incredibly unusual

I have friends whose babies are constantly falling asleep in crazy places.
It could be in their high chair, shopping carts, in their arms, just laying down on the ground, sitting on the couch, etc.
Cooper has NEVER been one of those babies.
He occasionally falls asleep in his carseat.
Sometimes he will fall asleep while I am rocking him in his room.
But it most definitely is usually always in his crib.
Don't get me wrong I feel blessed that I have a child who can put themselves to sleep.
I just wish he wasn't as picky as to where he sleeps.
He doesn't travel well because he wants to be sleeping in his own crib in his own room.

However the other day after church he must have been exhausted. We were eating lunch and I looked over to this. We just sat there and stared in unbelief!!! This has NEVER happened before EVER!!!!! He even stayed asleep thru me taking the tray and his bib off and wiping his hands and face down. (He was covered in Cheetos.) I was able to take him to his room and he never even woke up. UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING!!!!!

Poison Ivy....graphic pics

I went to the dermatologist a few weeks ago. I have a wart on my toe (I know really gross) that I wanted to get taken care of. My doctor reccommended trying a particular treatment that involves using poison ivy. I guess warts are a virus so in order to treat them they need to shock your immune system. So I guess one way they do this is by putting poison ivy on the wart. But before they do that they want to test a small area on your hip to see how you react. It either won't do anything or may blister up a little. But only on the small area they treated. The original area was about the size a finger nail. It blistered up a tiny bit but was never painful. It completely healed and just had a dry spot when the blister had been. Then over a week after the treatment I woke up to picture 1. I was a little freaked out. I called the office and of course with it being a Friday no one was in. I had to wait it out over the weekend or go to Instacare. I waited it out. It just continued to spread. Initially I could cover the blisters with a large bandaid. By the time Monday came around I coundn't even cover it anymore (pic 2). Of course I called them Monday and they had no available appointments so I couldn't be seen until Tuesday. Apparently I had a severe allergic reaction. My doctor gave me an ointment to apply and it did wonders. After one day of using it it turn to picture 3. It cleared up really quickly. I was happy too because it was painful and itchy and I couldn't carry Cooper around on my hip with it there.

Lesson learned: I am severely allergic to poison ivy so hopefully I never have any close encounters with it!!!

singing in church

Last Sunday at church while we were singing a hymn I looked down to this.

It melted my HEART.
Everyday Cooper does something that melts me.
He is constantly surprising me with the little things he catches on too.
Once he realized I noticed what he was doing, he got the biggest grin.
He was so proud and felt so grown-up.
I wish the song could have lasted longer so I could have continued to soak in this moment.

Cousin Weekend

A couple of weekends ago Brad's brother Rich, his wife Jamie and their little boy Abel came to visit and stayed with us for the weekend.

It was nice having them up and Cooper getting to spend some time with Abel.
Abel is 7 months older than Cooper.
Now that Cooper is a toddler and not a baby it is fun watching them play together.
They played SO WELL together.
They were attached at the hips all weekend.
When we would get into the cars to go somewhere they would freak out. Cooper would be saying "Abel, Abel, Abel" and Abel would be crying for "Coofer".
They were funny.

We spent time just hanging around the house.

We went to the Jump N' Bounce by our house.

Then finished off the weekend at Joe's Crab Shack.

We sat outside so the boys ran around and played the entire time.

We were the only ones sitting outside.

I loved watching Cooper play with a cousin from Brad's side.
None of Brad's family live here so when we get to spend time together it's awesome!

Sick Baby

We have had a sick baby on our hands. I HATE when my baby is sick. It breaks my heart.

It all started last Wednesday at about 10:00 pm. Cooper had gone down like usual but right around when I was going to bed I heard him begin coughing. I just got the feeling we were going to be in for a long night. I HAD NO IDEA however how long it really would be. The coughing finally woke Cooper up at 11:00 and didn't fall asleep again until 4:00 am. He was wide awake for 5 HOURS!!!!!

I got up and gave him medicine and a cup of warm milk. I rocked him and got him to sleep. But the second I tried laying him in his crib he would scream. So I tried bringing him to my bed...no luck. I put him back in his crib and let him cry for about 20 minutes but he wasn't going to be calming down and I didn't want him to make his cough any worse than it already was. So I took him downstairs and watched tv for an hour. I was sure he would fall asleep....nope! I tried going upstairs and rocking him again. He just wanted down. He kept walking in our bedroom and finally got Brad up. We all went downstairs. He had just wanted all of us up together apparently! Brad and I laid on the couch with Indiana but Cooper just wanted to wander around and play. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I took him back upstairs, rocked him a bit, then laid him down. He cried for about 10 minutes and finally fell asleep. He had to have been exhausted!

I was sure he would sleep in....but of course he was up at 7:30. Brad left for work at about 8. I fell asleep on the couch until 9:30. I didn't mean to and panicked when I realized I had fallen asleep. Cooper could have been hurt, made a huge mess, or really anything. But he had just been watching tv and playing with his toys. I was so relieved. Apparently that hour and a 1/2 was enough for me because I was fine the rest of the day.

He did not feel good and insisted on keeping his binky and blanky with him all day. Normally they stay in the crib!

The next night he was only awake for 2 hours.....a huge improvement!!! Luckily he is now almost over the cold and is back to sleeping thru the night.

Listen to that little sick voice!!!

St. Patty's Day 5K

Well I ran/walked my first 5K on St. Patrick's Day. My friend Amy convinced me to do it and I was a little nervous. I have not been running or doing anything to prepare for it. I was going to start running the weeks leading up to it but I had a severe allergic reaction on my hip to a medicine from the doctor (story for another post). So I wasn't able to run or workout. We decided to push the boys. I was happy because if I was walking I didn't look like such a wimp. I really hadn't planned on running very much because I am soooo out of shape.

