October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday we started our Halloween traditions! I have always wanted us to carve a pumpkin, but we never got around to it. This year we decided that we would carve no matter what! Yesterday was the perfect day to do it too. Beautiful blue sky, good football games, great friends in from out of town, cool weather, a beautiful, big pumpkin...what more can you ask for!
Karl and I spent A LOT of time trying to figure out how we wanted to carve our pumpkin.
He wanted something scary; I wanted something cute.
This little monster is both scary and cute, but we agreed we needed something more traditional for Halloween.
We settled on a witch. (Great job carving, Karl!)
Happy Halloween!

October 27, 2010

Cooped Up With Coop

After a crazy couple of weeks, Little Man and I decided that today's rainy weather made a great excuse for us to stay cooped up inside and try out a few new things.
We started out our day with a bath. I took the mesh hammock-thingy out of Cooper's tub for the first time, and he was able to relax comfortably in the water. I guess he's been ready for this for awhile; I just didn't think to try it before today. He really loves bath time and seemed to enjoy it even more today. He always adds his own little personal waterfall at some point in every bath, and I thought having his lower body submerged in the water would prevent me from getting sprayed, but no, no, no! While I was bathing him, he made sure Mommy got wet too!
After the bath, I dressed him in one of my favorite outfits he has, only to discover that he has outgrown it! After trying to dress him in 2 more outfits, I made myself accept that my little chunky monkey is just about done with all his newborn and 0-3 month clothes. Finally, I got him clothed in a new and bigger outfit, and we decided to try out something else new: the Bumbo seat.
Me-oh-my, he looked so cute in it! And as I was taking his picture in it because I couldn't stand to not capture the cuteness of the moment, Little Man spit up on his 4th outfit of the day. Laundry time!
"Sadie, check me out! I am so big! You better watch out, dog. I'll be trying to sit on your back before you know it!"
"Okay, Mom. I'm done with the adventures for today. I'll give you about 5 more seconds, and then I'm going to start wailing! 1, 2, 3, Mom, I'm not kidding, put that camera down and get me out of this, 4..."
(a note from the Mommy: Look at those cute little toes! I just love his feet!!)

October 22, 2010

Monkeying Around

You may wonder what Cooper and I do all day. In fact, I find myself wondering this too. I often ask myself, "How is it 3:00, and I haven't even showered yet?" or " How did I not even have time to take out the trash today?" or "Please tell me I did brush my teeth today!" Truthfully, I'm not sure where our time goes each day. It's definitely not spent with Little Man napping because it seems that my child doesn't need those (despite the fact that his mommy does). We read books, play on the play mat, take baths, rock in the glider, snuggle, run errands, attempt naps, go for walks, eat, eat, eat, and just monkey around.
I love his expression and hands in this picture!

Any guesses on what Coop's going to be for Halloween? :)

October 19, 2010

2 Months

I am sure each month I'll say the same thing with the exception of the number, but I can't believe I have a two month old! Heck, I still can't believe I was pregnant, gave birth (well, had a c-section, but still...), and have a child! I think Cooper will always be the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, and I am so thankful for him. When I was pregnant, I really couldn't believe it had finally happened, and I always set these little milestones for when I thought I would get over the shock of being pregnant--"when I see the heartbeat, I'll believe it...when I start to show, I'll believe it...when I feel the baby move...when we find out what 'it' is...when I have a baby shower...when I deliever..." I never did get over that shock though. Each day and each milestone brought on more of an awe for me. I think the most amazing, unbelievable, and incredible moment of it all was when I saw him for the first time. I just couldn't believe he was mine. And how has that already been two months ago?!?!
"Um, Mom, what are you doing leaving me sitting beside this strange thing?"
"Oh, wait, I think I remember this from last month. Now what I am supposed to do?"
"I'll give good ol' Mom a quick smile as I tip myself over onto the elephant. Weeee!!"
"Hey buddy, you're pretty snuggly. It looks like we're in this together for the next 10 months."

In the past month, Little Man has really started to fill out. His bath time takes a lot longer now as I try to clean between all those adorable little rolls on his legs, arms, and neck, and I still end up not getting them all! He loves his bath, which is great, until I wash his hair. The boy hates to have his hair washed! He also likes to spit up or pee or poop on himself as soon as I get him out of the tub. Typical boy--just can't stand to be clean!

