Easter Egg Hunt

We had our 2nd annual Easter Egg hunt with our church play group this morning. The weather was PERFECT!!!! Much better than last, although last year was sunny and nice it was also chilly. Cooper was much more into it this year and had blast. Last year it was at Perrin Park but they don't officially open until April 1st, which I think means their playground is open, I don't know. We improvised and had it behind our church, which despite the construction zone turned out perfect. The eggs were hidden in the open field and the parking lot was blocked off for all the kids to ride their tricylces and toy cars.

We invited Allie & Sharon to join us again this year. Click here to read about last year. Allie was only about 7 months old so didn't get to enjoy it as much as she did this time around. They are exactly 10 months apart so she is now at the age Cooper was last year. You can also tell how cold it was because she was so bundled up. As a side note, most of these pics Cooper has his eyes closed because of the sun. The whole way to church and waiting for all the kids to show up he kept asking for the "Easter Hunt", so he was pretty excited when it was time to start.

He wanted to open all the eggs before putting them in his basket. Luckily there were over 200 eggs and mostly small children. He wouldn't make it in a community egg hunt with pushy kids.

I had a few people comment to me how much he seems to be coming out of shell. For example, he is playing away from me in this picture. They also commented on how much more he seems to be talking. They couldn't believe it. It's great to hear that, I worry a lot about him socially. I was shy as a child too and know how hard it can be to make friends. I like to see him play more and have fun on his own.

I wanna look like Daddy

I tried to fix Cooper's hair like Steve's this morning, it's just way too fine. This is about the best I could do. It's still cute, don't ya think?

We will do anything for entertainment

So the only bad thing about warmer spring weather, are the rainy cold days. Cooper doesn't quite understand how we can spend the 3 or 4 days playing outside then have to stay inside for 3 more. This is when we have to start getting creative again. We broke out the tunnel game. Steve thought of this over the winter months and it a huge hit in our house. We place the tunnel on the couch and let Cooper stand behind the couch and throw his Little People and animals down the tunnel. We originally did this with a chair but he fell out and hit is head on our kitchen floor a couple months ago so I stopped doing that. Now we use the step stool. Which works even better for me because he can bend down and get his own animals.

This is just snap shot of our floor when we are all done. This isn't any where near the amount of animals he has, it's just the ones that landed close together.

WOW!!!

I just sat down with Cooper to play with his Leap Frog magnetic letters on the refrigerator. He recognized 19 out of 25 letters. Some of the ones he struggled with were N & Z, I think b/c sometimes when playing he doesn't pay attention to how he is holding them, therefore they look the same.

Yes, I realize there are 26 letters but I can't find W.

It's only Tuesday?

It's only Tuesday night and already we have had a c-razy week. It started around 6:00 am on Monday morning when Steve woke up with lower back and side pain. At first he thought maybe he slept on his back wrong but after getting up and trying to walk around he quickly realized it was more serious. He had me call his parents to put them on stand by that we may need them to come over and watch Cooper while we go to the doctor. Once on the phone he changed his mind and asked them to go ahead and head over. He couldn't even stand or walk at this point and even sitting down he was doubled over. While waiting for them to get here the pain was so bad he even got sick. Finally around 7:00 they showed up and he said he would prefer them to take him while I stayed home with Cooper. I really wanted to be there with him just in case it was something serious, but later he explained his reasoning. Cooper tends to get a little "out of sorts" and hyper if he gets off his routine and Steve was afraid if his parents were here all day and then we came home it would be chaotic and he wasn't for sure how he would feel. So then it did make a little sense and maybe he just didn't want me to see him in that much pain. Anyway, the only place open was the ER, luckily no one was in there so they took him back right away. Between Steve & his mom they called a few times to keep me updated. They got him back and started an IV, the doctor seemed to think it was a kidney stone but needed more tests. After a CAT scan they did confirm it was a kidney stone and thankfully it was passable size and right on his bladder so the doc didn't seem to think it would take a long time but some people go through this for days. Steve called around 11:00 or so and he made it seem like they would be releasing him soon. His mom later called back in an hour and said they wouldn't release him until either the pain meds kick in or he stops getting sick. I guess he was still getting nauseous from the pain. Finally around 3:30 they walk through the door and Steve goes straight to bed.
Once Cooper woke up from his nap we headed out to fill the 4 prescriptions they sent him home with and pick up a few things from the store since they recommend a liquid diet for a few days. Once we get home Steve wakes up and feels well enough to eat some soup. Then praise the good Lord, in Steve's words.... he gives birth! In other words he passes the stone. He feels much better, just a little sore but still decides to take today off as a precaution. And since he passes the stone, we really only needed 1 of the 4 prescriptions.

