Christening, Christmas, and Cooper!

 Lots of stuff has been happening around the Pratt household...

This little guy turned 8 months old:

and is now pulling up on everything...and has a few bruises to show for it too!

Cooper was baptized last weekend at our church, Sacred Heart. Here he is with Deacon Jim (who also married Andrew and I) and his godparents Aunt Katie and Uncle Matt

At church on Christmas Eve...

Cooper's first Christmas was white:

And it snowed even more the next day and Cooper went outside with Jack and Daddy (Mommy is obviously the smart one.)

Jack enjoyed the snow most of all:

Cooper checking out his stocking on Christmas morning...

And all of his new toys from Santa

Andrew FELL ASLEEP during the Rountree/Pratt Christmas...we obviously had a little too much fun with that. Brother Bart made this bumper sticker for Andrew to represent his love for Ian Poulter: 

If you can't read it...it says... "Ian Poulter is a douchebag...confirm'd" !!

If pictures had sound you would hear him snoring!

Giving thanks...Memphis style

This is a long overdue post (hey...its only 12 days til Christmas, but who's counting), but since I consider this blog a scrapbook for Cooper to look at when he is older, I couldn't leave out his FIRST Thanksgiving! We traveled to Memphis to be with Andrew's family there. Jack made the trip a little hard...Cooper did great!!  Next time, Jack might be spending the weekend with Nana and Milo! 

Before the big feast! 

 

Happy Cooper after the big feast!!

New Shots

Lindsay, of Lindsay Jane Studios, took Coop's 6 month pics a couple of weeks ago. They turned out better then we could imagine!  Check them out here!

Here's a preview:

Doesn't that sweet face make you want to look at the rest?

This free something is a good something.

Top 10 8 reasons shutterfly is the best place to get holiday cards?

1.  Easy - even my parents could do it!

2. Great designs

3. They have stationary paper - so it is not printed on that cheap photo paper stuff

4.  The price is right!

5.  They have other stuff besides cards...I plan on ordering some calendars from here and maybe some stuff for the grandparents for Christmas.

6. It's super easy to search for the right card for you.

7. It's super easy to upload your pictures on the site.

8. If you blog about it...they will give you 50 free cards!!  How crazy is that?? Deal of the century! Better than Oprah's favorite things! (BTW - shutterfly should have been on Oprah's show!!)

 

 

I've already picked out my card. (I'm not tell you which one) Now I have to decide which picture to use. One of Cooper only? One of fam? One of Cooper and Jack? Cooper when he was born? Now? Decisions. Decisions.

 

 

 

Sharing.

Cooper is already learning how to share.

He shares his rubber duck with Jack.

Jack shares his bone, football, and Kong with Coop.

Coop loves to play with anything that is not a toy. (i.e. cords, vacuum cleaners, dog food, nasty dog water, anything that has been in Jack's mouth, dirty shoes, pumpkins, grass, etc.)

Cooper and Jack love to play together:

Showdown for the bone. Check out Jack's tongue.

Seven.

Seven. Wow. I cannot describe how I feel about Cooper turning 7 months old. For some reason...this mark makes it seem like it is going by TOO fast. Six didn't feel like this. Seven feels so....old! Time goes by...FAST! I don't think you truly experience this until you are a parent.

At 7 months, Cooper is thriving. Here is what he is up to:

• Has 2 bottom teeth (broke thru about a week and a half ago)
• Probably weighs about 16 or 17 lbs.
• Crawling...everywhere! He is fast! His favorite thing he is not suppose to have is Jack's water and food bowl.
• Happy Happy baby! Smiling and laughing a lot!
• Very mischievous and curious. His little personality is coming out.
• Everything he touches goes in his mouth.
• Loves it when his daddy plays with him.
• Starting to cry when mommy walks away...oh no!
• Loves to grab at Jack's paws and ears. Jack doesn't seem to mind.
• Eats all types of baby food...makes a HUGE mess.
• He's a bit of a wild buck sometimes. He is very active..usually wants to be down on the ground exploring.
• He's a fighter...hard to put to sleep...but once he gives up...he's out!
• Still a cat-napper..usually a few 30 minute naps a day if we are lucky!
• Hates his clothes being changed.
• Goes to bed around 7...sometimes will wake up a few times...sometimes not. Sometimes will wake up A LOT! Likes to wake us up at 5:30...rearing and ready to go! (see below)
• He will wear you out! (tip: when Coop goes to sleep, you go to sleep!)

