Happy Thanksgiving!

Earlier today we went to Steve's parents for Thanksgiving. I didn't any pictures but I wanted to reflect back on the differences between last year and this year. For those that do not know, we came home from the hospital on Thanksgiving, therefore we celebrated on Saturday.

So, here I go.

Last Thanksgiving- maybe three hours of sleep, this Thanksgiving- probably at least eight hours.

Last Thanksgiving- no appetite, this Thanksgiving- a full appetite and empty plate!

Last Thanksgiving- the feeling that I needed to take care of everything when it came to Cooper, this Thanksgiving- sat back, relaxed and let Grandma and Grandpa take over.

Last Thanksgiving- the greatest blessing I could ever imagined, this Thanksgiving- still the greatest blessing I could ever imagine.

Here is a picture from last year. I wanted to get one similar this year, since we went over last year on Saturday, Steve's mom already had her house decorated, so we will have to wait a week or two for a re-take.

On Sunday Steve got down our Christmas Tree and on Monday during Cooper's nap time I was able to decorate. So far he hasn't been been as enthusiastic about it as I originally thought. We do have a gate up around it, which some will say I'm lazy, but I'm already chasing him away from the kitchen where he plays with the floor lamps and tries to knock them over, pull down our DVD's and CD's, tries to eat the fake grass from our fake tree, I could go on. I didn't want the tree to be one of those, especially due to the ornament hooks. It does take away from the tree a bit, but next year we should be alright. Anyway, it's still fun, I love it, and this is by far my favorite time of the year. It almost makes me miss working in retail, but not really :)

Girl's Night Out

I beat you Tracey!!! Last night we had a girl's night out. The plan was to go to downtown Jeff and shop around then eat. Well all the shops closed a little earlier than expected so that plan was cancelled. W ended up at Kansai, I don't think Melanie or Jana had ever been. Of course it was delicious as always. Afterwards we went to Old Time Pottery and Kirkland's to do some browsing. It's a rare treat to go into any store without a child these days so it was nice to just walk around with nothing in mind. We ended the night at Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen. It really doesn't get much better than that. Us wild girls were home by 9:30, I know real party animals. Hey, it does beat Friday night when I was in bed by 8:30.
Here are Melanie, Jana, and Tracey. Aren't they cute? Me and Gretchen.

Melanie and Jana working the chopsticks.

Jana and some apple pie.

Tracey just being weird and her strawberry cake.

Melanie and her dessert, I think it was a cupcake.

And finally Gretchen, sorry I couldn't leave you out.

One Year Checkup

We had Cooper's one year check up this morning. Everything looks great and he is in great health. He does appear to have a minor ear infection, which could explain the fussiness lately, we got an antibiotic to take care of that. He is 19 lb 8 oz and 27 inches which puts him in the 10th percentile and his head has went down to the 70th. We were in the 90th at one point. Strange thing on weight and I'm going to have to ask them when I go back in a couple of weeks to have her look at his ears again, but I'm looking in my baby book and it say at 9 months he was 27 1/4 inches. He was a little squirmy today so he might not have had his head all the way back on starting point. He had four shots today, one in each arm and leg, so that wasn't fun. Usually they are all in the leg and go a lot faster. He fell asleep on the way home and has been asleep for almost 2 hours. Poor guy was wore out!

One Last Photo

November 19th, 2007 at 6:41 pm. 7 lbs 8oz, 20 inches, and mad!!!!

and November 19th, 2008 at 6:41 pm. 19 lbs 8 oz, 27 inches, and happy!!! Aren't we cute?

Precious

This is what I found after I got ready for church Sunday morning.

Why Bother

Why bother with toys, this is where I found him the night of his party.

Traditions

I wanted to start a birthday tradition so I decided on a special breakfast. Now since he is only one and cannot talk and only has four teeth I made an executive decision on chocolate chip pancakes. When he gets older I will make whatever he wants until then it's choc chip pancakes, which happens to be what I ate two days before he was born. Don't ask how I remember these things, I'm just weird.

What I have learned

Look at me, I'm one year old today!Just a few things Cooper has learned:

He can tell you the animal sounds of a dog, cow, chicken, sheep, horse, lion, and a panda bear. (the panda bear sounds like someone eating).