He smiles more and more each day. My favorite smile is when I go in his room to get him out of his crib, and he looks up at me and smiles. My heart melts! Today he got pretty tickled when we played in front of the mirror. His laugh is a more obvious sound now, and it is definitely contagious!
He loves his mobiles and his newborn pictures hanging above his changing pad on his dresser, and talks and smiles to them all the time. It's really cute when he gets extra excited while watching them because those legs and arms start moving all over the place! He kicks and wiggles and smiles and just gets so excited! This does make diaper changing a little bit of a challenge though. I used to use his swing to put him to sleep, but now he gets so fixated on the mobile, he won't go to sleep!
His personality is beginning to show, and I have a feeling he might possibly be a little strong willed. With Karl and me as parents, I don't know where he would get that from though! (insert laughter) He likes things initially, but when he's done with something, he's done, and he doesn't waste time letting us know. If he wants to be cuddled, I can cuddle with him, but if that's not what he wants at the moment, then I have no chance of cuddling! The other day, I just wanted him to hold him against my chest while I laid on the couch. But, oh no, Little Man was not going to have that. He pushed and kicked and whined until I put him on his play mat. The little stinker! My favorite time of the day used to be in the afternoons when he would lay against my chest and take his nap. I pray he hasn't outgrown that yet!
Other than his mobiles, his favorite thing is going places. He doesn't nap well at all at the house, but if we're out in public, he sleeps great. I guess he likes the hustle and bustle, which is fine with me because I go stir crazy if I'm in the house all day. Between being strong willed and a busy body, he might have my personality...brace yourselves! However, he looks just like his daddy. He is a handsome little fellow!
Karl and I are loving every minute with him. He is a really easy baby, and for that, we are so happy! However, we are hoping that some time in the next month he'll start sleeping longer stretches at night... We're exhausted!

October 3, 2010

Pickin' Pumpkins

I love fall. I love the cooler temperatures. I love drinking coffee on cool Saturday mornings while getting ready to watch football games. I love planting pansies and waiting for my mums to bloom. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love fall festivals. I love all things pumpkin--pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin bars (my favorite fall dessert), pumpkin spice potpourri, carving pumpkins, roasting pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, and the list goes on. But my favorite thing about fall is picking out pumpkins and mums, and that's what we did today. It was the perfect day to do it too. The sky was blue, the temperature was cool, the day was leisurely. A perfect pumpkin picking day! When Cooper is older, we'll actually go to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, but pushing a stroller through a pumpkin patch doesn't sound too fun for now, so instead we travelled down the street and picked pumpkins in a different kind of way...out of a box and off a sidewalk!

Karl did the picking for us.
Cooper did the sleeping.
He was pretty indifferent about the whole thing.
These are not all our pumpkins.
We only got 3...but I wanted more!

Since it was such a nice day and the surroundings were so beautiful, we took advantage and came back later that afternoon when the sun wasn't so bright for some more fall pictures.

6 Weeks

The day before he turned 6 weeks...
5 weeks, 6 days
This is my favorite picture of our little man so far. This is how he rests when he's on our shoulders or chests. He always has put his sweet little hands under his cheek, and he looks so peaceful. It's precious to this momma!

Speaking of sleep...
Last night something amazing happened. Cooper slept from 9:30 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.! Isn't that what Karl and I have been looking forward to since he was born? Yes! Wouldn't you think we're all well rested and extra happy today? Yes! But wouldn't you know that's not the case?! Karl and Cooper are well rested and happy. Me, on the other hand, well, I'm a little extra tired. That's because I stared at the monitor from 2:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. wondering why Cooper was still asleep. I'd watch him move from time to time and grunt a little here and there, but my child was fast asleep. I watched wide-eyed until he woke up; then I felt tired and longed for some sleep! I know last night's occurrence is probably not going to happen again for a long time, as the same child broke his 2 1/2-3 hour routine last week and settled for a 1 1/2-2 hour one instead (wow, was that exhausting!), and honestly, I think I'm okay with that for now; however, I'd be happy with a 3 1/2-4 hour night time routine if I could choose one!
Not a picture of Cooper sleeping last night, but this was yesterday afternoon. He was supposed to be burping. (6 weeks, 3 days)

Then something else amazing happened this morning. Cooper rolled from his tummy to his back! Karl and Cooper were hanging out on his play mat, and Little Man rolled over! I was in the kitchen when it happened, but I caught the second roll on camera.
Cooper after the 1st roll
Attempt #2: Pushing up
Rocking...
...And rolling! (6 weeks, 4 days)