STANDING

Cooper's new thing is pulling himself up and standing. It started 2 days ago with him pulling himself up to his knees. He was doing it on everything. He had figured out how to get up but not get back down. He would get stuck and then would cry until you came and helped. It still amazes me how quickly babies learn something. He literally went from one day to not knowing, the next day pulling himself to he's knees, then the next day pulling to a stand. We finally had to go buy baby proofing latches for the kitchen cabinets because he's figured out how to open them and pull himself up to get into what's inside. He was going quite awhile there with not having anything new or exciting happen. But it feels like the past week or so he's doing something new everyday. PLEASE STOP GROWING!!!!

Big Boy on the couch --- Look what I found

Look at him on his toes

Look's so innocent and HANDSOME

He was crying here for help......being the
good mom I am, I had to get the camera first :)

So proud of himself

After nap time

Yesterday:Knees --- Today:Standing

Just Can't Get Enough

So Cooper has always loved eating. He never really stops and tells you that he's full. He will just keep going if you let him. The only exception is if he is tired, then he just keeps rubbing his eyes, which in turn rubs food into his eyes because he has food all over his hands. But honestly this baby will eat anything you give him. He loves sitting in his highchair and just feeding himself food. He's tried so many things, bananas, oranges, strawberries, pizza, bread, cheese, yogurt, fries, peanut butter sandwiches, bread, tortillas, etc. You get the point. He pretty much tries everything that I am eating. Unless it really just doesn't make sense to feed him it. When the texture or size of the food is not sensible for him we blend it up and feed it to him. Blended food is becoming less popular with him though as he is trying more foods. His favorite snacks are dried fruit packages from Costco (pear, apple, strawberry and banana), graduate puffs (all flavors), and rice cakes. His favorite breakfast is yogurt mixed with baby mixed grain. When I say he loves his yogurt, it is an understatement! He still loves the Gerber baby food cups however. We keep those on hand when we haven't made something he can eat, or if we are out and about and it's just easier. It is so much easier now that he can feed himself finger foods. It amazes me how well he chews (aka gums) his food until he can swallow it. Eating makes him so happy! I am having to get used to how messy food is making him though. I used to be able to control the mess since I was doing the feeding. Not anymore! That's okay though because he is loving the independence and it is so much fun watching him learn and figure out how to feed himself.

So handsome even when he's dirty

Even though he's covered in banana and hard
boiled egg I still want to kiss this face!

I'm a big boy and can feed myself

Eating is so fun!

Rub A Dub Dub!

Cooper has always and still LOVES bath time! He gets so happy and bubbly in the bath. I love bath time too. Now that he's bigger he is so fun to watch in the bath. He sits there, reaches for, and plays with everything. Even squeaking his hand on the side of the tub is funny to him. He loves watching the water fill the tub and plays with the water coming out of the faucet. He loves splashing and getting water everywhere.

I think I am a little OCD when it comes to Cooper's bath routine. It has to be the same each time or it drives me nuts. Here is how it has to go:

• My bed must be made. (We dress him on the bed)
• Start filling the tub with water
• Get Cooper's clothes, diaper, lotion (1 for body, 1 for face), toothbrush, hair brush, q-tip, baby powder all together on the bed
• Put washcloth and towel in bathroom
• Get Cooper undressed and in the tub
• When in the tub he plays for awhile
• Then lay him down on his turtle bath sponge
• Start with his kneck, arms, hands
  
• Move to lower half
• Then do his hair, face, ears
• I am kind of anal and have to make sure every inch gets done every time
• Rinse, sit him back up and he continues to play

I love being the one to bathe Cooper. But when Brad's home I let him do it too. When Brad bathes Coop I can't watch. If I do I want to have Brad do it the same exact way as me. I know that this is crazy, not logical and Cooper can be bathed in a different order and fashion than I do it and will still get clean. But rather than driving myself and Brad nuts, it is just best if I don't watch. This doesn't go just for the bathing Cooper. It is for the dressing process as well.

