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The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him. -Pablo Casals

Blue Steel

This is Cooper's "Blue Steel" pose. Yup, he is so my kid.

Here are just a few reasons why my little photo shoot became a bank breaker....

In honor of Halloween, I present...

Mummy Dearest.

This is my new favorite baby product/sanity saver. Cooper has outgrown his sleep sack and the swaddle wrap that goes with it. But when he tries to sleep without being swaddled, he flails and kicks and kicks and flails and cannot get to sleep. This leads to much crying from both of us.

This Miracle Wrap is aptly named and is just that. A miracle! Last night my little straight jacketed baby (I promise this is more humane than it looks) slept 7 hours (he never goes past 4) and after he ate he slept another 3 straight (he usually spends the midmorning hours getting up every hour). Whoo-hoo!

P.S. I promise that look on Cooper's face is not a look of sheer terror, but merely of surprise as I flashed him in a dimly lit room ("yeah right" said social services).

An Epooiphany

So I was marveling today at how amazing I thought it was that Cooper exploded in his swing. But the smile on his face was priceless; he thought it was hilarious. I just had him in there for a minute and I think he timed it! It was such a hoot I had to call my mom and tell her about it at her dentist appointment.

And then I reflected on how wild it is that this stuff entertains me to no end. Having a baby is awe inspiring. I think that it is like being a planet and you are the center of your universe. Then this sun (no pun intended) moves into your solar system and it draws you into it's gravitational pull and suddenly you have a new orbit forever circling this sun. And this new sun sustains life on your planet and is the reason for it's existence. It is absolutely crazy and amazingly fun.

In Dante's Divine Comedy he describes God as not merely a blinding vision of glorious light, but that He is, most of all, l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle... "The love that moves the sun and the other stars."

Yup. It's something like that.

What are you looking at??

Fat Guy in a Little Onesie

Rub my buddha belly for luck. But really I think it is time we cleaned out the chubster's closet, he is getting a bit of a gut and some deliciously kissable Michelin Man arms and legs.

But thank God he doesn't look like this kid:

Ready for Some Football

Cooper is ready to watch some football as Boise State beats San Jose. Him and his dad will have a good ole' time. I like to watch BSU, but I think that football is now on nearly every night (and we watch it nearly every night). Then on days when it's not on, we watch UFC.

I think it might suck to be the only girl in the house. Where is my Desperate Housewives? Where is my Grey's Anatomy?

Indecision

I'm awake. No, I'm asleep. No, I'm awake.

Just wanted to share our typical day:)

Grandma the Great

Grandma came up this week and we really needed her. It was a tough week. Cooper didn't feel good Monday and Tuesday we had to have his shots. I have been stressing for weeks about shots. All that business about autism and development delays and mercury and aluminum, oh my. His shots had 995 micrograms of aluminum in them, yuck. So I was stressed about that, but I know he needs to have them. Then I was stressed about them hurting him with those stupid needles. So I had to sit in the corner and Grandma had to hold Cooper. Cooper only cried for a minute... me about an hour.

Shawnae, this one is for you...

Ok, I have succumbed to the pressure from Shawnae and found some pics to post. She is kind of a blog bully. Big talker with no blog of her own.

And I don't know if Cooper is really flipping you off. But when I said that we had to take a picture because you wanted it, he did say this one was for you.

Grandma's Birthday

We went to Burley for G-ma's birthday (happy b-day!) and we had 24 hours of snow. Brrrr....we aren't ready for winter.

Funny Pics

Cooper looks like a goof in this picture, I love it.

Fat and Happy. Like his mom, this kid knows how to eat.

I Got Tagged

Thanks to Mistie for this tagging. I am getting snowed in in Burley and it has given me something to do. You suck. But luckily I ROCK so it all works out.

Here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you
Post the rules on your blog
Write six random things about yourself
Tag six-ish people at the end of your post
Let each person know he/she has been tagged
Let the tagger know when your entry is up

1. I have an irrational phobia of my achilles tendon being touched. I will kick and scream bloody murder to anyone who tries to touch it.
2. I can totally empathize with Duane. Bellybuttons really gross me out. They feel weird and I don't like anyone digging in mine. If I have belly button lint, I just have to leave it there, because I can't fish it out. As soon as they come out with belly button elimination surgery, I am all over that. Oh, and outies are even grosser (that is for you Mistie).
3. I am slightly neurotic (or more than slightly..depends on who you talk to) and I worry about everything, especially now that I have a baby.
4. I am addicted to celebrity gossip magazines and news shows. I don't know why it matters what Britney and Brangelina are up to but it does. It really, really does.
5. I can't watch sad news stories or movies because they make me cry. Especially if animals die, then I really cry.
6. I believe in Bigfoot, UFOs, and ghosts and I love cryptozoology (the study of unknown and undiscovered animals). Yes, I am a dork and I am fully aware of this fact.

As far as tagging people, I don't know 6 people (see #6 above and you will understand why). But maybe Kenze, Mitch, Toni, Mandy, and Katie will be game.

Bad Puppy, Bad

The Great Pumpkin

Dear Great Pumpkin, I am looking forward to your arrival on Halloween night. I hope you will bring me lots of presents.
-Linus

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.

-Linus

Here is my great pumpkin. Thanks to Jamie for the cute pumpkin gear.

Ha Ha

With the current economic crisis builders have begun to rethink what they offer as premium upgrades.

I am sure that there is a plausible explanation for this, but I like mine better.

Pojos Party

Saturday we made it to Jamie's little girl Emma's 5th birthday party. I was worried Cooper might have a melt down in Pojos with all the stimuli (Brandon described it as Vegas for kids-lots of neon, noise, and crazy behavior). But he was happily passed from person to person until he ended up with Jamie's mom-in-law Marsha. Cooper happily slept in her arms and she was able to multi-task taking pictures and eating birthday cake.

Marsha is super sweet. Here is the Beatrice Potter quilt that she made for Cooper (it won first place at the Central Idaho Quilters show).

A Somewhat Successful Sleep

By 10:00 am this morning I had already been spit up on and pooped on. So I was very happy to have a nice victory when Cooper was willing to take a nap (albeit a short one) in his crib. This was a huge success since he has been getting a little meaner about sleeping in his bassinet. It seems to be ok during the day, but at night he absolutely refuses to sleep in it and I have been letting him sleep in bed with me (bad mom, I know). If I am not careful he is going to be sleeping with me until he is 10. So this nap was a nice change, but I had to check on him eight times in twenty minutes since I like to maintain a tight visual at all times to make sure he is breathing (thank you Dad for all my neurotic tendencies).

Boyz in the Hood(ie)

Cooper's wonderful Aunt Sharon sent him some adorable little outfits (Cooper and his mom say THANK YOU!!). Here he is in his cute hoodie ready to play some b-ball with the homies.

He is also getting really good about holding his head up. But he kind of has too because his mom isn't going to do it for him.