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. :)