August 14

We finally got our pics from the hospital. Here is Cooper 2 days into this world.

Baby Junk

As a new parent I have been given and purchased a multitude of baby gear. I make weekly trips to Babies R Us (I should probably buy stock there since I am heavily invested in the company now). And I have found some things that are essential (anything that occupies the baby for 30 seconds or more) and some that are totally worthless (what is with the bottle warmers???)

But for the most bizarre (but handy) gear I have is this fabulous timer that you can identify how long it has been since your little BOJ (bundle of joy) was fed, diapered, slept, and one other area that you can use for anything. Hypothetically, you could use it for the last time you bathed, brushed your teeth, or whatever (hypothetically, of course).

This may seem like a no brainer, but when you are working on 3 hours of sleep, you might find yourself wondering if you fed the BOJ 30 minutes ago, or 3 hours.

Happy Birthday Cooper!

It's Cooper's birthday (again). He has a lot of birthdays, but today is the big 6. He is getting so big and growing like a tree. We celebrated by taking pictures, buying a new toy (that we have no interest in) and eating, sleeping, and pooping. I can't believe it has been only 6 weeks since he entered our lives and now I can't picture my life without him. He is such a fabulous blessing!!

A Little Child Abuse Never Hurt Anyone

So I first saw these bruises on Cooper's arm and I thought oh my god, I am the worst mother in America. I really thought that I had been picking him up too rough and I was bruising his little arms. Then I caught him in the act. The little snot was giving himself hickies when I didn't feed him fast enough to make him happy. So I am not an abusive mother, I am just a neglectful one:)

Cleanliness is Overrated Anyway

Coop and I just got back from our first trip to Grandma's house by ourselves. It was nice to get naps and to be able to bathe (thank you Mom and Dad). At our house I can only pick one and napping generally wins out, so I am usually pretty dirty.

Multi-tasking

So I am learning to do more than just watch the baby. Friday I had to get ready for Lisa's Wizard of Oz birthday party by making some appetizers and ruby red slipper cookies (no, we never go to this extent for the kids' birthdays-but we always do for ours). I have found that the sling is most useful for keeping the bambino's bawling at bay and allowing me some hands free maneuvering. So Cooper helped me decorate cookies and I only dropped icing on his head a few times (don't worry I licked it off).

Whoa! Let me off this ride!

Baby reflexes crack me up. Cooper loves his infant soothing center and it puts him right to sleep. But as it swings and he sleeps, he flings his hands in the air like he is on a wild amusement ride. Sometimes he'll even have his arms hover over his blanket, just waiting to fling them in the air. All while he happily sleeps and his mom makes fun of him.

Rainbow Child

Grandma came up this weekend and we went to Art in the Park. It was a successful little jaunt except Cooper had a MABO (major ass blow out). Luckily, we had an extra change of clothes, thanks to the previous MABO the day before where I didn't have anything. You live and you learn...

Anyway, everthing at Art in the Park was super expensive. But I did find this adorable outfit that I could afford. Now I have a hippie baby. He will be ready to hang with his cousin Vicky at the Rainbow Gathering in no time.

Jealousy, my name is Clyde

For Coop's 3rd B-day we had to take some pics to see how much he is growing (see the really red hair by this day). While we were taking pictures, Clyde threw himself down on the blanket to be a baby too. He has had some jealousy problems and really wants to be treated like a baby. But hey, this is better than when we first brought Cooper home and Chloe refused to look at him (things she doesn't like-she won't look at) and Clyde would whine and freak out whenever the baby cried like he thought he was a squirrel and wanted us to give him the baby to 'take care of it'.

What the hell happened to my hair??

Monday my blond baby woke up with a darker do that looks suspiciously like he could be a red head. Since we were going to name him Finnegan if he came out red, it looks like he dodged a bullet on that one...

Have Baby...Will Travel

Last weekend we went to Grandma's house and now we know we can go anywhere...

Pictures of my super fabulous, beautiful, gorgeous, intellegent, witty, funny offspring...

The Baby Whisperer

Cooper didn't like his first bath. But he loved the 'shower' Brandon gave him to wash his hair-it immediately put him into a catatonic state. If you have ever seen the sharks on Discovery channel turn into zombies with a tummy rub, it is exactly like that.

Wow, I made that??

So I know I had been preggers for 9 mo., but it was still a huge surprise to have a baby. The whole birthing process was interesting to say the least. I had been in labor for 4 days and had already been to L&D once when I started having some serious contractions on Tuesday, August 12th. But I didn't want to be the girl who cried labor (again), so I just hung out and waited. I did take a really long bath and read a good book (the Twilight series, super good even if they are for teenagers...but hey it's not like I am reading Judy Blume:) So by the time I got out of the bath my water promptly broke. Brandon was working and it took him forever to get home so I was pretty freaked out to have a baby at home and by myself. Brandon finally made it home and we got to the hospital 2 hours after my water had broke (by then I was in VERY active labor and ready to claw some eyes out). I immediately asked for drugs (Brandon later said this embarrassed him--yes he was vying for some painful punishment later).

My parents came 20 minutes later (I think they drove 120 from Burley) and I was picturing a nice quiet, intimate birth. But I had a party instead. Jamie showed up with a cooler of treats and became our official video recorder. Jerica came and took pictures (of what I have been scared to ask), and Lisa came with treats (for herself) and took a chair down south to watch the entire show. I kind of felt like a circus freak and I apparently could have made some cash if I would have charged admission. But it ended up being really fun and I was glad all my friends crashed the event-everyone was super supportive and they were great coaches and took turns holding up various parts of my anatomy (doula? who needs a doula??)

Cooper made his entrance at 9:12 p.m. (we had come into the hospital at 5:00 p.m.) weighing 8lbs 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. I also was missing my own Dr. who (of course) was on vacation, so instead we had this fun substitute Dr. that looked and sounded like a So-Cal surfer. Throughout the birth, he referred to things being awesome, killer, sweet, and as Cooper was getting ready for his entrance-he actually told me he was ready for the 'money push'.