My man Cooper!

Cooper has been so much fun lately! He is starting to show his great personality and is more alert to the things around him. He can now focus on things that are pretty far away. He will watch Brady and I walk away and he is now able to focus on the TV. I don't like that he can watch TV so now we need to make sure he's not watching it when it's on.

Cooper smiles ALL the time! He is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen-of course he has his fussy moments but he is pretty great most of the time. He has giggled only a few times and it's so adorable! I can't wait for him to giggle more! His little legs and arms are starting to kick and wiggle more. It's so fun to see him be active. He's no longer just a blob that eat/sleeps/poops!

He is catching on to a schedule perfectly! He has been sleeping through the night for over a week now. He goes to bed between 8 and 9 and wakes up between 6 and 7 (now that I have announced this I bet the streak will end tonight).

I took him to his 2 month check up and he is growing-but VERY slowly. He now weighs 9.5 pounds (5th percentile) and 23 inches long. I guess he's going to be a little guy. Our doctor is still a little concerned so he increased his dose of medication. This seemed to decrease the number times he spits up. Hopefully he will gain more weight in the near future.

Life has been great with all of our changes. We started packing the other night and there are boxes everywhere! Brady went and picked up our keys to our place in Twin. We are renting a duplex that has a garage and fenced in back yard. We're pretty excited to not have to rent a storage unit and to let Missy run outside! It will be fun to have a private back yard of our own.

First packed box!

Cooper's new toy! He LOVES looking at himself in the mirror

All SMILES

Just relaxing

Graduation 2010

After two long years of nursing school...I FINALLY made it to the end! It's been a long road and super challenging. The excitement began when my Dad came to see graduation and to spend time with Cooper. He hasn't been here in Idaho since we moved here over 2 years ago. It's been so fun having him here! He is an AMAZING cook and has been a lot of help around the house.

On Friday night we had a nursing pinning ceremony. We all were dressed in white and had a special ceremony just for us. Unfortunately our camera battery was dead so I didn't have any pictures with me but I hope to get some from friends sometime soon.

Saturday morning was the actual graduation. Elder Jay E. Jensen came to speak to us and his talk was amazing. It seemed as though the ceremonies went on and on and on but it was worth it. It's great to feel somewhat accomplished in my education. Unfortunately, I still have to go to clinical a few more times, prepare and retake the exit exam, and prepare and take the NCLEX exam. So once all that is done I will feel complete! I'd like to thanks my Grandparents for everything they have done. Without their help I would not have been able to get the education that I have. And of course Brady! Poor guy has been through as much stress as I have trying to support me through the stressful times, long nights, and frustrating homework assignments. He also took off work just to stay home with Cooper so that I could spend as much time as possible doing school work and getting as much sleep as I could! He's been so much help and I know that I couldn't have done it without him!

Here are a few pictures from graduation...I hope you enjoy:

My Dad came to support me

My little family

Just received my diploma (well, it's empty cover)

Suzy! Our boy's are less than 1 week apart

Easter 2010

This Easter the family went down to Utah. With it being the last weekend before finals we decided that we should stay here at home. So Brady, Cooper, and I watched Conference and stayed in PJ's until late afternoon. It was amazing and so great to spend time as a family. Easter morning we gave Cooper his first basket full of goodies! I was so excited I found a soccerball basket at Walgreen's for cheap. I hope to use this basket for a few more years! I also went to Desseret and purchased some cute little kids books. We also visited Kayla and Spencer for a little bit in the afternoon.

Cooper smiling at Daddy

Daddy and Cooper on Easter

Mommy and Cooper on Easter

Cooper and his Easter basket and gifts

Giving mommy a goofy smile during a diaper change

For dinner, Brady requested chicken cordon bleu. I absolutely do not look forward to making this meal and it has been a long time since I made it for him. After we slaved in the kitchen we sat down to enjoy a yummy meal. It was worth the hard work but I don't plan on making that meal again for a long time!

Brady stirring the potatoes

Smashing the chicken

It was a great Easter Sunday and we enjoyed spending it at home as a family!

Oh Happy Day!

Wouldn't you like to wake up to this every day??

End of March

Ever since Cooper has been born my family have been keeping updated through our blog! That gives me more desire to update this thing! Thanks to all of you who keep in touch through here :) I will try my best to keep it updated with exciting news and pictures.

