Christmas Eve 2009

Coop in his Christmas jammies. He was headed to bed, full of smiles knowing that Santa was on the way.

First Christmas Eve

Coop has discovered how to pull hair and loving it. Olivia was his latest victim...

Who left my kid with these two??? Just kidding...Joseph and Brody are really good with Coop

Christmas Eve began with 4:00 mass and of course we were running late which put us in the front row...yikes! Cooper was an angel, just watched all the people reading, smiled and laughed. Then we went to Coop's great-mamas house for dinner with all the cousins. It was pretty crazy but lots of fun. Coop got lots of fun gifts...a stick horse, cowboy hat, and books. It sleeted/snowed all evening and night which made for a beautiful white Christmas morning.

So excited for Santa!!!

Ho! Ho! Ho...so excited for Santa Claus to come!!!

Christmas post to come, need to somehow narrow down my picture selection first!

Sweet Feet!

There's not much sweeter than baby feet - these are Coop's at four months.

(photo credit to Aunt Tanya :)

Four Months Old

It's obviously easy to tell which pictures were taken with a professional camera (thanks Aunt Tanya) and which were taken by me.

Cooper was four months old on December 12th.

• Cooper was 13 lbs, 12 oz and 26 inches long on November 12th. It put him in the 50%ile in weight and 90's in height.
• He's really trying to roll over, but dislikes tummy time so it is taking some time.
• He loves sleeping with a blanket. When he gets tired, he covers his face with it. I am often going in to take the blanket off his face during naptime.
• Coop started taking formula this month, he gets a formula bottle before bed. He wasn't sure about it at first, but takes it with no problem now.
• We went through a rough couple of weeks with sleeping at night. Coop was wanting to get up at 430 every morning...not ok! As tough as it was, we just let him "cry it out" and he snapped out of it pretty quick.
• He LOVES the exersaucer! When sitting on someone's lap, he's always wanting to be standing, so the exersaucer is perfect!
• On the eve of his four month bday, we introduced cereal. He takes it every night before bottle and bed. Definitely not loving it, but who can blame him??

What happened to our baby's hair???

A head full of black hair at just a day old

just a mini-mullet left at four months

So, I hoped my baby boy would magically keep his hair from birth and not go thru the stage we are currently in..but obviously that didn't happen. Looking back at pictures, I can't believe how much hair he really had! His hair is slowly starting to come back in on the top and sides and it looks to be dark like the hair he was born with.

First Cold

Well, we made it four months with no sickness. The week before Christmas Cooper got a runny nose and a little bit of a cough. Of course I took his temperature several times the first few days of it to make sure he didn't have a fever. We had one night of vomiting, but Nurse Stacey (having a best friend as a nurse is AWESOME!) reassured us it was just a virus and he might have it all winter...YUCK! It hasn't slowed Cooper down, he is still smiley, happy self...that is until I sneak attack with a kleenex!

Cooper's First Time with Rice Cereal!!!

He has no idea what is in for, just hanging out in his Bumbo! I highly recommend the Bumbo tray!

In this pic, it appears he is giving us the bird..."I want a bottle!!!"

Awww, fat and happy! :)

On the eve of Coop's fourth month b-day, we introduced rice cereal. It was a big decision, but after lots of reading and just feeling like it was the right time, we did it. He had not being sleeping well at all during the night over the past couple of weeks and since starting cereal, he is a changed baby! All the books say cereal won't help them sleep better, but as of now it's working for us (thank God!). Cooper did really well with it, despite the mess covering his face, bib, clothes, and Bumbo! Again, can't believe how fast he is growing up!

Tis the Season...

And he found his thumb...for a brief moment that is. Cooper doesn't really like the pacifier anymore, he works so hard to find his thumb but rarely does.

"Mom, not another picture and get me out of this hat!"

All dressed up for Santa! Like I said before, Coop really does smile all the time but when the camera comes out, it disappears. I probably took 30 pictures over the course of 10 minutes and this was as good as it got! Happy early Holidays!!!

Cooper eating cereal!

