We've been invaded!!!

Over 100 geese and a stork have decided to invade our backyard. I am thinking about charging them rent! I guess this is one of the drawbacks to having water behind your property. Canada Geese are disgusting and nasty! Let's just say there won't be any ladder golf in our backyard for a while.

On a positive note, my amusement for today was watching Corey chase the geese off of our property - it was a sight to be seen!

Visit from the FAM

Uncle Mike, Aunt Lura, Cassie and Seth stopped by the house today for a quick visit with Cooper, while on their way to drop Cassie off at school. It was great to see them as always!



We are very excited that Cassie goes to college so close which means she will be able to spend a lot of quality time with Cooper!

UVA vs USC - August 30, 2008

Here are pictures from the 1st "Bear Crawl Hill" tailgate of the UVA 2008 Football Season! This was Cooper's 1st UVA football tailgate. Unfortunately he did not make it to the game. Due to the heat Jeanie, Cooper, Maddie and I headed to the Hooville Motel to watch the game in the air conditioning. Corey, Jackie, Bob, Lindsay, Lee, Allie, and Rachel (Allie's college roommate) braved the heat for the Hoos. For this posting we will just focus on the tailgate and forget about the game. I think it got cancelled or at least we wished it had!

Cooper is 9 Weeks Old

Yesterday Cooper turned 9 weeks old!

Unfortunately we were not able to do our normal photo shoot since the subject of my photos was sick- so no pictures are available at this time. He was fussy, congested, not sleeping well, clinging to Mommy (would have nothing to do with Daddy) and only eating 2-3 ounces at a time. For those of you that have met him this is not our Cooper! So we went to the doctor's office to get him checked out. The doctor determined that he was allergic to his current formula and has acid reflux. She changed his formula to Nutramigen, so hopefully this will do the trick! On a side note, Cooper weighed 14 pounds 6.5 ounces. He is growing like a weed!!

Cooper's 2 Month Old Pictures

Weekend Update

Cooper and I hit the road this past weekend for a road trip to Martins Ferry, OH for my Great Aunt Marlene & Great Uncle Larry's 50th wedding anniversary celebration (Cooper's Great Great Aunt & Uncle). This was Cooper's first time out of the state of Virginia. To get to Ohio we had to go through Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He is now an experienced traveler visiting 5 states at the age of 2 months.


To break up the trip and to pick up MawMaw and Nana we spent the night at Nana and Gramp's house in Grafton, WV on Friday. It usually takes roughly 4 hours to get from our house to Grafton. Cooper slept the first 3 1/2 hours but then woke up ready for lunch and a quick diaper change. So I pulled over on the side of the road and fed the little man and changed his diaper. Which made our 4 hour trip turned into a 5 hour trip. Still not too shabby! Cooper did great!

Here is a picture of Cooper and MawMaw. This was the first time Cooper met his MawMaw!


Saturday morning we drove to Martins Ferry, OH which is 2 hours away. This time Nana and MawMaw were in tow with us to help with Cooper. When we arrived to Ohio we met our cousins Donnie and Trish for breakfast at Bob Evans. Yummy strawberry & banana stuffed pancakes!
We also met Ms. Martha - a random 92 year old woman that parked beside us taking up two spots and then left her car running while she was eating breakfast inside.

That night was the 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for Aunt Marlene & Uncle Larry!The party was very nice! There were 150 family and friends in attendance, tons of yummy food (Great job Susie!) and fantastic entertainment - One-A-Chord. We enjoyed the entertainment so much that we bought all three of their cds.



Also, at the 50th Anniversary Celebration Cooper met a lot of his extended family members:
Great Great Great Aunt Marie

Cousins- Donnie, Trish, Dorthea & Don Don; Terry; Susie, Rick, Caleb, Josh & Cassie; Little Larry & Michelle, Carol & Cecil, and Jimmie & Ruth Ann.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Aunt Marlene & Uncle Larry!
Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary Susie & Rick!


Sunday morning (11 am) we headed home. The first two hours were a breeze (Ohio to Grafton). However, I learned an important lesson - a 6 or 7 hour long drive (no matter how much you try to break it up) in one day is too long for a baby. Once we left Grafton, I had to stop 15 - 20 times in the first 2 hours to comfort Cooper while he was crying in the back seat. We did not get home until 10:30 that night. I was physically and emotionally exhausted!!

