Girls Trip to Pawhuska

Last week, Cooper and I headed out for a quick getaway with the girls in my family.  My Aunt Carol and I both love the Pioneer Woman so we've been wanting to check out her Mercantile.  We were going to go for my Aunt Carol's birthday, but we decided to wait until a week when they were doing Lodge tours, and last Thursday and Friday worked out well.  I went with my mom and we met my two aunts and a cousin there.

We left early Thursday morning and arrived mid afternoon.  We met my Aunt Carol to have lunch at the Mercantile.  It was 2:45 when we got there and the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. 

We were very excited to be out of the car!  It was warm that afternoon, but luckily the line went pretty quickly--we were seated within about 30 minutes.

 I forgot to take a picture of the food until we were almost done, but we got a few things and shared them.  We tried the Marlboro Man Sandwich, the Turkey Bacon Club, Macaroni and Cheese, Loaded Baked Potato, Carrots and Tomato soup with grilled cheese dippers.  Everything was very good and it was fun eating off the fun plates.

We looked around a little bit and got some dessert from the bakery before heading to our hotel for the evening.  We met up with my other Aunt and my cousin who drove straight to the hotel.  We hung out that evening and headed to bed fairly early so we could get an early start on Friday morning.  It was Cooper's first night staying in a hotel and he did really well sleeping in the pack and play.  He went down easily and only woke up once in the night.  He was up pretty early and as soon as he realized we were awake he wanted to get out, but that worked out well because we had to head out around the time he usually wakes up so it gave him a chance to eat before we left to go back to the Merc.

When we were eating lunch on Thursday we'd asked our waitress how early we needed to get in line for breakfast.  They open at 7:00 and she said the earlier the better but didn't really give much other guidance.  We debated getting there before they opened and waiting in line so we could get in early, but ultimately decided that since the line for lunch had moved fairly quickly that we would be okay if we had to wait a little while.  So we ended up getting there around 7:45 and we weren't sure what we would encounter.

Much to our surprise we pulled up and there was no line.

 We were seated right away and ready for breakfast!

Cooper was not a big fan of the purees I had for him, but he wanted to be eating when we were, so he chomped down on lots of biter biscuits.  They kept him pretty entertained for most of the meal, luckily!  Again, I forgot to take good pictures, but my mom and I shared the Farmer's Breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, a biscuit) and a cinnamon roll. 

Then we spent some time shopping around the Merc. 

 It is such a fun store and there are so many neat things!  I ended up picking out a few things that my mom is giving me for my birthday in a month or so.  I also picked up a few gifts for people.

Then we got our tickets and directions to go out to the Lodge.  It's about a 20 minute drive from the Merc and we caravaned out there so we could all head home from there.

 To get to the lodge, you drive about 6 miles down a dirt road on their property before driving down a big hill and then you arrive!

Beautiful view from the kitchen.

 It was so fun seeing where Ree films her show!  It's such a cute house.  It has a huge kitchen and pantry, several guest rooms with bathrooms and then a prep kitchen with a huge storage space for all of the props

 Everything was so cute and well put together

 As fun as the Merc was, the trip to the Lodge definitely made the experience for us.  It was so neat to get to see the space where we usually see Ree on TV, on her blog and in her books.  It was fun to see all of the touches of Pioneer Woman throughout the lodge.

 My sweet boy did so well!  He loved being able to face out in the carrier and was happy as could be taking it all in.

It was a great quick trip with these lovely ladies--and my little man!

Our Little Pumpkin

It's Cooper's first Fall, so I knew we needed to visit a pumpkin patch (or two) for some fun Fall pictures.  Last weekend we had family pictures taken, so Cooper was already dressed up so we decided to stop at a pumpkin patch a few miles from our house to grab a few pictures

Cooper was tired and not so sure about what these things were, so this is about the best we got

 He was definitely way more interested in eating hay than smiling for a picture

My boys.  Still no smiles from Cooper.

Luckily, we already had a trip planned to the Arboretum to check out their pumpkins.  My mom and I had been talking about going and I found out that they have Buy One Get One Free Admission on Wednesdays in October, so we planned an afternoon trip 

 Once again Cooper was more interested in eating wood chips than looking at us for pictures, so we tried a few on top of some pumpkins.

 Having fun with his Grandma after she picked him up out of his woodchip eating frenzy

 My sweet little pumpkin!

