10 Months!

I absolutely can't believe Cooper is 10 months old.  He is a BUSY boy!  He is officially crawling and pulling himself up.  His favorite place to pull up is in the bathtub, much to my dismay!  I just hold my hands under his arms so he doesn't fall and chip a tooth!

We went to Abilene with my mom the last weekend in February because she had some meetings there.  It was really nice to get away and meet the people she works with.  If the weather had been nice, it would have been a great trip.  We stayed an extra day because the roads were so icy and dangerous.  My birthday was while we were there as well.  We ate out at some great restaurants and had a good time.  Cooper officially started crawling on my birthday.

He is about 32.5" long and weighs about 23 pounds. He has 8 teeth.  He likes to run down the long hall in the house and find me when I walk out of the room without him.  He continues to be very happy and smiles all the time.  He likes the song from Thomas and friends and likes when I sing "twinkle twinkle, little star" to him.  He is quickly learning what "no" means, and so far is heeding warnings...I don't expect that to continue too long!

He LOVES cheerios and trying to feed himself.  He has finally become interested in real food.  The only thing is he doesn't like cold stuff.  I have gotten him down to room temperature from everything being warmed up, so I think he will come around to cold pretty soon.

We got the preliminary plans for our new house this week.  A few adjustments needed to be made, but we should have the working plan very soon.  We hope to break ground by the end of the month on our new home.  We're SO very excited!

pulling up to cruise around

cruising

10 months 3/8/15

10 months 

I hope y'all have a great month!
Cheers,
Kelli

9 Month update

So, I missed the 8 month update! I was just a little busy, since our house sold in 20 days! We got an all cash offer, so we closed and moved out super fast! We are incredibly grateful that everything went smoothly.  I can't wait to get started building our dream house!

Cooper continues to be a wonderful baby.  He now has 6 teeth, and at his 9 month check up (which was a little bit early) he weighed 21.5 lbs (70th percentile) and was 31.5" long (98th percentile).  He loves to chew on hoodie strings, his fingers, and has a favorite coaster at my mom's house.  He still loves his bath and will gladly let anyone hold him.  He can entertain himself in his exersaucer or playpen while I make breakfast.  He army crawls like a champ, and is thisclose to full crawling.  He babbles a lot, smiles almost all the time, and is generally quite happy.  We are so thankful that he is healthy and happy.

He did really well on the drive from NY to AR.  We stopped about every 3-4 hours so he could eat and get out of the car seat.  We had intended to leave directly from the closing at the attorney's office to head south, but the weather had other plans.  It was snowing really hard, and traffic was backing up  quickly.  We stayed the night at our friends' house and left at 4:30 the next morning.  We made it as far as Knoxville, Tennessee before we were too tired to continue.  The next day was a pretty easy drive.  We left Knoxville about 5 in the morning and made it to my mom's house at 5PM.  We were glad to be done driving, but even more, we were glad we had a safe and uneventful trip.

9 months 2/8/15

He has changed so much!

My Younique business is doing well, February has a great customer Kudos, plus, any parties get double points for the month! That's huge for the hostesses!  Twice the rewards for the same amount of sales!

Cheers,
Kelli

7 Month update

Cooper turned 7 months old last week Monday.  He continues to be a very happy boy, for which we are so grateful!  He LOVES his walker and terrorizes poor Max.  Pixie isn't bothered at all by him running up and down the hall, but Max hates it!  He runs and gets on the couch whenever Cooper is in motion!  He is SO tall.  He wears all 12 month old jammies, shirts, and onesies.  He can still wear 9 month pants.  He isn't super chubby, just really long.  He has just the 2 bottom teeth still and is pretty close to figuring out how crawling works.  He gets up on his knees and elbows and rocks a little back & forth, but has yet to put it all together.   He LOVES to face time with my mom! We call her almost every day and he just smiles and "talks" to her.  He just babbles a lot right now, no real words yet, but he sure is telling stories!

7 Months old

7 months in one!

In other news, we listed our house on the market!  If you know anyone interested in a move in ready ranch on the south shore of Long Island, NO HURRICANE DAMAGE WHATSOEVER, please let me know and I'll send you the link to the listing!  We are hoping for a quick and profitable sale so we can get started building our dream house down south!

Cheers,
Kelli

6 Months...A Week later!

So, Cooper turned 6 months old last Saturday!

We have been busy, busy trying to get our house ready to go on the market December 1st, and I haven't had a lot of access to my actual computer.