• Lotion Cooper all up
• Baby powder bum and put on diaper
• Brush his teeth then let him hold brush for the rest of the process so he doesn't squirm and want to crawl off
• Put on clothes
• Clean ears
• Clean everything up
  

I have the entire process down and it has to go the same way every time. I even get the tub emptied, toys cleaned up, lotion and stuff put away, dirty clothes put in the laundry and everything cleaned up in the exact same order. This is the process that Brad leaves for me because he hasn't gotten down handling Cooper and cleaning up the stuff. Although this is the part that is funny to watch Brad do.

I know I am kinda crazy and like I said a but OCD about it but we have gotten into a routine and I like how it goes. Cooper gets his bath every other day and wiped down from head to toe with a washcloth when he doesn't get bathed. This is just a routine that works well for us. Cooper seems to like routine like me and that is fine with me!

3 Teeth!

Cooper has finally gotten his first top tooth. This makes 3 teeth for Cooper. His bottom 2 teeth popped in within a day of each other. I think his 2 top teeth will come in pretty close together as well. You can see the second top tooth, feel it and his gums are all white. So I am sure it is going to be anytime. Getting these top teeth have been a little more painful for Coop than the bottom two. He has had his days, nights, or even just moments where he cries because his gums hurt. He won't nurse, eat, and doesn't want to be snuggled. You just have to wait for the ibuprofen and orajel to start working.

Coop usually goes to bed at 8:00 pm. The other night he woke up at 9:30 out of a deep sleep SCREAMING! Nothing comforted him. I finally gave in and brought him downstairs to watch tv with me and Brad. He was only content sitting on my lap, snuggling his blanket, and watching Hawaii Five-O. Cooper isn't normally a real cuddly baby so I took great advantage of it. I didn't mind keeping him downstairs with us. Brad kept looking over, laughing, and saying "You are LOVING this aren't you?" I will take any opportunity I have to cuddle my sweet little monkey.

Cooper looks so different with just the little of the top tooth that has poked through. I can't believe my baby is big enough to have so many teeth! Here is my happy baby and his 3 TEETH!!!! If you look close you can see his top tooth and his poor swollen gums.

First Haircut

Well it took a lot of convincing from Brad, and weeks of me protesting but I finally gave in and gave Cooper his first haircut. He has had this crazy old man hair going on in the back. He had long pieces that were crazy and did what they wanted, then he had his new lighter hair that was shorter. I admit it did look a little silly but I didn't want to cut his hair. I am glad I did though because it looks much better.

I cut Brad's hair so it wasn't something new. But I was really nervous to cut Coop's hair myself because I was sure he was going to squirm and not hold still and I didn't want to hurt him. Boy was I wrong. He sat there like a pro and watched the whole thing. I was amazed. I had Brad there to help just incase he got all squirmy. But he was able to just take pictures because Cooper was doing so well. I only cut the back because his top is fine. I didn't want to cut all of his hair off and his top is long and soft still. He will probably need it cut sometime in the near future but I am not ready for a full head hair cut :)

Getting ready to get a haircut

Entertained himself while I cut it

He was so interested but just watched in the mirror

All done

Sorry kind of gross but this is his hair that I cut off

Here is a video of him getting his haircut. He was making some funny faces.

Sewing Project - Wallet

The other day my friend Amy and I were at the craft store and came across a pattern for a little wallet. I have been wanting to get a smaller wallet because mine takes up so much room in my diaper bag. So I decided I would make myself a new one. I had the hardest time choosing the fabric. This is the finished product.

I was able to do the stitching with my sewing machine

The inside

It fits all my cards perfectly! I am going to make another one that has the red fabric on the outside because I like it more than the black fabric. I am thinking about altering the pattern and making a bigger one as well. We will see though :)

St. Patrick's Day Dud

Well I decided that since this year I wasn't in school or working that I was going to be festive and make fun green foods for St. Patrick's Day. Rather than just making a recipe green I looked for some green recipes. The first one I found was for a yummy shamrock sugar cookie. This is the only recipe that turned out for me. It was super easy. Click here for the recipe. I could have taken more time and made it look better but I made them the night before after I got home from Young Womens and I was kind of in a hurry.


