Rodeo

Last Saturday I went to the Rodeo with my 2 best friends, Karrie and Staci.  The 3 of us have been going to the Rodeo for years now and it has become a little tradition for us.  Staci now lives in New Orleans so we weren't able to go together last year (though Justin and I went) but this year, Staci came into town and we were able to go again!  What's not to love about the Houston Rodeo....cowboy boots, amazing and unique food, Bull riding, mutton bustin and of course the concert!

Here we are with our traditional corn dog on a stick.  Best corn dog around!

After the Concert

After the concert we all shared Cookie Dough on a stick.  Definitely can't get that anywhere else

Karrie started us off...

Next was Staci's turn

I finished it up...Yummy!!!

It was a good time all around but it was the longest I had ever been away from Cooper...10 hours to be exact!  I had just stopped nursing, otherwise, I don't think I would have been able to do it.  Since we don't have a babysitter right now and Justin is so busy with work and school, it was the first time I was actually able to get away to do something fun.  Though it was much needed, I definitely missed my boy!  I thought about him a lot and couldn't get his sweet little face out of my head.  But he sure did fine without me...

Daddy and Coop on a long walk at the park

So precious

Justin did great with him and it was good for them to have some bonding time together!  I'm already looking forward to next year when can actually take him and he can enjoy looking at everything.  Goodbye Houston Rodeo...see ya next year!

How Great Thou Art

When I was in college, I vaguely remember my Bible Study teaching saying that she picked a hymn for each one of her children.  It's something that I logged in the back of my brain and thought that was a neat idea.  After getting pregnant with Cooper, I thought about it again and wanted to do the same for our children.  A lot of people choose a specific verse for each of their children,  but we are choosing a hymn instead.  The hymn we chose for Cooper was "How Great Thou Art", which is filled with rich lyrics.  As many of you know, we experienced 2 miscarriages before getting pregnant with Cooper.  Even throughout my pregnancy, I was very fearful that I would lose him as well.  I thought about choosing a song based on God's Faithfulness, but I knew that He is still Faithful even if He didn't give us the gift of children.  I knew that I needed to trust the Lord and give my fear and desire for a child to the Lord and this hymn kept popping in my head.  No matter what happens, no matter what road the Lord takes us through with Cooper, he is Great and powerful and sovereign.  This hymn also kept coming on the radio and my iPod and we would sing it in church.  I remember one specific moment when I was in church and we sang this song while I was about 8 months pregnant.  I don't know what came over me, but I could not.stop.crying.  It was the emotions coming on all at once as I was just a month away from giving birth to this sweet baby that we have been praying so long and so hard for.  I was just overwhelmed with thankfulness and praise to the Lord! I knew then that this was going to be "Cooper's Hymn"

Right now, we sing this song to Cooper every night before putting him down for bed. I will also sing it when he is super fussy and won't calm down or before nap time.  I like to think that he recognizes the song since he has heard it so many times.  My most favorite moments is when I hear Justin singing him the song over the monitor while I'm in the other room.  It's so sweet.  I'm not sure what will come from it, but I hope that every time he hears this song, he will have sweet memories of childhood.  I hope when he faces trials so difficult that he doesn't know where to turn, he will sing this song to himself.  I hope when he faces all the joys and triumphs in life...as small as getting a hit in T-ball and as big as on his wedding day...he will remember this song.  My prayer everyday is that the Lord would be Cooper's greatest treasure.  I pray that  he will sing and always remember how Great our God is!

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Happy 5 Months Coop!

My baby is 5 months old today!!  It seems like my boy is changing everyday and getting more and more fun.   Here is what's going on at 5 months:

Sleeping:   This month Cooper caught his first cold on top of getting his 2 bottom teeth so he has not been sleeping through the night regularly anymore which is a huge bummer!  The first night he had a bad cold, he woke up about 5-6 times...bringing me back to his newborn phase.  His poor nose was so runny and stuffy.  He usually goes to bed between 8:30-9:00pm so that Justin can see him when he gets off work and wakes up between 8-8:30am.  I can't complain about the wake time.  I will slowly start moving his bedtime up but for now, it works for our family so that we can have family devotion before putting him to bed.   The big accomplishment this month is that he can now fall asleep on his own!  This makes for a very happy mama and a good and content baby!  I don't have to rock him or feed him or anything like that anymore...I just put him in his crib awake and he will usually fall fast asleep.  No more stressful evenings of him crying and not wanting to sleep!  It was not super easy to train him to do it, but it also wasn't near as hard as I thought it would be either. 4 months really is the perfect age to start sleep training as he caught on pretty fast.  I usually read him a few books before putting him down for a nap to have some cuddle time with him and after that he is more than ready to be put in his crib.   

Napping: He is taking great naps now, which I remember back at 3 months, he was a horrible napper. It is true that they change every month it seems.  He takes 3 naps a day, usually around 10am, 2pm and then a short nap at 6pm.  Of course if we go out and run errands or even go for a walk it messes up our schedule because he usually falls asleep in the car/stroller and then won't be tired for his regular nap.  But that's okay, I can't be house bound to keep him on schedule.  

Eating: As of last week, Cooper has officially stopped nursing (please no hate from breastfeeding moms).  This was not by my choice but every time I would nurse him he would get SO frustrated and cry and pull away because he just wasn't getting enough.  I kept trying but alas, my milk is no more.  I think this is another reason why he was waking up so much this month, he was always hungry.  I have noticed that he is sleeping SO much better the past few nights now that I'm not nursing him.  I was really hoping to make it to 6 months, but I must say 5 months is pretty good for all I went through at the beginning.  Now I know exactly how much he is getting which is so helpful for me and he is on a much better eating schedule since before I would supplement at random times because I wasn't sure if he needed more or not.  A lot of moms say that nursing is so special with the bond you have with your baby, which I'm sure is true...but I bond with him in MANY ways without nursing.  He still spits up so much which I thought would have gotten better by now.  I'm still waiting for that to die down as he goes through many outfits a day.  We are planning to start him on solids this month and I'm excited about that!

Milestones:  Cooper has 2 super cute bottom teeth now!  It makes him look sooo cute and I just love looking at those little teeth.  I honestly didn't even realize he was teething and then all of a sudden I noticed the teeth!  I didn't think it would happen this fast.  He also started sleeping on his stomach and loves to be on his tummy.  I will lay him down on his back on the floor or in the crib, and he will immediately  roll over on his tummy.  Here I'm trying to take a picture of him on his back, but there is no point...

About to roll over after putting him on his back

"This is how I like to lay Mommy"

Cooper is also at the very beginning stages of crawling.  He will definitely move around and get up on his hands and knees.  It will take him a long time, but he can definitely get across the room.  One time I laid him down on his play gym and left the room for a couple of minutes. I came back and was shocked by how far he moved!  Here is a video of Cooper on the move...

I'm definitely looking forward to him sitting up hopefully sometime soon.  It will make bath time and play time much easier.  He is so squirmy right now, you have to be careful when changing him and holding him or he will flip right out of your arms.  I love to see how much he changes and am so thankful to stay home with him everyday.  He is just too adorable!  Next month we will celebrate his half birthday...time really is flying by!