Monday, July 26, 2010

Nursing

I am pretty sure everyone knows that I haven't finished my nursing test(s) yet :( I am studying/cramming/planning to take the 2nd exit exam this week!! Please pray for me! I need all the help and determination I can get!! When I pass I will take the final NCLEX soon after.

We (Cooper and I) are leaving for Michigan on August 4! Unfortunately, Brady has to work. But I am anxious for everyone to FINALLY meet Cooper!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Rest

Cooper finally slept through the night after a few rough ones! He was actually extremely exhausted. I was in town during his afternoon nap so he missed it. Then he only took a 30 minute nap later that afternoon (he had a screaming episode-he cried in bed for about an hour after he woke up). He was then up until 8:45 when he fell asleep on Brady. Brady put him to bed (I was studying and completely unaware of what was going on) and he slept until 5:50 this morning, ate, then went to sleep until 8:30! I fed him before we went to bed and gave him some tylenol in case he was to wake up he wouldn't be in pain.

I have seen this video on other people's blogs and on facebook and never took the time to watch it. This video makes me feel better about all the late nights and early mornings, the crying, the screaming, and the vomit that happens every day.

Here is a picture of how he usually is...full belly and pain free!
Just for fun: Cooper's thighs are getting bigger!!!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

No sleep

Cooper is being a STINKER! He sleeps great all day long. Takes 3 naps during the day (goes down without a peep), happy as can be, eats well, and is just perfect!! Come 8:00-9:00 he is completely different. He is whiney and wants to be with me all the time. And he won't go to sleep. He refuses! We feed him, 30 minutes later we swaddle him and put him down. He giggles and talks right up until the moment he hits the mattress. We've tried letting him cry, we've tried holding him, rocking him, singing to him, tylenol, teething tablets, more food...we have no idea what to do! He does this until about 11:00 and then sleeps until about 1:00 am. Then he wakes up screaming. So we give him a pacifier...works for about 10 minutes and he's up again. So we feed him...he falls asleep for another hour or 2. Then he's up again...it's a continuous cycle that is making Brady and I go craZy! It's only happened 2 or 3 nights but it is super frustrating when he's never done this before. A few explanations run through my head...

1. teething. I know teething hurts. My wisdom teeth just came in within the last few years. I am starting to feel like we are drugging our child with Tylenol every night (usually a last resort along with teething tablets).
2. tummy pains. I wonder if feeding him food is hurting his tummy. He's pooping fine (a little firmer than with just formula) but maybe it's not digesting well. But then he calms down after he has a bottle. Maybe he's hungry?
3. attachment to me. About every time he calms down it's because I am holding him and rocking him. He relaxes and his eyes are heavy...then I put him down in bed. Immediately he starts crying. Brady can't seem to calm him down, ever.
4. wants to play. There have been a few times where I go in there and he gets excited and starts giggling. It's only happened a few times but it crossed my mind.
5. too many naps. Should I drop a nap? But he's on a 4 hour schedule and it's rough to get him through 2 hours of play time. But maybe he's getting too much sleep.

Ugh this little boy is so perfect during the day...why can't he be perfect at night?? It's a good thing Brady is here to help. Usually I was the one getting up with him when he occasionally woke up, but this is just too much. We both are so confused! Cooper never has been like this before and we are losing our patience...especially with the lack of sleep. If you have any ideas on what we should do I would LOVE the advice!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Weekend Events

Our summer has been really busy with work, baby, and studying. Lately, our days go a little like this...Cooper wakes up, Brady goes to work, I stay home with Cooper (clean, study, be a mother), Brady gets home, I make dinner, we do something as a family (usually a walk or a little drive), Cooper goes down for bed, we pick up, read, then go to bed. It seems to be the same ol' routine every single day. Don't get me wrong, I need to have a routine or I get a little uptight but I do miss being spontaneous and doing whatever, whenever. Below is our weekend of fun! BEWARE: it's long and possibly boring :)

Friday afternoon I asked Brady what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to watch the Netflix movie that had come and I thought that would be a great idea! So after Cooper went to sleep we made a little bed in our living room and turned on the movie. We attempted to make some popcorn, but I think it was too old. Not even half of the kernels popped! So we went without popcorn but enjoyed the movie together. We watched Valentine's Day. I wouldn't recommend it.