I wasn't for sure how Steve would feel today so my original plan was to get Cooper out of the house for a few hours and give Steve some rest. As luck would have it Cooper slept in today and we all got some much needed rest. Steve also felt much better today, again just a little sore and his appetite was back. Of course Cooper was all about Steve this morning, which is exactly why I had originally planned on getting us out. Instead we decided to stay home and have a lazy day. Steve has worked the past two Saturdays and has a conference all this weekend and Sundays are such a rush to make it to church it's been a while since we have done nothing as a family in the mornings. We did make it out of the house to Target, Lowe's, and Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A was only because we had a gift card, we are waiting on an ER bill now. We also had some good play time outside and it's looking like all is back to normal. We do have the stone in a baggie in our bedroom, although I will refrain from posting. It's amazing something so small causes so much pain. He's keeping it because he is supposed to make a follow-up visit with his primary care physician. So it's back to work tomorrow and hopefully a "normal" rest of the week.

Before & After

I have a few before & after pics to post. We finally converted our spare bedroom into what will be Cooper's new bedroom, hopefully sooner rather than later. The first step was to find a new home for our computer. Luckily our living room is designed so that we some extra space that is out of the way of the main living area. We were able to put our computer there and put a chair in front of it so it doesn't take up too much space or interfere with the living room I love this picture, Cooper things I'm taking a picture of him and he is actually smiling for once.

Here are a few pics of what our spare bedroom looked like before. We had painted it blue a few years ago, it doesn't match perfectly now, but it's good enough. We were just using the room for our computer and storage for some toys.

Next step was putting together the bed and dresser. Cooper liked to help out.

He's even using his own tools in this one.

Finally we are all finished. We need to get some tint for the window in order for it to be dark enough for nap time, once we do that we will try out the new bed.

I also need a bookshelf, but that can wait. If you know anyone who needs a computer chair, we are looking to sell, at any price, the one in the picture.

Girl's Night

We had our always fun and eventful girl's night tonight. We decided to play it low key and had a girl's night in. Gretchen opened up her house for us to hang out and eat, of course. We had pizza, bread sticks, and plenty of chocolate. We had fruit too, so it wasn't all bad. Oh, and I guess it was a sign we are getting old, we played Apples to Apples and Domino's. I was home by 10:15. Anyway, it was a good night and we had lots of fun. We need to do more nights like this. And it might have been Tracey's last girl's night for a while, little Ms Maggie should make her appearance before our next one!

Curious George Strikes Again

Once again Uncle Scott came through. I had been eyeing this t-shirt for Cooper for about a month now. I saw it on Gap's website, but it was $25, I have a hard time spending that much money on a shirt for myself, let alone my 2 year old. Well I had actually forgotten about it. Today Scott called and asked if he could bring something over to Cooper. Guess it was, it was the t-shirt.
I am usually not a fan of character clothes, but this one was too cute and Cooper loves George. The best part though, it was marked down and with his coupon he had, he spent less than half of what it originally cost. See, I like it when other people get good deals as well.

My Little Monkey

No story here, just a cute pic of my little monkey.

It's Here!!!!

It's here, It's here, Spring is finally here! What did we do with our day before we were able to play outside? After a quick trip to Kohl's this morning, to use my Kohl's cash for some shoes for myself, Cooper and I came home and had lunch outside. I should really try this more often, he ate everything on his plate. Granted it is pizza and chips... but there are oranges there too. As a matter of fact he ate the oranges first. Then we had some play time. I was prepared to stay outside until nap time but he was the one who wanted to go inside. He has been asking me to go outside now around 9:30 every morning. Totally off topic but too cute to pass up, Steve took Cooper to the park on Thursday night while I worked at Jazzercise. Friday, when Steve got home the first thing Cooper asked for was the park. So off we went after dinner. I didn't take my camera because I knew I would miss out playing if I took pictures. Anyway, this is a big deal for my child, he went down all the slides. He is usually scared and timid, but he loved it this time around. Back to our day today, I only got a few pictures, he was a little too busy to sit still. I got him this bubble mower last summer, he loves pushing it but he never could get the bubbles to come out. You have to make sure the wheels stay on the ground, but he is getting better this year.

