matt & autumn Stone

Play Time

2012-01-26T16:49:00.008-05:00

Coop loves his bouncer that he can finally enjoy :)

A letter to remember

2012-01-22T20:31:00.009-05:00

Matt has a gift for writing. He should be the one doing the blog :) The family that introduced Matt to the church has two kids on missions. Matt took time on Sunday to write them a letter. Since he emailed them to me so I could send them off, I read what he wrote and wanted to save the bottom portion. I sure am grateful for my sweet hubby!

"As for the Stone Family, we're doing very well and moving right along on our short mortal journey. So what happens when you taken an amazing angel of selflessness, thoughtfulness, mucho consideration, all mixed with a large amount of determination, diligence, and perseverance? You get my sweet wife, Autumn! :-)

She balances her time between taking care of YW, Cooper, and her hubby (me), not to mention running the business of taking care of our home, practically by herself. She somehow manages to do the work of 4 women, by herself.

Cooper (aka Coop-man, Coopster, Coopy-do, etc) is like a sponge absorbing knowledge. Its fun to watch the little guy look at his momma, then at his daddy, then smile. He's always observing. And when he's not observing, he's eating. And if there's anytime left over, he's sleeping. :-)"

Surprise Party for Chelsea!

2012-01-17T06:41:00.014-05:00

Sherry Palmer and I threw a surprise bday party for Chelsea Beauchamp at my house. We had a good turnout and lots of mingling. The tricky part was trying to get her over here. I ended up asking if she could come over to help me with Matt's gift and then later asked if she could come pretty close to 10:30 since we had a short window before Matt came home. It worked out great and she was surprised. Hope she knows how much she's loved!

Martin Luther King Holiday Fun

2012-01-16T20:45:00.002-05:00

Monday Jan 16, 2011

The day began early with a commercial shoot for our friend Frank Schwartz. Coop man did great while we were there and the guys were getting the lighting, cameras, etc all set up but once it was time to film, he was ready for a nap and let everyone know it too! He was not happy so I won't be surprised if Coop and I get cut out of the commercial. We had fun though and it was first experience for our little family.

After lunch, we drove out to Crowders Mountain and met up with the Beauchamps and Harts for a hike. We were not very prepared: 1- we didn't bring enough warm clothes for Coop so we borrowed the Elijah's coat & 2- we didn't know how to work our Ergo Baby carrier so we just used the Beauchamps bjorn....I'm glad they were prepared!

We had a fun time chatting while enjoying some exercise and fresh air. The hike was a couple of miles and Matt had Coop the entire time. There's something about being outside in nature that makes me appreciate the greatness of God's creation- especially when we reached the top- such a reward! On the way down, Coop was M.A.D. We felt so bad for him...The entire 2 mile hike or so downhill was a long hike for all of us. We left the group so we could hurry fast and come to find out that we made a wrong turn and hiked an extra 1/2 mile. Coop was tired, cold and hungry. We finally made it back and we were all relieved.

Coop 5 Months!

2012-01-14T18:27:00.002-05:00

Saturday January 14, 2011

Our little man is growing so quickly! I absolutely love being a mom and cherish the smiles, giggles, silly noises and baby talk. He is a mover for sure with lots of energy! He prefers his tummy- if I lay him on his back, he'll quickly roll over. He loves his toys that make noises and sing and will often kick his feet as soon as he hears it begin. He still loves bath time and recently found a ball he enjoys playing with while he's washing up.

Sometimes he gets up a little earlier than planned (6am) and after I feed him we'll lay in bed together and often both of us fall asleep. I love waking up to him and find myself just smiling and staring at our sweet baby. He adores his daddy and will stare at him and smile if he walks by. When I put him down at night Matt will come and read by us but if Matt talks, Coop's attention is all Matt.

Coop finally got a crib! Friends of ours gave us their old one and so grateful for it! Coop loves it and found him the following morning looking out.

Wanted to remember this cute outfit from Mimi and Poppi- Love my tutti boy!

Coop and Kai- Best Buds

2012-01-13T20:57:00.004-05:00

Coop and I were able to visit our friends Lani and Kai! Even though we only live one street away, sometimes it's hard to get our schedules together. They were so cute together - squirming and rolling around. They are growing up so fast! I love that Coop has a best bud to grow up with!

Coop has a Tooth Comin'

2012-01-09T21:12:00.017-05:00

Coop is getting a tooth! He's been showing all the signs: drooling, biting, a fever one day, fussy,etc so I was at least grateful to know that there was a reason to all of this. His bottom left tooth is coming in so soon it will break through. When Matt and I went to the dentist, the dental hygienist told us that the most painful part of teething for babies is when the tooth breaks the bones in the gums. He'll have a lot of teeth so I hope he gets a little use to the pain.

Disney and 1/2 Marathon

2012-01-04T19:28:00.011-05:00

Wednesday Jan 4- Saturday Jan 7, 2011

Day 1- Wednesday Jan 4, 2012

Drive all day. Coop did pretty good! He ate his oatmeal in the car and I was able to pump along the way. We left early am (driving by 6am). Our first stop was just to feed him but Coop ended up having a HUGE blowout. It took about 15 min to clean him up and then an additional 20 min to feed...quite the stop. The rest of the way went great. I packed a lunch for us and made good timing. We even got to stop by Matt's sister's on the way so we enjoyed a short visit and Matt got to squeeze in a nap.

The Harts arrived a little before we did and we got to meet up with them for dinner. I was so excited to be there especially since the driving part was out of the way! Our hotel was cheap-o but we saved money, got 2 free park hopper passes and we were on disney property so it ALL worked out!

Day 2: Hollywood Studios & Epcot- Thursday Jan 5, 2012

We got up bright and early to enjoy a full day of fun. I really had a great time. We started off at Hollywood Studios just to do the two big rides- Tower of Terror and the Rock & Roll rollercoaster. We loved those two! Half the fun though is riding together which we couldnt do with Coop man but we still loved the thrill. We only spent two hours or so there and then hopped to Epcot!

I LOVED Epcot and enjoyed going to the different countries. Matt & I could just be together and do simple boat rides (Mexican and Nimo) with Coop. We enjoyed French for lunch and dinner-our favorite- Moroccan food with a belly dancer for entertainment. Coop got super fussy by 6 (when we normally begin putting him down) so it was a long ride home. We missed some of the rides- with long lines and having an infant makes it tough.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom- Friday Jan 6, 2012

We had a magical time with the Harts. It worked out great switching rides so couples could go on one while the other couple watched the babies. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and a jungle cruise were probably my favorite. Matt also loved the Swiss Family Robinson 'house' (he's always said he'd love to have something like that). We also did a Winnie the Pooh ride and watched a show with the babies. Coop did great...took naps in the stroller and we held him while he was awake so he didn't have to be in the carseat the whole time.

Dinner was a mess though. Magical Kingdom doesn't have much to offer and the quality restaurants are packed by 4-ish! I enjoy wholesome foods but ESP the night before a race! Everything was booked at the park so we went home and figured we'd get something close by. Well, we got home and misread the time to pick up our running packets so Matt had to do that first while I put Coop down. After getting the packets, Matt went to Downtown Disney and picked up a sandwhich from Earl of Sandwhich (suggested by the Cope's) and it was SOOO good! So worth the wait. However eating at 8pm and not our typical style dinner was not the smartest thing to do before a race but everything worked out. Poor Matt practically walked a 1/2 marathon getting our packet and food for the evening.

We were exhausted and before we went to bed, I made sure everything was ready for our race and Coop since we had to be up so early .

Day 4: Race Day

Matt signed us up for the race for the Disney experience....we did it and will not ever do this race again. Granted it does probably have the best entertainment and great spectators which makes it a fun run but waaaaay too many people. Between a family 5k, 1/2 on Sat and full marathon on Sunday, there were 50,000 people racing. Many of those on our day. We had to get up at 2:45 in which I fed Coop then took him to the Harts room so they could watch him (I'm SOOOO grateful they did that for us!). Buses from the hotel only ran from 3-4am and race started at 5:30. It was super cold and barely stretched because I was too cold and too tired to move. We didn't read the instructions about lining up so we missed up our leg to begin the race so we were behind people who were already walking in the first mile. Despite all this, we did have an enjoyable run. It wasn't a hard run, probably because so many people to dodge slows you down plus I enjoyed the entertainment. We ran all through Magical Kingdom and through the castle so 92% or so is running in between parks. We briefly ran through Epcot where the race was finished. Fun time and grateful for the exercise.

We loved Earl of Sandwhich so much that once we checked our of our hotel, we went back there to eat lunch. Our drive was long which is why we stopped at a hotel on the way home. Being up so early and going non-stop the last couple of days, wore. us. out. We were asleep by 8:30 and I LOVED it! So grateful to get a nice rest.

We'll def be going back to Disney but will probably wait til Coop is a little older to enjoy it. We had are so grateful the Harts came along too!

A Cold Morning

2012-01-03T19:23:00.019-05:00

Early Tuesday morning around 3:30 am, I woke up pretty cold...I realized the electricity went out. This particular night was the coldest in while for us- low 20's- and of course had to be the night we didn't have power. I was worried about Coop so we let him sleep in our bed. It was kinda fun but had forgotten what a noisy sleeper he is. We didn't get power til about 9:30...come to find out, the guy who did our fence, nipped a wire and finally went out on us. We had our fence done since May so it's crazy it just went out. Fortunately we got it all working again :)

Sweet Potatoes

2012-01-02T19:14:00.008-05:00

I thought I'd try feeding Coop-man some sweet potatoes since I was making some for Matt & I... but he's not quite ready for it (self feeding). I cut them french-fry style and steamed them. He made a very funny face for his first taste...maybe round two he'll enjoy them.

