The JOY of LOVE: day 09

Things are getting a little out of chronological order from when I actually took these pictures but some of these assignments are requiring a little planning and sometimes assistance :)

Day 9's assignment from willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "passions/hobbies." Since Cooper is only 7 months old this assignment was a little difficult for me. There are lots of things Cooper likes to play with and do but I wouldn't call them a passion or hobby. So, instead I changed it up a bit. Since a passion or hobby is something someone LOVES to do, that's what I chose to capture.

On Valentine's Day Cooper received a swing from his Grammy and Pop (my parents). He had never been in a swing other than his infant swing when he was smaller. The weather here was gorgeous the week of Valentine's Day, perfect for swinging outside. Cooper was thrilled! He was laughing and smiling the entire time he was swinging, He absolutely LOVES to swing! I would definitely call it his new "passion/hobby."

the JOY of LOVE: day 15

Today's assignment from willette's {the JOY of LOVE} was "kiss." I absolutely love how excited Cooper and Curtis get to see one another. Whether they have been apart a week or just 8 hours while Curtis works, their love and excitement over seeing one another is the same. Curtis always holds Cooper, gives him a hug and a kiss when he gets home. It's so precious and I love the smiles on their faces!

the JOY of LOVE: day 13

Today's prompt from willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "routines." We started trying to get Cooper into a routine early on. I liked to know that we kind of had a schedule that we could plan around. Sleep is so important for babies for so many reasons and it's important for parents too :) When Cooper is at home with us we usually start our day with breakfast and then some play time. After he has been awake for about 2 hours, it's time for nap. This is just a small part of our daily routine that includes eating, playing and napping. We do lots of other things but we work those in between! I love nap time for many reasons, but mainly because it offers the promise of a much happier baby :)

the JOY of LOVE: day 12

Today's assignment from willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "the eyes." When I was pregnant I thought about our baby all the time. How would he or she look? What would their personality be like? As long as our baby was healthy I didn't care what they looked or acted like. The only thing I did really want was for our baby to have eyes like their daddy. I cannot get enough of those icy blue eyes. Lucky for me, Cooper has those same baby blues.  They change shades of blue all the time but really pop when there is a lot of light or if he is wearing blue. I absolutely LOVE his eyes!

the JOY of LOVE: day 10

Today's assignment from willette's {the JOY of LOVE} was "space - where they are comfortable." Cooper loves to play and anyone who has visited our home lately can tell that our den has turned into a playroom of sorts. We have a large container of toys hidden behind our club chair but some things are not so easily hidden. Santa gave Cooper a Baby Einstein Musical Motion Jumper for Christmas this year and he has the best time playing in it. He loves all of the lights, sounds and music that are all at an arms reach. When he gets really excited he jumps so hard that sometimes I worry he's going to hurt himself! This is the one place that seems to keep him entertained for a prolonged period of time. I'm sure over the next couple of months his "space" will drastically change as he gets more mobile. But until then, here's our sweet boy in his space...

the JOY of LOVE: day 07

Today's assignment for willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "Generations." I have TONS of pictures of Cooper with both sets of his grandparents and with his great-grandparents. I took this picture right before I started this workshop but it is one of my absolute favorites. Cooper was just about to fall asleep and he and my Grandmom look so peaceful and relaxed, her eyes are even closed in this photo. I am so happy that Cooper has 2 sets of grandparents and 1 set of great-grandparents to get to know as he grows up. I hope that there will be many more pictures like this over the years.

the JOY of LOVE: day 06

Today's assignment for willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "who they love." While Cooper has lots of people that love him and that he loves in return, no one really compares to our miniature schnauzer, Griffin. Over the last couple of months Cooper has become increasingly aware and interested in Griffin. He watches Griffin where ever he goes and before long I have a feeling he will be following him where ever he goes. Cooper loves to pet Griffin and pull on his beard and tail. Griffin as started getting pretty comfortable with Cooper as well. He even tries to sit on Cooper's lap! Cooper giggles whenever Griffin licks him or brushes by him. This is one boy who loves his dog!

the JOY of LOVE: day 04

Today's assignment for willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "what they wear." Cooper wears lots of different styles of clothes depending on what our plans are for the day. If he is just going to Weezie's I try to put him in comfortable clothes that make changing/feeding/napping, etc very easy! If Curtis dresses Cooper he is most likely to have on some type of Clemson apparel. One day Curtis brought him to see me at work and Cooper was wearing a Clemson onsie, bib, hoodie, hat and socks! He also had a Clemson burp cloth in tow! At least the man is trying to raise his son as a TIGER fan :)

As much as I love the Clemson clothes and cute little cotton pants and jackets, my favorite clothes to dress Cooper in are traditional Southern boys clothes! I love little John Johns with smocking and appliques, and little Polo Ralph Lauren outfits are also among my favorites. I figure, boys have the rest of their lives to dress like a man in a collared shirt and tie, why not dress him like a baby while I can? Anyway, this is a precious outfit we got in Dillon at my great-aunt's children's clothing store. It's by Boys N Berries and has a little dog on the left lower leg.

