26th birthday

I had a pretty mellow birthday which seems to be the trend as I'm getting older.We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Matt got me a coloring book, selfie stick, and The Alison Show's cookie party.  We went to On the Border for dinner and then Matt and I had ice cream with magic shell once Coop was asleep.

 I also went out to lunch with my friend Niki the next day to get the salad bar at Atkins Farm. It was nice to have a lunch out and get in a little girl time.
 

Valentine's Day

Valentine's weekend was a crazy one. Matt had to proctor an exam on Friday and then Saturday we were on the youth temple trip all day and then Sunday was church. So we didn't get around to having a date until Monday and we went to Red Robin and brought Coop with us for a nice romantic family dinner. NOT! It's always nice to eat out so it was still a treat. Matt made me an amazing string art and gave me roses and chocolate!  It was Coop's first and I think he liked the conversation hearts we gave him and the heart shaped pizzas I made.

12 Months

Cooper is one year old and we are entering the toddler years! He has 8 teeth I just felt his bottom molars starting to pop through.We have started to wean from nursing and he is doing better than I thought he would. Once we cut out all daytime feedings he started sleeping through the nights so hopefully that keeps up.He is still nursing when he wakes up and when he goes to bed,but he should be weaned within the next month. He will drink cow's milk if I keep giving it to him but he doesn't love it. Normally he eats a jar of pureed fruit for lunch. Then he will have a snack that varies and then dinner is rice or oats with a jar of vegetables. He also will try a little of whatever we are having. He is still a great water drinker and he loves bubbles aka club soda. He does have a sweet tooth and if he see us eating a sweet he will start saying please until we give in or say no firmly. He is learning lots of words we clearly understand mama, dada, please, hot, cat, jesus,hi, and dog. He loves to point and say dat and gets really excited to show us. He knows what it means when we say wash your hands and will run to the sink. He also knows what it means when we say time to go or outside. He loves to read books and would be happy to do it for hours if we let him. This week he has been sleeping through the night 8-7! He did that 4 out of the 7 nights and if he did wake up it was only once after 7 hours. So I'm pretty happy with his sleep at the moment. He still takes 2 naps normally 1-2 hours in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Really Coop is so fun and we love this stage he is in!

Height - 31 inches 

Weight- 28 pounds 

Head- ?

Wearing- 18 and 24 month clothes and he is in size 5 diapers

Our doctor says- He is thriving!

Theme: Birthday

11 months

One month away from the big birthday! This first year flies by so quickly! Cooper is the light of my life and I don't know how I ever lived without him. He has such a funny personality and he loves to laugh and play. He has always been a big boy,but he just looks like such a boy now with no baby. He has 8 teeth and loves to use them to eat all the time. He hasn't met a food he doesn't like. He sometimes doesn't like the texture of a food at first but if we offer it again he will eat it ( blueberries,grapes,avocado). He also likes to feed himself and doesn't like when I try to put the food directly into his mouth. He loves to have a balanced meal- something in both hands while eating. Haha! He is a great water drinker,but he also has a sweet tooth. We have given him some sweets,but really try  to limit them,because he loves them. He has also learned that if he brings us food we will normally open it and give him some. He can open some containers on his own. He is still breastfeeding a loving it. I'm thinking about weaning,but neither of us are ready at the moment. Coop only wakes up once at night  and normally its after 6 hours of sleeping. Then he will give us another 6 hours. He normally sleeps a total of 11-12 hours at night with 2 naps normally about an hour each for a total of 14 hours of sleep a day. He loves to dance still and has added some new moves. He loves to play hide and seek  and loves to be chased. He gets so excited when he knows we are playing a game with him. He is a book worm! He spends a lot of time "reading" his books and loves when we read to him especially Matt. He knows what to do when Matt asks him if he wants to read a book and will grab one off the shelf then sit in Matt's lap. He can also put stuff away and is learning how to play with his toys better. His comprehension has greatly improved and he definitely understands what we say to him.We are so in love with our boy and each stage is better and better.

Height - don't know no visit  

Weight- 28 ish pounds on the home scale

Head- Don't know- no visit 

Wearing- 18 and 24 month clothes and he is in size 5 diapers

Our doctor says- nothing,no visit 

Theme: Valentine's Day

2016 resolutions

I didn't completely stick to my resolutions last year,because I was adjusting to having a new baby. This year I hope that I will be more successful.

Spiritual- Complete my personal progress again! - I'm the new Young Women's president in my ward so I'm doing again plus I want to do virtue since it wasn't around when I was in yw.

Emotional- Serve more!

Physical- Get to my goal weight! (22ish pounds)- I'm pre baby weight now I need to lose all those extra pounds once and for all!

Mental- Make a budget / Save some money!


Some other fun things I would like to achieve this year are:
Become a better baker /decorator
Read 30 or more books
Get to the temple more
Date my husband more
Spend more time outside

Fall Family Pictures

We took these way back in October but I couldn't post them,because I wanted to use them for our Christmas card picture. This is kinda a photo drop post,but I like so many of them and we are only gonna live in New England for some many falls so I gotta take advantage of these fall colors! We went on Columbus Day with our friends the Stubbs to take these. Cooper and Lilly are just 4 days apart but Coop is a tank and Lilly is dainty. It's fun to see them together  since they are so close in age. 

Cooper's first Christmas

We spent Christmas in Virginia this year. Matt's parents especially his mom was so excited to get Cooper's first Christmas at her house. Coop is the first grand baby on Matt's side so he got a lot of love this Christmas. Matt and I decided that we wanted to do a 4 present rule with our kids: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. That way we don't go crazy or get stressed trying to buy more and more every year. Another thing to remember for this Christmas was how hot it was! The AC was broken and it decided to be 75 degrees and sunny on Christmas so we had lots of fans blowing and we changed Coop into short sleeves after opening presents. It was fun having Coop running around and being excited to play with all the new toys. I think he liked taking ornaments off the tree the best. He also liked to dance to all the musical decorations nana had out too. Merry Christmas Sweet Coop!

most of the presents were for coop

reading his new book

he wanted my camera 

2 fans

Ancestery DNA- still waiting on Matt's results 

He loved the xylophone- little percussionist like his mama