New Year's Good Luck Dinner

2012-01-01T19:10:00.001-05:00

January 1, 2012

I can't believe it's another year! Matt & I have made some goals this year and looking forward to some more great memories. To jump start the year, we had our good luck dinner that I grew up enjoying from my mom. It's a southern tradition to have black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread...a delicious combination!

Happy New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T18:52:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year's Eve!
We had such a fun day together! I started off the day running 9 mi in prep for the upcoming race. Afterwards Matt and I went to Costco together and then Matt got 3 suits for the price of one! A steal of a deal huh! We went to our good friends, the Beauchamps, for a little party. We were able to put Coop down to sleep around 6:30 so he wouldn't be off his schedule. Since this was a family event with kids, we had a countdown to 8:00. Matt bought some fun fireworks that the men enjoyed lighting up and we enjoyed watching them go off. The grand finale was great too. A great way to end 2011.

2011 was a great year with its ups and downs but for all the good:

- We moved into our first home and completely redid the inside.

- Had Matt's brother and his wife live with us for 3mos

- Made our annual ski trip- this year to UT

- We were blessed with our beautiful baby boy- Cooper.

- Completed our first 1/2 marathon in Nov

- Our sweet Buddy passed away

- Made lots of great friends

- Enjoyed Great Health

- Camping

- Sushi Nights

- Car accident but was blessed with safety.

- Got a new niece and nephew

- Made trips to LA, FL and GA to visit family

- And most importantly, have drawn closer to our Heavenly Father

Coop's first Baby Food!

2011-12-28T18:08:00.038-05:00

Dec 28, 2011....Coop 4 1/2 months

So after lots of research and talking with a good friend, I finally decided to go with Happy Bellies for Coop's first food. I didn't want to do rice cereal because I felt that there was a healthier way to introduce food. I wanted to be sure he gets the iron and other vitamins he needed as well. So I went with Happy Bellies and got the Oatmeal and Multi Grain. These also have:

• Probiotic protection: Good bacteria specially formulated to help strengthen digestive system

• Enriched: with DHA for eye and brain development, plus iron, vitamins and minerals essential to health

I wanted to introduce this first, then by 6 mos or so, feed Coop his fruits and veggies not pureed but cook them where he can hold them in his hand and bring them to his mouth. This is stage 1. He actually seemed to like it and was a little unsure. I mixed the oatmeal with breastmilk and he probably only ate a couple of Tbs. It was a fun first time! He likes his oatmeal like his momma does!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T20:16:00.004-05:00

We spent a week in GA for Christmas visiting Matt's family. The entire family was in town and had lots of time to catch up. It was our first time meeting the newest member in the family- baby Kaitlyn born in Nov. It was def a lazy week- weather was gloomy/rainy so we weren't able to spend much time outside. While the boys had an evening out, the girls had an afternoon out while the boys took care of the kids. Matt was a trooper! Mimi and Poppi also watched all the grandkids while the 'kids' went to the movies one evening. We watched Sherlock Holmes which Matt and I really enjoyed. Here are some more high lights:

all the cousins together!

We loved spending time together as a family- Matt didn't have any work! We also got pics with just the cousins and it was rather funny watching and trying to get a perfect picture!

Coop had a bad cough that scarred us in the night so we took him to the urgent care. Doc said he had a minor double ear infection. His cousin Kai was sick so I think it got passed around.

Hanging out together as a family

We did our big feast Christmas Eve and I enjoyed everyone being together in the kitchen cooking. Matt did the turkey again and it was a hit! He did a great job of brining it and roasting it.

Christmas Eve I helped Kenzie and Kai make cookies for Santa! We left him choc and white milk to drink but he only drank the choc :) They were excited to see only crumbs the next morning.

Christmas morning- our family

Opening gifts

Matt is hard to get gifts for- infact I have to be creative because there is nothing he wants. This year was the best though. Starting off on Jan 1, every day I wrote down a reason I loved him. The sentence always started off as " I love you today because"....I was most excited to give him this along with a picture calendar, planner and small items of fun.

The entire fam! 2012 will bring another addition- Jess is due in April with their first!

Christmas always brings happy moments with family but also quiet moments of reflection. Our hearts are full for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His son into the world- in such humble circumstances- to fulfull his earthly mission as the Savior of the World. My thoughts often turn towards Mary- a chosen, pure, righteous daughter to be the mother of the Living Christ. How blessed we are to know of the eternal truths to make his Atonement a part of our lives. I cannot think of his birth without thinking of that infinite act of love which is his saving grace for us. As Matt says in our Christmas cards:

And with the Gospel of Jesus Christ that brightens our lives, we are reminded of those things that are most important...and that includes you. Possession of things are amongst those that are left behind, but relationships with family/friends and lessons learned are numbered with those that can stay with us.

As we count our many blessings, we are grateful for our relationship with you. We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ. We are grateful for the joy that comes in our life as we live His teachings. We are grateful for the Christmas Spirit, which is one of sharing, giving, serving, lifting burdens, and thinking of others. And this is the Spirit, the Christmas Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, we pray would fill each of our lives all year long.

Visit from the Weidmans!

2011-12-19T08:25:00.002-05:00

Monday Dec 19, 2011

Monday morning we had friends come in town that I knew from college ( I cheered with them at BYU). The Weidmans live in VA and on the way to the Charlotte airport, stopped by for a visit. I am so glad they did!! They have three cute kiddos and another on the way. SO fun to catch up with them!

Weid reading Cajun Night Before CHristmas....he did pretty good!

Justin, Tiff and me

Sunday Pictures

2011-12-18T07:07:00.001-05:00

Dec 18, 2011

Sunday Matt enjoyed the evening with the Beauchamps taking pictures at a beautiful corporate park and then having a fun dinner of veggie omelets. Always a fun time with the Beauchamps.

Christmas Par-Tays!

2011-12-16T15:09:00.002-05:00

Mustache Party Dec 16, 2011

Although the Tedrows have moved and had a tradition of hosting the Ugly Sweater/Mustache Party, the tradition carried on. This year the Richardson's hosted it and was our first time to have a baby sitter! Luckily Coop slept the whole time and we enjoyed an evening out with friends. We enjoyed food, poetry and white elephant gift exchange and mingling/laughing.

the group! and what a fun group it was!

Our ugly sweaters! I couldn't find any Christmas ones this year at Goodwill so went with a florescent look- and yes, there is a skull in mine (didn't realize it til I got home!)

reading poetry

Party at the Kellys

We enjoyed another party with couples from our ward. Lots of babies, food and fun. We did another white elephant gift exchange. We just love spending time with friends especially during this special time of the year.

Coop's holding one of his girlfriend's hand (Georgia). Too cute.

white elephant time

Saturday Night fun

2011-12-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday Dec 10, 2011

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Harts and top it off, I finally got to hold sweet baby Georgia! She is so tiny and can't believe Coop was that small! She's adorable! I put Coop down for the "night" until we had to leave and put him in his own bed, then we were able to play Nick's remotelss xbox game and watch Elf. The game was so funny and loved the dancing part; I finally got to see Matt dance too lol. Hopefully they'll be more of those nights!! Elf was just as funny as last year....we finally bought it this year knowing that we'd get our money's worth.

Our Christmas Decor

2011-12-15T16:43:00.000-05:00

Dec 15, 2011

We finally have a house which means we finally have Christmas decorations! Not much but it was fun having our home decorated with a little Christmas spirit. Matt put up our icicle lights outside so that was his part. Matt's mom got me hooked on Pier 1 so lots of it came from there. Hopefully I'll be able to hit the sales after Christmas!

That evening we hand delivered our Christmas cards to neighbors and had to bundle up Coop...he ended up falling asleep (so comfy in Daddy's arms).

Random Pics of Coop

2011-12-15T15:04:00.000-05:00

Just some random pictures of my lil boy from Dec

Sleepy Coop

2011-12-15T06:44:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken a couple weeks ago on Sunday morning. I was still tired before church and wanted to lay in bed so I had Coop join me. Matt was already getting ready for his early meetings so it was just the two of us. Coop feel asleep and I just enjoyed watching him sleep and taking pictures of him that I didn't even nap. I can't get enough of this little guy!

He must be having sweet dreams...

Coop's 4 Month Check up!

2011-12-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

Wed Dec 14, 2011

We went to see the dr on Coop's actual 4mos bday. The visit went well and very informative. First, he has eczema- it's been pretty bad on the back of his head, and splotchy on his back and face. So we are switching to Dove Sensitive Skin body and hair wash and Aquafor for the lotion. She also gave us a prescription for it.

Secondly, she says it's probably time to start introducing solids for these reasons: eating 2-2 1/2hrs during the day when he should be eating every 3-4 hrs, not sleeping through the night- waking up hungry not just wanting me, and because he's getting more active.

I had already decided that I wanted to introduce solids to Coop closer to 6 mos but I do feel that my milk is not enough for him now. He's hungry too often after getting a full feeding. My research on what to feed him will need to be super fast! I'll def wait til after Christmas but can't believe how big he's getting!

Here are his 4mos stats:

Weight: 15.12 lbs (60%ile)

Height: 25 3/4 (80%ile)

Head Width: 16 1/2 (60%ile)

He is able to hold his head up much better now and recently have been using the Bumbo. He lifts his self up great while on tummy time and does well rolling over to his side when he's on his back. Soon he'll be rolling over! I take him to child care at the gym when I'm there and grateful he takes a nap. This gym is so nice and the child center has the cleanest and most organized facitiliy. They have a room just for 1yr and under.
He must get his naps in or it's a disaster. He getting better at gripping things and is a droller and a talker. He loves being in his daddy's arms and can fall asleep so easily in them. I have Matt take Coop out at church when he is fussy because Matt is the pro getting him to sleep. Last week Matt took Coop out during sacrament meeting and when I went to check on them afterwards, both were asleep (Matt holding him in his arms). Such a sweet moment!
I've often had the thought lately of how grateful I am to be a stay at home mom. There are treasured moments throughout the day that melt my heart when I'm with him; his brief smiles that he's beginning to make more often or the chuckles or squeals of excitment. How sad I would be to miss those moments. I'm so grateful for a hard working husband who provides for our family so I can stay home and be with Coop and take care of the home items. I wouldn't trade it for the world and absolutely love being a mom!