The next recipe I attempted was a shamrock milkshake cupcake. I am usually really good at making cupcakes and having them look good. But I must have just been having an off day. The recipe was a process. For some reason I couldn't find my cupcake papers, so had to use some left over ones from the shower I threw but they are crappy ones and don't hold well. So the cupcakes themselves didn't look great. Then the frosting was a whole other story. I made it exactly like it said. But it was not firming up. It called for 1 1/2-2 cups of powdered sugar (keep adding until it gets to a piping consistency). Well it never got to that point. After adding 4 cups of powdered sugar I was in a bad mood and done! After a couple hours of sitting the frosting finally set up but I had already thrown frosting on the cupcakes in frustration. So the cupcakes tasted really good even if they didn't look good. Well at least to me, some friends that came over, and my mom. Brad informed me that they tasted like toothpaste. I guess he doesn't like mint :( Here is the recipe.

This is how they were supposed to look.
Mine weren't even picture worthy.

The final recipe I decided was a creamy broccoli soup. I am not even going to share the recipe to this one because it wasn't good. It tasted too much like potato and the consistency was gross. It was a perfect blended delight for baby food though :)Luckily we grilled steaks, zucchini, asparagus, and sauteed mushrooms. So that part of dinner tasted good.

Hopefully I have better luck with the other holidays that I try to be festive with. Brad isn't big on the whole festive thing (other than Christmas) so it is going to have to be my thing if I want to make holidays fun for my kids. Hopefully I can convince him to get more into things next year.

Hopefully everyone else had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!

When Dad's In Charge

So yesterday I went to the store to buy stuff for all my St. Patrick's Day goodies. So right as we got home from the store we started dinner and realized we didn't have any shredded parmesan cheese. When I decide my dinner's for the week I make a grocery list of everything I need. Somehow I missed the parmesan cheese. So I had to turn right around and head back to the store. I left Cooper home with Brad so I could be quick. I came home and this is what I found! What I didn't manage to capture are the things all around him that he's pulled out of the diaper bag. Ah I just love my little monkey!

Persistance and an Obsession

I mentioned before how Cooper has an obsession with cords. It doesn't matter what he has to go through to get to a cord he will do it. Here is my proof. And of course he's naked because that seems how he always is half the time.

Crawling Video

Here is a video of Cooper crawling. I just happened to also catch him playing with the door stopper. Cutest little body crawling that I have ever seen!

Cooper's Crawling!

Well my baby is officially mobile and 8 months old today! For about the past 3 weeks Cooper has been scooting all over the place. He would take a few crawls on his hands but then would just lay down and scoot to where ever it was he wanted to go. But almost a week ago he started crawling on his hands and knees. It really is amazing how quickly they learn how to do something and then how they have already mastered it. Cooper has found 2 new favorite things now that he can explore. The first is cords. He can spot them out of the corner of his eye and then is there as quick as he can go. Whether it's the laptop cord downstairs, my flat iron cord, phone cord, or whatever one he finds. The laptop is plugged in at the kitchen table so he always knows he can get to that one when he's downstairs. We are going to have to figure out what to do with the laptop now. Then when he's upstairs in our room he knows exactly where to go to get my cords. It's amazing he remembers exactly where to go every time. The computer/treadmill room upstairs is totally off limits with all the cords that are in there! His other favorite is those door stoppers. The ones you touch and they vibrate and make that annoying noise. Indiana used to be obsessed with those when he was a puppy. He just sits there and hits them over and over.

Some other new stuff with Cooper is that he can now feed himself finger foods. I can put food on his high chair tray and he can grab it and put it in his mouth. This has made it so much easier. He can eat in church, or in his stroller, or in the cart at the store. I think he is loving the freedom of being able to do it himself. He has also started throwing fits. If you take something away from him or don't give him what he wants he grunts and whines and flails those little arms. It hilarious to watch. He has also learned how to roar. He will just sit there and do it. I need to catch it on video still. Another thing I need to catch on video is Cooper dancing. Every time he hears music he starts to dance. I can even say "Dance" and he will start. Cutest little dancer ever! He is getting to be so big but he is definitely still a mama's boy and I LOVE it!!!!

