Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We have had a lot of fun celebrating Cooper's first Christmas. While we were too busy living the moment on Christmas day to remember to pick up the camera, we did think to video ourselves helping Cooper open his presents early Christmas morning. Santa brought many new toys, books and an Exersaucer. Waking up early to open presents is exhausting! Cooper took a nap until it was time to go to Grandma's and Grandpa's house, then he slept through opening presents once we got over there! He was very happy to wake up to his new toys that he received from Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Clint. The day after Christmas we drove to Houston to visit Nonnie and Papa. Again, Cooper slept through presents, but he loves his johnny jump-up and Mom and Dad love the high chair!

Cooper also got to meet his aunt, uncle and cousins for the first time! His cousin Brianna thought that Baby Jesus looked liked Cooper, only without the big head! Ha Ha!

Cooper and Cousins!

Now we are back home again, gearing up for the New Year! We have a living room full of new things to take out of boxes and put away, and Christmas decor to take down. I am going back to work part time next week so I am trying to get everything in order before then! 2009 is going to be a good one, folks! It will be full of new adventures as Cooper grows and meets new milestones!

Happy Holidays!

Lake Weekend

This weekend the three of us went to the lake house so David could try and sell his boat and to attend my cousin's engagement party. We really enjoyed our quiet, relaxing weekend. Cooper decided to give us a little more insight into his personality. We had fun watching him respond to us with more and bigger smiles and new sounds that I think are standing in until he figures out how to make that laugh-out-loud sound we are dying to hear. We felt overwhelmingly blessed to have Cooper because he is such a good baby! We was in a perpetual good mood almost the entire weekend, and he took almost a two hour nap early Sunday morning, so Mom and Dad got to feel like real people for awhile as we enjoyed our quiet cups of coffee. He barely fussed, even on the way home...sleeping off the entire trip. He must be growing! Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Saturday Night bath!

Drooling over boats in a catalog...Coop was NOT the only one!

Sleeping in Sunday morning.

Good sleep, cute feet, and Aggies!

This weekend we took Cooper to College Station for the first time. Our good friend (and Cooper's middle namesake) James was graduating from A&M and we were eager to share in the celebration. We were a little apprehensive about having Cooper in the car for over four hours (since he eats every two to three hours during the day) and about having him sleep in two different places. (First at Christie and James's house and then the lakehouse on Saturday night.) We were extremely pleased at how well he did. We only had to stop once on the way to College Station and he seemed to enjoy the car ride. He slept through most of the graduation ceremony, and stayed asleep for a total of five and a half hours. After his middle of the night feeding, he slept another five hours. While Cooper will OCCASIONALLY sleep one interval for that long, he has NEVER done two in the same night! He also did well on Saturday night. I felt sorry for the poor little guy...he had been in the car seat over 12 hours in one weekend and was a little fussy in the car on Sunday. One plus to all that time in the car seat...we think he may have discovered his feet! He has been staring at his feet while he moves them ever since we got home. I'm so glad...he has some CUTE feet! Anyway, some pictures from the weekend:

Aunt Christie and Uncle James

Cooper, a little overwhelmed by an Aggie graduation.

The real reason for the season...

While I AM feeling much more rested and more like myself these days (thanks to Cooper's new sleep/eat routine), I am having trouble with all this holiday bruhaha. SO MUCH TO DO and everything is ten times more time consuming and difficult with a 9 week old in tow. I have been having trouble the last few years anyway with what I call the Christmas Crazies. Everybody just goes nuts this time of year. The gross display of materialism with the packed stores, the internet slow with all the online shopping, and the TRAFFIC! I want to do all the Christmas stuff for Cooper's sake, but really this is not the year. Next year he will know more what is going on and it will be FUN! I made a choice this year...I opted to spend time with my little baby over spending hours upon hours decorating, shopping, and baking. Yes, I decorated a tree (a borrowed artificial one), and yes, I will shop at some point (but NOT like I did last year). And most likely I won't be able to stand it and will throw together some cookies and a pie or two. It isn't Christmas to me if I don't at least bake something. I have cut major corners this year, so I could actually play and interact with Cooper...just meeting his basic needs (feeding, changing, putting to sleep) isn't enough for me or for him. Seeing him smile because I said or did something amusing to him is all the Christmas I need.

