A week of firsts...

First, Happy Thanksgiving… a little late!

Wow, I am really behind in updating. But as I’m sure you can imagine, life has been busy over the last week!

I must start by saying how thankful I am. I am so very blessed in so many ways. The last year has been absolutely incredible!

Well, it has been quite the week for Cooper. Many, many firsts. Last Sunday, Cooper pulled himself up to standing on the baby gate. Steve was able to get a picture of him standing. In the last week he has mastered this move and can do it quite quickly. Last Wednesday I forgot to put the crib rail up when I put him to bed and found him standing with the rail waist high Thursday morning. Thankfully I grabbed him before he decided to look over. Last night he was able to pull himself up with only one hand and was able to reach down and stand back up. He definitely has standing mastered and walking with help is a breeze. I’m still wondering if he will be walking by Christmas, but he has a ways to go with balance.

We traveled to Sioux Falls to be with family for Thanksgiving. Thursday Cooper had his first Turkey dinner. I had fixed a small plate for him and he finished most of it. He did really well eating. He enjoyed the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. He also did well with the green beans and turkey. Thursday night he had his first sleepover in a hotel. I can’t say it went very well as he was up off and on during the night.

On Friday, he ate a ¼ of Jacob’s Belgian waffle for breakfast. I’m not sure where he packed it, but he sure did.

Since Jacob was getting his hair cut on Friday, I thought I’d have Cooper’s trimmed also. I wasn't really ready as the first haircut seems to be another rite of passage from babyhood to toddlerhood. His hair was starting to get long on the back… a baby mullet. He did a great job. The barber trimmed the back with clippers and then used the scissors to trim up the top. His hair is so fine that she couldn’t get a good clump to save as a lock of hair, but he did get a certificate and we got pictures.

Friday afternoon all three boys… Cooper, Jacob, and Logan went to see Santa. I have a hard copy of it at home, but they don’t like you taking pictures. I did get one of Jacob with Cooper next to the reindeer by Santa’s house. Don’t they look handsome in their red sweaters???

Friday evening Steve and I took Cooper swimming and he really seemed to enjoy it. We didn’t go for long as he was shivering in the big pool and the hot tub, while wasn’t very hot, was a bit too warm for more than a few minutes. We got a few pictures. Maybe this spring we will take a Baby & Me water class.

Last night we put up the Christmas tree. We didn’t get to the ornaments yet, but maybe tonight. Cooper seems to love the lights on the tree. Daddy is going to put up some on the house, too.

Cooper has also started to wave hello and goodbye. At first Steve thought it looked like Cooper was waving his hand in front of his nose as if to say, “Stinky”, but it’s not. He is getting better at turing his hand out. (I have a picture I will attach).

I’m sure I am missing something, but it has been a busy week.

Coughs, sniffles, and sneezes, oh my!!!... Again!

Almost another week is over… wow! Where do they go??? I feel like I haven’t updated forever.

Well, we managed to pick-up another cold. Hmmm… I think we’ve been cold-free for about a week since September. They haven’t been anything significant, but it seems like we are either wiping Cooper’s nose or listening to him cough. I was so happy to hear last week that his ears looked good. His doctor also thinks he’s too young for allergies… I was starting to wonder if that was what was going on, but they are probably colds that are starting before the other ends. On Friday, his daycare teacher commented that he had been not himself all afternoon and cried unless he was being held. Cooper has a reputation for being a very happy kid! She thought it was the shots from the day before, but I had a feeling a cold was brewing as he had been fine Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. By Saturday he was clingy and tired. Jackie and I did take him to the Mayo employee craft sale… poor kid. I brought the Baby Bjorn and once he was in it he slept the rest of the shopping trip. At this weight he should probably face forward, but I put him toward me and he cuddled in and snoozed. All he wanted was to be close. So other than a really sore back, it worked. By Sunday I was feeling like I had it and then Steve got it, too. In fact, Steve felt bad enough to stay home on Tuesday. It seems to be a short lived cold and I’m pretty well back to normal. Coops still has a cough that will probably hang on and his nose continues to run. Ugh.

I think I mentioned last week that the daycare gave Cooper spaghetti and he loved it. The other night we had spaghetti for dinner and thought we’d give him some. Oh my! What a mess, but he did a great job and loved it. Next time I think we’ll strip him down more. I left a onesie (that will probably need to be bleached) and pants on him. This week at daycare he has had eggs, bagels, beef pot roast- potatoes and carrots, rice, French toast, and cake. Cooper is eating better during the day than we probably are! With all these new foods, he sure doesn’t want baby food… yuck.


It is well known fact… I’ll admit it… that I get bed-head in the morning. Today it was mommy like son. Cooper had the worst case of bed-head he has ever had. The poor kid had it standing straight up. Part of it may have been that he didn’t sleep well last night and Steve brought him in bed with us. Oh, that was one long night. I don’t think the child slept much at all… I know we didn’t. Steve had Cooper’s head in his armpit and I had his feet kicking my ribs. If Steve cuddled him or I held his had he would settle down for a few moments, but it didn’t last long. Hopefully he will sleep tonight. (If you double click the picture you can really see his hair standing up.)

