Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Outdoor Fun

We took full advantage of the weather tonight and had some outdoor fun. I think we all have been going a little stir-crazy with this heat. First up, a little baseball. I love the facial expressions.
A little father/son self portrait.

Always a favorite around our house, filling up the watering can.

I still can't get over how well some of our flowers have done, I think some of these could grow in a desert. Cooper planted these Marigolds for me at church on Mother's Day. It was in a cup with one flower, now take a look.
Steve tried some fun pics with the camera.
Finally we went on a short walk around the neighborhood while Cooper ate his marshmallows. He looks so big in his stroller, I'm amazed he still will sit in it, but it doesn't seem to bother him.










Thank you!

Thanks to everyone for all the kind comments so far. Surgery is scheduled for July 16th. The ENT only goes to Kosair once a month, I assume since most of his surgeries are outpatient. It's nice that it's on a Friday, Steve can still only take off two days but have four at home.

As a side note- I had my tonsils removed for the exact same reason as Cooper. Granted I was already 5 and not 2 1/2, but he won't remember this like I do mine. Mine were way too big. I snored loudly, same as him and had trouble swallowing. Cooper drools a lot, which he still needs to get one more tooth so I always chalked it up to teething, but it could be his tonsils.

I know going into Kosair we are going to feel so blessed. Tonsil surgery is nothing compared to some of the reasons why other children are in that hospital. We are also blessed to have such a hospital in our area. While I know we will have plenty of people thinking and praying for us that day, please keep the other children and parents in your prayers as well. I always think to myself "if this is the worst it gets, then we are lucky."

Play-Doh

I helped out with our neighborhood Backyard VBS last night and when I came home I noticed the Play-Doh and the shapes from our shape sorter on the table. Steve can get so much more creative than I can. It made for the perfect activity while making lunch today. It seems like yesterday he had no interest in Play-Doh, now he loves it.

Look at him smiling! He was practicing his cutting skills. We got him some scissors last week. They are ages four and up so they are pretty sharp, I feel safer with the Play-Doh ones instead.
Of course I had to get a self portrait. I don't know what he is doing but it looks like he has his arm around me... how sweet. Even though he is a little short for his age I think we need to start taking bets now on when he will pass me up in height. Insert tear here.
This is why it should be called Candy-Doh. Look at that blue tongue. The kid was eating it like it was candy.





Good News and....

no so great news.

The good news first, cause I am being optimistic. I passed my glucose test! All blood work came back in the normal range. If we have more children I will be sure to schedule my 1 hour first thing in the morning. I didn't schedule until after lunch and since she did not require fasting maybe that is why it was elevated. Who knows! The 3 hour test itself wasn't that bad, I got a lot of reading done and the time went by fairly quickly. And Karen may have been right, maybe I just needed three hours to myself, even if I was limited in what I could do.


Now the not go good news. Since Cooper has been in First Steps and speech therapy he gets free services through Dr's Hearing Care. We had him in there back in December for a full hearing test, which he passed, and then a follow up last week. Although both tubes are still in place his left tube wasn't responding so the doctor suggested we follow up with his ENT. The appointment was this morning and sure enough the eardrum is closed again, the tube is on the outside and fluid has built back up behind the ear drum. It's not an infection so drops can't work, it just means his ear drum is closed. This could clear up on it's own, but it could also get worse once fall and winter hits. We can either wait or get another tube. I opted for another tube, with his eardrum closed his hearing is being effected and we don't want that with his speech. They also informed me that with a second set of tubes they also remove their adenoids. Nothing major, just another few minutes. Well then I opened my mouth, I need to be proactive. I asked about his tonsils. They are HUGE!!!! And the doctor agreed and said she is probably having breathing issues because they are so big. And yes, he snores like crazy. So they are coming out too. Then comes the really not so great news. If a child is under 3 they recommend they stay the night in the hospital due to a risk of bleeding. My poor baby has to stay in the hospital. Believe it or not Steve is taking this pretty good. I figured he would freak out. He worries a lot. I'm waiting to hear back from the office so we can schedule this. We are going to try and get it before Cameron comes, at least a good 3 weeks before so Cooper can be completely healed. The only positive about this, it is going to force me to clear my schedule that week after we get home. Oh and since I can eat sugar I'm sure I will have plenty of nervous chocolate eating that day. I'll keep you updated.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Already?

