler.  I didn't like hearing it knowing it was going into my skin so I asked if she could sing some kind of ditty while she worked.  She and the assistant surgeon never could settle on a song, but it was nice of her to consider it.

Anyway, the operation started at 8:56 (which I remember because 56 is my favorite number) and Eliza Mae arrived at 9:18 (by "arrived" I mean "was forcibly yanked out of me).  The doctors were all talking about how huge she was so I was picturing a 15 pound monster baby, but when I saw her she looked normal size to me.  Turns out she was 8 pounds 4 ounces, so 4 ounces smaller than Isaiah. And since I'm used to children being Isaiah's size she seems tiny to me.  But everytime I mentioned to a nurse how small she is, they looked at me like I was crazy.  Jerel reported that she is already overweight because she's only 19 inches long (Zay was 21) and when I rolled my eyes he defended himself by saying the nurse had said she seeemed a bit short for her weight.  Good, I'm glad we're all paranoid about her weight already...But really I think she's perfect. 

So after she came, Jerel left with her and they finished stitching and stapling me.  It was so much more relaxed this time.  I even remember the radio in the O.R. was playing Lyle Lovett's "She's no lady."  I also remember wishing it was playing something else because that's a dumb song to play while a baby's being born. 

The doctor said it was a good idea I had a repeat c-section (which I did because if it's been less than 18 months since your previous c-section you have an increased risk of uterine rupture, which doesn't sound fun) because there was some sort of blood clot in the uterus that would have been "dangerous to labor on."  I think that means I almost died and, therefore, Jerel should buy me presents.

Last time I took a long time to recover because I hemorhaged and even with blood transfusions was weak for quite some time, but this time was all normal and I can already tell a big difference.  Last time I was in the hosptial for 5 days, this time I stayed just 2 nights.  And they must have given me better painkillers this time because although I'm plenty uncomfortable and walked hunched over like an old lday, I feel much less pain.  I'm definitely not back to normal and still have a lot of restrictions on what I can do.  The hardest part is that I can't lift Isaiah.  Jerel is giving him lots of attention and he is doing just fine, but I miss holding him and kissing him and playing with him.

Zay loves his little sister.  He always wants to see her, so Jerel will pick him up to show him where she's sleeping.  He likes to poke at her eyes, so we're working on getting him to touch just the top of her head instead of her face.  And, smart little guy that he is, he knows those tiny binkies are not his they're hers! 

Anyway, that's all the details I can think of right off.  Thanks again to Erika for the picture.  She took them when Eliza was just a day old and although she hasn't let me see them all yet (she's editing them first, which could be quite a chore because I hate pictures that show the gross belly button...) she did send me this one which is so adorable!

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

 

Eliza Mae Atkinson

Born: November 27, 2010, 9:18 am

Weight: 8 lb 4 oz

Length: 19 inches

Yes, she decided to come early.  Amanda and Eliza and doing well and should be coming home either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Arctic Storm

The "Arctic Storm" has been all over the news here. We ended up getting what they called a "solid dusting." Those of us who have ever lived somewhere with real snow make fun of the news during storms like this. Up in Seattle they got the real storm. My parents even had a tree fall through their roof into the house.

I took Isaiah outside to enjoy the snow. I think he might be related to Jerel because he just cried and wanted to come back inside.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Family & Friends,


Thanksgiving is fast approaching so it’s time for our annual update. Mom & Dad are so busy getting ready for the new baby that they didn’t have time to write this year’s letter so they asked me (Isaiah) to take care of it. I love being a helper so I’m happy to do it!