O Christmas Tree! 2011

2011-12-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

Dec 4-5 2011

We have enjoyed the fresh smell of a real tree and being able to decorate one for the first time! We went simple with our tree since we'll accumulate ornaments each year and hope to get great deals after Christmas. Sunday evening was putting on the lights and enjoyed it all lit up while we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Pres. Monson inspired us to order The Christmas Carol and The Mansion and since have been reading them and will be making it a Stone tradition.

Monday was decorating our tree and made sure to do it before Coop went down for bed. We love Christmas time!

A Sweet Picture

2011-12-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

Matt and I hand delivered our Christmas cards to our neighbors one evening and enjoyed talking to our friends. The next day we found a sweet picture from our neighbor across the street from us. His mom told us that after he saw our card he began crying saying that he missed Buddy and then drew the picture for us. We aren't the only who misses Bud.

Coop's friends

2011-12-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

Tues Dec 13, 2011

During our usual craft time at Chelsea's, we did a goodie swap. We just hung out and talked most of the time and enjoyed our little ones playing together :) All these little ones are Coop's friends! (Audrey, Georgia, Kai & June). I'm so excited they'll be able to grow up together! The goodie swap was a success. We all bought lots of treats and the goal was to make plates for each family to go caroling with. I ended up taking 4 full plates home with me. Such a fun time with great friends!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving

The entire Saxon bunch- we were all home- a wonderful thing to be thankful for!

had to throw in one of the many funny pictures

Some random pics of Coop and his cousins/aunt. Everytime Grey would come over, he'd ask where Cooper was...most of the time he was sleeping. I love Grey's face in these!

Thanksgiving was fun! Matt and I enjoyed a morning run together and then helped with the meal. My Dad does a great job smoking the turkey and we all helped with the sides- somehow my mom does more than enough! We later played volleyball with all the siblings. I was a little sick so couldn't play as much as I normally would but grateful I quickly got over feeling bad.
Pictures on TG

The day after Thanksgiving we rode wheelers and dirt bikes...we normally make a trip up to MS to do it but this happened to work out a little closer to home and great weather doing so. Matt & I loved the trials and Coop did great taking naps outside in the pack-n-play.
That evening I met up with some friends from high school and made ornaments and pyramids :)

The Sunday after TG, we had our Saxon Christmas since we were all in town. The siblings draw names so we did our gift exchange, decorated the tree, had a delicious dinner Robin prepared and took pictures. A fun time to be with everyone!

all the siblings

Aunt C-C bought Connor and Coop their first Christmas pjs- so cute!
One last pic with GiGi at the airport

Rollie Pollie!

2011-12-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sunday Dec 11, 2011

Coop man is officially rolling over! He's been close but all the sudden he did it in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped since! He woke up crying in the middle of the night (not unusual) but sounded a little different. Matt checks on him and he was on his tummy! Well, by 7 when he wakes up, I get him and this is how I found him! That morning Matt and I played with him on the floor and he was rolling both ways. Now he's unstoppable! He mostly does back to tummy and is really good at it!

We Miss our Buddy

2011-12-10T17:09:00.000-05:00

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart

-unknown

While we were in LA for Thanksgiving, our Buddy passed away while at one of his favorite places- Doggy Day Care (All Wags). He died of pericarditis- an infection around the heart. He showed little symptoms and when we did take him to the vet months ago, nothing showed up and said he was healthy. Only way to see the infection is by doing an xray of the heart. Doggie Day Care took him to the vet two days prior to his passing and the vet said he was fine but to maybe feed him smaller meals throughout the day. He was completely fine the next morning and full of energy. Too bad none of the vets thought about this infection. We are grateful he wasn't in pain when he passed. He's missed and wish our little Coop and him could grow up together.

We have lots of fun memories. One of the last ones was the Friday before we left. We went for an evening walk and the kids in the neighborhood were playing out and were so excited to see Bud. They got their soccer ball because they knew Bud loved it. Bud grabbed the soccer ball and took off then all six kids ran after him. They would go around houses and we'd first see Bud come around, with the ball in his mouth, then the rest of the kids seconds later. This was what he often did. He LOVED kids- probably because he was a big one himself. The last memory I have of him was that Saturday. I was about to leave for an activity and let him play with the kids across the street while I was loading things up in the car. Matt went outside to help me. I left in the car, and Matt was going inside while we let Bud stay and play with the kids. I remember him watching me leave and then walk to Matt while he went inside and stood by the door for a couple of seconds before he began playing with the kids- he knew who his parents were and was always loyal to us.

Other memories:

- Looking for and chasing rabbits and cats

- Playing with soccer ball, frisby & chase with Matt

- Giving shakes but always turn his head the other way

- Wag his tail while he was laying down if we walked by

- Always scared of thunder and fireworks

- Taking him to dog parks, camping trips, hikes, picnics

-Being scarred of the water to loving it- watching him fetch a stick in a lake while camping

- many, many morning runs and bike rides

-Coming home to find shoes, carpet & furniture destroyed

- He wasn't a fan of balloons :)

- throwing his bed around

- propping his head on our legs

- When he saw the ear drops, he laid down although he hated it!

- Passing our with meds on our car trip home from LA

- Playing in the snow

- Sliding down slides

- Countless evening walks as a family

- Resting his head on the window seal at the apartments waiting for us to come home.

- Catching bouncing tennis balls

Sitting in the yard while Matt mowed the lawn

- Hated the water hose- esp when we squirted him- maybe that's why he hated the hose :)

Our neighborhood kids have cried and our sweet neighbor who we rarely see, knocked on our day the other day and asked if Bud was ok. When we told her he passed away she began crying and told us that Buddy would always greet her in the mornings at the fence and he was the only dog that liked her dogs. He's missed by many!

Matt describes it best in our last Christmas letter:

With immediate cheer, a permanent sincere smile, non-stop tail wags, without a hint of complaint or criticism, and exemplifying the very definition of loyalty, he constantly teaches us how to treat others.

Because of Bud, we met many of our friends. He's the one to first greet others- especially kids- and because of that, friendships were developed. Dec 14 would have been his 2-year bday.

This was the last picture I took of Bud. We just had friends over for dinner and the kids had lots of energy. This was him after they left just laying on the floor like this....I think he had his share of noise for the night

Other cute pics of Bud

Family Pictures

2011-12-07T09:26:00.000-05:00

The weekend before Halloween, we had our pictures done by our fav photographer- Angela Braniff. We did a short mini session which was the max Coop and Bud could handle. I'm happy the way they turned out.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-03T07:14:00.000-05:00

Saturday Dec 3, 2011

We enjoyed a 'Breakfast with Santa' ward party to kick off the December month. We got there a little late (worked around Coop's schedule) but had a great time nonetheless. We visited with friends, sang and got a picture with Santa.

We later met up with some friends from the ward to a tree farm in York. We got to cut down our first tree and had so much fun! There were several types of trees to choose from and they gave us an axe to chop it down. This will be a new family tradition for us. Growing up, my family would get our tree after TG in MS. We went to my grandparents' friends' lot and found one. They were not the prettiest ones but it was the memories that made it special.

These are my great friends and I love that our babies are all born within months of each other

Me & Coop, Alena & June, Erica & Georgia, Chelsea & Audrey

At the Tree farm cutting down our tree

Learning the Buisness

2011-11-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

Friday November 18, 2011

Learning the Buisness....When I came home from pilates Coop had just woken up from a nap. Matt entertained him by having him in the office while he was working on payroll until I got home. He was so content in Daddy's arms.

3 MONTHS!

2011-11-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

14 November 2011

My chubby little boy keeps getting chubbier! He's talking more & more and moving around more than ever! He doesn't like getting in the car seat because that means he is more confined. He still likes his hand and sometimes finds his thumb. The past week he's been going to the child care at the Y while I work out. They take such good care of him and mommy is happy when he gets his nap in there. He is a happy baby as long as he's fed and gets his naps in. His morning naps are the best. He's bed time routine has been around 6 and usually asleep by 7 (time change has made it earlier). He was doing great sleeping through the night, but recently he's been getting up around 3 for a feeding....hopefully this will end soon but it's not too bad since he'll quickly go back to sleep. We just love Coop-Man!

Race Day! 1/2 Marathon

2011-11-17T19:40:00.000-05:00

Saturday Nov 12, 2011

Matt & I ran Thunder Road 1/2 marathon in Charlotte. I was so excited for this! We were going to run the full one last year but I hurt my knee. So after I had Coop, this was my goal. I trained for it, even when some days I was working on little sleep. Jen Morrell stayed with Coop for us and grateful for her losing some sleep to help us out!

We rode the train up and drove back since we had volunteer parking (we left a vehicle there the night before while picking up our packets). Race started at 7:45 and we were the last ones starting because we were in line for the bathroom! Matt was so excited to listen to pandora on his new iphone but the silly thing froze on him so he didn't have any music to listen to the entire time! He ended up talking to this one guy who was running the full marathon for the majority of our run. He knows I don't talk and run :)

Temp was chilly (low 30's) when we started but it got warm fast! The run was good- a hilly course- but so beautiful! I really had a great time and looking forward for another one in Disney!

After the race, we went to the luncheon for Kai's dedication-our friends Lani and Brain's baby. He was dedicated at their church and since we had the race, we could only make the luncheon. Kai was asleep and so was this little guy in daddy's arms. He enjoys resting just like that.

