Mommy Monday

SQUASH...

After a long day at work I was excited to pick up Cooper and get home tonight.  Right before we left Grandpa and Grandma's house I could tell he was getting hungry.  We left quick because tonight was his first night for squash :).  Mind you, we have been feeding him baby food for the past couple weeks and haven't come across any flavors that he doesn't like yet!  We have done peas and green beans and pears all to his liking!!  Ps - I do not like green beans at all and it really pained me to feed them to him, but he liked them.  So on to squash - another of the very few veggies that I'm not crazy about.  Well Grandpa and Grandma Ruiter, Grandma Hulst, Aunt Christy, and Cousin Andrew will all be proud to know that Cooper is a fan!!  Check it out...

Some on is face and bib, but most goes into the tummy

Just one bite left and in went the thumb



Finished that last bite :)



Not sure I'm supposed to be playing with this spoon Mommy...



 

but I really like it!!







 As tired as I was, just a few minutes with my little guy and I was giggling and my heart was little again <3





Dad's Day

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow already. I'm in awe of how fast time is going and that our little Cooper is 19 weeks old already. This may come as a shock, but I'm THANKFUL for my beautiful wife and our son Cooper. This has been an amazing 19 weeks and I thank God for all he has done for us and provided through and to our family and friends!  From our family to yours have a Very Happy Thanksgvining!

Mommy Monday

Happy Thanksgiving Week

Our family has a very BIG little blessing to be thankful for as we gather around our Thanksgiving dinner tables this year!!  I thought I would share the pictures that we have on our Thanksgiving card...

 

 Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Love the Tease Forever Family

2 Corinthians 9:15

Dad's Day

As I sit here and write my blog post, Cooper is trying ever so hard to reach his foot into his mouth. He doesn't know the law of physics yet...his leg is too short and his thigh is too large to get his foot that close to his mouth. That still hasn't stopped him from trying and getting "mad" in the process. In the last few minutes he has gotten the tip of his sock in his hand, and is pulling it towards his mouth. Come to think of it, I have the same problem...legs too short and thighs too large to get my foot in my mouth. :) Cooper has seen a few ladies his age at church who can pull this off and I think he's trying too keep up. <-- Funny!

I love Wednesday's because Cooper and I get to spend so much time together. During the rest of the week it's come home from work, play with Cooper, eat dinner, play a little more, bathtime, PJ's, bottle, and off to bed. So Wednesdays are the mid-week day to relax with my son...and I love every minute of it. Today was going along smooth and Coop and I were relaxing as Dad was finishing eating his lunch and the Coopster had a meltdown. I was trying to figure why he was unhappy and then Candice called and heard him fussing. Whenever Cooper hears his Mom's voice on the phone, his eyes get really big and he can't figure out where it's coming from. So, after a minute of talking and his unhappiness getting louder, I had to hang up and talk my little guy down. Candice called back a minute later and was giving Dad tips on what might be wrong. It's been a few days since he had pooped a good one (yep I said poop) and she suggested a few things. So we hung up and I got up and noticed his shirt was wet and so was mine? We got to his room and I started to check his diaper and realized that we no longer have to wonder when he will poop because his whole underside and back have exploded gooooooop from his diaper. At this point I have to strip him down and give him a bath and I got the joy of changing my own clothes too! After we got all cleaned up he started to melt down again and I knew he was hungry. I made him a bottle and about half way through he falls asleep and then there was....wait for it...quiet!!

That my friends is the pleasure of being a dad, father, and someone who loves his child more than words can describe. Even when the day doesn't go your way and you get pooped on, it's still a great day to be Cooper's Dad! All it takes is one look into his little brown eyes and you will be hooked forever!

Have a great poop-free week! 

Mommy Monday

Lessons Learned

Being new parents there are a lot of lessons learned along the way...

Like... you can no longer stay out past 7:00 pm because the baby knows when it is time to be home in pjs and getting ready for bed...we learned this one a couple times over!!

Or, don't wait too long between feeding because when the baby is screaming it is much harder to make the bottle and he does have the ability to suck so hard the nipple with turn inside out!!

And, always keep the diaper on when you start wiping down in the morning because that first hit with the wash cloth is enough to make him have to pee :)

These are all good things to know...

So, this week I learned that a #1 guard on the hair clippers is too short for a baby going into winter!  My intention was to just take a little off the top because his hair was starting to get a little crazy up there.  Unfortunately, it essentially turned into a scalping.  Looks like we are going to be needing all of those hats I posted about a couple weeks ago...

Before



After...

ps...Great Grandma hasn't seen his head yet...so let's all hope that I am still here to post again next Monday!!

Mommy Monday

Meet Cooper's new "friend"...Sophie la giraffe...

Once Upon a time, a simple story...
The Little giraffe was born on the 25th of May in the year 1961. St Sophie's day! In those days, the only animal toys available were farm animals or pet figures. That is why one day in France, a certain Monsieur RAMPEAU, who was an expert in transforming sap from the HEVEA tree using the rotational molding of rubber as a toy-making concept, came up with the idea of designing a giraffe.

