5 Months Old

On Thursday March 12th, Cooper turned 5 months old. We can't believe how much he has grown. Everyday he surprises us with something new. This particular day was a disappointing one for us. We found out that our daycare provider, Stephanie, is no longer going to be able to continue with her childcare business. Her husband is really sick and she feels it is best for her family if she is able to spend more time caring for him. We are really going to miss her. She was the absolute best! We now have 3 weeks to find someone new. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers that we will find a good daycare for Cooper.

On a lighter note here are some of Coopers likes and dislikes at 5 months old.

Likes:
watching the fish and lights in the aquarium
tummy farts
standing up and trying to walk
flying in the air over daddy
lying under his play gym
having his diaper changed (or at least lying on the changing table)
playing the kick game
chewing on his chew blanket
talking to grandparents on skype (this is the only time he will sit for at least 10 minutes)
sucking on his hands (or any hands that come near his mouth)
watching the fish in his light-up crib toy
watching anything that lights up
having his chin tickled
watching mommy and daddy vacuum
looking at faces

Dislikes:
being woken up in the morning
sitting
lying on his stomach
staying asleep during the day at home (although it's much better than it has been)
having to be burped during the middle of eating
getting out of the bathtub to dry off

New Abilities:
flopping over from stomach to back
almost sitting up by himself
holding onto toys long enough to get them into his mouth

We tried to post a few videos but for some reason we couldn't get them to work. We will try to get them up soon.

Video of Ogden River Electrofishing

Our outreach manager did a great job documenting our work on the Ogden and Weber Rivers last week. It was a very interesting perspective to float down long segments of stream. It is amazing how blighted some of the reaches of stream have become. Hopefully soon emphasis will be placed on restoring these two great streams. Nevertheless, it is great to see such good fish populations right in the town of Ogden!

Belly Dance Festival

Saturday was the spring belly dance festival at the UT state fair grounds. Grammy and Grandpa Burnett came down for the weekend to watch Cooper so Paul could come see me perform. Our group performed at 9:00 pm. That was a rather late time but surprisingly there were still a lot of people in the crowd. Here are some pictures Paul took.










This picture is the funniest because the veil was supposed to make it over my head not land on my head. I had to pose like that for 30 seconds. At least I didn't hear too many laughs coming from the crowd.

A Great Weekend

This past week Cooper received a few new toys. Auntie Anne and cousin Courtney sent him a cute book "Guess How Much I love You" along with matching sippy cup, bib, and bunny puppet. Thanks so much! Cooper enjoyed listening to the book but he liked the bunny puppet the best.
He has been teething a lot lately so this was nice and soft for him to chew on.

When dad was at the store this weekend he happened to find this really cool toy. It's called a teething blanket but we call it a chew blanket because that's what Cooper does with it. So far he really likes it.

Since Cooper does not like sitting too much we take every good opportunity we can to practice his sitting. This, however was not one of those times. I had to post the picture because I thought it was so cute.

Lately Cooper has been camera shy. He never seems to smile when the camera is in front of him. We were lucky enough to catch three really cute smiles all within the same 10 minutes.







I can't decide which is my favorite.

Thanks to the help of our daycare provider Stephanie, Cooper has been sleeping better this weekend. Part of our problem was that we were feeding Cooper on a 3 hour schedule and she was doing a 4 hour schedule. She suggested feeding him every 4 hours (he's totally capable) and feeding him right before he goes to sleep. All weekend, with the exception of one time on Sunday, Cooper slept 1hr 30 minutes - 2hrs!! Yeah! We found out that by the time he eats he is exhausted and goes right to sleep afterward. No rocking at all. This has been a wonderful weekend because Paul and I have gotten to do something for ourselves and have fun while he was sleeping.

A Weekend in Nampa

Last weekend we took a trip to Nampa, ID to visit Paul's parents. We were celebrating his dad's 60th birthday! It was nice to have the whole family there for a visit. Here are a few photos from our trip.

