Happy 9th Birthday, Cooper!

It's so hard to believe that my little CooperDog is now 9 years old.  I love this little guy.  This is the first year the kids have finally taken a strong interest in the dog.  Happy Birthday, Cooper!!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Cooper

Happy Birthday to my first baby.  When we first brought Cooper home he was just 10 weeks old.  He was so tiny, hence the name Cooper (after the mini Cooper).  You're the best dog a girl could ask for.  Love you, Cooper!

Cloudy Sunday Morning

Now that fall is officially here, the cold cloudy mornings have arrived.  Normally this makes me want to stay in bed under the covers.  But, instead on this Sunday morning, it made me want to go out and take pictures.  Cloudy days are the best for picture taking because the lighting is very uniform, no need to worry about shadows! :)  So I dragged each one of my kids out of the house (and in the middle of the street) so mommy could take pictures!  This was really early in the morning and we live on a very small street (I wouldn't recommend doing this normally).

Preparing for Father's Day

While randomly surfing the web, I came across these white wooden letters that could be used for photos. I immediately thought it'd be perfect to use for Father's Day.  I ordered these letters from Etsy.  It took a few weeks to arrive, but good thing I planned ahead.  I ordered 2 sets: one for DAD and one for MOM.  I haven't done anything with the MOM letters yet but will hopefully soon.

I spent about less than 30 minutes with both kids and the dog.  I still haven't found the best photo collage/stitch software to put it all together, but will hopefully soon.  I took photos with individual letters as well as all three.  I'm hoping to print them on canvas prints one day and hang them in our room. :)

Cooper's 7th Birthday

Every year for Cooper's birthday, I like to get him a birthday bone and have him pose for a picture with his birthday hat.  It's almost cruel for him to have to sit and wait while mommy takes pictures when all he wants to do is devour the bone.

Happy Birthday to my first baby, Cooper!

Man's Best Friend

I always wondered what it'd be like to grow up with a dog in the family.  I'm so happy that my kids get to experience just that.  Austin has taken a strong interest in Cooper lately.  He likes walking Cooper by holding onto Cooper's leash and also likes giving Cooper hugs by leaning his head on Cooper.  I hope they continue to grow as best friends in the years to come.

Happy 6th Birthday, Cooper!

Every year we celebrate Cooper's birthday with a special birthday treat and picture in a birthday hat.  I can't believe this hat has survived yet another year.  Happy Birthday to my first baby!  Thank you for all your unconditional love.  We love you!

My Four-Legged Son

With two kids things can get kind of hectic but I still try to make time for my first baby. Today, I decided to give Cooper a little photoshoot. Doesn't it look like he's actually smiling (the squinty eye kind)?

Happy 5th Birthday Cooper

It's hard to believe that my first baby is already 5. Happy Birthday to the best four-legged friend a family could ask for. Thanks for putting up with our hectic life! Love you, Cooper!!!

Tripod Fun

I've had this wonderful tripod that's been sitting in my closet until now. I didn't have an occasion to use it previously, but always knew I wanted one. Since I'm home on maternity leave I find that I have more time to play around with my tripod, plus I want more pictures of me with the new baby. =)

It was so easy to use. I'll definitely be playing around with it more!

A Day in the Park

For the past two Father's Day, we've been lucky to establish a tradition of having a Father's Day picnic in the park. And this year was no different. This was, however, the first year we tried to bring Cooper along as well. He really enjoyed the fresh air! :)

Cooper's 4th Birthday

My little puppy (not really a puppy anymore) turned 4 today. Every year I go to Five Paw Bakery to pick up a birthday bone for Cooper's birthday. They give away free personalized bones for your dog's birthday! =) This year, however, I was sad to learn that the couple that has been running this place for the last 8 years is selling their business. I hope the next owners will be just as great.

A picture with both Kaiya and Cooper proved harder to take than I thought.

Lazy Cooper

Cooper really enjoys visiting my parents house. He gets lots of good food and love. This is how he enjoyed a lazy Christmas Eve morning.

Lunch with Cooper

I thought I'd do something different for lunch today so I went out to lunch with Cooper. Pasta? in downtown Mountain View was perfect since they have plenty of outdoor seating and I was craving a salad. Cooper enjoyed some random breadcrumbs here and there as well. :)

Filamena

A few months back my family went on a trip with our good friends, Margaret & Nitin, and their beautiful dog Filamena. Filamena is a rescue dog with such a loving heart. Gotta love her smile! :)

Cooper-Dog

Cooper is my 3 year old lhasa-apso/poodle/chihuahua mix. He gets mistaken for a bichon quite a bit, but he's just your basic adorable mutt. The strange thing is when we got him as a puppy his nose was all black but now it's turned pink. I still haven't figured out why that happened. Oh well...