Months 8 & 9 flew by

I know I have been a blog slacker but the past month came and went and I could not seem to find a moment to update Coopers site. Over the past few weeks Cooper celebrated his first thanksgiving, decorated his 1st christmas tree, suffered from his first flu bug and even met Santa twice. Once we went to visit Santa at the mall and the 2nd time Santa came to his buddy Luke's birthday patry on a firetruck! At his 9 month checkup Cooper weighed 23 pounds 2 ounces and he was 29.5 inches tall.

Happy Halloween

8 months

It was another busy month for Cooper. He began the month crawling to pulling up and standing. 4 teeth popped through in 10 days. We visited the pumpkin patch, went to the fall festival at kinder park, and we spent lots of time playing with his cousins.

Happy Fall

Cooper spent this morning at the pumpkin patch with his cousin Mia.

First Tooth

From tooth

From tooth

7 months

Cooper weighs 22lbs 9 oz He is crawling and pulling up on everything. Last friday the first tooth broke through on the bottom and today we had the first sighting of a front top tooth that broke through overnight.

Cooper's First Haircut

October 11 - Age 7 1/2 months I broke my own rule and had Cooper's hair cut today. I know I said I would not have his this done until he turned a year old but the baby curls were getting a little hard to control. Our neighbor Tara is a stylist & she volunteered to give Cooper his first "do" He looks totally different!

6 Months

Cooper celebrated his half year birthday and I have been so busy I havent posted any pictures or videos. At his 6 month checkup he weighed 20lbs 12oz (95 percentile for weight) & was 27 & a half inches long (90th percentile for height). Cooper spends a lot of time with his cousins Mia & Raegan. This month he also had playdates with friends Caroline Szeliga & Alexander Portch.

We went to the Outers Banks the week of labor day with the Carpenter clan & had a blast. Daily activities included swimming, playing & more swimming with Mia, Nora and Claire.

Cooper is moving ....backwards?

This isnt the best video but it breifly shows how his strength has improved in the past 3 days.

Sitting playing and babbling up a storm.

July 27th was Cooper's 5 month birthday!

Cooper had a great 4th month. He is eating vegetables. He loves the water. Jumping is his favorite past time. This month we were able to surprise his grandma and make an unplanned trip to NY. Our summer is flying by but we are trying to take advantage of the weather and hopefully you all are too!

Cooper turned 4 months June 27th

At his 4 month checkup Cooper weighed 17lbs 3ozs and was 25 inches long! He is healthy and very happy. He is getting stronger every day. Following his appointment we started him on some cereal. As you can see he wasnt very impressed with the taste! On the fourth of july he went swimming for the first time. He loved the water and spent an hour floating, kicking and splashing around.

Andrea's 30!

Last weekend Andrea turned 30. We were able to surprise her with a little get together. And although she is now officially "old" she still managed to kick butt at cornhole (not sure how u really spell the name of that bean bag toss game). Cooper's cousing Mia stayed the night for a sleepover and continued the party dancing on the table the next morning during breakfast.

Fathers Day

Today is Fathers Day. I bought a new camera on friday so I spent the weekend trying it out.

This was a very busy weekend. Friday Matt & Sandra Malone came to visit during their 7 month cross country tour. They are here in the DC area this weekend. On friday night we all went to Happy Hour and dinner at Pussers in Annapolis. We sat outside. The deck looks at the Annapolis city dock. On Saturday, Cooper had his first sleepover at his friend AJ's house. The 3 of us went to Virginia to visit Brian, Kathy & AJ Lynch, Pat Souza & Tommy. Matt & Sandra were there as well. Cooper played in the exersaucer for the first time. He had a blast. On Sunday morning the boys sat in their pjs chatting while we all had breakfast. Then to finish off the weekend we went to a pool party for Allie Franklin's first birthday.

We had fun and I hope Ben and I sleep as well as Cooper is tonight!

Baptism - June 1,2008

On Sunday we celebrated Cooper's baptism at St Jane Frances. His god parents Uncle Adam & Aunt Andrea stood with us. Thanks to both sets of grandparents this day was a success. Nana made all of the desserts and still found time to sew Coopers outfit which included an adorable set of linen overalls & a matching bib. Which the chunky monkey managed to fill out quite well! GrandPa Phippen spent all day friday making his homemade sauce for the party with his lovely assistant. And if it werent for all of their help Sat & Sun preparing the food we never would have been on time and been able to spend the day enjoying the party with the rest of our family! We werent allowed to use a flash during the ceremony so most of the pictures are dark but here are a couple of the best shots.

Cooper is 3 months!

Cooper turned 3 months old on Tuesday. Last week during a visit to the pediatrician for his first cold he weighed 13 lbs 15 ounces! May was a busy month for us. We celebrated mothers day and memorial day with BBQs, Cooper had his first babysitter, we spent a week at the outer banks, I started back to work, Cooper started day care and daddy taught cooper how to use the new sprinkler system. He is looking forward to playing in that next summer.

Cooper loves spending time with his cousins Raegan and Mia. He is lucky enough to see them both every week. Its amazing how children communicate with one another. He lights up when both of them talk to him. He is really alert now. He laughs and smiles and is using his arms and hands more. His favorite place to be is still his bouncy seat. But he is starting to enjoy the play mat. Tummy time is funny, rather then being frustrated after a few minutes of pushing himself up he thinks its time for a nap.

My first trip to the beach

 

This week is my last full week of maternity leave. So I packed up our stuff and threw Ben, Haley & Cooper in the truck and headed off to the Outer Banks with The Connell's. We drove on Monday night with all of the rain. It was a 6 hour trip again but this time Cooper was much more relaxed. Tuesday it was too windy for the beach but on Wednesday the weather was beautiful.

Much like his parents Cooper was content sitting in his chair enjoying the sounds of the ocean and later sneaking in a little cat nap and a walk. Here are a few pictures.

My futures so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

Today we spent the day at Kinder park with Bridget & Baine. Cooper sported his new sunglasses.

Cooper is 2 months

Cooper turned 9 weeks old this week. How time flies. At this months doctors visit Cooper weighed 11lbs 3 ozs and has grown to 24 inches.

Michele has been enjoying maternity leave. She and Cooper run around nearly everyday for playdates, shopping or walks at the park. Last week we all went to Geneva for cousin Mia's christening. The car ride there was a nightmare, poor baby cried pretty much the entire trip. Thankfully the trip home was better.

Tummy Time, Daddy Time & My first smiles. Cooper had his 1 mth checkup and weighed 8lbs10oz and was 22 inches.

I'm 1 Month old already! Time has flown by. I'm starting to like spending time in my swing and glider.

Say hello to the littlest Phippen...Cooper Benjamin arrived 2/27/2008 at 3:56 PM 8 lbs 8 oz & 20.5 in

Stay tuned...2/25 is just around the corner. Ben and I are in the final countdown and we can't wait to introduce you all to Cooper.