Cooper

Things I want to remember...

You are a baby that wants to be held ALL THE TIME!

At 4 months you are still waking up 2-3 times a night to eat. While this is exhausting, I enjoy the moment I snuggle you up close to me in bed to eat. We lay face to face and your little hands feel so cold against my bare chest.

You love touching me while you eat. Your hand is either running up and down my neck/chest or you are holding my hand.

You do not seem to sleep much compared to your sister. You nap once during the day for 1-2 hours in our bed. It is the only place I can get you to sleep for any length of time! Otherwise you are awake from sun up to sun down without much more than 2 or 3 - 10 minute snoozes.

You are a very light sleeper. Any noise startles you.

You love to be swaddled.

You love your nook.

You love your bath time. You kick and splash and giggle like it is the most fun thing ever!

You sigh and make cooing noises in your sleep.

You love watching your sister do anything... read, dance, play... she seems to amaze you.

You are often called "Coop" or "Coopey" or "Super Duper Cooper"

We are using cloth diapers. Unlike your sister, you have only ever had diaper rash once. For a day. I can't tell you how many jars of Aquaphor we went thru with your sister.

Your light blonde hair is starting to grow longer and we can't wait to give you a mohawk!

I could cuddle and kiss you all day long.

You always want to be sitting up. Today I brought out the jumparoo for the first time and you loved it! It is the first time in 4 months that you are happy for an extended period of time somewhere else other than my or your daddy's arms!

Tonight I got baby wash in your eyes. The bottle said, "as gentle on eyes as pure water"... you thought otherwise.

A song I made up that makes you giggle: "I love your cheeks and I love your nose. I love your forehead and I love your toes. I love your hands and I love your belly... and I even love when your butt is smelly! I love you, yes I do. I love you, yes I do."

You laugh whenever I growl... or make a sound that sounds like a pirate going "grrrrr."

At almost 4 months you are wearing 9-12 month clothes. Usually 12 month shirts and 9 month pants... you are going to be one big boy. I picture you growing up big and tall like your daddy's Uncle Mark.

With as little as you will sleep at home... you will always sleep when we drive.

I could probably collect 23 cups of drool from your chin every day.

You are getting closer and closer to rolling over. You are getting your lower body into it... but just aren't quite there yet. I think you would scare yourself if you did it!

Since you were born your Aunt Katie could make you smile and giggle more than anyone else... even me. But I think I've finally caught up :).

I always thought you would be my last pregnancy, my last child. I would love another, but your daddy thought 2 was enough. Tonight for the first time ever your daddy and I talked about the possibility of more children and when! So you just might get another brother or sister (or both) some day! This makes my heart burst with happiness!

I love you with all my heart Cooper.

I need your help!

I need a new blog header. Anyone know where I can get one made? Preferably for free? Let me know!!

new year, new us

2010. Well, here's hoping this year brings us better things on the financial front then 2009 did. We just seem to be taking hit after hit financially and because of this I have started looking for a job again. I don't want anyone to say, "oh you can find areas to cut costs... but you are the most important person in your child's life... they are only young once." Believe me, I know all this and it pulls (more like YANKS) on my heart strings and I've cried my eyes out about it but there is only so much that one income can do for you and when it can barely pay all your bills there is a problem. We need to eat. We have a mortgage. We have medical bills. We have student loans. We have credit card debt - which is scheduled to be paid off in Dec 2012... then we will be debt free... what a feeling! We have propane, cable/internet, cell phones, electric, water/garbage, a 2nd mortgage, car insurance, life insurance, 2 car payments, gas, groceries and I'm sad to add... we'll soon probably have daycare costs. We do the minimum on everything... we don't have fancy cable where you can watch movies on demand or tivo your favorite shows. We don't have internet or anything fancy on our cell phones... just the basics. But yet even with the basic everything we cannot seem to get ahead. It is so frustrating. So please pray that I can find a job that I somewhat enjoy. That my children are happy and thriving in whatever environment they are put in (home or daycare). That a little weight is lifted off my husbands shoulders. The last thing I want him to feel like is a failure because he can't support his family. We simply have to many bills.

