Easter

Our Easter, in pictures:

{Zoe thought all the toys were for her}

{My dad was making the funniest noises to get Cooper's attention, we lost it! :) }

Hope you all had a great Easter, too!

5 years

5 years ago today, it was a Thursday, and ladies’ night at a local bar. I was inside chatting with a group of friends, and I looked across the room to the door, and in walked this tall, dark, and handsome man :) (Truly; I remember that!)

Imagine my delight when I realized that he was there with a bunch of guys with whom my friends and I all knew and hung out with regularly. Anyway, we got to talking, totally hit it off, and have been inseparable ever since.

{the night we met}

Even though he texted me that night, which I thought was so weird (hello Ashley, you were used to dating losers and a-holes); and even though he acted awkward at lunch the next day*, when we realized we had even more friends in common, as neither one of us knew the other would be there. :)

So, to Lee, thank you for coming into my life and sweeping me off my feet. I love you :)

*For the record, if you were to ask him, he would say that I was the one who acted awkward, haha :)

3 Day Weekend

We had another busy weekend.  I feel like our weekends have been busier than usual lately for some reason.  I think a LOT of it has to do with having to constantly keep our house clean.  We are not dirty or messy people, but with a baby, and several craft projects that I always have going at once, it’s a lot to keep under control!

On Saturday, Lee went to Norman for something football related.  I think.  I can never keep up with that stuff!  So, Cooper and I headed over to Jessica’s to try and help get their house ready to sell.  Since I learned firsthand how much work that is. I was happy to help!  Mr. Teething Baby, however, had other plans.  Poor Bubba.  He has been SUPER clingy to me for the past week or so.  And when I say that, I mean I am either holding him, or interacting directly with him for every single waking hour, quite literally.  He is usually so good about entertaining himself!  But not since these teeth started coming in.  He demands his Mama.  Sooo, I was basically zero help to Jessica, and after attempting to paint with a brush in one hand and a 23 lb baby in the other, I just called it quits.  At least we got to hang out and chat for a little while.  And Cooper got some loving from her girls, that was cute!

After we left Jess’ we went home and Cooper (who totally crashed in the car, on a less-than-5-mintue drive) took a three hour nap!  Unheard of!  Maybe we should go visit more often!  When sleepy pants woke up, we headed to Jenny’s for some Easter egg dying.  We had fun chatting while the boys played.  We dyed eggs (we=Mamas!) then ate, and all of the boys about had meltdowns, so that was fun.  Coop and I left before even decorating the eggs, so he could get a bath and see Dada for a little bit.  And then Cooper decided that he should stay up until 9pm.  I’m telling you, he’s turning into a party animal.

Sunday, Cooper woke up at 5am, despite his late bedtime.  Yippee!  So we lounged around, chugged some coffee, and did a whole lot of nothing.  That afternoon, we went to look at about 10 houses.  Ask me if we liked any.  Go ahead.  Nope.  We didn’t!  So frustrating.  I think, at this point, we have looked at about 20 houses. (I might do another post on all this later.  Get excited!)  Anyway, after a disappointing search, we hung out with my parents, who had been babysitting, searched some more online for houses, had dinner, and then left to get home and get the boy in bed.  Luckily, he didn’t care for a late night (for him) party session that evening.

Luckily that was not the end of my weekend!  I took yesterday off work, so I had a 3 day weekend!  I’ve really never had a problem with going back to work after Cooper was born, but for some reason the past month has been pretty hard for me.  I’d been trying to take a day off for a few weeks, and finally got to this week!  And, when we got up yesterday, what did I spy?  Another tooth popped through his gums!  He now has TWO teeth!  So, that definitely explains all of his recent clingy-ness.  This second one has given him more trouble than the first, but it might also be because the first is still coming up.  We did some grocery shopping, where he is always Mr. Social with the women who work there.  Even though he was a little grumpy, he gabbed and even flashed some smiles.  Enough that they noticed those new pearly whites!  The rest of the day, we did lots of laundry, made a Target run (always necessary on any non-working day), and visited Dada at work.