Pictures to come...my camera is in his room and I don't want to wake him.

See the last tip?? Goodnight! :)

I've been dreaming...

Now that I've lost all my baby weight (plus), I've dreaming of these:



These are a tad bit out of my price range, so dreaming is all I'll be doing :)

Thoughts...

Listening to my baby cry himself to sleep (I tried to get him to go to sleep, but he's a fighter), I decided to blog about all the random things in my head.

1. Daylight savings time is only good if you don't have kids and your husband is in town. Plus getting dark at 5 o'clock SUCKS!
2. Single mothers have the hardest job on the planet...including those moms who have hubbs that travel ALOT. You have it HARD!
3. A teething baby = no sleep.
4. Why doesn't mapquest start their directions on #5...I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood!
5. I spend way too much time on etsy and facebook. I need to take a break from those and get some stuff done!
6. How can one 6 month old have so much laundry?
7. How the hell are you suppose to fold a fitted sheet?


Well, my son is still crying...it's been 15 minutes since I put him in there...should I go get him?

Have a great week everyone!!

The cutest pumpkin on the block!

Cooper had a big first Halloween weekend! It got kicked off Friday night with a kids party in the neighborhood. Cooper loved it so much he fell asleep at the party!

Saturday he was so tired from Friday, he slept from 7pm to 7am! Well...he did wake up a few times, but went right back to sleep.

We had a great time on Halloween day walking around with our neighbors and seeing all the kiddos get candy. There were tons of people in our neighborhood. We stayed up until almost 9 passing out candy. My last minute purchase of 300 dum dums at Kroger really saved the day. We were plum out at then end of the night...including what I had already bought!


Remember that LARGE head I was telling you about? Well...Coop's hat was tight! We didn't make him wear it long.

I was trying to get Jack to "stay" so I could get a good picture of him and Cooper. (see below) I was enticing him with a treat...check out that tongue! He could stand it! Cooper's can't quite sit up yet...so we resorted to below.

Mommy helping my little man sit up. He's not quite there yet! He can however...crawl all over...he's quick too!

T - E - double N - E - double S - double E

Jen and Blake stopped by to see their little man!
Coop's first tailgate - success! (Except we lost)

Our neighbors (not our tailgate neighbors...our real neighbors!) Go SVF!
Aww...the fam!

1/2 a year

Can you believe Coop is already 6 months old? I know every momma says this, but my little guy is getting so BIG! We fall more and more in love with him each and every day. His personality is starting to form...Cooper is very happy and loves to laugh. He is very determined and can now get to anything he wants with his "army crawl". (I think its abou ttime to baby proof!) He also gets very impatient sometimes (especially with food!) and cranky when he gets tired! Remind you of anyone?

We took a trip to see Dr. Greg yesterday and here are his stats:

15lbs 10 oz - 20th percentile

25.6 inches - 20th percentile

46.3 head circ. - 97th percentile! (his head houses his LARGE brain that will get him into Harvard one day)

Cooper is hitting all the marks and Dr. G said he couldn't ask for a more healthy baby...can I get a PRAISE THE LORD??!! We truly are blessed!

Here's Coop in his world:

Chillin' in a bucket

Chillin' with Mommy

His BFF Avery

His other BFF Mason

Learning how to feed himself

Visitors.

Grammy and Poppy came to visit Cooper...he was very excited!

The life of Coop-man

What Cooper is up to these days...

Helping Nana with the laundry

Napping on the couch after all that hard work

Eating his piggies!

Bonding with Jack (Jack looks HUGE in this picture)

Learning how to feed himself

Sucking on Sofie

Maneuvering around in baby Einstein

And doing lots of drooling.
Trying to get a tooth.
Trying to sit up on his own.
Talking and making all sorts of funny noises.
Picking and eating grass.
And waiting for Friday!

Six month post to come.

My wish...

