Cooper-12 months

Cooper's 12 month official stats:

Height:  29"  (15-16%)

Weight:  19lbs. 4oz. (22-23%

Head:  18.5"  (75-80%)

We had Cooper's 12 month doctor's visit on Monday, and he checked out pretty good.  He is growing and developing perfectly.  He put on weight, which was good since he was down just a bit before his eye surgery!   That would explain why the 9 month clothes are starting to get a little small.  We have started the transition to 12 months.  He's still wearing the size 3 diapers, and it seems like we'll be in that size for a while yet.  He has 5 teeth now...2 on bottom, and 3 on top,  that 4th one on the top could come through anytime (if it hasn't already).  

The only "bad" thing at the check up was we found Cooper was a little low on his hemoglobin count.  So, we have to start giving him Iron supplements for the next month and recheck it then.  We started this last night, it's a bit of a process to get 3 droppers down him, brush his death, rinse with water, and  chase it with orange juice.  Apparently the OJ helps the Iron absorption process.  We also have to hold off any milk or dairy product for an hour after the supplement dose.  Just another process to add to daily life!  We'll get it figured out.  

Cooper is a busy, crazy, ornery little boy these days!  He is into EVERYTHING!  He is so much more inquisitive, explorative, and curious than his sister was at this age.  It's just crazy!  He's very fast at getting around (and getting into trouble).  He has taken quite a few unassisted steps over the last few weeks.  We could have a full blown walker any day now.  Oh man, will that be fun?!?  He figured out how to crawl into Izzy's dog kennel this morning.  He found it very funny, as did Delaney.  

He seems to be eating like a horse these days.  He's made the transition over to whole milk and all table food.  He eats what we eat more time than not, and he gets really made if we don't give him what we're having.  His current favorites are bananas, blueberries, bread, yogurt, cheese, and crackers.  He has a serious sweet tooth, and loves pretty much anything of that nature.  He seems to prefer water to milk, which is the exact opposite of Delaney at his age.  He hasn't missed his bottle too much, and could care less about a drink at bedtime.  Those transitions have been pretty easy so far.  

He is all boy.  He loves cars, balls, being loud & crazy, smashing things together, beating things like a drum, climbing, etc.  He's a handful!  He also still enjoys an occasional snuggle, but these are more brief and infrequent all the time :(.  Delaney can get him to laugh and giggle with the simplest, crazy thing.  Daddy is is favorite for playing, and I still win the snuggle game.  He has a new found interest in Izzy, but Izzy pretty much wants nothing to do with him.  

I still can't believe we have a 1-year-old.  I look at him and see how he's grown and changed, but I'm still clinging to my little baby!  We love you baby boy no matter how big you get!  

Dear Cooper

To my dearest little boy, I cannot believe you are a year old!  It seems like just yesterday you were born this tiny little Christmas baby, yet it's hard to remember a time you weren't here.  You have completed our family, and filled a hole we didn't even know was there.  You are a perfect fit!  

You stole our hearts the minute you were born, and you continue to have all of us wrapped around your little finger.  Your big sister was initially disappointed you were a little boy, but it didn't take long for you to cast your little spell and convince her that little brothers aren't so bad.  Now, she wouldn't trade you for the world, and you adore her!  You two are so similar, and so different in so many ways!  You are basically clones of each other in the looks department, but your personalities seems to be a little more different.   I can't wait for you to be able to talk to your sister. I have a feeling you're going to have a lot to say!  When you are apart (which is rare), you two miss each other terribly.  Sometimes at bedtime you too goofballs screw around in your room, and it just melts my heart.  I can't imagine what that situation will be like in the near future as your grow!  You two already have so much fun with each other, and I know this will only continue throughout your lives!  I hope you always cherish each other like you do now!  

