Cooper:: 13 months!

Note to new moms: Buy the monthly onesie stickers. They are worth it in that it is guaranteed you will get a monthly picture of your baby!

There. Now that's out of the way, I can tell you how this post really has been brewing for the past two weeks, but I've been waiting to get pictures. And it's never happened. We had way too many pajama days on break. But in the full interest of getting this post up closer to 13 months than 14, I wanted to go ahead, without the posed pictures.

Flirting with Aunties Christine and Bella - 12.23.12

Playing with PayPay - 12.23.12

Cooper, at 13 months, you are doing all kinds of things! You are into absolutely everything. You can have 20 toys sitting out, and you want our phones, cups, or papers that are out.

If we don't watch it, you'll grab a cup off the table and try to drink whatever is in it.

Talking on the phone

Mister, you are my little monkey man, and it scares me. You climb up the baby gate. You climb on top of the ottoman. You grab the bar on the oven and try to climb up it. While I love your curiosity and adventurous spirit, I cringe thinking of the emergency room visits I'm sure are in our future.

You think you are king of the world ...

You took the transition to cow's milk and a sippy just fine. We like the Take & Toss cups (cheap at Walmart) best, but when you toss them, the lid often pops off! We only offer you milk and water to drink.

Cooper, you also do very well at eating table foods. A typical breakfast for you is banana slices and a handful of Cheerios, and then you snack once you get to the sitter's. Lunch varies, and if you are home, your afternoon snack usually consists of string cheese and fruit or some puffs or Cheerios. For supper, you eat what we eat. You REALLY like green beans, peas and potatoes as your veggies, and bananas and applesauce for your fruits. Anything with tomato juice/sauce (chili, noodles cooked in tomato juice, lasagna, pizza) is high on your list, as well as hot dogs! You aren't too sure about breads yet.

You are a really good sleeper. You sleep overnight from about 8:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. (longer if we'll let you, such as on the weekends) and take two naps a day. If you sleep later, you'll just take one long nap around lunch time.

You love babies. Mrs. Robin sometimes has to pry you away from Zoey because you snuggle up to her. On your 13 month birthday, you got to meet your new cousin, Hayden, who wasn't quite one month yet, and you were very loving to him as well.)

You are all boy! When you play, you love anything with wheels on it. You often make the "RRRRR" noises too - have to have that motor. I sometimes call you "Coopy Monster" because you will roar - one day you saw my Mizzou magazine and there was a tiger on front, which prompted you to start roaring. It was adorable.

You love to dance, and watching you shake your little booty is priceless.

This month, you had a really bad cold, and ended up on a steroid cough medicine and taking breathing treatments. It broke my heart.

Speaking of my heart, it officially melted this month. I can sit on the floor, hold open my arms and say "mommy hug" and you'll run over and give me the biggest hug. So sweet. You've also figured out how to give kisses, and that makes me melt.

You had your first haircut this month.

At your PAT visit, you scored for exactly where you need to be, and then some, developmentally. You made your mama and daddy very proud.

We both love you to the moon and back. Thank you for being the sweet little boy that you are.

XOXOXO.


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favorite things :: 6-12 months

I can't say that we had a lot of must-haves over the past six months. Soon after Coop's six month birthday, we put away the swing. Once he began crawling at seven months, he was not at all interested in the exersaucer or anything that contained him, either.

Of course, it's been all about the food!

We absolutely could not have lived without our Ninja! As I've blogged, I made all of Cooper's baby food. This worked so well, and was super easy to clean.

To go along with this, of course we needed ice cube trays, and plenty of little bowls with lids to send to daycare. I liked the Nuk and munchkin brand ones from Walmart.

Around 9 months, we began working on the sippy cup. Honestly, we never found one we really liked - they all seemed to leak! Then again, Mister has been teething like a monster, so he has done a lot of chewing on them. We got some Munchkin ones, and his sitter bought a Playtex one. We had a Nuby, but he chewed it open ... now he has a 9+ month Nuby one, as well as the cheapy Take & Toss. So far, we prefer the Take & Toss - the spout is a hard plastic, so he can't break it with those teeth. The only bad thing is that the lid pops on instead of screwing on, so if he throws/drops it on our tile floor, it typically pops off as well.

Of course, we've done lots of the Gerber and Parent's Choice puffs. He loves them all. And parents- they are GOOD!

For snacks, these Munchkin snack catchers work well! Coop had snacks in it while we were at a craft fair last weekend and I had a ton of questions about where to get them. They are at Walmart too :)

When Coop was about 9 months old, we upgraded to his convertible carseat. This was definitely more of a mama thing - he could still fit in the carrier, but it was getting really tough for me to tote him around. I did a LOT of research, and we decided on the Graco MyRide 65. They were reasonably priced, and hold a kiddo backwards for quite some time, according to the height/weight restrictions.

In Missouri, it's required by law that kiddos be rear-facing until they are 1, but recommended until they are 2, so I wanted to find the safest seat possible without breaking the bank.

