Girls Weekend and Pumpkin Patch Fun

This past weekend was super fun!  It started with a much needed girls weekend away with my 2 best friends Karrie and Staci.  We have been best friends since high school and it was so fun to spend time with them as we are all married now and one lives out of state.  We went to Brenham since it was close by and stayed in a nice Bed and Breakfast.  Here we are on the road fighting Houston traffic on Friday...

We then went to a nice dinner on Friday night.  It was actually the same restaurant we went to 4 years ago when we stay in a different B&B there!

We then went back to our B&B, enjoyed some wine that came with the room and talked for hours about old times and reminisced of all the memories we have made together over the past almost 15 years!

Then on Saturday we of course enjoyed a very nice Breakfast in our room...pumpkin pancakes with some type of fancy egg that I can't really remember what, but it was yummy!

Then we did what all girls do together when there are no boys.....pedicures and shopping!

We went to a flea market, walked all around the town, ate a nice lunch, ate some ice cream, and then we went to see a movie.  It was all nice, fun and very relaxing!  Definitely a change of what I normally do as a SAHM.  I'm so thankful for these girls and the lifelong friendship we have.  We have been through  A LOT together over the many years and it is pretty amazing to see where the Lord has brought us over the years.

It was the perfect amount of time to be away as I missed Cooper SO much, but it wasn't too much time away from him.  This was my first time to ever be away from him overnight and I really did miss him a lot.  I knew he was in great hands as Justin was taking care of him all weekend long and he loves his daddy!   Justin also sent me pictures throughout the day of what they were doing, which helped.   When I came home, he looked so much bigger and older!  I know I was only away 2 days, but I couldn't believe how much older he looked to me.  After seeing him everyday for a year, I guess missing a day makes you forget.  It does make me more thankful to be able to stay home with him and how much I love being with him everyday!

After I got home on Sunday, we decided to go to a pumpkin patch close to our house since it was the last day it was open.  Though Cooper is still a little young to do some of the fun things there, we had a blast!

There were tons of pumpkins, blow up rides, train ride, hay ride, and fun carnival food!

Cooper loved looking around and taking everything in.  He especially enjoyed the hay ride and train ride!

It really was a perfect weekend!  I am so blessed to have such a great friends and a wonderful family to spend the weekend with.

What I've Learned from my First Year of Motherhood....

Since Cooper turned 1 last week, I've had some time to reflect and think about the past year.  There is something big about about your first baby turning one years old.  Of course it's a big milestone for him, but it's also a pretty big milestone for us Mama's too.  I made it...and I don't mean that in a negative way as I made it through something bad, but the fact that I have one year of Motherhood under my belt.  One.Entire.Year.

I remember after having Cooper and being in the hospital for 2 days with some amazing nurses, I asked if I could take them home with me.  Though taking your baby home with you for the first time is incredibly exciting,  it's also a bit scary.  You are responsible for this human life who is completely dependent on you for everything.  Add in him starving because of my low milk supply and his acid reflux, I never thought I would make it to one year.  But here we are....we made it and Cooper is still alive and growing :)  We got past the "I'm so tired I don't know what day it is" moments, the "there is no way you can have anything more to spit up in your body" moments, and the "please, please, please just go to sleep" moments.  We made it!

I'm obviously no expert at all since I have only been a mom for a year now, but here are some things I have learned in my 1st year of Motherhood that I would share with a first time mom:

• Nothing can prepare you for having a newborn.   It is very good to take classes, read (Baby Wise is my favorite), and seek counsel from other Moms, but nothing can really prepare for that first month with your little love.

• It is OKAY if you have to supplement.  I took the breastfeeding classes, read the books, had a lactation consultant, and was very passionate that I would breastfeed no matter how hard it is!  Well, I had no idea that I would struggle greatly with low milk supply (I never even felt my milk come in) and that my poor baby would be starving and crying nonstop.  The doctor basically told me that I had to supplement (against my wishes) or Cooper would have to go to the hospital and get an IV since he was losing weight and not having wet diapers.  I had no choice but to supplement.  I am so thankful that we live in a time where there is great formula out there so our poor babies wouldn't be malnourished or even die, which is probably what happened back in the day if a women had this issue.   Long Story short, some women have to supplement and that is okay.  

