The Little Things

It is amazing the little things that melt a mom's heart.
It doesn't have to be anything big.
It could be something you have seen a million times.
It could happen every day but melt you every time.
You know that no other child is that funny, smart, or adorable.
You could be the only one that would even notice.
Seeing it can totally fix your entire day and make everything better.
It's the little things that make it AMAZING!!!!!
Here are the little things my Cooper does that I just adore!












I need to make more of an effort to pay attention and remember all the little things and not stress about all the big things in life!

Got Milk???

Well it happened a few weeks ago but I am just now getting around to blogging about it. Cooper is weaned and drinking cow's milk now! It was a hard day when I decided to give up nursing. Let me begin by saying I had always planned on nursing (if my body would allow it). But I was weirded out by older babies that nursed. I was sure I would stop nursing when Cooper got teeth, so around 6 months. He had other plans however.

Cooper supplemented with formula for the first few weeks of his life. He was a big baby (8 lbs 7 oz) and my milk just wasn't doing it for him until it fully came in. I also wanted him to be used to a bottle and formula if for some reason I couldn't be with him or if we were out and about and he got hungry. Besides I HATED pumping it just never worked for me! He only had a bottle here and there but never had a problem taking it. He was awesome at nursing too! Well the bottle worked great for the first 4 months of his life. But the second we started him on cereal/baby food he wanted nothing to do with the bottle. It didn't matter if it had my milk or formula in it. We even tested out a few different formulas, but nothing! He just liked to nurse. This was totally okay with me because I LOVED nursing. I loved that only I could soothe him when he was hungry and that he only wanted me. I loved nursing before bed and in the morning and even those middle of the night feedings that we had for 10 1/2 months!!! Besides formula just stinks and is nasty. And since he was spitting up so much I didn't want the spit up smelling and being even worse. He always ate at least 3 hours apart (from the beginning) and once he stopped taking a bottle he was eating baby food so if he got hungry I could give him that to hold him over until I could nurse. Once he hit about 6 months he wouldn't nurse if there was anything else going on however. The tv, mother's room at church, Indiana, etc. Everything distracted him because he was so curious. But we figured out what worked and he realized that if he would just eat then he could play and be crazy.

When he got teeth I contemplated stopping but since he wouldn't take a bottle it was just too big of a hassle. Biting was never an issue however. I was very lucky! So I just kept nursing. When he hit around 10 1/2 months he started showing interest in other babies bottles. So I figured I would try some milk in a bottle. He loved it!!! His pediatrician said he could start on cow's milk around 11 months. So I held off until 11 months before I really started giving him milk. I would have stopped nursing there (I didn't want to but could have I should say). But we had the family reunion the week of his birthday and I knew that nursing was a comfort to him and that he would probably need it being out of his routine and own environment. So I nursed until he was one. I was leaving for Youth Conference August 4th so I knew I had to be done by then.

I started on July 18th with cutting out his mid day feeding. I started giving him a cup of milk. He hadn't been on the bottle since 4 months so we just skipped over it and started with the sippy cup. No need starting a habit that will just have to be broken in a few months anyways. Then the next week I cut out the morning feeding and just gave him a cup. He hadn't been getting middle of the night feedings anymore because he was sleeping thru the night. Even if he did wake up in the middle of the night he wouldn't get a feeding. So that was nice getting that taken care of before I started weaning. Then the big and final step was when I cut out the before bed feeding. I was so not excited about his one. This one was my favorite. I loved sitting in my glider in his room with the lights out, him all cuddly and ready for bed. He was just so sweet at this time of day. However this kind of happened naturally because I was gone a couple nights in a row when Brad put him to bed so he just got a cup anyways. I still am the one putting him to bed if I am home and I love this. I love being the first thing he sees in the morning and the last thing at night. He is at the stage where you give him his bink and blankey and he just wants to be put in his crib and go to sleep. SO NICE!!!! But on the nights he is beyond tired or not feeling great I love sitting in the glider and just rocking him. Best thing ever that he wants to cuddle now. This stage is so sweet!

It was really sad for me to stop nursing. I knew that it was time. He was getting to rambunctious and wanted to be all over the place when nursing. He would crawl around in the middle and play then want to come back for more. Or would try to nurse while he was standing or just weird things like that. Then he started coming over and try to pull down or lift up my shirt. When this happened I knew we were done!!!! I was surprised at how easy of a transition it was for him to quit nursing. Not only that but for my body. I had heard horror stories about when you wean and let your milk dry up. But I didn't have anything. I didn't have any painful days or discomfort or anything! It was like there was no change at all.

