Update: 2012

Per my usual self, I start something and seldom follow through with it. For example.... this blog. I had the best of intentions when I wrote my first several posts, and then life happened and I just forgot to ever update again. Jumping right in-

Cooper is now a couple months shy of being 2 1/2 years old. His vocabulary is expanding and even includes the word "shit". (Yea, one of our not so proud parenting moments.) He is keen on direction- while driving he knows which way to turn to get to MawMaw's house and to school. During the day Cooper goes to Hickory Grove Church Daycare and will continue into preschool here. They staff are amazing and Coop loves them. That is all that matters! This child is nothing short of stubborn. He is more like me everyday- hard headed and driven. He continues to remain off the charts for his height in his age division. At his 2 year check-up he was 38" tall. The pediatrician estimates that he will surely pass 6', which is no surprise to any of us when looking at my family. He is destined to be the tallest Hon of all time! Coop has found a new love in life- Disney movies. The DVD player is his best friend and he is proficient at it's functions. Toy Story is an all time favorite and as would be the case, Cooper was "Woody" the Sheriff for Halloween.

The picture above was snapped right in the middle of him pointing to his butt and telling me that he pooped! I love his face and thought it was "blogworthy"!

In other news: Cooper is going to be a BIG BROTHER!! We are expecting our 2nd baby boy, Corbin, on Dec. 26 2012. He was a surprise, but a much welcomed one.

Corbin will be born via repeat c-section on Dec. 21 2012 at 7:30am as long as he doesn't try to make an appearance before that. At 30 weeks he was measuring 4lbs. 5oz. which is 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Again, no surprise there either! We knew we would have another large baby.

We talk about "bubby" and mention his name all the time to Cooper. He either has no idea what is going on, or he is great at choosing to ignore it! He will kiss my belly and say "hi" to bubby, but I am convinced he is just going through the motions and thinks mommy's belly is quite the attraction. 

I am exhausted, partially from worrying so much about what my life will be with two kids. I worry about how Cooper will feel. I worry how I will adjust and have enough love for everyone. All natural thoughts, but my goodness, they will eat you alive if you let them. In the end our family will be filled with love and happiness. Cooper will have a sibling and know the feeling of unconditional love from a best friend. What more could a mom ask for?!

A Day Late & A Dollar Short

Here we are once again, updating few and far between. My little Moose will be 18 months in two short weeks. It is true what they say, they grow like weeds. He is still remaining off the charts when it comes to his height. His weight isn't lacking, as it is always in the 95th percentile for his age. When I see him with other children his age he towers over them. I believe we have a sports all-star in the making, but if he chooses otherwise that will be great too!

Coop seems to add new words to his vocabulary every day; or maybe we are just hearing what we want to hear. He says momma, dad, no or nuh, dog, ball and many other consonants that we make out to be words he is repeating after hearing us say them. He shakes his head no at appropriate times even if he means yes. This is something we have been working with him on- teaching him the shake for "yes". This morning I asked him if he was "all done", and he shook his head gesturing "yes". I about jumped through the roof! He is like a sponge, and the knowledge is inside his head, he just needs a while to be able to express it physically.

Our family had a wonderful Christmas. Everyone was home, healthy and in great spirits. Cooper really got into opening presents- whether they were his or not! He learned after one or two presents that tearing off the pretty paper was only half the fun. Once you get through that layer, there is something to be opened and hours of fun are left to be had with the box! :) As usual this time of year makes us miss the family who is not able to celebrate with us even more. My son has some pretty awesome angel's looking out for him- his grandpa Dale, and great-grandma Claire. We love you both and miss you dearly.

Coop is attending "school" at Little Explorers, a family owned daycare in the heart of Independence. He is going four days a week and loves it. The interaction he gets with other kids, young and old, is worth the experience alone. We took him to the festival of lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and we also went to the Holiday Train Show at the Cincinnati Museum Center- boy, could you tell he was acclimated to being around other children. Like children do, he saw something he wanted and knew the only way to get it was to go take it. Obviously something we will be working on at home! I got a call two days ago from a teacher at his school saying that he took a "spill". This child is always taking spills, so it was nothing surprising. He was climbing on a chair and fell off getting rug burn on his nose. (Just in time for his 18 month pictures on Friday).

