"Oh where, oh where has the month of June gone..."

I can’t believe I haven’t updated since June 8th! Oh my…

Well we have had a fun month.

On June 13th we travelled up to Cherry, MN (just outside Hibbing) to help my cousin Jaron celebrate his high school graduation. It was a very fast trip as it is about 4 ½ hours up. We left early Saturday morning and arrived shortly before Jaron’s open house started. It was fun spending time with my two aunts, uncle, and cousins. We were with them until about 7:30 and then we headed to our hotel to settle down for the night. Sunday morning we met up with the family again for breakfast and then headed home about 11:30. Even though it was fast, I think we really enjoyed just getting away for the night and doing something different. Besides, Deb and Gary hadn’t seen Cooper since he was just a few days old and Jill, Kim, Josh, and Jaron hadn’t met him yet.

My parents and sister came for a visit Father’s Day weekend. Mom and Dad just moved and Mom had a “free” Sunday. We enjoyed having them stay a few extra days and goof off. Steve enjoyed my dad’s company and having help with getting a few projects completed or worked on. Mom and I, of course, shopped.

Cooper has had a busy month, too. Let’s see if I can remember everything that is happening…

On Friday he had his ear tubes placed… finally! He was such a brave little boy and did fantastically well! We checked into the outpatient procedure area at 7:15. Cooper wasn’t too sure about changing into a gown, but he did. It was an unfamiliar place with lots of unfamiliar people. He also didn’t appreciate the O2 monitor even though he was fascinated that his big toe was glowing red. He also let me put on the “baby do-rag”, something they wear instead of a hairnet. Steve and I joked that now he can pretend to do surgery or welding. About 8:15 the anesthesiologist came to get him. I laid him on the cart and the anesthesiologist wrapped blanket around him and a belt and then sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as they went down the hall. Cooper never cried. They had told us it would be about 15 minutes, but just as we were settling in finding something to watch on TV a nurse said they done and were coming back... about 10 minutes after he left. Wow, that was fast! Cooper was completely out, but about five minutes later woke up very bright-eyed. It was a mad task to get him unwrapped and the electrode patch off his back before he realized what was going on. After a cup of juice (poor kid had been without food or water since 8pm the night before) we got him dressed and we were out the door at 9:15. Two hours from start to finish. I think they found silly knobs in his ears since he has been over-the-top happy since Friday. I’m sure it feels good to get that fluid and pressure off his eardrums. Hopefully we can catch a break from ear infections for a loooooong time.

Cooper is in the process of graduating from the older infant daycare room to the young toddler room. He started yesterday for a few hours and he will gradually move over there with them anticipating he will be fully transitioned by July 13th. Oh, my baby is growing up! It looks like from the schedule that Toddlers is a bit more structured with lots of projects, outside playtime or large muscle room activities, big toys, music, and time to rest and read. Mommy isn’t sure she is ready to leave Cooper’s teachers. You depend on these people to care for your child when you can’t, so they play a big role in his life. I’ve gotten a bit attached to them. But just as Cooper will adjust, I will, too. I’m sure his new teachers will be wonderful. He will be with some of his old friends that have moved before him.

While brushing his teeth this morning I felt his gums… and was bit a few times, too. Cooper is definitely getting tooth #8 (the fourth tooth on the bottom) and three molars… ALL AT THE SAME TIME! That has got to hurt. I’m sure the fourth molar will come soon, too. Wow! He is really good at brushing his teeth. I do his front teeth and gums (and now the beginnings of his molars) and then he tries… usually chewing on the tooth brush, but, hey, he is trying.

Cooper loves to be outside. This morning as soon as he was dressed he went to the front door and fussed. He wanted to go out. The last few nights we have spent quite a bit of time outside again playing with sidewalk chalk, picking up sticks (Daddy is thrilled at having help in a few years… hopefully Cooper will still think it is fun), picking up rocks, and going for walks. He just doesn’t want to come in.

I thought I’d share this one picture my beloved sister took of my belly… thanks, Missy. I’m not sure what happened, but all of a sudden when doing dishes or brushing my teeth, I have found the sink is getting further and further away. Little one is growing. She has now taken over my entire belly. I can feel her under my ribs, along my sides, and, of course, using my bladder as a pillow or soccer ball. I have another OB appointment today and my OB mentioned she will quickly scan her to see if she is head-down. Not that it probably matter since we are planning a scheduled c-section (which should be scheduled with Labor and Delivery today- Wow, again!) and the fact that Cooper was breech at 36 weeks and he still turned before 40 weeks. I’m pretty sure she is head-down because she is frequently getting hiccups and I’ve been told by OB that where you feel the rhythmic pulse is usually where the head is… my bladder. I frequently sit in awe watching my belly do the wave. I’m almost positive I have a baby butt just above my bellybutton. Oh, by the way… Cooper is absolutely fascinated with bellybuttons. And not just mine because it is starting to stick out. I hope he doesn’t start going up to people to lift their shirts to find one.

Miss Cierra is growing, too. I look at her and see the height of an adult dog. She still needs to fill-out a bit, but she isn’t that little one we brought home four months ago. She also loves to be outside and play with the neighbor dog. We’ve been leaving her out of the kennel in hopes of putting the kennel away. For now she spends the day while we are at work in the kitchen. We make sure she has chew toys, but once in a while she gets bored and eats something she isn’t supposed to. Unfortunately the corners of the walls have been the hardest hit… I mean chewed. Ugh, add those to the project list. When will the chewing end??? She really is a good dog, but she is definitely still a puppy.

(Notice the tennis ball and chew bone next to the damage???)

Well, I think that about updates the highlights of the last few weeks. Time is moving very fast. We have less than six weeks before our daughter will be here. I need to start getting ready.

Here are a few more pictures to enjoy…

Cooper got balloons from Grandma and Papa to help him feel better after his ear tubes.

I love balloons!

My sleeping prince

Caged!

Reading a good book... Good Night, Gorilla

Bookshelves: 1 Cooper:0

Our Big Boy!

Cooper turned sixteen months old on Saturday. No pictures??? What was Mommy thinking?