Such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market, and its size and shape would be ideal for a baby's small hands to grasp. Sophie the Giraffe, who looked exactly the same then as she does today, went into production on a Thursday, May 25th, whence her name. She was an immediate success.

Young mothers straightaway saw that she was a must for their children when the first signs of teething appear, Sophie the Giraffe helps baby stop crying!  By simple word of mouth, the little Giraffe's fame spread.  From then on in Europe, generation upon generation of children were to love hearing Sophie squeak whenever they pressed her tummy and head! Vulli, a company based in Rumilly in the Haute-Savoie Region of France has continued to keep the jealously-guarded secret of how this wonder toy is made.SOPHIE is still "traditionally" produced to this day, a process that involves more than 14 manual operations. She is made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea Tree.


Why is Sophie such a huge success? Sophie the Giraffe is BABY;S FIRST TOY, stimulating EACH OF HIS SENSES from the age of 3 months:

*Sight:
At the age of 3 months, a baby's eyesight is still limited and he can only make out high contrasts. The Dark and contrasting attention-catching spots all over Sophie the Giraffe's body provide visual stimulation and she soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object for baby.



*Hearing:Sophie the Giraffe's squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates his hearing. To begin with, the funny sound Sophie makes when she is squeezed helps to stimulate baby's hearing, and then later, helps him to understand the link between cause and effect.

 

*Taste:
Sophie the Giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber and food paint, and is completely safe to chew, just like a feeding bottle teat. Her soft texture and numerous chewable parts (ears, horns, legs), make her perfect for soothing baby's sore gums during teething.

*Touch:
Touch is the first means a baby has of communicating with the outside world. Sophie the Giraffe's soft feel, like baby's mother's skin, stimulates physiological and emotional response that soothe baby and promote healthy growth and well-being.

*Smell:
The singular scent of natural rubber from the Hevea tree makes Sophie the Giraffe very special and easy for your child to identify amid all his other toys.

*Easy to grip:
Sophie the Giraffe's shape and 18 cm (7 inches) size are perfect for baby's small hands. She is very light, and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip, even from his earliest days.

Still the same, even after more than 50 years.
She hasn't dated in the slightest.

More than 30 million Sophies have been sold...

She is an undisputed star for the very young. The archetypal embodiment of the early learning toy,
Sophie the Giraffe is a must-have who enjoys widespread popularity and is genuinely loved by every parent and child. Sophie the Giraffe has become timeless and cross-generational.

COOPER NEEDED HER!

**this simple little story is on the box of every Sophie la Giraffe

Tardy Tuesday

Happy Hats

Back to the hats...this has been on my mind for several weeks but I've had too many other good things to post.

Today I'm posting my top 10 favorite hat pictures.  Feel free to "vote" on your favorite too...

#1 - Hospital Hat.  This one is my most favorite because it was Cooper's fist hat and will always hold a special place in our keepsakes.

 

 

#2 - The Elephant Hat.  This hat was made by Miss Julie Helms fashioned after one that we saw at Gap.  It was especially fun before she tacked down the trunk.

 

 

 

#3 - The Light Blue Cool Cat Hat.  This hat was made by Julie Anderson and was a shower gift.  Doesn't he look like a "Cool Cat"

 

 

#4 - The Father/Son Frog Hats. Also made by Miss Julie Helms.  Love that Richard's has the red tongue!!

 

 

#5 - The Ball Hats.  Thanks again Miss Julie Helms.  Look how little he is in the football hat.  That is one of his newborn pictures taken byRandy Riksen.  Then he grew and grew and by the time we got back to the baseball hat it was just a little too small.

 



#6 - The Towel Hoodies.  Although not technically hats, these are super cute additions to several towels that we have and do count sinc they cover the head.  My favorite is the SHARK!!

 







#7 - The Chic and Stylish Brown Gap Hat.  This was a garage sale find and he looks so much like Daddy with this cap on.  (ps...I often see the looks of his birth cousin Isley in him often and this picure really brings it out!!)

 

#8 - The Carter Critter Hats - We have a bunch of these and I just love to put them on wherever we go...we also have a Monster, a Turkey, and a Reindeer (all Holidays still to come so no pictures)



The Raccoon

The Hippo

#9 - The Dude Cap.  We bought this cap before Cooper was even born and brought it to the hospital when he was born with hopes that he could wear it there...of course it was way to big.  Super cute one though.

#10 - The Tigger Hoodie "Hat".  Again not technically a hat, but still head covering.  I love hoodies in general, but this one from Aunt Heather and Uncle David's trip to Disney is super special.

 

 

In other news...Coop is 16 weeks old today. How is that even possible!!  Let us know your favorite hat pick and keep an eye out for more hats in future posts.