You have recently discovered the big kid, funny guy that is your Daddy!  You love to play with him!  You were a little slow to warm up to Daddy, but now I think most times you prefer Dad to Mom!  Daddy loves to make you laugh, and you are an easy mark for him!  You find Daddy hilarious!  You follow him around the house...bedroom, kitchen, bathroom (ew!)...nothing is off limits!  I imagine this will continue for many, many years.  You look just like Daddy did when he was your age.  Daddy was, of course, a little bigger than you are, but all the features are his!  Your favorite game with Daddy is "hide-and-seek" with a blanket.  You also LOVE when Daddy gives you a bath!  Daddy and you have some epic tickle fests.  I think it will be so much fun to watch you grow and rough-house with Daddy!  You two are headed for so many great father-son moments!  I can't wait to watch!  Daddy would never admit how much he wanted a little boy, but I know deep down in his heart he is chomping at the bit to teach you so many things!  

Oh, Cooper, you have stolen Mommy's heart.  You have me right where you want me.  You are a pure joy, and aside from the lack of sleep, I wouldn't have traded a minute of this last year with you!  You still come to Mommy when you need a snuggle or something isn't quite right.  You still enjoy a good rocking session if the moment strikes, and you still like to accompany me with my many one-handed tasks!  You seem to have inherited one thing from me...my sweet tooth!  Sorry kid, but I'm so excited to share so many treats with you!  I always wanted a little boy, and you, son, are more than I could have ever asked for!  I have so many dreams and aspirations for you!  I can't wait to watch you grow up, but I'm hanging onto these early, baby times for dear life! Don't grow up too fast, Cooper!  

Like I said, you are perfect fit for our little family!  You have given us so much joy, laughter, and love over the last year!  You have a BIG personality in that little body, and we can't wait to see what unfolds for you!  We love you to the moon and back!  

All these pictures were taken at the Nebraska State Capital by Cori Johnson with Fresh Photography!  I will share a few more soon!

Cooper's First Birthday Party

This not to little man will be 1 year old tomorrow!  I cannot believe it's already been a year, yet it's hard to remember life before Cooper!  We celebrated a little early over this past weekend.  We wanted all of our "immediate" family there, so we graciously accepted Grandma and Papa Farm's offer to host the party for us.  This meant that Cooper's only great grandparents could attend, and it cut the travel time in half for Aunt Jess & Uncle Nick!  We were so excited that everyone was able to come, and the weather in Nebraska (and Iowa) in December cooperated enough for everyone to come and make it back home safely!  I wanted to make Cooper's big day special but low key, so a family affair worked out perfectly.  The "theme" was a Charlie Brown Christmas.  I figured it's the holiday season, so we might as well embrace it.  Cooper is a bit of a peanut anyway, his first 2 initials are C.B., and he has a beagle for a dog.  I thought it was a perfect theme!  Little did I know that "Peanuts" inspired party supplies don't really exist right now.  We did the best we could, so the theme was a little more subtle than it started in my head!

I decided I needed to make Cooper something for his birthday party, so I make this memory board for him.  I followed a couple Pinterest tutorials, and I'm really proud of how it turned out.  It's the perfect little momento from this time in Cooper's life!  

I hung all of Cooper's monthly pictures up on  Grandma's mantle.  I didn't think he'd really grown all that much until I saw all the photos lined up!  He has grown, and so has his crazy hair!  

Isn't this just adorable!  A super talented baker from our hometown made this perfect little cake!  It was sooo delicious!  The cake was a fudge marble cake with fudge filling!  Cooper's little smash cake was white with buttercream filling.  

As you can see, Cooper got one thing from me...my sweet tooth!  The kid LOVES sweets, and the cake was no exception.  It didn't take him long to dig right in.  He went directly in the bath following the cake eating!

 

Cooper was royally spoiled by all his relatives!  He got some super fun new toys that are much more "boy" friendly!  I did notice; however, that every single one of them makes noise...

 

Cooper had a lot of help from all his cousins and big sister testing out his new boys.  We are all working on sharing!  

He tried each of them out, and so far he really seems to enjoy all of them.  He's a busy little guy, so some new things to play with are perfect for him!  

 

Cooper had a lot of fun playing with all his family.  I didn't snap as many family pictures as I intended, but here's a couple.  I thought this one of him playing with Papa Tekamah and the red balloon was cute!  