Once Coop began cruising, we wanted to get him a toy that would help him walk. We looked at Walmart and ended up with the Playskool Rocktivity Walk 'N Roll Rider. You can put the seat up for them to push, or down to ride on. Coop still enjoys pushing this, but is also learning to sit on it and move his feet. Oh, and it's also a great jungle gym for the little monkey man.

For his other toys, he mostly likes things that make noise or with wheels. One of our favorites is the Fisher Price Cookie Shapes.

 On another note, I would totally recommend any parents of babies/toddlers invest in an ottoman to replace their wooden coffee table. It's a lot safer once they begin cruising, and much better in terms of storage :)

Also, I had a horrible time finding socks to stay on Cooper's fat little feet. If anyone has the same problem, try out the Faded Glory ones at Walmart - they are basic and inexpensive, yet a great quality and stay on his little feet!

Around six months, I tried out the Target Up & Up diapers - and we like them just as much as the Pampers - at half the price! Plus with the Target debit card, I get free shipping and 5% off :)

And there you have it! Some of the things that have made life a lot better for us over these past six months!

And now looking ahead - what have been any of your favorites from 12-24 months? Anything I really need to get for my little booger's stocking?



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Coop's rookie year! {birthday party}

It didn't take long for hubby and I to agree on a theme for Mister's first birthday party. I wanted a play on words and something easy. He vetoed Onederland, so we moved on to the Rookie Year baseball theme!

 

My super-talented friend Bel made the invites. Since she lives in DC and can't attend parties, she loves to do this and be a part of things. I took the picture, and told her to make it cute and like a baseball card. {Of course it didn't have those lovely white edit marks to blur out the personal information either :)}

For the cake, I just went with Sam's Club. None of our local stores did smash cakes, and with his birthday being the day after Thanksgiving, I was hesitant to ask someone local. We did a smash cake for him, and chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for everyone else. They were very yummy and inexpensive!

The set up :) We are extremely fortunate to have a large, mostly finished basement, so we just brought in some tables and chairs and were ready to go. I didn't get a close up of the food table (along the wall) but we did hot dogs, nachos, veggies, chips, peanuts, tea & lemonade.

Of course, I suppose there aren't any "true" baseball colors, but since we live in Cardinal country, we stuck with red & blue, as seen on the tablecloths and balloons. We also had candy dishes on the tables.

For favors, we gave out Cracker Jacks :)

The gift table, before we filled it up! The one is actually a cardboard 3D thing I found at Hobby Lobby and the hubs spray painted. Cheap but exactly what I wanted. Cooper's gift from hubby and I was the wooden Louisville slugger, which we invited all of our guests to sign.

 We used this space to string up C's monthly pictures, and hang his most recent above. Everyone loved seeing how he's changed. And if I'm being honest - I do, too, and it's still hanging :) If you want to see them, go HERE.

Our high chair is strapped in our nice kitchen chairs and I was searching high and low for a wooden one I hubby could spray paint red. I never found one, but a family friend allowed us to borrew their chair.

The cute banners were made by an Etsy seller, found HERE.

Since this is getting long, I'm going to stop here with the end of the setup/decorations, and come back again {hopefully tomorrow} with some of the party pictures. But as a sneak peak ... yes, someone really loved his cake!

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First haircut :)

Last week, we took baby boy to get his first hair cut! For a couple months now, I've been thinking Man, this kid has some old-man, shaggy hair but refused to cut it because I know there is some old wive's tale about waiting until the baby is 1, and if I'm anything, I'm superstitious!

Of course, I was that mom at the salon taking a bazillion or so pictures. We took him to Miss Shannon, who does my hair. Hubby and I argued over who's hair lady got to, and of course, I won :)

Back to the pictures ... I took a lot. And Shannon was singing and jumping around to keep Coop entertained. We made such a spectacle that, when we left, a man thanked us for the show - ha!

He looks even more handsome now, if that was even possible.

Before ... crazy long hair!

Snacks make everything better :)

Not so excited after the first cut

Buzz, buzz, buzz

And we're done! Handsome baby with a mohawk!

Of course we had to take a family picture.

The final consensus? I love it. Just like everyone said (and I thought), he seemed to grow up after that first haircut. He now looks older, yet chubbier ... and the hair looks a bit lighter.

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Lately ...

Whew, it's been a whirlwind!

• I attended a craft fair over the weekend, and had lots of fun looking at the neat items. With that being said, I only purchased one handmade item - a sock cap for Cooper. My other buys were Pampered Chef and Scentsy.
• I totally got in trouble for buying the Pampered Chef! When I told hubby I purchased a can opener (we've been needing a new one and I like my mom's Pampered Chef) he groaned. Turns out, he was planning to buy me one as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. Luckily, he hadn't placed the order yet.
• So as of now, no buying anything for myself until mid February :)
• Speaking of Christmas, I finally finished the first tree - Cooper's :) It's red, blue and silver and has a penguin blanket as the skirt. So far, so good in terms of baby and the tree, but then again, he doesn't spend a lot of unsupervised time in his room, either.

