The Cupit Family Chronicle

BELLS JINGLE ON VIOLIN

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Laurel performed at the church Christmas party.

SCOUTS REGRET MISSING NEW TALENT

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:04:00 +0000

In case you missed it on Sports Center, here's the highlight from the Destroyers game this weekend. Brant Cupit made a breakthrough play. He's finally having a little bit of success (and FUN) on the field!

POKES PRODUCE WELTS

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:51:00 +0000

The family has known for a while that Brant has some pretty serious indoor and outdoor allergies. In order to begin a more targeted treatment program, Maren decided it was time to get the real testing done. It was a 2 hour appt with a 20 minute block of NO SCRATCHING ALLOWED. Going into the appointment, Maren was sure the prickly pokes would be the worst part, but Brant's agony came during the no scratching waiting period. In conclusion, the boy is allergic to grasses, weeds, trees, cats, dust, mold, and soy. Thank goodness for antihistamines!

The consolation prize...

TEAM LEARNS FOOTBALL

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Brant is in a little flag football league through the y. He's on a team with some friends, otherwise he may not be too thrilled. The weather's been great and he seems to be happy. Brant's parents have known for a long time that he doesn't have much interest in competition. It's still pretty cute to watch him figure out which way to run.

The team chose their name, "the Destroyers." That might be the only intimidating thing about them!

PUMPKIN PHOTOS

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:12:00 +0000

Unfortunately there is not a combined photo of all the kids at our pumpkin patch, but there are a few individual good ones.

Happy Halloween!

MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:12:00 +0000

Laney showed off her latest physical feat today at the park. She's a pretty decent monkey swinger for a young 2 year old. Plus it makes her cheeks especially squeezable!

LADY TRIES THE SINGLE LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Lady Mama took her 3 kiddos to Hollywood studios yesterday trying to achieve supermom status. The verdict: supermoms are overrated. 2 if not 3 of the kids ended up crying at some point during the day. The group still decided they had more fun on their day off than staying home and watching tv all day, but it's quite clear that Disney should be done with a smaller adult to child ratio. The one ride of the day was toy story mania (awesome) and the kids met phineas and ferb. They also lost a few dollars in the pizza planet
Arcade. They had a really good time in the Honey I shrunk the kids playground. Here's a few shots...

MOM TAKES TOO LONG IN SHOWER

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:19:00 +0000

It's diaper cream, by the way.

SCIENCE IS SUPER WITH WORMS

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:37:00 +0000

Brant had a Super Science activity this week and Maren was fortunate to put on a lab coat and serve as an assistant. Handing out gummy worms for a lesson on the five senses was easy work, made sweeter by the opportunity to see the little man in his daytime environment. Brant remarked that his mom looked like Dr. Doofenschmertz. No photos captured to prove his point; maybe next time!

BABY GIRL TURNS 2

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:58:00 +0000

LITTLE MINNOWS MAKE BIG SPLASH

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:29:00 +0000

The kids have been taking swimming lessons this summer. So far, there are videos of Brant and Laney. Maren is so proud of the kids' improvements.

HIDE AND SEEK AND GO TO DOCTOR

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:15:00 +0000

Laurel had a rough encounter with a night stand at a friend's house. She went to coolest ER EVER and came home with a glued forehead and a bead bracelet that she made at the hospital.

KIDS GROW GILLS

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:03:00 +0000

The summer is half-way over and thus far the time has been well spent in typical southern fashion...beach and pool. Brant is finishing his swimming lessons this week and his progress is tremendous. Laurel and Laney start next week and soon the house will be full of little fishes. Recently Aunt Joan invited the Cupits for a day trip to the beach and she took some fantastic pics.

Laurel has lost her two front teeth now. Her mother makes her wear this big floppy hat for every extended outdoor activity. She may be in psychotherapy but at least she'll stay out of the dermatologist's chair.