I do miss nursing but it is nice to have a break. I only have so much time before I get pregnant again and it starts all over. No it won't be happening anytime soon! Cooper loves getting milk in his sippy. He watches it in the microwave and lights up when you give it to him. He loves that he can crawl around with it and drink at his own leisure. You watch his face and you can tell he feels so cool and is so proud that he can do it on his own. It is weird to think he is such a big boy doing big boy things. He isn't my tiny little baby anymore. And he LOVES being big. It is funny to see him watch the bigger kids and then try to do what they are doing. Now if we could just get him walking like the big kids :)

Coop's being a big boy with his sippy

A Little Boy's Best Friend

I am a true believer that every child should have a pet. I always had a dog from the day I was born. I loved it! I have already seen the bond between Cooper and Indiana. They are just best buds and keep each other entertained. I love watching them together.

Cooper follows him around with the leash and tries to put it on Indiana.

Cooper tries talking to him.
He has this voice/tone he only uses when talking to Indiana.
They play fetch.
Cooper chases him around.
They give each other kisses.
They relax and watch tv together.
Indiana is always by Cooper's side.
Indiana runs up and waits for you to come when Cooper wakes up from naps.
Cooper loves to play in Indiana's bed and kennel.

Here is my proof on why every child needs a pet!

TuPpErWaRe

I have actually been meaning to blog about this for the past few months. I have started selling Tupperware back in May. Yeah the stuff that's been around forever and all of our grandmas had. My friend Amy had a party and signed up to sell it herself. I initially just purchased the business kit back in May because you get over $525 of Tupperware for $120. It is an awesome deal! Then I had my party in order to qualify for the kit. My party was awesome. I was surprised at how many people came, bought stuff, and wanted to have parties themselves. The product really sold itself. I got a ton of free product from my party and just wanted more. I started thinking more about maybe selling it for serious. I went to a few Tupperware events and a few parties and realized how fun it actually is. Not only that but I am constantly getting FREE Tupperware and making some good money doing parties. On top of that I get to buy stuff at wholesale and sample price.....AWESOME!!! They don't just have stuff to store left overs in either. They have everything you could imagine. So many gadgets and cute things I just can't get enough of it. I have become addicted and I am obsessed with the stuff. I just want everything! Brad keeps teasing me because I am filling up our kitchen and our kitchen is actually quite big with tons of cabinets! But I am getting such a good deal on it how can I turn it down :) And besides it lasts forever and I can get it replaced if anything breaks.

I have recently been promoted to a Manager for Tupperware. I recruited and now have 4 consultants under me. It is so fun getting out of the house and being around other women. Not only that but I don't feel so bad for Brad being the only one working. He likes to tease me that I spend more now then when I was working :) This way I don't feel so guilty for spending money because I helped bring some in. Let me be clear Brad has never and would never say that since he earns the money that it's his or anything like that. He has never tried making me feel guilty for not working either. But how can I not feel guilty when he goes to work and works hard every day and I get to stay home and play with the most adorable little guy in the world! And since I don't HAVE to work it makes doing Tupperware fun and no stress!

I have really been surprised at how fun and exciting selling Tupperware has been. Between the extra (easy) money, discounted product, free product, fun, new friends, etc. I have just had a really good time. There is actually a Tupperware retreat in St. George in October that I get to go to now that I am a manager. I have been a little busy with it right now because I am doing a training and parties and helping the consultants under me get started. But once I get through this first stuff it will slow down. It is nice because I choose how many parties and how much effort I really want to put into it. I can work as much or as little as I want to. I could continue moving up and promoting but I honestly don't want to get higher than manager. I will become more busy and it is just not something that I want to do right now. It has actually been really rewarding doing something again. But don't get me wrong I wouldn't want to go back to a real job in a million years. I still get to spend all day everyday with my baby boy and then just leave him with Brad an evening here and there. Then they get to bond.....it's perfect!

So if anyone wants to buy some Tupperware or get a ton free let me know!!!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh my!!!

Well maybe not! The Hogle Zoo isn't that cool right now but oh well. Last Tuesday I took Cooper to the zoo for the first time. I have been wanting to take him all summer long. I had contemplated buying a season pass to the zoo but we just live so far away that I knew we wouldn't make it up there very much. Maybe next summer!