• The diet started back up yesterday. So sweets were tossed.
• I'm also planning to do some working out and utilizing that treadmill ... now just to find the time!
• It was in the 60s and 70s all weekend and amazing! Unfortunately we were on the run and didn't have a lot of time to just enjoy.
• I'm about 80 percent done with my Christmas shopping!
• Highlights from Coop's well check last week:
• He is 21 lbs., 7 ounces - 30th percentile. Totally normal for a very active boy, she said.
• 29 inches, which has him right in the 50th percentile
• Right where he should be or a little ahead in terms of speech and movement.
• We had our family/Christmas photos taken yesterday. LOVE. I can't wait to share :)
• Hubby's work Christmas party was on Saturday, and among other things, I made spicy cayenne pretzels. They went over so well, so I thought I would share the recipe here:
• You need: One bag pretzels, oil, cayenne pepper and 1 packet ranch dressing mix.
• Pour the pretzels in a brown paper bag and coat with about 1/4 cup of oil. Add ranch dressing mix and about 1 T. cayenne pepper.
• Shake about every 15 minutes for an hour.
• Enjoy :) Of course if you like them more or less spicy, just adjust the amount of pepper.
• Someone decided he was King of the House over the weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture when he was standing on the boxes with the hairbrush in his hand like it was his sceptor.

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Cooper :: 12 months

AKA one year ...

My, how this year has flown by! It's been the best :)

Mister Cooper, you sure have developed your very own personality this month. You sure have figured out how to use those emotions, too.

You LOVE to laugh. And we love to hear it. I think it's my favorite sound in the whole world. You especially like us blowing shlerberts on your tubby little belly.

While you tend to go with the flow, you definitely have a mind of your own and a bit of a sassy streak as well. If you aren't happy, you won't hesitate to express that.

You are a very curious little boy. If you hear something, you whip your head around to see what it is. Sometimes, I swear I can see the gears moving inside your sweet little head.

You aren't just walking, you are running now. It's just the cutest! That helps the nosiness :)

You are my mischevious little man. I swear, just before you get into something, you turn and give me a sneaky little smile. You have definitely learned the word no. You also are a climber - most recently, trying to climb up the pegs on the entertainment center.

You are quite the sweetheart, though, and will still cuddle up to your mommy and daddy. I can sit on the floor and say "mommy hug" and then you'll pitter patter my way and hold me tight. It melts my heart.

 

In terms of food, you eat it all! You've been nursing morning & night and having milk milk in the sippy cup (12 ounces total) during the day. We've officially said goodbye to the bottle - which doesn't mean you're doing fantastic with the sippy, but things are better and you don't need the bottle.

I'm trying to decide how to wean you completely, and emotionally prepare myself.

You eat three meals a day (with pretty large servings!) and also a couple snacks. I'm also working to have you eat more table food - this mama is getting tired of the purees! For your birthday, daddy made pancakes, and you thought they were good. You also like pizza and hot dogs :) I use Cheerios to distract you in the mornings. Oh, and you absolutely loved our Thanksgiving meal.

Cooper, you cut a new tooth that showed up Thanksgiving morning, so we're now at seven. I think another is pretty close behind.

You know the word "no" {wonder why} and you yell "Mama" all the time. You will also say bye, Dada, da {dog} and sometimes Doc, our horse.

Last week, we had you hanging out in just a diaper since your clothes were soaked from sippy cup malfunctions. You have learned to take off your dipe, and were walking around the living room wearing nothing but socks. Too cute.

We go to the doctor today, so I'll have to update with your stats tomorrow :) I'd guess you weigh about 22 pounds and are about 30 inches tall.

Your body shape is hilarious - you have broad shoulders (like Daddy), a long torso (like Mommy), a skinny little waist (all Daddy!) and short legs. Seriously. You can wear 9-12 and 12-18 month shirts, but can still wear 6-9 month pants ... along with 12 month, of course. And your feet are huge! You are already outgrowing the 18 month socks.

You are all boy and then some - you like to play with/roll the ball, anything with wheels, and trains! You love to go outside, and it kills me when it's too cold to let you play outdoors.

My dear, sweet baby boy:

This has been the greatest year. I love being able to watch you grow and develop and hit all these milestones. You have taught me so much about life. You will always be my baby boy, no matter what. I thank God that he chose me to be your mama.


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The week before ...

This being the week before my baby turns 1, I'm doing a lot of reminiscing. So often, I think "this time a year ago" and it's just absolutely insane. I mean, it feels like we were just celebrating Christmas last week.

Anyhow, one of the projects I'm working on for his party is a display of all his monthly pictures. So I figured I would share them on the old blog as well. Just in case anything ever happens to my computer, iPhone, and the hard copies :)

I received the prints in the mail yesterday and had them all laid out when hubs got home. We were debating our favorites. I think mine are 5 (chubby), 8 (grown!) and 10 (silly.)

I'm so glad I got the monthly onesie stickers - It gave me the motivation and reason to make sure I got a photo each month, and for that I am incredibly grateful.