The Beautiful Mess: 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!