Poor Cooper is probably thinking that life is behind bars… although this is the only time in his life that he will be behind bars.

He is also finding the dining room table to be a fun place to crawl under. I guess I better get it dusted. Where are Cooper and his sock??? Maybe he’ll dust it while he’s down there… just kidding.

Last weekend went too fast. Steve was on-call and ended up working much of Saturday. We did make it out to dinner with Jackie and Kyle Saturday night. On Sunday we were supposed to go to Lanesboro for another play, but I wasn’t feeling good and Steve wanted to work on getting more of the tree that we took down cut up. We had Jackie watch Cooper and we went to Target and Petsmart for a few things. We also stopped for a quick cup of Caribou Coffee, so we did have a bit of a date. I made plans to get a babysitter and Steve and I are going to go to a movie tomorrow. I really want to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It’s about two eight year olds during World War II… one a Nazi officer's son and the other a child in a concentration camp that befriend each other through a wire fence. It will be a difficult movie to watch, but I have a feeling it was very well done. Schindler’s List was a tough movie to watch, too, but probably one of the best movies ever made. After being to Dachau twice, it makes those movies all the more powerful. Otherwise, I’m hoping for a quiet weekend.

A Cooper update...

Where did the week go? Believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m looking forward to the weekend!

Mr. Cooper is Mr. Speedy when it comes to crawling. Wow! He can move! If he knows where he wants to go, he goes. Usually it’s to Cody… who doesn’t appreciate Cooper’s new found ability. He is doing well with getting up and moving if Cooper approaches. We, of course, watch the two of them and make sure Cooper is not in danger or “bugging” Cody. The hard part is that Cooper loves Cody and giggles when he sees him. Sunday was the first time (of many I’m sure) where I asked Steve where Cooper was. I was in the bedroom and Steve was at the computer. It was only for a few seconds, but Cooper had crawled into the bathroom (which is between the computer and the bedroom). I think he likes the fuzziness of the bathmat.

Cooper is making progress with eating. The daycare gave us a sheet last weekend with foods we will allow them to give him. I checked off several things that I know he can eat. We also gave them permission to try new things with him if they think he is developmentally ready… hey, these people spend their days with kids his age and probably know more about what they are doing than we do. Well, this week he has had green beans, peas, diced peaches and pears, yogurt, pancakes, and yesterday he had a blast with spaghetti! They had to take the tray way from him after two helpings. He LOVED it! He also enjoyed “splashing” in his applesauce. Fortunately… or unfortunately- depending on how you look at it… this kid is “into” food. Cody doesn’t have a problem with Cooper when he is in his chair and a Gerber puff or two come over the edge of the tray.

So are you wondering how much he weighs??? Yesterday he had his nine month well baby visit and he is at 19 pounds 13 ounces… about the 39th percentile. He is doing great. He’s a little on the short side, but came in at 27 inches. He seems long when he starts to outgrow the length of his pants. He did a great job of showing Dr. Alme how he can flirt and be cute. He is such a happy baby. Cooper loved the paper on the exam table. Trying to undress and dress him was nearly impossible. Then trying to keep a nine month old occupied on my lap was hard. This particular exam room had nothing fun to look at. Thankfully he got a new book during his visit so we had something to read while we waited for the nurse to bring his shots. At first the nurse didn’t think he was going to cry after she gave him the first one, but once Cooper figured out that it hurt, he screamed. Poor baby- I still don’t like the idea of my baby being poked, but I know the shots are important. I thought she could have done the second one a little quicker, but Cooper did okay. By the time I had him sitting up he gave her a smile. He has to go in again in four weeks for the flu shot booster… ugh.

Well, I suppose it’s time to go and get him from daycare and start the weekend. Take care!

JCP pictures...

Here are some of the pictures we had taken at JCP two weeks ago. Oh, he is growing up too fast!

Happy 9 months old, Cooper!

You are growing up so fast!

Playing in the leaves...

Sunday was a gorgeous day, so Cooper and I spent some time outside while Daddy worked on the tree we took down. Cooper enjoyed playing in the leaves. He tried to eat one, but thankfully I got it out before he swallowed it… yucky.

On Sunday, Daddy also dropped Cooper’s crib to the lower level. Cooper hadn’t pulled himself up yet, but it was probably just a matter of time. Cooper found Daddy’s tools to be very interesting and wanted to help. I think I may have another handyman!

"I think he did it right."

We put Cooper to work cleaning the walls… not really, but he enjoys wiping the walls with his socks. Maybe someday I can get him to help me dust.

"This wall looks awefully dusty, but I think my sock will work....

There! Much better!"

Crawling with Daddy...

"Goodbye!"

