19 weeks

This week we actually got to spend a weekend at home!  It was so nice to be able to snuggle in bed with my little family!  Cooper loved lying between mommy and daddy....he just rolled back and forth between us....grabbing onto us both....talking...and grinning (of course!)  We went to the mall on Saturday to get out of the house and walk around.  Sunday was a relaxing day.  It was so nice to have a slow weekend!

This week, Monday, was also Cooper's 4 month check up....which means shots!  :(  He got 3 shots in his legs and an oral vaccine.  At his 2 month appointment they did the shots and followed with the oral vaccine.  that worked really well because I guess the oral tasted good and it distracted him from the pain in his little leggies.....this time they did the oral and followed with the 3 shots.  Poor kiddo....he was SO happy and thought "mmmm, what's this yummy treat?!?" and them wham....stuck him 3 times!  Luckily the nurse said I could take my time in the room and I was able to nurse him a little bit before putting him in the carseat to leave.  That helped calm him down.  We ran some errands right after (got something for all 3 of us to wear for my dad's wedding in a couple weeks) and he was very groggy while we were out and about.  He fell asleep for a short while in his stroller.  The afternoon.....quite another story!  Poor little guy would just look at me and cryyyyy  :(  he never does that!  By the evening he had a low grade fever and was just pitiful! Of course that called for an extra long bath time and extra bedtime snuggles!  ;)  The following day was pretty rough too....little guy just did NOT feel good at all....it's exhausting when you have a baby who doesn't feel well!  I think his tummy was bothering him too....***Gross details alert....if you're easily grossed out....skip to the end of this paragraph!*** That evening he was jumping in his bouncer activity center, which he normally loves but wanted nothing to do with most of the day.  Anyway, I was on the phone and watching him jump when I noticed a dark spot on the mat below him and then it started running down his legs and into his socks!  I quickly said "I gotta go, I'll call you back!"  He had the biggest explosion in his diaper that leaked out from everywhere that it could!  out the top and both legs!  I think it's a rite of passage as a mom....your kid is GOING to fill his pants at some point, unbeknownst to you, and then continue jumping in the bouncer until it's all oozing out!  :)  Needless to say....he went straight to the bathtub and had an early bath time that night!  Word to the wise....it's a REALLY good idea to keep some sort of mat underneath these activity centers!  Thank goodness I had one there or we would have had a really big mess on the carpet!

Yesterday, Cooper was in a MUCH better mood and we go to go to lunch with a friend I used to work with and then walked around to some shops downtown.  It is always fun to get out and about, and it doesn't hurt that i have a baby who is SO good when we're out!  :)

ok enough of that....now for the good stuff....the pictures!

Poor sick baby!

nothing's better than relaxing with mommy when you don't feel good!

yay!  Go App!  :)

Snuggling in mommy and daddy's bed in the morning

Zonked from a day of out and about!

At 19 weeks Cooper:

• weighs 14 pounds and 14 ounces (50th percentile)
• is 26 inches long (75th percentile)
• is in the 75th percentile for head circumference (don't know what it measured, they didn't tell me that)
• has got a squeal when he's not happy!  the nurse commented on his high pitched squeal when he got his shots!
• is still sleeping really well in his crib!  he goes down with out a problem and MOST nights he will sleep until around 4:30-5:30 before waking for the first time (except the last 2 nights when he has gotten up every 3-3.5 hours on the dot!  I thought we were beyond that!?!?! :(  )
• Still has pretty bad cradle cap....the dr. suggested that we use a dandruff shampoo and a medium bristled toothbrush to get rid of it....for now I'm using the toothbrush and his baby shampoo to see if that helps before I risk getting dandruff shampoo in his eyes.
• Loves petting and grabbing Arnold!  He just GRINS whenever Arnold comes over to him and is quick to grab onto his nose or his hair.  Thank goodness we conditioned Arnold for this from the beginning (we pulled his ears, his tail, his hair, laid on him, etc....and now it doesn't phase him)  If Cooper is fussing and Arnold comes to check on him, he immediately stops!  He especially likes it when Arnold licks his hands or toes...which i don't especially like him licking the hands....but we allow it from time to time!  :)
• is now leaning to grab things!  He's been reaching for things and now he will lean his body towards something if he wants it!  He also discovered that he can reach out and actually grab the owls over his swing this week!  before he's only been able to watch them and couldn't reach them, now he can!  That provided quite a bit of entertainment for him for a while.
• is working on his abdominal muscles!  when lying down he will pull his head and legs up trying so hard to get up!  
• is spitting up VERY little!  yay!  At his 6 month appointment we are going to start weaning him off of the prevacid....hopefully that goes well!
• is able to tolerate me eating a little bit of dairy!  double yay! I've had a little bit of cheese each day for the past 4 days and I've not noticed any change in him; the dr. said I could slowly start re-introducing it back into my diet.  So much for by binge fest idea of mac-n-cheese, pizza, yogurt and cereal, broccoli cheese soup, a big glass of milk to wash it all down, followed by a big bowl of ice cream!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