If he sees a dog on TV he starts barking.

He knows where his toes and tongue are.

He can point out someone else's nose and ears.

If you tell him someone is here he looks toward the back door.

He can say mama but for some reason I am baba most of the time.

If you ask where Cooper is he will look toward a picture of him on the wall.

He has taken a few steps but gets too excited and ends up lunging in my lap.

He loves books!!!

My personal favorite- he is off the bottle! For about two months the only bottle he has gotten has been at bedtime. The past two days I have replaced that with a sippie cup and it has worked.

Happy Birthday Cooper!

One year ago today I was laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to what seemed like a thousand different monitors with a steady stream of pitocin shooting through an IV. I was patiently awaiting the arrival of my baby boy. I didn't know at the time but I still had 11 hours to go. It's funny how if you are the one in the waiting room it seems like forever, however if you are the one in labor the day flies by. I can only pray that my memory serves me well and I never forget one moment of that day.

Cooper, you have made the past year of my life more joyful than I could have ever imagined. From the very first "Put me back in scream" to the slobbery kisses I get today, not a minute goes by where my thoughts don't drift back to you. Although you were welcomed to this world one year ago today I will always remember March 11, 2007 as the day you entered my world once I looked down and saw two lines instead of one.

I love you! Now will you please wake up so we can have some pancakes?

Time for Cake!

We had Cooper's birthday party yesterday. It was a few days early, I thought it would be easier on everyone if it wasn't so close to Thanksgiving. It was a small family affair, we really don't have room for a big party and with as much as we got yesterday from family only, I think it was enough. He got more clothes, pajamas, bath toys, two play telephones, an Elmo Live doll, a rocking chair, a riding bulldozer, and money for a new car seat for my car. Sad enough, he may enjoy that one the most. He got a little distracted when opening gifts once he saw the camera. He needed to get a quick smile in.Steve and I got him this, it is supposed to be a door frame to a house. We thought he would love going through the door. Nope, he is scared of it.

One last picture before we get in the bath!

Thanks everyone for a great time and the wonderful gifts!

Cleaning Time

Cooper loves to go into the kitchen. Our kitchen opens up to our living room and we have an end table next to our couch that from the kitchen he can pull things off. We have temporarily put up a gate, that will eventually go around the Christmas tree, to keep him from going in and us chasing him all day long. By us, I really mean me. Anyway, today I needed to get some cleaning done to get ready for his party tomorrow. I started off in the kitchen and let him have the freedom to do whatever he wanted. I think I had more mess to clean up when it was all done.

Old Toy, New Fun!

We haven't used the Exersaucer in months. We only kept it out so Cooper could use it to stand up and walk around. Well yesterday he only had one nap so once the sun went down he was struggling. I needed something to entertain him for a while so I stuck him in there. You would have thought it was brand new toy. If you push the rooster that is on top of the barn it plays music. He does it all the time when he is standing up on the outside, however he couldn't figure out how to do it inside. Steve taught him how to sign for help and he kept asking for help. So sweet! Just to show a difference in size I've added another picture from when he was about 4 or 5 months old. Back when we used to stuff it with towels so he wouldn't slide down.

Nothing going on

Like last week there really isn't anything going on right now. The past two weeks have been pretty relaxing. Next week I should have some fun stuff to blog about, like birthday and birthday parties, one year check ups, but just random stuff today. Oh, as a remember when this day last year was my last day of work before maternity leave. I knew I was being induced on the 19th if I didn't go before then so I took off a few days early. It was so awesome! Steve was working so I basically got up when he did, ate breakfast, watched the news, and took a nap around 9:00 everyday. Anyway, here are some random pictures.

This is an interesting one. Last Saturday we got home from my mom's, I sat Cooper down in the living room while I went back in the kitchen to open some mail. He came crawling back in to me and somehow his pants were no longer on him.

I love this look!

Bundled Up and Ready for Church

I couldn't resist, he just looks too darn cute!