Yes, you read that correctly—there is a new baby coming to our house! I made the announcement myself back in May while Mom & Dad were panicking about how to get ready for having another baby so soon (I’ll just be 16 months old when she comes). They still haven’t figured out how they’ll manage, but I think it’ll be just fine. I’ve been practicing showing people where the baby is. When Mom asks, “Where’s your sister?” I obediently pat her tummy (which is getting enormous, by the way, she hardly has a lap for me to sit on anymore!). I’ve also been busy the last few weeks trying to get used to my new toddler bed. Mom & Dad say they need the crib for the new baby. I think I should get to keep it since I was here first, but they disagree. To show my irritation I fall and climb out of the bed as often as possible, and of course I refuse to ever just lie down and go to sleep. I’m pretty sure they can tell I don’t like it but they haven’t given me my crib back yet. I don’t think they realize how stubborn I can be!

I’ve done lots of fun things this year. Mom & Dad had the kitchen remodeled in the spring so I got to get into lots of messes. They think it looks so pretty now, but I’m still belted into the same old high chair so I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. A few times this summer I got to go to the Oregon Coast. It’s so pretty there and the sand tastes so good, but someone should tell Mom it’s not a good idea to dip a 12-month-old into the cold ocean water—that was not fun at all even if I had been begging to try it!

In June I went on my very first cruise. We went with 27 of Mom’s relatives for a week in Alaska. I got to see glaciers, play with my cousins, and go on a hike. Mom & Dad didn’t realize mountains weren’t designed to be stroller-friendly so Dad & Uncle Rick carried me the whole way. I got the feeling it was more fun for me than for them. Mom worried the whole time on the cruise that I would fall off the boat, but I was just fine; it was dad she should’ve been worrying about—he got so seasick!

Alaska wasn’t the only new place I visited this year. I also spent a week in Utah with Dad’s family. I have 13 cousins there so it’s always fun! One night we even all stayed in the same house. We also got to drive up to Preston, ID to visit my great grandparents. I’m glad I got to see them because my Great Grandpa Weber passed away a few months later and I’m glad I got to meet him. We went on another trip—my first airplane ride—to Wyoming for his funeral, which makes five states I visited this year—I’m quite an experienced traveler now! Mom and Dad, by the way, were so excited about taking me on an airplane. We live near a small airport and I love seeing all the planes so they were sure I’d love riding in one. But they lugged on my carseat and strapped me in and it was just like being in the car!

And that, my friends, is what I’ve been up to all year. Now I’m just waiting for my sister to come. She’s supposed to get here just a few days before Thanksgiving so keep your eyes peeled for a baby announcement! You can always keep up to date on our adventures and see lots of pictures of me by checking our blog at www.jerelandamanda.blogspot.com. Me and Mom and Dad sure love you all and think of you with grateful hearts during this Thanksgiving season!

Coming soon to a birthing center near you (okay, near me)

Had my last checkup this morning and everything is set for a c-section at 8am on Monday. What the doctor neglected to tell me was that if you agree to an 8am surgery you have to be there at 6am. That part won't be fun. Actually I sleep so poorly lately it probably won't matter much. But I'm not allowed to eat that morning and that will be torture...Yes, I realize they're going to cut me open and cause major trauma to my body, but it's missing one day's breakfast that's really weighing on me!

ZayZay is doing so much better with his babysitter. He's been going over there during my doctor appointments to get used to it (before this he hasn't really had a babysitter) and is really making progress. The first time he went, he sat by the front door and cried the whole hour. Last week he only cried 20 minutes, and today he only cried for 5 minutes! Yea! I guess he cried when I left, then looked around the house to see if I was there somewhere, then gave up and looked for the cats. I'm not sure how I feel about being so easily replaced by felines, but I guess if it keeps him happy that's good! He's also doing much better in the toddler bed. He still won't fall asleep in it, he falls asleep in our bed, but we move him in there shortly after he falls asleep and the last week he's been sleeping through the whole night again. Hooray! It's so nice when everyone sleeps through the night...oh wait, I don't sleep through the night, I have to get up for a bathroom stop and a swig from the heartburn medicine bottle, but at least I don't cry and scream like Zay does when he wakes up!

Guess who's trying to be more like me?

