Whoa! I'm way behind....

The last few weeks have been the weeks of  "What did you just do?!?!"  This kid is growing up fast and I think he decided to do it all on one month!  We have spent a LOT of time packing and getting the house ready to list and it is FINALLY on the market!  We listed it last Thursday (the 13th) and on Sunday we had an agent showing it.  We still haven't gotten feedback from that agent so we don't have anything to report yet.  Last week, after getting the house listed and ready to go, I started working in the preschool at the Y, instead of just in the nursery (I'm still working nursery until the end of the month and will continue here and there after that).  The preschool program is rapidly growing and they feel we could have an actual pre-k program.  Since I was a teacher and have a degree in the field, I have been handed that project!  I'm so excited about building the program and getting back into the planning and teaching that I have loved, and have missed since leaving in November.  This will be a great opportunity for our family because it will mean, number 1.....more money!  yay!  That will help out tremendously!  Cooper will also be able to go to the preschool and be there with me still.  The preschool day is only from 9-1 so Coop and I will still have our entire afternoon together and I most likely won't have to do anymore evening nursery duties at the Y!  To me it sounds perfect.....I get paid more, get more hours, still have Cooper right there in the next room with me, still have my afternoons with Cooper to do whatever, and I get to do something I love again....teach!  Now the next thing is to get moved back to Winston completely!  Pray that it happens soon (we've found a house we love but can't act on it until ours sells!  :(  )
Friday morning Cooper got up and just decided "I'm not nursing anymore!"  That little stubborn booger screamed and arched his back and threw himself backwards any time I tried to nurse him!  Unfortunately we were in Winston, without my pump, so I had no way of getting milk to him!  Not to mention the pain I was in after 24 hours of a non-nursing baby, but boobs that continued to produce milk!  And at the risk of sharing too much, I did end up hand expressing milk Friday night and got a hand pump on Saturday to relieve the pressure and pain....I felt like a whole new woman after using that pump! We are now on day 6 of the nursing strike and no signs of letting up....could he REALLY be done nursing?!?!?  what in the world!  :(   breaks my heart because I was fulling planning to nurse for AT LEAST the first 12 months....never intended to stop at 10 months!  :(  Guess you just go with the flow and adapt and we'll see where it takes us.
Saturday, Cooper and I went to Mason's first birthday party (which was If You Give a Dog a Doughnut themed and was super cute!).  Carrington had a soccer game for the team he plays on and then 4 games for the teams he coaches.  In his game he severely rolled his ankle and we REALLY hope it isn't broken....so far it's still too swollen to tell....He's been hobbling around for 5 days now.
Sunday was a dreary rainy day.  We had someone come see the house at 3:30 so we left for about an hour but pretty much took it easy that day because I felt like POOP and Carrington had a bum ankle!
Monday morning I went to the dr and did indeed have a sinus infection.....thank goodness for the Z-pack!  Monday was also Cooper's 10 month "birthday!"  That sounds so much older than 9 months!
Wednesday, Sept 19th, was "talk like a pirate day" and Krispy Kreme was giving away a free doughnut to anyone who talked like a pirate and a free DOZEN to anyone who dressed like a pirate.  I got Cooper a cute little Pirate outfit from Once Upon a Child and we met Sara, Darby, and Walt at Krispy Kreme for an afternoon snack.  Cooper was the CUTEST little pirate there and earned us a free dozen doughnuts!  Of course I had to let him try it since he earned them for us.....they were a HUGE hit!  He loved the glaze and kept opening the box and grabbing more!  Needless to say, we had several doughnuts with little baby finger prints/holes in them!  Check out the picture of him below.  Of course on the way home he washed it all down with some of mama's milk!  :)

At 42, 43, and 44 weeks Cooper:

• walks all over the place!  he can EASILY go from standing at one object, turn, take a few steps to the next object, and continue on his way.  He is also pretty good at squatting down and back up again!  I think we've got a few more weeks and then we'll probably have an independent walker!
• loves the cabinets!  He does not hesitate to open them up anywhere he sees them and proceed to rifle through whatever is inside....he particularly loves the tupperware, pots and pans, and the cheese grater (?!?!?)   I'm not too fond of that last one....I can just see it grating his little perfect baby skin some time.  It might need to find a new, higher up, home soon!
• likes to "help" unload the dishwasher!  I usually have to do this quickly when he's not looking because you can bet he'll be there pulling the spoons out and sucking on them!
• definitely knows which toys are his and which toys are the dog's toys.  he will pick up a dog toy and hand it right to the dogs!  He also seems to know which dog is which, you can ask him "where's Arnold?" and he will look right to wherever Arnold is....smart little cookie!  :)
• has the cutest little (well....big) open mouthed smile when he's super happy!  it's the cutest!
• still wears 6 month pants because his tiny little waist can't hold up anything bigger!  Other than that, he's pretty much in 6-9 month or 9 month clothes
• Attended his 2nd wedding (Uncle's Chris and Aunt Stephanie's was the first) and was so good!  My old roommate, Anna, got married to Riley last Saturday (the 8th); It was an 11:00 wedding which is right smack in the middle of nap time but he was SO good!  only got a little noisy toward the end but my mom moved away with him and it was fine!
• is always bumping, scratching, scraping or bruising something!  Poor kid, right now he has several scratches on his face and a bruise on his forehead (from crawling RIGHT into a shelf unit!)  I think every time I go to get him up from a nap or in the morning he has a new scratch....I don't know what monsters he's fighting in his sleep but sheesh!
• loves to be naked!  I am dreading the day that he figures out how to get his clothes and diaper off!  After bath time, when I lay him down in his towel, it takes all of 3.6 seconds and that kid has flipped over and is booking it down the hallway buck naked!  it's the cutest little butt I've ever seen crawling away at lightning speed!  He loves being naked....but it's sooo dangerous!  :)
• loves Cheerios!  we have introduced him to the multi grain cheerios and he loves them!
• is no longer a vegetarian!  he's a meat eater now!  We introduced him to ground turkey as his first meat; he kind of mashed it around in his mouth for a minute trying to decide what he thought, but it was a definite hit!
• likes to take control of meal time himself!  usually we make it halfway though the meal and then he decides that he wants to spoon...it usually ends up with him holding one spoon and me feeding him with another one.  On a few occasions I have put food on his spoon and he's been able to get it to his mouth!  
• Eats like a little piglet!  He has 3 regular meals and can put away some food each time he eats!  We've gotten into quite a good schedule with his meals and nap times now.
• is FINALLY sleeping ALL night long without waking up at all!  honestly, this happened in conjunction with him giving up nursing....which I'm surprised because I expected him to be more hungry without getting as much milk and I expected him to wake up more at night but it's been quite the opposite!  He's always been a good sleeper but he's been in the habit of waking up somewhere between 4 and 6 each morning.  I used to nurse him and he'd go back to sleep until 8 or so.  I then decided that he didn't need me to nurse him to sleep and instead I just rocked him a few minutes and put him back in his crib when he would wake up in the night.  now he will go to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 (on a typical night) and will sleep, without a peep, until 7:30 or so!  YAY!  I am SOOOO thankful for this!  :)
• Has quite an ear piercing squeal!  He will share it with us when he's happy but even more so when he's not happy!  he is starting to get quite the stubborn, temper-tantrum, streak to him....he does not like to be told no or to not be allowed to get into something he wants to get into!  I've had to let him lay in the middle of the floor squealing a couple times because he's throwing a 10 month old version of a tantrum.  After a couple seconds of getting no attention for it, though, he typically gets over it and moves on with life.  :)
• is just the most amazing little thing ever!  Some days I really can't get over the fact that he is my son!  I could just stare at him forever when he sleeps, smother him in kisses all day long, play with him on the floor and listen to his little giggles every day, and tell him that mommy loves him a million times a day!  I LOVE this little boy and the person that he is becoming!  I can't imagine my life any other way than the way it is in this very moment with my sweet family!

I'm sure there are things that he is doing that I'll remember as soon as I publish this post, but that's enough for today!   Now for some pictures and videos!!

Seriously....any time I need a good smile from this kid all I have to do is give him the soccer ball!  Daddy is so proud!

Eating breakfast is exhausting!

Double Trouble!

It takes a LOT of work to get a good weekly picture....this is typical!  :)

Oh, just playin' with my workbench mom!

Taking control of my own lunch!

43 weeks!  If you look closely, you can see his little bottom teeth!

"I could have SWORN I had ONE more Cheerio left....Where did it go!?!?!"      This is my FAVORITE group of photos so far!

Tuckered out little baby!  Look at that sweet hand behind his head!  he never sleeps on his back, so this was a verrrry tired baby!

44 weeks.....and again, with the soccer ball!  :)

Arrrr!  Ready for his free Doughnuts.....and trying to get into the box!   And of course, any baby chases that Krispy Kreme doughnut with some of mama's milk!