I am going to attempt to update more frequently because these are moments we will never get back, and as much as I know think I will remember every.last.detail of what he does from day to day- the truth is- there is no way that is possible.

Where has the time gone?!!

Like every attempt I have made at maintaining a blog, I have let so much time pass without updating. It is time to get back in the swing of things, and when better to start, than today?!

Moose is now 13 months old. Approximately 11 days away from being 14 months. He started walking just 2 days after he turned 1, and is all over the place now. It is amazing to watch him become more comfortable with every step he takes. He has realized that his hands are very useful and should not be used as a mode of transportation. By walking upright he is able to open all of the drawers in our kitchen and throw the contents on the floor. He can open the door to our bedroom (yes, at 13 months we already have to find a way to child-proof our basement door!), and search table tops with those precious little (sticky) fingertips to yank my place mats off. What an active boy he is! We quickly learned that if there is dead silence in our home, you better find out what Coop is up to.

 After carting Coop to work with me for a little over a year we decided it was time for a change. He started attending a local daycare named Little Explorers and is at the youngest age required for his class. The kids are as old as 24 months in his group and I have found that he has learned a lot from them. He does not want mommy and daddy to feed him, for he is a big boy now, and feeds himself! He loves Little Explorers and has made many new friend's. I am blessed to have found something so close to home that has employees who love my boy almost as much as we do. Granted, since starting daycare we have have more illness in our home. He was diagnosed with Roseola within the first week, and is now being treated for an ear infection.

These pics were done by Sadie Collins for his first birthday.

Zach and I are quickly approaching our second anniversary. Our family has grown exponentially in more ways than one the past two years. We have so much to be thankful for. Our love is stronger than ever, and if I am lucky, I will continue to say that year after year.

Life

Life is a privelege, not a right. Sometimes, too often, we forget that. I wish that every morning I woke with a positive attitude and remembered that living for today...... really living- is my main focus. The moments that I share with my family are the memories our future is made of.  I am trying to make more of an effort to let the dishes sit in the sink for an hour longer just to catch an hour worth of smiles and giggles with my little moose. The house surely won't clean itself; dinner doesn't magically appear, but those are all things that can wait. My family however, cannot.

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Cooper is 8 months and boy, has he found his personality! He definitely gets it from his, uh-hem.....mother. He knows what he wants and is head strong. While he cannot talk, he still is able to communicate. He yells, grunts, screams, growls, cries, laughs or smiles when he wants our attention. He has both of us wrapped around his finger and I believe he knows it!

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Our poor dog, Jack, was hit by a car early yesterday morning. Both of the bones in his front leg are broken and require the placement of pins to heal. He is in surgery as I type this, anxiously awaiting the call from the vet to say he is going to be ok. His recovery will be around 2 months and we are hoping he will be back to normal, without a limp.

Going Through the Motions

Robotic is a great way to describe my current mental status. I am completing the last 10 hours of a 60 hour work week. An emergency came up at work and I was more than happy to take charge. I have always been anal and NEEDED to have control in all situations! (Ask anyone who knows me.) At this point, I am going through the motions and waiting for 6 o'clock to roll around. Luckily this week has been low impact and has actually sped by. Cooper is a trooper, and has adjusted well to the schedule. He is at home today with his daddy and I am missing him terribly.

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We paid our last respects to a friend this week. He passed away suddenly at the young age of 24. There are no words to describe the hurt I feel for his family and close friend's. He was a man who was always smiling and willing to help anyone in need. "To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord." We will always remember your smile Derek.

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Cooper is growing faster than ever lately. He is more aware of his surroundings; taking in everything as he views it in this world. He is not crawling yet, but he pushes up on his arms as well as his knees. Performing these two acts at the same time proves to be difficult for the little moose!

Spring is quickly approaching and with it comes sun, fresh cut grass, bare baby legs and days outside with the family. We had a photo shoot with Aunt CoCo in the warm sunshine and got our little piggies a little dirty in the surprisingly green grass.