We have a friend who does home improvements, Bill at Prokesch Home Improvements, doing some finishing touches for us.  Nothing too major; all the major work was done in the past few years.  There were just some areas that needed touching-up.  He's taking care of painting doors & trim, some spackling and fixing the sheet rock in our laundry room.  He does great work.  If you're on Long Island and need someone, let me know and I'll get his number for you!

In the past month, Cooper took another flight.  This time to Arkansas to see Grandma and for us to meet with our builder for our future custom home, Jacob at Greenovation Builders.  I've known him since we were 10 years old.  He builds custom homes in Northwest Arkansas and just does gorgeous, high quality work, and is impeccably honest.  Exactly what we NEED in a builder! I'm so grateful he will be building for us!

So, Arkansas!  We ran, ran, RAN almost the whole time we were there.  Cooper is, thankfully, a great little passenger.  We got to visit with a lot of our friends, and even have a party at my Mom's house.  It was a great, if quick, visit.

We had Cooper's 6 month and Christmas pictures taken Last week Sunday.  I absolutely LOVE our photographer, Jennifer Sirris at Storybook Portraits.  She has done all of Cooper's professional pictures since he was born.  We also went to the pediatrician for his 6 month check-up and shots.  He weighs 19 pounds 5 oz, and is 28 1/4 in. tall. His 2 lower front teeth have come in also.  He has been teething since he was 3 months old, and I'm glad to see him making progress.  His sleep was definitely changed while the teeth were erupting.  It was like having a newborn again, and I can happily say, I'm glad he's gotten past that!  I started giving him baby food with some regularity.  As of right now, he really loves his baby cereal, especially oatmeal.  I am still nursing him, so I just mix it with a little breast milk and he's a happy camper.  He is just the happiest baby I've ever met and I'm so incredibly glad he is ours!

My business with Younique is going great, and I anticipate an awesome Christmas shopping season.  I want all the ladies I know to have their 3D lashes!

 The best mascara ever, hands down! Click here to get yours!
https://www.youniqueproducts.com/kelliwinkler/products/landing

I hope y'all have a wonderful November and keep warm!

Cheers,
Kelli

5 Months old...a busy month!

I know it was just last week that we brought this sweet baby home from the hospital...How in the world is he 5 months old?!

2 days old and headed home!

5 months and getting so big!

He wears all 9 month clothes, and is growing like a weed.  He continues to be very happy and content.  I had to move the straps of his car seat to the highest setting this week...There's NO WAY he will make it to the recommended 2 years in the rear facing seat.  He weighs about 20 pounds and is probably 28-29" long.  I won't know for sure until his appointment next month, but he is a talllll boy.  As if he had any other option! ;) He started having a bottle of breast milk with infant cereal this month as well, and this week, I started trying some infant stage 1 foods.  He has had green beans, which he is fairly ambivalent about.  Today, I gave him bananas.  In case anyone is keeping score, he does NOT like bananas.  He was a little dramatic about it, pretending to gag, and he spit out every bite I gave him.  I don't think he swallowed a bit!  I tasted them to be sure there was nothing wrong with them, and they tasted good to me...Also, spoon feeding an infant is akin to herding cats...I sincerely hope this gets easier.  I took a cute video of the banana embargo, but as usual, blogger won't load it...Grrrr...

he wears green beans well

He had a very busy month.  We had his baptism on Sunday,  September 14th at the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church.  It was a very nice service.  My  mom flew up, as well as Cooper's Godfather, Jimmy.  Marc's family was all here, too.  We had a reception at our house to celebrate.  About 95 of our closest friends and family came over to share in the festivities.  Thank the LORD we had absolutely beautiful weather, because there is NO WAY everyone would have fit in the house.  We made all the food and Marc's mom bought Cooper's cake.  It was a really great day and I am so thankful for everyone who came to see our little man.

It was delicious!

Pastor, Marc, Cooper, & Me

Water on the head, Amen! :)

Cooper and his Godparents, Jimmy & Jenn

Cooper & his Godparents

Jimmy & Cooper

Our little family

Cooper & Grandma

Marc, his parents, and Cooper

4 Generations

Uncle Billy, Cooper, Aunt Eve

Cooper completely outgrew his countertop bathtub.  I LOVED being able to stand and bathe him without having to stoop over, but seeing how happy he is in the big bathtub is worth a few minutes kneeling each day.  He LOVES his bath!  He splashes and kicks and is just the happiest little guy in the water.  I should get him enrolled in swim classes soon!

splish, splash!

Happy baby

Relaxing with Max

Looking sharp in my overalls!

Om nom nom

I like my walker!