Thanks for stopping by!

40/41 weeks

As hard as I try, some weeks the blog posts just don't come together.  Last week was one of those weeks....I'm not even really sure how the week completely slipped away from me, but such is life these days with an active 9 month old!  We did have Cooper's 9 month appointment last week; I'll post the stats from that below.  He did "well" with the visit.  Since it was a no shots visit I thought we'd be great!  Carrington came along with us to this one and when the dr was checking him out he just screamed!  I think it was a combination of "who is this stranger poking me" and "WHY do I have to lay down...I want to MOVE!"  Completely normal response for his age, I just figured we'd have no tears since there were no shots....man, his next appointment (for his 1 yr check-up {gasp!} where did the time go!?!?!) might just be terrible!  they will give him several shots AND do some lab work....I think Carrington will have to take off that day and come with us again!
Last weekend my mom and I went to the Farmer's Market and got LOTS of yummy, fresh, veggies and fruits for Cooper!  We then spend the rest of the day on Saturday cooking it all up and freezing everything.  It's nice to have a stocked freezer and to know that, even if Carrington and I are scrounging to put something together for dinner, Cooper will be eating well.  That's what is important.
This week we have been home most of the week and it's been nice to be able to keep Coop on a schedule of sorts.

at 40 and 41 weeks Cooper:

• weighed 18 pounds 5 ounces at his 9 month check up (25th percentile).  the dr. wants me to start giving him less milk, and more solids to try and get him to bulk up a little more....personally, I like his size!  :)
• is 29 inches tall (75th percentile)
• Has discovered the toilet...the flush handle one week and the lid (and how to lift it) the next week!  yikes, we are in trouble!
• has found his SQUEAL octave!  oh my gosh, this boy has some lungs!  He's also recently been squealing when he's angry or unhappy with the situation
• Has been throwing more tantrums...I thought that was something that would come later?!?!  If he doesn't like something, he will let you know!
• is a SILLY boy!  he loves to play peek-a-boo with me under the blanket!  I will hide under a blanket and he will crawl around it lifting the edge until he finds my face.  the cutest thing is when he lifts the edge of the blanket up really high and leans down to look under it! when I pop out and say "boo!" he squeals, laughs, and lunges at me in excitement!  He has also figure out how to blow "zerbets" (or raspberries, or whatever you call blowing air on skin) on my cheek or arm or belly, or wherever!  
• has 2 teeth poking through on the bottom now
• bit me for the first time while nursing....not a fun experience!  Needless to say, he was done nursing at that moment!
• is doing REALLY well with going to sleep on his own, in his crib!  At night we do dinner, bath, jammies, a little nursing, then he goes in his crib and he puts himself to sleep!  some nights he doesn't make a peep, other nights he cries for a couple minutes then lies down and goes to sleep!  I love that putting him to bed doesn't take 30-45 minutes of my evening anymore!  He's also doing this with his naps...it's so nice!  
• Naps for about 2 hours in the morning and then again for at least an hour in the afternoon.  I think he's either feeling a little under the weather, growing, or just plain ol tired from playing so much because he's been sleeping A LOT the last couple days!  yesterday he took a 3 HOUR nap in the morning and then a 2 hour nap in the afternoon!  AND was in bed at 9?!?!  sheesh!
• LOVES to walk around!  he will hold our hands and walk like a champ now.  He's also been known to get really excited about something and take a couple/few steps on his own!  He has also been known to squat and stand up without any support at all!
• has tried white potatoes and plums (not together) and likes both....especially the plums!  I'm definitely starting to see that he has a preference for fruits over veggies, but he will eat the veggies too.
•  is still wearing a lot of his 6 month clothes, although some of them are starting to get too short and tight in the crotch area.  some 9 month clothes are still a little roomy on him but he can wear them.

And now for some pictures....

40 weeks!

41 weeks!

buds...

He gets sooo excited playing with Arnold and Arnold, the little snob, runs and hides from him!

playing in the driver's seat while we wait for daddy to get done working

lookin sweet, but probably about to get into something he's not supposed to!

Rocking the Dawgs shirt for Aunt Nicole

hmmmm....we might be in trouble now!  note to self...keep bathroom doors closed!

Thanks for stopping by!

39 week old little piranha!