Voting Day~

2011-11-17T19:39:00.000-05:00

Tues Nov 8, 2011

Today Matt & I voted and took little Coop along. We let him sport the sticker for the day. I remember going to vote with my mom- she is always good about reading up on the candidates and contributing to society. I need to be more like her (in many ways!)

Girls Dinner Out

2011-11-16T15:26:00.001-05:00

9 Nov 2011

Yay for Vanessa in town! Some of the girls got together for a dinner at Panera Bread. I love me some girl time and some Panera Bread. Wish I could have stayed longer than I did but we'll have to do it again next time she's in town for a real girls' night out- when the kiddos are sleeping and hubbies home watching them.

Soap Suds

2011-11-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

Sunday Nov 6, 2011

We had a fun dinner with the Maughans and later Mimi and Poppi visited us. We watched family videos with them and lots of laughs. As we were about to go to bed, we go through the kitchen and notice lots of soap suds spewing out all over the floor. I had bought a HUGE Costco dish soap thinking it was Dishwasher Det. and so did Matt. So when he started the dishwasher, that's the soap he used. Fortunately we had help cleaning up. We had some good laughs from it.

Sushi Time Round 3!

2011-11-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

Saturday Nov 5, 2011

Anyday and every day is a good day for sushi according to Matt. This weekend he got just that. For our date night on Friday, he chose sushi which was delicious at Nakato's. Then on Saturday we ate sushi at another place with the Schwartz and again on Saturday night, we made our own at the Beauchamps with the Harts. Such a fun time! We love making sushi! The Beauchamps are too nice to have us over again for the making. Ryan treated us to homemade lettuce thai rolls and they were soooo good!! The Harts brought over some mango for the sushi and what a great combo!! Delish!

We had pumpkin & peppermint ice cream cone for dessert- love the holiday treats!

Coop and his girl friend Audrey just hanging out. Coop sported his LSU gear

We made it home and after Coop went down, Matt & I watched the end of the LSU game vs Alabama- felt like the Championship because of the intensity of the game. Needless to say, Tigers pulled it off!

That night Erica began having some contractions and went into the labor the following morning. They had their beautiful baby girl- Georgia late that night. We are so excited for them!

Bath Time Chubs

2011-11-14T16:50:00.001-05:00

4 Nov 2011

I'll have to start getting more bath pics of lil Coop because this is when you can really see the chubs on him. I can't get enough of him! 11-1/2 weeks here. He just LOVES his bath time!

Say Cheese!

2011-11-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

4 Nov 2011

After Costco, I fed Coop in the car and afterwards he gave the BIGGEST smiles! This was my favorite one! He's 11-1/2 (2 1/2 months) weeks here. This just makes me smile!

Park & Smiles

2011-11-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Thurs Nov 3, 2011

We spent an afternoon at the park behind our neighborhood with friends. We had a fun time on such a beautiful day! We all brought a little food to share which was delicious! We all need some girl time, fresh air and yummy food. Coop was a little fussy but finally went to sleep and I was free to eat :)

When we got home from the park, Coop was full of smiles for us! This is such a fun stage!

Happy Halloween from the chefs!

2011-11-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

Monday October 31, 2011

We had a fun Halloween night! Erica and Nick Hart joined us for the fun. It kicked off with a pizza party on one of our neighborhood streets. We have several friends there and joined in. Coop did well in his costume and got to see one of his best buds Kai there too. I think Halloween is so funny with all the costumes! We had a great time.

Putting on his costume...makes me laugh every time!

Pics with the Hart & the Koontz family

Below- Best Buds- Kai & Coop

Once Coop started getting fussy, we went home but he ended up falling asleep in Matt's arms on the way back. So Cute! I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of him sacked out on our bed in his costume.

I love me some Lobster Cooper

My tired little lobster

Once Coop went down, we enjoyed some yummy apple crisp we made, delicious apple cider that Matt worked on, and homemade pumpkin ice cream the Harts brought. While making all of this and while I was putting Coop down for the night, we were getting some fun trick-or-treaters. Our first time to have some! We enjoyed a movie together once the trick-or-treating ended. What a fun night!

Sunday Downtime

2011-11-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

Sunday October 30, 2011

In leu of Halloween, Matt and I made popcorn balls together. I grew up making these every fall and want to carry the tradition on. It makes a ton which is why I brought them to church for the youth. They are delicious! We also finally carved our pumpkin! Matt carved while I bake the pumpkin seeds- salt & cinnamon= a perfect combination!

Trunk OR Treat

2011-11-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

Saturday October 29, 2011

Trunk or Treat! Our ward got together and did a simple Trunk or Treat. We had fun dressing up and Coop surprisingly did well in his costume! It was a little big on him which made it even more funny. We had to bring Bud in his Lobster outfit too. Coop got the funniest/cutest award....Deservingly so I think :) Just as we were about to leave, Coop fell asleep in Matt's arms. I guess the Lobster outfit is quite comfy too!

Chefs gonna be cookin' up some Coop and Bud Lobster for dinner

2 Month Stats

2011-11-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

Coop went to the doctor 2 weeks after he turned two months. This picture was taken two days after his 2month bday (October 16)

Weight: 13.9 lbs (88%ile)

Height: 23 3/4 in (78th %ile)

Head Width: 15 3/4 in (78%ile)

In the past week and a half, Coop has been sleeping through the night (most of the time)! We are soooo grateful for this! It began on a Saturday(Oct 22nd) evening when he was so fussy that I put him down for what I thought would be a nap. He usually would wake up at 8:30 regardless of when he last ate or slept and that's when we would begin our bedtime routine. Well, he just kept sleeping and sleeping....I kept asking Matt if we should we wake him up but we decided to experiment. I just didn't want to go to sleep and then an hour later feed him. Well, we let him sleep and then we all slept til 4! He slept from 6-4! Now it's between 7-8:30 he'll go down and sleep til 5 or 6. Matt & I are morning people so we love this. Once he's up, I feed him and play with him til he's ready for another nap- about 45 min later. When he's down the 2nd time is when I got for a run and workout. We are getting somewhat of a routine now!

Our lil man is getting much bigger- chunky legs!

He LOVES bath time still and is beginning to splash his arms around

He does a great job on tummy time!

Looking around and smiling more

Beginning to 'talk'- make noises (besides crying ones)

Naps are not as long but that's ok with me if he sleeps through the night!

We just love him more and more each day!

Apple Pick'n

2011-10-31T16:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday October 22, 2011

Grandads Apple Orchard

I was so excited to go to an apple orchid and pick my own apples! We drove two hours to Hendersonville only to find out that it was too late in the season to pick the apples on the tree but NOT from a box. lol. I was so bummed! We got to walk around which was beautiful there and the drive was gorgeous with all the leaves changing colors. Next year, I'll plan an apple picking trip a little better.

Picking our apples....from a box~

We at least got to walk around the orchid and pretend to pick some. I just love it up there!

My handsome boy

A taste of the scenery

Surprise Trip to FL!

2011-10-26T20:54:00.000-04:00

13-17 October 2011

Our family of three made the 6hr drive (8hrs for us with a baby to feed) to surprise Matt's sis and her family. Kenzie was turning 5 years old and thought Coop would be a great present. We made it to their home Thursday night and kept Coop in his carseat by their front door while we rung the bell & hid. Val opens the door and shortly after the kiddos come kinda confused on who's baby. Val said she was trying to think of her friends who had a baby. We popped out from the side and they were so shocked and excited. This is their first cousin to have and we were so excited to be there! Janet & Craig were also in town so we got to spend some family time. We don't get to see everyone enough!

Cousins Kai & Kenzie and Aunt Valerie

On Friday, Matt & I ran our long run in prep for our 1/2 marathon. We ran 9 miles while they watched Coop. We later all went out to eat and then went to a fun, fall 'park'. They had pumpkins, animals to feed, corn maze, slides, hayride, etc Such a fun little place.

Kenzie had her bday party on Saturday and she had a Rapunzel party with lots of friends and fun.

Matt feeding the gator at the restaurant

This restaurant we ate at on Saturday night had all these animals that were once alive. This place was covered with them- including this huge giraffe!

Sunday we went with the family and Jeremy preached during the service and we got to hear Valerie lead worship. It was fun to see them in action. We later made a short trip to the beach sine they are only 30 min away. We spent the rest of the evening with Val.

the Proud Grandparents

Coop getting tired...

Coop did great sleeping at the hotel. We brought a portable bassinet which he did great in. At times he'd get fussy- just off his routine and sometimes he's just fussy. We had a safe trip back but unfortunately I got a little sick on the way home. We'll be back to visit in January when we run another 1/2. By then, Val will have had her baby and will be about 2 mos!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

Monday October 10, 2011

For FHE, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. We picked out three pumpkins and enjoyed taking pictures. I just LOVE fall! The cool weather, delicious new fall treats, changing of the trees...one of my favorite times of the year.

This picture cracks me up! Look at that face- geez, I'm scared to know how he'll look at me when he's a teenager!

He didn't like taking pictures by the small pumpkins- it was at the end of the trip.

Our pumpkins are the ones on the right.

8 wksI

2011-10-21T19:12:00.000-04:00

9 October 2011

8 weeks today!

Enjoying tummy time

I love his crocked lips :)

Bottles

2011-10-20T19:49:00.000-04:00

7 October 2011

Coop is now taking bottles without a fight! Such a relief! I wanted him to start taking bottles because I have mutal on Tuesdays nights and would prefer to leave him with Matt. Also, for future date nights it'd be great to have the babysitter feed him if necessary. So, we are excited Coop is taking a bottle and doing well at it! Anytime he uses the bottle, I let Matt feed him. Aren't they too cute!