Of course after playing withe bubble mower we had to play with bubble wand as well.

He's getting much better at actually blowing the bubbles instead of spitting on the wand.

Blind Date

Today Gretchen & I had a blind date with fellow blogger Jaime. I know it sounds crazy, but it's not. This all started when Jaime wished her blog a happy 1st birthday and invited blog stalkers to say hello. I think Gretchen might have already said hello once, but I hadn't so I made myself known. Them somehow a suggestion got brought up that we should have a bloggers day out. Somewhere in public of course, just in case one of us turned out crazy. Gretchen & I had the upper hand on this one since we already know each other. It turned out only the three of us could make it, but that's okay, we had a good time. There were no awkward silences, just a bunch of gabbing by three girls who like to talk. We sat there for over two hours chatting it up. Off topic, but since Gretchen isn't into Twilight, then I think Jaime are going to make another date once Eclipse comes out.

Anyway, it was neat meeting someone new that you feel like you already know everything about. So I thought I would open up the invitation, if you are a blog stalker of mine and we don't know each or haven't met, leave a comment... maybe I read your blog too.

New Name

We have name for the baby, courtesy of Cooper-

Baby Gooey Gooey

Dr's Appointment

I had my 12 week Dr's appointment with Dr Riely yesterday. I took my mom with me because Steve had a doctor's appointment of his own. My mom is always begging to go with me and since we had planned on hearing the heartbeat for the first time I let her go. She acted like she was going to get to go with me to find out if it's a boy or girl but I had to veto that one. Things sounded great. At first she had a hard time finding the heart beat then she had a hard time keeping it. She finally got it and we all got to hear it, it was around 159 bpm. Most people say it sounds high so it might be a girl, but Cooper's was always high in the beginning as well. So you just never know.

I've also gained 6 pounds. I think this is more to do with not exercising as much. We have been so busy in the mornings lately that I have a hard time getting up and rushing us out the door on on one and only free day. Things are starting to slow down so hopefully should be able to get to going 3 or 4 times a week. Next appointment is in April followed by the ultrasound in early May.

Thank you!

I don't express my emotions or feelings well at times, but I have something laying on my heart I want to share tonight. There are two people I want to say a huge thank you to.

The first is my husband. It was around this time two years ago when Steve began his new job search. After much prayer our hearts were telling us that it would be best for me to stay at home with Cooper. However, we knew in order for this to happen he needed a new job, one that not only paid better but also provided better insurance. Every night I prayed the right job would become available for him and not one that offered monetary incentives. It also was a relief to me that he was ready for a new job and wasn't just leaving on my wishes, he wanted to leave. It only took two interviews for him to find the right place. Although it can be stressful at times, he enjoys his job and his co-workers. It was the perfect fit for him. So I want thank him for taking on the sole financial burden of our household. It's a huge responsibility that he has never once complained about.

Second, actually this should have been first, I want to thank God. For providing everything we NEED. I can honestly say we have not went without at all these two years. Of course there are things we scarified, like a bigger house and family trips, but those things can wait. I also want to thank God for giving us financial wisdom that still allows us some wants and luxuries. And for providing that opportunity for Steve at just the perfect time.

You may ask why am I doing this? Well things have been busy lately, but in a good way. I just finished up a 6 week women's Bible Study at church that met on Monday mornings. Had I been working I would not have been able to attend. Then there is so much I would have missed with Cooper; Tot Time, church play groups, individual play groups that are just as much for the moms as they are for the kids, witnessing his speech therapy, and of course play time with just us two. I could not have asked for anything better these past two years and I know when our new baby comes that the huge shadow that loomed over me when I had Cooper will be gone. The constant dreading of going back work, counting down the weeks, the worry every time I dropped him off.

I also want to end by saying I pray for all mothers who want this, can have it. There are some people out there I know personally want this and are doing everything in their power to make it happen, I PRAY for YOU that it can. I pray for the day we can have our play dates.... they will be 4 months apart you know.

You know those random silly questionnaires that may ask what has been your best decision ever? Mine was the day I walked in to work and gave my notice. Thank you Lord and thank you Steve, you have given me the best job in the world.

