Grateful

Cooper has loads of energy. I think he has more than the usual child...so today I am grateful for:

Nap time!

Not only does it give me a break...it really does help calm the little man down (just a little). When he's calmer we play much better and he isn't into everything he's not supposed to be. And another reason I am grateful for nap time is because he hasn't taken but an hour nap so far today and it's almost 5:00 PM. He's tired, I'm tired, and we both are ready to slow down.

Cooper 1 1/2 months old...napping!

Spoke too soon...

{There's a lot of details and maybe TMI in this post. If you're not interested...don't go on!}

there was a post about how different this pregnancy was compared to the other two. And one of the comparisons was the "pain" I was or was not feeling. I think I jinxed myself. I am super super constipated. Like always taking stool softeners with no luck. The doctor even felt my belly and said "are you usually this lumpy and bumpy?" Of course not...so we're trying to eat more fiber, drink more water, and take more stool softeners. But in the mean time...I developed a hernia. ha. Can you believe that? And it sure does hurt like a hernia. So we're just going to keep on watching out for that and hope things get better.

Also, I am miserably sick. Before we went on vacation to Michigan I started having symptoms of a sinus infection (green snot, drainage, head cold for about 2 weeks). While we were in Michigan it started to get worse and I had pain in my sinuses. Not like pressure build up but actual pain...like pins and needles. Since then my face has swelled up over my sinuses, more snot, sore throat, cough, and awful headaches constantly. I went to the doc and they prescribed me some antibiotics and said if I didn't feel better by thursday to go back in. Well, Wednesday I literally could not get off the couch. Thankfully Cooper was so awesome and played with the pots and pans I had out (which distracted him from getting into the cupboards) and took awesome naps. I had a fever, sweating (not just a little but puddles and my clothes were soaked), chills, goosebumps, nausea, vomiting, aches, weakness, no appetite... seriously miserable. Today I was able to get up and around without much trouble. I called my doc and they put me on a stronger antibiotic and more meds. I was instructed to call the on call doctor if i'm not feeling better by this weekend. I'm still running a fever on and off, still chills and sweating (only not as bad), extremely weak, headache, pain over sinuses, vomiting (only once) and it only got worse once I took Cooper to his one year appointment. GRRRR I seriously couldn't be more frustrated about being so sick. Clearly, my immune system is not doing so great and could use a little boost!

Oh and they want me in at work tomorrow... :/

puppy

When we bought Missy we were told she was a shitzu, min pin mix. However, they were wrong and she was part terrier too. I occasionally look up different breeds that I hear in hopes that I find the kind of dog she was. And today, I think I found it!!!

I believe she was a shorkie! Shitzu and yorkie mix. We thought of that but I never looked it up. The pictures look just like her!!

Now, all we need is a home and a stay at home mom that can take care of the puppy :) Someday!

I really do miss having a dog around. It made our home seem more relaxed and comfortable.

Michigan: day 1 and 2

I've been putting this off because it's going to take a long time to summarize our trip. So...I've decided to do several different posts. This is mainly for my benefit so don't read on if you want a lot of details.

DAY 1: traveling. We drove down to Utah and stayed with Brady's sister the night before our plane left. The drive was longer than usual and Cooper was up for most of the drive. I get really car sick lately so you can imagine how hard it was for me to be constantly looking back at him and keeping him occupied. When we got to Tara's her mother in law was there and made us a delicious beef stew dinner. We were able to play with her kids and enjoy some time with her family. Unfortunately, Cooper didn't sleep well that night. He cried a lot and when he fell asleep it was almost 11 I think. He was up several times in the night and kept us up too.

DAY 2: traveling. Our flight was to take off at 10 so we left Tara's at 8. We were exhausted and I was not looking forward to the flight with Cooper. So I was tired, grumpy, and hungry. Everything went fine through check in and we found our terminal right away. We grabbed some food while we waited. I am grateful for the "family boarding" for flights. They didn't do this when I went to Michigan in August so it was great! Also, our flights were "open seating" so we were able to pick our own seats. With his energy I like to sit in the very back so that if he starts whining it's not in the middle of the plane. Thankfully, the flight was not completely booked so Cooper had a seat of his own. He played the whole time and loved looking out the window. Then we arrived in Phoenix. Our layover was about 2 hours so we had some time to grab some food and hopefully make Cooper take a nap. We fought him FOREVER. We eventually let him get down and crawl around to release some energy. When I did finally get him to sleep we had about 30 minutes until our plane started boarding. At that point there was so much going on he wouldn't sleep. The flight to Detroit wasn't too bad. There was a little boy in the seat in front of us who he played a lot with. Lots of peek-a-boo and touching each other hands. They both were giggling so much! Again, the plane wasn't completely booked so he had a seat for himself. He refused to sleep and started to get a little whiney towards the end. When we landed in Detroit we were so excited to not be flying anymore. Our friends, Kyle and Holly, picked us up from the airport and drove us home to Kalamazoo. Cooper slept most of the way and we enjoyed talking with them. They have a little girl that's two weeks younger than Cooper so it was fun to catch up. We got to my mom's and ordered pizza from a local place. After a little while of talking we all went to bed and had a great night sleep.