52 weeks of Pinterest: week 14....

So I don't have a pinterest creation this week....I've failed  :)  Instead, I thought I'd show you what I HAVE been up to!  I'm doing my very first craft show on April 21st so I've been busy sewing and how gluing!  If you haven't found my page on facebook, you should!  www.facebook.com/sweetpeanutbaby

I'm focusing on just baby stuff and hairbows for this show, in order to keep it more focused and not overwhelm myself.  Even though the projects are each relatively simple for me and I've gotten it down to a pretty easy process....it's very difficult to get much done while also caring for an infant!  My sweet sister-in-law has offered to come play with Cooper for a day when she's off so that I can just focus on making some stuff....I'm definitely taking her up on that....maybe a couple times!  ;)  anyway....here are a few images of some of the things I've been making!  if you see something that you need, let me know!  :)

diaper straps

year 'round hair clippies

ladybug spots hair barrette

wide hairbands

chipboard baby mini album

patriotic hairband

 Thanks for stopping by!

18 weeks!!

I just love my sweet, flexible, happy, snuggly, playful little boy more than ever at 18 weeks old!  I love watching him grow and develop and move through all these fun little stages!  it's amazing how much he is learning, and so fast!  This week we had a play date with Leah and Carter, and Katherine and Olivia.  Carter and Olivia are 3 months apart (20 months and 17 months) and are so fun to watch playing together!  Before long Cooper will be right in there playing too!  :)  We went to a park for lunch and a little play time on the playground.  It was nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather....although my allergies are going crazy right now!  my nose, eyes, ears, and throat itch like crazy and I'm hesitant to take anything for fear that it will hurt my milk supply, we certainly don't want that....so I'm just sticking it out!  :(
This morning we went to school for the kids' Fable presentations.  They have been studying fables and took several fables, in small groups, and adapted them into scripts.  They were fun to see and Cooper was VERY well behaved through them all!

At 18 weeks Cooper

• grabs EVERYTHING!  if it's within his reach, he's going to do his best to get ahold of it....and probably try to put it in his mouth!
• still drools all over the place!  :)  maybe he's teething...between the drool and the gnawing on things....I don't know....we'll see
• sleeps in his CRIB!  yay!  we moved him to the crib on Sunday night (in this house, you turn 4 months old and the next day....you're on your own! ;)  )  He has done so well sleeping in there.  I think he was just really ready for the space.  I find myself getting up a few times in the night to give him the paci when he looses it, but he goes right back to sleep.  He's still sleeping until somewhere around 4-5:30 before his first feeding
• wakes up bright-eyes and bushy-tailed at 7 most mornings.  Sometimes I can get him to go back to sleep until 8:30 or so if I put him in the bed with me.
• loves to stand up!  when I get him up from his naps in the crib i will let him hold onto my fingers and he pulls himself up and pulls up onto his feet, not just to a sitting position (that just won't do!)  He loves to be able to stand there and get almost eye level with you to "talk."  We do it after changing his diaper on the changing table too  :)
• has started this new sound making process.....he closes his mouth and pooches out his lips...almost like a duck face...and makes this mmmmm sound!  :)  sometimes it's a whine, most of the time it's just trying out some new noise!
• moves NON-STOP!  his legs, his arms, his mouth, his head!  non-stop!
• has figured out how to get his arms up under him and prop himself up during tummy time....this usually then quickly becomes a roll over!
• rolls from one side of the crib to the other when he's in there awake!  I try not to let him "play" in there too much because right now I want him to see it as a place to sleep, rather than a place to play.  But sometimes when he's fighting his nap, he will roll from one bumper.....grabbing at it, scratching at the dots on it, pulling it....to the other bumper!  :)
• LOVES Arnold, or any dog for that matter!  he will now reach out for his snout or his fur or his ears.  Luckily Arnold loves him just as much, and doesn't mind the grabbing!  He also loves to give him kisses! (Arnold does.....not Cooper.....we're not quite to the kiss stage yet with Coop!  :)  )
• loves to have his toes free!  I likes for me to take his socks off and let him wiggle his little piggies!  he's also figured out how to grab those piggies!  :)