Quick Visit from Mimi and Poppi

2011-10-19T12:49:00.000-04:00

6 October 2011

Janet & Craig stayed the night on their way back home and we were so glad they could see Coop! It had been a while since they saw him and couldn't believe how much he's grown! Coop here is 7wks!

Yogurt for the Bday Girls!

2011-10-16T22:06:00.000-04:00

Monday Oct 3, 2011

Lani's bday is one day before mine so we decided to celebrate by eating YoForia's Frozen Yogurt- yum! Our boys are two months apart and will be best buds! Thanks for a fun time and treat!

Birthday Weekend

2011-10-12T13:56:00.000-04:00

Friday September 30- Sunday Oct 2, 2011

Matt surprised me with a surprise dinner with friends at one of our favorite restaurants- Veit-Thai. I was going to bake frozen lasagna for dinner but this was way better! The Beauchamps, Catchatoorians, Harts and Anna joined us-Thanks for a fun, surprised evening with delicious food and wonderful company!

Chelsea made a delicious cheesecake from scratch- it turned out wonderful!!

Saturday Oct 1, 2011
General Conference Time- We watched the first session at home on our computer- bad idea bc it kept breaking up! We enjoyed most of it outside on a BEAUTIFUL day. Coop slept and Matt ferminated Bud- much less hair now although he did not like any of it!
Second session was over at the Gustafson's home- home away from home.

Coop loves being outside like his parents

The BIG 27!

Oct 2, 2011

My bday was great-

- Coop let me get decent amount of sleep.

- I got sweet messages and phonecalls throughout the day

- I got to spend time with my family- Matt & Coop

- Watched great sessions of General Conference at the Gustafson's home with the Harts

- Ate a delicious dinner at the Gustafson's

- Had one of the best desserts- Pumpkin Crunch Cake! I love Fall!

- Enjoyed an evening with the hubby relaxing and reading

I'm one year older and hopefully wiser too. Birthdays make me stop and reflect on how well I'm living and accomplishing my goals. Here's to another great year!

the Small things

2011-10-06T15:34:00.000-04:00

29 September 2011

Tiny, Gentle & Sweet.

Cougar Time!

2011-10-06T15:25:00.000-04:00

Friday Sept 23, 2011

I finally got Matt and Coop’s BYU shirts in so on game day Friday, he was sporting it! Turned out to be a great wiin! The first picture he was really hungry and not in the mood for pictures. Then after he ate, he was much more content :)

He's screaming "Go Cougs!!"

Trip to LA and Coop's Blessing

2011-10-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

15-20 September 2011

I just love visiting home! All but one sibling lives there and all the nephews and niece. We flew down for a short trip since Matt had to get back and get more work done. We left EARLY Thurs morning- left our house after his 3am feeding. Coop did great on both flights. I fed him and he slept- easy morning baby!

Us on the plane- Coop's first time flying!

Coop meeting his Aunt Robin and cousin Kalli. Kal LOVED holding Coop- she's such a little mommy!

We enjoyed the nice, cool weather on a blanket. I got a lil nap in too which was much needed. Poor Connor was sick so we couldn't get Coop next to him. Next time I'l have pictures with the babies next to each other! I just wanted to squeeze the chubs on Connor- isn't he just so much to love!

I love this pic of Lisa's babies! Matt and I both had some R & R time.
My mom also fixed a delicious seafood gumbo! She's amazing!

A trip to LA always include dirtbiking for Matt- Aaron always has Matt all set up for it! We enjoyed a bonfire and watching the kiddos ride their bikes. Grey just turned 3 and ALREADY riding on two wheels!

Aunt Robin got baby Coop his first LSU outfits- he wore on game day and Tigers won! I also watched Grey's karate lesson. He was so funny watching and the youngest ones in the class. This is us while does a karate move!
Saturday we had "Meet Baby Cooper" at my parents' house. I was able to visit with friends from high school, church and other places. So fun to get to see everyone and for them to meet our new addition!

Top picture are highschool friends, second picture with Tim and Ginny- they'll be expecting their first soon!

Saturday evening was spent at Matt's good friend's wedding (Ryan Haun) in Mandeville. My mom came with us so I could nurse him after the ceremony. She was so sweet to come with us- she even changed the BIGGEST blow-out ever. It was an 1 1/2 drive one way and with the wedding and the reception, I felt it was too long- esp since he isn't too fond of bottles yet! Plus I forgot to bring the bottles that he uses. The wedding was very nice and fancy. We enjoyed the evening together and of-course came home exhausted!

Coop's Baby Blessing!

Sunday September 18, 2011

Matt was able to give baby Cooper a beautiful blessing. My brother, Dad, brother-in-law Joe and good family friend, Chris Tarver, were in the circle. Such a special moment for us and so grateful for the worthiness and inspired husband and father Matt is. One thing in the blessing that stood out to me was how blessings come according to Coop's obedience to commandments and living the principles of the gospel. Many beautiful blessings await him.

My parents

The whole family, minus Carmen.

The ladies and the gentlemen

We celebrated Greyson's bday while we were there which includes riding 4-wheelers and dirt bikes and eating home-made ice-cream- YUM! Grey got some pretty cool gifts too!

Other things we enjoyed while we were there:

- Morning runs with me, Matt and Coop- so refreshing to run!

- Watching Everybody Loves Raymond with the parents- we love that show!
- Ice-cream & sprite

We were supposed to leave Monday afternoon but our flight was so delayed and messed up that we got to stay another day! I was grateful to spend more time with family! It's always hard to say goodbye even though I'll see them in November.

1 month!

2011-09-29T12:56:00.000-04:00

14 September 2011

New Born Stats
7.6 lbs
21 in

5 day Stats (at first Dr appt) Aug 17, 2011
7.1 lbs (70%)
20.25 in Height (he didn't shrink but someone must have mis-measured!) (75%)
13 3/4 Head width (70%)

1 month- 14 Sept 2011
10.17 lbs (70%)
22 in Height (75%)
14 3/4 Head width (60%)

- Lil Coop has definitely more perky now. He is just beginning to look at us- in the eyes and not with a blank look.

- Nights are still rough for us parents. His nights and days are still mixed up so after middle of the night feedings, he's wide-eyed and not sleepy. We have at least 1-2 hrs of being awake trying to put him to sleep. He will cry non stop if you just lay him down.

- Sometimes he enjoys tummy time- depending on the time of the day. He can lift and turn his head great- he seems strong to me!

- He is definitely filling out more- and eats well.

My Q-T PA-TOOTIE!

2011-09-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

11 Sept 2011

These were just some random pictures I took-he's just becoming a big boy!

Cougar Time!

2011-09-24T13:25:00.001-04:00

10 Sept 2011

Coop watched his first BYU fball game vs the Long Horns. He watched the first half which was great on our team. Second half, Coop fell asleep which is when the Cougs quit playing. Coop must have been good luck- next time we'll have to keep him up! :) He actually was watching the tv and alert- I guess since we never have the tv on since we don't have cable, he's not use to seeing anything like that. We watched the game at our cute friends- the Kelly's and the Harts joined us too. Although the Cougs didn't come out on top, we have a fun evening.

Coop and Matt's BYU shirt hadn't come in the mail yet....

First Real Bath!

2011-09-24T13:25:00.000-04:00

9 Sept 2011

Coop had his first real bath- now that his cord fell off, we get to do bath time! At first he didn't like it and cried but after a few minutes he was quite content. I knew our future triathlete would love it! Coop is definitely filling out more and getting some chubs. So fun to see him growing up!

Heaven Sent- Coop's Baby Pics

2011-09-23T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here's Coop's Baby pics! Just some of my favorites...Aren't they adorable!! These were taken when he was 6 days old. We love our photographer and was just amazing how they molded our lil man into adorable poses. The room was in the 80's and they had a little heater next to him....they know how to do it! Thanks Angela!

http://www.angelabraniffphotography.com/

Sleepy Boy

2011-09-23T12:57:00.000-04:00

5 September 2011

Sometimes babies just cry...their fed, clean diaper, napped well, etc. They will just cry- and Coop likes do that right before we eat dinner. Why is that?! Well, one evening he was crying as we are trying to eat dinner and at this point we knew he was tired. Matt put him in the guest room and let him cry....not more than 2 min we heard the beautiful noise of silence :) Who knew that would sound so great! Well, I walked in after dinner and found him sleeping so sweetly. A great sense of love for this lil boy overwhelmed me. The other day I heard on the radio as we were running errands that the number one most stressful job for women is being a full time mom....this was ranked much higher than the 2nd job. I agree but definitely the most rewarding.

Coop's first Sunday!

2011-09-12T20:31:00.001-04:00

Sunday September 4, 2011

Coop's first Sunday! At 3 weeks old we attended Sacrament together. He did great and slept the entire time. Soon we'll stay for all the church meetings but waiting til he's a few weeks older.

Friends from the Mission!

2011-09-12T20:31:00.000-04:00

Thursday Sept 1, 2011

Thursday evening we had great visitors come in town! Jessica King lived close to Palmyra and visited her on the mission with Danielle Nielson, our other guest, who was my mission companion at the time. Oh I just love these girls! We enjoyed catching up at our house and over Mexican food. Nielson just graduated from Penn as a Nurse Practitioner and will be working for St Jude for 3 months- yea, she's amazing! She was an amazing missionary who I learned and looked up to so much! So grateful I could visit with these girls!

Jessica, Nielson, Coop & me

Cooper's friends!

2011-09-07T14:03:00.000-04:00

Friday August 26, 2011

Lani and baby Kai live in our lil neighborhood. Kai is two months older than Coop. They'll be playing with each other before we know it!

The Beauchamps visited us. This is cute Audrey born a month before Coop. This is their 2nd child. Elijah- the oldest kid- made a cute birthday card for Coop. All three of them will be playmates!

Crazy how I was pregnant along with these mommas and now here we are with our kiddos! Time does fly!

