First of many trips to the park

It was in the middle 80's today, unbelievable, felt fabulous!  Coop and I hit up a new park this afternoon.  We strolled checking out the ducks in the pond, Coop watched lots of kids playing, and even tried out the swings!  Cooper seemed to like it, but was really more interested in watching the other kids next to him swing.  The ladies man met a baby girl about the same age, they played on the ground and tried to eat the playground material :).  As we were at the park, the tweens began to arrive.  All I could think was...How can I get him to never grow up, if not that, How can we bypass the middle school years???

No, the blanket wasn't there for warmth, but for support so he didn't keep toppling forward :)

Checking it all out

7 Months

This post is long overdue considering Cooper was 7 months on the 12th of this month and today is the 29th...oops! 

Here is what happened since last month:

- started trying to hold his own bottlle, not much progress though

- first time in a high chair at restaurants, the kid has fast hands and a long reach...enough said.

- After enough drool to fill his crib, the first tooth appeared.  It was his bottom right tooth. 

- He started riding in his stroller like a big boy...no car seat adapter!  Loves riding through the mall and taking it all in!

- Coop started solid foods!  The first was pureed carrots, ate them with no problems.  Also had sweet potatoes and pears during the month.

- Cooper was baptized

-At his Dr. visit he was 18 lbs, 6 oz, 50%ile and 30 inches long, over 95%ile. 

-Cooper loves watching other kids, his johnny jumper, his thumb (yikes!), blankie at naps/bedtime, anything he can chew on and sitting up 

Coop has had very prominent ribs since birth, this picture really shows them off

Love this picture!

So excited to be 7 (and 1/2) months!!!

First Words!?!

On Saturday afternoon, Cooper started babbling and out came ma-ma!  We weren't sure if that was what he was saying, so I said ma-ma and he immediately imitated me with ma-ma-ma-ma.  He continued to say it through the evening and all the way to lunch yesterday, he said ma-ma-ma-ma in the backseat.  I suppose this counts as his first word even though he doesn't know what he is saying???  Next up, da-da or Jayhawk?...working on both :)   

On the move, in reverse only

Right at 7 months (I still haven't posted 7 month update, YIKES...coming soon), Cooper started moving backwards.  He gets on his belly and pushes back with his hands.  He moves pretty well this way, can cover quite a distance in a short period of time.  You can see, he got himself 'stuck' today, kept trying to push himself back but was making zero progress for obvious reasons. :)

Easter Village

A bunny!  The picture doesn't show that the lady holding the bunny was dressed as one herself. :)

Coop with Grandma and Grandpa, trying not to blink his eyes...not so successful

Moo Cow

Little piglets...so cute!

Coop still squinting at the light before the flash

My parents were in town visiting so we went to Purina Farms Easter Village.  It was a beautiful day, little chilly but not a cloud in the sky.  It was super fun!!!  We saw bunnies, chicks, goats, cows, horses, piglets, and other animals.  Obviously Cooper didn't get the idea but he was intriqued by the animals and all the kids running around.  I can't wait to see his reactions next year.  If you are wondering where Adam is, someone has to make some money for this family. :)

Cooper's Room Updated

These letters were a gracious gift from Lea Costa, a secretary at my school in Texas.  She has her own business, A Cherished Child, check it out at http://www.acherishedchild.com/.  As you can see she is super talented!!  I simply gave her Cooper's bedding and she matched it perfectly!  I love, love, love these letters and so does Cooper.  Every time I go in to get Coop up from bed, he is turned looking up at the letters. Thanks Lea, you are the best, wish I had a fraction of your talent!!! 

These bookshelves were inspired by the first grade teachers at my school in Texas.  As you can see, I worked with fabulous people, miss those ladies!  The shelves are simply vinyl rain gutters from Lowes.  I googled rain gutter bookshelves and found a tutorial for them at http://raisingolives.com/2009/07/raingutter-book-shelves-tutorial/.  It was very simple and walked you through each step.  My Dad and Adam put them up tonight with minor cussing :).  I absolutely LOVE them!   The idea is to get kids to 'see' their books because in regular bookshelves, they only see the spine.  Obviously Cooper isn't quite there yet, but before these shelves, the books were just scattered on the floor.  Adam said in two years, he will probably be throwing the books out to climb them...only time will tell.  I recommend these to everyone!

The frame above the chair rail was a gift from Emersyn's mom, the girls of Ambiance.  She owns a super cute boutique south of Overland Park in Stilwell.  They carry baby stuff, women's clothes, jewelry and home decor.  This specific frame makes a great wedding/baby gift, you can personalize the color and quote.  Check it out at http://www.shopambiance.com/. 