I love all of these little outfits and I just hope I can keep dressing him like this at least for a little while! I know that before long it will be khakis, Carharts, jeans, camo and t-shirts!

the JOY of LOVE: day 03

Today's assignment for willette's {the JOY of LOVE} is "Then and Now." It's hard to believe that Cooper is 7 months old. He has grown and changed so much over the last 7 months, it's difficult to remember how small he once was. Cooper only weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces when he was born and as of this week he is up to a whopping 20 pounds 15 ounces! These pictures are of my 2 of my favorite people in the world and really show how much Cooper has changed in such a short amount of time!

Curtis & Cooper
Just days after coming home from the hospital in July and now!

the JOY of LOVE: day 02

Today's assignment for willette's {the JOY of LOVE}  is "how they look." The goal was to capture our loved one at their best, their worst or both, whatever "look" we love. Some of my favorite moments with Cooper are first thing in the morning. When we go in to get him out of his crib he is always happy, smiling and sweet. He always has a little color in his cheeks, his hair is a mess and his little eyes still look a bit tired. These days we never know what Cooper is going to be doing when we get to his room. One day this week he had his "Nancy Blanket" completely covering his head and he was just cooing away. Many days we find him playing with his feet or on his tummy repeatedly patting the mattress.

How he looks...

Good morning sunshine!

Happy 7 Months!

We have had quite a busy month and so has Cooper! I cannot believe how quickly he learns new things, it seems like he changes every single day! Our little family finally appears to be on the mend after a month filled with sickness. It has snowed 2 times this month, once enough to shut down schools, government offices and even the clinic where I work for a couple of days. We enjoyed the extra family time but by the time the snow and ice melted we all had a bit of cabin fever. Here is a little bit of what Cooper has been up to this month:

• We finished physical therapy! We are going to miss our therapist Rachel but we are soo thankful to be finished with that chapter of our lives!
• Cooper was cleared by the "helmet lady"
• We had a great check up at the beginning of the month. Cooper weighed 19 pounds 5 ounces and was 26 3/4 inches long! Dr. Delaney said he was right on track!
• A couple of days after our well checkup is when all the illness began! We spent the next 3 weeks back and forth to the pediatrician and even ended up on albuteral nebulizer treatments by the end of the month. We experienced Cooper's first drug allergy to amoxicillin, started omnicef and finished out the month on azithromycin for his various infections. Lucky for us, Cooper only acted like he felt bad a couple of days out of those 3 weeks.
• Cooper went for a ride in a buggy for the first time in our favorite store, Target! He held on for dear life but smiled and looked around the entire time. He has continued to ride now when we go to the grocery store and I think he rather enjoys it! There's lots to look at and of course, plenty of pretty ladies shopping to smile at.
• Cooper attended his very first birthday party! We celebrated Caitlyn's birthday on January 9 and had a wonderful time!
• He still naps a couple of times a day for me and sleeps wonderful at night unless he is sick. 
• Cooper is eating 5-6 times a day, usually a fruit and rice cereal in the morning, a veggie and fruit at lunch and dinner and 4-5 bottles a day.
• He still loves to suck his thumb and is now refusing a pacifier for the most part.
• He sleeps snuggled up to his "Nancy Blanket" and upon being placed in his crib he immediately puts his left thumb in his mouth and reaches for the blanket with the right. It's precious!

Well I'm sure I've forgotten a few things but we've had a crazy busy month and another one is about to begin! I can't believe how fast time is passing, but we are enjoying every minute with this precious boy and are looking forward to all that is to come!

the JOY of LOVE: day 01

Today marks the beginning of willette {classic children's portraiture} the joy of LOVE online workshop! I have been looking forward to this since Kelly announced the class on her blog a couple of weeks ago. Each day she emails participants an assignment/prompt for capturing the one's we love photographically. She also sends out video tutorials and tips to help improve your photography. I'm hoping that over the next month I will learn a lot about how to capture better photos of our family and it will keep me on track with my One Frame A Day project.
Today's assignment was "what they do." So we were to capture our "love" doing what they do, whether it be working, playing, sleeping, eating, whatever! Right now Cooper is teething and so one of his favorite things to do is chew! Uncle Edwin and Aunt Linda gave him Sophie the Giraffe for Christmas and he is in LOVE! He plays with her, throws her and most important, chews on her!! Here are a few pictures I got of Cooper doing one of his favorite things!

There is still time to sign up if you are interested, the class is a rolling/open enrollment for the month of February. Just click here to sign up for {the JOY of LOVE}!