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!

Handy Boy

Today was an interesting day. Kelly needed to work very late, so it was the first time I had the pleasure of picking up Cooper from daycare. I'm sure it was strange for Cooper too, because it was the first time he rode in my pickup truck. It is quite a bit noisier than the Prius, plus he was right next to me, so he kept looking at me while I was driving. Luckily I was able to focus on the road and only looked at him while fully stopped.

Anyway, since Kelly was still at work, Cooper and I got to spend some "Boy Time" together. We were playing on the living room floor, and I decided to try shaking his rattle. This is nothing out of the ordinary. Kelly and I do this all the time, but he never really takes much of an interest. It scared him when we shook his rattle at first. This time Cooper actually reached out with determination and grabbed the rattle from me. He grasped the rattle and held on to it with no assistance from me. He then preceded to shake it and it eventually made the inevitable trip to his mouth, just like everything else. I captured this video of him playing with the rattle.

All Bundled Up

Saturday was a bright sunny day. We decided since the air was somewhat clear to go out and take a walk. Here are a few pictures of Cooper all bundled up in his reindeer snowsuit ready to go on a walk.

This reindeer suit was given to Cooper by Aunt Olga and Uncle Craig. It actually fits him this time.


This is one of the hats that Grammy Rachel made for Cooper.


Cooper makes the funniest faces. Paul's quick reflexes often catch them on camera.

Cooper Smiling :)

Here is a video of Cooper smiling at daddy while he is sucking on his hand. Even though his hand is in his mouth his smile is still so cute. It's unbelievable that we were able to get him to smile because a few minutes before this he was fussing because he was hungry.