Look a-likes!

2011-09-07T14:02:00.000-04:00

25 August 2011

I bought Coop this yellow polo to match his daddy. Matt always wears polos and thought his son might look cute in one too!

GeGe and PaPa meet Coop

2011-09-05T13:58:00.001-04:00

Grandparents make the world...a little softer, a little kinder, a little warmer.

I was so excited when my parents arrived! They made the 12 hr drive from LA to come and meet their newest grandchild and to help out around the house.The arrived Thursday Aug 18 and have been such a blessing!

We enjoyed many walks together and lots of frozen yogurt, enjoying outside in our lawn chairs, etc

My parents helped out so much with Bud- taking him out on walks, mowing the lawn, cleaning, watching Coop, etc. I loved just relaxing with them and seeing them enjoy this precious boy!

First time seeing and holding Coop

After church

Daddy with his boy(s)

My mom's birthday was on Aug 23 so I was happy to finally celebrate her bday with her- it's been years since we got to do that! We enjoyed a delicious dinner at PF Changs and YoForia (frozen yogurt) together.

Family Shots before dinner with the bday momma!

Coop in front of a mini Cooper

My dad left the next day, early but so grateful my mom was able to stay longer! She was such a big help and such a do-er! She worked in the yard, cleaned my fans, floors, took Buddy on long walks, took care of Coop while I napped, fixed meals- she did it all! I'm so grateful for her help and was sooo sad to see her leave!

We'll be able to see GeGe and PaPa soon along with the rest of my fam for Coop's baby blessing. Can't wait for him to meet more of his aunts, uncles and cousins!

Photo Session

2011-08-27T15:52:00.000-04:00

Friday August 19, 2011

Angela Braniff did our Baby Pics- she also did our maternity ones. She is a pro! I just couldn't stop looking at my lil angel being molded into adorable poses. The room was over 80 degrees- just so little Coop would be nice and comfy bare bottom. They knew what they were doing! I canNOT wait to see them! Here's pictures of the photographers in action...soon the actual baby shots will be posted when I get them :)

http://www.angelabraniffphotography.com/

First Dr Appt

2011-08-26T11:32:00.000-04:00

Wed. August 17, 2011

Just wanted to record our first Dr appt. We are currently going to Providence Ped and see Dr Riley- she's wonderful. Everything went great! He was born 7.6 and his discharge weight was 7lbs. At the Dr appt he gained a few ounces which is great. His skin and every other thing she checked was prefect. We are so grateful for a healthy little boy!

Waiting to see Dr Riley

Family Time

2011-08-23T16:47:00.000-04:00

Thursday August 18, 2011

Tummy time and lovin some MiMi & Poppi

Our pea outside the pod

Going Home Day!

2011-08-22T20:11:00.000-04:00

Tuesday August 16, 2011

We were so excited to go home today! Lots of things Coop went through- hearing test, shot and circumcision. He was a trooper though!

His cute going home outfit! My hand is covering most of it up unfortunately~

Yay! We're finally leaving!

We left around 1:30 and enjoyed a yummy hospital smoothie on the way home. I couldn’t believe our car seat now had a lil baby- OUR baby!

We got home and had cute balloons on our mailbox from the Poulsen’s and a delcious, HUGE fruit basket from the Koontz family. Melissa also brought over dinner- a yummy fruit salad- and later Jen Softly dropped off a basket of healthy snacks and fruit. We were so spoiled but yet so grateful!!

As far as Buddy- our other son- he’s not so sure about this yet. He feels neglected- why? Because he is! Well, not too bad but he’s not our only boy anymore!!

He LOVES his bouncer...and we do too!

We were so happy to be home and even enjoyed an evening walk together. A time for us to wind down and get some fresh, humid air.

On another note, the first night’s sleep was quite miserable! I maybe got 2 hrs of sleep and poor Matt doesn’t get time off so he needed some sleep. By 3am, he went downstairs and slept in the guest room. Fortunately we haven’t had a night like that again! I’m kinda figuring out this baby thing!

Hospital Day 2

2011-08-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

Monday Aug 15, 2011

We had another full day at the hospital and I was stir crazy. We walked around the designated walking areas (around the halls) which felt nice to move. I was still a little sore but overall felt great. We had Matt's parents visit us and they brought Coop some goodies- stuffed animals, balloons and cute NC socks. He's already a spoiled little boy! Cheryl Catchatorian from church also stopped by with some delicious lunch! We were so grateful for that! We had our first FHE together as a family of 3. We feel so blessed to have Coop in our lives and though we will teach him the principles of the gospel, he will be teaching us much more.

By this point, nursing is still a work in progress for the both of us. During the night, he slept in the nursery and fed him every 2-3 hours. Matt spent a lot of time napping, reading and enjoying little work. We napped when we could! Matt was a huge help and changed every diaper there since it was easy for him to get up! Lucky for him, all the stinky, dirty diapers happened at night and the nurse changed him in the nursery!

We LOVE our Coop!

Best Day of Our Lives-Baby Coop

2011-08-20T17:51:00.000-04:00

Sunday August 14, 2011

Welcome lil Cooper! We are so blessed that he has finally arrived into our lil arms and healthy as a button.

The Preface:

After our dinner at the Schwartz’s (and hearing more about the Caster Oil) Matt and I bought some and took it around 9. I mixed and gushed it down with OJ. Not so bad! Well by midnight I was definitely being cleansed out. I was able to get some sleep in between bathroom stops but around 2am it was a completely different story!

Around 2, I still felt like I had to use the restroom but couldn’t. I had huge stomach cramps and felt awful. I couldn’t go back to sleep and by 4 Matt finally woke up. I was in so much pain I couldn’t even lay down. Matt said maybe it was contractions but it felt just like a tummy ache and that I needed to use the restroom but I couldn’t. Since I did take the Caster Oil (which is a laxative) I was sure that's what it was- not contrations. I called the nurse and she said to time them and she’d call back in an hour. We did but they all were 2 min apart so that convinced me they weren’t contractions. Nurse called back and said to come on in since it’s hard to tell without being seen. So, got our things together (which were mostly packed) and headed off by 6. The thought of me having a baby didn’t really cross my mind bc I just wanted the stomach pains to go away!

No traffic to the hospital which was Presby Main in uptown Charlotte (a 23 minute drive). The drive did go quickly but remember Matt asking questions and I finally just had to tell him “Don’t ask questions- just give me encouragement”. I was losing my cool!

The Hospital

Get to the hospital and still felt like I had to go to the bathroom realllly bad. We checked in, headed to Triage and just wanted the pains to go away! I was already exhausted and wanted sleep too! I finally changed after sitting on the toilet a while (since I’m still thinking I needed to go potty!). They checked me and I was already at a 6! I couldn’t believe I was really in LABOR!!!

The bummer was that our Doula was 3 HOURS away!! I wish she would have called her back up because it was intense pain! While in Triage, they kept having me lay down and I was NOT happy! I just wanted to stand! This point Matt is calling/texting family members to let them know the status…I guess the Castor Oil worked for me! Matt kept asking the nurse if he’d be born today and then get so excited that by the end of the day, Coop would be here!

Hospital Room

Can I say MISERABLE! I was able to use the birthing ball and would just sit and try to breathe my way through contractions. Matt was there rubbing my shoulders and back and giving me encouragement. Slowly progressing- now at a 7. Doula finally gets there and by that point I was ready to have an epi. Had she came earlier, I might have gone all the way but I was so done. She was helpful though before the epi and even after. I couldn’t handle anymore at that point and thinking I’d still have about 2plus hours left made me sick!

So, I got the epi- absolutely NO regrets! I made it to 8 cm before I got it. As I was sitting up to get it done, I threw up- came from no where! That was the only moment I felt nauseated!

Epi was great- I still felt every contraction and some pain but it definitely took the edge off. I could even smile :) Not long after I was at a 10 and time to push- 2 HOURS of pushing! Such a workout! By this point, Janet (Matt’s mom) made it. They kept saying my pushes were great but then I don’t understand why it took me 2 HOURS!

We had Dr Fletcher- doc on call- and she was GREAT! Loved her! Towards the end of my pushing, Matt and Dr Fletcher began talking about being a vegetarian, how she completed an Iron Man, marathons,etc. Matt kept asking her about her times and training, etc all in between contractions. I’m laying there thinking “Are You Serious?”

They were seeing the head come and that was exciting so I kept pushing as hard as I could. Unfortunately she had to cut me a little bit but out comes lil Coop!! Matt had to hurry and cut the cord before they rushed to clean him off because his poop.

Once I heard the cry it was such an amazing feeling and accomplishment! The BEST part was when I finally got to hold him and when I began speaking to him, his little eyes just looked right up at me. He knew his Mama’s voice! Such an incredible moment where I wish I could freeze time.

7.6lbs, 21 in born at 12:43pm.

His nose looks like mine but that’s all I can really tell now! More pics to come of the day after.

My first time to hold him- an emotional moment

In the birthing room:
Doula Mary Nash & MiMi
Dr Fletcher

Poppi, Aunt Jess, Uncle Jonathan, Bud and Gma Stone

Fajita Night at the Schwartz's

2011-08-20T11:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday July 13, 2011

We had a fun evening over at the Schwartz family’s home. Several great families including the Maughans, Beauchamps, Jenkins and Richardsons attended. We all contributed to the Fajita bar and enjoyed the great company and food. We love these families and grateful for their great examples to us as well. And this was the last night of just the two of us :)

The bar

the kiddos

Hours before Coop comes...during the night we talked to LaNae Richardson and she talked about how she used Castor Oil and massaging pressure points....

The Host

What to Try Next?