Two Months Old!

On Thursday Cooper officially turned two months old! With this milestone came a few tears, since he had to get his first round of shots yesterday. When he got his first shot, I got to hear a cry that I have never heard before, and I cried a little too. Lucky for me, he didn't cry for long, and slept off his discomfort for most of the day. He is feeling much better this morning, flashing his bouncy seat toys some gummy little grins. At the doctor's office yesterday we also got to find out how much he has grown...A LOT! When Cooper was two weeks old, he weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz and was in the 25th percentile for his weight and height. At two months old, he weighs 12 lbs, 13 oz and is in the 75th percentile! Wow! We are enjoying other changes in our growing boy. We are finally beginning to fall into a loose routine, as he not only has stretched how long he can go between feedings and how long he sleeps, but now he is learning how to soothe himself to sleep. The last few nights have been somewhat of an experiment...I have put him down in his bed for the night while he was sleepy, but not asleep. Each time I was able to lull him to sleep while not in my arms. Early the next morning, he woke up and entertained himself for nearly an hour without crying to be picked up or to eat. While it makes me a little sad that he is growing and changing so fast, I am pleased that he is beginning to take on some independence and give us a glimpse of his personality.

It happened!

Last night I only had to get up once to feed Cooper! He has been sort of working towards that for a little over a week now and it finally happened! First I was in awe when I woke up at 2 a.m....I had put him down at 9 and was expecting to get up again around midnight. Then I was shocked when I woke up this morning to discover it was 6:43 a.m. Needless to say I am in a VERY good mood this morning! I hope everyone has a great week!

Sweet Baby

GRRRR Baby

Ready for the River?

We have started putting Cooper in his Bumbo seat out of sheer curiousity. On the third time in the seat, he automatically rested his arms on the side like that all by himself! We cracked up, because he looks like all he needs is a cold one (bottle of breast milk) in hand and he could float the river!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Yea for Cooper's first Thanksgiving! We felt especially thankful this year, because we have Cooper here with us now. We don't even know the right words to express our joy over our baby boy. We enjoyed turkey day over at my parents' house, where we were reminded to be thankful for family. On a lighter note, we were also thankful that the torturous Aggie football season is finally over. Here are few pictures from the day:

All dressed up for Thanksgiving!

Cooper with Great-Grandma

Four generations of Grahams...You can't really see Cooper's, but notice how we all have the same chin.

Big Foot!

Just for grins this morning, I tried some of Cooper's things on him that before were too big. I was shocked to learn that his sneakers fit him! While they looked really cute on, they made me a little sad because they make him look like such a big boy! He grows so fast! Everyone who told me that all I have to do is blink twice and he is grown wasn't joking!

Mad Baby!

Yes, believe it or not, sometimes Cooper is less than thrilled about having his picture taken.

Silly Baby!

Cooper now will hang out in his bouncy seat or play gym for twenty minutes or more, grabbing for the toys and just being silly. This is a huge relief for Mom's aching arms!

Happy Baby!

I just had to a post picture of Cooper smiling...when he smiles my heart just melts. I no longer seem to mind that I haven't really slept since he was born, how my hair always smells like spit-up, or I just don't feel sure of myself as a mom sometimes. That little face makes it all worth it.

Milestone Saturday

On Saturday we marked two important milestones in our lives. Cooper turned 6 weeks old and David and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Cooper stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours while we went out to dinner. It was the first time I had been away from Cooper for more than an hour, which I guess is a milestone in itself. It was really nice to have a quiet dinner to ourselves, in which we both had two hands free, but we talked about Cooper for nearly the entire dinner. Once we paid the check, we just couldn't get back to Grandma's fast enough!

Getting Big...But still so little!

