Apple Festival

Growing up in Culpeper, VA, my family usually spent a Sunday afternoon at the Graves Mountain Apple Festival each fall.  We stopped going after our move to Richmond in 1995.  Last fall, my sister and I planned a meet-up there.  It brought back such good memories that we got the whole family involved this year.  Cooper loved it.  Such a fun, fall, family event.  Loved seeing my family and I hope we can make it a tradition every year.  My brother-in-law gets all the credit for these photos.

Working on the crawl

Sweet kisses from Auntie Em

The whole family

Our little family

Pumpkins!

8 months!

Poor little guy celebrated his 8-month birthday with a high fever last week.  He has had a little cold before but this was his first fever, which peaked at 103.1.  Cooper came through great, we survived, and all is well now!

We've finally gotten Cooper on a good, consistent nap schedule...during the week.  Despite our best efforts, naps are anywhere from non-existent to inconsistent on the weekends.  This is a great exercise in flexibility and persistence!

Recently, C has learned how to get up on all fours.  No crawling yet, but he is trying his hardest to figure it out.  He's sitting up very well now.  In other developments, we've recently introduced meats - so he's no longer a vegetarian :)  We have to disguise the meats in the veggies (and considering the texture and smell of baby food meat, I don't blame him!), but he eats like a champ.

We have a few fun fall activities planned - apple festival in the mountains, pumpkin picking at the berry farm, and of course Halloween.  Will post lots of pics!



All ready for church!



Working on his crawl



Cooper and Schroeder - just hanging out



First time sitting in the grocery cart



Play time



Chunky monkey

Some recent updates on the little man:

-Weighs 20.5 lbs now - chunky monkey!
-Eating 3 solid meals and 4 bottles a day. Has not turned down any foods to date.
-Sitting up so much better.  Still a little unstable but holding for a couple of minutes instead of a few seconds.
-Making lots of sweet noises, babbles, and funny outbursts.
-Trying to crawl
-Has the bottom 2 teeth, and the top 2 are coming in.
-Likes to wake up around 5:15am (working to nip that in the bud)



Visit with Great-Grandma Yogi.  Love how Cooper was staring at her.



Just the usual

Time for breakfast!



Serious face



Playing and snuggling with Daddy



Labor Day weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend.  Loved spending 3 whole days with both of my men!  And loved the gorgeous weather!  Saturday we met up with some friends at Maymont for a picnic, then wandered around the park for a couple of hours.  Cooper loved it.  Wish we had brought the right gear (read: travel system stroller did not do those steps well), but we definitely got our exercise.  Last night, Cooper had a "sleepover" at my parent's house.  They loved spending time with him, and Jason and I got a date night and a peaceful night's sleep out of it.  I sure did miss the little man by this morning, though!

Love that belly hanging out!

Check out the teeth!

Mr. Smiles...such a ladies man...

New tricks: Cooper has found his voice.  He babbles and talks and even yells at every opportunity.  It's hilarious.  He rolls all over the place and is trying so hard to crawl.  Really, really close to sitting up on his own now - just needs a little bit of help.  Naps great most days during the week, but not well during the weekend (which drives me crazy).  Loves his jumparoo and exersaucer!

6.5 months

Aunt Amanda and Uncle Sam were in town for a wedding, so Cooper had a short visit with them today.  He must have really enjoyed their company because he refused to take his afternoon nap until they were gone.  Wish he (we) got to see his aunts and uncles more often!

We got a Fisher Price Jumparoo (Craig's List deal!) this week, and I think Cooper is starting to figure it out.  Check out this video (about 10 minutes prior, he was staring at me in confusion).

                                                     

New tricks: Cooper babbles a ton, and often says sounds that come out like words ("hi" and "mom").  He breaks out into a huge smile when you say "mama" or "dada".  He's obsessed with his feet.  He kicks and splashes like crazy during bath time.  Loves looking at himself in the mirror.  Seems to enjoy music - especially when you sing to him.  Has a sudden interest in all cats...will grab their fur as they walk by.  Soooo close to sitting up, but not quite there.  Eating a variety of foods - oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, apples, prunes, squash.  At 6-month check-up, he weighed 18 lb. 8 oz.  What a chunk!

Sleep report: We had 1 good week (sleeping through the night almost every night) but unfortunately this past week has been rough.  So disappointing!  Just trying to get back on track, because I sure did get spoiled...

First vacation & First Tooth

We survived our first beach vacation with the little guy!  It was a great week overall, but not the relaxing beach vacation we used to know.  If there is one thing about Cooper that's predictable, it's that he isn't a fan of new things (he just takes some time to warm up).  So not surprisingly, he wasn't a huge fan of the beach.  Throughout the week, he took a few beach naps, went for a few walks along the shore in the Baby Bjorn, and hung out in the baby pool for a few minutes at a time.  Thanks to the help of my in-laws, Jason and I got a few hours on the beach here and there, sans Cooper.

Cooper is getting his first tooth.  I can feel it on his bottom gum.  I'm excited for this milestone but not excited for the challenges that come with it!  Honestly, sleep was already such an issue for us that it hasn't been much worse!

In terms of the sleep woes from my previous post, we have come a long way but have a long way to go.  Cooper can soothe himself to sleep at night.  He still has trouble with naps - getting and staying asleep.  And he's still waking up quite a bit during the night.  Someday we will sleep again!

First time seeing the ocean

Bumbo time in the baby pool

Like I said, he wasn't such a fan...

Beach nap!

All tuckered out in Grandma's arms

Ready to party