New Year's Eve and First Snow!

Having had a new baby join our little family in the middle of the year certainly made it fly by!  It's snowing here, so of course I had to grab the camera to capture another one of Cooper's "firsts." 

First snowfall

And don't worry, he was outside for about 10 seconds total.  If you know me, you know mama does not like to be cold.  Cooper didn't seem to mind though in his super sweet snowsuit he received from his GiGi.

 

 

Me and Cooper's First Iowa Christmas

We've been married three years now, and I still had never made it up to Iowa for Christmas- partially because of my nursing career that requires I work every other holiday, and partially because of my paranoia of snow and driving in it.  Iowa gets ALOT of snow.  Not where I live.  Half an inch falls and the entire city turns into a shitshow.  Nevertheless, it did not snow, I did not have to work, so we made the drive without any problems.  I was so happy that we were able to make it up there to spend some time with our family.  Baby Cooper slept the entire way, giving me and dear husband some quality time to talk.

 Seconds before he fell into the tree

 A gift from Intelligent Life Toys- best toy store ever!

 Three generations

 He looks so precious and tiny from the back

 Coop sat up for 45 minutes all by himself, taking it all in

He loves his overalls!

Adorable hat

As usual, our visit went by too fast and we hope to see our family again soon!

Thankful

We were lucky enough to have two Thanksgivings this year, and somehow I managed to be off of work from Thursday through Sunday.  We were very thankful that we were able to spend some quality time with both sides of our family and show off our little turkey!

Super cute pilgrim napkin holders that my super creative sister-in-law Jenny made!

My brother with Coop

My grandma and her yorkie Charlie

My mom

Long time, no post- and a thank you to Munchkin Land Designs!

I still can't believe how long it's been since I've posted... such is life with a baby!  Ever since I returned to work in September, things have been on autopilot around here.  We've been to Iowa to visit family, California to visit friends, and have had houseguests twice.  Then suddenly, it's the holidays...crazy!  Jenn from Munchkin Land Designs even created me a snazzy new look.  It's sad to admit I haven't even posted since then...new blogger fail.  By the way, if you want a new look for your blog, I highly recommend Munchkin Land Designs. Jenn was great to work with and her design was exactly what i had envisioned!  Thank you Jenn!  I'll leave you with a new Cooper photo while I work on some new posts!

Maternity leave is ending soon...

With my maternity leave coming to an end very soon (13 days; nooooooo!) I figure I better get my butt in gear and organize all of the photos I've taken of Cooper over the last 10 weeks.  Somehow I've narrowed it down to 300ish shots, not to mention the ridiculous amount I've taken with my iphone.  Each second is more adorable than the last, so I cannot stop with the camera.  I've tried to put it away, but it doesn't stay in it's place for longer than a few hours.  Especially with all of the smiles we're getting these days...

Ten weeks old at GiGi's and Grandpa's

So, here come the photos...

My dad made this awesome banner to welcome us home~ I look horrid, but this shows what an unplanned c-section, a million bags of IV fluids and four days in the hospital

will do to you!

It was a beautiful day, so we went right out to the deck

Grandpa and Grandma were in town to visit for the week





Two of my best friends- Jenny, pregnant with baby Braden (born 8/3/12) and Sara,

 pregnant with Alana (born 8/27/12)



 My mom (GiGi)

My daddy

Cooper LOVES listening to great-grandma talk to him

Cooper in his Fourth of July outfit

Well, that covers the first week (almost!)  We'll save the birth/hospital stay for another post...

  ~ Heather

  



Show & Tell Monday

So, this is only my third post, but what better way to jump right into blogging than by linking up?  I just started reading "From Mrs. to Mama" a few weeks ago- her blog inspired me to start blogging!  I'm also a mom, and a nurse- I figure, if she has time to keep up on a blog, why can't I?  Also, check out her super helpful blog design post- it taught me ALOT!  Thank you Becky!  Not to mention this week's topic is weddings... ahhh, I miss mine.  10 days in Mexico, unlimited drinks and food, friends and family... let's reminisce!

1. Are you married? If so when did you get married, and tell us about your special day. If not? How would you describe your dream wedding?

          

 Andy and I were married November 14, 2009 on the beach at a resort near Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  The weather was perfect, thankfully.  The ceremony was beautiful, except that a coconut fell and hit one of our guests in the head during it (don't worry, she was okay!)  Almost 40 friends and family attended.  We also did a "trash the dress" session early the next morning; a great way to cure a hangover is swimming in the ocean in your wedding dress :) The best part?  The celebration lasted for 5 days instead of just one!  So many memories were made.  Once everyone left, we moved to a different resort for 5 more days for the honeymoon.   

     2.  Show us some wedding pictures. Either yours or of some that you love.



Ha ha, one of my favorite silly shots

Trash the dress

Celebrating on our honeymoon







     3.  How about the engagement? Tell us your story. If not engaged, what's your dream proposal?

Andy proposed on a weekend trip to Kansas City in December, on his birthday.  He kept talking about the Christmas lights in the Plaza and how cool they were.  So, he dragged me on a walk "to look at the lights" in 4 DEGREE WEATHER (we were the only people outside!) and proposed in front of a (frozen) fountain in the middle of the plaza.  It was perfect and a total surprise.

     4.  Show us your wedding rings or an engagement photo! If not engaged/married ... show us your "dream" ring.

5.  Tell us why you think marriage doesn't work out for so many? What can we do to make things last?   

I've only been at this for almost three years now, so I'm no expert, but... you have to respect each other.  Andy and I are really, really nice to each other.  I don't nag, or yell- in fact, we've never been in a fight.  We also are each other's best friends, and have a lot of fun together.  I am always cracking up at some stupid inside joke we have, or we're teasing each other.  We also don't sweat the small stuff.  I think you have to go in it believing that you are a team and we put each other first.  Add a little romance here and there, and you'll have a long, happy marriage!