Cooper slept in his big boy bed for naps this weekend and did fabulously well! I got a little nervous with him on Sunday as he got close to the edge so I put extra pillows beside the bed, but he did just fine. We will eventually work on getting him in there overnight, too, but naps are great for now. He really snoozed yesterday for nearly two hours in it. I just want him used to his new room before his sister comes.

Cooper is scheduled to have his ear tubes placed on the 26th. He probably met ENT’s tube criteria months ago. Five ear infections or fluid for three months. Hmmm, I think the poor kid met both. There was no question for them that he will benefit from the procedure. The resident we saw said she has heard story after story from moms that kids hear better right away and their speech improves… not that we would necessarily see a big difference in his speech since he is just 16 months old. I can only imagine that what he is hearing is like if we had our head underwater or how my ears get after flying… my ears never equalize pressure very well. While I am anxious to have it done, as a mommy I am a bit nervous. I know it is quick and he will only be out for five to ten minutes, but I am putting my son in the hands of others… complete trust. He will be fine. Thankfully we get to do it at a new outpatient center and not at Saint Marys so we should be in and out in a couple of hours rather than all morning at SMH. The surgeon doing it only does pediatrics. He should be back to normal later that day. We chose the Friday date so he has the weekend before going back to daycare.

We had a great weekend… busy, but great. Cooper did a fantastic job during church yesterday. He was quiet through most of the service. About half way through I gave him two of his cars to play with thinking he would roll them on the pew cushion, but Mommy quickly learned that they are more fun to bang on the back of the pew in front of us. I quickly grabbed a book to distract him. A short while later he had some stop-sign crackers (oyster crackers) and then a bottle of milk. That almost got us to the end. We have had several people mention that they never hear him during the service. You never quite know what people are going to think about a small child in service. The family in front of us yesterday once mentioned way back when Cooper was about two months old that the church has a great nursery. I know we do, but I’d like him to sit with us as much as possible without disrupting those around us. We also like to sit toward the front on the side. I’m way to distracted if we sit near the back, so we chose to take our chances.

Well, here is to another week... a bit soggy today, but welcomed rain.

Adventures in parenting… take #... hmm, I don’t know

Some days just seem to be more interesting than others and in the grand scheme of life, these probably really aren’t that interesting, but for today, they seem to be. Now keep in mind that at 29 ½ weeks pregnant the interesting-ness (is that a word?) is a bit more exaggerated than usual. Everything takes longer and is a bit more challenging than not being pregnant.

Cooper had a well baby visit yesterday afternoon. So it all started with trying to carry my child up to Community Pediatrics. This usually isn’t a challenge, but for some reason yesterday everyone was in the Baldwin elevators and at least one wheelchair in each… and the elevators aren’t that big. We were on time, but quickly running out of time as I had to let three elevators go without getting on. Now I could have taken the stairs, but carrying my child can be challenging enough without adding stairs to the mix. We made it up to the third floor only to find a long line of people… did everyone make late-day appointments??? Then I of course was handed 10… and I’m not kidding… sheet so paper to fill out. This is the first time I have had to do a current visit survey on Cooper. Does anyone in the house smoke? How much TV does he watch? How many fruits does he eat? What kind of milk does he drink? etc... And then I had to do a developments survey on him. Thankfully (maybe) Cooper was a bit intimidated by his surrounds (not that I want him to be scared of going to the doctor) and he sat very quietly in the chair next to me while I completed his forms. His visit went well. He is 24 pounds and 31 inches long. His pediatrician did suggest trying to get our “self-decided” vegetarian to eat some meat. We try, but he definitely prefers fruit and veggies to meat. He does eat eggs, cheese, and peanut butter. Overall he looked really good. The decision was made to have his hearing tested based on the fact that he has had so many ear infections and lots of fluid behind his ear drum. His left ear did look red… perhaps another ear infection brewing and his lungs sounded like he had the beginnings of an upper respiratory infection… but he doesn’t seem sick… yet. To end our visit he got two shots. Oh, they never get easier. He held my hands so tight and just cried. But he got a sticker and a book out of it, so not too bad and he forgot about his legs by the time I got him dressed. His pediatrician is leaving at the end of the month and we needed to request a new one as we left. Thankfully, I got the one I think I want. We also got a hearing test appointment for this morning.

So this morning our routine was a little off. You would think that I would have this mastered by now… getting out the door on time, but when you think you have everything under control that is when things don’t always go as planned. I was able to shower and get dressed without too much of a problem. Nothing ended up in the toilet. Thankfully today was garbage day and there wasn’t much for Cooper to empty from our bedroom garbage… and there isn’t anything dangerous in there since we know he likes to empty it. For some reason (my heart gets in the way) I brought Cierra out with us. I just feel so guilty when she is left in the kitchen and I know she will be in her kennel all day. They did great together! I was able to get my hair and make-up done while the two of them entertained each other in the bathroom.

Once again, nothing ended up in the toilet. The only problem was Cooper got a Cierra hair on his tongue and started to gag. His gagging got so bad that he tossed his milk from this morning… curdled milk to be exact. Once again, keep in mind that I am very sensitive to smells and vomit. I can gag very easily these days. So as I glanced at the clock I see we need to leave, very soon! I got another outfit for Cooper and wiped him down the best that I could. For the life of me I couldn’t get that smell of curdled milk to go away, but I didn’t have time to bathe him. I even tried to brush his teeth, again. I got Cierra outside one last time and then in her kennel and we were out the door… with stuffed puppy, pacifier (just in case), and snacks (we were missing daycare breakfast). I neglected to remember (since I never park there) that the Mayo ramps early in the morning are HORRIBLE! I was stuck behind probably eight or so cars and had to go all the way to the top (ten floors) and then start back down to park on level six. Then wait again for an elevator with a ton of other people to get to the subway level. We then quickly hurried (waddled) to another elevator… I’m starting to dislike elevators… to get to our floor in another building. We got to the desk about three minutes past our “check-in” time. Oh well.

