2 Months

***Disclaimer: I know I am not in any of these pictures. I am not one to take selfies and most days I don't even get out of my pajamas. I am working on it. Plus Spencer is way more photogenic than I am so let's just enjoy how good-looking he is.

Cooper Scott turned 2 months old yesterday! He had an appointment and got his first set of immunizations. He was such a champ. He had one good scream in a, "What the H guys?" fashion, then he was fine. Last night though, around 1am, he woke up screaming. I knew immediately that this wasn't a normal cry. I couldn't get him to calm down for anything, not even eating and that always does the trick. It totally broke my heart. I had Spencer run downstairs and get our thermometer and he had a fever of 101.6 - which totally freaked me out because we are supposed to call the Dr. if it is 100.4 or above. So it seemed really high. Once I got a hold of a pediatrician they told me that this was normal after shots and his fever was low grade. Phew. Luckily I had picked up some Infant Tylenol at the store earlier and the Dr. gave me the go-ahead to give him a small dose. By this time Spencer had calmed him down enough to give him medicine and he was much better. His fever went down within minutes, but he still looked kind of helpless. I guess we all felt that way for a minute. He has been doing great today and his fever hasn't gone back up so I am feeling better about it all.

At the Dr. yesterday 

Size:

-We had a mix up with our insurance with our move to Logan so Coop couldn't get into his 1 month appointment until he was 6 weeks old. At his 6 week appointment he weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 21". (In my last post I said we thought he was over 8lbs. Turns out our scale is wrong... I really hope it is telling me I weigh more than I actually do as well.) This put him in the 2nd percentile. Little guy. I was pretty worried and made it my goal to convince the kid to eat more.

 -At his 2 month appointment yesterday he weighed 9 lbs 2.5 oz and was 21 3/4". This put him in the 5th percentile for weight and 6th percentile for height. Woop woop! (Fun fact: His head gcircumfrence is in the 17th percentile. - That might be the only trait he got from me, a disproportionately gigantic head.)
-He is still in newborn clothes but he has started to fill some things out really well and will grow out of them soon. He has graduated to size one diapers though. #babygotback

Development:
-Smiles. The best thing in the whole world is seeing my boy smile at me. Almost makes me forget how much I hated being pregnant. Almost. Why can't the Stork be a real thing? I will try to get the video of him smiling on here. Or you can find it on my Instagram. 
-He is reaching for stuff and grabbing things. Usually not both at once.
-His neck gets stronger and stronger everyday. He does so good keeping it up. Most of the time it feels like he if he isn't holding it up it is more out of apathy than lack of strength. 
-He is cooing and making the cutest baby noises. He also grunts and snorts an obnoxious amount. Can't win them all.
Nicknames: 
We are still using the same ones I mentioned from his 1 month post (CP1, Little Tiny, etc), however when you are in diapers and your name rhymes with pooper you are bound to be called all sorts of really kind nicknames from those who have to clean it up. (I.E. Cooper Poop, Pooper Scoop, etc.)
Likes:
-MamaRoo
Guys. This thing. I know it is expensive. It was honestly pretty out of character for me to make a purchase like this. But after looking at product after product of big, clunky, and UGLY swings, I was sorely tempted to get this one. When Spencer gave me the go ahead I didn't take much more convincing. I think of 4Moms as the Apple Products of baby gear. I wish I could have their whole line of products. The MamaRoo is so sleek looking, doesn't take up much space, and is light enough for me to carry up and down the stairs if I need to. It has 5 different motions with a range of speeds, pre-loaded noises and even an iPod hook up to play your own music from it's speakers. It is awesome. Cooper loves it. It doesn't have puppies or flowers or ugly "baby" patterned fabrics. It is machine washable. It isn't an eyesore. I can't say enough about it. If you are going to splurge on one baby item this is it. It is worth the $$$.