$1.95

Is what I paid for gas today. It's amazing to me that in a few short months that the price not only was cut in half, it's like at a two year or longer low. I can't remember the last time I paid under $2/gallon. I want to know if others are cutting their demand down. I guess I have, but that is due to me quitting my job. I drive a fuel efficient car, I don't drive to Louisville everyday any longer, and since I don't work there are days I don't leave the house. There are times on weekends I don't even drive my car, but that has always been the case. We live within 10 minutes of just about anywhere we need to go. I fill up every 2 or 2 1/2 weeks. But this was always the norm. I guess I'm just afraid that these prices are going to go up and stay up back to above $3/gallon. It all seems odd that it went down so quickly.

My Week

For about three weeks straight I had some doctor's appointments, had to reschedule what day I worked at Jazzercise, filled in for someone, all these things that took up my morning 3-4 days week. Which is fine, I don't work so I can't complain, but it also took away the time I was at home to enjoy Cooper's morning nap. Finally this week I had nothing scheduled. It was great. Monday I did nothing, Tuesday I met Gretchen at the mall for Club Mom, Wednesday my mom took me and Cooper out to eat at Texas Roadhouse (my favorite) and to the mall. She also bought me two early Christmas presents. Thursday I went to Kohl's to find something for Steve to wear in our family picture, and on Friday I went back to the mall to make an exchange and return. Sounds like I was busy, but at least it was fun stuff.

This morning Steve left to go to Bloomington for an IU football game. Cooper and I have already been to Target for diapers and wipes and he just went down for a nap which I think is where I am headed. I have no where to be the rest of the day, Gretchen is bringing the kids over for hotdogs and mac & cheese around 4:30 and that is it. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.
This picture was taken as proof to Steve that just b/c Cooper faces forward doesn't mean he will not fall asleep. After Club Mom he was exhausted, I went straight to the my voting place and this is what I found. Never underestimate the power of a car seat.

These are from t his morning as Cooper played with Uncle Scott before they left for the game.

I'm a big boy

We got a new car seat for Cooper this weekend. It is forward facing only and will eventually convert into a booster seat. Since Cooper rides in my care the most often we installed it in Steve's car until we get confirmation from the doctor in two weeks that we can face him forward. Just to try it out we drove around the neighborhood last night. I wanted to make sure he was comfortable and that it fit well, I think we may go ahead and get the same one for my car. It's safe to say he enjoyed the ride. He kept laughing the whole time, I think he liked being able to see us.

Then and Now

I said a few weeks ago that I would do a then and now post. Well here I am last year around Halloween. Please disregard the sweatshirt, I was 8 1/2 months pregnant nothing else fit. And seriously, who gives the pregnant lady the candy jar?Anyway.. last year I took off the two days after Halloween cause Steve had the days off from having to work the weekend before. We both enjoyed our 4 day weekend and took the time to get some last minute stuff done before Cooper arrived. This was the weekend I thought for sure I would go into labor. I left work early on Halloween because I was wasn't all the great and was starting to have some lower belly pains. Little graphic here, but you know the muscles you use to pee, well it hurt to use those to pee. I even called my doctor and since I wasn't having regular contractions they just told me to keep an eye on them and I was probably just preparing myself for labor and good news was my doctor was on call that weekend. Well I ended up going all weekend with pain but no baby. By Monday I felt a little better and it was back to work. Looking back this was probably the time he did drop and ended up in the weird position that resulted in the c-section. Little did I know I still almost 2 1/2 weeks left. It was still a fun time to look back on. Nothing can prepare you for the change that a child will bring to your life. Those last few weeks of excitement and anticipation will forever be in my mind. Of course the looks you receive when you go back into work for another day and people look at you and say "I see you're still here" can get a little old, but it does make for great memories.

SAY CHEESE!

Whenever we get the camera out and tell Cooper to smile, he gets this biggest cheesiest grin. The problem is that it only lasts about a second so you almost have to snap the picture before you tell him to smile. Here are a couple we got this past week. These are my favorite type of pictures.

He is actually laughing in this one, I just like it because he is getting his horsey ride from Grandpa.
Tell me why we had to bundle him up like this earlier this week, yet today he wore a t-shirt outside? Crazy weather!

This one is my favorite cause you can almost see his new tooth.