Thankfully Mommy doesn’t get to claustrophobic anymore as we had to go through two soundproof thick doors… scary. Cooper had a great audiologist that obviously plays a lot with kids. The audiologist was stacking rings and other objects to keep Cooper entertained while a “puppets” on the wall would periodically make noise or the helper behind the glass called his name. The noise would get louder until Cooper responded. This repeated several times… and Coops even started to anticipate the puppets. They then took pictures of his eardrums with an earplug looking thing (a very scientific description). He then was tested with a headset behind his ear that bypassed his middle ear to test the actual nerve. The results… “Abnormal middle ear function”. The fluid is preventing him from hearing at lower decibels. He has a completely normal hearing test if they bypass his middle ear. Soooooo, tomorrow we will see the ENT doc to get an assessment of what next. They initially wanted to wait 6-8 weeks to see if the fluid would clear and repeat the exam, but I shared with his pediatrician that I didn’t want to wait since he has been battling fluid or an ear infection since last July and I didn’t think 6-8 weeks would give us a different result. She agreed. No to mention little one should arrive about that same time and life will be even more interesting. If he needs tubes I would rather do it before she comes so I can focus on him… even though I know it is a simple procedure. We should know tomorrow. If they tell us we need to wait I may become a momma bear protecting her cub… on pregnancy hormones. But I will be positive. I don’t want to put him through a procedure for the sake of doing it. I’d like him to be ear infection free for more than two months and hearing better! No to much to ask, right???

So off to daycare we went. Cooper fell asleep on the way there and was extra cuddly when I took him out of his seat. It was hard to leave him. I don’t like doing drop-offs. He’s my baby.

Until tomorrow….

A busy weekend!

Relaxing on my new bed...

As Cindy mentioned in her post (http://cindylifeis.blogspot.com/) it is easy to get caught-up in the spirit of the Memorial Day and not the meaning. Great post, Cindy! Thank you to those that died for our freedom, thank you to those that served for our freedom, and we remember those that we have loved and lost.

I have to admit I love three day weekends. It is amazing how much more we can get done in three days than in two. We were busy… as usual. Our “to do’ list is still long and growing, but a few things got marked off (trimming Cierra’s nails- one of many things that got done), some things were never completed (clearing the dining room table… I have Cooper's baby book and a scrapbook to work on)… and a few things got added (“Casper” is messing with the lights in our bedroom and Steve will need to determine why the lights work one moment and not the next… hopefully not a serious electrical issue).

On Friday Cooper tried a new barber. About six weeks ago I took him to my stylist, but she only trimmed it and the poor kid needed a serious haircut. We tried The Barbershop and wow- the stylist did a great job. This place caters to men… and little men. She put on Back at the Barnyard for him to watch as each styling station has its own TV- a bit of a difference between men and women getting their hair done… we chat too much to watch TV. Cooper didn’t mind the clippers as she did the back. She scissor cut the top and then finished by wiping his neck with a warm towel… talk about service. My little boy came out looking like a handsome little man. Mommy is a bit picky in how I want his hair done and she did a wonderful job.

With many of the “to do” list items out of my realm of expertise… changing the oil in the van, running cables for the computer in the kitchen, the bedroom lights, etc, I recruited the help of Jackie and we made an attempt at hanging wallpaper border. It must say it wasn’t too bad. Saturday we marked the walls and put up sizing to prep the walls. On Sunday we actually hung the border and as of this morning it is still in place. It is a little busy, but I think with some wall décor, it will look better. It is a very bright, stimulating room… perfect for a little guy. Hopefully it won’t be too stimulating a he’ll be able to one day sleep in there.

Yesterday I stopped at Michaels to see if they by chance had any wooden cutouts of cars, trucks, trains, or planes. My plan had been to have my dad do them, but they are in the process of moving and he probably doesn’t need another project to work on. I found some cutouts, but they are much smaller than what I had hoped for, but I’m going to see if I can make them work. I was quite surprised to find that the cars and planes perfectly match the ones on the wall paper. I got some acrylic paints and started to paint the cars yesterday afternoon. I also got some wooden letters to spell Cooper. We’ll see how it goes. Of course Steve’s thought… and mine, too… is this another project that ever be finished? We’ll see. It’s hard with the help of little hands… and paint and Cooper don’t go well together yet. If it works I’ll post some pictures of them.

Yesterday also included an extensive afternoon of shopping. I had a “to buy or return” list that was about as long as the “to do” list. I had tried to buy some garment extenders for some onesie polo shirts I bought Cooper. Kids clothing makes no sense. I got 24month shirts thinking he will grow into them as he is in mostly 18 month shirts and some 24 month shirts… wrong. I’m thinking it is the onesie part, but they are too short and the poor kid hasn’t even worn them yet. The 3Ts look huge. Well, the garment extenders didn’t work, so I took them back. A couple of weeks ago I bought Cooper a pair of new shoes, but then found another pair I like better that were a bit cheaper, so the others had to go back. Then… our beloved puppy… yes the cute one… managed to eat/destroy FOUR pairs of shoes in two hours Sunday evening- two of them being my sandals. I needed to find replacements… which isn’t an easy task. Then I needed some graduation cards and new pj’s for me… So Cooper and I had a fun afternoon of shopping. He was a perfect little boy and ended up sleeping in his stroller through most of it.

I have been having lots of dreams about our little one arriving. I think part of me is panicking that we don’t have her named and all of a sudden she is here… without a name. A few nights ago I dreamt I was in Mexico having a c-section without anesthesia (but it didn’t hurt) and had a 9kg baby… that’s about a 20 pound baby! All I could say was that the dresses I bought wouldn’t fit her. And then I found a bag I had packed, all I had were blue shorts. Oh my. In my dream the other night she was here, but very early and very small and again, I said the dresses wouldn’t fit. I must also be worried that the going home dresses won’t fit. In another dream, we discovered that there two babies! Last week our next door neighbor asked if I was having two since I am getting big really fast… thank you, Sharon and then I’ve been feeling her move in two spots at the same time… no wonder two popped up (out) in my dream. We know there is only one little one in there. Dreams can be so weird. In reality, with 38 weeks being term, she will be ready to come in less than ten weeks- WOW!

