We survived!

So my first week back to work was tough but we survived! I only worked Monday and Thursday, giving me plenty of time in between work days to get my baby fix! Cooper made dropping him off at Weezie's so easy, he just smiled and looked as comfortable as can be with her. I called for an update each day and was so pleased at how well he was behaving for Weezie. He ate well, slept well and was just as pleasant with her as he is with us.
Cooper gave us a pleasant surprise last week and he couldn't have chosen better timing! On Wednesday night, before my second day back at work, Cooper slept through the night for the very first time!! He went to bed around 8:15 pm and did not wake up until 5:30 am! I was soo excited and thought for sure he would never do it again but he has been pretty consistent all week with the exception of Friday night. His wake up time of 5:15-5:45 am is perfect for my work schedule and on my days off he goes back to sleep for another 2-3 hours.
Cooper also found his hands last week and started sucking his thumb this week. We tried at first to stop him but gave up. He must find it soothing because we catch him doing it during the night and during the day when he is trying to calm down and go to sleep. It's super cute but I hope he can stop before he starts school and before we need major orthodontic intervention!
We've had a big week full of milestones and firsts. I'm so thankful that I only have to work 3 days a week, I love being home with Cooper as much as possible and I don't want to miss a moment of his growing up!

Our Little Tiger Fan

I have been a Clemson Tiger for as long as I can remember. One of the first stuffed animals I received was a tiger that I still have to this day. I remember going to Clemson with my dad when I was little and when it came time to applying to college Clemson University was my first choice. My four years at Clemson were some of the best of my life. I made a career choice, made life long friends, learned a lot about life and met the man that I would spend the rest of my life with.
When Curtis and I discovered that we were having a baby last fall one of the many things we looked forward to was bringing him or her to their first Clemson football game. Yesterday we made that dream come true. We packed up the car and the three of us traveled the two hours to God's Country to see our Tigers play!
Cooper slept most of the way up and was in the best mood all day long!

On my way to see the Tigers play!

We arrived in Tiger Town and walked through a couple of stores downtown before heading to the tailgate. After tailgating with Pop, Travis, Kelly, Uncle John and Aunt Ginny we headed into the game.
We missed the Tigers running down the hill and kick off but enjoyed two quarters of the Tigers kicking some PC Blue Hose tail! Cooper stayed awake most of the time, just looking around. It was so fun just having Cooper with us in our favorite place! At halftime we left the game and went back downtown for a little while before heading home. It was a short trip but worth every second. We can't wait to take Cooper to Clemson for many years to come and hope he will share our love for the Tigers!

Back to reality...

This post is going to sound really pathetic and whiny and I'm sorry but I'm writing what I feel to have a documentation of our life at this very moment...

I can't believe it's already been 10 weeks since I met my precious Cooper. I can't believe my maternity leave is already coming to an end, I feel like my time with him just began. The last 10 weeks have been the best of my life and I have treasured each and every moment I've had with our sweet little boy. I have struggled emotionally every night this week just thinking about leaving him. I feel like leaving him is some sort of torture. I know that he's in good hands with Weezie and that it will be good for both of us to have a little time apart each week but that doesn't make this any easier. I only have to go to work for a couple of hours tomorrow and I hope this will break us both in a little. Monday will be the real deal, 12 hours of work, almost 14 hours away from my sweet boy. I hope everyone will be patient with me as I adjust to our new normal. I'm so thankful for Curtis, he is my rock and is so comforting and supportive. I know I could not do this without him by my side. Here's to hoping things go as well as possible over the next week..

Happy 2 Months!

My sweet Cooper,

I can't believe you are already 2 months old! Some days I feel like I just met you yesterday and other days I cannot remember a time without you. The last 2 months have gone by so fast and I wish I could just stop time. Here are a few things I want to remember about you these days...

• Your little personality is really beginning to shine these days. I love when your eyes lock with mine and you just grin. It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. You've started to make little cooing noises and sometimes it sounds like you're about to giggle.
• You love to snuggle and your daddy and I love that about you. It's one of our favorite times of each day.
• You love to be sitting up and look around the room, studying everything around you. You are getting better and better at holding your head up, you are so strong for such a little guy.
• Music and soft sounds seem to calm and comfort you. Miranda Lambert and ocean sounds are your favorites!
• You love to take a bath! You always look totally relaxed in your little tub. You smile and coo when the water is poured over you and cry every single night when we get you out!
• You do not like tummy time unless you are lying on mine or your daddy's chest. If we put you on the floor you kick and push with one side until you are on your side and roll over by accident.
• You are a great little traveler, you slept all the way to the beach and back on our trip last week!
• You have started to sleep longer at night which is so nice for mommy and daddy. You are usually in bed between 8 and 10 pm and sleep until 2-4 am then again until around 6-8 am.
• You and I have little outings each week just to get out of the house. Sometimes we have lunch with friends or go for walks, other times we just run to Target or Chick-fil-A to keep mommy from crawling the walls :)

We love you more than we ever thought possible. Having you is the best thing I have ever done and I tell people all the time that this is my favorite part of my life so far. Thank you for being such a sweet, precious baby. I can't wait to watch you grow up, but please take your time :)