Jerel.  I know it's hard to believe but he's turning into me a little more every day.  No he's not struggling into control top nylons every Sunday, or crocheting doilies, or doing the laundry.  But he does have initials after his name now!  That's right, Jerel is officially a CCP.  Certified Compensation Professional.  What does that mean?  I'm not really sure, but he got a plaque so that must be cool right?  I mean when I got my CPA license I had to PAY for the certificate, and it was only paper not a plaque.  I noticed on the plaque (which arrived yesterday) that he was certified on October 29th.  You might be wondering why it took me a whole month to tell you guys.  Well, I was wondering why it took Jerel a whole month to tell ME!  Anyway, congrats to Jerel, you're one step closer to being just like me!

Zay's new room

Here are before and after pics of how we (I) painted Isaiah's new room. Before it was kind of a gray-blue and it was a pretty bad paint job. So I painted the ceiling (to cover where they'd messed up and gotten gray-blue on the ceiling) and then after about 6 years of negotiation with Jerel we finally settled on new colors. Tan for the bottom (because Jerel has a special place in his heart for all things beige), and sky blue on the top (to go with the airplane theme), and a chocolate brown stripe around the middle (because I have a special place in my heart for all things chocolate). Then we ordered this dark red airplane decal. Imagine in your head that I have made darling vintage airplane accessories, curtains, bedding, etc. in blue and red. It hasn't actually happened, but that's the plan.

Family Pictures

Jerel hates having his picture taken.  A lot.  For example, when we had our engagement pictures done he purposely came late and knew we had another appointment right afterwards for the cake.  So our poor photographer had a total of 12 minutes to take engagement photos for us...Picture time just doesn't bring out Jerel's most cooperative side.  So you can imagine his excitement when I told him we were having pictures done.  Actually I was too scared to tell him, I just wrote it on the calendar on the fridge.  Then when he saw it he said "I don't remember agreeing to this."  But he came along anyway, after much discussion over whether or not he could wear black when I was wearing brown (my answer, of course, was no).  He got even more excited when the photographer (Erika, also my official baby-shower-thrower) explained how this particular pose would work.  It didn't turn out quite right because Isaiah wouldn't look at the camera, but I like it just because I can't believe we got Jerel to do it.  And also because it makes Jerel look like he's about 3 inches thick and I look about 3 feet thick.

You can see the rest of the photo shoot here  http://www.flickr.com/photos/28030935@N06/sets/72157625293188403/show/

By the way, if you're in Portland and need family pictures done you can see Erika's photo website at http://www.glimpsesbyerika.blogspot.com/

Zay's retirement account

We decided since he's coming up on 16 months old it's about time we open a retirement account for him. Okay, not really, but we did have some dollar bills here and there that he has received as gifts and I decided we may as well put it all in a bank account for him. So I took him to our bank, after checking the website to see what documentation I needed, and got him all set up. They almost wouldn't do it because I didn't have his social security card with me and even though the I explained that the website specifically said it wasn't required, the lady insisted it was. So I looked as pregnant and frazzled as possible while she tried to tell me I'd have to come back another time. It helped that Zay was running around like crazy and that I seem to pretty much always look pregnant and frazzled these days. And she magically figured out she could do it without the card after all. Seeing as this was such an exciting event in his life I decided to get a picture of him with his money, but this blurry snapshot was all I could get (after several tries) because as soon as I put the money in front of him he'd throw it on the ground. Oh well. He'll thank me when he reaches retirement age and his $31.25 deposit has turned into a whopping $768! (Based on the first future value of money calculator I found online, which I think I used incorrectly).

While we were there, Zay found a quarter on the ground. Since it wasn't ours I tried to give it to the bank lady, but she wouldn't take it. She said "Sorry, we're not allowed to accept cash here." Wait, what? Bank tellers aren't allowed to accept cash? So instead she added it to Zay's deposit. I guess they're allowed to encourage receipt of stolen property by others, just not take it themselves?