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween... a couple of days late. Where do the days go???



Cooper had a great time trick-or-treating! We went to a few of our neighbors to show off our puppy. We live in a great neighborhood with some wonderful families (many of them about the age of our parents). It's a good thing we only stopped at about four houses... a few neighbors were gone for the night... as it took us an hour just to do them and they are all right next door or across the street from us. We had fun chatting and they were amazed at how fast Cooper has grown. I hate to say we didn't get him out as much during the summer to visit with the neighbors. It seems like the days went so fast and by the time we got home from daycare, made dinner, got ready for the next day, it was dark out. We did go to the block party back in August, but some haven't seen him since.

After we finished we went over to Jackie's house. Cooper loved seeing Lucy (Jack's dog) in her costume... poor Lucy- but she was cute!... and petting the kitties. They were so soft.

Since we had a whirlwind of activity after work, we stopped at Culvers for dinner after Jackie's. They were giving out Halloween candy, too. Cooper brought in quite the stash for five houses and Culvers. Fortunately... or unfortunately... Mom and Dad will enjoy it.

Today I think we'll try to get out to play in the leaves and then go for a walk to get some ice cream... not that we need any more sugar, but Daddy has a free dish from Cold Stone for his birthday.

Scare you later!

Here is Cooper's Halloween sweatshirt...

We are taking him out to see our neighbors and some friends tonight. I'll try to get some pictures posted after we get home.

Scare you later!

Our puppy...

Here are a few photos from yesterday afternoon’s daycare costume party. We got to decorate sugar cookies with Cooper. He probably ate about 1/8 of one and loved it. Thankfully, he didn’t get as much of the frosting on him as one of his friends that will probably still have orange hands to match his Tigger costume on Friday. After we got Cooper dressed, they put most of the little ones in a stroller and rolled them to the playground for the parade. The home store next door invited the kids to come over for trick-or-treating. Cooper got several pieces of candy that he can’t eat, but that Mom and Dad will enjoy for him. He is progressing in his menu of things to eat… cookies, toast, crackers, pudding, mashed potatoes, but no candy bars or M&Ms yet. Cooper had fun grabbing the item out of the bowl and then giving it to me to put in the bag… sometimes I was prying it out of his hand before it went in his mouth (with the wrapper). They had a magician at the daycare after the trick-or-treating, but we decided to pack up Coops and go home.

On a sad note, we drove in yesterday to see our front tree pretty well lying across the grass with a ten foot stump sticking out of the ground. Unfortunately, this was planned. I hate it and will need time to mourn the tree. Last night I just wanted to close the drapes (not that it would have helped as they are shear) and close the blinds in the bedroom… I can’t bear to look outside. I love our wooded lot and hated the thought of taking it down… and the five (one on the side of the houe, too) others to come. They are 50 year old trees… you just don’t grow them over night. But they are starting to become unstable and the thought of one them crashing through our living room makes me know that this had to be done… BUT I HATE IT! The five trees lined our front yard in a perfect row. Now we have two, a huge gap, and two more. The yard is going to look silly… my OCD response… I like things in order. Steve said we will plant another tree as soon as we can… maybe yet this year, if we can. When he asked how big of a tree to get I said a 50 year old size, but that isn’t realistic and the size I want will probably cost as much as it took the other one down. I just don’t want a “twig” in our front yard. Here is how it used to look…

Moving right along...

I wanted to share a few more pictures of Cooper crawling. He came to see me while I was on the computer last night... and then left me to go back to Steve. I think he is enjoying his new mobility. Excuse the fact that he is missing his pants.

Cooper is going through a phase… I hope it is a phase… where he doesn’t like to get his clothes changed. Last night he bawled me out with a babababababa or mamamamama (I don’t think it is really mama) with a bit of a quivering bottom lip. He has started to express his displease with a situation. His current favorite “word” is i-da, i-da, i-da. He has several combinations, but the i-da is the one we probably hear the most.

He is making progress also in the area of eating. We have tried hard toast with him and he is doing great. While Steve’s parents were here we went out to eat and he had a couple of crackers. We have also been doing diluted juice with a sippy cup. It is amazing how quickly he can suck down a cup of juice.

Yesterday Cooper helped fold laundry with one of his teachers. I wonder if we can get a discount on his tuition. They have decided that with his new moving experience that he will stay in the mobile infant room. Up to this point they have been combining the infant rooms as they are not full. They have a new little one and a couple of the older infants have moved on to the toddler room.

Tomorrow the daycare will have a Halloween parade. Steve and I will go over tomorrow afternoon to get Cooper ready. He is going as a puppy. It will be fun to see him and his friends in their costumes. I think we will take Cooper to see some of our neighbors on Friday.

Here are a couple of photos Jackie took when she was caring for Cooper. My teddy bear is about the same size as Cooper and he loves it!

Here's another one of Steve and Cooper.

I'll try to get some costume pictures up tomorrow.