Cooper's expression when Missy walked by

Now for an update! Things are starting to slow down...at least in my head and I feel a little less stressed. Let me outline the details:

Cooper napping after being outside in the BEAUTIFUL weather

House Hunting/Job:

Brady and I went house hunting this past weekend. We looked at 5 houses and we found one that we REALLY liked. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, stainless steel appliances, pantry, laundry room, large 2 car garage, fenced in back yard...basically everything we are looking for! However, the square footage was smaller than what we wanted and the living room was extremely small (we wouldn't be able to fit both couches in there). All the other houses were decent but needed some work (and a few needed a TON of work). After discussing it and trying to figure out our budget with still owning our townhome we decided to look for a rental unit. We want to save up enough money to put down a great down payment so that we can buy the house that we want. We also want to figure out what we're going to do with our current home (either rent it or sell it). So that's the plan for now. Brady starts his new job in Twin Falls on May 12th! He is excited and pretty nervous but I know he will do great! I also plan to find a nursing job once we get settled in. I would like to work a few days a month on the weekends...so we'll see how that goes. There is one current hospital in Twin and one under construction that won't open until 2011. So there should be plenty of opportunities for me-that is if I pass the NCLEX exam.

outside for the first time without being snuggled in the carseat

School:

I GRADUATE IN 10 DAYS!!! I have 4 more exams for nursing and of course other exams for other classes. Only 2 more class days and one weekend of studying/homework. I can't wait to be done and focus on taking the NCLEX.

Nap time with his bear and on his tummy-Look at those chubby cheeks

Our Son:

Cooper is feeling so much better! He is getting heavier and longer. He is growing out of his newborn clothes (yes, he is 6.5 weeks old and still fits into newborn). He just started cooing every once in awhile and it's so cute! He loves, loves, loves bath time. His little arms just extend completely out to the sides and his legs are straight and relaxed. He smiles up until the point we start scrubbing his little body (he doesn't like that part so much). He also is not so constipated. He went potty 3 days in a row - woohoo! We never thought we would be excited about having a poopy diaper but he is so much happier! He doesn't like to be held when he's tired anymore. He gets really fussy and wants to be put down to sleep AND he likes to be swaddled now. So when it comes to nap time or bed time we swaddle him and put him down in his crib he fusses for a few minutes and then sleeps! It's amazing but I miss cuddling with him when he's sleepy. We stayed at Travis and Alisha's house while we were in Twin and the first night he slept the entire night! We were pretty shocked and very happy...but the second night he didn't sleep at all. Then last night he slept ALL night long! From 8:30 to 9:00 waking up at 4 to eat. We are hoping that he will start being more consistent.

So that's all for now. Here's a cute little video for my mom (and anyone else)...don't mind my voice. I am fighting a terrible cold and sound really weird.

Moving on up

So the news is leaking out! We are officially moving out of Rexburg!! Brady had a few interviews with the same company he works for but for a supervisor position in Twin Falls. Everything went amazingly well and Brady accepted the offer. We just found out yesterday that we need to be in Twin by May 1st!! Talk about cRaZY fast! Now we need to figure out what we're going to do with our home here, find a home in Twin Falls, and figure everything else out in between. We are looking into purchasing a home and will be headed to Twin Falls to "house hunt" this weekend. That aside, I still have 2.5 weeks left of school, 6 clinical days at the hospital, a cranky baby, and the NCLEX left to take (and hopefully pass). Just when I thought things couldn't be any more stressful...something comes up and adds to the pile! But I am so proud of Brady and excited for the upcoming changes that will be going on in life. Yay for adulthood!

our baby's belly

I realized I never updated everyone on what ended up happening with Cooper's belly problems. We went to the doctor 5 days after the one appointment where we realized he wasn't gaining any weight. The doctor put him on Nutramigen formula, which is formula that has the protein broken down further than most so it's easier on the baby's digestive system. Doctor Watson wanted to wait over the weekend to see if he would stop projectile vomiting. So, we waited over the weekend and didn't see any changes. I made an appointment and then surprise, surprise he wasn't projectile vomiting after every feeding. We still went and Cooper had gained 4 ounces! YAY!! Since he gained weight over the weekend we decided to not do any further testing. BUT the formula that we were using is $25.00 for an 8oz can. So we wanted to see if there was anything else we could use. Now we are using a soy based formula and that seems to be even better than the Nutramigen. He still spits up and has his grumpy moments but things are slowly getting better!

Now I know how everyone likes pictures...especially my family that lives far away. Here are the only recent pictures.

napping on his boppy because of a stuffy nose and spit up

Napping on Dad because it's the only way he'd stop crying. So cute though-he looks pretty comfy!

I will be sure to take more pictures! Sorry Mom :)