Laney is dying to catch a wave like her big sis. Next trip to the beach she might get the chance!
Brant likes his new boogie board, but spends most of time in the shallow waves. However, Brant definitely wins the prize for "Best Cupit Tan". His sisters are going to be quite jealous in a few years.
Brad's been putting in extra long hours lately. Saturdays are precious family time. He'll be cultivating his scouting skills in the next few weeks, so the family will have to miss a few days of wrestles and help on video games.
Maren has good days and tough days in the summer. The dinner hour is usually when the stress level reaches it's peak. Thank goodness for a pool a few steps away from the backdoor. It's such a great way to stop the whining and let loose.
These two LOVE pool time. Laney does, too. In fact, Laney says "Boo" (translation: Pool) as soon as she wakes up in the morning. Brant's getting more exercise than ever; the pool is the most effective way to tear him away from Star Wars Legos video game. Laurel is working on a handstand in the water and forward and backward rolls.

PARENTS GET AWAY TO FRENCH QUARTER

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:48:00 +0000

This is the fifth attempt at posting an update. The staff keeps getting distracted!

The family recently returned from a get-a-way to Louisiana. The big kids were there for almost 3 weeks. Maren, Brad, and Laney had a week's vacation. The excursion included a stop off in Baton Rouge for a catch up with a few friends and visit to the old ward. The warm welcome made Brad particularly happy.

Maren and Brad also had a stop off in Gainesville to see Heather and Jimmy for a brief visit. It's so great to keep up with dear friends.

Back in New Orleans, the parents had a 30 hour date in the French Quarter that got off to a rough start. For a week prior to the get away, Maren had been disappointed in Brad's comments about his less-than-excited attitude. "It smells like pee, Maren." Upon arrival, it was Maren who couldn't shake the let-down. Her dreams of romantic and picturesque scenery were spoiled by the stench of stale trash and visions of early drunkenness. Within about 2 hours, they saw someone peeing in public, a man passed out and sprawled accross the sidewalk, pot holes dotting the roads filled with lime green mystery liquid, the typical sexual stuff on Bourbon St., and a giant rat trying to cross the path in front of them. Brad's dinner meal was fantastic, but Maren was pretty disappointed in hers. Brad split his filet down the middle and Maren handed over one of her rock lobster tails, so Maren left halfway satisfied. After a stop-in at a yogurt bar, they headed back the beautiful Chateau Bourbon, and relaxed for the night. Well, first Brad had to remove a bug from Maren's hair, but then finally, they relaxed.

Day 2 was fantastic. In fact, it couldn't have been any better for Maren. They slept in, went to Cafe Du Monde for beignets for breakfast, rode the trolley car down St. Charles to see the Garden District, had muffleattas for lunch at Central Grocery (thanks for the tip Stacy), rode the Steamboat Natchez up and down the Mississippi and then had dinner at Muriel's in Jackson Square with Steve and Tammy...and baby Lyndsey!

MICHELIN BABY MAKES COMEBACK

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:56:00 +0000

The shop manager suggested a picture of a real life Michelin baby would be a cute shot.

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BIRTHDAY DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Laurel's 7th birthday celebration was held at a chocolate factory here in town. The Cupit family has spent a bit of time at this shop lately doing everything from date night to family night. What a great place!

YouTube Video

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GIRL GETS GLITZY

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Laurel's first salon haircut!

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LANEY IS CUTIE PIE

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 25 May 2011 01:23:00 +0000

Just in case any reader thinks that the Chronicle doesn't feature the master of the house often enough, here's a bunch of pics of Miss Sass from the past few months. To note, her latest achievements include maintaining 97th percentile for height and weight at the 18 month appointment. She certainly is a big girl, but her size is miniscule relative to her strength. The girl has super-human strength making it hard to change her diaper or buckle her into the car seat when she's not in a cooperating mood!