 Love my little guy so very much!!

Taking all those pictures is exhausting!  So after pumpkin village, we found a quiet place to sit and Cooper took a little nap.  

When he woke up, he did not want to be in the stroller anymore!  Luckily, I'd brought our baby ktan carrier and he got to try forward facing in it for the first time as we finished up our time at the Arboretum!  He was a happy boy looking out and watching everything while I carried him.

Cooper definitely makes Fall more fun!

High Five for Friday

We've finally reached a much needed Friday!!  High Five for making it to Friday!  Here's a few things going on around here

{1}.  We've all been fighting colds for the past week or so.  Cooper and I got it middle of last week and David caught it over the weekend.  We've been a coughing, sneezing, congested mess around here.  My nose actually got so stopped up that I couldn't smell or taste anything for a few days which was a new experience for me!  We seem to finally be on the mend, but being sick on top of an already crazy week has us all like...

{2}.  Cooper is trucking right along with his solid food journey.  He is not a big fan of the pureed vegetables (who is!) but he will feed himself when we offer vegetables in the baby led weaning style.  Last night he ate some broccoli--he didn't seem too sure about it, but he ate quite a bit.  I also made him some purees this week so we've been having fun experimenting with those!

{3}.  We all know I love Fall.  So we're enjoying all the fall fun with Cooper.  There are times when I walk through baby stores and see all the cute girl clothes and think--man it would be fun dressing a girl up.  But I am having a lot of fun with little boy clothes and my little man!  And I've had some fun making a few Fall onesies for him to sport too.

{4}.  I had to have a medical procedure this week which made it kind of a crazy/off week.  David was home on Wednesday instead of Thursday so he could take me and that makes the end of the week feel long.  Luckily, the procedure went well and we got good news--grateful it was so easy and it is over with now!

{5}.  Next week Cooper and I are heading out of town with my mom, aunts and cousin to visit the Pioneer Woman Mercantile.  It'll be his first time sleeping in a hotel room, so hopefully things will go okay.  Looking forward to a few days away and to checking out all the fun that the Merc has to offer!

Happy Friday!

Starting Foods

With his 6 month "birthday" came a big milestone--it was time to start introducing some solids!  When we went for his 6 month check up, his doctor talked through several options and gave us lots of great advice.  We decided to do a mix of some Baby Led Weaning (where Cooper learns to feed himself a variety of foods) and purees.  Our pediatrician said that's what she's done with her boys and she gave me some good resources.  She also recommended starting with some higher calorie foods like avocado, sweet potatoes and bananas.  Since Cooper is a tiny guy and his weight percentile has fallen again, she thought some of those would be good starters.

We were so excited to try it out! 

Avocado

The first night at dinner we gave him some avocado slices (sliced up big enough for him to hold and handle on his own).  He liked playing with it and got some in his mouth.  He also just wanted his pacifier a lot of the time.  We did mush a little bit up and gave it to him on a spoon.  He seemed pretty indifferent to the avocado.  Unfortunately, after we finished dinner we gave him his bottle and then he threw up, so we've put a hold on the avocado. I plan to try it again soon, mashed up with a little breastmilk to see if he has the same reaction.  But not a great start to our feeding journey

Sweet Potatoes

After our experience with avocado, I decided to try offering the pureed version of food earlier in the day and then if he tolerated that well we could offer slices for dinner.  This method has worked out well--this way I can sit with him for the purees and we do it as part of our daily routine.  And then at dinner we don't have to feed him--he just plays with the food and sucks on the slices of whatever we offer while we eat.

Not so sure at first...

 ...he realized this is pretty good, so he started bending his head forward to meet the spoon when I brought it toward him...

 ... I love sweet potatoes!  After we finished the jar, I gave him the spoon to hold and play with and make a mess with :)

That night for dinner, he had roasted crinkle cut sweet potatoes and did well with them!

Banana

 He did pretty well getting some bites off as he held it with the peel to keep it from being too slippery

 And then he enjoyed some smaller slices that he could feed himself

Apples

 These were definitely a favorite!  Between each bite he would starting making a "m, m, m" sound and move his whole body.  This was also the first one that Daddy got to feed him which was fun

 Apple slices for dinner!  He did end up choking on these, but was able to get it back up with a little pat on the back.  I read a lot about how to offer apple slices for baby led weaning and we tried them peeled and steamed, but these slices were too wide for him.  We've since tried thinner slices and he has taken those like a champ

We've also now tried carrots, pears, pears & blueberries, peas, and spinach & pear.  So far the only thing he hasn't liked is the peas (which I don't really blame him for!), but we'll try them again someday.  We had originally planned to do more baby led weaning and less purees, but honestly Cooper loves the pureed food and he gets more with the purees, so we'll probably stick with them

This is how he feels when the food is all gone ;)

It's been a fun adventure trying out new foods for him!  I can't wait to see what he discovers next.