Hmmm… I think that about sums up the weekend. I could use another one.

Beautiful days and random happenings...

We have had an incredible week of warm weather and have had some great opportunities to spend time outside. I bought Cooper some sidewalk chalk and a new ball for outside. The other evening we sat outside waiting for Daddy to come home and drew some pictures. Cooper helped enhance my drawings. I didn’t think sidewalk chalk would be so messy, but who cares… it washes. And we had fun!

Last night we got out for another walk. It was just a beautiful night. Cierra is not fond of wearing a gentle leader collar, but in her adolescent state she is pulling too much to walk without it. What happened to our beautiful off-leash walker during puppy class??? She is testing her boundaries.

Cooper also scored a new lawn chair. The other night while out on the deck to grill brats, he tried to climb onto the patio chairs, but he is too little… so while we were waiting for a prescription at Target (of course that is dangerous for Mommy if Cooper is with since we wander the store and we find too much), I found a little dinosaur chair for him. At first he could crawl in it, but struggled to get out, but with Cooper being Cooper, persistence paid off and it didn’t take him long to figure out how to get out. Now he can sit in his chair like a big boy.

Hanging out in my chair

Little One and I had another appointment on Monday. She is looking really good. Her heart rate was high, but then Dr. M determined the Doppler was picking up my heart rate, too. She could hear it in the background. Little One was really in the 140-150 range. She measured right on for 27 weeks.

I don’t think I shared that with Cooper I had gestational diabetes. So there you have it… a confession. It’s just that as a woman I feel like I have failed my unborn child. I am doing everything I can to have a healthy pregnancy. I did that with Cooper. He was more important than any craving I had and so is she. But along with this confession comes the truth that I have many, many moments where I hit the wall and want to throw a pity party for myself. Today in fact… or if you ask Jackie and Steve I’m sure I sound like a broken record and they would tell you every day for the last six weeks. I have to talk myself out of something I am desperately craving. I am very fortunate. This is something that can be controlled. I also didn’t have to do the one hour or the three hour glucose tests. It is just assumed that you have it the second time around. So I watch what I eat and poke my fingers. Unfortunately it isn’t as easy as it sounds. I need calories without carbohydrates. And most of the calories I love are carbohydrates. I’m starting to reach a point of being very tired of peanut butter, nuts, eggs, salads, etc. Now what? Since my first OB appointment I have gained 2 ½ pounds. With about 11 weeks to go my OB is starting to get concerned. So for now we watch it. Enough complaining. ** As I write this my little girl is wiggling just above my belly button. It’s her reminder to me that she is right here with me. **

Can someone tell me how to control the emotional hormones? I struggled with this while I was pregnant for Cooper, too. I am a sobbing mess. There is one OnStar commercial that I keep hearing that sends me into tears every time I hear it. It is the woman who was just hit by a truck and the OnStar operator asks if there is anyone she can call, after calling for an ambulance, and the woman asks for her husband. She is worried about the car and he is worried about her. Sob, sob. Then, I watch the Disney commercial with the little guy getting his hair cut with Celebrate You in the background. I just want to go to the daycare and cuddle with Cooper every time I see that one.

So here’s to hugging your kids and loving your husband! I need a Kleenex, please.

Sitting with Daddy in the back of the van

Walking up the driveway. (Those really aren't Bermuda shorts, but Cooper has short legs.)

"I love how grass feels"

"River Rocks!"

Happy Mother's Day!

Okay, it is a day late, but… everyday should be celebrated as Mother’s Day, right? I LOVE being a mom every day. I LOVE my mom every day. And I celebrate those women that have an impact on my life every day. Now I suppose I can’t request flowers and the wonderful meals I enjoyed yesterday every day, but we can celebrate life… which is what it is all about.

Yesterday, Chef Steven… aka daddy, made a wonderful breakfast of white chocolate chip pancakes and then an absolutely awesome lunch of rib eyes, cantaloupe, salad with sun dried tomato vinaigrette, and Dove chocolate ice cream bars. I also got a beautiful pot of New Guinea Impatiens … I love them!

We had another fast weekend. There is just so much to do and so little time.

Friday, Cooper made his TV debut. Minnesota passed legislation last week that will ban BPA, which helps make plastic shatter-proof, in 2011. I started to hear about the possible negative health effects of BPA when I was pregnant for Cooper and stopped using my Nalgene water bottle. We also made the decision to not use BPA bottles for Cooper… I didn't have to change the bottle I wanted to use since the Playtex Drop-Ins are BPA-free. Cooper’s daycare provides his bottles and sippy cups and I made the request that he only use BPA-free items. I maybe be a BPA-free nut, but why take chances. I've been glad to see that most of the manufacturers of bottles have already made them BPA-free. That wasn't the case when we were getting bottle for Cooper. In fact, Babies'R'Us had a sign up that they are now BPA-free. So anyway… there was a reporter coming to the daycare as I picked Cooper up and the director asked if I would stay so that he could get footage of Cooper along with a couple of other BPA-free kids. I agreed, but didn’t realize I would be interviewed until it happened. If you would like to see the video or read the story here is the link… But be gentle if you comment. Watching yourself on video is hard enough.
http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S922773.shtml?cat=10151

We made great progress on Cooper’s new room this weekend. The wallpaper border came on Friday, but it may take a week or two to get it up. Steve and I bought another crib mattress for the toddler bed last night and Steve put the bed together. I still need to wash the bedding and make it. Cooper loved crawling on it, so I hope that it is a good sign that he won’t mind moving in there. He can’t quite crawl up on it, but I think within a day or so he will master it. He’s about an inch too short to crawl up on it easily. He can get off of it really well by turning around and sliding down on his tummy. We bought foam mats of the alphabet, numbers, and Cooper’s name in place of a rug. They are very comfy to sit and stand on. And hopefully, will provide a bit of cushion if he rolls out of bed. His room is very bright and cheery with the décor. I was going to take a picture of it, but figured I would wait until I get the bedding on and the wallpaper border up. Now will be the challenge in transitioning all of Cooper’s stuff to his new room. We will still need to use the changing table, but I want to move his clothes over. I think I will stack his diapers in one drawer and little one’s in the other drawer. We’ll get this figured out some day.

