I get these emails every week telling me of Cooper's development. I used to get them when I was pregnant too. It was exciting then to learn how my baby was developing..... when he grew ears, when he lost his 'tail' when his lungs were forming, all that good stuff. It's still fun to read what he can do and understand at the age he is now. Here is the one I got for this week:

Your 4-month-old: Week 2

How your baby's growing:

By now, your baby may play with her hands and feet for a few minutes at a time. She's quite fond of doing one action over and over again until she's sure of the result. Then she'll switch things up a bit to see if the result is different.

Suddenly you'll realize it's strangely quiet in the bedroom and look in, only to discover that your baby, who until now has needed your attention for most of every waking moment, is amusing herself in her crib. You might be able to start reading the paper again — well, maybe just the headlines.


I have noticed Cooper noticing his hands and feet. He'll just stare at his feet with his 'monkey face' as mom likes to call it. He tries really hard to grab them, but he hasn't fully grasped the concept yet. He is starting to purposefully swat and grab at some things though. It's funny to see him touch something intentionally and get this look on his face of, "Whoa.. I just did that!"

He's also loving the "goooo-geeee" noises. He makes those a lot and he likes it when I make similar noises back at him. His eyes get all big and he starts pumping his legs up and down. A-freaking-dorable.

I am beyond sick of Philip's company. The bad way out weighs the good. They treat their employees like dirt and pay them dirt and act like it's amazing pay. As if he should be so gracious for receiving that amount of money. BS. He is so underpaid for the hours he works. He is very unappreciated for the amount and quality of work he gives them.

Their management doesn't know what they're doing, ever. People are always confused because of the lack of leadership. There used to be a feeling of teamwork, and now it's every man for himself. There is definite favoritism for certain employees too. They parade themselves as a "Christian company" and do NOT act as Christ would. They've become so motivated and driven by the all mighty dollar.

I am SO ready for Philip to graduate and get out of this job. It's really become a nightmare. It's a constant stress source for him and I hate to see it that way.

..... I'm feeling bitter right now because I was really excited about spending the evening with my husband and baby. We planned a dinner together (which we never get to do) and had it marinating for hours. He got called into work and now I'm eating without him.

Mommy's not happy. Mommy needs Daddy.

Just at the heightened moment off irritation, Philip was just about to walk out the door to leave for work and Cooper looked up at him with this giant adorable smile of admiration. Gotta love that kid.

I'm getting bored with the same 2 WW recipes I eat every week. They're really good and easy to make, but I need to mix it up a little. But, I went to WW to weigh in today and I did lose 2.2lbs. For a total of 19lbs gone!

I had my first photography lesson at Fife Photography today. Even though it took me AN HOUR to drive there... it was really fun. I love learning about my new camera and taking pictures. I think it's going to be a good class. We have a photo assignment this week. I'll be sure to post the pictures I take :)

We had a photo session with Cooper at Will Rogers Park on Tuesday. It was so cold that day! I thought it was supposed to be low-60s and it was more like mid-50s. Ugh. I kept a hat and blanket around Cooper unless we were taking pictures. His nose started turning red toward the end of our 'session.' haha. He was a trooper though. I wasn't too thrilled with the pictures because I was so rushed (...the cold and I was worried Coop would have a break down at any moment). The lighting wasn't what I wanted AT ALL. But, oh well. Cooper looks adorable and that's all that matters.

I went to WW today. I'm down another 2.2lbs, bringing my total loss to 16.6lbs gone! Also, I weighed with jeans on today (which I never do) and still lost that much. I thought for sure I'd lost nothing or barely anything. I still have 13.6lbs to get to my pre-pregnancy weight... but that number is just getting smaller and becoming seemingly easier to attain! *See one of my new favorites recipes below*

I've been cooking weekly meals which has helped a TON. It's a lot of cooking for one day. but it's so nice not to think about cooking again for a while afterwards.

Today was a great day! The weather was nice so Cati, Dani and I took our boys to the park. They got in the swings and had fun. I tried to swing with Cooper but the "mommy/baby" swing was taken the whole time. I tried swinging in a regular swing with him.... but I don't know if he was liking it too much. We spread out a quilt after that and sat under the shade. We let the boys play and stare at each other (hah), which I'm sure they enjoyed, while we talked :-P It was a fun afternoon. Cooper was surprisingly cooperative.