Luckily I have a little warrior child. His brain and body must have an extremely high pain tolerance. He has never cried upon receiving shots, bumping his head or teething. Surgery proved to be a breeze also. Healing went as planned and all looks to be normal. -- I can't believe the time is approaching; the time to begin planning his first birthday party. Something I swore wouldn't be a big deal but inevitably will be "the party" that all babies on the block will be babbling about for years to come! (OK, let's not go that far!)

Thankful for Today

At some point during each week I have an "ah-ha" moment. I wake up and realize that today, I am thankful.

thank-ful:
                : conscious of benefit received
                : expressive of thanks
                : well pleased
                : feeling or showing gratitude

Thankful for my husband who loves me in an unconditional way that only a husband can. He is able to see past my imperfections and silly inconsistencies. He is my backbone and believes in me when no one else seems to be around. He has blessed me with a life that I love and am happy to live, and with a baby boy that has brought new meaning to my existence.

hus-band:

               : a male participant in a marriage

               : a manager

               : a cultivator, a tiller

Thankful for my little Moose, Cooper. Everything that I do in this life is for his benefit. He came into this world and helped me understand that love at first sight does exist. Loving someone more than you love yourself has never been so natural, so immediate. Today I am thankful because Cooper doesn't experience emotional pain; he does not know what it is to feel fear. He is the best thing I have done in my life. I am proud to be a mother. It fills my heart with pride and joy to know that I alone, am his protector- his guardian.

son:
      : a male offspring
      : the divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity

Thankful for a family that sticks together no matter what. My mom, dad, brother and sister are four of the most amazing people I know. They each are unique, yet so much alike. There is an unconditional love between a family that you are unable to find anywhere else. The support we give each other is beyond measure. We are family, but we are the best of friend's also.

fam-i-ly:
             : two or more people who share goals and values
             : have long term commitments to one another
             : all members of a household under one roof

Waiting

Our day consisted of hurry up and wait. Today was Cooper's surgery and as anyone who has been a patient will tell you, it always consists of hurrying to wait. We were scheduled to arrive at Cincinnati Children's Medical Center no later than 9:30am. Cooper was able to nurse as late as 7am thankfully, and was showing no signs of hunger upon arrival. We were triaged and taken to our room where they went through his medical history and obtained his vital signs. Everyone that works at Children's (those that we came in contact with) are so enjoyable to be around. You can tell they love what they do and strive to make each child's experience as positive as possible. We met with anesthesia and the urologist performing his procedure and were informed that surgery would begin "promptly" at 11:08am, last 83 minutes from start to finish and not go over 12:24pm! Talk about precision. Zach was counting down the minutes until they would come and whisk Cooper away and I reminded him that we were on hospital time- where everything happens an hour later than scheduled.

At 11:30am the surgical nurse came to take Cooper. We were able to walk him to the operating room doors and give him "night night" kisses as we handed him off to the anesthesiologist. This must have been the hardest part for us. Leaving our child with a room full of people he does not know, to be intubated and put to sleep. Only to wake up confused, in pain, surrounded by a room full of more people he's not familiar with. Tears filled my eyes as the doors closed and I watched my baby stare me down, wondering where his mommy and daddy were going.

We sat in same day surgery waiting where there is a strange sense of "family." Although we are blessed to have a child that is "healthy as a horse", as one doctor put it, we were nonetheless in the same boat as all the other concerned family members. In that moment I scanned the room, studying each person with wonder. A woman approached us to ask what our son was having done, and I vaguely explained Cooper's procedure. She replied that her 18 year old son was having a kidney removed and started to cry. We wished her and her family well as she took a seat. It was at that moment that I remembered just how blessed we really are. Here I was, carrying guilt for having my 6  month old in surgery for something that he will never remember, while she was waiting on her son to have a kidney removed. The next time I studied the faces in the room, I looked closer and realized there were much larger issues being faced than what we were going through. Blessed is an understatement.

Once out of surgery we met with the urologist who informed us that everything went as planned and Cooper would be waking up shortly. We met Cooper in the recovery area and held him as he slept.

Our day was eventful and filled with stress and anxiety, but it was just that- one day. I have the utmost respect for those parenting a chronically ill child. The bravery that you must exemplify for not only your child, but also your family while going through something so drastic is exhausting to say the least.