About a week ago while giving Cooper a bath, he started to lie on his tummy and blow bubbles. I didn’t have the camera, but did get a shot of it yesterday. He loves to be in the bath. I’m not sure how he knows to blow bubbles, but I can’t wait to try swimming lessons when he is a little older. He did get a couple of mouthfuls of water, but not bad considering. He can kick his feet, too. My little fish. We’ll get a pool for him this summer. Mommy may have to share it with him.

I had an OB appointment last week. It was again fairly uneventful. Little one is measuring right on for my due date and her heart rate was in the 140’s. I’m starting to feel pregnant. I keep thinking I need to pace myself as I still have about three months. My back is starting to ache with long walks or walking with Cooper for too long. She is very active most days. I love feeling her move. She really gets active when I am holding Cooper. I don’t know if it is the beginnings of sibling rivalry or if she is feeling the pressure of him next to her. Cooper doesn’t know or feel that she is moving, but I wonder if that will change once she makes the really powerful kicks in the next few months.

Well it’s Monday afternoon and I am ready for a nap… too bad I still have a few hours of work left. Sleep… it will come many, many years from now.

Time flies, but we are having fun!

April 28th… where did the month go? Where did the first four months of the year go? Little one’s ticker says 109 days until she is “officially” due, but she be here sooner. Wow!

Here are a few pictures and updates from the last two weeks…

Oh where, oh where, oh where is Cooper???

"Here I am!"


Peek-a-boo!



My mom and dad came to visit last week. They were just here overnight, but we had fun in the short time they were here…. lots of shopping and chatting. They brought Logan’s toddler bed and the bedding set for Cooper’s new room. Hopefully we can get it started soon. They also brought some of Jacob’s old toys and Missy’s baby doll from when we were younger. Cooper has taken to his “baby sister”. He’ll have his baby to take care of once his real baby sister arrives.

Maybe we should work on how to hold a baby...

And how to hug them...

I love babies!

"Does she have teeth, yet?"

Cooper had fun playing with Papa.

Cierra graduated from puppy class on Saturday! I can’t believe we started the class eight weeks ago! We’ve had her over two months now. She is still young and has some work to do, but she did very well on her graduation test. She had to sit, lie down, stay at an open door without going out until called, leave treats until told she could have them, walk on a loose leash through PetSmart, walk off leash for a lap (keep in mind PetSmart has lots and lots of distractions!), and stay for 30 seconds. The stay took a couple of tries, but not bad for a pup with a lot of energy. I’m still amazed she can do “leave it” with food and stay at an open door until called. We’ll miss the formal class time to work on commands, but we’ll appreciate getting our Saturday mornings back… I’m sure Jackie will, too. Jackie has been wonderful and has kept Cooper so that we could both take Cierra to class. Maybe in a few months… or next year we’ll take the intermediate class. I would love for her to get a Good Canine Citizenship certificate. Someday.

We really got a great dog. She is so good with Cooper! She will do the puppy nips with us when she wants to play, but only licks at Cooper. He will tug on her ears and coat, but she just takes it as attention from Cooper and just sits there. Such a good puppy. We’ve been bring her into the living room more and more and she is doing really well. I think we can say that she is officially potty trained! Now to just get past the chewing… someday. She just has a couple more teeth to lose and then I think she will have all of her adult teeth. She loves Cooper’s toys, so she needs constant watching. I can’t wait for the day that we can have her in the living room all the time. She is definitely growing. I’ll take her back to the vet early Mayo to get a current weight. I’m sure she has made it to 50 pounds. This might be why...

Cooper got outside a few times this last week. He loves to explore. He loves to pick up mulch and the river rocks next to the house and hand them to me… What a find! It’s been a bit cooler and rainy the last few days, but we’ll get out again soon.

Cooper got to spend last Friday evening with his friend Amaya… a very big thank you to Jan and Steve!!! Steve and I got to go out for a quiet dinner… a rare treat these days and I’m sure it will soon be even rarer. He had a blast with Amaya! They look like they could be twins…, but then again they are only about two weeks apart. Very cute kids!

I'm sooo tired...


"These puppies are calmer than the other one."



Little one… oh, she needs a name!... is doing great! I’m really feeling her on the outside now. She got in a few really good kicks last night and then a few more this morning. I had Steve put his hand on my belly last night, but as soon as he did she stopped. Sounds like what Cooper did. Silly kids! Soon her movements will be even easier to feel. I love it! I have an OB appointment next week. Just three months (and a few days) and she’ll be here.

More later...........

After Easter update

I had hoped to get an update on Easter, but it just didn’t happen. So here it is…

Steve’s parents came to visit on their way back from Texas on Friday and spent the weekend with us. Friday night was fairly uneventful as Steve and I left Cooper with Grandma and Grandpa to go to Babies’R’Us to buy diapers and a few extra things. Gotta get diapers cheap when you can! Saturday we took Cierra to puppy class while Grandma took care of Cooper again. I think she enjoyed spending the time with him.

Cierra did great at class. With the other dog gone for Easter we had one on one time with our trainer. We worked on sit and stay at the door with distractions… and she did very well. As long as there is food involved Cierra will do just about anything. We walked a few laps around the store and greeted staff. Cierra had to sit to get attention from them. She also had to go a sit, a down, or a “leave it” on each wall of the walk. She really does well with leave it! She breezed through that exercise. Then we worked on staying for 20 seconds. That one was a bit harder. We still need to work on it more.

Saturday then became a bit more interesting with Cooper running a fever of 102. We game him Motrin and Tylenol, but he creeped up to 103. Steve’s mom and I gave him a bath that evening and when I took him out of the tub he didn’t want me to unwrap him from the towel and he was shivering. I checked his temp again and this time he was 104.5. We had been alternating the Tylenol and Motrin all day and never saw a break. After calling the pediatrician on-call, he suggested being seen right away as it was the weekend… of course. We spent about three hours in the ER and had absolutely wonderful care! No waiting this time. After a diagnosis of bronchiolitis and an ear infection… still, he got more Tylenol and Motrin, a neb, and antibiotics and we were sent home.