She loves to read 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. She calls every animal, be it a bunny, kitty, doggy, duck, or bird, a "du-kgee". She still protests to drinking water, but seems to be slightly (ever so slightly) less persistent than her big sister in her tantrums. Laney's tantrums are a new beast to the family though, exhibiting antics like hair-pulling, face-slapping, and the occasional head-banging. These punishments are all self-inflicted, and she can halt them in a second if she sees a "du-kgee!"

Laney is an excellent sleeper and most comfortable when she maintains her schedule. Summer could prove interesting as the family's daily routine becomes less structured. In the last few days she has started calling her blanket "Bubby", and she won't sleep without it. She loves Laurel and Brant almost as much as Daddy, but truly, she is a Momma's girl. This makes separation at the YMCA and at the church nursery nearly impossible. One of the only ways she can handle it is if she has her brother with her. In church, she seems to be happy when the nursery leaders are feeding her, singing with her, or blowing bubbles. All of those activities are interspersed with bellowing screams of torture.

Laney loves the "Itsy Bitsy Spider Song" and moving her fingers up the spout. She likes "If You're Happy and You Know It" as well. She has a giggle and smile that melt the defenses of the whole family. While she is still pretty far behind with verbal speech, she has eyes and facial expressions that can communicate quite well.

Finally, Laney is walking, running, and climbing just about everywhere. While Maren hasn't spent quite as much time as usual at the gym, Laney puts her through a good workout every day.
She loves video games. She may have even figured out that pushing buttons on the controller does something on the screen.
Annual passes to the Science Museum will make this summer's heat slightly more bearable. Laney loves the Curious George exhibit.
Laney loved having G.G. and Papa here. She had oodles of attention and ate it all up!

BOY IS STUPIFIED

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:01:00 +0000

As the family was leaving Hollywood Studios, Brant remarked in wonder, "I can't believe I got to fight Darth Vader."

GIRLS CAN BE JEDIS, TOO

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:41:00 +0000

CHRONICLE FALLS BEHIND

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:16:00 +0000

So many events in the Cupit house have gone undocumented. The editor really should be fired, but it's hard to find a replacement at such a reasonable pay rate.

Some future posts may be out of chronological order, but eventually our readers will be caught up with the family happenings.

Here are some photos from the latest outing to Star Wars Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The parents debated whether or not to attempt a day of heat and crowds for the grand re-opening of Star Tours. It was the last time they would be able to use their four-day passes. Maren and Brad decided that if the day didn't result in a miserable disaster, it could be a fantastic memory for Laurel and Brant.

To make the day easier, Maren loaded up the diaper bag with snacks and juice boxes while Brad put both strollers in the trunk. The family has figured out that leaving Disney property at lunch is a cheaper, cooler option for food and allows the kids to take a nap in the car. The day was a success.

Laney's favorite show of the day was Disney Junior. The puppets and music had her zoned in.

There were Star Wars characters floating around everywhere. Unfortunately, the lines for the meet and greets were ridiculous. The family got super lucky a few times and landed on some big names when the crowds were small. Seen above are Rex, Ahsoka, Luke Skywalker, a Clone Trooper, Commander Brant, and Ventress.

Amazingly, the place that was top on the kids' list was Pizza Planet (just like in Toy Story), a pretty average arcade. To Maren, the most enticing factor of Pizza Planet was air conditioning. How did we ever live without it? Here's Laurel rocking out and Laney taking a wheel for a spin.

PADAWAN TRAINS WITH JEDI

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:13:00 +0000

PATRONS DREAM OF STAR WARS

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Sat, 21 May 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Breaking news...the Cupit kids are taking a nap in the parking lot of Hollywood Studios. Mom and Dad are crossing fingers that their battery packs get recharged enough to make it to Star Wars Jedi Training tonight!

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SPIDERMAN TEAMS UP WITH RAINBOW SPRITE

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 18 May 2011 03:47:00 +0000

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ENGINEER PRODIGY PLAYS AROUND

noreply@blogger.com (Maren) — Wed, 18 May 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Brant's latest creation

Speaking of the two pilots he said, "There's one backwards just like in Star Wars Episode V"

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