-Ceiling fan
Have you ever been jealous of an inanimate object|? Because I am on the daily. We have 2 ceiling fans in our house one in mine and Spencer's room (where Cooper sleeps still) and one in the living room. He is obsessed. As soon as he notices it he stares at it for hours and will crane his neck to keep looking when I carry him around. And the thing is is that they aren't even turned on, not the fan, not even the lights (I have to turn it off so it doesn't bother his eyes.). Just plain old not-spinning ceiling fans. I even catch him smiling at it. All. The. Time. I spend hours a day trying to get the kid to smile at me and all it takes is some imitation-wood spokes on the ceiling. I give up.  

-Baths
How do I not have a picture of him in the bath yet?!

He still loves a good bath. He has never disliked them but I would have to keep pouring water on him or he would get sad when he started to feel cold. Now I put a wet washcloth on him during his baths like a blanket and he is so happy through the whole thing. I hope he always likes them because nothing is better than a nice clean naked baby!

-Church
Cooper is notoriously (knock on wood) really well behaved at church. Well, to be fair he naps through most of it. You and I both Coop amirite? This picture was in the Mother's Room during Sacrament Meeting (Which, by the way, has to be one of the top 10 perks of motherhood, at least) and he was just so happy. I couldn't catch a picture of him smiling but he clearly knew that the Mother's Room was a privilege that he would only get to participate in for a short amount of time in his life. He was drinking it in. Feel free to drink in the cuteness of his shirt and tie. I sure do.

Dislikes:
-Being taken out of the bath
I have also been one to stay in a bath or shower way longer than necessary just because I know how cold I will feel as soon as I step out. I don't blame the kid
-His crib or bassinet
Still hates them. He sleeps in his MamaRoo mostly and sometimes I will pull him into bed with me as long as I can do it without Spencer noticing. 
-Fevers, apparently.

1 Month

Cooper turned one month today! Time goes by so much quicker when you aren't pregnant! I will post about when he was born eventually but long story short I was induced two weeks early because I had preeclampsia - which was so weird to me because my blood pressure stayed so low during almost my whole pregnancy - even lower than it is normally - but then it shot up at the end. I did pray he would come early because I was SO miserable and uncomfortable so be careful what you wish for I guess. After a 15 hour labor (2 hours pushing) he was born on April 19 at 10:06 am. 6 lbs 9 oz and 19" long.

The first week of Coop's life was so crazy for the three of us. At his first checkup at four days old we found out he had jaundice and had lost too much weight. (He went down to 5 lbs 13 oz - about 12%) His pediatrician recommended we supplement with formula until he was back to his birthweight and we had to put Cooper under bilirubin lights at home. This totally broke my heart. The last thing I wanted was to give my baby formula and on top of that I wasn't allowed to hold him. He had to stay under the lights at all times except for changing his diaper and feedings. I will never be so excited for a messy diaper again! We also had to go get his blood drawn at the hospital once a day.

Oh and did I mention we had to move that week? Yeah that too. Spencer's work sent us to Logan and we had less than a week to pack up and move. I was so stressed and totally a wreck the whole week. Luckily we have the best friends in Provo who helped us so much that it made the week so much easier. It made it harder for me to leave though, because I realized how great of a support system we had in Provo and I didn't want to leave that safety net especially with a new baby. My Mom was also there for us through all of it and I wouldn't have survived the week without her.

Once we got settled in Logan everything got a ton easier. We got to return Coopers bili lights and he got back to his birthweight before he was 2 weeks. The only thing that went wrong was a clogged tear duct but I massaged it every couple hours and it went away within a day. After my Mom left Spencer's parents and three of his siblings came to visit and we took a little trip to Idaho Falls to meet Great Grandma Pingel.

He looks so old in this picture I can't handle it- look at all that hair!

Size:

- We haven't taken him to his month checkup yet (because apparently our insuarance doesn't work in Logan) but from our scale at home he is about 8 lbs 5 oz. I get so torn watching him grow because it's exciting but I have teared up a time or two knowing he will never be a six and a half pound newborn again. 