I have a pair of Old Navy maternity capri's that have a drawstring and are made for early pregnancy. Well I put them on today, I think I only have a couple more weeks left in them. Is that my sign I need to make a new wardrobe purchase?

Go Figure

I've had reflux a lot with this pregnancy and Cooper. Yesterday as I was leaving the doctor's office I stopped by McDonald's and got a cheeseburger and fries (don't judge it was a small order of fries and I hadn't eaten in 16 hours). So today I made myself a turkey sandwich and guess which one caused some reflux? The turkey sandwich! The greasy, salty McDonald's was okay, the healthy turkey on the other hand caused my throat to be on fire.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

I'm all ready

I'm all ready for tomorrow. Steve is going in a little late so his parents don't have to be here so early. The plan is to be out the door by 7:40. They asked me to be there as close to 8 as possible because in their words, we don't like pregnant women to go that long without eating. Thanks for the boast of confidence. Anyway, I have myself armed with plenty of materials to keep me company; an iPod, my Bible Study materials, a book I'm reading for my church book club, a book I'm reading for pleasure, and a seek and find word book. Sometimes I wonder if it's wrong that I'm more worried about what I will do with my time and not worried about the results of the test. I did tell Steve's cousin today that he better hope I pass the test because I was going to make a Butterfinger cake for the 4th and if I can't have it, no one can.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

We Raised Him Right

We went to a wedding tonight, one of Steve's cousins got married. Cooper was so good during the wedding, sat on Steve's lap and didn't make a sound the entire service. As the wedding party was exiting the church each person did their own dance down the aisle. The last groomsman to leave did the John Wall dance and which point my son got scared, started crying, and asking to go home now. I told him it's okay, John Wall scares mommy too.

Friday, June 25, 2010

I Spoke too soon

Well I must have spoke too soon about the business and doctor's appointment this month. Literally within the hour of posting to my blog this morning I got a call from the doctor's office. I have to go back Monday for the 3 hour glucose test. I was totally shocked. My sugar tends to run low, with Cooper I was still under 100 and I usually run in the 70's. Not this time. I'm not too worried about it, I guess I'm just more frustrated than anything. If there is one thing I don't have, is time to go sit in a doctor's office for three hours. It's good being a stay at home mom when these things come up because I don't have to take time off work, but that means I also need to find someone to watch Cooper. I feel bad, Steve's parents have been watching him a lot lately for my doctor's visits, they have a million things going on. I know they don't mind at all but it does take away things they need to get done too.

Alright, I'm done ranting. Wish me luck that I don't pass out as I go from dinner on Sunday to lunch on Monday only drinking water and getting my blood drawn 4 times.

BUSY

Wow things have been quite busy around here lately. The biggest have been doctor's appointments. I had my 24 week earlier this month, my glucose this week and because my doctor goes on vacation soon I go back in two more weeks. Cooper has had a dentist appointment, a follow up with an audiologist to check his tubes and next week he has one with his ENT because it appears a tube is either blocked or about to fall out. Tot Time also started this week, of course we have Speech once a week and I am starting a Bible Study at church on Fri mornings. I know I do most of this to myself but it's becoming hard to do the other things, like run the errands, go to the grocery, work out. I refuse to work out in the afternoons when it the heat index is 105.

Good news- I haven't quite reached the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy yet, I'm hoping to make it at least the first or second week of August. I also have been avoiding the heat pretty well. I feel bad cause I can't take Cooper out to play as much as I would like but we have been making it up in other ways. We loved it that we started Tot Time back up this week.