I was so excited to see how he would like the zoo! We went with Amy, Emmett, Kaitlin and Maleah. We started off with lunch at Einsteins and then headed to the zoo for the bird show. Cooper was a little restless and wanted to be all over the place. But the second a bird or flock of birds flew over our heads he was glued on them. It was hilarious to see all the babies eyes get big when they saw the birds. After the birds we went and saw the elephants, monkeys, giraffes, and that's about it. Ha ha the zoo is really sad these days. There is a lot of construction going on so hopefully it will be better next year. There wasn't nearly as many animals as their used to be when I would go as a child. We didn't walk around the entire zoo because babies were getting tired and it was a really hot day. Next time we go we will start earlier in the morning. I have now heard about the dinosaurs they have at the zoo right now. That exhibit ends this week so I am going to try to make it out there again so Cooper can see them.

I definitely have a different perspective doing these kinds of things as a parent. I don't do it for myself I do it to see how Cooper likes it and hope that he enjoys it. He loved the zoo. He could lounge in his stroller eating a bagel with cream cheese drinking his water and watching all the animals.

His favorite part was probably the globe water ball. He loved to get out and touch it and play in the water. I got drenched buy some older kids messing around whose parents were no where to be found but oh well. Luckily it was a hot day! Here is a video of him with the water globe.

h2o PoLo

(Part of our team....some disappeared before the pic)

As many of you know I played water polo in high school. Water polo isn't the easiest sport to just get a pick up game together and do every now and then. Because of this I haven't played much since high school. I played a little on the U's water polo team in college and did an adult summer league 3 summers ago. I wasn't able to do it last summer because I had just had Cooper and the summer before I had a class on Wednesday nights which is when the games are. Since I am graduated and I'm not pregnant, this summer was perfect for me to play water polo.

I signed up with my friend Amy who I played with in high school and my neighbor Nikki who I played against in high school. Nikki was only able to play with me in 1 game because she found out she was pregnant....YAY!!!!! I was really excited and couldn't wait for it to start. Once the games did come it just wasn't as much fun as I remembered. I wasn't playing on a team with my friends and people I knew. People were taking it WAY too seriously for just a summer league. And lets face it I just am not in as good of shape as I used to be. The first game killed me. Then with each game I got used to it and didn't feel like I was dying so much. It also took a bit to get back into the swing of things and remember what I was doing. I had to miss a few of the games however due to a wedding, being sick, and the family reunion.

Last night was a our last game. We came in 3rd for the tournament. The team we played last night was ridiculous. They weren't that good so all they did was kick, hold, punch and were just unnecessarily mean. Yes that is the point of the game but not the way this team was doing it. And to top it off the refs were not calling anything on them! Not 3 minutes into the game a girl was literally drowning me so I kicked her and I got in trouble. I had to get out because I couldn't catch my breath from her holding me under and my body was kind of panicking from it. It was awful. I just started crying because of it. It was a bit ridiculous! Oh well though because we kicked their butts and won 13-6. I did come back after getting ejected twice (the 3rd one you are out of the game for good) and scored after stealing the ball. It was nice to go out with a bang.

This is probably my last year playing. Sorry dad! It just wasn't as fun anymore and each Wednesday I kind of dreaded going to the games. I feel bad because my parents love coming and watching me play. Brad still doesn't understand what is going on so he gets bored. But he supported me and came to every game! Such a sweet husband! We get an award for playing but it wasn't ready yet so I will see next week what it is. I was glad I was able to prove that even after having a baby I still had it in me.

Figuring It Out

Cooper has taken a few steps here and there when we try to work with him. Every time we set him down or try to make him walk he would rather just crawl. He knows he fast at crawling so he just prefers it. He will stand by himself all of the time. He will even stand on the couch with no support so we know he can do it! We were sure he would have been walking before he was 1. He did everything early but this didn't happen with walking. He will be 13 months in 1 week so hopefully he walks soon. Tonight I was gone and Brad recorded this!

Cooper was in bed by the time I got home. I am excited for tomorrow to see if he continues to walk so that I can actually see it in person. Can't believe my baby is old enough to walk. But I have to say I haven't seen such a cute little body wobble and try to balance. I just love my little monkey!

Mr. Mom and a trip to Insta Care

While I was at Youth Conference Brad got to have a little taste of being Mr. Mom. I was so not excited about leaving Cooper but was excited for Brad and Cooper to have this bonding time with each other. Cooper woke up really early Thursday morning when I was getting ready to leave. He had a runny nose and a little cough so I was really nervous that he was getting sick and was going to be miserable for Brad. He was really grumpy that morning but I knew he was still tired since he woke up so early and had gotten to bed late. He was so grumpy he wouldn't hug or kiss me buy or anything. So that didn't make leaving any easier.