2011-08-12T16:18:00.000-04:00

12 Aug 2011

Last night Matt and I had some DELISH Thai food. His was EXTREMELY HOT-even hot for him which is crazy. So of-course I ate some to help this baby move on out....Not yet. Then today, I read of a friend's blog about how she got a mani/pedi and remembered my sis-n-law saying how that could cause the baby to come (I guess the massaging of the feet....), so I did that today. We'll see if that works. Even if it doesn't, I thoroughly enjoyed getting pampered. While we are waiting for Coop's debut, Matt and I have been enjoying our "last date night together with no kids" for the past two weeks.

Contraction Cookie

2011-08-11T14:15:00.000-04:00

Wed August 10, 2011

Since little Cooper is so content where he's at, an adorable family (the Gustafson's) that I absolutely love in our ward, dropped off some "Contraction Cookies". I keep them posted and we're all surprised he's not here yet! A couple of the kids, who are older, have made guesses when he's coming so they can't wait to find out the actual day either. Aren't they so sweet?! A day and a couple of cookies later, not results...yet.

39 Weeks

2011-08-09T14:25:00.001-04:00

Sunday August 7- Saturday August 13, 2011 (we'll see if I make it that long!)

39 WEEKS

When will this baby come?! Not complaining- however when the docs keep saying he'll come anytime and it's been almost two weeks, I've gotten to the point where I'm done waiting- I just want to meet him! I went to the dr on Monday and I'm still 3cm (70% effaced) and head is still down. Dr also gently stripped some of the membranes but nothing yet. He told me don't be surprised if he comes tomorrow (which is today). I do feel him lower and feel more pressure so really anytime. I'm finally to the point where I feel prepared and ready. Ask me that a week ago and I'd tell ya a different story.

I feel great still. I still work out which I think prevented any swelling. By the end of the day I am ready to have my feet up and just relax. Crazy to think that our lives will be changing at any moment!

Random Night

2011-08-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

Tuesday August 9, 2011

Last night we had a big storm come through and the neighborhood close to us had a house that got struck by lightening. We could smell the smoke from our house. Well, around 2:30 this morning, our alarm upstairs where we sleep goes off once. It was so loud and startled both of us. Matt is so funny when woken up from a deep sleep and he was trying to figure out what was going on. No smoke around the house. The other thing we thought of was carbon monoxide. Yesterday we didn't have any hot water so last night Matt was playing around with the water heater.

He called 911 just to ask a question. Well, they wanted to send some firemen over to check it out. Fortunately Matt told them NOT to turn on their alarms- didn't want to wake our neighbors and cause a scene. So we had three firemen here last night and nothing was wrong- no fire, no carbon monoxide. Thank Goodness. Just a random night and ironic that it was the same night a house did catch on fire earlier.

The Family Vehicle

2011-08-07T18:04:00.000-04:00

7 August 2011

We finally got another vehicle since my poor Sally the Solara got totaled. I've been driving a rental so that's helped. Last week, Matt and I went to Raleigh in hopes that we'd return with another vehicle. Once we saw it, we weren't that impressed. Sure it was a good deal but didn't feel excited about it. I felt like we could get something in better shape and still a great deal.

We spent the night in Raleigh and looked on line that night and the following morning. Matt found this particular Volvo on EBAY...After talking to the guy and discussing it with me, he put down the deposit! Risky- yes! However, we felt good about it and it looked great. It was currently in NJ so once we got back in town and got the check sent to them, they shipped the vehicle to us. We got it on Saturday!

All the way from NJ

It's a Volvo XC90- 2008. It runs smooth-; some things need to be cleaned up and fixed but for a great deal, I don't have any complaining to do! This will last us a while. It has two bucket seats in the back that can be folded up if I need more sitting room. I love it and so grateful it worked out!

The same day we got it, we got the car seat set up for lil Coop...any day he can come!

My boys tired after a long day

That evening we got some delicious Thai food, Dippin Dots and enjoyed a movie- Soul Surfer (I cried a ton- hormones?? maybe...). It might be our last date/weekend night with no kiddos!

38 Weeks

2011-08-04T16:22:00.001-04:00

31 JULY-7 AUG 2011

38 WEEKS

WENT TO THE DR TODAY (WED AUG 3) AND DILATED AT A 3. DOC THINKS HE’S STILL COMING EARLY SINCE HIS HEAD’S DOWN ALREADY. SAD THING IS DR. BLAND WILL BE OUT OF TOWN NEXT WEEK SO IF I GO THEN, I’LL HAVE SOME RANDOM DOC ON CALL. SAD- WE LOVE DR BLAND! I FEEL GREAT THOUGH. THE HEAT IS ROUGH BUT WE’RE ALL SUFFERERNG THROUGH IT. I STILL GO TO MY EXERCISE CLASSES, OF-COURSE CAN’T KEEP UP LIKE I USED TO. I’VE HAD A GREAT PREGNANCY SO FAR AND CAN’T WAIT TO MEET HIM. WE ARE SLOWLY ADDING DÉCOR TO OUR HOME AND THAT’LL COME SLOWLY. WE HAE THE MAJOR THINGS FOR COOP- WE JUST NEED HIM. HOWEVER WHEN I WAKE UP 4 TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, I’M GRATEFUL I CAN GO RIGHT BACK TO BED. THOSE DAYS WILL END SOON!

Our poor garden....

2011-08-04T16:22:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Aug 2, 2011

2 Year Anniversary!

2011-08-03T20:41:00.000-04:00

Monday Aug 2, 2011

These two years have been so wonderful! I’m so grateful I made the best decision of my life. Since last year’s anniversary was spent in Maui, this year we decided to go bigger….just kidding. We spent the day doing our errands and work and then after a quick dinner, we went to Home Depot for bug killer and then Pier One for table place mats. We relaxed by watching a movie. Definitely low key- not too much you can do while being preggo. Regardless of what we did, it was the time spent together which was the best.

As mentioned before, he did get me a foot/calf massager from Brookstone. He also surprised me with a mission plaque. I never got one from the ward for some strange reason, but he had one made. Now we have ours placed next to each other in the office. Our marriage was definitely a mission blessing.

"Marriage itself must be regarded as a sacred covenant before God. A married couple have an obligation not only to each other, but to God. He has promised blessings to those who honor that covenant. . . .

"Husbands and wives who love each other will find that love and loyalty are reciprocated."

Pres. Benson

B.O.A.T.I.N.G.

2011-08-02T21:49:00.000-04:00

Friday July 29- Saturday July 30, 2011

We had such fun weekend! Well, Friday Matt worked hard to finish up with work and we drove up to Raleigh (a 3hr drive). We saw a Volvo XC 90 that we were hoping to buy but when I saw it, I wasn't impressed as much as I thought I'd be. I love the Volvo XC 90 but this one didn't seem in great shape. So we held off buying it and thought more about it. Well, next morning, still not sure. Matt was persistent and looked a while on-line. We wanted a great deal. We found one on line in NJ, Matt talked with him and we put the down the deposit. We should be getting it within a week! We both feel great about it...it's a risk not having seen it but it's a legit company and a new model so it's nicer. Can't wait to see it!

Since the whole car deal didn't go as planned, we arrived late to the camp with our friends. We had an absolute blast though. It was the Maughan's boss's lake house and it was beautiful! We enjoyed boating, tubing, wake boarding, etc. I rode the boat and took the pics but just loved being out on the water! The boat rode so smooth that it didn't even bother me! Matt learned how to wake board and did a great job and got his speed out by riding the jet skis. Such a fun time!!

Sarah, Vanessa and Me

Matt & Mike...they were so funny to watch

Matt had a blast! WIsh I could have done it with him!

I-HOP Night

2011-08-01T16:31:00.001-04:00

Thursday July 28, 2011

I-HOP Night

Important Hour of Progress

I was in charge of the activity on Thursday and discussed Personal Progress. It was more or less an open discussion on what struggles they have with it, ideas on how they can be better on working on it, etc. The girls were so great and came up with excellent ideas and are excited to work on it. Ideas like being in small groups to work on experiences and following up with them, awards, etc were mentioned. I'm so grateful for these great girls! At the end we indulged in some pancakes...a nice way to end the activity- which made the YM quite jealous.

Steal of a DEAL!

2011-08-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Janet (my mother-n-law) ran errands with me on Tuesday which consisted of getting things for the hospital (like comfy clothes). While at the mall, we checked out the sale table in the cooking section at Macey's and couldn't believe the deals! I got a $185 pressure cooker for $9! Not kidding.....it was a display item so it didn't come with a box or directions PLUS Janet had a 20% off coupon. That was exciting but then got a set of new dishes and silverware which has like 70+ pieces for half off and a cute animal muffin pan. I was definitely excited. Janet treated me to all the items as an early anniv gift. Thanks Janet! Now I don't have to worry about using paper plates when we have company bc I have enough dishes and utensils! I just need to call the company to get directions on the pressure cooker.

37 Weeks

2011-07-31T18:42:00.001-04:00

Sunday, July 24- Saturday, July 30, 2011

37 WEEKS

This baby will be here any day! I had a dr appt on Tuesday and he checked to see if I was dilated....2CM! I realize that people can stay dilated weeks at a time but the fact the he could feel his head too is crazy! I need at least till the end of the first week of Aug. Hopefully by then I'll have another vehicle and have things a little more organized! Dr thinks he'll come early too. Matt and I are excited. Crazy to think we'll be seeing Coop soon!

Seitz in town!

2011-07-31T17:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday, July 23- Sunday, July 24, 2011

We had wonderful company Saturday and Sunday. The Seitz family spent the day with us on their anniversary. Last time we saw them was two years ago in VA when she was expecting her first- Oscar. Now we are both pregnant- she's in her 3rd tri. Matt & Jeremy were friends in LA and were baptized close together. They have remained great friends and grateful to get together with them.