Driving down the road the other day, I heard the song by Rascal Flatts - "My Wish" on the radio. I have never really paid attention to the lyrics before, but for some reason started "really" listening to them. It almost brought tears to my eyes thinking about sweet little Cooper and I couldn't help but wish all of these things for him:

I hope you never look back, but you never forget
All the ones who love you and the place you left
I hope you always forgive and you never regret
And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you'd find God's grace in every mistake
And always give more than you take
But more than anything, more than anything

My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to.
That your dreams stay big and your worries stay small
And you never need to carry more than you can hold



I pray that I can raise a strong, God-loving man that will connect with, inspire, help and love people the way his daddy does.

This is really my 5 month post

Cooper is 5 months old! Well, technically he is 5 months and a few weeks, but who's counting (ahheemm....I am!). I wanted to write down some of his "milestones" so when I actually get around to working on his baby book, I can reference the blog.

What Coop loves:

• Eating his vegetables - carrots and sweet potatoes are your favorite. You don't like peas..at all! You also love fruit...no suprise there. You make a huge mess...we learned to just go with a diaper and a bib to avoid ruining any more clothes.






• Laughing at Jack, pulling his ears, and poking him in the eye! He has definitely discovered his doggy and loves him very much. I think the feeling is mutual. Jack is just waiting for the day Cooper can run around with him. Jack is so sweet, too. He lets Coop mess with him and doesn't even bark or growl. He just lays there!



• Rolling, flipping, and scooting around. You are a very determined mind and will find a way to get to what you want (usually the remote or my cell phone is tops on your list!)



• Smiling! All the time - you're a HAPPY baby!


• Laughing at Jackson! Boy- he can turn a frown upside down.


• Looking at yourself in the mirror. (I wonder, do you know that's YOU?)


• Being outside. I hope this continues into the future, because we're an outside kinda family!


• Reaching up for Mommy when you are in your baby Einstein and want out. It really makes my heart MELT!


• Your baby Einstein has become your favorite toy. You will play with it for a good 30 minutes at a time. You have learned to turn completely around in it!


• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yes, I'm that mom that let's him watch TV. I'm not sure if he really knows what is going on and his attention span is about 10 minutes. But hey - it gives me time to make my breakfast and enjoy it!


• Going anywhere...you love all the attention you get and looking around at all the new things you see especially the signs at Krogers. Sometimes you have that "scared" look on your face...it's priceless.


• To stand and try to walk. Your legs are strong (so is your grip!). We might be using Jack's leash sooner than we though! ha ha!


• To pull my hair! (see grip comment) Ouch!


• To babble in the morning when you wake up. Andrew and I just lay in bed and laugh hysterically at you.


• To eat your feet!


• Grabbing at anything and anyone you can get your hands on!

5 month stats:

• Weight - approx. 14 lbs. (maybe more)



• Height- not sure, but he is SHORT! All his shorts are pants and his pants...well...we need to get them hemmed or something!



• Wears 3-6 month clothing



• Eats about every 3 hours...formula, cereal, fruit and vegetables.


• Sleeps good on most nights. Bedtime is between 8-9pm...wakes up around 7 or 8. Might wake up during the night, but nothing a pacy can't solve. Put it back in and right back to sleep! We are soon going to "teach" him how to put himself to sleep. When I get enough energy.

Happy 5 months!

Future VOL in the making

Cooper was born to be a VOL. His Daddy and Mommy are Vols. So is Gramps and Aunt Katie, and pretty much everyone else we know. Jack even roots for the Big Orange. I think one day he might even go to UT. That's if HE turns down Harvard, MIT, and Duke first...ya know, to stay close to home.

We decided a football game with 100,000 screaming fans, a loud band, and lots of sun, was not a good place to take a four month old. So he will have to wait until next season to see his first UT game.

We took a few shots in his UT hat before we headed out:

Four

A lot has been happening around here since my last post. This little guy turned 4 months old...

Ain't he cute?

Cooper has been bonding with Jack...

and sleeping on his back...

and with his Daddy ...

Hanging with Gramps...

and spending afternoons with Nana while Mommy is at work.

He's very loved by Jack...

tasting his first cereal..."eww...what is this stuff?"

"umm..not so bad"