Adrienne's

Today we went to Adrienne's Bakery with our church play group for lunch and to decorate cookies. For $9 the kids got to decorate and take home a giant sugar cookie, lunch with consisted of chips, drink, pizza and a cupcake. They also got to decorate their own cupcake. I think all the kids enjoyed themselves. The pizza was huge so I was even able to split mine with Cooper.
Take a look at this cookie, it's almost as big as his head. We didn't finish is before he grabbed a bit or two.

Before lunch they got to dance and sing songs. Of course, my shy child barely moved a muscle. Funny thing is, they played songs he listens to all the time at home running around singing.

I also got a picture of our finished cupcake. This one didn't make it out of the store, I helped though. He also ate a sucker, it was a late nap day.

New Game

After seeing Blue's Clues on Saturday we have a new game in house. We hide paw prints and Cooper finds them. They really aren't clues, it's just a bunch of paw prints throughout the house. Cooper is so fun with them, he kept asking for more paw prints please.

I love it when

I find random pictures on the camera. It's not much, but it's cute and was unexpected.

Resolution

I've been meaning to blog about this but totally forgot. I've had to put off my New Year's resolution another year. That sure didn't last long. I posted it on Jan 7th and found out I was pregnant on Jan 8th. I honestly didn't think I was pregnant b/c I took a test and it was negative, but God had other plans. I'm still doing Jazzercise, although it's been tough making it outside of the two classes I work out, I just didn't want to put the extra shock on my body that it wasn't used to. So look out 2011 cause this momma is going to become a runner.

Side note, I am officially 12 weeks today. I have a dr's appt later this week and will blog more afterwards.

Who's With Me?

This coming Saturday, March 13th- Chick-fil-A is having a pajama party. If you were pajamas to any Louisville/Southern Indiana Chick-fil-A before 10:30 you get a free breakfast item of your choice. So, who is with me?

Happy Birthday Blue

Yesterday we had a fun family fun morning, we got to see Blue's Clues Live at Derby Dinner Playhouse. This was so much fun! We got the tickets from our Early Childhood Director at church, she has season tickets and her kids are too old for Blue, so that made it extra special. A little girl from Cooper's class and her mom (who happens to be in our small group) also joined us. At first I was a little worried how Cooper would do, he isn't the greatest at sitting still. We got seated around 9:15 which left 45 minutes before the show started, but luckily we did have breakfast to keep us occupied. Then the show itself lasted just under an hour. It was really the perfect length for kids. Well my worry was for nothing, he sat in amazement the entire show. The only peep I heard from him was when he would turn around and ask for Blue Puppy, who really wasn't in the show that much. That would be my only complaint. Blue & Magenta were giant characters, they both had to be led into the stage since the actors could not see out of the costumes and neither came out much. But it was still cute and and had all the fun songs. I didn't get any good pictures but it appears our camera does take video, Steve figured this out accidentally, which is so awesome because I will be posting videos all the time. He is a short one of Cooper waiting for the show to start. As you can see, even after breakfast I had to break out the Cheerios.
Sorry, it has to be the link, I can't get it to post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ztZxsCyx7Y

I Heart Kohl's

I did some more shopping today, but relax it was all for Cooper. I had a 20% off coupon for Kohl's plus they were giving away Kohl's cash so we headed out this morning and stocked up on some spring/summer clothes. I ended up getting over 10 outfits and a Toy Story patio chair for Cooper. I got some good deals and $20 Kohl's cash which I will probably use for some tennis shoes.
Cooper likes his new chair.

This was my favorite outfit.

Club Mom

Gretchen and I headed to Club Mom at the Greentree Mall yesterday and were quickly reminded of why we stopped going. It was mass chaos. There also happened to be an Easter Egg hunt which I am sure is what led to the large crowd, I just don't think I'll be going back anytime soon. I think between our three kids we got maybe 10 eggs, of course our kids aren't the type to run and push other kids out of the way, so maybe that's why. One benefit of Club Mom are the coupons for a free children's meal with the purchase of an adults meal. We opted for Subway, which wasn't too crowded at first but I ended up in line 2 people behind Gretchen and you really don't want to mess with me while I'm hungry and my child is hungry. I felt better after I ate.