Matt and I made it back from the temple (our last time as a family of two) and as soon as we got back, they pulled in- prefect timing! We were able to catch up a good bit and enjoy a nice dinner. While waiting for dinner, we found the boys in Matt's favorite store- Brookstone! We enjoyed the foot messager and this is what Matt got me as an early anniv gift....yes- it feels wonderful!

Jeremy, Debbie and Oscar Seitz

Piano Concert & a triple date :)

2011-07-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Friday July 22, 2011

We had such a fun evening going to dinner with our friends-the Kellys and the Gustoffsons- and attending the Jon Schmidt concert-a very talented pianist. Matt and I LOVE piano music and believe in the next life we'll be given our hidden talents including piano. :)

Our favorite song was his arrangement of Taylor Swift's 'Love Story' and Cold Play's 'Viva la Vida'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k

AMAZING!!! A very uplifting night.

2 preggo's in the fam....36 1/2 wks

2011-07-28T12:09:00.000-04:00

Wednesday July 20, 2011

Matt and I drove down to GA to visit with his family for two days. His sis- Valerie- lives in FL and was able to make a trip up with her two kiddos. She's preggo also- due in Nov- so it was fun to see her. She gave me lots of tips, clothes and gifts. I absolutely loved seeing Matt play with Kenzie and Kai, and they loved it too. Gave me a lil glimpse of our future. It was extra hot so we spent most of our time inside but grateful we could spend time with family. One of the highlights was watching Kenzie and Kai (esp him!) dance. We left the next evening so it was a short but sweet visit.

Our Cucumbers!

2011-07-27T22:05:00.000-04:00

20 July 2011

We have cucumbers growing out of the wazoo here! These were the first ones I picked! Unfortunately our squash and zucchini are not doing so well. We are getting quite a few green bell peppers which should be ready to pick soon. The other colored peppers aren't making much progress. This heat must be getting to them like it is me!

TRI

2011-07-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

16 July 2011

Matt decided to the Ballantyne Sprint Tri last minute. I signed him up the week of and so he finally decided to swim (the day before) and get on his bike (the night before- didn't even clip in but was taking Bud for a run) all which he hadn't done since LAST year! He's been running and working out but not getting ready for a TRI.

He did great though. Such a fun environment and wish I was out there doing it with him. I had fun watching and taking pictures. Josh Vire did his first tri so I had fun talking with Laura. Good times!

My lil surprise....

2011-07-24T20:03:00.000-04:00

14 July 2011

After my Dr appt (getting an ultra sound and double checking Coop) I came home to this wonderful surprise from my AMAZING YOUNG WOMEN and leaders. I was bummed with all the fruits and veggies that got ruined from the wreck but not any more! Look how delicious all these veggies look! I was so grateful. The baskets were completely filled with a huge variety of yumminess!

The Dr appt went well...during the ultrasound they said Coop was about 6.1lbs and is growing 1/2lb a week....this could be a big baby! We were grateful everything went well.

Later that evening, we found this in our garden:

I don't know how we missed this HUGE zucchini! The next day I made zucchini bread for us, matt's parents and a family I made dinner for.

What Matters Most

2011-07-16T11:00:00.001-04:00

Wednesday July 13, 2011

We all get in a routine of doing things and take life as it comes. TOday was no different- a busy day of knocking things out. sometimes we are given situations where we are reminded of how fragile life is and what really matters most.

Yep, this is Sally the Solara- my car. I was heading back from the produce stand (excited about all the fruits and veggies I got for such a good deal) driving 45mph on Hwy 521. There was a median in between the 4 lane Hwy and all the sudden this car pulls out from across the median to make a U-turn. I know he saw me hence why he jetted out so quickly but either was trying to stay in the lane closest to him OR try to make it before me.

As soon as I saw him, I had a few thoughts that lasted literally about a second before I hit him were things like "I'm going to hit him- there's nothing I can do- this is going to be bad." I remember letting out a HUGE scream and then it was over. I know angels were watching over Coop & I- no doubt. My airbags popped out but didn't even notice them. I could smell the smoke from the car or the airbags. I tried to get my purse to call Matt but was lodged under the seat and couldn't get to it. People rushed over to me and of-course I'm in tears. I just wanted to get out of the car and make sure Coop was ok. I remembering just telling the people who were helping that I was pregnant and wanted him to be ok. One of the guys helping let me stay in his air-conditioned truck while help was coming. Someone was able to get my purse and find my phone which was disassembled. I finally reached Matt and was in tears (he said that it was the worst phone call he's ever received). He just left an appt and rushed over to the scene. While waiting in the car, I could feel Coop moving which was a HUGE relief. I still didn't know if internally or mentally he was ok. I had a Dr appt shortly after so I wanted to see him and make sure baby was ok. However I should have went to the ER in case something was wrong.

The other guy was at fault- he was ok- his passenger was taken in. The ER closest to us with another group so they had to call in another Er further away so it was quicker to Coop checked out by my obgyn.

I was so grateful to see Matt. It just made things so much better. EMTs checked me out- everything seemed ok. Cop wrote out the report- other guy at fault. Went to dr once I was cleared.

Dr checked heart beat- sounded great, measured great but wanted me to go to hospital into Triage to make sure he's stable. We had to be monitored for 4hrs but fortunately time went quickly. I talked to family members and talked with Matt, both had naps, and ate some food but really enjoyed the smoothies! As I was being monitored, I could hear Coop's heart beat which always makes me smile. I could also see on the screens when I was having contractions. I can't feel them yet but am definitely having them! We left around 8:30 and was a good night to be home. Melissa took care of Bud so that was relief and have had calls/texts of family members and friends. We are so grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

The next day I woke up unbelievably sore- especially my neck. I have bruises and marks from airbag and seatbelt. Took it very easy and went to the doc for an ultrasound later that afternoon. Everything went great- no damage to placenta. Baby is weighing about 6.1 lbs! Yikes considering I'm almost 36 wks! This baby could be an 8-pounder! We are just grateful he is ok!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYhDhiojBPA

Girls in Town!

2011-07-15T13:14:00.000-04:00

Sat & Sun July 9-10, 2011

Enjoying a walk at Freedom Park in uptown

Cheesecake Factory at South Park Mall and then had some YoForia

Isn't he so stink'n cute! CONNOR- 6mos

His tiny lil feet

The baby boys

The friendly giant and Connor...Matt trying to encourage some love

I was so grateful to have my mom, sis and sis-n-law (though she really is like a sis!) and nephew be able to visit us here in Charlotte for the first time. Even better that it was a complete surprise to me- Matt did a great job keeping it a secret! TIme went by too quickly! They left Sunday evening but we got to spend some time together, We went for a walk and enjoyed taking out our stroller! I LOVE my stroller and get excited to use it! I'm so blessed to have such wonderful family!!

Baby Shower

2011-07-14T10:25:00.000-04:00

9 July 2011

I’ll have to say, I probably had the CUTEST baby shower ever! Look how darling these pictures are- and no- not from a magazine but should be! Credits are below!

My mom, sis, sis-n-law & nephew drove all night Friday to surprise me at the shower! There were definitely tears and lots of smiles! The best gift!!!

My family and the moms

The host and the party planner- Cheryl and Melissa

34 Weeks

2011-07-14T08:29:00.000-04:00

Sunday July 3- Satruday July 9 2011

34 WEEKS

July 4 Weekend

2011-07-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

1 July-4 July 2011

This weekend definitely was a time to celebrate! Matt's brother Jonathan had a birthday on Friday and his mom's birthday was on the 4th. We enjoyed eating at Sullivans and Cheesecake Factory for their birthdays. On Saturday, Matt & I went to a stake 4th of July activity on the Catawba Indian Reservation. We enjoyed food and fireworks. It was quite an impressive firework show too! On the 4th before dinner, Matt and I went to Home Depot and ended up coming out with lots of flowers to plant. While Matt worked on the lawn, I planted our flowers. It was hard work and pretty sure I watered the plants with my sweat; but regardless so rewarding. I really do enjoy gardening! Our tomatoes are also doing well and so I had to get a picture of our green babies! I just hope I picked out the right flowers for the front and they won't die by getting too much sun....I should have observed a little better how much sun we get. We'll find out!

Sullivan's for Jonathan's bday

One of our first green tomatoes & yellow flowers from the squash!

Our hanging plant on the front porch

4th of July at Cheesecake Factory for Janet's bday after a hard's day labor in the yard

Maternity Pictures

2011-07-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

Pictures taken by Angela Braniff Photography

33 Weeks

2011-07-06T20:41:00.000-04:00

June 26- June 2, 2011

33 WEEKS

This week was another great week. Hot but good. Matt and I took maternity pics on Wed and will post those soon. Coop is getting crammed for sure and giving me heart burn. Can't wait to meet him!

Here are some random pics that Matt took of Bud and our garden too. Our cucumber plant is growing like crazy and clings to everything including my tomato plant...I have to be careful so it doesn't strangle it! Hopefully we'll have veggies soon! There are flowers and lil baby tomatoes growing!:

Sushi TiMe!

2011-07-05T15:31:00.000-04:00

Saturday June 25, 2011

The FRIENDS

The SUSHI

The ACTION

We had a great evening in our home Saturday evening. Matt and I LOVE sushi and invited some friends over to make our own. Matt and I bought the ingredients and all of us made rolls. So we had lots of sushi to try! Our ingredients consisted of the rice, wraps, crab, fresh salmon, shrimp, eel, cucumber, sprouts, carrots, cream cheese, avocado and of course the sides of wasbi, eel sauce, aioli, ginger, etc. Since two of us were prego, we didn't get any tuna...too tempting :) We had it all and it was delicious! I kept making the same kind bc I LOVED it so much- mine consisted of cream cheese, salmon, cucumber, carrots, avocado and the salmon! We are so glad the Beauchamps and Strickers joined us!

An evening outside

2011-07-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

20 June 2011