6 Months Old

I cannot believe my baby is already 6 months old!

6 MONTHS OLD!!!

That is so crazy!

Here is an upper body shot

each month

for 6 months!

HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY, LITTLE MAN!!!

The Calming Affect

I'm not sure what it is

If it's the cooler weather

The fresh air

Just being outside

Or

Just being up in the mountains

But

Whenever we head up the mountains

Hunter seems to calm right down

He sits in the truck

His nose right up to the window

And looks at EVERYTHING

He. Loves. It. Up. There.

On this day, all we did was go for a ride

We got out of the car several times 

Once to throw rocks into the lake

Which is a MUST for Hunter and Paizlei

We also stopped in several locations

To pick some pretty leaves

Of course

Paizlei had to search for every pink leaf she could find

 Hunter on the other hand

Didn't care much what color he picked

And chose to have Daddy cut his leaves

Right from the tree.

We also stopped to carve our initials in a tree

Zane and I have been doing this

Ever since we were dating

We have LOTS of trees up 12 Mile

With our initials

And the year

This trip up on the mountains

We got to add the initial "C"

For our sweet Cooper

And last

But definitely not least

We stopped to take several pictures

Of our cute family

In the first two

Cooper was peacefully asleep

And I didn't want to disturb him

So we waited to until he woke up

To get some pictures with him included

My Favorite Season

Fall is my FAVORITE time of year.

The cool temperatures.

The crisp air.

The smell.

The GORGEOUS colors.

Cutting branches of leaves of the quakies and oak trees to bring home.

ALL of it reminds me of my Grandma Young.

How I miss her.

Some days I wonder what she thinks looking down from Heaven.

Especially now that it is fall.

Every year when fall rolls around, I think of my Grandma daily.

I hear her talking on the phone to her sweet lady friends.

Telling them, "we went on a ride up through Thistle and Spanish Fork canyon and looked at all the purty leaves."

That was my Grandma.

Sunday, we went on a little drive up 12 Mile.

It definitely wasn't Thistle.

Or Spanish Fork Canyon.

But the colors were so VIBRANT and "purty".

I kept saying how beautiful the colors were.

Thinking of my Grandma every time I said something about the colors.

I love you Grandma!

I wish you were still with us!

Thank you for sharing you love of fall with me when I was younger.

You are the reason why I LOVE fall so much now as an adult.

Cooper's 2 Month Stats...

On July 25, 2012, Cooper had his 2 month well-baby visit.  Here are his stats:

~Weight - 8 lbs 13 oz - 0.14% on the growth chart

~Length - 19 3/4" long - below the 2% on the growth chart

~Head circumference - 15 3/4" - 82% on the growth chart

~Cooper is still an amazingly good baby.

~He sleeps from about 8pm until 8 or 9am without waking for a midnight feeding.

~He LOVES to be swaddled.

~He LOVES to be talked to.

~He LOVES when Hunter reads him a story.

~He falls asleep when Paizlei sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

~He eats 3oz.

~I am still pumping 6 times a day so he can have the BEST.

~His FAVORITE place to be, is in his swing.

~He HATES to be hot.

~He isn't a very big crier.  He only cries if he is hungry, poopy or to be put back in his swing.

~We are still waiting for an approval from our insurance for Cooper's genetics test.  Dr. Judy is going to call up to the insurance and see if he can do anything to get the ball rolling.

 He doesn't cry much, however, his tiny leggies hurt so bad after his 2 month immunizations.  Made me sad.

 (Photo idea found on Pinterest)

Hunter...My Little Photographer

I'm not sure whether Hunter is taking after me for his love of having a camera in his hands and capturing those great...or not so great...moments in life.  I frequently catch him with his DS, my iPhone or my EXPENSIVE camera taking pictures.  He LOVES it!  And he is SO EXCITED with the pictures he takes, he has to show me.  I LOVE IT!  Here are a few pictures he took with my camera.

They are both AMAZING shots of Cooper.  He has the focus on Coopie's eyes in both shots and got amazing DOF in each shot too!  Pretty awesome for a 5 year old!  I'm thinking a camera would be a good thing to get him for his birthday...

Cooper's One Month Stats...A Little Late

~Once we were able to get over the bilirubin issues and Cooper was able to sleep in his own bed, NOT in the bili-bed, he has been an amazing sleeper.

~He very rarely cries...he only cries if he is hungry, cold or has a messy diaper.  When he does cry, he is so quiet, I have a hard time hearing him.

~Eats 2oz of breast milk every 3 hours.  It still takes him 30 minutes to eat those 2oz.

~He LOVES to be swaddled at night.

~He LOVES his swing...it's his FAVORITE place to be.

~He has his FAVORITE blanket and likes that blanket up by his face.

~Not much of a binkie baby and usually only takes it when he is trying to sleep.

~We were still waiting for the insurance to give us an approval on Cooper's genetic test.

~At one month, Cooper weighed 6 lbs 8 oz (not on the growth curve)

~At one month, Cooper was 17 3/4" tall (3% on the growth curve)

~At one month, Cooper's head circumference was 15" (52% on growth curve)

 I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to do it with Cooper.  So much fun to watch him change as he grows.

A Simple Photo Of...

...3 of my FAVORITE people!

Make that 2 simple photos of 3 of my FAVORITE people!

Cooper's Newborn Pictures

Back when I was 5 or 6 months pregnant with Cooper, I had made arrangements with a fellow photographer and friend in Nephi to do his newborns shortly after birth.  I was so bummed when I found out how much the genetics tests were going to be and what my portion was, I sent Amanda an email and apologized to her and let her know I was not going to be able to do his newborn photos.  She was so sweet and sent me an email back and offered to do them at no cost.  I was speechless!  I'm not one to really like hand-outs, so it was really hard for me to say yes and be okay with it, mainly because it is so expensive and her time away from her husband and kids.  Anyway, I finally accepted it, albeit with tears, and scheduled the appointment.

Amanda is truly an AMAZING photographer!  She has AMAZING talent and an AMAZING vision for photography!  I am absolutely in LOVE with Cooper's nweborn's!  She did such an AMAZING job!

Here is just a small handful of the photos I LOVE!!!

Thank you Amanda, for giving your time and talent so kindly!  Click HERE to check out Amanda's beautiful work!
Thank you, Emily, for the lariat, spurs, hats and boots!
Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you, to Grandpa Black for letting us use your GORGEOUS saddle!!!
Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you, to my Mom for riding to Nephi with me and watching Hunter and Paizlei, for taking them to the park and for getting them an ice cream cone!!!