Well it only took nearly 9 months but we finally have a tooth poking through and Cooper is biting on everything!  If we thought the drool was bad before, now it's a CONSTANT stream!  One of his lower teeth is just barely peeking through the gums and the one beside it seems to be making it's way through.  The first one surprised us, all of a sudden it was a little sharper in that mouth.  This second one seems to be hurting him more.  The last couple of days he has not been sleeping or napping well at all and is just generally fussier; it's clear that it's hurting and bothering him.  Last night I resorted to some hyland's teething tablets and they seemed to help big time!  I just gave him some more and put him down for a nap so we'll see how they help with the napping comfort.

This week was a bit less eventful for us, thank goodness!  However, this weekend was not  :)  Friday and Saturday I had CPR training at the Y.  I'm glad to be officially trained now, it's good information to know having a child around; everyone should do it!  Saturday afternoon we were going to ride around and look at a few houses in the area but when we went to crank the jeep....it wouldn't start!  Seriously?!?!  can we never catch a break?!? Carrington and his dad tried all they knew to try...wiggled battery cables, unhooked and re-hooked up battery cables, knocked on the starter...nothing!  Carrington suspected it was the starter, which was frustrating because it has been replaced in the last 50,000 miles or so.  Long story short, the starter was not bad but there was something in the battery cable connections causing it to not start.  Easy fix, thank goodness!  :)  The rest of this week has been low key, Monday I packed more stuff at home, Tuesday I worked at the Y, and Wednesday we had a play date with Leah (And Carter and Madison) and Katherine (and Olivia).  It was fun to see Cooper somewhat interact with them a little more now that he's more mobile and interested in playing.  Of course i forgot my camera so i didn't get any pictures of the three of them playing! :(  Maybe Katherine will share her pictures (hint hint).   I think she got a few cute ones!

At 39 weeks Cooper:

• has officially been here with us for as long as I was pregnant with him! 
• has one tooth broken through and another on the way
• is really getting good at walking!  He pulls up on his zebra and takes off!
• has started wearing his stride rite shoes now that's he's walking around more.  It is definitely taking him some getting used to....he seems to have a little more trouble moving gracefully with clunky shoes on his feet....but they don't slow him down much!
• is such a determined little boy!  if he sees something he wants, or something that he wants to figure out, he doesn't quit till he gets it or figures it out
• stands for a few seconds at a time, unsupported, until he realizes what he's doing and then sits down!  :)
• is a little squatter!  he will hold onto the toy box or couch or whatever is near by, to stand and very easily squats for whatever toy he wants.  It's so cute to see his little butt from behind squatting down to get a toy!  :)
• has become quite the little silly boy!  He often tries to share his paci with me these days and then laughs about it.  Last night as I was rocking him at bed time he was half asleep but pulled the paci out, reached it up to my mouth and, with a little half grin, said "heh-heh-heh"  
• is starting to reach out for people he knows.  Yesterday he reached to Carrington's mom and sister and he often reaches to my mom as well.  I'm glad he's starting to do this and not just wanting me to hold him all the time!
• is comfortably wearing size 6-9 month clothes now.  He's still pretty solidly a size 6 month pant though, the 9 month ones just tend to slide of his little behind...he just doesn't have the waist to hold them up!  :)
• is getting a little stubborn about a bottle.  While I had CPR training, which was for hours at a time, I left bottles for him and he refused to take them!  Friday night he even just went on to bed with no milk at all that evening!  Not sure why he's not refusing the bottle unless he just prefers to nurse and doesn't want anything to do with another type of nipple?!?!
• eats 3 meals of solids most days.  He generally has oatmeal cereal and a fruit for breakfast, veggies and fruit for lunch and again for dinner.  he is a GOOD eater and LOVES to mash things in his mouth.
• Can finally pick up puffs or yogurt melts from his tray and successfully get them into his mouth!  yay!  now we can try self feeding with some other little pieces of food!

I didn't take many any pictures this week!  So we just have the weekly shots!

He would NOT leave the sign alone today!  This was the best we could get!  :)  I like the bottom right....thumbs up!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