March Sadness

In this house, March Madness is one of our favorite times of the year.  Every year we fill out brackets and of course Kansas is the National Champion in mine EVERY year, no matter our seed.  However, this year it seemed like a no-brainer, more on that later...  I must say the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament was AWESOME, a total highlight of my time being a stay at home mom.  If my parenting was judged on those two days, it wouldn't have been good.  The picture above is how we spent most of the two days.  You'll notice I did turn Coop away from the TV, however he often turned himself around the watch the games...who could blame him?  Saturday is when it turned sour, still not sure I can talk about it, I mean Northern Iowa, seriously?? And the year the Sweet Sixteen is in STL, my current city???  And I am not working, Cooper and I could have spent the day stalking the team in downtown and watching practice, instead I cleaned my kitchen.  March Madness turned into March Sadness.  But Sunday morning when I woke up (first thing I asked Adam,  "Please tell me it was a bad dream?")  and went to Coop's room to see this, how could I not smile?  And to make it even better Missouri lost that day too. :)

Spring has Sprung?

Well, this is how we spent our early evening on Thursday, walking the neighborhood.  It was in the 60's and not a cloud in the sky.  Two days later, rainy and 40's...blah!  When will Spring officially be sprung, we can't wait much longer!!!

Cooper and his cousins

For those of you wondering, from L to R it's: Braeden, Cooper, Ava Grace, Kellen, Emily and Cash

The last picture of this group together was from Halloween and the kids have changed so much!  We had bad timing for picture taking, the little boys were getting up or getting ready to take a nap.  I have a new appreciation for child photographers!

By the way, this is my 100th post!!!

Cooper's Baptism

Church took it all out of Cooper.  He slept through the first half of the Baptism service.

Yep, still sleeping...  Surrounded by his Godparents

He woke up just in time to for his Holy bath from Father Albertson

Do you think 25 years from now we will be standing at the same altar for marriage?

The Grandparents

Coop with Mom's family

Cooper's Godparents, Uncle Aaron and Aunt Alli.  What a lucky baby boy!!!

Cooper with his Dad's family

Seriously Cooper...Have you seen Emersyn's Dad, aka Big Nitty???  Hands off!  In every picture, his hands were in the same place.

Yes, I know this isn't my baby, but Emersyn's face is just precious in this picture, had to post!

Cooper got baptized a couple weekends ago, March 7.  His Papaw Jones was nice enough to share his birthday with Cooper's special day.  Coop got baptized at Holy Rosary Wea, the same church and Priest that married Adam and I.  Cooper was so lucky that his best girlfriend, Emersyn Nitschke was baptized the same day.  These two babies are very loved and it was easy to see by the big crowd in attendance for them.  Both babies slept through the first half of the ceremony and continued to be perfect angels.  After Baptism, we had our families over for lunch.  Thanks to everyone that came to show Cooper love and bringing him such sweet gifts.     

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If you look closely, you can see his one tooth shining brightly!  The one next door to it popped thru just yesterday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day All! 

Hope the luck of the Irish is with you today!  Coop is really feeling Irish today (no, not because of his pale white skin) because his onesie is straight from Ireland!  Thanks to Nick and Maureen for picking it up for him before he was even born!

Walking our way to Indianapolis

With another Big 12 conference and tournament championship under our belt, the Big Dance awaits us!  Coop's got some new kicks to walk us into the Final Four in Indianapolis!  However, his kicks won't have any wear and tear on them. :)  Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

Butterfly House

Coop and I ventured out to The Butterfly House in St. Louis last week.  The "house" holds over a 1,000 butterflies that fly freely.  Coop was in awe of it all, not totally getting the butterfly idea obviously, but he was smiling and laughing!  I took a ton of pics trying to get the butterflies landing on Coop and his stroller, but the last pic was as close as I got...better luck next time!

So Tired

Starting to give in to sleep

And, he's out

Coop was playing while I was doing dishes in the kitchen.  Time between these pictures was about 5 minutes.  I can't remember what we had been doing that day, but obviously it wore him out.  He never gives into sleep this easily, usually needs his blanket and some love.

Big Boy Bathtime!

Another baby milestone acheived!  This milestone is a combination of Cooper literally growing out of his bath seat and his sitting up so well on his own.  It just seemed simpler and it really is!  A bath mat, a little water, a few toys = easy and fun bathtime!  (Do you like the strategically placed washcloth? :))

First Food...Carrots, Yum!!!

The dinner line-up, carrots and water in a sippy cup (more for entertainment)

Sippy cup is more of a toy than something to drink out of for now

Loving the carrots

If you look closely, you can see he gnaws on his highchair...part of the teething

Cooper had his first taste of food this past weekend at 6 and 1/2 months. I had been putting it off, mainly because I felt he was getting what he needed from formula/cereal and I wasn't ready to 'go there.' We began with carrots, my favorite vegetable, as many of you know. :) I am planning on making Coop's baby food and got an awesome book, recommended by a few people. It has a great layout for introducing foods and shows just how easy it is. All I did was put carrots in my steamer and then puree them in the blender. They tasted delicious! Coop didn't really question it, gagged a few times but other than that he ate the carrots with no problems. Sweet potatoes, apples, and pears are a few of the foods that are next in line for the little man! Can't believe our baby is growing up so fast!!!

Working on video...not cooperating right now :(