Little Prince,
This month we enjoyed our first major holiday with you and I must admit, "Cooper" definitely topped our list of things we were thankful for! While your daddy and I reflected on the last four months with you, we were truly overwhelmed by how much joy you have brought to our lives. You, sweet boy, have made our lives infinitely better!!
My conversation with your daddy moved from reflecting over the last four months to what our hopes, dreams and prayers for your future look like. So today, I want to share my prayers with you. I think it's important for you to know that you have been lifted up in prayer since before you were even a twinkle in our eyes and now that you are here, well, Momma covers you NON-STOP with prayer... I pray over the big things and the completely unimportant small things. I pray over your physical and spiritual life... and I pray over absolutely silly, pointless things. I want to share my prayers with you, but please know that what I write today is in no way all encompassing. My list of prayers for you is endless... This is just a sampling.
I pray that...
1. First and foremost, you come to know, love and have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. More than good grades, great plays on the ball field or anything else you could possibly do - there is nothing we will be more proud of than for you to walk daily with the King of kings.
1. First and foremost, you come to know, love and have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. More than good grades, great plays on the ball field or anything else you could possibly do - there is nothing we will be more proud of than for you to walk daily with the King of kings.
2. When you get your first boo boo, owie, little hurt or whatever you choose to call it, that it isn't on your face. I know that sounds silly, but I literally pray that God breaks me in gently to you getting little injuries. I am quite confident I will cry over your first boo boo much more than you will. Please let me start with a skinned knee Lord, please.
3. You always feel incredibly loved. There is not a thing in the world that you could do to make us love you any less . We may discipline you or get frustrated with you, but our love for you will never, ever change. I pray that you always know that you are loved by your Mommy and Daddy and many, many more.
4. Somewhere out there some mommy and daddy are raising up a Godly, loving, fun, adventurous and intelligent daughter to be your wife. I know this may seem like I'm getting ahead of myself here, but some day you will know how incredibly important it is to find your perfect mate. Sweet boy of mine, I want to make sure that I pray over her too - she will be a very important part of our family some day! I pray that God protects her and guides her... and that she likes her mother in law!
5. You sleep! I am never irritated by the fact that you wake up multiple times a night because I was, and still am, a night person too. I've never needed much sleep so I get it. (Maybe God was just preparing me for you!) But sweet boy, Mommy would be a much better mommy if you'd just let her sleep just a little!
6. You will have the courage and strength to be a mighty leader. Life isn't always easy and sometimes making the right decision is hard, but if you are a leader, and not a follower, I have full confidence that you will follow your heart and make a positive impact on our family and everyone you come in contact with.
7. You will never be too big or too busy to love on and talk to your Momma. Son, you hung my moon and I pray, pray, pray that you never outgrow me. My relationship with you will be one of my most prized possessions and it is my great hope and prayer that it will always be a strong one. Sure I'll get on your nerves at times, but please know that I always have your best interest at heart.
8. I don't embarrass you to death when I constantly carry my camera around and take your picture... because it's going to happen and I'm not going to stop and no, I'm not sorry.
9. Our house is a home full of laughter and joy. I was blessed to grow up in such a happy home and I pray that you (and your someday siblings) will feel the same way about our house - I want to build a place that you look forward to coming home to, where your friends feel welcome and where you can be yourself - dirty shoes and all!
10. You grow up to be nice and tall. Superficial? Maybe just a touch, but trust me - girls like to wear heels and we want a boy that is a good couple of inches taller even when we are wearing heels. Sorry, it's just the truth.
11. You always remain a strong willed child. Crazy, I know, because strong willed children tend to be more difficult, but I pray that you stick to your guns from the get go. You see your daddy and I are going to do our best to raise you to be different - to be in the world but not of the world. Sweet boy, you are a child of God and therefore you are called to not be normal... Sometimes this is very, very hard but I pray that God gives you a strong will and great confidence to do what you believe is right despite the pressure of the world.
12. You always love books like you do right now. Reading is the key to education and when you unlock the door to education - well, everything else is on the other side of the door!
13. You grow up to be as handsome as your daddy. Your daddy is smokin' hot.
14. You get along well with your cousins. The relationships that I have with my cousins have brought me such incredible joy over the years - I pray that you and your cousins, near and far, get to enjoy that special bond as well.
15. You are kind and compassionate from the very beginning. Oh son, I pray these things for you so often because they are so important! We even talk about them together - we say, "Cooper is brave, strong, smart, kind, compassionate and an adventurer!" You think it's very funny... But it is and will always be one of my prayers for you - that you can see other people's hurts and that you will be brave enough to show them God's love through your kindness and compassion.
Again, these fifteen little things don't even begin to cover the gamut of prayers I have for you... I believe that our Heavenly Father knows and cares about our every desire - whether serious or silly. He wants us to tell him about it ALL - so that's exactly what I do - I let him know my every hope, desire, wish and pointless little thoughts that I have about you. Always know that He loves you... and so does your Mommy.
All my love,
Mommy
All my love,
Mommy
Four Month Milestones:
Eye Color - I think you are officially a hazel eyed boy! There is definitely some brown in there, but I'll see the occasional fleck of green and gray. Regardless of color, those big pretty eyes are a show stopper! Not to mention, your eyes are definitely the window to your little mind. You have the most expressive little eyes - you already give me the "Woman, you are crazy" look (I had hoped I wouldn't see that one until at least the teenage years). Happy eyes, sad eyes, crazy lady eyes, "I'm completely skeptical" eyes... Your little eyes and brows might be my favorite thing!
