A Year Ago

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant, and I learned to believe in miracles.

8 months later our little baby arrived. It is some kind of special to hold a miracle in your arms!

This has been the most amazing and special year of my life. Each day has been a genuine blessing.

Cooper is our miracle baby and our most precious little gift. After all we went through, what better time to have found out about him than Christmastime, the season of God's love and mercy. As the nurse said when she called that day, "Looks like Santa came early for you!" Indeed he did, but little did we know that the best was still to come.

Coop's Scoop

I've decided to periodically just write random little things about Cooper that more than likely only I will appreciate so that I don't forget when he's older. Feel free to skip the Coop's Scoop when you see it unless you're just curious about what my little boy is up to these days. :)

Cooper's Favorite Things

-his play mat

-chewing on his hands (loves to suck and chew on his pointer finger and thumb at the same time)

-chewing on anything he can get into his mouth

-playing in front of the mirror

-splashing in his bath tub

-watching lights and shadows on the ceiling or walls

-being in public-he seems to love the change in scenery and all the people

-loves for people to make noises at him

-getting his diaper changed and being naked-the less clothing this child has on, the happier he is (he is such a boy)

-being held outward so he can see what's going on around him

-when you blow on or kiss his tummy-he's pretty ticklish already!

-when you hold him up above your head and move around the room (we call this "Cooperman", instead of Superman)

Cooperman!

Things That Make Cooper Pitch a FIT

-being in his car seat for an extended period of time (or even a short period of time, depends on the day)

-tummy time

-he prefers I not talk while he's nursing (doesn't pitch a fit, but he does whine about this), and he's starting to whine when other people talk while he's nursing too...perhaps he's going to be a little bossy...

-when his diaper is dirty

-getting dressed-does NOT like for me to put clothes on him after I have stripped him down!

Cooper's Confusion

-he's still not sure if he loves the pacifier or hates it (once again, depends on the day and time)

-going down for naps-sometimes he snuggles right up to me with his paci in mouth and happily goes right to sleep (while smiling...very cute); sometimes he turns his head away from me (as if he can't see me then he won't fall asleep) and cries and screams and squirms and fights falling asleep until he can't stay awake any longer (not very cute)

Cooper's Tricks

-loves to grasp and pull on the toys that hang down on his mobile; also loves to hold on to your fingers and grab/rub your face

-talks and laughs all the time, especially when you smile at him first-my favorite time of day is still in the mornings when I go to get him out of his crib because he is cooing and playing with his hands. As soon as he sees me, he gets a huge grin on his face...steals my heart every time!

-blowing bubbles-this is his newest and what seems to be his favorite trick, as he does it ALL the time! He blows bubbles now while "talking", and it is so funny.

-although he's not turning over from his stomach to his back, he's getting close.

-if he can't reach a toy that hangs down from one of his mobiles, then he'll turn himself on his side so he can reach higher

-drooling-wow, can this kid drool! I think he might have a little hound dog in him!

-he grabs and hugs your arm with both of his arms while you change his diaper-it's so sweet

-squirming-he squirms all over his crib at night (which has made his Angel Care monitor go off a few times since he pushes himself all the way over to the far side of the crib) and all over his play mat (especially when he's trying to reach for a different toy that hangs down)...on a side note, we took the bumper out of his crib because he kept wiggling over to it during the night and burying his face in it

The other morning he wiggled right off of his play mat. He was so proud of himself!

Cooper's Stats

-At almost 3 1/2 months, Cooper weighed 13 lbs, 12 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long.

-He is still in the size 1-2 Pampers.

-He is wearing 3-6 months sizes in his clothes.

-He's still only being breastfed. The pediatrician said we could start rice cereal and baby food at 4 months if we wanted to, but we're thinking about holding off for a little longer

4 Month Photo Shoot

Our first picture actually turned out to be the best one this month.

There is almost always a hand in the mouth these days.

Please note that Cooper has only one sock on at this point!

And we're done!

Peeks into our Weeks

We have been pretty busy the past couple of weeks with so many wonderful things, so to get caught up, I've decided to do one big post of many mini-posts!

Thanksgiving

Our 2010 Thanksgiving family picture (Cooper was fast asleep for it)

This Thanksgiving we had so very much to be thankful for, and it was so nice to have a day to celebrate all our many blessings. At the top of our thankful list: our healthy, typically happy baby...

...who did a lot of this all day on Thanksgiving...

and finally did some of this that evening.

It was definitely a holiday for celebrating our wonderful family. We had dinner with my mom on Wednesday, lunch with my dad on Thursday, and then dinner with Karl's family. Karl's grandfather and cousin came to visit from Oklahoma, which we look forward to each Thanksgiving. We took advantage of their visit this year to get some good family photos!

Decking Our Halls

The day after Thanksgiving, I told Cooper it was time to get ready for Christmas.

And he said, "Say what?!"

To get us in the Christmas spirit, we went to pick out our Christmas tree.

Cooper's response to picking out the tree was the same as when we picked out a pumpkin...

...he slept through the whole thing.

Then it was time to pull out and dust off our Christmas decorations. I absolutely LOVE Christmas, and it is so exciting to have a little one around this year. However, that little one made decorating a bit of a challenge. He gives me limited time to do things other than dote on him; therefore, our halls took three days to deck, but alas, they're done! Here are a few of my favorite things for this year:

1. Cooper's Stocking

I am so happy to have three stockings up there this year!

2. Baby's First Christmas ornament

I got a Radko ornament to go with the one Karl got me for our first Christmas.

3. My dad's old Christmas tree by Cooper's picture with Santa

Each year I look so forward to getting out that Christmas tree. It was my dad's when he was a little boy, and he gave it to me when I was a little girl. As much as I have always loved it, I love it even more beside this little picture!

Now that we're all decked out, I think Little Man is feeling the excitement too.

Jolly Old St. Nick

Cooper made a visit to see Santa Claus and tell him his Christmas list, which I'm pretty sure only consists of milk and clean diapers, so it's a good thing Santa is creative and can pack some exciting things away in his sleigh for Little Man.

A Visit to Mommy's Side of the Family

Last Thursday we took our first road trip over to Georgia to visit with my mom, grandmother, cousins, aunts, and uncles. This was their first time to meet Cooper, and it was a proud visit for me as I got to show off my little baby! I think Cooper had a great time too as he bonded with his cousin Brady and all his other relatives. It was a wonderful trip!

Cooper with his great-grandmother

Mama with her two great-grandsons

Cooper and Brady (Brady, you're going to be such a good big brother!)

Some fun time with Nana

While we were there, my cousin had her baby shower to celebrate Baby Paxton's upcoming arrival. It was a beautiful shower!

Is this not the prettiest little pregnant lady you've ever seen?!

Stephanie with my Aunt Pam (her mom)

Me and Stephanie

Hannah, Stephanie, and Olivia (our other girl cousins)

The yummy food table-we had fondue, and it was so good! This was my first experience with fondue (sad, I know), and it might be my new favorite thing. We had a cheese one and a white chocolate one and a milk chocolate one and a ton of things to dip in them. It was all delicious!

Alright, I think that just about covers everything. If you made it to the end of this incredibly long post, you deserve an award!