15 weeks 1 day

When we were in Michigan I knew I had a sinus infection. The green snot, constant drainage, pain in my head. Monday I went to work and was going to try and see a doctor that afternoon. Since our facility has an outbreak of influenza if anyone has a fever they are automatically sent home. Of course I had a fever and was sent home around noon. I tried to see a doctor and no one was available. EVERYONE is sick around here. Anyway, so I was thankful I got to go see my doctor today and even did my monthly check up at the same time (I was schedule for one on Thursday). Of course they couldn't find the heart beat. I started to panic a little and she sent me straight into ultrasound. Thankfully the baby's heart beat is strong and doing well! Here are the 3 pictures I got today. And our next appointment we find out if it's a boy or girl!!!

So you may be wondering "what did you do with Cooper during this appointment?" Thankfully, I had a wonderful nurse who was willing to watch him for a few minutes. She asked if it was alright to take him and walk around the office. I said of course! During my appointment I could hear him giggle and then a bunch of ladies laugh. I knew they were having fun! When I was done all the ladies were telling me how awesome he is and how great his personality is. It's always a good day when people comment on how cool your child is!

Heaven

There have been several families that have lost a child lately. A few I call friends and then others who used to be in our ward in Rexburg. So many sad stories and heart broken parents. I can't help but think of Kegan and how I personally felt. It's been over 3 years and it still isn't any easier to hear of someone else going through the loss of a child. My heart aches for them and for us. As I was "checking up" on a family that lost their only child last summer I saw a comment someone had made. It included a quote that I liked and wanted to share:

"One way to have a piece of Heaven in your home is to have someone in your home in Heaven."

Before we lost Kegan, I didn't know of anyone who had gone through anything similar. All my friends weren't at that point in their life to start having children. Now that our friends are married couples starting to have families, more and more stories keep showing up. I am grateful for the strength and faith these young families show me. I often talk to Brady about their stories and how I wish I was stronger at that time. I often think "why didn't we do that" or "I wish we would've done that with Kegan." But he reassures me every time...we did what we could and what we felt was right. Days like today I wish I could squeeze his little body and kiss his squishy cheeks.

boys

Our little family has 3 boys...and maybe another on the way. Seriously, nothing is better than the special moments between Brady and Cooper. Yesterday morning Brady went to get Cooper out of bed and when the door opened I hear "DADA!" and followed by "COOPER!"

mommy moment

Best mommy moment today:

I was sitting on the couch watching TV while he played. He randomly climbed up on the couch and sat right next to me. Just sat there! Oh it was the BEST!

crafting

I love to craft. You might not know it because, well, I don't have time to craft. AND I don't have the time to make to craft (unless I wanted to stay up until midnight every night). BUT I do have an obsession with the HUNDREDS of crafting blogs!! I'm satisfied dreaming about things I eventually want to do. Brady will often ask me "what are you doing" and then take a look at the screen and chuckle. I've added a couple more blogs to my list (located on the lower right) that I like to look at just about every day. Take a minute and enjoy the creativity!

Dishes.

I hate doing dishes. Any other "house chore" I can handle and will do without any complaints. However...I grunt, whine, procrastinate, sometimes even cry when it comes to doing the dishes. The food bits, smells, and feeling of doing dishes grosses me out! When we moved to our duplex we planned on buying a home not too long after our lease was up so 6 months or so without a dishwasher seemed "doable". However, our townhome still has NOT sold... which leaves us where we are at...without a dishwasher. GRR!!

Since we've been here in our duplex there is a list of things we took for granted in our townhome:

- dishwasher

- big bathroom...1 1/2 bathrooms

- dining area

- sunlight through windows

- garage (we have a garage but not an electric door)

- big rooms (we can't even fit our dresser in our room)

- cupboard space (we are using a book shelf to hold food)

However, there are a few things we like about this place:

- big living room

- fenced in back yard...big back yard!

- laundry room

- quiet neighbors/retired chief of police that often has cop cars in our driveway! Talk about feeling safe :)

- big driveway. We can probably fit 5 cars on our side of the driveway!

- our church building is less than a 2 minute walk from us

- central air conditioning

- and it keeps us warm and safe!

Well, all in all I am grateful for our place. It's warm, cozy, and a place to call home. It's definitely different than any other place that we've lived in but it works for now. I just hate having to wash dishes!

Update on pregnancy

I am miserably nauseous. 24/7. I even wake up in the middle of the night because I'm so nauseated. When I get too warm I start gagging...that's a big problem at work when the residents crank their heat up. I'm not eating like I should be. Food just isn't good and neither is water. I called my doctor and got some Zofran. I haven't had it yet but I know it'll be amazing! I'm already waking up at least once throughout the night to pee and sometimes even twice! I'm a belly sleeper and it's already uncomfortable sleeping on my tummy...there's a little pressure/lump that I can feel! I am super hormonal. I cry over the stupidest things and get angry over something so dumb. I am more stubborn than usual and argue over everything that I feel is right! Poor Brady :(

On the upside! I can't wait to have this baby! We are so excited and ready for another baby! My clothes are a little tighter around the waste line, which I'm sure I will pop out soon. We already have names picked out but we decided we're not going to tell anyone. You may think it's lame but at least something will be a surprise!

A cute little side note: Cooper is supposed to be napping but instead he's in his room jibber jabbering! I hear "dada" and "mama" occasionally and it's usually in a deep raspy voice! Super Cute!