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!

52 weeks of Pinterest: week 6...a mobile for lil man's crib

This week's project is a mobile for Cooper's room.  I saw this idea quite some time ago and loved it.  I tweaked it a little to fit the theme of his room by changing the wooden dowels to thin tree branches.  I really like how it turned out and it will be a perfect compliment to his polka dotted crib bedding!  I promise to post nursery pictures soon....  :)  Sorry for the poor photos here...it is not hung in the nursery yet so this was the best I could get. hopefully you can see what it looks like. 

remember to follow my boards on Pinterest if you don't already!  Thanks for stopping by!

15 weeks!

15 weeks.....

now that just sounds so big to me!  Cooper is growing so much, and so quickly!  He is really developing into quite a little person, and a ham at that!  :)  This past weekend we got to take our first trip to the mountains!  Sadly, daddy wasn't able to go with us because he had a soccer game near Raleigh  :(  Cooper did pretty good with the long drive there, although by the time we got there he was ready to get out of that stinkin' car seat!  :)  We were in Asheville to visit with Carrington's aunt Trip and Marla.  It was so fun to see them again (they live in Denver).  Once little man is big enough, we'll be heading out there to show him some real snow!  :)  We ate at the cutest little deli called Books and Breadboard.  The tables were amongst shelves of books that you could browse and purchase.  I got 3 little books that are so cute!  they are called Who's Nose?, Who's Ears?, and Who's stripes?  They all show you part of an animal (the nose, ears or stripes) and you lift the flap to see what the animal was.  Cooper loved looking at the colors, how could I  NOT buy them for him!  ;)  His auntie also bought him a book, The Hicopotamus since he gets the hiccups so much!  :)  It's a real tongue twister!  We had a great time and Coop was pooped by the time we got home!

At 15 weeks Cooper:

• weighs somewhere around 14 pounds.  Yesterday he weighed 14 even on our bathroom scale.
• TALKS AND TALKS AND TALKS!  I believe that he really thinks he's having a conversation, expressions and all!  it's so cute!
• is grabbing things pretty well!  he will reach out for things now....not always in the most coordinated way, but he generally gets what he wants eventually.  He's always grabbed onto his paci (more of a reflex grab than anything) but now he can hold it and sometimes get it back into his mouth! 
• is VERY alert!  he's always been an alert baby but now EVERYTHING is interesting to him!  Sometimes, things going on around him, are more interesting than eating!
• is even more of a ham than ever!  he's been a happy baby from day one, but these days he will just look at you and so intently  flash that cute grin of his....you can't help but smile back at him! I can see this being bad for us in the future....how can you be upset with a grin as handsome as his!?!?!
• is almost big enough for his jumper!  I can't wait until he can fit in it more snugly because he will love jumping and bouncing in it!
• Has been waking up a little sooner at night than before.  Now sometimes he'll wake up at 1am (although not always....many times he still sleeps until 5).  I have read that there is a "4 month wakeful period" around this time where they are more alert and almost revert back to their intermittent sleep pattern...yay!  :)
• is back to breast milk only.  I only had to give him formula twice (shame we had to buy that whole container for just 2 bottles! and they say to use it within a month of opening it....anyone need any soy based formula!?!?)  Thankfully the fenugreek has helped, as well as nursing him as much as possible to stimulate production.  My supply seems like it's able to keep up with him again!
• prefers to nap on his tummy.  This week I have been laying him on his tummy for naptime and he sleeps SO much better and SO much longer like that!
• likes to roll onto his side.  When he's playing on his back, he will often roll over to one side and lay like that while looking at something or grabbing things around him.  That's fine with me!  I don't want to him lay on his back during the day because he lays on it at night....we don't want a flat head! :)
• LOVES doggies!  He seems to be fascinated with watching Arnold (and often grins at him) or any dog we see.  I'm glad I have a doggy lovin' boy!  :)
• sits up so well!  he can really hold himself up now!  He doesn't have the balance to sit up on his own yet, but when I hold his hands he can sit up nicely!
• pulls up and tries to sit up on his own.  Many times when he laying on his back you can see him pulling his head and chest up, as if he's trying to sit himself up.  If you hold his hands he will pull up (with a little assistance) to a sitting position!

And now for some pictures!  :)  The best part of the post!

Hi!  I'm 15 weeks old!

haha....funny face!

"Oh my....such a hard life I lead!"

first we talk to Pooh....

then we EAT HIM!  :)

All my boys hanging out on the couch on a Friday night  :)

The faces of Cooper.....he's so expressive!  I could make 10 more of these collages!

 Thanks for stopping by!