Preview...

Here is a preview of our little vacation to Michigan! We had a lot of fun and spent time with family!

I will do a complete post of our 10 days when I find a little more time to do so.

New Blog

This is short but I had to share this with you! I found this blog randomly and I have looked through it for a while. Everything looks delicious!!

http://www.mindikamoments.com/

Enjoy!

What's New...

Brady: Still working hard! He works 40+ hours a week and is pretty tired by the weekend. We had a summer party the other day and it turned out great! We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with a lot of sides to choose from. The kids played on the playground and the adults played volleyball with water balloons and towels. It was nice to spend time with the ladies he works with. He is still searching for some soccer to play. Poor guy is DYING to play.

Kelsey: I am studying, cleaning, studying, sleeping, studying, cooking...and spending time with Cooper! I didn't pass the test I needed too but my teacher said I did really well and approved me to take the NCLEX. I felt a little hesitant (by how I felt taking the test) and delayed the approval for another month. I am going to continue studying and will take the NCLEX by the end of the month! I am headed to Michigan Wednesday...without Brady. I am dreading the time away from him but anxious for everyone to meet Cooper. I think he'll enjoy all the attention!

My sweet boy after church

Resting after a fully belly

First time in a swing...and he loved it! Why doesn't he enjoy his swing at home??

Cooper: Now for the big update! He is growing up so fast. I wish he would slow down a little but it's so much fun seeing him grow.

~He is at the early stages of crawling...I think. When he's on his tummy and there's a toy just out of reach he pulls his knees under him and tries so hard to move but his arms are not strong enough to hold his upper body up. He will also pull one knee up and try and push with it, then the other knee goes up and does the same thing. If his hands were doing the same thing he would be scootching across the floor! More practice and he'll get it eventually.

~He eats baby food twice a day and loves it. So far he LOVES pears, sweet potatoes, and bananas. Whenever I spoon it to him he goes "MMMMM" the entire time! He likes peas and squash but looses interest really fast and likes to play with it more than eat it.

~He is growing out of his clothes. 6 month clothes fit him perfectly right now. He'll soon be out of them.

~He still wears size 2 diapers...he's a petite little man! Speaking of diapers - we have to change his diaper in the middle of the night or he leaks through it. He pees a LOT especially if we feed him in the middle of the night.

~He giggles when we swaddle him for nap time/bedtime. He likes to sleep and enjoys being in his bed.

~Reading time is his favorite time. I pull out a book to read and he squeals happily! He likes to touch the pictures and scratch at the pages.

~His newest trick is to pucker his lips and blow spit. He thinks he's pretty funny!

Cooper trying really hard to reach his food - extremely annoying!

"MMM" Getting ready to spit!

Waving "hello"

His poor lip is chapped from all the drool and pacifier

Pears are his favorite!

Nursing

I am pretty sure everyone knows that I haven't finished my nursing test(s) yet :( I am studying/cramming/planning to take the 2nd exit exam this week!! Please pray for me! I need all the help and determination I can get!! When I pass I will take the final NCLEX soon after.

We (Cooper and I) are leaving for Michigan on August 4! Unfortunately, Brady has to work. But I am anxious for everyone to FINALLY meet Cooper!!

Rest

Cooper finally slept through the night after a few rough ones! He was actually extremely exhausted. I was in town during his afternoon nap so he missed it. Then he only took a 30 minute nap later that afternoon (he had a screaming episode-he cried in bed for about an hour after he woke up). He was then up until 8:45 when he fell asleep on Brady. Brady put him to bed (I was studying and completely unaware of what was going on) and he slept until 5:50 this morning, ate, then went to sleep until 8:30! I fed him before we went to bed and gave him some tylenol in case he was to wake up he wouldn't be in pain.

I have seen this video on other people's blogs and on facebook and never took the time to watch it. This video makes me feel better about all the late nights and early mornings, the crying, the screaming, and the vomit that happens every day.

Here is a picture of how he usually is...full belly and pain free!

Just for fun: Cooper's thighs are getting bigger!!!

No sleep

Cooper is being a STINKER! He sleeps great all day long. Takes 3 naps during the day (goes down without a peep), happy as can be, eats well, and is just perfect!! Come 8:00-9:00 he is completely different. He is whiney and wants to be with me all the time. And he won't go to sleep. He refuses! We feed him, 30 minutes later we swaddle him and put him down. He giggles and talks right up until the moment he hits the mattress. We've tried letting him cry, we've tried holding him, rocking him, singing to him, tylenol, teething tablets, more food...we have no idea what to do! He does this until about 11:00 and then sleeps until about 1:00 am. Then he wakes up screaming. So we give him a pacifier...works for about 10 minutes and he's up again. So we feed him...he falls asleep for another hour or 2. Then he's up again...it's a continuous cycle that is making Brady and I go craZy! It's only happened 2 or 3 nights but it is super frustrating when he's never done this before. A few explanations run through my head...