• Some babies are easy, some babies are difficult and it has nothing to do with your parenting.  Cooper was not an easy newborn, which I can't really blame him...he was hungry and had acid reflux and spit up all the time.  He was more of a fussy newborn, while there are other newborns who just sleep, eat, and are super content.  

• Things get SO much easy after 3 months.  I remember there was something about that 3 months mark where I was finally feeling like a normal person again.  Cooper was sleeping through the night, sleeping in his own crib and he was finally on a good schedule.  

• "The days are long, but the years are short."  I'm sure you have heard this quote and yes, it is true.  Some days seem very, very long.  And the first 3 months are long, but after that I blinked and he was a year old.

• Being a Stay at Home Mom is lonely, but worth it.  This is probably no surprise especially when you only have one child who can't communicate with you yet.  It's hard when you can't leave your house because your child is having a rough day or needs to nap, or is sick.  It's hard when you go days without talking to anyone.  It's hard going from 2 incomes to 1.  Is it worth it? Absolutely.  I love, love, love being with him everyday and teaching him and watching him change and learn.  It is lonely, but it's so worth it.  

• It will get better.  People will tell you that all the time and it's so true.  The time when you are up all night and don't think you will ever get a good night sleep again, you will.  The time when you don't think you child will ever do _____, he will.  It does get better!

• Don't compare your child to other children and don't go on and on with how much your child can do (unless it's to your spouse or the grandparents).   Everyone says this but it really is hard not to compare your child's progress with others, especially during the 1st year.  I think it's worse with you 1st child because you want so badly for them to hit their milestones on time.  Some babies hit them a lot sooner, some babies a lot later, but they will ALL catch up and in Kindergarten, they will all be walking, talking, and potty trained :)  

• "The lows are really low, but the highs are really high".  My good friend says this and it is so true.  The lows of motherhood can be pretty low and harder than you imagine.  But the highs are even higher than you ever thought possible.  And those highs and joy that you feel when you look at your sweet blessing and he laughs so hard makes you forget about all the lows.

• God is Sovereign.  I believe we are way more scared and worried as new parents than our own parent's generation.  All I hear about is don't do ____ because your child will get _____.  Or this particular food is horrible for your child and will cause _____.  God is Sovereign!  I'm not at all saying that I will let my child play in the street or allow him to eat junk food all day.  God gave us wisdom to do what is best for our child.  But I am saying that your child will not get Autism or cancer or a horrible illness just because you fed them formula, vaccinated them, or gave them non organic food.  It is because God lovingly chose that particular path for your family for a greater purpose to glorify Him with.  

• God is Faithful.  He chose me specifically to be Cooper's Mom.  He created his life so perfectly inside me and his personality and demeanor is exactly how God created him.  It is a huge calling and blessing to be a Mom.   God is so faithful to give you wisdom, strength, and encouragement just when you need it.  

I LOVE being a Mom!  It truly is a blessing and JOY.  I know I have so much more to learn about Motherhood as I have just started, but I am thankful to be on this crazy journey.  

Cooper's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Cooper's 1st Birthday party at our house.   We just invited family since of course Cooper would not care who was there and it really was perfect.  With just family (plus a friend who is like family) we had 15 people here and it was really fun!  I decided to do an Aggie football themed party.  I know, I know, it does seem like we are obsessed with Aggies (which we kind of are), but it was a very easy theme since it was the fall for football season, there are so many ideas for football themed parties (like Super Bowl parties), and we had a ton of A&M/maroon stuff to use as decor!

I also figured this will probably be the last time I can pick the theme as next year it will be whatever he is obsessed with at the time.  My original plan was to have the party around the time of the Aggie game so we could watch that towards the end of the party, but it wasn't on until 7:30pm, which is Cooper's bedtime.  That would have made it more perfect but we still had football on and it worked out well since we were able to talk and visit more.