We have been enjoying the gorgeous weather and watching a lot of football.  Both the hogs and Giants are viewed here every week.  Cooper really seems to like watching all the movement and bright colors on the tv.

Go HOGS!

WOO PIG SOOIE!

got my GIANTS jersey!

Proud papa

Sunday Funday at Chuck & Lois' house

Hanging out with my buddy Jason

Cheered so hard I needed a nap!

Marc had a birthday last month, so we took a drive out to the lighthouse in Montauk.  It was a nice day to go for a leisurely drive.

The Lighthouse in Montauk

Marc at the Lighthouse 

I started a business!  I get to work whenever and wherever I like, it takes no time away from Cooper, and I REALLY love the products.  I became an independent presenter for Younique cosmetics.  Younique is the fastest growing direct sales company around, and I am SO proud to be a part of it!

seriously the best mascara ever

We have amazing cosmetics, all are natural based, with most of them being ALL NATURAL!  The 3D Fiber mascara is a game changer for ladies!  My lashes have never been so long and full, and I don't have to waste time gluing false eyelashes on!  Please message me for more info or how to order! Christmas is right around the corner and the 3D mascara makes an awesome gift!

https://www.youniqueproducts.com/kelliwinkler/products/landing

Shameless plug, I know, but it's my business and my blog!

We've got a trip to Arkansas coming up soon.  We can't wait to see all of our friends and family and for them to meet Cooper!!


Hope y'all have a great month!
Cheers,
Kelli

4 Months Old

I don't know how, but Cooper is already 4 months old.  I remember thinking that my senior year of high school was the fastest school year I could remember.  Every year since then is quicker and quicker.  Months go by in what should be a week.  Not too long ago, we were counting the years until Marc would retire and now we are counting months.  Crazy.  It's gone by even faster since Cooper arrived.  He is such a happy little man, truly a delightful baby.  He's really easy-going and will let anyone hold him and snuggle.  He started blowing bubbles this month, and can very easily roll in either direction.  He is sleeping pretty well, usually 8 hours for the first stretch, then he wakes up to nurse and goes back to sleep for 3-4 more hours.  He nurses quickly and goes right back to sleep, so I'm not awake for long at night.

4 months old and getting so big!

watch me grow!

I took him to the pediatrician today for his 4 month check up and shots.  He is 27" long (97th Percentile) and 17lbs 2.5oz (90th percentile).  He got 2 shots, and only squealed for a second.  Last time he cried.  I had given him a preemptive dose of children's tylenol to help with the tenderness.  He fell asleep as soon as I put him in the truck to go home.

We had pictures taken on Saturday with Jennifer Sirris at Storybook portraits.  She did Cooper's newborn shoot, and is a dream to work with.  We have one more session with her scheduled in November for Cooper's 6 month pictures and our Christmas pictures.  She sent me a sneak peek of a few of the pictures last night.  I can't wait to get the CD in the mail and see the rest of them!

looking sharp!

big grins!

Our little family

So cute in my hat to match Dad!

Rockin' and Rollin' all night

After Pictures on Saturday, We drove in to Brooklyn to try a little place I had seen on the cooking channel's "the best thing I ever had".  There is an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream parlor called "Brooklyn Farmacy".  I ordered the Mr. Potato Head Sundae.  It is vanilla ice cream, homemade peanut butter, potato chips, caramel sauce, & homemade whipped cream.  Oh my goodness, it was SO delicious!  I substituted hot fudge for the caramel sauce because there is nothing that goes better with peanut butter than chocolate! Delightful.  We're adding it to the eating tour of Brooklyn.

Mr. Potato Head Sundae....Yummmmm!

Cooper watched his first Razorbacks Game Saturday before last.  He seemed to really enjoy the bright colors and all the motion.  It's too bad we opened with a top 10 team.  We played a great first half, then forgot what was going on in the second half. Oh well, we can't win them all.

This little piggy says "Woooo!"

Watching the HOGS with Momma

Marc's mom came over Labor day weekend and watched Cooper for us so we could go out to dinner with our really good friends, Steve & Liz.  It was so nice to go out to the movies and dinner.  We saw Sin City 2 and then went to Teller's Steakhouse for dinner.  It was a fun evening out with great friends.

Cooper & Marc

Cooper and me

Marc & Me at Teller's

That's about it for the past month.  We have Cooper's baptism coming up this weekend.  We have the church in the morning, then are having the reception at our house in the afternoon.  There are about 85 people coming to our house, so please, please, PLEASE do the NO RAIN DANCE!!

Cheers,
Kelli