Cooper went to the doctor on Friday for a weight check...he is now 10 pounds and 3 ounces. He has gained nearly 3 pounds since his birth 5 and a half weeks ago! However, look how he sizes up to Daddy's hand...he is just a little guy!

Jana Visits!

This weekend our friend Jana came to meet Cooper. We watched football and shopped and were generally just glad to hang out with Aunt Jana! Cooper also got a lesson in what it means to be an Aggie fan...support the team, win or lose, good or bad. Sigh. Here are few pictures from the weekend:

Cooper watching the Aggies lose with Aunt Jana

Cooper just as irritated as Daddy that we are in the dark ages of Aggie Football. 

Who do I look like?

Everyday, depending on the face he is making, I think Cooper looks like someone else. Sometimes me, sometimes David. What do you think?

One Month Old!

Today, on Election Day, Cooper is one month old! We just took a walk to the elementary school to cast our vote. Now that I am a mom, I guess I am going to start referring to myself as "we." Cooper can't speak for himself, so I can speak for him. Here are some pictures of two things Cooper CAN do now!

Holding up his head.

Smiling at Mom.

Happy Halloween!

Just because I'm cute

Cooper this morning looking stinkin' cute! Plus Mom is in a good mood since she slept for 6 hours last night. (Not all at once, but STILL.)

Swing Time

Thank goodness Cooper likes his swing! Thanks to the swing, I got to sleep from 4 a.m. until 6 a.m. Two whole hours in a row!

No Flash Photography, Please.

Much to my chagrin, David is always snapping pictures of me and the baby. Cooper is super cute and needs his picture taken, but I look like ultra worn-out Mommy all the time and DO NOT need my picture taken. I finally picked up the camera myself and snapped a picture of Cooper and Daddy.

New this week: Cooper seems to be focusing more and more on our faces and he turns his head whenever someone that isn't holding him speaks.

Bath time

Cooper's umbilical cord fell off this week, so he got his first real bath at home. He loved it!

Hear me roar!

I was just reading in our "What to Expect..." baby book how at three to four weeks babies start communicating in other ways besides crying. Cooper's new form of communication is a sort of growling sound he makes when he gets frustrated. It is far more preferable than crying...it cracks us up to hear Cooper roar!

Picture of the Day

David and I are trying to remember to take a picture of Cooper everyday. Here are a few from the past few days.

He's growing!

Cooper is two weeks old today! Yesterday Cooper went in for his two week check-up. After losing 8 oz initially, he gained 13 oz. and a half inch in length in just one week. I was just hoping he would have gotten back to his birth weight (7 lbs, 6 oz.), but NO! He is now 7 lbs, 13 oz! It's no wonder he gets fussy...we can't keep that boy fed! Other than his seemingly endless appetite, Cooper is such a good baby! He is very alert and happy and likes kicking his feet and trying to lift his head.

Mom and Dad are tired, since Cooper likes to wake up every two hours (sometimes sooner) to eat! Last night he slept for 4 hours in a row...TWICE! We are hoping that we are turning a corner, and that wasn't some kind of fluke, but I guess we will see how much sleep we get in the next few days.

Here is Cooper on his 2 week birthday, doing the airplane in his sleep.

Cooper James Kirk has arrived!

Friday, October 3rd, began like any other. David went to work, and I ran errands with Mom, as I continued to get ready for my scheduled induction on October 9th. That evening, as David was driving back from hunting, my water broke and Mom and Libby drove me to the hospital. Luckily David was only an hour away and got to be there for almost all of my 16 hours of labor. On October 4th, instead of celebrating my brother's birthday, I gave birth to Cooper James Kirk at 12:42 p.m. He was 7 lbs, 6oz and 21 inches long. He arrived with a slight temperature but with good color and health! Everyone exclaimed at how much he looks like his dad! David's eyes, nose, fingers, and toes, but my chin. We are so excited to have him here finally!

Cooper with Grandma and Grandpa

Cooper with Nonnie and Papa