It's not a football party without some tailgate food

Cooper got to enjoy his first chicken salad sandwich and he LOVED it!  He ate the whole thing.

And is he not the cutest thing ever with his Birthday hat on?  I loved it.

After we ate, we sang Happy Birthday to Cooper which was so cute to watch his face.  He was looking around at everyone and I'm sure his curious mind was running.  He had a look on his face like "what are you guys doing??"

Thanks to my friend Sheri who made the football smash cake and the cupcakes!  They were so good!

I was so excited for Cooper to have his very first taste of cake and chocolate.  At first he didn't want to try it, so I had to put some of it in his mouth and he realized quickly that this is some good stuff!

He was actually a very clean eater...he kept taking small bites of it and putting it in his mouth.  There was no "smashing" going on, he was just enjoying it.  He was trying to eat it as fast as he could :)

Right when I was wondering how much is too much to give him, he decided to throw the cake on the floor, which is his signal that he's done.  I am trying to break him of that habit!  I'm glad to know he stopped when he was full though.

After the cake we opened up gifts.  Coop was not very interested in that, the boy just won't sit still in my lap.  He is constantly on the go and wants to move around.

I don't have many toys for him so it was a huge blessing to get so many great toys from family.  It's so fun to watch him explore them all.

Peyton was SO excited to give Cooper his train set, he was jumping up and down when we were opening it.  The cousins were so sweet playing together.

After we opened up the gifts, we watched a slideshow I put together for his first year of life.  It was a fun little keepsake to have of his 1st year and all the memories that we made.  Everyone there was in it too at some point, so it was special.

It was such a fun day filled with special memories!  Cooper did SO good too!  He skipped an entire nap and still wasn't fussy one bit.  He had so much fun playing with everyone there, you couldn't even tell he was tired.  I'm so thankful for everyone who came, some driving 3 hours, some driving 1 hour.  It's still hard to believe that I have a one year old.  This little boy has my heart.  We love you sweet boy!!

My One Year Old!

Well, it's true...I officially have a one year old!  My sweet baby turned one last Friday on October 11th

Sadly, this will be my last monthly update.  I know I will still update about Cooper all the time, but this will be my last official monthly blog post about him.  It was also our last monthly photo session with him.  He is next to impossible to take pictures of and to get him to smile for pictures, so I won't miss that part too much :)  It really is crazy to think about this past year and how our lives have completely changed.  Cooper has brought more joy and fun into our lives than I ever imagined.  It's definitely not easy, but I sure do love motherhood!

 We went to the Doctor this morning and he is 29.5 inches (36th%), 22 lbs (59th%) and his head is 18.82" (89th%).  He already wears a size 4 shoe and wears 12-18 months clothes.   Here is what else is going on with Cooper at 12 months....

Sleeping:  Cooper is my perfect little sleeper...at least in his own crib he is!  He did relapse on the whole pack and play sleeping situation and has seemed to again not want to sleep anywhere except for his crib.  I must say, that has probably been the hardest situation to deal with during his first year.  Anyway, his sleeping schedule hasn't changed much as he goes to bed at 7:30 and usually wakes up around 7:30.  He takes a morning and afternoon nap but this month there have been a few times when he only took one nap.  I was wondering if he was getting ready to drop his morning nap, but then there are other days where he will sleep 2 hours in the morning.  A part of me is ready for him to drop the morning nap so we can do more things in the morning and he can take a longer afternoon nap, but the other part of me thinks he is a little too young to drop it.   When did your child drop their morning nap?

Eating:  He is pretty much eating all regular food now with some exceptions of having baby food when I don't have anything else for him to eat.  He loves all fruit cut up, sweet potato, grilled cheese, pancakes, and he started to like avocado too!  He is not crazy about green beans but working on that. I still give him 3 bottles a day and haven't tried to wean him off of that yet.  He LOVES his bottle.  He starts wimpering if he even sees it.  I love snuggling with him when he takes his bottle so I'm a little sad that this season is almost over.  My very active, squirmy baby won't sit still in my lap for long, so I will miss it.  He refuses to take a sippy cup but we are working on that.