We go back to the doctor on Monday for his 4 month check up and shots (yikes!) so we'll see what they say, and see for sure how much he weighs!  Thanks for stopping by!

oh yeah, almost forgot about he pictures!  (nah, how could I forget that!!)

streeeeeeetch!  Mommy woke me up and then wanted to take my picture!

Fully rested and happy!

little ham!

my little McCutie on St Patty's day!

oooh this lion with the colorful mane is interesting!

we see this face a lot....that's his "talking" face!  :)

52 weeks of Pinterest: week 8...a delicious treat!

I love to bake but don't usually have lots of time to do so.  Last Thursday when I was browsing Pinterest I came across this little treat!  I have seen MANY yummy looking recipes on Pinterest but none of them have made my mouth water so much so, that I went out and bought the ingredients to make it right away....until Thursday!  We were in Winston at my mom's Thursday night, so after picking the hubs up from work we stopped by the grocery store and I whipped up this little pie that night!  It's called a pretzle bottomed peanut butter cup cookie pie....but it might as well be called a sweet and salty slice of heaven!  :)  I tried to document the process for you...  :)  enjoy!

all the ingredients (minus the 2 eggs....forgot to get those out for the picture!)

Crush the pretzels, mix with melted butter and sugar, press into pie dish, bake for 8-10 minutes

Make filling with butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla, chocolate chips and mini Reese's cups

Add filling to the pretzel shell and bake 30-35 minutes

mmmmmm!  perfect mix of sweet and salty!

The only thing I think I would do differently next time is make 2 pretzel crusts and divide the filling among the 2 pies....it was really thick and really rich with all the chocolate chips and peanut butter cups in one pie....but OH SO YUMMY!  It tastes really good the next day too (even for breakfast!  which I may or may not have done.....*wink wink*)  Let me know if you try it!

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Happy 4 months little man!

Happy 4 months of life to my sweet lil boy!  Cooper, you can into our lives 121 days ago at 7:50 in the morning weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces and measuring 22 inches long.  Today, at 4 months old, you weigh about 14 pounds 6 ounces and are about 25 inches long!  Happy 4 months little man!  We sure do love you!

17 weeks

Cooper is 17 weeks old today!  On Saturday he will officially be 4 months old!  this past Saturday we went to have his 4 month photos taken.  The week before he was born a photographer that I follow on facebook was having an 11-11-11 deal for any sessions booked that day.  I jumped on it and booked his newborn, 4 month, 8 month, and 1 year cake smash sessions with her.  I'm SO glad I did because I love having a professional photo session to look forward to every 4 months for the first year of his life!  Here is one of the newborn photos she took of him

And here is a preview of what she got Saturday.  He sure made her work for it!  but she's awesome!  If you're looking for a photographer for your little one, you should check out Brooke Moxley Photography!

He has changed SO much in 4 short months!