At some point during the day Monday, our realtor told me that we had an offer on the house!  I was seriously shocked.  We have had pretty good traffic the entire time it’s been on the market, and one person has come back twice, and almost came a third time while we were house hunting on Sunday.  But still, I was very surprised to hear that we had an offer.  I think that was about mid-day, so we had to wait around all afternoon to meet with the realtor.  I had a HOLY SHIT moment, but resumed back to normal fairly quickly.  For Lee, I’m sure it was pure torture.  He can’t stop analyzing things!  Anyway, we met that evening, and the offer turned out to be great, and after a tiny bit of negotiating, we SOLD THE HOUSE!!  I can’t believe it.  The good thing (for us) about this offer is that the buyer cannot close until June.  We actually don’t have a firm date at the moment, but it could be as late as the last of June.  So we have some time to find something.  I’m hoping and praying that something pops up soon, because we have seriously looked (online) at every single house in the area we want to move.  We celebrated the sale by not picking anything up around the house last night or this morning; the house looks like a tornado hit it!  Haha

10 Months

Dear Cooper, On April 8, you turned 10 months old. Only 2 months until your first birthday *sob!* This month, I have to say, you have started transitioning from the sweet, innocent little baby into a very curious, into everything, almost-toddler. Your personality develops more every single day, and you’re turning into quite the little stinker :) But that’s okay, because you are the cutest little stinker ever. And, secretly, your dad and I think you are so smart when you get into everything you can, haha. I mean, look at this face. *that's a paint roller he's holding! not a certain feminine product that it might resemble :)*You got your first tooth this month! It just popped through your gums a week ago, and I’m pretty sure that the second one is on its way, too. And, although you’ve been a little crankier that usual, I’d say that you have handled this teething thing so much better than I expected. If you ever did wake up during the night in pain, all it took was a little cuddling and rocking and you calmed right down. And, I won’t complain about any middle of the night rocking and cuddling with you, being that you have always been the best sleeper (for which we are ever so grateful) :) My favorite thing that you started doing this month is trying to peek at the next page when we are reading a book. You’ve learned that when we turn the page, a new picture comes up, and while I’m reading one page, you tilt your head over to the right and peek to see what’s coming next. I laugh every time. You’ve also started trying to turn the pages yourself, but usually you just end up flipping the book shut. I love reading with you. Lately you’ve also started turning your head to look back up at me and smile while we are reading. So sweet! You are very vocal! You love to stand and lean onto the couch or coffee table and just holler and squeal and scream, at the very top of your lungs. So funny. You have no desire to say actual words, though. Nope. We have tried to get you to say Dada, Mama, pup pup, and ball, to no avail. You usually just stop making noise and look at us like we’re crazy. Let’s talk about why I said you’re becoming a stinker. Baby boy, there are oh so many reasons! For one, you absolutely hate to lie on your back and allow us to change your diaper or dress/undress you. This is especially not fun because of the, ahem, teething diapers you have been producing lately. We have narrowly missed some horrible situations there, Bud. While it is a little frustrating and annoying to us, it’s probably quite comical for anyone to see how your dad and I have mastered changing your diaper, and well as dressing/undressing you while you are standing (which is ALL you want to do these day). For another, me getting ready with you in the room is almost impossible. I get ready on the floor in our bedroom, and you usually hang out next to me. When you were very little, you’d just lay on your playmat, then for several months, you’d just sit and play with toys. You have (much to your dad’s dismay) always been very interested in watching me do my hair and makeup. You sit silent and still and just stare when I blowdry my hair. And, now that you are very aware of my makeup bag, you refuse to stay out of it. No matter what I try to do, you will crawl over anything to get to the makeup bag. I have finally accepted this and just let you have it in the mornings. Yes, you dump every last thing out of it. Yes, you put each item in your mouth. Yes, you have lost one of my eyeshadows. But you love it. And more importantly, you insist upon it! So you play in my makeup every morning. And you giggle when I put blush on you. (Please don’t tell your dad about that one…) Your favorite item? My eyelash curler. Hmm, another reason? You’re ability to spot anything off limits and immediately make a beeline for it. The dog bowls? No problem. Electrical outlets? You don’t mind if you do. Zoe’s ball? Sure, you’ll take that, and stick it right in your mouth for good measure. Any sort of cord? How could you live without one as a toy? The word “no” has come to live at our house for a while. Like, maybe 18 years? You are now able to pull yourself into a standing position. I knew that you could pull yourself to your knees, but I was shocked when you were “helping” me put away dishes, and you pulled yourself right up on the dishwasher. As sad as milestones make me, because you are no longer such a baby, I am always so proud of you when you reach one. And this one really helps you do your favorite activity, standing at anything. Coffee table, fireplace hearth, couch, you love to stand! Eating. Do we even need to talk about this? You eat anything and everything. You holler for food the second you’re seated in your highchair. You’ve mastered the pincer grasp and proudly show off how fast you can pick up food and shovel it in. I got over my fear of you choking and you’ve had lots of table foods. You love love green beans. I mean love. Also a favorite? Yogurt. Lord boy, you scream with delight when you eat it and we can’t get it in there fast enough! You also had pancakes and cinnamon raisin bagels this month. Huge hits! You also hold your own bottle most of the time these days. You're so funny when you see your bottle or food, you spit out your pacifier and it goes flying! You've learned how to pop that thing right out. You are just the sweetest little boy and we love you to pieces!