He's finally been sleeping much better. Last week he was having a hard time falling asleep and it was killing me. I'm so used to him being such a good sleeper! I've learned he is used to me feeding him in bed, and then falling asleep. So, I guess this is our little "routine." Turn the lights down, fan on, feeding, swaddle and sleep. It's worked pretty well the past few nights. He was asleep a little before 10 tonight! (Which is quite an accomplishment)

We read "The little engine that could" today too. He likes looking at the colorful books when I read, but he gets bored kind of quickly... so the shorter the book the better. I think I'm going to try and add storytime and bathtime to his nightly "routine."

Next week is the "Just Between Friends" sale. It's a basically a big consignment sale in OKC at the fairgrounds. We're volunteering there too, so next week will be busy with that. I'm excited to find Cooper some stuff! He could use some summer clothes. He has some, but we can always use more! He needs shoes too. And, I was hoping to find him a jumperoo and maybe some other toys. He can't play with them too much now, but I know he will be able to in the short future so I may as well stock up.

Ugh. I still need to go to the social security office to get Cooper's SSN for our taxes. BLEH. I should probably do that tomorrow.

fun day. :-/



Baked Ziti w/ Turkey Sausage!
3/4 pound(s) raw turkey sausage, casings removed - I use ground turkey because I can't ever find turkey sausage at the store
1 medium onion(s), chopped
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
2 tbsp canned tomato paste - I never use this and it's still great
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
12 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, ziti, cooked according to package directions
6 oz shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese - I use 8oz cause it's one bag.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.


Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often, about 4 minutes.


Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.


Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.


Stir in the pasta and half the grated cheese. Spread evenly into a 9- X 13-inch baking pan. Top evenly with the remaining cheese.


ake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces and then serve

I'm stealing this idea from Dani's post (but changing it a little :-P)....

50 Random/Wonderful/Interesting Things About Cooper!

1. He was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks old.
2. He is exclusively breastfed.
3. His middle name is Dean.
4. He is named "Dean" after my uncle and grandmpa who both died.
5. We have no reason he named him, Cooper... we just liked the name.
6. He was born the day after Thanksgiving, my favorite shopping day!
7. I was exactly 40 weeks pregnant the day he was born.
8. I was induced for high blood pressure
9. He was born via c-section.
10. I don't want a c-section for anymore of my children.
11. He had really long fat toes.
12. His feet look like miniatures of Philip's feet (minus the hair... for now)
13. Right after he was born, I didn't think he was very cute.
14. I was worried!
15. 5 minutes later I was in awe of how adorable he was.
16. In the mornings, when he sees me for the first time, he always gives me the biggest smile of the day.
17. At 3.5 months old, he still loves to be swaddled.
18. He gets swaddled for bed every night and has since he was born
19. The moment we walked in the door from the hospital, I had this sinking feel of... "what now?" It was eery and somewhat frightening.
20. He is the first male grand-grandchild.
21. He is circumcised.
22. He will not be baptized, until he's old enough to understand why it's important.
23. He will make the decision to do it, not Philip or me.
24. I don't see myself in him at all.
25. He has big beautiful eyes like Philip.... which is what I asked God for.
26. I think he is going to have curly hair.
27. He gets startled VERY easily.
28. He usually cries when he gets startled.
29. He pouts his lip right before his freak outs... and it's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.
30. He randomly kicks his legs out really stiff and straight.
31. He does this almost always because he is either really mad or really happy.
32. There is a giraffe on his swing that he stares at the entire time he's in the swing.
33. He loves watching the doggies play.
34. He likes sitting in his bumbo seat!
35. He is starting to watch me eat.
36. He weighed 15lbs 12oz at his 2 month doctor's appointment.
37. He loves going to the store to look around at everything.
38. He sleeps in bed with us.
39. When he gets excited to see me..... he shakes his whole body and his head gets wobbly.
40. He smiles really big at Philip when he comes home from work. You can tell he knows who he is.
41. Daisy loves to lick him.
42. He loves to make noises (meh meh nee nee nee) when he has his paci in his mouth.
43. He loves to be naked.
44. He likes tummy time for about 5 minutes... then he gets irritated.
45. He was trying to lift his head up at like, 3 days old.
46. I always told him to stop because I didn't want him to grow up that fast!
47. He gets a lot of eye crusties
48. We used to give him gripe water several times a day to help with his gassiness.
49. We stopped giving it to him when he was about 2 months old.
50. I love lovey love him!