Sometimes I can't wait for Cameron to get here so I can have an excuse not to do anything. Steve will do the grocery shopping, I have a good excuse for not working out; my doctor won't let me. Steve is taking an extra day off for the 4th next weekend and I am so looking forward to it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Eleventeen?

Did you know eleventeen was a number?

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day was a little different this year. Plans were to head to Steve's parents after church to celebrate Father's Day and his brother's birthday, which was Saturday.
Cooper even made Scott a homemade birthday card.
We were eating breakfast on Sunday and around 8:15 our phone rang, we knew something was wrong then. It was Steve's mom and his dad had been admitted to the hospital with a LARGE kidney stone. These Lee men and their kidney stones, don't know what we are going to do with them. Obviously lunch plans were cancelled and his parent's were supposed to take Scott to the airport at 3 so know that was Steve's job. Steve had to stay at church to serve second service so by the time he got home it was close to 12. I told him I still would like to take him out, since it was getting late and we knew most places would be crowded he chose the Chinese Buffet, his choice not mine! It was nice and relaxing and Cooper is still free. Like Father like Son, Cooper got to enjoy some ice cream.


I feel bad because sometimes father's don't get the recognition they deserve. On Mother's Day it's all about moms, the sermon at church is all about praising moms, we get crafts from the kids. On Father's Day they usually talk about everything they do wrong and what they need to do to correct it, expect this year it wasn't about Father's at all. Plus no handmade crafts.

Therefore, I must say a HUGE THANK YOU to Steve for being an amazing father. I couldn't ask for anything more. I never had what you would call a "daddy" in my life and I couldn't be more thrilled that my children can grow up with something I never had. There is no greater joy than watching Cooper's face light up when you walk in the door after work. I love watching him turn into a real daddy's boy. Happy Father's Day, we love you!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Cooper's Birth Story

I have re-wrote my very first blog post documenting Cooper's birth story. I know that Cameron's would be more detailed so I wanted to do the same thing for Cooper. Check it out here.

Warning- It is LONG!

Do I have 1 or 2 children?

Steve wanted to create a super Thomas Train track set tonight. His goal was to create a big hill so Thomas would come down the hill fast and make Cooper laugh. Here are some of his creations. I really wish I could have gotten it on film, Cooper's belly laugh was priceless.




Where's Cooper?

Steve cut out some paper masks from the back of a cereal box today. Can you guess who this is?

Charlestown Balloon Glow

Last night we took Cooper to the Charlestown State Park for their Founder's Day Balloon Glow. Truth be told we never made it to the actual glow part but it was still a fun free night out. Most kids love to stay up past their bedtime, not this one, he knows when it's bedtime and wants to be there. All he knew was we were going to see big balloons and that is what we did so he was satisfied. There was also a live band, he loved that. He kept asking for "more music please" each time they ended a song. Maybe next year we will last long enough for the glow.

My mom also met us there, she took Cooper walking around and of course they came back with some ice cream.
At one point he was paying more attention to the balloons so I had no choice, eat some of it or let it melt.

Cooper sticky!
He was in awe over the tulip balloon.


To compare how large this one was, take a look at it beside the Sunnyside of Louisville balloon.

No good night is complete without a picture of me and my guy.










Friday, June 18, 2010

Being Optimistic

I heard today on the news today that we have had 13 days 90 degrees or warmer so far this year. Last year he had 13 total. At least 20 of the next 30 days will be at least 90 or warmer, with the next two weeks being at least 90.

I am being optimistic. We will have an early and long fall.

I guess I should have made a pet peeve of mine be when people tell me- Oh you have the whole hot summer to be pregnant. Yeah, like I didn't think of that when I got knocked up in December!

2nd Interview

I gave Cooper a 2nd interview today, a follow up to the one last December. I also added a few new questions.