Saturday: We had talked about going to Ketchum or maybe Utah. Then we got a call about a birthday party on Saturday and we decided to stay in town and attend that. Friday we got a call from Brady's parents and they were going to be at a craft show about 2 hours away so we decided last minute (saturday morning) we would drive up there to see them. It ended up being a 3 hours drive but it was so beautiful! We drove along the Sawtooth Mountains in a very green area. It made me miss Michigan's beauty. The sky was a bright blue with not a cloud in sight. However, it was extremely hot and Brady's air conditioning doesn't work very well. We only had to stop to feed Cooper once and change his stinky diaper. He slept for a little bit but played and talked to himself the rest of the time. He does this cute thing where he'll turn his head around just to look at Brady and I. When we got to the craft show we sat around their tent and talked. It was nice to be outside and with his family. They cuddled Cooper and mentioned how much he has changed. He even slept in Grandma's arms, which really surprised us because he never does that (only when he's exhausted). We were there for a few hours and then headed home. We stopped at a small town and ate at Wise Guy Pizza Pie. Brady was feeding Cooper when the pizza came out. It was super super hot. Cooper went to relax and stretch his arm out and it hit the sizzling pizza (I was up getting silverware). Of course he screamed and I didn't know what was happening. Brady didn't really know either since he didn't see it. Cooper calmed down and then we decided to leave. He did really well all the way home. He slept the entire time. When we got home we gave him some tylenol just in case his finger hurt (it was just a little red and swollen).
View from their tent
Sunday we slept in and went to church! I slept until 11:30 and Brady was up with Cooper :) I needed the sleep. We missed the first hour and went to Sunday School and Sacrament. It is so difficult to make it through all of church when Sacrament is last. Cooper gets pretty tired and doesn't sleep well with things around him. He's too interested in everyone else. We went home and rested for a little bit and cleaned up our house. We FINALLY unpacked our clothes. We have been wearing the same things over and over. Now our closet is full and no more boxes in our bedroom. Travis and Alisha invited us over for dinner! We had delicious fajitas, played ladder ball, and sat around and talked. We always have fun with them and we are enjoying our time with them! We headed home late and Cooper was up until midnight!! He was not a happy baby. I had to rock him and sing him to sleep (which never happens). He was up every 2 hours! He hasn't done that since like 5 weeks old. It was hard on both Brady and I. I ended up having him cry himself to sleep this morning so that I could get some rest. He's been great ever since!! We think his teeth are starting to really bother him now and we've been slacking on his bedtime routine. Hopefully he is better in the next few nights.
Super Cooper! Looking like a big boy in his button up shirt.
My men after church
I love my little man
Well, that's our entire weekend! It was nice spending time together as a family and being out of the house.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Preslee

What did we do before blogs and facebook?? I've seen many blog posts and status updates about this little girl, Preslee. Preslee is one year old and was in an accident only a few days ago. Her family, friends, and random people have supported her through this trial. Please read and pray for Preslee and her family.


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Life

Life as a stay at home mom is starting to get to me! It's a love/hate situation. I'm starting to get grumpy and a little depressed. I take care of the two men in my life, clean the house, and try to study to become an official RN. Where is the play time?? So to try and make myself feel a little better I have been doing a few things...
1. blog surf! I can't seem to get enough of the craft blogs that are out there! Even though I can't be crafty at the moment I still dream about it.
2. Cook! I've been trying a lot of different recipes that I have around and on the internet. I am using a lot of boiled/pulled chicken lately.
3. Going for walks and drives. We have been driving around trying to find the perfect land to build a home on and to check out the area. The neighborhood we absolutely love is walking distance from the canyon. There is a really nice walking path along the edge so we thought we'd check it out. It was such a beautiful night. The weather was perfect and the sunset was amazing. Down in the canyon are 2 golf courses and everything looked fake. On our walk we passed a restaurant that overlooked the canyon. I need to convince Brady to take me there sometime.
4. Spend time with Brady playing games or relaxing.
Well, that's about all! haha It's not much but it's a start. It is so difficult to take the time for myself when there's so much to do. We are trying to have fun this summer and enjoy our little family!

Here are a few pictures...

Cooper playing with Daddy. I love the way he looks at him. I think they will be best friends!
I think this picture is funny!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Rolling over...back to tummy!

Here's the video of Cooper rolling over from his back to tummy!

New Milestones

COOPER
Cooper has been super amazing lately! He is growing and learning so fast. Just the other day I stepped out of the room for a minute, came back and Cooper was on his tummy. I knew that the only way he could have done that is to roll over but I thought it was on accident. The next day Brady and I saw him roll over from his back to tummy and then again to his back! We were so excited! Since then he has continued to roll over whenever we put him on the floor. He tries to pull himself towards his toys when he's on his tummy and has been pushing with his toes! He has been successful only once but I think he will be moving around in no time!

Since the day he's been born he has been attached to his binkie. My mom and I bought all kinds of binkies to try because he couldn't keep the binkie in his mouth. He ended up LOVING the most ugly one ever with the longest nipple I have ever seen. He loves the thing so much it started to collapse and it was REALLY sticky. If it ever fell onto the floor we had to wash it with soap to get everything off of it. At that point we decided to buy new ones. Of course the store didn't have his special binkie so I bought 2 different kinds! FINALLY he will take a cute binkie...but most of all he just likes to play with it and chew on it. Hopefully he won't be needing that thing for very much longer...but it sure does keep him occupied.