Cooper has recently became very attached to Grandma Tekamah. When Grandma was holding cousin Parker, Cooper got very jealous and weaseled his way onto Grandma's lap.  She had her hands full for a little while!   

It was the perfect way to celebrate our little man!  I couldn't have asked for anything more!  We will have just a small little celebration tomorrow night at home just the four of us, and we'll take come treats to share with all of Cooper's friends at Holly's tomorrow. The birthday week continues...

Cooper-11 months

Cooper turned 11 month old this week!  Here he is with his crazy hair!  I can't believe we are now less than a month from his first birthday!  Time escapes me on a daily basis, but this last year (as long and exhausting as it's been) has absolutely flown by!  The little man has changed quite a bit in the last month.  He's weighing in at 18 lbs 9 oz.  I'm not sure how long/tall he is, I should measure that!  He's still wearing 9 month size clothes and size 3 diapers.  He's still working on more teeth, as he still only has the bottom 2 in.  The doctor says all 4 on top are bulging and ready to pop through any time.

Cooper is standing more than sitting it seems like these days.  He is constantly pulling up on furniture, toys, even walls.  He cruises around furniture almost running.  He's crazy!  He still takes some crazy falls when he gets a little too ambitious, but he seems like a tough kid as most of the falls don't hardly phase him.  We have even caught him standing unassisted a few times here in the last week, so I'm betting we have a walker by the time his birthday rolls around!

Cooper has had some major diet changes in the last month.  We started formula a month ago.  I was really hoping to make it to a year nursing, but between me being sick for about 6 weeks straight and Cooper not really caring too much it just didn't work out.  He has adjusted fine to the formula, so that is a blessing.  He has also decided he's done with baby food...all cereal, purees, etc. have been completely boycotted for a few weeks now.  He wants the real food, and he devours it.  He seems like like most things we've given him.  Bananas are a complete favorite right now. He'll eat a whole banana if we let him.  He also gets really mad if one of us are eating anything and don't share with him.  He's at that little birdie stage that will crawl over, stand up, and open his mouth for a bite like a little bird!

He's a mischievous little man.  He is constantly getting into things he shouldn't, and he gets the naughtiest little grin on his face when scolded.  He loves to play, and he loves people.  He'll play on his own if you're in the same room as him, but if you're not he'll follow you wherever you go...the kitchen, the bathroom, doesn't matter!  He's become particularly interested in what Daddy's up to lately.  He's on the verge of dancing, which I'm anxiously awaiting, as he'll start bouncing a little and shaking when he hears a tune he likes.  I can't want for a Delaney & Cooper dance party!

Cooper has graduated to "big boy" baths this month.  He now sits on his own and plays with his toys in the water.  He LOVES bathtime!  If the water starts, he makes a beeline for the bathroom.  If it's Delaney's turn and he has to wait, he stands on the side of the tub whining to get in.  They have even started bathing together which they have both really enjoyed.  I'm sure this won't be practical or appropriate for very long, but for now it's fun!

Next week, Cooper is going to have a outpatient surgery to open up his tear ducts that have been clogged since birth.  We were hopeful that they'd open on their own, but they haven't and they have gotten more and more irritated as time has passed.  It's a minor 10-minute procedure, but he does have to have anesthesia.  Obviously, I'm worried about this, and already losing a little sleep.  I keep trying to give myself some perceptiveness that we could be facing something far worse than a 10 minute outpatient procedure, and this is "no big deal" in the grand scheme of things...easier said that done.  I'm sure those 10 minutes (or however long he's "away" from us next week) will be some of the longest minutes of my life, I'm not looking forward to it.  I am looking forward to not having to rub and clean his eyes off multiple times a day.  He has really started to hate it, so I won't miss that little battle.  So, say a prayer for our little man for a quick, safe, and successful surgery next Thusday, and say a little prayer for this worried Momma!

We are counting down until Cooper's birthday party!  We are going to celebrate with the entire family at Grandpa & Papa Farm's House, so that's definitely something we are all looking forward to!