If it hadn’t been Easter we wouldn’t have gone to church, but Cooper seemed to be in a pretty good mood even with a temp. He slept through much of the service. I think a combination of him radiating heat and me being pregnant, I was miserable by the end of the sermon. I don’t know, but I would think he was back to about 104. Probably against my better judgment, but with more Tylenol and Motrin, we went out to dinner. The experience was lacking in service and the food was questionable, but it was reasonably good.


Cooper didn't have a ton of energy in these pictures, but he's still cute and quite handsome in his shirt and sweater! Usually the pacifier is for bed, but when he doesn't feel good, he wants it. Don't ask about the bottle nipple in the last picture... he loves playing with them.



"Can I eat my bunny now?... Before Mom get's to the ears?"

Steve’s parents left about 3pm on Sunday to head back to Michigan and get settled for the summer.

Cooper and I stayed home together on Monday and Tuesday and he slept, snuggled, and played. We had two really good days together.

Yesterday I missed a great photo opportunity. Cooper was standing at the gate and Cierra was sitting up against the gate on the other side. Cooper reached through the bars and gave her a big hug. As soon as I grabbed the camera they were both looking at me like, “Missed it!” He does so well with her and she with him!

I had an incredible experience this morning. If it hadn’t been at about 5am it would have been a bit better, but still very neat… in its own way. I had both kids kicking me at the same time. Cooper was in bed with me and was very restless and was kicking my upper belly. My little girl was kicking my lower belly at the same time. While being kicked by Cooper isn’t usually a pleasant experience, it was interesting to feel them both. The day will probably come where both will be kicking on the outside… in our bed. We may need a bigger bed.

My other incredible experience of the day was when I put Cooper on the changing table to get him dressed. We’ve been doing these hugs in the morning when he gets dressed. I say, “I love you!” and he squeezes me back really tight… and gives me a kiss… really wet and on the mouth… a very endearing act. This morning he started to say, “Waa u”. I think it was his version of “I love you”. It will make a mommy’s heart melt.

Cooper, Cierra, and Baby...

Hello again! I finally found a few minutes to update. The fast-paced adventure continues.

The poor camera has been neglected which means the blog has been neglected of pictures. But I got a few. These are the ones that keep us busy. :)

Mealtimes have become a real adventure! Cooper is trying to use a spoon, but most things don’t end up in his mouth. He also does not want any help, so unless we are prepare for a mess, anything the consistency of yogurt or applesauce, etc is not had. We are sticking to lots of finger foods. Cooper also loves to “get into” his food. His tray is “finger painted” as well as his face. Cleaning him up is fun, but I know this is a learning process. He is really good at rubbing it through his eyebrows and hair… especially when he isn't due for a bath. While Cierra doesn’t beg from us, she knows exactly where to sit to get treats from Cooper. About two weeks ago tooth #5 and tooth #6 came in. Cooper is great at biting into things… and even bit Mommy while I was brushing his teeth last weekend. He didn’t mean to… I don’t think… but it hurt.

You should see our master walker! Very little crawling for Cooper these days! He went from a step or two to five or six steps to across the room to now from one end of the house to the other. He has made great strides in balance.

We have one smart little boy. He loves to play with the real phone… hoping he doesn’t try to call China. We were taking out the one of the batteries, but he figured out what we were doing and now he just hands the phone back if one is out. He loves to turn anything into a phone and pretend to talk, but then he wants us to talk on it, too. Yesterday he was “talking” on the light/fan remote from our bedroom. It does look like his play cell phone. Watching him figure things out is amazing.

Last night he was taking all our (I suppose that should read “my”) books and putting them on the floor. Steve went to sit with him and they carried on a conversation for quite some time. I wish I would have caught it on video… oh yeah, we need to use that more often.

Cierra is doing really well. I think she is growing. It’s hard to tell when we are with her every day, but she seems bigger. She also seems to be losing her puppy look. Puppy classes are going well. We are working on sit and stay at the door. So far so good as long as we have treats. Last week she had to walk over treats and leave them… very tough for a food motivated dog. The trainer said it would likely take a few weeks to master. She has had virtually no potty accidents in the house for about two weeks. Wow! We’ve been letting her in the living room more and more. It is easier to do after Cooper has gone to bed and his toys are picked up. She just seems so much happier to be with us. I can’t wait for the day when she can have free run of the house. The vet said the chewing should slow down after about six months… she’s five now. We’ve found seven puppy teeth, but I think she is nearly done as most look pretty adult. The other night at some point she started to chew the corner of the kitchen wall. Ugh. I think we may need to get the movie Marley and Me and rename it Cierra and Me. But overall she is such a good dog. This stuff, while not desired, is to be expected. At least she didn’t eat a huge chuck of wall… that spot will just have to be repainted.

I had an OB appointment yesterday and all is going great! Her heart rate was in the 140s and she is measuring right on. I’ll see my OB again in four weeks. Wow, these months are going fast! Every time I look at the ticker at the top of the blog I think, “Really??? Only that may more days??? Wasn’t is just at 165?”. And keep in mind that we will likely go a week early, so subtract six or so days.

The other day I stopped in the baby section of JCP and found two little pink and white sundresses. I’ve wanted to find a going home outfit (yes, I know it is a few months away, but…) and I couldn’t decide between the two, so I bought them both with a little pink cardigan and matching booties. I keep telling myself that I only really get to do this once. I love buying little boy clothes and I’m having just as much fun with little girl clothes.

Well there is so much I could tell you, but this will do for now. I hope to be back sooner than two weeks from now.

Welcome to the Hull Three Ring Circus…

Well maybe it’s just two rings for the moment, but I’m sure life is only going to get more interesting. I’m not sure which way is up and which way is down and I don’t know if I am coming or coning. Things seem to be a bit of a blur these days. So I thought I’d write a quick post to let you know that we are still here. I’m not sure what happened in the last week or so, but time has gone very fast.