My mom and Aspen came over to watch Cooper during the day while Brad was at work. He was pretty good during the days but he was getting sick so was a little grumpier than usual. Luckily he loves my mom and Aspen and they know his routine so that helped. Thursday night he was exhausted and laid down perfectly for Brad. He woke up at 4:30 with a wet diaper but Brad changed him and he went right back to sleep. He was still sleeping when Brad left for work Friday morning. Brad came home early from work Friday so my mom could get to work. They hung out all night and he was in bed by 7:15 pm. He woke up at 11:30 pm and was up until 1:30 am. He was being grumpy and just wanted to be held and cuddle dad.

Let me jump back and explain that there was NO PHONE SERVICE up at Youth Conference. I was freaking out! I was having a hard enough time leaving Cooper but to not be able to call home and check up on him made it even worse. When we got up there however we discovered we had internet. I was so excited. I could e-mail Brad. This made it a lot easier. He was able to update me with everything that was happening. He even e-mailed me some pictures and a video of Cooper to hold me over.

Brad and Cooper had a really good time together. I love that they were able to spend some one on one time together. I am however glad that I wasn't gone any longer then I was. I couldn't wait to get home. But when I got home I came home to a sick baby. I walked in and he was crying. I couldn't wait to love on him and cuddle him. Brad had told me how he had a horrible diaper rash and under his chin and his nose was all chapped and had sores on it. He has been slobbering for months and has had those red bumps on his chin but this was much worse! He looked fine when I left Thursday. Brad said it appeared Friday afternoon and just had gotten worse. I immediately called his pediatrician to see if I needed to bring him in. They were closed but she recommended taking him to insta care or bringing him in Sunday morning. I was so bothered by how his face looked we went straight to insta care. I had been home maybe 20 minutes. I hadn't showered or anything. I threw some clean clothes and hat on and we were off.

Insta Care was dead! We were in and out of there. It turns out his pediatrician was right. He has a strep/staph infection called Impetigo aka Infantigo. It is really nasty. It is this crusty scabby rash around his nose and mouth. It blisters up and they pop. It really looks so sad! On top of that he has a yeast bum rash that has like open sores too. So we walked out of there with prescriptions for a bum cream (Nystatin), an ointment for his face (Mupirocin), and an oral antibiotic (Cephalexin). No wonder he had been fussy for Brad. These open sores all over can't be pleasant. But since I have been home he hasn't really seemed like it bothers him much until you need to wipe his face or bum. But the Impetigo/Infantigo is highly contagious so no church for us today or going anywhere until the rash is completely heeled off his face.

On Sunday.....Looks way better then yesterday!

I hate that I wasn't here to take care of my sick baby but I am glad that Brad was able to be with him. Brad knew just what to do to make him feel better. Cooper loves his daddy! I am SOOO happy to be home with my boys. I am definitely okay with having to stay home today and just relax and then get to spend time with my baby all week!

The video Brad sent me
(You can see Cooper's selective hearing has already started)

Youth Conference

(The lodge we stayed in)

Well I had to leave Cooper over night for the first time ever!!! I am the Laurel Advisor in Young Womens so I had the opportunity to go to Youth Conference. We were at Brad's family reunion during Girls Camp so I wasn't able to go to that or Girls Camp would have been my first time leaving Cooper. For Youth Conference this year our ward went up to the Reid Ranch right outside of Fruitland, UT (about 2 1/2 hours away). This was really a treat for our youth (and leaders). There ended up being about 40 youth (ages 14-18), the bishopric, 2 YM leaders, and 4 YW leaders. We stayed in a huge lodge which had bed service so they came in and made our beds everyday. All of the meals were prepared by the staff at Reid Ranch as well as the clean-up. This was awesome for the leaders because usually we spend our whole time preparing and cleaning and don't really get to enjoy ourselves that much. This year was much different. The leaders actually spent most of the time by ourselves doing our own thing because the youth entertained themselves with all of the activities available. There was horseback riding, canoeing, paddle boats, miniature golf, basketball, volleyball, football, frisbee golf, fuse-ball, ping pong tables, archery, swimming pool, a hot tub, trading post where you could buy ice cream and treats, and of course flirting with the other youth and the staff up at the ranch. I totally remember being a teenager and looking for the cute guys and hoping for that amazing romance story that we could tell our children ha ha. The only part that the leaders were really in charge of were the devotionals. Each class was in charge of a devotional so as part of the Laurel class I was in charge of giving a little training/talk. My subject was on feeling the spirit. I feel like it went really well and it was much easier than giving a talk in sacrament that's for sure!

I had a really hard time the first day we left (Thursday). I was crying when I left and when I first went to meet at the church. Then someone would ask what was wrong or if I was missing Cooper and I would lose it all over again. But once we got in the car and were off I was no longer an emotional wreck. I really enjoyed myself.....other than almost dying like 3 times (details to follow).