- He is still in newborn size clothes and diapers and some of his newborn things are huge on him. He probably could have fit into preemie stuff at first. We didn't buy hardly any newborn size things because we thought he would be a big baby but luckily we were given lots of hand me downs. 

Nicknames:

I mostly call him "Little Tiny" and sometimes "Snuggle Baby". Names get progressively cheesier when you don't speak to an adult for 12 hours at a time everyday. Spencer calls him C. S. Pingel or C.S.P. for short. (Think C. S. Lewis.) We also call him CP1 sometimes. (Think Chris Paul.)

Development:

- He has been able to roll onto his sides from the beginning and he prefers to sleep on his side.

- He can lift his head really well and last night he held it up for over ten seconds.

- He is focusing on faces really well but hasn't had any social smiles yet.

- His Mom and Dad manipulation skills are top notch. 

Dislikes:

- Not being held. He gets mad if you set him down for even a second. I don't have a swing, bouncer, or a baby carrier yet so this has been sort of a struggle.

- Diaper changes. I think the first time he peed on his face during a change scarred him for life and he panics everytime we change him. The only thing he hates more than changes is sitting in a wet or messy diaper so I have to just go for it and hope he doesn't pee on himself or me during the process

- Tummy time. Even though he does awesome and has a strong neck he is not a fan.

- His bassinet. We have his pack and play set up by our bed with a bassinet attachment and it is his least favorite thing ever. He has slept in it once for an hour and it was a miracle. He always ends up next to me in our bed. He especially gets mad when he wakes up and realizes I put him in there while he was asleep. It is the ultimate betrayal to him. 

Likes:

- Cuddling. 

- His lion wubbanub pacifier that we call Simba. If you plan on using a pacifier for your baby these are awesome! It is a soothie pacifier attached to a little stuffed animal. The regular pacis fall out of his mouth constantly but the little stuffed animal sits on his chest and he grabs into it and it stays in his mouth. They come in a bunch of different animals and the convenience is so worth how tacky they look haha. I want to order a couple more because they are so awesome.

- Being swaddled. He calms down almost instantly when we put him in his miracle blanket swaddle. We also have SwaddleMes and just regular swaddle blankets but the miracle blanket is almost impossible for him to break out of if we get it nice and tight.

- Baths. He gets kind of mad when he first gets wet but once he realizes the warm water feels good he calms down and loves it. He hates when we take him out.

- Car rides. We even drove 2 and a half hours to Idaho Falls and he was so chill in his car seat. He slept almost the whole way.

- Naps with Dad. I am also obsessed with this. Melts my heart to see Spenc and his mini-me all snuggled up. 

23 and Pregnant

So turns out a lot of life has happened between when I graduated and now so here goes nothing...

First of all, shortly after graduating we got kicked out of BYU housing and got to go through the super fun process of trying to find housing in Utah Valley. We really lucked out and some friends of ours needed to get out of their lease and had the cutest place!

It's a house of our own, with a big front and backyard. It really feels like a mansion compared to the places we have lived since we got married. Not to mention no laundromats. My favorite part is the jetted bath tub!

Spencer is still working at Vivint and loving it. I worked there for most of the summer but now work for a Chiropractor in Orem. In October we got to go to a Chiropractic conference in New Jersey with the two other girls I work with. So obviously we spent all of our down time in NYC!

I have zero good pictures from the trip but the frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity is seriously to die for!

We found out that we are expecting a couple weeks before the trip, and I was really concerned because I had morning sickness really badly. It was a miracle because I wasn't sick the whole trip! It was just for a weekend but Spencer gave me a blessing that I could get through it. Of course as soon as I got back it was right back to sick everyday. A few weeks into my second trimester I got over my morning sickness, and at 16 weeks we decided to get an early gender ultrasound done. We were both really anxious to find out because it didn't seem real yet to us so we went to an OB office in Provo that does early checks for $45. Spencer wasn't with me but was going to meet me for dinner right afterward. 

