Seven Months.

Happy 7 Month Birthday, Cooper Boy!  I can't believe that you are the same baby boy that we took home from the hospital just 7 short months ago.  You have grown and changed so much!  You've been quite the busy bee this month and have had a ton of "firsts."

One Saturday, you had a big time playing on your splash pad.  You LOVE the water... baths, baby pools, running water from the sink, and now, your little splash pad!  You like trying to grasp the water and letting it run through your fingers.

You tried baby food for the first time this month and for the most part, love it!  So far, you've eaten pears, apples, bananas (your favorite!), sweet potatoes, sweet peas, mango, avocado (least favorite!), green beans, squash, prunes, pumpkin, and oatmeal cereal.  You haven't had any allergic reactions to anything, which is great!  Now that you are doing solids, I am going to play with your daily routine a little bit to see if we can stretch out your feedings and lengthen your naptimes.  I don't think your feeding schedule has changed in 2 or 3 months.

The biggest news this month is that you are officially crawling!  At around 5 1/2 months, you started scooting... Then at 6 months, army crawling... Finally at about 6 1/2 months, you are on the go!  Watch out world!  You prefer to crawl on the carpet and don't really like to leave the living room to get on the tile or wood floor.  Thanks for already respecting the boundaries, little buddy!  You've also learned how to go from a sitting to crawling position and crawling to sitting position.  Last month you spent a lot of time with bruises on your forehead, because you couldn't fall very gracefully!

On Mother's Day, we dedicated you to the Lord.  It was such a special time of prayer and celebrating, and sweet friends and family came to the service at church to pray for you.  Different ones felt like the Lord was saying that you would be a lover of people, marked by joy, and a valiant warrior.  Amen!  

I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to use you, Cooper.  You are such a treasure to us.  You truly do love being around people- especially babies.  You get the biggest smile and your whole face lights up.  I love to see you finding such enjoyment from other people.  You bring joy to our hearts, baby Coop!

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Houston to visit Grandpa Mark.  He took us to some fountains downtown for you to splash around in.  You were such a happy boy!  

Later, we went swimming in the pool in the backyard.  You had the best time!  You would kick your legs, propelling yourself around the pool when you were in your little floatie.  It seemed like you were so happy to be in the water!  Grandpa Mark loved cuddling with you while you were on the raft- in fact, you almost fell asleep!  What relaxation!

You've got great hand-eye coordination- and even better hand-mouth coordination!  Everything goes straight to the mouth!  Your favorite thing to chew on is fabric, like your lovie, the ties to the slipcover, wet washcloths, and stuffed animals.  You are teething big time!  A couple of days ago, we thought you were getting two teeth- you even had a little white nub poking through, but I guess it went back down, because so far, you have no teeth!

 We had to drop the mattress to your crib a couple of weeks ago, because you started pulling up and couldn't figure out how to get down.  This is a picture from your first time to pull up after the mattress was dropped.  Your sad face makes me so sad, but I couldn't resist snapping a picture of you, big boy!

A few days ago, we took a great trip to Mt. Ida, Arkansas with Pops & Susu and the Atkinsons.  It was your longest road trip yet- 7 hours- and you did great!  We went on some fun walks, splashed in the river, and enjoyed playing with Ellie and Blake.  You were quite the chatterbox all weekend, saying "amma... amma... amma..." over and over again.  I'm just going to tell myself that your first word was "mama" at 7 months!  Also, I love how your hair looks in this picture.  It's so blond and silky.  Daddy says that you have good Republican hair.  We can't wait to teach you how to vote, baby boy!

 One of my favorite things about you, Coop, is how much you love to cuddle.  You are so sweet and will sit still for the longest time, all cuddled up in someone's lap.  I love it when you fall asleep in my arms!  This month, you had your first ear infection and respiratory infection.  We had to give you a breathing treatment, like an inhaler, for your bronchiolitis.  You were such a trooper, and would sit so still, all cuddled up, and do your treatment while watching Praise Baby.  I hated that you were sick, but I loved that you seemed so much happier in Mommy or Daddy's arms.

You are a funny little guy and we enjoy your company and your personality so much!  You've been given all sorts of funny nicknames from the people that love you the most- Coop, Coopies, Scooby, Scoop, Coopster, Captain Coop, Super Cooper, Coop Doggy Dog, and Pumpkin Loaf.

 We love you so much, Cooper!  You are the perfect addition to our family!  Happy 7 months to you!