When I was a girl scout, I learned this song called “If all the Raindrops”. It was a cute little song, which reminded me of how Cooper feels about green beans. Since today is Saint Patrick’s Day, what better way to celebrate than to eat something green!

If All the Raindrops

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide.
(Aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah,)
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.

If all the snowflakes were Hershey bars and milk shakes,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide.
(Aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah,)
If all the snowflakes were Hershey bars and milk shakes,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.

If all the hailstones were M&Ms and sugar cones,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.
I would stand outside with my mouth open wide.
(Aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah,)
If all the hailstones were M&Ms and sugar cones,
Oh what a wonderful world it would be.

If all the sleet were green beans and liver meat,
Oh what a terrible world it would be.
I would stand outside with my mouth shut tight.
(Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm,)
If all the sleet were green beans and liver meat,
Oh what a terrible world it would be.

Sunday Morning Cooper woke up early. Both Chris and I were pretty tired. I jumped in the shower to try and wake up and Chris took Cooper. When I got out of the shower, Cooper and Chris was snuggling up together and watching his favorite DVD, Baby Einstein. They laid there for quite a while together. Too Cute! I can just imagine when Cooper is older and he wakes up, jumps into bed with us, and we turn on the TV to watch Cartoons together. I had fond memories of doing this with my father when I was a kid. Watching Chris and Cooper together reminded me of my childhood. Makes you apperciate those memories so much more!

Visit my baby blog for more information on The Wonder Weeks.

Cooper is 24 weeks old and just 2 weeks shy of 6 months old. Where has the time gone? I know that sounds so cliche, but really how did we get to this point already? Along the way we have had growth spurts, developmental leaps (wonder weeks), and disruptions due to travel and every day life. Just when you think all is calm in the Foley family one these lovely things occurs and sends Cooper off schedule and fussy.

Well this week was one of those weeks. Is it a growth spurt, a developmental leap (wonder week), or due to the disruption of traveling to Florida and back? WHO KNOWS!!! Really? I haven’t a clue! I would have to guess that it is all three this time. Here is why I think this.

First, Cooper has been DOWNING the milk and food. Yesterday he ate over 6 oz of food in the morning. Which is equivalent to 1.5 jars of stage 2 babyfood. I make all my own babyfood, but I know that each jar of stage 2 food contains 4oz. Stage 2 babyfood is intended for babies who are a little older than Coop. Then at dinner he downed at least 8oz, but I lost track when I had to keep going to the freezer to pull out more frozen babyfood cubes to heat up for him. The child was like the bottomless pit. If I did not feed it fast enough to him, he would scream and then scream louder. Wish I had a good pair of ear plugs! He was also waking early from his naps and would chug the milk and then devour his pureed food. Might I also add that two nights ago he woke up from 2am-7am looking for food. Can you say growth spurt!

Then while we were in Florida and traveling he experienced some disruptions to his schedule. He did not sleep his best. It was not terrible, but not his best. Cooper is sleeping 10-11 hours most nights now without waking for feedings! YIPPY!! But while in Florida, he would wake at least once a night. I know he was not hungry, but he was waking because he was in a strange place. He does not sleep his best unless he is in his room snug in his crib. But instead of letting him cry himself back to sleep, I would feed him and then put him back to bed (so he did not wake the whole house). He also only got one true nap a day- poor guy! We made sure he got his morning nap, but then we were out an about and he would miss his second nap of the day. Cooper is down to only having 2 two-hours naps plus a catnap (30-45min) a day. Needless to say, when we got back to Maryland it took him a few days to get back on schedule. The nighttime was the worst because he expected me to come in a feed him like I had done on vacation- thankfuly I think that we are safely back on schedule. He slept through the night last night- yea!

Finally, I think Cooper is in the middle of a developmental leap. According the the book The Wonder Weeks, Cooper is in the middle of wonder week 26. This developmental leap can last from week 23-26. Oh Joy! (do you sense my sarcasm?) During this time a child is more fussy, clingy, and cranky. This is true of Cooper. He has just been screaming is little head off. He does not like to lay on his back. He wants to sit up, but he cannot do it without support. So the entire time he is laying on his back, he is screaming. He is also screaming because I left the room or he’s screaming because he is hungry or wants more food…oh and he could just be plain screaming! AHHHHHH!!!! Makes me want to scream. This happened during the last developmenal leap that Cooper went through during wonder week 19. At least I know this is just a phase and he will grow out of it. If I hold Coop it seems to settle him for a short while, but I cannot hold him all day!

Which leads me to the conclusion that its all three: growth spurt, developmental leap (wonder week), and disruptions due to travel. Why do things always happen in threes?

