So Much To Be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had breakfast at my moms. Delicious french toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage. My Uncle Van and his kids came as well. We were able to Facetime with my grandparents in West Virginia. We all really enjoyed that. I sure miss them. I'm grateful they get to know Cooper through it since we can't afford to fly out there.

Then, we traveled to Park City to have Thanksgiving with Chris' mom's side of the family, the Thompsons. We visited, did a photobooth, played Thompson Family Jeopardy, snacked, and ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and dessert. Yum! We had a blast! It was great to get out of the area between Salt Lake City and Ogden. The view was amazing from the house! It was a much needed holiday and time with family.

Some things I'm thankful for: a healthy child, a husband who works hard to support his family, a job, a home of our own, the love and support of family and friends, great ladies in my neighborhood to have play dates with, specialists that come to the house to check on Cooper's development and hearing, working vehicles, the gospel of Jesus Christ, my testimony of gospel, the best mom in the world, repentance, the laughter of a child in our home. Oh, the list goes on and on. We have so much to be thankful for.

Drew Brees Bullied Over Birthmark

As a mother, I worry about Cooper being bullied over the birthmark on his face. Yes, he's had laser treatment, but it could always come back. It also may not go completely away. I also worry about it because I see it happen every day as a teacher. It amazes me how rude kids can be to other kids. I saw an interview with Drew Brees on CBSNews "Person to Person." It made me smile. I loved his response. A part of me hopes that Drew Brees is Cooper's favorite football player.

They won't let me embed the video, so search "Person to Person Drew Brees Bullied Over Birthmark" to view the clip.

Tis the Season!

This is my favorite time of year--- Fall with all the leaves! Thanksgiving! Food! Time with family! Christmas lights! The smell of cinnamon! Christmas music! Oh, it's my favorite! I couldn't stand it any longer... the tree had to go up!

12 Month Appointment

I still can't believe I have a one year old! We went to Cooper's one year appointment and he's looking great! He weighs 18.17 pounds (2%), is 28.11 inches long (6%), and his head circumference is 18.2 inches (44%). His head is almost average for his age! It makes me laugh to think of the proportions. The doctor wants him on whole milk and off baby food and just on the food we eat. We don't think he is ready, Chris and I, so we're going to wait another month and then move forward. We're proud of our boy! He's doing great!

Happy Birthday, Coops!

Cooper's birthday was wonderful! It was celebrated with many family and friends. I wish we had taken pictures of Cooper with those who attended, but hosting a party is a lot of work. The birthday boy was as happy and curious as always. First, we let everyone have cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream. We then let him open presents. Lastly, we sang happy birthday and let him go to town on his cake. This may seem a little backwards, but we knew he would be a mess afterwards so chose to do it last. It worked out great!

Those Who Attended: Great Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Grandma Smith & Grandpa Smith, Uncle Cory, Grandma & Grandpa Frederiksen, Aunt Johnnie & Uncle Harry, McKenzie and Durk, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Camille, Aunt Katie & Uncle Scott, Cousin Michelle Jones and Great Aunt DeAnn, Aunt T, and, of course, Daddy and I. Your best friend Sam, and his parents, Kristy and Brock, came, too. Aunt Sarah and Great Grandma & Great Grandpa Call sent you gifts as well.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Cooper turned ONE today! It's amazing how fast the past year has gone by. We've never been more exhausted in our life, but never more happy. Each day is an adventure. We live for so much more now than we did before. He's been the greatest blessing in our lives. Happy birthday, Coops!

My Big Boy

It's crazy to think that in just a few days Cooper will be ONE! It doesn't seem like he's been in our life that long. We've never been so exhausted in our life, but also never more happy. It's amazing the joy a child brings into your life. It's hard to even imagine what we did with our time before him. It seems as though it was just wasted time. There is so much that Cooper is doing. He's an incredible kid. Probably the happiest kid I've ever seen. When someone wants to hold him they always ask if he will cry and we laugh and tell them "no." He truly is the happiest, friendliest kid.

• Cooper started to stand a little without holding on to anything.
• He's walking around things while holding onto something.
• He's saying "dada" constantly. He likes to do it in a high pitch squeal sometimes over and over again.
• Climbing galore!
• Weighed 18 pounds 4 ounces a week ago.
• He is starting to realize that something still exists when hidden. I hide his duck under a cup and he moves the cup to get the duck.
• When he has something in both hands he knows he can put two in one hand and get something else with the other.
• He loves to be read to. 
• He's pointing with his little pointer finger. So cute!
• As always, he loves to snuggle, but is much more of a wiggler now!
• Still only has 2 teeth, his bottom ones.

He had a big NICU followup appointment and here are the updates:

Developmental Psychologist says he is developmentally a 10 month old and predicts he will be caught up to his actual age by 18 months. He was impressed by all the things Cooper did. He said they just expect them to be at their adjusted age, but he is beyond that.

Nutritionist says he's eating exactly what he should be and told us to try giving him shredded turkey on Thanksgiving! That will be his first time having a meat.

Pediatrician says he's looking great! Was impressed with his muscle tone, which seems to be even.

Physical Therapist said he's about a 12 month old when it comes to stability and sitting, but a 10 month old when it comes to movement like crawling, walking, etc. He does crawling great, he just isn't walking and things like a 12 month old might be doing. No worries though.

Audiologist said he passed both hearing tests!

He's growing up too fast. It makes me sad to think I will never see him little again, but we're glad he's doing so incredibly well. It also makes me want to enjoy every little moment more. Whether he likes it or not though, he will always be my baby.

We voted!

Today is Election Day! I'll admit, I don't know much about politics and it's because I don't understand it. I've tried to learn, but it's extremely confusing. I do believe that people do need to vote though, whether they fully understand it or not. We prayed about it and feel we made the right decision today. I'm very grateful that we live in a country with freedom. I'm grateful that we are somewhat able to choose our leaders through voting. We live in a wonderful country! Cooper even gave us the thumbs up!

One Year Old

We can't believe Cooper is going to be ONE in just two weeks. The time has flown by. It makes me a little emotional. My baby boy isn't a baby anymore. He's growing up. He's a wonderful kid. He couldn't make us happier. It's amazing the joy a child can bring into your life. They change your life in so many ways. I've never been so exhausted, but I've also never been so happy. I can't even put into the right words how much we love having him in our life. We had his one year pictures taken today because he has laser treatment on his birthmark next week. We LOVE them. They show his little personality.