At 17 weeks Cooper:

• LOVES his activity bouncer!  He will sit in it and attack the toys on it for an hour at a time!  It has a setting to where it makes noises everytime it bounces...he is good at making that thing sound off! :)
• Is napping in his crib!  We decided to spend this week getting him used to the crib with naps before putting him in there at night.  Monday was NO good!  he refused to nap at all that day!  I spent an hour, 2 separate times, lying on the floor beside his crib, rubbing his back, shhhhing him, TRYING to get him to sleep....but he wouldn't have it!  he just grinned at me every time I peeked over the rail and just wanted to play!  Needless to say, he was asleep by 8:30 and took 3 naps on Tuesday!  :)
• drools like crazy!  I was so happy that our dog wasn't a drooly pooch when we got him....Cooper is doing enough drooling for the both of them!  :)  Especially when he's bouncing!
• has found his toes!  he will stare at them sometimes and occasionally grabs them. 
• weighs around 15 pounds (again, not exact because it's our bathroom scale.  supposedly the wii fit has a setting you can weigh a baby with...I need to look into that)
• doesn't like to be left alone in a room.  A lot of times I will put him in his bouncy seat or on his activity mat while I fix dinner, and before Carrington gets home, but he ends up fussing within a few minutes.  If I move his bouncy seat to the kitchen where he can see me fixing dinner, he'll sit there as long as I'll let him!  Can't say that I blame him for wanting to be in the same room as someone else though.
• is curious about EVERYTHING around him!  Lots of times when he's nursing he will stop to look at the TV, or Arnold, or Carrington, or the fan....anything!  By the way, the fan.....super fascinating!  I think all babies have this stage at some point but it's funny to watch; he gets so mesmerized by it!
• kicks CONSTANTLY!  many people have commented on how his feet are never still!  if I'm sitting close to his feet...he's kicking me!  If he's lying beside me in the bed nursing...he's kicking me!  I think daddy might have a soccer payer on his hands!  :)
• is a GREAT shopping buddy!  he will run errands with me all day if we have to!  I couldn't ask for a better baby when it comes to being out and about!
• loves to laugh at his mommy!  I don't know why he thinks I'm so funny sometimes, but he will just laugh at me!  and he will look at the tv and laugh at it for 10 minutes at a time!  it's so funny!  I think a lot of it is that he likes to hear the sounds he can make!  :)
• loves to be read to!  he will sit in my lap in the glider and just stare at the pictures in a book when I read to him.  I love that my little boy loves books as much as I do!  :)
• spits up VERY little now!  YAY!!  the reflux has gotten 100 times better! (watch, next week will be bad again, just because I said that! :) ) I'm so glad the prevacid seems to be working, and he's much happier when he's not spitting up and his belly isn't hurting!  yay all around!

and now for some pictures!

Tummy time with the wacky frog!

chewing on his teething monkey (more like licking it to death!)  :)

Loving his activity bouncer!

notice the wet shirt....that's the drool I was talking about!

So happy!  and drooly!  :-D

52 weeks of Pinterest: week 7...Homemade cloth wipes and solution

Before we had Cooper we decided that we wanted to give the cloth diapering a shot.  It made sense to us to purchase diapers that would last though potty training for him and then could also be used for future children, rather than buying disposable on a monthly basis and then they're gone....to a landfill to sit for years upon years...never to be used again.  I wasn't intent on using cloth wipes as well, but after beginning the cloth diapering routine, I figured....why not?!?  I actually love my cloth wipes even more than the cloth diapers!  they are SO easy and they clean so well and feel so nice (I imagine) on his little bottom.  I saw on Pinterest a while back how to make your own wipes solution.  The site pinned, used a roll of paper towels (cut in half) as the wipes, I just switched it up and use the solution on my cloth wipes.

Here's how i do it...

I use an old cool whip container to store my mixed wipes solution.  You'll need water, baby wash, and baby oil...that's it!