With his new binkie! It matches his cute PJs.
Also, Brady has become his most favorite person in the whole world!!!! He loves it when his daddy plays with him, feeds him, and tickles him! When Brady walks into the room Cooper immediately stares at him and smiles. He'll even giggle to get his attention. My two boys have so much fun together!

Cooper still is really happy. He will giggle now at random times when nothing is going on. Just this morning he finished his bottle and when I sat him up to burp him he just giggled and smiled. This is VERY unusual since he usually screams when you take his bottle away.

He can almost sit up by himself. He does well if there are something supporting either side of him. Hopefully soon he will be able to be on his own.

Cooper went swimming for the first time this week. We went to a resort that had an indoor pool that we could go in. It was very warm and perfect for children. He didn't know what to do at first but then he kicked a little and didn't mind the water. He was really relaxed the whole time and just enjoyed the warm water. He even got a face full of water and didn't cry!

BRADY
Brady has been super busy with work lately. Nothing new...just the usual. He's been searching for somewhere to play soccer and unfortunately there are NO soccer leagues for adults. He is super super bummed but is looking into starting a league for the community. He's also been getting things situated so we can start building a house. He's been busy searching for land, comparing builders, and meeting with different mortgage lenders. He's also been busy helping me around the house...doing dishes and picking things up. The laundry is left for me :)

KELSEY
I have been busy taking care of Cooper of course! I also have been trying to fit in as much studying time as I can (but as you can see Blogging and Facebook take up a lot of my free time). The laundry is done, dishes are put away, and there's a happy baby. I really miss Missy and I still look for her often. She made our home more cozy and welcoming. I chopped my hair off...I think about 6 inches! It's cute but I am still getting used to it. I'm thinking about getting a job in the fall. It would be part time and hopefully at the hospital. I am feeling the need to do something with adults and the extra cash wouldn't hurt...especially since I want new toys for the house!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Giggling

As a mother, I absolutely LOVE to see Brady and Cooper bond. It is so special to see how much they love each other and how much fun they have. This is what I heard while I was making dinner tonight! Seriously one of the best moments yet!

4th of July Weekend

This weekend started off bad (see previous post) but then got better each day. Saturday, Alisha and I went to see Eclipse! I enjoyed it of course but the books are much better. We then went to the mall and grabbed something to eat. The men decided they wanted to make Ladder Ball so they went into town and bought the stuff to make it. We had an enjoyable time in the back yard playing around and talking. The weather was perfect and I couldn't help but think of how much Missy would have loved it.

This year was an exciting Independence Day! It was Cooper's first 4th of July and he had a good day. He did sleep through the most fun part...FIREWORKS! Oh well, at least he wasn't cranky. Since the day was on Sunday we didn't do too much. We went to church and then headed over to Twin Falls later in the evening. We met up with Travis and Alisha and had a fun/relaxing evening. We played Ladder Ball, ate food, and sat around. Then the fireworks came and we had perfect seats at Brady's office. Overall, it was a great day with family and friends!

On the 5th we spent the day at the park. We all brought our own meat to BBQ and then some snacks for everyone to eat. We played Ladder Ball, went for a walk, relaxed in the shade and had a wonderful time! It's been wonderful having Brady home!

Missy


This last friday my poor Missy was hit by a car. She absolutely loves to be outside and whenever she got out the front she would wander wherever she wanted. Since she did this we never let her out the front door but let her out in the fenced in back yard. Well, she got out the front door and we didn't know it. Brady and Travis were headed to Twin Falls and saw something in the road. Brady thought "someone's cat must have just been hit." But then soon realized that it was Missy. Of course I was hysterical and was super upset. Thankfully, Travis and Alisha were here to keep us occupied. Travis was super helpful and took care of Missy for us. I wanted to bury her so we found a nice spot out off a back road. She was buried between two trees by a cow farm! I am sure she would love that nasty smell.

Missy has been with Brady and I for 6 years. She was my baby. I picked her out, potty trained her, played with her, fed her twice a day at the exact same time, slept next to her every single night, and she followed me around the house all day long. For 6 years (with the occasional vacation without her) she was at my side. It's been a weird transition the past few days. I go through spurts of happiness and extreme sadness. Throughout the day I go to call for her, or look to me sure I'm not stepping on her. The hardest is going to bed. She would whine to get up onto the bed and then snuggle right into me.

Overall, it has been the second worst day of my life and a difficult time for me. I miss her more than I have ever imagined.