Halloween 2014

  Last week, we celebrated Halloween with several fun activities for the kiddos.  Enjoy the pictures!  Delaney was SOOOOOO excited all week...I can't imagine what she'll be like at Christmas.  Like almost every other little girl ages 2-10, Delaney wanted to be Elsa from the moment she saw Frozen.  Since Cooper doesn't really care yet, we decided he'd be Olaf to match.  I'm sure I'll only get away with the themed costumes for a few years, so I better take advantage of it while I can.  

We started out the week with our annual trip to Boo at the Zoo at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.  We had to skip last year because Delaney got so sick the week of Halloween, so we were excited to go back.  It was Cooper's first time at Boo at the Zoo too!  He liked the people watching!

Here's Cooper hanging out as Olaf after Boo at the Zoo!  He's so busy these days, I didn't really get a good picture of him in his costume.  Bummer!

The next activity was Pumpkin Carving!  Delaney was hesitant to "dig in", but once she overcame her fear she was all in!  

After it was all cleaned out, we busted out the power tools to create the perfect Polka Dot Pumpkin.  For future reference, all power-tool pumpkin carving needs to be done outside..  There were pumpkin guts flying everywhere!

Here's Papa Farm's Giant Pumpkin all carved with holes!  Delaney loved her Polka Dot Pumpkin!  

Finally, Friday arrived and it was time for the Halloween Party at Holly's (daycare).  Holly invited another daycare friend over with her kids, so this group is a little bigger than normal.

Delaney's friend Cecilia was Anna from Frozen, so here's the Frozen group.  Cooper would only tolerate his hat, and wouldn't stay put for a picture!  HA!

After work, it was time to Trick or Treating!  Here's Delaney, AKA Elsa, all dressed and ready to go brave the frigid temperatures!  Our sweet neighbor friend, Greyson (who's 9) invited Delaney to trick or treat with him and his friend!  It was so nice of him to include her.  They really have a brother/sister relationship!  Delaney was so excited to go with the big boys (and the dad's)!

Here's Elsa and her bodyguards.  Greyson (zombie WWII soldier) is on the right, and his sweet friend Justin (Call of Duty Ghost) is on the left.  They were so nice to little Delaney!  What good boys!

Here are our beautiful babies all dressed up!  We had a ball with Halloween this year!  I hope you all did too!  

Bathroom Redo

About 3 weeks ago, we started our DIY Bathroom makeover.  Craig did all of the work, and I made most of the decisions and chased the kids while he worked.  I am so proud of what he did and how it turned out.  I'm also so glad it's done.  Three weeks of all of us sharing the small master bathroom was a little long...  I so wish we would have done it years ago.  The room feels bigger, brighter, and happier.  The sad part is I don't have any recent "before pictures".  These are from before we bought the house, but the only thing different  for the last 6 years was the blue towels and seat cover. 

So, you can see it was a darker olive green/brown color with vinyl floors and laminate countertops.  All of the fixtures were write with chrome.  

So, I came home from work one day to find my vinyl floors were ripped out and being prepped for new ceramic tile.  We had been talking about starting this project soon, but one day Craig started.  We were shooting to have it done by November 1st, and we are actually ahead of schedule minus a few minor details.  Here's the new tile.  Similar color to the vinyl, but a little more interesting (and clean!).  It has grey and tan swirls on a white background.  

One of the hardest parts for me is always choosing the paint color.  After 6 samples from Lowe's, we settled on Grand Hotel Mackinac Blue from Valspar.  This photo is slightly more green than real life, but it's close. We also replaced the toilet with this HUGE one from Kohler.  The box said "Bold. Power." ha!  It's much bigger and taller than the old one, but so far nobody has fallen off or in, so I think we're good!  

It's hard to take pictures with a cell phone of light figures, but here's the new one!  It's brushed nickel with frosted glass.  The previous was chrome with naked light bulbs that did nothing but collect and burn dust.  This is a great improvement.  