My New Years Resolution is to become more stable financially (and to post more entries here!). To have savings. To be able to go to a movie or out to dinner once in a while with my husband... which never happens now because we wouldn't be able to afford this bill or that bill.

I dislike money. The end.

On to more happy things... my kids are cute. I know.

Cooper - 3 months - in his baptism outfit and Santa hat!
Ellie - 3 years - in her pretty dress from Great Grandma R.Santa came to Grandma Judi and Papa's house! I just think their mantle is so pretty and festive!
This morning we were up and dressed. Cleaning up the house... getting ready for the Vikings game... happy as can be.
Then he did this... while breastfeeding. So you can imagine what I also looked like. :)
I cleaned up Coop and took a shower. Then we got all ready for the Vikings game! Go Vikes!!
Now it's been hours since I started this post (funny how that works, huh!) and the Vikings game is over and we WON! 44-7! Woot woot!! They are gonna go ALL THE WAY!! (hoping anyways :))

Hmmm... what else has been going on?

Greg is having surgery in a week and a half. Our health insurance is SO AWESOME ((sarcasm)) that the hospital wants $1700 down in order to do it... they told us this LAST WEEK! So in other words... no, they are not getting that much money from us... $500 if they are lucky... but that will put a dent in our already barely there $$ for bills, so starts the falling behind... see what I mean now when I say we keep getting hit with odd ball things financially!

The weather here is TERRIBLE. Cold. Why do I live here? Today's high was supposed to be 4. Not 40, no. 4! Brrrr. I'm ready to move somewhere warm.

We bought a for sale sign for our house... it is still sitting in the kitchen.

We watched the Hangover the other night. Hilarious.

Ellie went to her first movie yesterday with my parents. They went to the Princess and the Frog. We were wondering how she'd do with the dark and the loudness of it all. But she loved it!

Ellie funny: today she asked me if my boobs also made juice!! haha! Those little kids and what they think up. Cracks me up. I love her to pieces. :)

Happy New Year!

the weather outside is frightful...

Or at least it's going to be. Another foot of snow (or more) predicted on top of what we already have... snow blower's ready and so is Greg!

We are headed to my parents house tomorrow to spend a few days there... otherwise I have a feeling we are going to be snowed in on Christmas eve and Christmas day. So I better go make my gigantic list of baby/kid stuff that they require to get through 2 (maybe 3) days. Ugh.

A few more pics before I go... my attempt to get a Christmas card... didn't go so well.

Merry Christmas to you all!

flower girl to be... September 2010

my wish list

I really, really, really want a Kindle for Christmas. I'll keep dreaming...

This year I asked for more practical things as we NEED some things... even though I WANT some other things.

I asked for sheets, a loaf pan and a couple cookie sheets. Gift cards for gas, groceries and the place I get my haircut. A food processor so I can make most of Coop's food. Diapers for Coop (we cloth). I even asked for a new kitchen broom. Lame huh? Such is life in this economy.

My favorite Christmas presents are right here... aren't they the cutest?! :)

i hate snow

I'm hunkered down. Are you? (If you live in SE Minnesota) 10-15+ inches of snow is headed our way this evening and tomorrow. Yippee. ((sarcasm))

I will not be going anywhere. I HATE driving in this weather. Honestly out in the boonies where we live we'll be lucky to have our roads plowed by Thursday. Ish. Why do I live here?!

yeah, i know. i rock.

So we are broke. Who isn't these days... but I needed a baptism outfit for Cooper. And I cannot stand those ugly tuxedo looking things they have in all the stores. (Sorry if your baby wore one, it's just my opinion.) I found this second hand baby store in Rochester, MN a year ago or so and I LOVE it! I was there a couple weeks ago and found this sweet little white Gap sweater with a matching hat for $5.99. Then a couple days later I was trying to figure out how I was going to find white pants and I just thought I'd check ebay. Well I found these adorable little Ralph Lauren corduroy pants for $5.99. How perfect was that! For less than $12 I have a super cute outfit. I'm proud of myself. Have you ever seen how much those little tux's cost!?!?! It's like one month of my cell phone bill! No. Thank. You.