Per 2 cups of water, add 2 tbs of baby wash

1 tbs of baby oil (I chose the kind with Aloe for it's soothing qualities, but you can use regular)

give it a little stir...it will get slightly bubbly

I store my cloth wipes in a drawer with all my cloth diaper supplies.  They are simply a piece of diaper flannel (that you can get from the fabric store) cut into 8in x 8in squares and zig-zag stitched around the edges to prevent raveling.  I have around 40 wipes and I always have clean wipes in between wash days.  Since they are so think and wonderful, each diaper change only requires one wipe (maybe 2 for a really nasty blow out!  :)  ) 

Dip the wipe into your solution.  I keep this on the changing table, closed up, so that it's close by when I need to prepare more wipes.

squeeze out most of the liquid....you don't want it to be too dry because it will dry out before you get to use it.

I have a wipes warmer that I load my cloth wipes into (warm wipes are so much nicer than cold ones!)  I usually only load about 4 at a time because any more than that and the ones on the bottom will dry out and get mildew-y...yuck! I alternate them as I fold them together (similar to how they are in a disposable wipes container) so that when I pull one out from the top, the next one comes up with it and is ready for the next diaper change.

Wipe that cute little bottom....Cooper will hate me for this some day! :)

I also keep a container of a mixture of water and charlie's soap pre-wash near the changing area.  Once the wipe is used I toss it in the water until wash time.  This keeps the wipes from drying out, and again...getting mildew-y, as well as pre-treating them to help prevent staining.  So far...after MANY uses, my wipes are still white!

 I know it sounds like a lot...but I've really gotten a routine down pat and I love using the cloth wipes!  When i use the last one in the warmer, I've got everything right there (the mixed solution in the cool whip container and the wipes in the drawer) so I don't even have to leave Cooper unattended while I load up a few more.  Anyone out there use, or considered using cloth wipes for yourself?  I love not having to buy wipes on a weekly/monthly basis!  we only use disposable for traveling and we've already saved SO much money!  Baby wash and baby oil is relatively cheap and one bottle makes a TON of wipes solution! 
Thanks for stopping by!  let me know if you try cloth wiping!  :)

16 weeks!

Whew!  This week was B-U-S-Y!  we left our house on Thursday morning, and got back last night!  Carrington was at a conference for work Monday and Tuesday so I planned to stay at my mom's house so that I didn't have to spend 2 straight days here alone.  Since Carrington has soccer practice on Thursdays and late indoor games, we decided to stay the night on Thursday.  Saturday morning we were scheduled to have Cooper's 4 month pictures and the photographer's studio is an hour from my mom's; therefore, it made sense to stay there Friday night instead of coming home and have even farther to drive the next morning.  His pictures ended up being rescheduled because of the coming thunderstorms and likely poor light in the studio.  Sunday Carrington's team had a game in Winston, so it made sense to stay there Saturday night....and then Monday he left and I stayed at my mom's!  Whew....long story short....we have been away from home for way too long!  It was a fun week! I really enjoyed spending time with my mom and being back in Winston--almost felt like we lived there again!  :)  I got to make some very fun visits while I was there too! On Friday we went to see a friend of mine, Kayla, and her new little man, Brady.  He was about 4 1/2 weeks at the time and SO tiny!  It's funny to see a baby that tiny and remember that Cooper WAS that tiny at one point!  He's grown so fast!  It was fun to meet the little guy (even though he slept the whole time!) and to see Kayla.  Hopefully we can do it again soon!  We also got to see Clayton, Kelley and Emma (who is almost 2 and I just met her for the first time!  ridiculous!)  It was a lot of fun seeing them!  Emma is a cutie and will make a great big sister some day; she was so sweet to "baby Cooper!"  Our last stop on Friday was to see my grandparents.  I think they really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Cooper by themselves.  They didn't have to share him with anyone.  My grandpa is so cute....he can't wait to get his hands on Cooper every time we come visit!  :)  Friday was a busy day and Coop was WORN OUT by the end of it!
The last couple days I have been developing a cold, which is NO fun!  I have been trying to stick it out and not take anything because over the counter meds have drying effects which can hurt my milk supply (which has already been a struggle, we don't want to add to that!)  but my nose is as raw as can be from blowing it!  :(  Cooper has also been a bit fussier than normal lately; not sure if he's trying to fight off something as well. 


at 16 weeks Cooper:

• squeals!  he has discovered a whole new octave in his voice and LIKES it!  He squeals when he's happy, he squeals when he's frustrated, he squeals when he's hungry, he squeals when he wants someone to notice him, he squeals all the time!  :)  most of the time it's very cute!  :)
• has stinky feet!  ok, so maybe I shouldn't be telling you about my baby's stinky feet, but they DO stink!  he's a VERY hot-natured baby and sweats more than any baby I know!  so....his feet sweat when he's hot and by the end of the day, they have a slight stinky feet smell to them!  Who knew a baby could have BO?!?!?!  I still love his little feet....toe lint, stink, and all!
• wakes up a bit more frequently at night.  Remember that "wakeful period" I mentioned last week.....yeah, I'm seeing that now!  now he tends to wake up somewhere between 2 and 4 for the first time, instead of 5:30!  I'm hoping now that we are back home he will even that back out! {fingers crossed!}
• Does NOT like loud sounds!  We went to the church for some basketball games on Saturday morning (Carrington's parents run the score clock for the games).  When we got there we went into the gym which was full of cheering fans, referee whistles, and buzzing score boards.  It didn't take long for the bottom lip to pooch out and the wailing to begin!  it took quite a while to calm him once we left the gym.  I'm sure the loud noises did hurt his ears, poor fella!  It was loud to me, I can only imagine how loud it seemed to him!
• has developed this little "I'm gonna play shy" act.  Sometimes when you talk to him he turns his head to the side with his big flirty grin and buries his face in whatever is near.  He'll then peek back up to see if you're still looking and turn away again!  :)
• seems to recognize people that he doesn't recognize (if that makes sense).  Often when he has been sleeping and wakes up and sees a new face that wasn't there before, he gets a little bit upset (or a lot....).  I think it's a confusion thing because it's almost always only when he's just woken up.
• can stand!  ok, so maybe he can't really stand, not on his own anyway, but he does put a lot of weight on his legs when you hold him up...as if he's standing.
• still loves the owls that hang above his swing!  just last night he was swinging while we ate dinner and he just grinned and laughed at them!  it is seriously the cutest thing!  I think he thinks they should be talking to him!  :)
• has a Sheldon-esque laugh.  If you watch Big Bang Theory, you know what I'm talking about.  He doesn't all out giggle yet; his laugh is more of an airy sounds....as if he's breathing in real quick....I don't know how to explain it other than that it's like Sheldon!  :)
• is really grasping onto things!  he's getting so good at holding things and really controlling them as he pulls them to his mouth!
• twists and turns and contorts his body in all sorts of ways!  This kid is NEVER still!  he will twist his body to reach for a toy, to follow a noise, to look at someone, or (I think) just to avoid the diaper being put on (or at least make it as difficult as possible for me!)  :)
• has lost a LOT of hair!  :(  I love his wild little fuzzy hairdo and sadly, it's falling out!  He's had a pretty bad case of cradle cap and as it flakes away...chunks of hair go with it!  He's also moving around so much that it's no wonder he's rubbed out a lot of his hair!  :(
• is down to the last few days in Mommy and Daddy's room.  Yes, he still sleeps in our room (I like having him close) but next week he is moving into his own room (guess that means I need to get the pile of newborn clothes out of the crib and actually pack them away now!)  I think I'm ready for him to move to his own room.....???? maybe....  :) I'm ready for him to be able to make that next step, but I dread the possibility of it not going smoothly.  We'll see....guess I'll let you know next week how it goes!  

ok, I guess that's enough of my rambling, now for some pictures!

he loves the crinkly sounds that the peacock feathers make!

First stroller ride like a big boy....no car seat!

Falling asleep with his great grandpa....I think grandpa was almost asleep too!

Riding on uncle Chris' "horse"

So sleepy....not ready to wake up for the day!

trying his best to get the car off of his pant leg!

I LOVE a little boy in overalls!  Finally a pair he can fit into!  :)

Wait, what does that say?!?!

Cooper thinks it's funny that he's 16 weeks old already!

My lil (but getting so big) sweet monkey!

 Thanks for stopping by!