Who is your favorite? Mommy
What is your favorite toy/thing to play with? Bathtub
What is your favorite animal? Monkey- he actually made the monkey sound on this one
What is your favorite color? Blue
What is your favorite food? Oatmeal
What is your favorite thing to watch on tv? Mickey Mouse- he actually said Mickey this time
What is your favorite thing to drink? Orange Juice
Who is your best friend? Mommy
What is your favorite game? A game played with Molly? He has met her one time and that was 6 months ago
How old are you? 2
How old will you be on your next birthday? 11
What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me
What is your favorite book? The Bible

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I'll be back tomorrow

So I think I may have shocked a few people today. I'm usually not that upfront and to be honest with you it was hard at times to write my previous post. But, it was all in good fun and pet peeves are really meant to be stupid. I know they are stupid, I shouldn't worry about other people, but hey it's one of my quirks. The reason they were all so descriptive is most of those happened in recent weeks and I thought to myself... I have to remember that for the blog! Have no fear, next month is our Favorite Things! I've already started my list, although I should write it down.

ps- If there are some nursing mothers out there who would like to be accountability partner I need you! If I rely on myself I'm pretty sure I will fail. Melissa- you are two/three hours behind us it won't be too late if I call you at in 2 in the morning :)

This should be interesting

So here goes for blog-off #3. I take full credit in this being my idea... PET PEEVES! Here goes... I will start with my biggest.

1. Habitual lateness! I don't mean you got stuck in traffic, we have all been there. Right after I got married it took me over 2 hours to get to work because there was a wreck on all three bridges leading into Louisville. I mean the people who are late each and every time they leave the house. To me it's a little disrespectful, especially to the person waiting on you. We are all adults and we know how long it takes us to get somewhere and if you see a pattern forming I have a simple solution- get up earlier! Organize... plan ahead!!!! I see the same people walk in to church every week late, church starts at the same time every week, you know how far away you live, leave a few minutes earlier. This was the same thing I saw when working as well. You can't tell me sometimes comes up every week. I am proud to say that in 2 1/2 years we have NEVER been late to church one time since Cooper has been born. And you know what, starting in about three months you better be darn sure that I will set my alarm, if I even need one at that time, about a half hour earlier than I do now to make sure I'm not late when there are two of them. Diaper bags will be packed the night before, clothes laid out, breakfast already planned... as a matter of fact I pretty much do this every night.

2. Cell phone usage in public. I will admit, I do answer my phone in public, you never know when it's an emergency. But I also make it short and sweet and tell the person I will call them back. Nothing drives me crazier than seeing someone walking through the grocery store, pushing the cart with one hand, talking on their cell phone using the other hand, a crying baby in the cart... you know who I'm talking about it, we have all seen it. If it is that important, pull your cart out of the way and get it taken care of and call them back in the car. Or how about those people how talk on their cell phone will in line trying to pay for something? Or driving through a parking lot, eating a Blizzard and smoking all at the same time. Yes, I saw that last week. I'm not going to lie, I talk on my cell while driving too, but NEVER in traffic. Don't get me started on texting either. I'm going to be real blunt here- If someone were to cause an accident to my car with me and my son in it while they were texting and my son was hurt in any way, or worse, you better believe that person will be made an example of in our state. It's avoidable...I don't care how good you are at remembering where those letters are, put it down. Shame on you if have kids in the back seat as well.

3. Parents who don't watch their kids in public. I really only have examples that I have witnessed. Once at the mall I was letting Cooper play in the playground area. There was a mom there with her two kids, she was talking on her cell, the kids where playing. The older of the two comes up to her mom to tell her that the youngest needed a diaper change. Mom kept talking. I let Cooper play for a little while longer, I went to get him and happened to walk past the boy, without a doubt he needed a diaper change. When I left guess what mom was doing, talking on her cell phone. Woman- you are in public, change your child's diaper before it leaks and gets on everyone else. Another time, we were at Tot Time at the library. Tot Time is VERY laid back, these kids are all under three so you can't expect them to sit still. At the same time, you should at least try and control them. I was sitting next to two moms who had two kids each. Moms were chatting it up while kids were running around, swinging bags, almost hitting my child. Cutting in front of other kids while doing our felt board picture. The librarian is usually pretty calm about things but I could tell she was even getting frustrated. At the end of the picture they moms didn't even realize their kids had a turn because they simply were not paying attention.