Well, I have stepped it up on the blog front, we have video! Thanks to Aunt Tanya and her flip video, I think I might need to get one of these myself :). This is Cooper's second time with cereal and he has done pretty well with it. Don't mind Dad in the background and his burp to scare Cooper, his reaction is hilarious!!! Enjoy!

Making Progress

"How can I get this toy in my mouth?"

We pulled out the Bumbo tray this week and love it! Cooper is getting better and better at sitting up in his Bumbo for short periods of time, he is getting less and less like a drunken little man in it. :)

Playdate!

Another playdate with Anna Stilley...At this time, still for the moms instead of the kids! However, they did lie next to each other under the play gym, so cute!!!

Finally caught a smile on camera!

Cooper is a very smiley baby, that is until the camera comes out. This is the only smile I have gotten over the past few weeks. The minute he sees the camera, the smile disappears and he gets serious eyebrows studying it.

All Bundled Up!

Cooper wanted to hang out with the boys in the garage on Thanksgiving Day, but it was cold! So, we got him all bundled up first...he was fully dressed with a fleece hoodie, then strapped into the Baby Bjorn, and finally zipped up inside Adam's coat! All that work and then Cooper did not think it was fun anymore and wanted out immediately, can you blame him? :) Sure does make for a cute picture though!

Rolling Over, randomly

In the starting position
He made it to his tummy!

And then he was stuck!

The day after Thanksgiving Cooper rolled over for Adam, he went from his back to belly, with a little help from a forgiving bed. He has yet to do it again, but is soo close. I can't believe he is about to hit this milestone, time is going by way too fast!!!

One lucky great grandbaby

Cooper with GiGi Hillermann
Cooper with Great-Mama Kelly

Cooper is one lucky baby. He has two great-grandmas that love him so much! He's the 17th great grandkid on the Hillermann side and the first on the Kelly side.

Typical...

This is usually what happens when I take the bib off for even one minute to try to get a picture without a stupid bib on. If I haven't mentioned it before, Cooper is a spitter! Since about two months, he spits up CONSTANTLY!! As I began to take the picture, he started spitting up and here is how the picture turned out, so typical.

So long football season, hello basketball!!!

These pictures are from a few weeks ago, Cooper was really close to kicking himself over, he'll do about anything to be able to see the TV!

After the disappointing football season, we were happy to pack away Cooper's football jersey and bring out the b-ball jersey! Those of you that know my KU basketball history, know that #45 isn't just for Cole Aldrich :). We are PUMPED for this season and feel it is fitting we are preseason and current #1 in Coop's first basketball season. Another National Championship would be AMAZING!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are very thankful for our family, friends, our four legged child Lola, and of course Cooper William. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Lil Prince and Princess

Yes, Cooper is only a week older than Emersyn...

Cooper is watching football and his girl is trying to drag him away :)

Thanks Aunt Stacey for these adorable matching li'l prince and princess onesies!

Three Months

the baby acne on the chin is in full force, I am sure because his chin is constantly wet from spitting up

this was as close to a smile as I could get during this photo shoot

Cooper was three months on November 12th!

In month three, Cooper is:

• 13 lbs, 12 oz and 26 inches long. 50%ile for weight and 90%ile for height
• smiling all the time, loves to be sang to and hearing people roll their tongues.
• He's becoming ticklish and giggling
• moved to size 2 diapers
• outgrowing his one piece outfits before I can get him in them with those long legs
• officially losing his dark beautiful hair :(
• grabbing toys and holding onto them
• following people (especially mom and dad) around a room
• watching Kansas basketball and loving it!!!

Happy 3 months Cooper!

Adios Texas

Our last family pic in Fort Worth in Oct., we miss you 4733 Auburn Ridge

very serious...

in his glider one last time before it got packed into a trailer

loving his crib and the polka dot bumper, was just staring at the polka dots

Overdue post...

These pics are from the beginning of November when my mom, Cooper, and I went and packed everything up in Fort Worth. Yes, Coop survived another long road trip! He is a trooper and does AWESOME in the car, fits into our lifestyle! His carseat mileage could win an award!!! We were sad to be leaving our fabulous home and friends in Texas, but onto the next chapter in our lives...Hello St. Louis!