8 Months - Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy 8th Month, Big Boy!  Daddy & I love you
to the moon & back!

8 Months has come and gone...Seriously!?!?  Where did my baby go?  He grow'ed up, y'all.  I told Eric I am kinda' sad that my baby is a big boy now, and he said, "Uhh, until he is walking and can feed himself, he's still a baby - so you can't be sad."  Haha.  That said, this month was a game changer and I imagine they all will be from here on out.  So much has happened, and we're so grateful for all the support we've had over this past month. 

Big News:

- As I mentioned in a post below, I've accepted a new job as a Social Media Marketing Manager / Consultant for a Digital Media company in Nashville.  You can read about it HERE.  I am super pumped about this opportunity and I start on the 13th!  I will be setting up my home office this and next weekend.  I am excited and nervous to embark upon this new journey.  Here goes nothing...

- Cooper had his ear / tube surgery on the 8th.  You can read about it HERE.  It was a toughie, but we are so glad we did it!  According to the doctor, his middle canal was filled with thick fluid that had nowhere to drain.  Recovery was pretty easy and was only a day.  Even though he has had ear drainage since then and a bit of a cold...all is well.  He's such a smiley, happy kiddo (except when we put him down for naps - ha!).  We had his 3 week check-up on the 30th - and while his ears are still "wet," they're better and the tubes are still open.  Cooper also got fitted for cute blue ear plugs.  He has to be prepared for our swim class in June (yes I am taking my infant to a swim class), and for Maui, of course.  102 days!   

- Eric and I completed the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon last weekend.  That's 13.1, y'all!  The crazy thing is...it was pouring the entire time.  Literally from before START to past FINISH, it did not stop.  It would have been so easy to wake up that morning and just say, "Nuh-uh, not doing it.  Staying in my warm bed.  Zzzz."  But...we're nuts...and so were 32,000 other people!  I wore a trash bag for the first few miles, but got over that real quick.  Eric said, "It's just water, and I'm a man" and decided not to wear one - Lol.  It really didn't matter beause by the end of the half we were 100% soaked.  Our clothes probably added 5-10 pounds to our weight.  But strangely, when we got going, it was really fun!  We swore this was the last one that we'd do (2 for each of us), but I am fairly certain we'll do another one, and hopefully train properly for it! 

Running for Cooper, St. Jude's
Children's Hospital, Be the Match
&, of course, for Boston.

Right before we drove to the
Start Line @ 5:45 AM.

Waiting to start in our corral in the pouring rain. 
Eric looks way more pumped than I do at this point.

- I know I posted that we were trying to coax the Grandma's and Grandpa's to spend the summer here so that we could pull Cooper out of day care, get him healthy and strong, save a little money, etc...  Well, I'm not sure I updated y'all.  IT WORKED!  Cooper's last day at day care was the 19th.  Gigi and Pop watched him last week, and now, our AHHHHMAZING friend Kaeli is watching Cooper for the month of May. 

Gigi and Pop are taking June.  Nana and Papa are taking some of July (I'll fill in the rest).  And finally, another WONDERFUL friend, Lauren, will watch Cooper for the first 2 weeks of August before our trip!  Yay!  Then, back to Day Care (or hopefully a nanny)...at least a few days a week.

Visitors:

My parents graced us with their presence for a fun-filled week and a half!  They went to the Masters for 2 days, and then met up with friends to tour and play the Robert Trent Jones golf trail.  They finished up in Nashville.  They went to the Grand Ole Opry and we all went to the Bluebird...and ate...a lot.  :) 

After their buddies left, we had a great, relaxing week with them.  It's always so great to spend time with family.  Coop sure loves them, too!  They went on walks, to the Nashville Zoo, played, bonded...So happy they are able to spend time with us in Nashville.  And guess what?  They'll be back in 4.5 weeks!  Thank you sweet baby Jesus.  

Fun at the Zoo and on walks.

He cried/screamed the whole way home after
dropping Gig' and Pop off at the airport...
No joke.

Milestones & Memories:
- He's chatty.  He said "a-ba-bo" a lot...and now he's saying, "AMom...mama...."  Oh man, be still my heart.

- Cooper got his first tooth!  Bottom, middle.  We've been thinking he was teething since month 2...but, nah.  He was just always sick.  Well...it finally broke through his gums - poor kid - but hopefully he'll get some relief soon!  All the chewing, drooling and runny noses finally make sense, lol.  ;)

- Cooper is eating 3 big boy meals a day, and still a lot of bottles.  

Loving his lunch - Earth's Best fruit and veggie blends.

- He has started to "boot scoot," he also gets on his belly and turns himself in circles, and we're working on the whole crawling thing.  He can get up and has started to rock back and forth eagerly, but so far can't figure out how to keep his knees under him.  His belly is pretty big...I get it, Coop.  Haha.  It's so fun to see him learning new things.  He wants to learn, see, and do EVERYTHING.  Pretty sure we have a genius baby big boy. 

- He has started to hold his own bottle.  He still needs help here and there, especially near the end of the bottle, but I mean...darling, and pretty impressive.  Again...big boy, right?

"Don't worry Pop Pop, I got this..."

- He laughs.  And when he does, oh man, it's the best noise in the entire world. 

- He rides in the stroller now - not the car seat in the stroller.

- We had to buy 2 new big boy car seats.  His baby boy Chicco car seat only holds up to 22 pounds.  I think I mentioned that Cooper is now...24+ pounds!  We decided on the Britax Marathon.  It will hold up to 70 pounds, which should last us until...at least next month. ;) 

Testing it out in the living room.
He likes it so much, it's kinda like
his own la-Z-boy.

- Cooper is having SUCH fun with Banjo and Ukulele.  He smiles every single time that he sees them.  It's pretty precious.  He's still a little grabby, but we're working on being gentle and petting them.  He's darling, and so are the girls.

Here's some Cooper Cuteness to end the post!  Have a great day, everyone!

This face.

Our lil' chunk.  Too cute.

I just love his baby blues.

Super excited to play.

Darling boy.