And now, the pièce de résistance, the counter-top!!!  We definitely upgraded here!  We went with a Onyx top from Lowe's in the color Keystone with a gloss finish.  I LOVE IT!  It's sink is seamlessly inlayed in the counter-top, which make it is easier to clean.  We also went with the widespread faucet in brushed nickel with two handles which is easier for the kids to operate and for me to clean.  We added hardware to the existing vanity to change it up a bit.  We also upgraded the towel ring to brushed nickle and electrical reciprocals to white. 

My mom redid her bathrooms last year, and she used hooks instead of towel bars.  I loved this idea, so I did the same here.  I think it's great for bathrooms that have more than one person using them daily.  You get more space for towels!  I think it's also going to be easier for Delaney to use when she's done with the hooded towels.  I also love my shower curtain.  I looked EVERYWHERE for something I liked that "wasn't crazy or floral" that Craig approved.  This Kate Spade curtain I found on eBay was the perfect fit!  We also upgraded to a curved shower curtain rod, so even the shower itself feels bigger.  We upgraded the trim kit and shower head to brushed nickel, but kept the existing fiberglass shower.  We just gave it a good cleaning with some WD-40 (who knew?) and a power brush with some Soft Scrub.

We added a couple decorative shelves over the toilet for some balance.  I'm still working on the other decorative elements.  I have now added a clock and a picture frame to the shelves.  I'm planning to get a little plant and then some wall art for over the towel hooks.  We also are going to frame the mirror.  It's actually glued to the wall, so we couldn't just take it down and replace it.  We're going to dress it up a bit though!  

I'm so happy with how it turned out!  Thanks Craig for all your hard work!  I'm so lucky to have a handy husband!  

Cooper-10 Months

Cooper is officially 10 months old!?!  I'm not sure where the last 10 months have gone, but they have flown by.  This picture captures the essence of Cooper pretty well.  He's a silly, little spitfire full of smiles.  At 10 months, I think he might be starting to grow just a little bit.  He's weighing about 18lbs and a few ounces.  I think he's probably 29 or 30 inches long...I haven't officially measured him.  The 9 month clothes are finally fitting better than the 6 months, and we're finishing up the last of the size 2 diapers.

He has also been sleeping a bit better lately too.  For the last few days he's been waking up between 5:30 or 6 for breakfast, and then going back to bed until after 8.  Makes for a long day for me, but he seems happy.  Since his new favorite thing is to pull up and stand, this has made bedtime lots of fun.  He loves to stand up in his crib and peak out the door.  He's so proud of himself!  It's adorable (naughty), but adorable.

Cooper wants to be a big kid.  He could care less about bottles or baby food.  He wants the real stuff.  He doesn't like everything I give him, but he wants it.  He is at the stage of if you're eating something, you better expect to share.  He also tries to do things like big kids...standing, walking, climbing, etc.  He can't wait to grow up.  He is walking a few steps here and then (holding onto something, of course).  I expect he'll be walking well before his birthday, but we'll see.

He still only have 2 teeth.  I swear my kids are the slowest teethers on the planet.  They seem to be bothering him a bit more these days.  I hope that means we're getting closer to them actually coming in.  Poor kid has been dealing with them for months.

I think he's on the verge of dancing.  I've caught him rocking and bouncing to the beat when something is playing.  I can't wait for him to have a big dance party with his big sister.  He also seems to be asking for a set of drums for Christmas (don't get any ideas, grandparents!), as he is always drumming on something.

He's still looking for trouble.  Recent favorites have been outlets, power cords, and dog bowls.  He thinks he's very funny when he gets busted (except when Delaney is doing the busting).  He gets himself stuck in small spaces, and just gets mad.  He goes over things rather than around them...this includes toys, pillows, Daddies, and books. Speaking of Daddy, Cooper has become a bit of a Daddy's boy here recently.  It's so fun to watch.  He thinks Daddy is pretty funny!

Cooper seems to be getting louder, crazier, and more funny the older he gets.  His little personality and smile are such a blessing!  We love him to pieces.