Baby shower for #2

I am a little slow getting things posted these days. I am actually a little slow about pretty much everything these days. But last weekend my friends Erika & Jeana threw me a baby shower for the little girl. I felt bad because Erika also threw my shower for Isaiah, which was just over a year ago, but she didn't seem to mind. The theme was Sugar & Spice, colors were pink & brown, with an emphasis on polka dots. It all turned out so cute! This picture shows my favorite part--the pink, brown, and white milk. Of course served in carafes. And of course tied with coordinating ribbons. And let's not forget the adorable food labels Julie made. Everything was so fun & festive & girly! We have most of the baby gear we needed so everyone brought clothes for the baby. We got so many nice things! It looks like she may not have to wear all of Zay's boy clothes after all. My mom & sister & nieces made the trek down from Seattle to celebrate with us and many of my friends were able to come. We all had a great time and I've promised Erika she never has to throw me another shower. Although when we were jokingly planning the shower for 2011 (since I seem to have one every year) I suggested a parasite theme, because having a baby growing in you is basically like having a parasite feeding off of you, and we came up with lots of fun bug/parasite ideas...

A two-binky kind of day

Zay wouldn't take a nap today so he was super cranky. Apparently one binky wasn't enough because I found him a few times with TWO in his mouth at once...

Our little farmer

Okay he's not really a farmer at all, but I love little kids in overalls! Once I added the sepia tone to the picture it made me think he was on a farm somewhere, rather than in our backyard where the only things growing are weeds where the grass should be and grass where the barkdust should be.

Zay still isn't talking much, but he's working on learning some new signs. He can do milk, more, book, and all done pretty consistently. He also made up his own sign for mad. Sort of. I didn't want to be yelling at him all the time (just some of the time...) so when he frustrates me I clench my fists and sort of growl at no one in particular. Then one day we were reading a book and a cartoon guy in the book was mad and when Isaiah saw it he clenched his fists and growled. It was pretty funny. So he does that whenever he hears the word "mad" but it's always with a smile while he waits for us to laugh at his adorableness!

The toddler bed. Ugh.

Since we'll be needing our crib for #2 in a little while, we are working on switching ZayZay to a toddler bed. As you can see it's a pretty slow process. Here he is sleeping behind the bedroom door (he can't open doors yet so he gets up, cries, then comes and stands at the door and knocks) where he apparently fell back to sleep during a nap. The spot on the floor is also just about as far away from the toddler bed as you can get. He mostly does okay if he falls asleep elsewhere and we put him in the bed after he's asleep, but of course it would be nicer if we could just put him in there and he put himself to sleep. I'm hopeful it will happen someday since he used to do that in his crib, but if anyone wants to cross their fingers for us we'd appreciate it! Once we get him sleeping better we'll move him to his new room (the old office which I finally finished painting) and #2 will take his place in the nursery.

Cute kid?

Sometimes I think it's so obvious that Jerel and I produced a beautiful child.  But then I remember when I was a kid, I used to babysit for this lady who had 5 kids.  They were not attractive children.  I mean, personalities were fine, but they weren't the best to look at.  Not that that matters because of course I always judge on the heart rather than the outward appearance, I'm just saying with near complete objectivity that her children weren't cute.  Anyway, one night she came home after I babysat and she said "You know before I had kids I used to worry I'd have ugly kids.  But now that I have them, I mean jeez, they're gorgeous!  I don't know why I ever worried!"  I smiled and nodded but immediately started worrrying myself.  Not that I'd have ugly kids, but that I'd have ugly kids and think they were cute...

Anyway, here's Isaiah and I'm just saying I think he's gorgeous!  My friend Erika took some family pictures for us yesterday and they turned out so cute!  I can't post them all yet because one of them will be for our Thanksgiving cards this year and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  But Isaiah is so cute I had to post just one!

Also, thanks to Rick & Ivy--do you recognize his outfit?  Calvin Klein sweater (which Jerel loves) and Kenneth Cole jeans, both of which formerly belonged to cousin Cooper.  We love hand-me-downs and now that Zay is growing out of 12 month into 18 month he wears Cooper clothes almost exclusively!