Cooper's Many Faces

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My 1st digital scrapbooking page...

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Mom, don't read...or at least don't tell Dad!

Last night Cody, Cooper & I went to my parent's house for dinner. My Mom and Dad were actually in Utah so we went to make dinner with Chad and Ben. It was going to be a hodgepodge kind of meal since none of us really planned for it: steak (3 huge ones), scalloped potatoes, and green beans. The potatoes were in the oven, the grill was heated, and the steaks were spiced and ready to go. Cody and I went out back to put our steak on the grill when we realized that the grill wasn't heating up. We checked everything- the connection, the gas tank, the switches, but it wouldn't light and we couldn't hear or smell any gas coming out. So, we decided to go to plan b. Chad looked up on the Internet how to cook steaks inside and we found a site that told us how to cook them in a pan on the stove. It said it would cause a little bit of smoke. Do you sense what happened next? Yep, Cody and I put our steak on and it began to instantly smoke up the house. We opened all the windows and doors and even grabbed fans to help fan the smoke out. After trying this for about 10 minutes we finally called it quit because the smoke was everywhere. Cooper was having a fit (because of the smoke, we think) so I had to take him to the other side of the house. We all tried the steak and it had a distinct burned taste to it-definitely not worth it. So, the point of this blog is to let all of you know that cooking steaks on the stove causes a ton of smoke and doesn't taste good. Mom, if you read this, don't tell Dad...he'll have a fit about all the smoke in the house.

Teeth...already?

Last night Cody, Cooper, and I came home from the Riding’s house and were just sitting around. Cooper pulled my finger into his mouth and was biting on it when I realized that something was a bit sharp. Lo and behold, Cooper has gotten his first tooth! It is a bottom tooth and has just broken through the gums. I can’t believe he’s already getting teeth!

Is it usual to be getting teeth at 5 months?

(I tried to get a picture of it...but you try and hold a 5 month old down to get a picture of their mouth...it doesn't work!)

"Oh Baby!"

Congratuations goes to my sister Anna and her husband Lincoln who are FINALLY pregnant! They have been married for 6 1/2 years and trying to get pregnant for 3 of those years. After a little help from a fertility clinic, they are expecting and due February 9th! Yeah!

(Sorry about the picture- it's over 2 years old- but I don't have any others)

Laughing Baby

This video is actually from a few weeks ago. We were at my parents house for Sunday night dinner and Cooper was getting fussy. I was trying to amuse him with a paper plate and for some reason I decided to bop him on the head with it. By the time we got the camera out and recording his best laughs were gone, but this is still pretty funny.

Woman Seeking Advice...

Cooper had his 4 month check-up on Monday and the doctor gave him the okay to start rice cereal. After only a few bites, I saw the wisdom in Cody's advice to put him in the Bumbo and strip him down to his diaper. The first half of the cereal did not end up in Cooper's mouth; instead, it was all over his chin, chest, legs, hands, and arms. Eventually, he began to catch on and would suck the spoon. I could tell when he swallowed some because he would give me a look of shock. After feeding him there was no choice but to give him a bath.

The title of this post is "Woman Seeking Advice" because I am looking for any advice you could give me on the topic of feeding baby solids. Cooper is taking the cereal well, but I figured that I could learn from your experiences. So, let me know what advice you have for me.

On a separate note, Cooper is 50% for head and 85% for weight and height. The doctor said he looks very healthy and is progressing very well. Also, if you noticed from the picture above, I chopped my hair last week. What do you think?

Logan's Big Day

Cody's little brother, Logan, got his mission call a couple of weeks ago...he's going to the Louisiana, Baton Rouge Mission and reports on August 13th. In lou of his call, he went through the temple last Saturday. It was so nice to do a session with the whole Riding family. I'm kind of ashamed to say that this was my first time back at the temple since having Cooper...I need to be better at that. Finding a babysitter for Cooper was hard because the whole Riding family was with us, my parents were in Macedonia (visiting Erin) and Anna and Lincoln were in Utah. Luckily, Gayle Kunz came to the rescue and watched Cooper for us. Gayle said that as she was feeding Cooper he kept laughing and she couldn't figure out why. Then she looked at his feet: Gayle's puppy was licking Cooper's feet and apparently Cooper thought this was funny. When I told Grampa Kleinman about this, he said "Make sure Gayle knows that it is okay for the dog to be licking Cooper's feet, but not for Cooper to be licking the dog's feet". Funny Grampa!
Well, congratulations Logan. We're really excited for you.