Cooper is enjoying playing with a new musical toy that Grammy had for him.


Cooper and Aunt Erin posing for the camera.


Grammy and Grandpa couldn't get enough of Cooper.


Zach, April, Paul, Kelly, Ed, Terry, Mickey, Erin
Cooper was sleeping during the time we took this picture.

In case you didn't know April and Erin are Paul's sisters. Zach is April's fiance and Mickey is Erin's boyfriend.

Another reason we went to Nampa was for Zach and April. They are getting married July 25, 2009. Paul was asked to be the photographer at their wedding. So when we were in Nampa he took their engagement pictures. Here is one of the favorites.

Don't they make a cute couple!

As wedding favors April wanted to give everyone ceramic coffee cups and saucers because she is a barista managing a coffee shop. Terry is skilled in the art of ceramics and will be making 300 of the cups and saucers. This is what the cups will look like. You can't see it from the picture but inscribed on the side of the cup will be a Z & A for Zach and April. Cute idea huh, but a lot of work!



We left Nampa on Monday morning making it home in time to play a little before it was time to go to bed. Here is a picture of Cooper's new favorite thing to do.

Any time he is fussing it's usually because he wants to stand up. We think he's going to be walking before he can sit up.


He has also been practicing his sitting. He's almost able to sit in his Be Be chair by him self without support. He still occasionally leans to the side. Especially if he is trying to get his hand up into his mouth.

Blowing Raspberries

Everyday Cooper surprises us with something new. This is a video of Cooper blowing raspberries, something he just started doing yesterday.

4 Months Old

This past week Cooper turned 4 months old. Cooper had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this past Friday for his 4 month Well Baby check up. On Monday of last week I received a voice message saying that our physician, Dr. White, was no longer with the practice we attended. It was a very strange message and the lady didn't say why. We decided that this would be a good opportunity to find a pediatrician instead of a family doctor. Thanks to a great recommendation by Brooke we went to see Dr. Kramer. What a wonderful doctor. He was very friendly and thorough with his checkup. Cooper was such a great baby during the whole exam. The doctor said Cooper looks healthy; however apparently we are using too much soap during baths because Cooper has dry patches of skin all over. What do we know, we're just rookie parents. Cooper weighed in at 12 lbs 9 oz and 24 inches placing him in the 10th percentile. Not a huge surprise because mommy was just as small at that age. After his checkup it was time for his shots. The nurse put the needle in and 2 seconds later came the tears. Being the good boy he is, Cooper only cried for a few minutes. On our way home Cooper fell fast asleep.

Here are a few things Cooper can do at 4 months old:

• Hold his head up (still a little wobbly)
• Grabs and holds onto toys
• Brings the aforementioned grabbed toys to his mouth
  
• Can sit up with support
• Stand up with support for a few seconds
• Blows raspberries
  
• Started teething
• Sucks on his had and fingers and often gags himself
  
• Smiles at mommy and daddy's funny faces
• Puts himself to sleep
• Sleep for 6-7 hour stretches at night (yeay! Only one night feeding!)
  

Likes:

• Lying on his back to play
• Sucking on his hand
• Biting on anything that will fit in his mouth
• Reading books
• Riding in the car
• Looking at lights
• Toys that make noise
• Playing with his play gym
• Going to daycare
• Getting his diaper changed
• Taking a bath
• Having the snot sucked out of his nose (the vibrations tickle)
• Drinking from a bottle
• Looking at faces of others and himself
• Watching the fish swim
• Kicking and turning on his crib toy at 2 am
  

Dislikes:

• Being strapped into his car seat
• Sleeping at home during the day (he'd rather stay up and play)
• Getting out of the bath (he is so cold)
• Mommy cleaning his eye
• Lying on his stomach

Overall Cooper is a well behaved happy boy with a very impatient side. We couldn't ask for a better baby!