Love,
Mama

Weekend Recap

We had beautiful weather over the weekend! Sunday was super windy, but I'll take a windy WARM day over any cold day.

Saturday, Cooper and I headed our to support Megan and Brent at the American Heart Association's Heart Walk. The walk was very crowded, and it was really nice to see that so many people came out to support the cause.

I don't have any pics of the adults, but here are some of the kids chatting before we took off. I thought it was so funny that we all just happened to face them all towards each other so that they could talk :) Clockwise from the top left are: Lucy and Penny, Molly, Ava, and Cooper is on the bottom left but you can only see the stroller.

Cooper loved being surrounded by all of those pretty ladies :) I think the flash hurt his eyes in this picture!

When we got home from the walk, we had a few minutes to kill while waiting on Lee's parents to arrive (they came up to visit for the afternoon) so we let Cooper play in the fountain. We also chatted with several of our neighbors. Our next door neighbor has a little boy 6 months older than Cooper. It's kind of ironic that we have gotten to know each other much better just over the past couple of months, since we are (hopefully) moving soon.

We spent the afternoon with Lee's parents. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, so I know they were so excited to see Cooper. And of course they brought him gifts! I was surprised, although they do always bring him something when they visit. Lee's mom was a librarian, so she always brings several books, which I SO appreciate because we read three books every night before bed and I'm always trying to switch them up. Anyway, one of the books is called Big Red Barn, and she said that she HAD to get him this Fisher Price barn to go with it. It's really cute and has little animals that are the perfect size for him to play with.

BUT, the BIG hit was this radio flyer rider. He wasn't sure at first, and I kind of thought, meh, he won't use that at all...

But about 10 minutes later, he had figured it out and he is a pro now! He actually uses it as a walker and doesn't care to sit on the seat at all. The second we stand him on this, he takes off so fast, it's crazy. He loves it :)

Sunday. Well Sunday Lee had plans to play golf for most of the day, and I had plans to run to the grocery store and spend some time at the mall with my little guy. He, however, had MUCH different plans. He almost had a meltdown at the grocery store. Which NEVER happens. He is so well behaved when we go anywhere. Better than he is even at home. And once we got home, he cried unless I held him. So I held him. All day long. While Lee was playing golf for 7 hours. That was super fun. It was so out of the ordinary for Cooper, so I knew something was bothering him. A tooth had been coming in for about a week, so I thought it might be that. I went to put some orajel on his gums and discovered that the tooth had popped through! So maybe that was hurting? I don't know but he was super whiny and clingy the entire day, and took a while to fall asleep. Poor buddy. Maybe we'll make it to the mall next weekend, which I am already ready for even thought it's only Monday, haha :)

Why I've been M.I.A

Hiiii! I cannot believe that it has been almost a MONTH since I've posted. I hate neglecting the blog :( But, we have been busy, busy, busy getting our house ready for this:

Yep, as of one week ago, our house is officially on the market! Yay! This is a time that we have been looking forward to for so long, and it's a little surreal that we are finally doing it.

Over the past month, Lee and I have been busting our butts to get our house in perfect shape for selling. As you probably know, I'm so type A that the house had to be in "show mode" before I wanted to list it. And, I'm so happy to say that it is (at least it I think so :) )

Amongst other little things, we have: installed new kitchen cabinet doors, cleaned out the garage, did some looong overdue decorating (those damn built ins!), had the tub and bathroom sink re-glazed, power washed the house, built a step for the 2 foot drop out of our french doors, and decluttered, decluttered, decluttered!

We seriously worked every weekend and every single evening after work. We were SO exhausted, every day. I know that we did so much, but at the same time, I look around and think, Okay, what did we really do that took so long? Haha :) It's so weird to not have anything to do after work this week! It's so nice :)

So of course, after all of that hard work, I'm going to show you all what the house looks like now. I wish I had before pictures of the rooms to show you (um, and me) everything that we did.