Some of the highlights included fitting all three children in the backseat of Steve's car. I drove his car b/c I thought it was bigger than mine, and it is bigger but we barley got the door shut. Our cars are paid for and I have no intention of having a car payment anytime soon so it looks like we are a 2 kid family. Another highlight was Hope's face during the marionette show. She loved the butterfly and ballerina.

Cute

Don't they make a cute couple? I guess they would if Gretchen wasn't married to Paul and Eric wasn't married to Tracey. For some reason this is just something they do, they like getting their picture taken looking like a couple. I also found this one on my computer from a couple of summers ago.

More questions

I have more questions and more answers

These are all from Jaime-
1- How long have I been blogging and why did I decide to do it?
I started blogging right after Cooper was born. I didn't think my life was interesting enough until then. Plus it's a good for memories. Sometimes I go back and re-read my posts and laugh at some things I have forgotten.

2-What do I do for a living?
Well my degree is in accounting, but I quit my job to stay at home with Cooper when he was 7 months old.
*** I was working for Mercer (HR Consulting) when I quit my job.

3- Where do I live?
I grew up in Charlestown but currently live in Jeff. Well, when I grew up the geographical area I live now was considered Charlestown, but Jeff got greedy and took over.

4- I have no idea where my mom got the idea for J-A-M-I as a spelling. It can get annoying at times.

And one more from Jill-
Any baby names yet?

Well if it is a girl then Sydney Grace- that was the name we had picked out the first time.
If it is a boy we know the middle name will be Scott, but haven't decided on a first name. I'm leaning toward Cameron Scott, it's really starting to grow on me. And if we do decide on that name, we have no intention on using all C names, we just happen to like it.

Questions & Answers #1-6

This is going to be fun!

#1- from Alicia- Where did you and Steve meet?

Steve & I met in 1998 when he was working at The Buckle inside, at the time, River Falls Mall. I worked there that summer for a couple of months and we started dating. The job & the relationship were both short lived, but we met back up again 2 years later. His last two years of school were intense and he thought he was going to have to move away for 6 months to do field work, he ended up only leaving for 3 months but spent those three months living in Maryland. So we took things very slowly at first, but it must have worked cause here we are 12 years and 1 1/2 kids later.

#2- from Karen- What would be your dream vacation, besides Disney?

It's hard to pick a dream vacation that at the time doesn't include Disney b/c a dream vacation for me includes one that we can do as a family. Although I like the beach, I would get so bored just laying out everyday and I don't like to fly so I can never see myself leaving the country besides maybe Canada. So if I had pick, maybe a trip along the Pacific northwest. I would love to visit Cannon Beach, Oregon one day.

#3- from Jaime- wild card question- something I would like for you guys to know.

This is hard one, I would much rather have someone ask me questions. Let's see, if I were to pick a perfect date it would hands down be some type of sporting event. You can totally skip the romantic dinner. Some of the best times I've had with Steve have been going to IU games and of course the Colts games we went to this past season.

#4- from Jessica- what would you like the next baby to be, and the one after that?

Very Funny! Honestly, I do not have a preference. At one minute I think I want another boy then the next I want a girl. Reading my #3 answer, I think I would be better with boys, I will take a t-ball game over a dance recital any day. And, I'm pretty sure we are a 2 kid family, but if we were to have three, I would like either 2 boys and a girl (no particular order) or all boys.

#5- from Gretchen- my first crush?

In the first grade I was in love with a boy named John Bowen. It's going to be funny if people from my high school read this b/c we went to school together all through 12 grade and graduated together. I actually think I sat next to him during graduation. But at 6, I was in love.

#6- from Tracey- what is my most embarrassing moment?

Well, I have a lot. I do tend to fall down a lot. But this one takes the cake, I was about 7 months pregnant and had just started a new position at work. We had monthly staff meetings were the new persons stands up, tells about themselves and maybe a hobby. I had already worked for this particular group before but I still had to do it. There were probably at least 100 people in this staff meeting ,if not more. Anyway, I can't remember my exact words, but for my hobby I meant to say getting ready for the baby. However, I pointed to my belly and it came out something like this "Well, I'm pregnant, it's kind of obvious what my hobby is". I sat down and people were cracking up! Then it hit me. Luckily I worked with some laid back people of most knew me so knew I had meant to say. It was the topic of conversation that day when everyone went back to work, hey did you hear what Jami Lee said at the staff meeting? I wanted to crawl in a hole.

Okay, keep the coming guys, this is fun!