4. Extravagant birthday parties for kids. I don't mean the parties with friends and family and themes and games and all that jazz. If I had a bigger house and more money I would have thrown bigger parties for Cooper, I mean BIG ONES! This all came about after talking with Gretchen and Jaime Mac about Tori Spelling. Granted it was all for her show but seriously her kids birthday 1st bday parties were out of control. Not to mention it seemed as if they were in the middle of the day, or should I say middle of nap time and they wondered why the kid didn't enjoy themselves. Don't plan a party in the middle of nap time just because it works out better for everyone else, it is your child's bday party. My mother asked me on Cooper's first bday why it wasn't until 5:00- simply put- he was still taking two naps a day and I wanted him to enjoy himself. Same reason why his 2nd bday was planned for the same time, after nap time. Same reason why this year will be the same. It's about them, not you!

5. I've taken the bait here on this one and might as well do it now, because you will find out about this sooner or later. Jaime Mac mentioned something about breastfeeding, mine is not the same but it did get me thinking. I HUGE pet peeve of mine is when those of us who have chosen not to breastfeed are judged in any way. I decided in my 8 month of pregnancy with Cooper that I would try to nurse. My mom didn't, my sister's didn't, it wasn't until I got older and had friends that I was even around people who nursed. I know it's best for the baby, I will NEVER argue that, it just wasn't something I was ever around or comfortable doing myself. But I gave it shot in the hospital and for three days it worked pretty well. I can remember bringing him home and Steve had to run to Walgreens and I freaked out b/c I was afraid he would need to eat. I was still sore from my c-section and had a hard time getting him in a comfortable position without any help. It still went well that evening until about 1 am when he cried non-stop till 6 am b/c he wasn't getting anything. Finally I broke down and made a bottle b/c we had some samples, he went right to sleep for a few hours. Later in the morning, it had been a good 3-4 hours since I tried nursing, I tried to pump and got nothing. I had every intention of trying again but I was so stressed and wanted to cry each time that I never did. He was taking his bottle and I never looked back. Do I regret this? Sometimes but I did what I thought was the best for my sanity. Do I think it caused Cooper to be prone to ear infections, RSV, speech delay? NO!!!! Does this make me less of a mother? NO!!!! So, what am I doing this time around? I'm still unsure, time will tell and I need to make the decision soon. I would love to be able to do 100% this time around, but I want that decision to me made my me and not guilt because people are judging me. It's almost like I can hear the snide remarks in the hospital when it says bottle on the bassinet.

Okay, so there you have it, some of my big ones. Hope you enjoy and hope I didn't upset anyone too much. I have a hard time being brutally honest, but boy it did feel good.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Mr. Big Shot

I got a call from Steve on Monday telling me they were going to have some type of baseball tournament at work and he was going to go out and get some things to wear. They all wanted to dress alike and the crazier the better. Today was their first game... this is him after work.
He even got some Big League Chew.

Here is the best part of the story.... it was a wiffle ball tournament and it was today only!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

4 Conditions

Last night Steve told me he could be a stay at home dad under these 4 conditions:

1. He (Steve) could get a nap everyday

2. We could get Cooper a new toy everyday

3. It would be 70 degrees and sunny everyday

4. He could feed Cooper pizza everyday and he would still be healthy and get all his nutrients

Saturday, June 12, 2010

A Day out with Thomas

Thanks to Steve's parents we had a family fun day in New Haven, KY for A Day out with Thomas! By family fun day, I mean us, his parents, and Scott. It was fun! The look on Cooper's face when he first saw Thomas was priceless. I love it when he gets excited. We did miss out on a lot of the activities though, after lunch we could just tell Cooper was ready to come home. He's too old to sleep anywhere now and still too young not to take a nap. Boy you can really tell when he needs his nap. Plus after 20 minutes outside his cheeks were bright red and that was with sunscreen. The best part though, he had no idea what he was missing and fun no matter what.