Milestones:  The big news this month is he is actually crawling on his hands now!  It all started when I took him outside and being true to his nature he did not just want to sit still...he wanted to crawl.  Since he normally army crawls, he realized quickly that it was quite uncomfortable to army crawl in the grass so he slowly but surely started crawling on his hands.  After I brought him inside, of course he went back to his fast army crawl, but now he does both.  He crawls on his hands most of the time, but when he wants to go fast, nothing will stop his army crawl.  It's actually super cute to watch him crawl normal now as I'm so not used to seeing him do it!

He's also pulling up on everything, and I mean everything....furniture, toys, doors, the wall, chairs, other small kids and even the dog.  He cruises around furniture fast and will barely be holding  on.  I've also seen him stand up without holding on a few times now.  I really can't wait for him to walk, but I'm trying to be patient and not push it too much :)  He doesn't seem to like it  when I try to make him walk with me while holding his hands.  He sits down and looks at me like "mom, it's so much easier to just crawl there."  Maybe by 13 months he will be walking?  We shall see....

Oh and I can't forget that he got his first haircut this month!  He was getting a little shabby and after 3 people mistaken him for a girl, I thought it was time.  We also had our family pictures and his first birthday party so I wanted him to look all cute for that.  He definitely looked like a little boy afterwards!

Likes:  Playing peekaboo (he will cover his eyes with his hands when we say peekaboo, cutest.thing.ever), taking all the pillows off the couch, taking the books off the book shelf, opening and closing doors, pulling all the DVDs out of the cabinet, playing in the tupperware shelf, taking clothes and shoes out of his dresser....hmm do we see a common theme?  Who needs toys when these are his favorite things to do?  He also loves walks/runs in the stroller and swinging.

Dislikes/Struggles:  All of sudden Cooper has decided that the HATES being in the shopping cart of any kind.  Grocery Store, Hobby Lobby, Party City, Target, you name it and he hates being in the cart. This has taken me by surprise since he used to love it and sit perfectly looking around.  The past few times I have taken him in a cart, I've had to carry him the rest of the time.  And let me tell you, he is heavy!  I really hope this passes because I used to love running errands with him and now I feel trapped in my house and not able to get things done during the day.

It's still hard to believe that I have a one year old now!  We had such a fun weekend celebrating his birthday so stay tuned for his birthday party post.

3 year Anniversary!

This past Wednesday we celebrated our 3 year Anniversary!  Yay!  I need to carry on the tradition of blogging about our anniversary each year, as this blog is more like a family scrapbook to us.  I can't believe it was really 3 years ago when we said I DO...

Like most people, I have such wonderful memories of our wedding day.  I loved it.  I wish I could go back and pause all the amazing moments and fun times of that day.  (I wish I could also look like this again, but let's just focus on the positive right now) :-)

But the best part of being in a healthy Christian marriage is that after the honeymoon there is still SO much more to look forward to.  I remember on our honeymoon talking to other honeymooners that were so sad their wedding was over.  They already lived with their husbands, done what all married people already do, and will go back to their regular life.  I felt sad for them.  Though there is sadness that the wedding/honeymoon is over, there is SO much to look forward to for the Christian couple.  We can actually live together, merge our lives together and learn so many new things about each other.  And most importantly marriage is a covenant and we won't just quit when it gets hard.  I am so very thankful the Lord brought us together! 

To celebrate, we went out to a nice dinner in the Woodlands at Amerigo's and then went to go see Unstoppable which is created by Kirk Cameron.  This is our first Anniversary to celebrate having a child, so we couldn't really go away for a weekend quite yet.  I'm thankful my parents babysat for us all evening long so we could enjoy a nice date night.  

They gave us free dessert and champagne which was great!!

Happy 3 Years Justin....I'm still crazy about you!