38 weeks and blessed beyond measure

Whew....WHAT A WEEK it has been in our family!  Let me just start by saying how amazed I am by God's protection over our family!  Monday night, as Carrington was heading home from soccer camp late at night, it started to rain terribly hard! within less than a mile he hydroplaned and lost control of the car.  he ended up spinning around multiple times, bouncing off the concrete median a couple times, and coming to a rest facing traffic in the middle of the highway!  He was able to quickly gather his wits and drive the car off to the side of the road and under a bridge to await help.  Now....he was traveling WITH traffic, ie...many other cars were around; he hit the concrete median but hit with the back end first so no airbags were deployed (which would have hurt him even more); he ended up facing traffic on a busy stretch of highway just beyond a blind curve and hill yet no cars came as he sat there, thus he wasn't hit head on; the car was drivable enough that he was able to move it from the highway to safety; his only injuries were a bruised shin from hitting the underside of the dash and some sore muscles; Cooper and I were not with him, which we, more often than not, usually are!  Now, tell me that God wasn't watching over him and I'll tell you you're crazy!  :)  While we now have a car to figure out how to fix, we are all still healthy and things could be so much worse! 
Tuesday Carrington stayed home with us to recover and regroup, and get some rest since he got home well after midnight.  It was so nice to spend a day together just the 3 of us (well 4 including Arnold).  It's definitely been a while since our schedules have allowed us a whole day together!
The rest of this week, since then, Cooper and i have hung out at home and it has been SO nice to actually feel like we live here again!  I forgot to mention last week that we met with our Realtor about selling our house, now it's that much closer to reality!  I have been, little by little, packing stuff into boxes as I get them so that the house looks more presentable and less "full."  It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate after 3 short years!  It's a little stressful and very exciting at the same time!  I can't wait to get back to Winston and be close to family and friends, and EVERYTHING we do, again! We've been looking at houses online a little , and might go look at a couple this weekend, but I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself.  I really hope we don't have trouble selling our house!  The sooner we get it listed, the sooner we can sell though!  :)


At 38 weeks Cooper

• loves pushing things along the floor...his train cars, a box, or any toy he has his hands on!
• "talks" non-stop!  the last couple of days he really acts like he's communicating something to me, I'm sure he thinks he is!  It mostly sounds like he's singing, it's too cute to listen to!
• plays so well on his own!  He definitely has him moments where he wants attention and wants me to play with him, but he also has those moments where he just sits on the floor and plays by himself.  Often those times result in the living room being covered with toys from one side to the other!
• knows how to open doors and drawers and doesn't hesitate to do so!  I was putting laundry away yesterday and he proceeded to open the drawers on Carrington's dresser and start pulling things out!  It's very hard to get things done with a little tornado following behind you!  :)  but he's learning and taking in so much right now, I don't mid letting him explore and learn new things even if it means more cleaning up and work for me!
• climbs on everything!  He has really gotten into playing with boxes (now that they are in our house more often) and he likes to climb up on them when they are upside down.  He's also learned how (well...he did it once) to climb up on the ottoman!  We use it to block him into the living room so that he's not exploring the house all day long and yesterday he lifted that little knee until he had it high enough to pull himself up on the ottoman and was on his way over the other side when I grabbed him!  yikes!
• walks along holding onto things all the time now!  he is a pro at holding onto the couch and walking along it to get where he wants to!
• loves walking with his zebra toy at grandma's house!  He's definitely gotten that things figured out!
• is ina  pretty regular nap routine now.  I can usually guarantee that he'll take a nap a couple/few hours after he gets up...usually around 10 or so, and then again in the afternoon, usually around 1 or 2.  Usually those naps are at least an hour and on the rare occasion, they are 2 hours or more!  i love those times because I can get a lot done and he's in such a good mood when he gets up!
• is such a smart little cookie!  I know, I'm probably biased...but still!  My mom has a little toy that is a monkey with 3 little bongo drums.  There are 3 little balls that you push down into the top of the drum and it comes out the front and makes music when you push it in.  it took him NO time at all to watch me do and figure out what he was supposed to do!  now i can get that toy out and give him a ball and he crawls right over and pushes it down in, then waits for it to come back out and does it again!  it's so fun to watch him because I can really see him thinking about it and knowing what happens next!
• has started to rub his hair when he's nursing again.  He did this as a tiny baby and is starting to do it again....it's cute as long as he doesn't rub his hair out again!  :)
• is pretty tough unless he's really hurt.   He falls all the time but usually bounces right back up!
• does not miss a thing!  he now knows how to open doors...he can't reach the handle but he knows that's how it happens!  One afternoon he stood at the front door and reeeeeached as high as he could trying to grab the doorknob!  little booger!
• loves apples and cinnamon!  I have started to season some of his foods a little bit and started with cinnamon.  We have put it in his apples and he can't get enough!  I also put some in the last batch of sweet potatoes I made but he hasn't tried them yet, I'm sure he will love it though!
• throws the ball for the dog!  he definitely understands how dogs play and usually tries to share his toys with the dogs by holding them up to their mouth.  He also knows which ball is his and which belongs to Tucker.  He has seen us throw the ball for Tucker so many times and LOVES it so much that now he has tried to throw the ball himself....it only goes a couple feet but it's cute to see him try to play with Tucker.  When Tucker brings it back he will ever so gently reach to his mouth to get the ball back from him and Tucker does so well to be so gentle with Cooper!
• is always moving and investigating things and trying to figure them out.  i love to see the little wheels turning as he tries to figure out how something is working!
• has started to love on Arnold by leaning his head into him....I think it's because he sees me love on Arnold that way  :)  he also likes to try to kiss the dogs, which is fine except that his kisses are wide open mouth kisses....kinda yucky on a dog!  :)