1. teething. I know teething hurts. My wisdom teeth just came in within the last few years. I am starting to feel like we are drugging our child with Tylenol every night (usually a last resort along with teething tablets).

2. tummy pains. I wonder if feeding him food is hurting his tummy. He's pooping fine (a little firmer than with just formula) but maybe it's not digesting well. But then he calms down after he has a bottle. Maybe he's hungry?

3. attachment to me. About every time he calms down it's because I am holding him and rocking him. He relaxes and his eyes are heavy...then I put him down in bed. Immediately he starts crying. Brady can't seem to calm him down, ever.

4. wants to play. There have been a few times where I go in there and he gets excited and starts giggling. It's only happened a few times but it crossed my mind.

5. too many naps. Should I drop a nap? But he's on a 4 hour schedule and it's rough to get him through 2 hours of play time. But maybe he's getting too much sleep.

Ugh this little boy is so perfect during the day...why can't he be perfect at night?? It's a good thing Brady is here to help. Usually I was the one getting up with him when he occasionally woke up, but this is just too much. We both are so confused! Cooper never has been like this before and we are losing our patience...especially with the lack of sleep. If you have any ideas on what we should do I would LOVE the advice!

Weekend Events

Our summer has been really busy with work, baby, and studying. Lately, our days go a little like this...Cooper wakes up, Brady goes to work, I stay home with Cooper (clean, study, be a mother), Brady gets home, I make dinner, we do something as a family (usually a walk or a little drive), Cooper goes down for bed, we pick up, read, then go to bed. It seems to be the same ol' routine every single day. Don't get me wrong, I need to have a routine or I get a little uptight but I do miss being spontaneous and doing whatever, whenever. Below is our weekend of fun! BEWARE: it's long and possibly boring :)

Friday afternoon I asked Brady what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to watch the Netflix movie that had come and I thought that would be a great idea! So after Cooper went to sleep we made a little bed in our living room and turned on the movie. We attempted to make some popcorn, but I think it was too old. Not even half of the kernels popped! So we went without popcorn but enjoyed the movie together. We watched Valentine's Day. I wouldn't recommend it.

Saturday: We had talked about going to Ketchum or maybe Utah. Then we got a call about a birthday party on Saturday and we decided to stay in town and attend that. Friday we got a call from Brady's parents and they were going to be at a craft show about 2 hours away so we decided last minute (saturday morning) we would drive up there to see them. It ended up being a 3 hours drive but it was so beautiful! We drove along the Sawtooth Mountains in a very green area. It made me miss Michigan's beauty. The sky was a bright blue with not a cloud in sight. However, it was extremely hot and Brady's air conditioning doesn't work very well. We only had to stop to feed Cooper once and change his stinky diaper. He slept for a little bit but played and talked to himself the rest of the time. He does this cute thing where he'll turn his head around just to look at Brady and I. When we got to the craft show we sat around their tent and talked. It was nice to be outside and with his family. They cuddled Cooper and mentioned how much he has changed. He even slept in Grandma's arms, which really surprised us because he never does that (only when he's exhausted). We were there for a few hours and then headed home. We stopped at a small town and ate at Wise Guy Pizza Pie. Brady was feeding Cooper when the pizza came out. It was super super hot. Cooper went to relax and stretch his arm out and it hit the sizzling pizza (I was up getting silverware). Of course he screamed and I didn't know what was happening. Brady didn't really know either since he didn't see it. Cooper calmed down and then we decided to leave. He did really well all the way home. He slept the entire time. When we got home we gave him some tylenol just in case his finger hurt (it was just a little red and swollen).

View from their tent

Sunday we slept in and went to church! I slept until 11:30 and Brady was up with Cooper :) I needed the sleep. We missed the first hour and went to Sunday School and Sacrament. It is so difficult to make it through all of church when Sacrament is last. Cooper gets pretty tired and doesn't sleep well with things around him. He's too interested in everyone else. We went home and rested for a little bit and cleaned up our house. We FINALLY unpacked our clothes. We have been wearing the same things over and over. Now our closet is full and no more boxes in our bedroom. Travis and Alisha invited us over for dinner! We had delicious fajitas, played ladder ball, and sat around and talked. We always have fun with them and we are enjoying our time with them! We headed home late and Cooper was up until midnight!! He was not a happy baby. I had to rock him and sing him to sleep (which never happens). He was up every 2 hours! He hasn't done that since like 5 weeks old. It was hard on both Brady and I. I ended up having him cry himself to sleep this morning so that I could get some rest. He's been great ever since!! We think his teeth are starting to really bother him now and we've been slacking on his bedtime routine. Hopefully he is better in the next few nights.

Super Cooper! Looking like a big boy in his button up shirt.

My men after church

I love my little man

Well, that's our entire weekend! It was nice spending time together as a family and being out of the house.