To start, Cooper is sick again. I had a cold a few weeks ago… nothing much and I was really hopefully he wouldn’t get it. I don’t know if it was my cold or if he picked something up elsewhere, but he is sick. After a few days of him whining and being easily irritated… not fun in a 13 month old, we suspected he had another ear infection and guess what??? He does! I hate to say we are getting good at diagnosing these things… in Cooper. When I asked about tubes the pediatrician said six in a year… well he is on #5. I don’t want to put my child through a procedure just for the fun of it, but I can only imagine he isn’t going to miraculously stop having them. She said we are moving out of ear infection season and we’ll see how he does. But as I remember he had ear infections in July and August… not quite ear infection season. He also has a horrible cough, so we are back to doing the albuterol inhaler. He still sounds rough and I’m walking that line of do I take him in again or wait another day or two. Sure enough it is the weekend which makes that decision even harder. They do have appointments tomorrow morning, if we need to. Poor kid. I know he doesn’t feel good.

Even though Cooper is sick, it hasn’t deterred him from walking. The longest stretch I have seen was about five feet. He usually does about 5-6 steps and falls, but that is an improvement from the 1-2 and falling. I think in the next week or so he will have it mastered. He also continues to climb on anything he can. That skill (hmmm is that what it is?) got him a sore lip and gum yesterday at daycare as he fell off a step stool. They try to keep him on the floor, but any opportunity to climb, he does. Thankfully his teeth are fine and he didn’t get a fat lip. Yesterday he also sat on a basketball, so he doesn’t really have any issues with balance. Silly boy.

Oh Miss Cierra. She is a wonderful dog, but the puppy stage can be challenging at times. In all honesty she is doing great… hardly any potty accidents in the house and she is quick to learn new things. She has sit and down mastered. Last week at puppy class we had a 20 foot lead that we couldn’t hold onto. We could step on it if we needed to. The task was to wander around PetSmart and have her follow us on voice command. Keep in mind this was a Saturday morning with people, kids, and other dogs in the store. I was a bit frightened when I trainer told us what we were doing, but Cierra did extremely well. She listened and followed us. As part of the puppy stage, last Saturday she had to be de-wormed again and the label on the tablets said, “May cause loose stools”… yeah right. Cierra had a reaction to the medication and had brown water coming from her… yuck. On Monday she had an accident in her kennel while were at work. I’m quite sensitive to smells and other things these days… sorry to gross you out, but I started retching while cleaning it up and added to the already disgusting mess. Yuck! Poor Cooper and Cierra sat watching me.

The other night Cierra got the sillies… where she goes crazy running from one end of the kitchen to the other. Well, she discovered that with a good running start she could launch herself over the baby gate and into the dining room to be with us. How she did it without getting hurt, I don’t know. She hasn’t made it over since, but I know she is trying. We’ve been slowing introducing her to the living room. She wants to be with us, but we don’t trust her yet and need to watch her every second. Cooper’s toys also have to be picked up or she thinks she can take them. Once the novelty of the living room wears off she’ll probably be fine.

I’ve really started to feel our little girl move! It is still very faint yet… as I know that won’t last for long… which excites me as I LOVED feeling Cooper move. My belly is popping out more. I’m still having clothing issues as I don’t have enough for maternity shirts, but regular shirts are too short. Oh my, the shirt I put on today works as long as I don’t move, lift anything, or raise my arms. What was I thinking??? I guess it’s time to put most of my regular shirts away until next fall. I love being pregnant… other than being exhausted. I can’t complain I feel really good. Last night I had a dream that she was here and didn’t have a name. In my dream I kept thinking where did those last 20 weeks go and how didn’t we get her named???... I have a feeling the 20 weeks going fast will be a reality, but I hope we have her named before August. Send suggestions, if you would like, but please don’t feel hurt if she isn’t named one of them. And I thought naming the dog was hard…

Well it’s Friday and I’m ready for it. We have determined that we actually get less sleep on the weekends, so here is to hoping for Monday… No, no, no, not really! I love weekends! :)

“g-gl” and pickles…

Interesting title??? Read a little further down…

Well, I didn’t get the ultrasound photos scanned, but I thought I’d give you an update anyway…

It was a fast weekend, but they usually are! It was gorgeous here! Finally warm weather has come. Today it is 63. It is so much easier to do potty training with a dog when you don’t have to get all bundled up and hope she doesn’t go potty in the house in the meantime. Not to mention hoping she would just hurry up and go then it is below zero and blowing. We had a calmer weekend as we didn’t do much. It was nice to have some time to just breathe and relax. I started to clean the bathroom closet yesterday, but put it all back right before bed when I realized it just wasn’t going to happen. Someday we’ll get it done.

Back to Friday afternoon… As you know we had a fabulous OB appointment. Our little girl is absolutely beautiful! Her heart and brain look great. Two kidneys, no spinal defects, no signs of Down’s Syndrome, etc. We saw five fingers on each hand and we have a neat shot of her feet. It looked better on the ultrasound, but they look like footprints. She was wiggling all over… if we thought Cooper was a wiggler, I think she has him beat. It was neat to see her arms move. She had her right arm near her head most of the time that we saw her. She weights about 8oz right now and measures right on for my due date. I saw a resident following the ultrasound as my OB was gone last week. It took him about a minute to tell me everything was fine… which I knew as I had already seen a perinatologist following the ultrasound… another perk of being advanced maternal age. He wrote an appointment request for four weeks and let me go.

A note about Steve’s reaction to a girl… When we started to think about a dog, there was some debate about a male (Steve) or female (me) and which side would win as we knew we’d probably not wait for the ultrasound to decide the gender of the dog. We also knew were going to adopt a dog so we decided to let the right dog choose us. As you know we got a female. So, Steve’s first reaction when the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl was that we needed to go and get a male dog… to keep the testosterone/estrogen balance. No, little Cierra will be more than enough.

So on to other happenings.

I just have to share how much Cooper LOVES pickles. The kid can’t get enough of them. He is completely obsessed if he sees one. Forget any other food. I have a strong love for pickles and apparently it was passed in the genes. Yesterday after breaking off several pieces of a pickle I gave the rest to him… about ¾ of one. I was sitting with him in case he bit off a piece too large. He ate the whole thing! Move over chocolate this kids loves pickles!