and now for some pictures:

he was so excited about finding the soccer ball in his toy bin!

Teaching Arnold how to play soccer

he's going to kill me for the some day but it's too funny!  Whenever his diaper comes off he flips over and bee lines it out of there!  This particular day he was getting ready to get his clothes changed as well  and as soon as he was naked h made a break for the toy box and  just looked so cute standing there...naked....looking for a toy to play with!  Look at his little foot propped up!  haha!

always climbing on something!

it's ok mom....I'm too cute to get mad at!

36-37 weeks and so busy!

Whew, I feel like it's been forever since I've written...oh wait...it has! Let's see if I can remember everything that's happened in the last 2 weeks.
in Cooper's 36th week of life we rounded out our beach vacation and made it home with MUCH less excitement than our trip down to the beach!  :)  That week  I worked a few days at the YMCA and we tried to recover from vacation.  You know you're a parent when you come home from vacation and feel like you have to "recover" :)  That week I also got my Jeep back!  If you don't know the story of my beloved jeep, here's the short version....on the way home from the airport after our honeymoon the engine blew out (welcome back to reality, right!?!?).  We had a used engine dropped into it and had it fixed....we drove it for about 6 months and, on our way to Atlanta to see my sister get baptized, it blew out again!  and since then....it has been sitting!  We haven't been able to bring ourselves to part with it, or spend the money to fix it again.  This time Carrington and his dad took it to a specialist who solely does jeep engine rebuilds.  They fixed it, with a warranty and all, and I had no idea it was even being done!  It was actually ready the day before we left for the beach, but had no tags so we couldn't take it.  It was a nice surprise to find that it was all better and ready to ride! :)  we have since gotten it inspected and gotten tags and insurance on it and are up to 2 vehicles again!
In Cooper's 37th week of life the big event was going to the mountains for the day to celebrate Aunt Meg's birthday!  We all headed up early in the morning with the intent to eat at Shatley Springs for breakfast.  Those plans quickly changed when we found ourselves stranded on the side of the highway....out of gas.  The fuel gauge is broken on the suburban that we were in and there was no way to tell how much fuel was left....apparently there was none!  after a couple hour detour we were back on our way!  We ended up eating at a place that had superb views of the mountains and a jazz trio playing while we ate!  It was a lovely meal and Cooper enjoyed the musicians!  We spent the rest of the day driving along the blue ridge parkway stopping here and there.  We went to the viaduct, Price lake park, and (of course) blowing rock for some kilwins ice cream.  Cooper was EXHAUSTED by the time we got halfway down the mountain and he his he breaking point!  We ended up staying in Winston that night because I just couldn't put him back in the carseat to ride to Burlington after being in the car all day.  I worked Monday and Tuesday and then Wednesday afternoon we had Cooper's 8 month photo session.  We got some really great photos! I'll share them with you as soon as I get them!  :) 

Since it's already almost time to do the 38 week post, I'll make a big list of what Cooper can do then, for now here are a few highlights of what he's doing at 36/37 weeks:

• finally getting the puffs from my hand to his own hand and into his mouth!  he has master the grab and feed himself, yay!
• is walking behind his walker zebra!  he's gone from crawling and pushing it, to walking and pushing it in a day's time!
• has tried zucchini, and likes it!
• still puts EVERYTHING in his mouth...and rubs his gums with everything!  I keep thinking we are BOUND to see some pearly whites soon....but I'm perfectly fine with him waiting as long as he wants to pop those bad boys through!

and now for some pictures:

Eating some puffs on the beach

Taunting Arnold with his bone

And this is why we keep the bathroom door closed!  :)

little stinker would NOT cooperate for this picture!

me and Aunt Meg!

With my Dahmer grandparents!