State Fair Day

It had been a few years since David and I have been to the Fair together, so we decided to try to make it happen this year.  He still has some PTO left this year and we decided instead of trying to take a vacation that we would do some "staycation" type things throughout the Fall.  So first up was the State Fair.  We decided to go on a Wednesday when we could get in with a discount and David put it on his calendar.  And it ended up being the perfect day to go!  

We all have recently gotten new Texas shirts through various fundraisers for Hurricane Harvey relief, so we decided we'd sport our Texas gear for Cooper's first trip to the Fair!

We walked around and checked out several exhibits.  We stopped and ate along the way.  We shared Fried Frito Pie bites and sampled Root Beer/Dr Pepper Floats in the Food and Fiber building.  David stopped and got some Fried Biscuits and Gravy for his lunch and then we headed to one of the car buildings to sit down and eat.

 I tried out the Fried Thanksgiving Dinner and we gave Cooper his bottle

 We put him back in the stroller and within 2 minutes he was asleep.  While he napped in the stroller, we walked around the Hall of State where they had an exhibit about Texas' involvement in WWI.  Cooper woke up right as we were done with the museum, so we headed over to introduce him to Big Tex:

 We were taking several selfies and pictures of one of us with Cooper and a kind older gentleman stopped and offered to take a picture of all 3 of us with Big Tex.

This guy did so well at his first trip to the Fair!  He sat up so big in the stroller.  He was a little fussy when he got tired and seemed to not want to be in the stroller anymore, but once we unbuckled him and he was able to sit up more he was happy as could be.  He just smiled and watched everything going on around him.

The weather was beautiful and we had lots of fun checking out the State Fair this year!  Can't wait to see what memories we will make in years to come!

Cooper's Cubbyhole: 6 months

Diaper Size: 2

Clothing Size: Mostly 3-6 months.  You can still fit into 0-3 month onesies, but you are starting to get too long for them

Daily Schedule: You wake up at 7:30 and your first nap is around 9:30 or 10:00.  After that your naptimes vary because sometimes you nap for 30 minutes and sometimes you nap for an hour and a half, so I put you down about 2 hours after you wake up each time.  You go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 each night

Things you Love: Mommy, Daddy, Lily, Mouthing on your hands, feet and toys; Music--you love toys that make music and when you are upset sometimes the only thing that will calm you down is if mommy sings; kicking; Laughing at funny noises;

Things you Don’t Love:  Being in the car too long.  When mommy leaves.  Your Scout stuffed animal (you cry whenever he talks and says your name!)

Milestones: You started sitting up independently this month, so you sit for long periods of time on the floor and you can also sit up well in high chairs and shopping carts when we are out.  You are very interested in what’s going on around you and you get easily distracted when you are eating and you hear someone talking; You bring your bottle to your mouth and try to hold onto it, but still need some help with most of your feeding; You are pushing up tall on your hands when you’re on your stomach and you can pivot pretty easily and scoot backward.  You’ve also become very interested in grabbing our faces and glasses!

Memorable Moments: Your first Rangers Game, Your first Baylor/OU Game, Your first Cold, First time being left in childcare (at MOPS)

Cooper love, it seems impossible that your first year is now halfway over!  You are growing and changing so much and you are just so much fun!  This month you have struggled more with separation anxiety and want to have someone with you all the time, but you are content to play happily as long as you can see us--so you spend a lot of time sitting in random places in the house (the hallway, the kitchen floor, our bed, etc.) while I work on projects or clean.  You give sweet smiles to people who talk to you when we are out and about, but I love that your biggest smiles you still save for us.  You love to explore and are trying to figure out how to move around--I’ll admit that I am not rushing or pushing the crawling because I love that you currently stay right where I put you.  But I know you will continue to learn things at your own pace and I love getting to be there as you learn new things.  Sweet boy, you have my heart and I am so glad you are mine!