Memorial Day Weekend and the Start of SUMMER!

Hooray for the beginning of summer!  We have been looking forward to the season of the beach, the pool, flip-flops, traveling, sunscreen, fruity drinks, and the like for a while now.  This summer is especially important for us because it is our first summer with COOPER!  We kicked off the season by spending Memorial Day weekend at Canyon Lake.  The lake is really low right now, and practically by the time we had treked all the way down to it, it started to rain!  So Cooper got to experience lake swimming for about 5 minutes.  That was after we had spent at least 20 minutes getting a baby prepared for the sun...sunscreen, swimsuit, swimming shirt, and hat.  Oh well...the rest of the summer holds some pretty terrific things for us.  We are doing a LOT!  We are TRAVELING a LOT!  The next two months will be filled with a few weddings, a family reunion, typical Fourth of July festivities, and excitingly, a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!  When we aren't in the middle of any of that, we plan on making some trips to the beach and getting our new great room in our house DONE! 

Playing at the lake:

DAD!  I want to go swimming!

Uncle Clint Graduates!

On Saturday we got to take Cooper to an event that we have been waiting for a long time to happen...Uncle Clint's graduation!  We are so excited that Clint finally buckled down and got that degree in computer science!  Cooper did well at the graduation...he quietly took everything in,

 had a bottle, then fell asleep.  He then woke up about two names before Clint's, so he got to watch his uncle walk the stage!  Congrats to Uncle Clint!

Naps at our house...

Seven Months Old!

Today Cooper is seven months old! I am always amazed at how fast and how much he changes with every passing month. As with each month we have met some trials and triumphs.

At seven months, Cooper is still not sleeping through the night regularly. It is a source of concern and frustration on my part, but through the day, he doesn't seem to mind! We did learn a few things, however. Cooper suffers from acid reflux and a sensitivity to lactose, both of which have kept him from sleeping well (reflux acts up when he is laid down flat in his crib). Since his tummy was hurting alot, he wasn't nursing as much or as well. As a result, my milk supply went down and he wasn't getting enough to eat. His night wakings were caused in part by pain and in part by hunger! We felt awful once we figured it all out. Now that we have, we can begin again introducing solid foods one at a time. We have also decided to make the switch from exclusive breastfeeding to a lactose-free hypoallergenic formula. While I was a little sad to begin the weaning process, I am comforted to know that Cooper's tummy is feeling much better and he is eating better. I also know that this will help us get even closer to that coveted through-the-night sleep! And now, TRIUMPHS! Just in the last week, Cooper accomplished many things. He can now sit up, crawl, and as of this weekend, PULL UP ON FURNITURE! I had no idea how fast things would start happening once he could crawl! This morning when I went in to the nursery to get Cooper up for the day, he was STANDING UP in the crib waiting for me. Our homework for the week now involves BABY PROOFING!! He also "talks" all the time now! His favorite sound to make is "ma" and all day long we hear, "ma, ma, ma, mom, mom, ma!" (There hasn't even been the slightest hint of a "da" come out of his mouth, even though everyone says that ALL babies say that before "ma"). He also loves to blow raspberries and will do so through big two-toothed grins!