If you were wondering where Corey was this weekend...He had boys' weekend in Richmond, VA with Jake, Ant, Wombat, Damian, and Park.

Happy Birthday Cassie!

Milestones to Report

Milestone #1 - Cooper is 2 months old today! Where does the time go??? On one hand it seems like yesterday we were in the delivery room anxiously waiting for him to be born. Then on the other hand we can't remember what life was like without him nor do we want to.

Only two more weeks and then he is off to his first day of school...well daycare that is. However let's not talk about that because it makes AJ sad and stressed.

Milestone #2 - Cooper slept in his crib in the nursery all night by himself. Up until last night Cooper was sleeping right beside our bed in the bassinet (and we mean right beside - touching our bed). The weight limit on the bassinet is 15 pounds and we are guessing that Cooper is pushing this limit. Every time Cooper would move in the bassinet it would shake and rock. Not the safest sleeping arrangement anymore. So we decided it was time for Cooper to start sleeping in his crib. As you can imagine AJ was on pins and needles about this and Corey was relaxed and cool. The only thing that helped AJ get through the night was the knowing that the Angelcare Movement Sensor (Thanks to Rod, Charlene & Alex!) would detect if Cooper stopped breathing, moving, etc. - if you have a newborn or are expecting we would highly recommend this!

After a bath Cooper went down for the night at 9:00 pm. Corey woke him up at 12:00 am to give him a bottle and change his diaper. Cooper went right back down after that and did not make a peep until 5:45 this morning. Also, I think we should report Mommy and Daddy slept like rocks! This could be a very good thing!

Cooper's Busy Weekend

This past weekend was a busy one for Cooper!

On Saturday Aunt Lindsay, Maddie and Allen spent the day with Cooper. Cousin Maddie is still in awe of Cooper and wants to help with anything that has to do with him. Maddie held, fed, was on binky patrol and pushed Cooper in his stroller - she was a big helper! Also, every time she walks by Cooper she has to kiss him (if she walks past him 20 times in 2 minutes she will kiss him 20 times) - it's too cute!

On Sunday Uncle Aaron visited his favorite nephew. Uncle Aaron taught Cooper "Patty Cake" (well most of it anyway) and we were lucky enough to catch it with the video camera. As you can see, Cooper loves "Patty Cake"! Now we just need to teach Uncle Aaron the remaining verses. Haha!

Cooper is very lucky to have an aunt, an uncle and a cousin that love him very much!

Cooper is 7 weeks old...

One day he looks like Daddy and the next day he looks like Mommy!

Cooper's 6 Week Check Up

Cooper had his 6 week check up appointment last week. He is growing like a weed! He now weighs 12 pounds 4.5 ounces (97th percentile), is 23 1/2 inches long (97th percentile) and his head circumference is 15 1/2 inches (70th percentile). Not too shabby!

Plus he is eating 6 ounces at each feeding and probably would eat 7 or 8 if we gave it to him. He's a big boy! He gets his last bottle at 11 or 12 each night and does not wake up until 4 0r 5 for the next feeding. We are very lucky to have a sleepy head!

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

Cooper - 6 Weeks Old

Cooper & Kings Dominion

On Friday August 1st Cooper went to Kings Dominion for our 2nd annual Thompson family day. He met his Great Uncle Chris, Great Uncle Mike, Great Aunt Stacy, Great Aunt Lura, cousins - Cassie, Seth, Campbell, Ryan and Ashley. He also got to see his family favorites Nana, Gramps, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Lee, and cousin Allie.

It was a little too hot for Cooper, so he spent the afternoon at the hotel with Nana and Gramps while Mommy and Daddy got to ride the rides. Here is a picture of Cooper exhausted and hot.
It was a fun day with the family!!! Can't wait till next year!

Cooper and Daddy having a laugh

Daddy's having a little fun with his video editing software too...

Is it football season yet...

Cooper is ready for UVA Football Season!

We have been practicing the Good 'Ole Song - I think he almost has it.
He definitely was "Born to be a HOO", but like he had any choice!