That's when we found out we were having a girl. I was a little bit concerned because not only was it four weeks early, but she never really showed me any girl parts, just that she couldn't see anything between the legs. The ultrasonographer assured me that she was 100% sure. We both wanted a boy, so I was a little worried that Spenc would be disappointed. He was so sweet and way excited when I told him. I tried to be sneaky and show him all the other pictures first and not show him the gender until last. But I totally screwed it up and said "Here's her little hand!" Whoops. 

It was really fun to know the gender and we started to plan things out. We her name picked out and we both loved it. We bought a couple outfits and got a really nice pink stroller as a Christmas present from Spencer's boss. My Mom had a really hard time not showing me all the Christmas presents she had for her. Fast forward a month and we are at our 20 week ultrasound. We told the ultrasonographer about our early gender check but she asked us not to tell her. After going through a ton of things on the ultrasound, I think Spencer must have gotten bored because he was looking down at his phone when she pulled up this photo and typed B-O-Y. I immediately started crying and asking if she was sure. She showed us a couple more shots and it was definitely a boy. (I really should stop asking ultrasonographers if they are sure.) Spencer was so happy and just laughed as I cried and said "Oh no!" over and over, but eventually started laughing along with him. Of course this would happen. That night I got to tell everyone that I was not, in fact having a girl. I can already see my brothers teasing my poor little guy when he's in high school for this one.  

That definitely threw us for a loop. My Mom showed me all the outfits she had to return, and we still need to exchange our pink stroller. Luckily as I shopped around for baby outfits I didn't like hardly any of the girl stuff. It was all to pink and frilly. I think baby boy clothes are way cuter. Not so luckily we have had a really hard time deciding on a name. There are a few that I like, but none that I really love. So I'm stressing way hard about it. 

Yeah, we have 20 nike onesies, 26 pairs of nike socks, and 2 pairs of nike shoes. Overboard? Nah.

So that's about where we're at now. We got spoiled at Christmas and got lots of baby stuff that we really need. Even though the ultrasound pictures are pretty clear, I still have a really intense fear that at my next ultrasound they will tell me its a girl. That would be so humiliating to go through again. Oh, and I just turned 23! That feels like a good age to have a baby, right? 

Pomp & Circumstance

Oh hey look what I did!

So this has been an awesome weekend! I graduated BYU with my BS in Exercise and Wellness, and let me tell you, I am so pumped to not be in school anymore! My Mom came down for the weekend and spoiled Spencer and I rotten by taking us out to dinner and helping me clean and organizing our apartment. (Which is kind of embarrassing to admit but I had been slacking with finals and everything. Luckily Spencer likes to clean or we would have been in trouble.)

 After graduation we had a graduation party for me and my cousin Emily and got to spend time with family that we hardly ever get to see. I made this cake, and I do realize how lame it is to make a cake for your own party, but it was Emily's party too so let's just say I made it for her, cool?

It is a red velvet cake but instead of red coloring I used blue, obviously. I used this recipe that I found on Pinterest. I made cream cheese buttercream frosting and kind of just made it up as I went. For the logo I did a buttercream transfer of the BYU logo. Since it was just one color it was way easier than the one I made for Spencer's birthday.

Other big news... I got asked to be a bridesmaid! Two of my best friends from high school, Tyler and Kylie, are marrying each other! I am really excited because they are two of my closest and most loyal friends and I can't wait to be part of their big day! Kylie was one of my bridesmaids at my wedding.  

(She is to my right, or left of me while looking at the picture.)

And here's a picture of us a couple summers ago when we drove to Huntington Beach all the way from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

(Kylie, Tyler, Me, and Nick in the front.)

I better stop before I post a million pictures, but needless to say I'm excited. I'm also excited to have enough time to blog again so stay tuned for more posts coming your way!

That Time Spencer Got A Haircut