This morning during breakfast we heard a word that was something of g-gl. Steve and I both think Cooper is trying to call Cierra “Good Girl”. It makes sense since we usually say something like, “Cierra, sit. Good Girl”. I’m sure he figures “Good Girl” is her name. I asked him where Good Girl was and he looked right at her.

Cooper took about ten steps on Saturday! He is gaining more and more confidence in walking. Soon he’ll be running. Another fun Cooper story is that he is starting to follow commands. I told him to go tickle Daddy and he did it! He is just to fun to watch. He loves to tickle toes.

Have I ever said how much I love being a parent??? No two days are alike!

Sooooo.... Can you guess???

I'll try to ge the ultrsound photos scanned and posted this weekend. So I'll keep this short. We'll be celebrating the news of a healthy baby this weekend! Everything looked great!!! I am excited... now to go buy some dresses and lots of pink!

Another day of anticipated excitement…

Well tomorrow (Friday) afternoon is our anatomy ultrasound for Baby Hull. For those of you that read my blog while I was pregnant with Cooper know I was pretty nervous when we had his ultrasound… and excited, too. This time I am really trying to not get quite as worked up. Why worry? It’s not going to do any good and it will just get me flustered. I am praying for a healthy baby. A great heart and brain, etc. I will be nearly 18 weeks so hopefully this little one cooperates and everything that needs to be seen can be. And hopefully he or she will reveal himself or herself. I know I have had several people say, “don’t find out”, but I really want to know and it will definitely be a surprise. I don’t think it spoils it by knowing early. I loved knowing Cooper was a boy…. partially since it took us so long to finally decide on his name. We probably had him named before he was conceived, but we wanted to make sure that we had chosen the right name. It will hopefully prepare us if we need to buy girl stuff or little boy clothes that are the right season. Knowing Cooper was a boy didn’t change how we felt about him when he did arrive. In fact, I think I may have bonded with him even more after I found out he was a boy. I was so in love with him… and I would have been just in love if Cooper had been a girl. As I said all I want is a healthy baby… that is all that truly matters. So for the next 22 hours I will try to breathe and relax and think good thoughts.

Please hold us in your prayers as we anticipate with excitement in seeing our little one tomorrow. I will try to update this after our appointment.

The privilege of parenthood

I have to share an observation from the other night… well I feel this quite often, but the other night really hit me. Maybe it is partially pregnancy hormone induced or the sermon at church on Sunday on peace and the dependence of a small child on his parents.

The other night I was cleaning out my hall closet (yes, I can’t get all my clothes in one closet, but that is changing… hopefully) in preparation to get stuff out of the closet in the room we are going to move Cooper into. Cooper was trying to help me. Steve then came to join us and the three of us were sitting in the hallway. Cooper crawled on Steve’s lap and started giggling. It hit me really hard what a privilege it is to be a parent. God chose us to care for this little guy, protect him, and guide him. I watched the complete joy on his face in the simple act of sitting on the floor with us. There was a peace about him that all of his needs at the moment were met. Often our days are so busy that we continue to move forward, but we don’t always take the time to appreciate the moments of just being together. I am honored that God chose me to be Cooper’s mom. I know I have said many times that I think that Cooper is an incredible child. He is! There is something so incredibly special about the love of a child.

Life is beautiful!

Introducing Cierra...

Life continues to be rich and full in the Hull house. To add to the excitement, on Saturday the three of us ventured to Faribault, MN to a rescue shelter to see a little four month old black lab puppy. Needless to say, we brought a little bundle of energy home with us. I think we knew before we left that we were bringing a dog home. We were to see another dog that day, but we never made it up there as I fell in love within moments and about 45 minutes later I was paying for her and we headed back home.

Cierra (meaning black in Irish) is quite the little girl. She is a typical puppy starting the chewing stage… she is teething and needing to chew… sound familiar? She and Cooper seem to be at the same stage on many levels. She is doing well with potty training. She hasn’t had any accidents in her kennel at night or while we are we’ve been at work. She has had a few potty accidents while we are home and didn’t catch the signal right away (we are still learning, too). But no poo accidents since the one on Saturday. She can sit on command and Steve has her shaking for treats. We need to work on her lying down and staying. She is jumping up, but knows that she doesn’t get any attention until she gets down. Cierra loves to play ball, but being 4 months tires pretty easily and needs frequent “dog” naps. She does really well on a leash and walking. Right now I would guess she is about 30 pounds (we’ll find out when I take her to the vet this afternoon), but her foster mom thinks she’ll get to about 70 pounds. Her mom was Black Lab/ German shepherd. They don’t know what dad was, but since she looks all lab, they think dad was likely a lab, too. She had four brothers and four sisters. She was the largest female. One of her brothers had feet about the same size as Cody’s. They will likely be big boys. She is so small right now (compared to what we are used to) that it is hard to imagine what she will look like full grown. I hope she is big.

As for Cooper, he is enjoying watching the puppy. We are keeping them separated as she has a bit too much energy for Cooper, but someday I think they will be best friends. He has started to feed her Cheerios in the morning and she has started to figure out that they taste good. She doesn’t know to beg yet and hopefully won’t.

Cooper said his first real word… “Hi”. And he loves to say it and wave. Sunday night he started with it and hasn’t stopped. He often initiates it and wants a response back. Apparently the daycare director had some visitors in yesterday (I think it was their accreditation) and he had to say to each person.

Last night Cooper and I spent about twenty minutes pulling off and putting on the cap to a cardboard mailing tube. He was determined to figure it out. Watching his facial expressions was interesting. I’d swear I could see his mind at work. I have a feeling he is going to be quite analytical in his thought processes.

Here is another picture of his climbing adventures. He actually stood up on his feet, too. He has started to climb on objects to reach things that he shouldn’t. He needs a rope and a helmet… and a climbing wall.

As I said life is interesting. It’s no wonder I forget that I am pregnant, other than when I can fall asleep sitting up. We are busy… perhaps a bit crazy at times, but it is all wonderful!