We arrived at the ranch at 11:30 on Thursday morning. We had orientation and then figured out our rooms. The YW leaders decided to put all the girls together and then us leaders in our own room. Best decision ever!!! The girls showered like 4 times a day and were constantly changing and doing their hair and whatever else. We had a calm, clean, organized room where no chaos ensued. The YW leaders did archery (which I rocked at), miniature golfing and just kind of relaxed. Then we had to split up with the youth so half of us went to the canoes/paddle boats while the others went to ride the horses. There were no issues this day with these activities. We got to bed pretty late but were able to sleep in Friday morning.

Friday we just did the same activities as the day before. But it was my turn for horseback riding. We all got on our horses and were riding around a corral waiting for everyone. My horse must of kicked the metal fence and freaked out the horse behind me. So they both started freaking out and neighing at each other. My horse brought both of his back feet off the ground and kicked the horse behind me. This made the horse mad and got on its back feet and kicked my horse with its front feet. This sent my horse running! I thought I was dead. The leaders that were standing around took off running. The ranch dudes luckily came running and told me what to do to get my horse and the other horse which had a YW on it calmed down. I no longer wanted to ride the horses but decided to stick it out. It took me a few minutes to calm down and get my entire body to stop shaking. The rest of the ride was fine and they put me up front with one of the ranchers just incase my horse decided to freak out again. He asked me what high school I went to. Yet again I had to explain I wasn't a youth but a leader! This always happens and it is really frustrating! Afterwards the YM and other YW leaders said they couldn't believe I stuck it out because just watching it was scary they can't imagine how bad it was going thru it.

Later that day I canoed again. This time the boys thought they were going to ruin everyones day.They were tipping canoes and just being menaces. Me and another YW leader got close and they pinned us. They decided they were going to use our canoe to help them get one of theirs out of the water. They literally had us tipping to one side so we were crawling over the other side to keep us from tipping over completely. Let me explain this lake had leeches everywhere so I was going to kill the boys if they dumbed me in. After some screaming and almost crying from the other yw leader and me they got their dumb canoe fixed. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. We were so mad at the boys. Especially the ones who had tipped the canoe and then just left it there for the other boys to fix.

My next issue was with the lodge. We were talking with one of the staff and they decided to tell us how many mice were in our lodge. If you know me I have the biggest phobia and I am scared to death of mice. Last year I saw one in my garage and I didn't park my car in there or go in it for a month! Once they said this I suddenly saw ALL of the mouse poop. I was freaking out. Then one of the YM leaders saw a mouse. I was terrified the rest of the trip. I was so close to just sleeping in the car! Luckily I never saw a mouse or I probably would have had a heart attack after all of the trauma I had experience.

Friday night we had the testimony meeting which was amazing! I love hearing all of the youth and other leader share their testimonies and just feel how strong the spirit is! Saturday morning we woke up at 5:20 and went on a sunrise hike. The youth of course complained the whole time because it was so early and cold. But the devotional went really well.

All in all the trip was a success. There were no injuries, no one got sick, the kids all got along, we traveled safely, the spirit was felt by everyone, and we all really had an enjoyable time! I was definitely ready to come home to my baby though! (I didn't take any pictures because I left our camera in case Cooper started waking or doing something that I didn't want to miss).

Criss Cross with Style

Cooper is always crossing his feet. It is the cutest little thing. I didn't notice it until he was maybe 8 months old and started doing it all the time. But he has always crossed his feet. I was looking back at old pictures (reminiscing over the past year and being all emotional) when I kept coming across pictures of him with crossed feet even when he was tiny. It doesn't matter if he is being held, is in his car seat, high chair, or just sitting by himself he will always cross his feet. I love seeing those chubby little toes just hanging out. These are just some of the million pictures we have of him with his crossed feet. I really am not exaggerating how often he crosses them either!

Aquarium Adventure

Today we went to the Living Planet Aquarium with my friends Amy and Kaitlin. Amy has a little boy Emmett (8 months) and Kaitlin has a little girl Maleah (10 1/2 months). We had initially planned a trip to the zoo but the huge down pour of rain changed our plans very quickly! We decided to go to the aquarium instead. I was excited to see what Cooper thought of it. He would either love it and be really interested or could care less to see anything. It really could have gone either way, especially depending on his mood. But luckily he LOVED the aquarium. He loved touching and kissing (I know really gross) the glass and watching the fish swim around. We have been working on his sign language so we got to try out "fish". He would try to copy me and do fish. It was adorable! He got a little fussy towards the end because he was getting tired. I ended up buying a year long pass so I could take him back as much as we want. It will be fun to see how much more he enjoys it once he starts walking.