When Cooper was 4 1/2 months old we started to introduce solids. We gave him rice cereal to start. He did not eat much of it at first, maybe only a teaspoon per feeding. Then around 5 months old I started to give him fruits and veggies, which he must have liked because he started to consume a lot more solids (sometimes 4 tablespoons).

Here is a list of all the foods Cooper has tires so far. I have rated each food with stars (3 stars being the most desired by Cooper):

babyfood that I made

Carrots **

Sweet Potatoes ***

Butternut Squash**

Pears **

Bananas ***

Apples**

Avocado *

Peas *

Rice Cereal*

He seems to not really like cereal, peas, or avocado by themselves so I have to “hide” them by mixing them with other foods, which usually ends up being sweet potato or a fruit.

I also make all my own babyfood. I buy organic and then puree it up. Then freeze the batch in ice cube trays. Each ice cube is equal to 1- tablespoon. Then before each feeding you just take out the desired amount of food and warm it up. Simple! It saves money and it is super easy to do. There are two resources that I highly recommend if you are thinking about making your own babyfood: “Top 100 Baby Purees” by Annabel Karmel and the website Wholesome Baby Food. Each gives guidelines for which foods to introduce first and how to prepare the baby puree.

On our most recent trip to Florida, we took Cooper to the beach. Cooper discovered sand for the first time. We captured some video of him having a “sand”wich…enjoy!

This week we are in Florida visiting my (Susanne’s) dad and step-mom. The day before we left to come down to sunny Florida we got a really nice snow day! We thought it would be fun to take Cooper out in the snow for the first time. We got him all bundled up and warm and the poor kid could barely move. We grabbed the camera and headed for outside. Did Cooper like the snow? I think the picture speaks for itself.

The very next morning we got on the plane for Sunny Florida. We have taken Cooper to the beach twice since we got here. He has been such a good baby, always in a pleasant mood (for the most part). He has enjoyed his stroller walks on the beach and around the neighborhood. We decided to let Cooper experience sand for the first time. I think the picture reflects his love for the beach! I’m happy that he loves the beach because it is my favorite place to be too!

Yesterday, Wednesday 2/25/009, Cooper finally decided to roll over. The first time he rolled over was kind of funny. I had him on his belly and turned on his favorite DVD- Baby Einstien. He was reaching his neck up to watch the TV when all of a sudden he start to lean and, before you knew it, he landed on his back. He had the most surprised look on his face, like “how in the world did I end up on my back.” Oh I wish I could have captured his facial expression with the video camera. I tried several times after he rolled over the first time to get him to do it again, but he would not do it. I guess Cooper was saving his stardom for his daddy. Because once Chris got home, there was no stopping him. Cooper really got the hang of rolling over and did it with ease. Chris and I were so excited- as you can tell on the video clip. It is amazing how excited you get over the little developmental milestones your child achieves.

I just bought Cooper a new toy- a Jumperoo. It is like the traditional John Jumper for the doorway, but this one is stationary. He loves to bounce and stand up so this is the perfect toy for him. It also lights up when he moves so he seems to like that feature as well. Cooper is 5 months old in this pictures.

This morning as I was feeding Cooper with a bottle, he decided he was going to take a stab at it. He reached both of his tiny hands on either side of the bottle and held it (without my help). He has done this before, but then he took it a step farther. Cooper directed the nipple of the bottle into his mouth and he began sucking. I could not believe it! Well, he was not successful at actually getting the milk to come through the nipple because he was not holding the bottle at a high enough angle, but it was close! I removed the bottle from him and started feeding him again, but he started to fuss and scream. I had to let him hold the bottle to continue feeding him. He wanted to feed himself. So I just held the end of the bottle up so he could finish the last ounce of milk. My little boy is not so little anymore. Just another reminder that they grow up way too fast!

This morning Chris was holding Cooper and started walking across the room to turn off a lamp. On his way there, Cooper threw up all over him. Chris comes in the kitchen, where I was cleaning up, and says to me very calmly, “I need help.” I take Cooper from Chris so he can change and clean the carpet. Cooper also managed to get threw up all over his brand new outfit that Grandma had given him so I decided to change him. But before I got to his room, he threw up again but this time on me. I am starting to think that Cooper may be ill so I decided to take his temperature (rectal). As I am taking his temperature (he did not have a temperature), he begins to poop. Fun! So I clean up the poop and just as I finish he starts to pee. Chris quickly throws his hand on top to block the spray of urine from hitting us..wee so much fun! At this point Chris and I are laughing really hard with one another. Cooper looks up at us and just cracks the biggest smile and giggles. I think if Cooper could talk he would have said, “Just wanted to see what you two were made of!” Kind of like boy scoots, always be prepared. You never know when to expect the unexpected!