Mommy, Daddy, and I in the mountains

Rockin' those cool shades!

playing with Sunni, the Viaduct puppy!

Walking my zebra

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35 weeks and our first beach vacation!

This week we are at the beach!  We have made 2 prior trips to the beach, both of which were for a weekend so I don't really count them as Cooper's first beach trip!  :)  This trip we are here for the whole week!  Getting here wasn't easy either!  Boy, were we glad to finally make it!  I think my dad is going to start to expect that something will keep us from arriving at our family vacations on time! I'll get to that in just a moment though.....On Friday my sister came to stay with us and then ride down to the beach with us on Saturday.  Friday was also Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A and at the last minute, we decided to partake in the fun!  It started with Coop's Cow onesie and went form there....Nicole, Cooper and I dressed as cows from "head to hoof" which entitled us to a free meal each.  Since Coop doesn't really eat kids meals yet, the manager gave Carrington a free meal too!  Free dinner....I'll take it!  Check out our picture below!
ok, so now for the craziness of getting to our vacation.....Last year we were flying to Sanibel Island, FL for family vacation.  Since my dad works for Delta we fly cheap....and standby!  We made the first leg of the flight to Atlanta and then there was NO hope of us getting a flight out to FL that day and by then we were committed...we either had to figure out a way to get down there or back home...we couldn't just stay in the airport!  Keep in mind...I was 20 weeks pregnant at the time and we spent HOURS upon HOURS walking aroudn the airport from one gate to another with hopes of getting a seat on a flight....not fun!  We ended up renting a car and driving from Atlanta to Sanibel and arrived somewhere around 2 in the morning!  about 14 hours later than we had planned!
This trip followed suit!  We borrowed a vehicle from Carrington's parents so that we could put a bike rack on the back and fit all of the "required" items for a week at the beach with a baby.  Carrington spent a good part of the day on Friday getting it prepared to go (inspection, tags, tires, etc etc) and Saturday he spent a good part of the day cleaning it up and finagling the bike rack to fit (for some reason it wouldn't' fit into the hitch easily so he really had to work at it).  Around 1:00 or so we were on our way!  We stopped at Arby's right before getting on the highway and as we headed down the road I realized that Carrington had gotten an extra sandwich that we didn't order or pay for.  I told him it was his lucky day....and that's apparently as far as his luck would go!  Just past Raleigh I heard the most frightening sound ever and Carrington quickly, and safely, got us off the road only to take a gander at the SHREDDED rear tire....yep....we were now stranded with a blown tire on the side of the road with a baby, a car FULL of beach gear, and 3 bikes on the back.  Wonderful!  :)  We made a few phone calls, Carrington and Nicole dropped the spare tire, got the jack out and I assumed we would be on our way in half an hour, TOPS....wrong again.....the jack was broken!  We made a few more phone calls and couldn't get anyone close by that was in town at the moment so we got out our beach chairs and settled in to our "camp" on the side of I-40 to wait for his parents to come....a good 3 hour wait!  All the while, as we stood on the side of the highway with a baby (who was SUCH a trooper and was perfectly content and happy), no one stopped!  we never saw a highway patrol officer go by or anything!  Finally after about an hour and a half of sitting there, a kind soul stopped to help.  He had seen us his first time by and then saw that we were still there much later and felt compelled to stop.  Thank goodness he did because he had a jack and helped Carrington get the spare on!  We were then able to drive to the next exit and find a shady spot (near a McDonald's so that we could get frozen strawberry lemonades since it was nearly 100 degrees!) and wait for his parents to arrive.  One they arrived, they replaced a tire, we moved all of our stuff to their suburban, they took the land cruiser home and we continued on our way to the beach....5 hours later!  We finally made it around 9:30 and have enjoyed the relaxing week so far!  Yesterday we took the ferry over to Southport and walked around.  It was a neat little town!  We ate at a little hole in the wall where the locals eat and saw where they were filming the next Nicholas Sparks movie...Safe Haven.  Cooper thoroughly enjoyed the Ferry ride!  We have a couple more days here and plan to make the most of them!

at 35 weeks Cooper:

• is working on high fives.  We have been doing it non stop and he will slap your hand (not sure whether he really gets what he's doing yet or if he's just slapping it because it's up there) and we say "yay!!!" every time....he's very proud of himself when we do that!
• is getting a little more predictable with his naps.  I can almost plan on him taking a nap after he's been up for a couple hours (usually around 10:00) and then again sometime shortly after noon.  I still have to make him lay still until he falls asleep (I usually rock him our bounce him) and he does pretty well with the morning nap.  Afternoon naps are still a struggle.  If he goes to sleep it's not usually for long (sometimes 10 minutes) and he's often a fussy mess about it!  :)
• LOVES oatmeal and bananas!  We usually have that for breakfast; I'll fix him some oatmeal cereal and cut up some bananas into it and he gobbles it up!  This week he has been eating like a little piglet!  I don't know if it's because we're at the beach and he's so much more active and busy...thus hungrier, or is he's going through a growth spurt, or is I'm not producing enough milk for him and he's just feeling hungry often?!?!?!  
• is a master of grasping things (like his puffs or his banana pieces) but he just can't quite get the concept of getting it into his mouth.  He would rather I hold it and he  pull my hand to his mouth!  little rascal!
• is not too sure about the sand....he rolls it around in his fingers like he's not so sure what this gritty stuff is!  :)
• loves splashing and kicking the waves!  We sat at the edge of the water for a while and he enjoyed splashing the waves as they came up to his feet....until we got a big one that scared him!  He seemed to get over it quickly though and is definitely ok if we're holding him and dipping him down into the waves as they come up.  He likes when we make him kick the waves and it makes a splash!  :)
• likes watching the seagulls fly by.  I did have to inform him though that I will be the no-fun mommy who does not let him feed the gulls at the beach because we don't want to get pooped on!  He does enjoy watching others feed them from a distance though!  :)
• has tried carrots and likes them!  There's not much that this kid won't eat!
• is finally getting the hang of holding his own sippy cut AND tipping it up enough to get water out of it.  For a while he's been holding it and just gnawing on the spout, but now he's figured out that he has to tip it up to get anything
• has GOT to be close to cutting a tooth....he gnaws HARD on everything, especially if it's cold!  He's also started gnawing on his own fingers, which is new.  They are constantly in his mouth so I'm thinking it feels good on his gums and perhaps something is about to break through.
• is standing really well....and he can stand unassisted for a little bit (ok....it's a couple seconds but still!).  When he does stand and hold on it's often just barely holding on enough to balance himself....I think we might be standing independently soon...maybe (Dare I say) even walking?!?!?!  yikes, I don't think I'm ready for that!
• is slightly attached to mama!  not that I have a problem with that  ;)  but sometimes it would be nice if he would give me a break.  He's especially clingy if he's hungry or tired!
• knows what "no" and "uh-uh" mean.  When he's getting into something he's not supposed to be and we say one of those things, he stops and looks at us...and usually stops and moves on to something else.  we try not to say "no" to him too often because we certainly don't want a toddler that says "no" to everything...instead we will say "don't do such-and-such."  Who knows if it will keep him from saying "no" to us later on, but it's worth a shot!  :)
• loves to bang on ANYthing he can! He especially loves to bang on his high chair tray, and he really likes it when I say "bring the bacon!" while he's banging on it....he grins really big every time!  
• is definitely in his throwing/dropping things stage!  any and every thing he gets his hands on gets dropped from wherever he can!  He usually gets 3 drops and pick ups and then it's done!  :)

and now for some pictures....I apologize in advance....it's probably going to be a lot!

Cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-A  (my cow ears are drooping a little!  :))

Aunt Nicole dressed me in my clothes that a friend sent to me....she's silly and doesn't know what goes where!  :)

me and my poppy at the beach!

playing in the sand with mommy and daddy (by the way I love the middle picture and how they are looking at each other!)

reading Nemo with daddy on the beach in my tent!

Aunt Nicole and I playing in the waves!

The beach life is a rough life!  Daddy is trying to start me early on the Dew!

Family night at the boardwalk

My first ferry boat ride!

I have no idea what he was doing in this picture but it makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it!  :)

Nicole got bombed by a gull on the ferry ride!  A guy said it was because she was wearing that Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt and that if it had been a Tennessee Vols t-shirt she would have been safe....I kind of agree with him!  ;)

Thanks for stopping by!  Check back next week for the last couple days of our vacation and (I'm sure) more pictures!


**UPDATE**

My sister just pointed out that I never typed up the 34 week update....oops!  Got too busy planning and packing for the beach that I forgot to do it!  Here are the pictures anyway!

Getting IN the toy bucket makes it easier to get to my toy chest!  And yes, he climbed in there completely on his own....oh no!

My buddy, Arnold

My new swimming pool that I LOVE!!

my play date with Ronin!  Can't wait until they move back here so we can play more often!  :)