Weight - We had to go to the pediatrician this month because you got sick for the first time and they weighed you...Note: You were wearing jeans and a t-shirt, instead of naked like normal... Coming in at 16 pounds 10 ounces! Momma's arms are getting jacked!
Height - Long. We don't have your four month check up until after Christmas so I don't know exacts, but you are long. We are growing through pants every week, but you also have a long torso - this sometimes leaves you with a little bit of belly showing! Oops! Mommy tries her best to keep you from wearing crop tops but it happens occasionally. :/
Clothing - You wear 3-6 month clothes. If it says "3 Months" its going to be too small... and sometimes on things like one piece full body jammies you can wear a 6-12 month just fine! The 3-6 month full body jammies are too short, but you wear them anyway because they are pajamas - nobody will know! I also bought you the cutest little Polo snow suit and you got to wear it... but only for about 5 minutes because if I put it on our shoulders, it gave you a wedgie and if I pulled the pant legs down it about ripped your shoulders off... you didn't love it so it's been retired.
Nicknames - I still call you the Little Prince. Sweet little Evie pronounced your name as Coop-ah and now EVERYONE calls you Coop-ah! Daddy and I call you "Bubba" a lot too.
Sleep - Errr... You are completely hit or miss on sleeping. Two nights ago you woke up FIVE times (a new record) and then last night you only got up once! There is no rhyme or reason to this madness, you just do whatever your little heart desires. We did accidentally create a mini-monster by letting you sleep with us while you were sick (Yes, I knew better but you were whimpering in your sleep and I couldn't stand to not cuddle you!). Now you only want to sleep in our arms and the second we stick you in the crib you roll over (instantly, no exaggeration) and then you start screaming. Most of your night crying fits don't even require you to open your eyes! Crazy baby.
Hair - Umm, you need a hair cut. Your hair has to be combed just right or it covers your ears and the back needs a serious trim - you're currently well on your way to a mullet. I'm all for trimming it but everyone looks at me like I'm crazy when I suggest it. It's probably going to happen soon though if we can just get you to hold still for two seconds!
You were sick for the first time this month. Broke your mommy and daddy's heart! You ran a low grade temperature and I was sure it was a tooth coming through, but no tooth ever showed and your temperature kept rising. You skipped a couple of meals and then only took a very small feeding twice and I knew it was time to go see your doctor because you, sweet boy, never miss a meal! So after a quick trip to the pediatrician you were diagnosed with strep throat! Babies don't typically get strep throat, but you did! I felt so bad for not taking you in earlier, but all the symptoms - fever, crying when trying to eat, etc - were all the same as teething! Even when you clearly felt bad, you weren't bad. You cried a different cry and you would whimper in your sleep and want to be snuggled, but other than that you just acted a little numb. We were happy when the medicine kicked in, knocked out that yucky stuff and our happy baby returned!
Your survived your first Thanksgiving at the Ranch! We spent two nights and you were such a little trooper! Everyone wanted to hold you and you were passed from one person to the next but you didn't seem to mind one bit! (Gigi Tena was your primary holder as she isn't shy about stealing you away! She LOVES to hold you and you are always happy to be entertained with her and Coach!) You also played with Journey, Zoe and Blythe quite a bit - mainly you just watched them to see what all they were getting in to... Next Thanksgiving will be a mad house of happiness when you will have THREE new cousins to play with!
You are reaching for EVERYTHING - nothing is off limits! Everything is interesting to you and needs to be explored! You are also very interested in your toys... your favorites differ these days depending if you are in the mood for sound or not. You like your musical turtle and the little learning puppy that talks to you, but of course you always like Mortimor and Stretch. You've definitely been interested in a little Infantino ball that has a little monkey tied to it - that monkey's ear fits into your mouth perfectly!
We love Baby Yoga! You love to look at the other babies and you must think the exercises are very fun because you smile non-stop! We are the biggest baby (by age, we've been the literally the biggest for a long time!) now which makes me sad because I had enjoyed watching babies a little older than you so that I could know what to look forward to. Oh well, now we are leading the pack and that's fun too!
You are definitely going to be a talker. You talk non-stop! All I have to do is look at you and say "Tell me about it Coop" and you go to town! If we talk back to you in jibberish, you think it's hilarious and instantly start smiling and laughing. So fun! I can't wait to listen to what is on your little mind as your words start to form!
You are still a wonderful cuddler! YAY! You like to snuggle up on either one of us and it makes our day! You also aren't biased to your mommy and daddy, you're just fine to go sit with complete strangers (not that we let you do that, but you wouldn't mind!). Everywhere we go people want to hold you and you'll just go sit with them like a perfect little angel!
You continue to be a wonderful baby! There isn't anywhere that we feel that we can't take you. You sit in our lap during church (although you will start going to the nursery now that we've hit the four month mark) and rarely ever make a sound. You literally sit perfectly still and watch the game when we go cheer on Uncle Awesome and the Sooners. People are always in awe of how good you are - you're spoiling us!! We couldn't be more proud of our sweet boy!
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