First stop was a quick picture with Thomas. I know I cut off Thomas, there were parents and crying kids behind us and I had to be quick. I didn't even realize this until I got home and loaded the pictures. Next stop was inside for Meet and Greet with Sir Topham Hatt. Notice he is wearing his t-shirt. While in line I snapped a cute one of my guys.
I was so proud of Cooper for walking up to Sir Topham Hatt by himself. He is usually scared so it was a little shocking. Sorry for the quality of the picture, Steve convinced me he could do a better job. The picture they took turned out good but also expensive.After Sir Topham Hatt we heading back outside for some playtime before our train ride. We only made it as far as the bubbles before it was time to get in line, but I don't think Cooper was disappointed. While we were playing bubbles we heard the familiar "peep peep" and guess who it was..... It was THOMAS!

Once Thomas pulled back into the loading dock it was time for our train ride. I was slightly disappointed with the train ride, or rather the train car itself. See that green & white one in the back, that was ours. It did look better inside but it also a dining car. There were tables with four chairs to each table, not for sure if that is what the others looked like or not, but I just didn't care for the set up. There were 6 of us so we wouldn't have been able to sit together anyway, but since we were one of the last ones on we had to be split up between three tables.




After our train ride we headed to some shade for lunch. These next three pictures are all pretty much the same but I couldn't help it. Cooper was being so sweet just leaning on me. He loves his momma!




I know it looks like we pretty much did nothing but we were there for a few hours. They had a magic show and story time we missed, which was okay with me. The magic show would probably have been good but I'm not so sure he would have "got" it and would have wanted to sit there. Especially after the train ride, he could have cared less about it. Overall it was a fun time and if he enjoyed himself that is all that matters. I don't know if I can convince Steve to go next year with a nine month old but in a couple of years it will be a blast with Cooper.
After being the car for approx 2 hours today and out in the sun we could barely wake him up from his nap this afternoon. I love sleeping kiddos.












Self Portrait

I helped Cooper take a self-portrait of us tonight. I think it turned out fairly well.

Bath Time Hair

Steve gave Cooper and bath tonight and also fixed his hair.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Trip to the Dentist

We had Cooper's first dentist appointment this morning. I'm glad I waited a little longer than usual, he did VERY GOOD! I knew in order for him to handle it he needed to be old enough to understand what was going on. He did cry, which was expected, but nothing I couldn't handle. It is a huge relief to have this first visit over. Everything looked great. Hygiene looks good, they did tell me to be sure to watch those new molars, they are the hardest to brush. He has his top ones in but not his bottom ones, I think the days those are in will rank right up there with my wedding day and the day he was born for happiness. The dentist didn't mention anything about him sleeping with a pacifier and the hygienist only said that sometimes if you take it away too early they replace it with something that can't be taken away, so no worries there. He does have a slight overbite, which they said probably wouldn't be corrected until someone corrects it for him. No surprise there if the takes after me and Steve. Overall it was a VERY good day.

Of course no visit could be complete without a little practice the night before.He was all smiles before we got called back, he loved the children's play area.
I went by myself so I couldn't get any pictures of the cleaning itself but I did get one of him trying out his new Diego toothbrush and cheesing it up for the camera because he was all done.


Don't think I wasn't up for a little bribery if he did a good job. First stop, the mini-carousel at the mall.

Second stop, pretzels... of course!
And finally, a new George book.


Somehow a new George book also turned into a new Elmo book. I should be thrilled though, books please this child more than anything.


I couldn't leave out this self-portrait. I wasn't quite prepared for the weather when we left the mall, it was sunny on our way inside. By the time we go to the car, bucked Cooper in, threw my bags in the car, put the stroller in the trunk and I got in the car... this is what I looked like.