I can't believe 8 months has already passed. It's hard because I get so excited when he learns something new but then so sad at the same time because he isn't my tiny little baby anymore. Yes he has gotten to be so fun but it's still sad. I can't believe that in four short months he will be one. That probably sounds like a while to most of you but when I look back at how quickly the past 8 months have gone, four months seems like nothing :(

This picture is the epitome of Cooper. He always somehow
ends up half naked and missing a sock.

Crawling around in the kitchen

Watching mom and dad clean out/organize the garage.
We call this his Russian hat, it's too big but I just grabbed it while we did the garage.

He crawled in and then just laid in Indiana's bed

He loves giving himself kisses in the mirror

I was putting together my new jogger and I found him like this

About to sneeze

Feeding himself makes him so happy

Such a happy boy. Look at those teeth!

Holden Nicolas Frantz is here!!!!!

I am officially an aunt for the 5th time (but the 1st on my side). My brother Chase and his girlfriend Kaitlin had a boy on Sunday, March 6. Holden makes FIVE nephews (9 if you include Brad's sister's step sons) and no nieces. It's amazing that there are so many boys in our family. But I'm not complaining because boys are so stinking fun and cute. I LOVE having a boy!!!

Well the excitement all started on Sunday when Kaitlin went in to be induced at 7:30 am. She was already really far along so we thought it was going to go rather quickly. Well Holden had other plans. She progressed amazingly until she hit an 8. Then she was stuck there for hours. After about 14 hours of labor they ended up having to have a C-section. Holden was face up and the cord was wrapped around his neck twice so they rushed her in for the C-section. He was born shortly after 11 pm. My parents and sister had been there since about 11. Brad, Cooper and I headed up around 2:00. My grandma, aunt, and cousin headed up about 8:30. We definitely didn't think we would be there so long. Cooper was AMAZING the entire time! He just played on his blanket and enjoyed walking around the hospital and being held by everyone. The only upset was he exploded and I being the great mom didn't bring a change of clothes (he hasn't needed a change of clothes while we are out in a very long time). So we had to go buy him a new outfit :) He usually goes to sleep at 8. So we put him into his car seat around then and he slept for about 45 min. Then he was up and as happy as could be until 12:30. He definitely wasn't wanting to miss any of the action. I felt like a horrible parent having him out so late but his cousin is only born once right? I didn't want to miss it!!! Kaitlin, Chase and Holden are all doing great!

Holden Nicolas Frantz
7 lbs 1 oz, 19 in long


Coop and Kailtin
Chase, Kaitlin, Coop, me and Brad
(I don't know why Aspen wasn't in this picture)

Aspen is such a good aunt. She entertained Cooper and helped
with him all day long. He loves her!

Big boy Cooper
I came back from getting food and Aspen had mo-hawked Cooper's hair ha ha
Cooper got some popsicle. This picture is his reaction to the cold at first
but then he loved it. He threw a little fit when I took it away.
Chase all ready to go into the C-section. I didn't get a picture of Kaitlin
she was in a ton of pain, scared, and emotional. I didn't want to intrude.
Getting all checked out

He has Kaitlin's eyes but is all Chase from the Nose down. He's adorable!
I love him!
First time I have gotten to hold one of my nephews right after he was born.
None of them live here :(
The 3 Frantz boys
Such a proud daddy!
The new little family
My parents
He has the sweetest little cry
(I had forgotten how quiet they are in the beginning)
He made an entrance and screamed the whole way down the hall
Cooper didn't know what to think. Cooper looked HUGE next to Holden.

We are so excited for the new addition to our family. I can't wait to see his little personality and for Cooper to have a little best buddy to play with. I forgot how amazing having a new little baby really is. It's a good thing I still have one of my own! Congrats Chase and Kaitlin!