Entryway

Cooper's Room

Half Bath

Living Room (dogs may or may not come with the house depending on their behavior ;) )

In all their glory

Kitchen

Breakfast nook

Main Bath

Master

Guest Room

Whew! Now we just have to keep it clean :)

Nine Months

Dear Cooper,

You are NINE months old today! Nine?! Where is my little squishy baby? I certainly haven’t seen him lately. All I’ve seen is a big boy who is on the move and getting bigger every day.

This month you’ve been doing big things. For one, you have “officially” learned to army crawl. I think you’ve known how to do this for a while, but you just never were that interested in it. Boy has that changed! One day a couple of weeks ago, I got a series of texts from Poppa. It went something like this:

“Cooper is on the move”

“Going to need the baby gates”

“He just tipped over Maggie’s water bowl, all wet and no extra clothes”

He sent all of that in about 3 minutes. Haha, I think he was a little overwhelmed at your newest milestone. The second you are set on the floor, you tip yourself forward and off you go! Your favorite things to go for are: the dogs’ food and water bowls, any of the dogs’ toys (especially Zoe’s beloved yellow ball), and power cords. Ahh yes, you are certainly keeping us on our toes, Buddy.

Just this week, you have really started taking off walking when we hold your hands. I mean, you take.off! You love it! I'm curious to see how soon you will be confident enough to try it on your own.

You also said your first word; “dada”. And of course you said it the ONE Saturday that your dad and I were out of town! And of course we did not hear it from you for about a week afterwards! You did say it a couple of times last night. Clearly, you have no idea who Dada is, but it’s still so fun to hear you say it!

Another activity you love to do is huff and puff and flap your arms up and down like a bird while sitting. It is hilarious! Poppa calls it your “sitting jumping jacks” and you do this all the time.

You learned how to play peek-a-boo in about 5 minutes, and you LOVE it! You even put the blanket over your own face and laugh and squeal while we say “where’s Cooper?” and then you pull it off, it’s probably my favorite thing to do with you, you just laugh SO much!

{okay, I never warn you about my mom voice, but it is SO bad in this video, so fair warning :) }

One thing that you do NOT love to do it lay on your changing table. Good grief. This used to be your favorite place ever, what happened?! It’s nearly impossible to change your diaper without an assistant. Your clothes? Forget about it! I dress you on your floor, because that struggle is just not worth it. The second we lay you down you whine and flip over, then try to shimmy off the table! I’ve learned a couple of things that sometimes work to keep you occupied. I’m going to need to learn some more soon!

I also think that it’s about time for your first haircut. It is getting so long over your ears, and the little mullet in back that I have trimmed before has come back with a venagnce! Your hair is also getting thicker, not as fuzzy and fluffy as it was when you were born.

You are still sleeping from 5:30/6 pm to 5/6 am. Lately you’ve been staying up until 6 a little more, and we love that extra little time with you! I’m curious to see what you do when we jump forward an hour this weekend. That would be so nice if you went to bed at 7 and woke up at 6! Haha, I never thought that I would consider 6 am sleeping in. You’ve woken up crying during the night several times a week the past couple of weeks, and every time, I swearthat you’re getting a tooth, but still nothing! I’m just going to give up on blaming things on teething with you, I know your Daddy would appreciate that J I think you’re starting to phase out your noon nap. You skip it several times a week and just take a morning and an afternoon nap. I would love to get rid of that noon nap, just so that we can run errands a little more during the day. We’ll see what you decide this month.

You still take 3 7oz. bottles and have 3 meals per day. You are still eating purees, but I think that we are, perhaps, going to venture into finger foods sometime soon. I know that you can have them, but I do get a little nervous, so we’ll discuss it with your pediatrician tomorrow. You tried pureed blueberries for the first time last night and you loved them! You kept opening your mouth for more J I also gave you a bite of my banana, and you did notlike that, even though you love the pureed banana.

At your nine month check up, your stats were:

Length: 29.25 inches (81%)

Weight: 20lb 8oz (51%)

Head: 45 cm (42%)

You are wearing 6-12 month clothes, but many of your 6-12 month pants are very short on you! You’re still wearing a size 3 shoe. You wear a size 3 diaper, but we just started putting you in a 4 overnight.

I am so thankful that you are still such a little love bug. You always give me the tightest hugs whenever I pick you up. You squeeze your arms around my neck so tight! That is one of my favorite things you do!

I can’t believe how fast you are growing up, Buddy! I hate to lose my little baby, but I do love watching you learn new things. Right now, I'm just trying to savor every second of your little baby self. I never want to forget how much I love your sweet-smelling hair, your chubby cheeks, your tiny little fingers, and those chubby little feet of yours!

Love Love Love

Mama