Since it was St. Patricks day we had to run in something green and the boys needed something too. We found these bright green workout shirts and the boys these little St. Patty's day shirts at Old Navy. They were perfect!

Yes Amy and I were wearing the same Lulu Lemon jacket....and no we didn't plan it!

Well the morning came and it was freezing and really windy! We bundled up and we were ready to go. Luckily Cooper had green rain boots and a green jacket to wear. It said it was supposed to be rainy all morning so I was quite nervous. But it didn't rain at all. Luckily!

Brad and my dad came to support. It was really sweet of them! They drove to the middle of the route so they could cheer us on. It was hilarious. They would get out and take pictures like it was this serious race. Super embarrassing but it is nice having the pictures and knowing they cared enough about me to make fools of themselves :)

Between the wind, having to stop to adjust the boys hats and gloves, give them snacks, Amy's hurt foot (her doctor had told her not to run for 2 weeks but we still did), and the heavy jogging strollers our time wasn't great by any means. But it was quicker then I had thought we would do. My official time was 39:16:9 and I took 14th place in my age group and 160th overall. Definitely not amazing but I wanted to document it!

It is nice saying I have completed a 5k. I am wanting to completely run one in April. Then we are going to do the Race for the Cure in May. Brad said he would do this one with me so we will probably walk it.

Here we are about to cross the finish line.....watch Cooper as we pass!

downstairs bathroom project

So amongst my updates I have been doing around the house my biggest (most time consuming) project was the downstairs bathroom. I really have never done anything in this room. I had a random rug and garbage can just thrown in there. The only personalized thing was a picture of Cooper. It was just a tiny beige/white claustrophobic room. My friend had done a design like what I wanted in her nursery. It seemed easy enough so I decided to tackle it. Brad is so sweet and just goes with it. He does get his input in it however. I had an idea on the color but we went together to get paint swatches and he helped me decide on the color. I purchased all the supplies in advance and then 2 Saturdays ago we decided to dive in and do it.



Brad taped off all the edges and took the hardware off the wall. Since we were replacing the hardware he also puttied the holes. Then it was my turn. I just started taping squares and rectangles randomly all over. I didn't measure or anything. It took a couple of hours but wasn't nearly as bad as I had it expected it to be.

Next Brad did a technique he had heard about. You paint over the tape and seal it with the base coat. This is supposed to prevent leakage. Around the edge he used a brush and that worked. On the wall he used and roller and that didn't work. More on that in a minute.

Next I painted a couple coats of gray.

This project ended up taking most of the day. Cooper was so good why we did this. He sat in his high chair for a bit and watched me paint. He even tried helping out with the tape :)

The fumes were pretty strong so we couldn't leave the door shut....but we didn't want Cooper touching the paint so this is what we resorted to.


I was so happy with the color I couldn't wait to tear off the paint and see my finished product. Well as I was tearing the tape off my worst fear happened. The gray had leaked really bad under the tape. Remember when I said the painting the base coat with the roller didn't work? So after I took all the tape down I had to go back and touch up EVER SINGLE place where it had leaked. It was pretty much every line. It took forever and I was so frustrated. It still doesn't look great if you look really closely. But it was the best I could do with the situation. Other than that fiasco I am really happy with the finished product.

The best feature of the bathroom by far!!!

I still haven't decided if I want to add another color in the bathroom with the accents. I have the wall to the left of the vanity that I want to hang a shelf or something on. But I need to think a little more about what I want to do with it.

a first

Last night we had a first in our house. Cooper fell asleep in our bed!!!! Crazy that it took almost 20 months for him to fall asleep with us at night. He has always been a very independent baby who wanted to sleep in his own crib. Every time I tried laying him down in my bed after he had fallen asleep he would wake up or if I tried to lay him down to go to sleep he would just cry or think it was time to play. Don't get me wrong I cuddled with him in my bed as a newborn sometimes during naps....back when I was exhausted from all the middle of the night feedings. But he has never slept with us during the middle of the night.

Last night started off normal and he went to bed at 8:00 pm in his own crib. Then at 2:30 am I heard him screaming bloody murder so I went in to check on him. He had leaked so I changed his pajamas and rocked him for a few minutes. The second I stood up to lay him in his crib he started screaming again. I left him crying because sometimes he cries for a few minutes and then falls asleep. Not last night. After like 20 minutes I went back in and tried rocking him again. Same thing. I let him cry a little more then decided maybe he wanted milk. So I got him a cup and tried giving it to him. Didn't want it. So I thought maybe I would try bringing him to bed with me because he was completely content while I was holding him. He laid there for quite awhile and was dozing so I tried putting him to bed in his crib. We are totally against babies sleeping in our bed and forming bad habits so I didn't want him falling asleep there. But I put him in his crib and the same thing happened. Finally I just brought him back to our bed. He had been awake for 2 1/2 hours and I was exhausted!!!! He finally fell asleep and I was able to as well. I woke up not long after on the edge of the bed with him diagonal with his head laying on my chest. It was really sweet but very uncomfortable. I sat there for a few minutes terrified to try and move him but decided I needed to get some good sleep so I did. He stayed asleep thankfully. Another thing you must know about Cooper is that he is a very light sleeper.

Definitely experienced some of this.....
a perfect example of why he sleeps in his own crib

Well at 6:30 Brad got up and showered and got ready and Cooper didn't wake up at all. He must have been exhausted! Then at 7:30 he popped up and scared me to death. Right as he sat up he said "Da". It was so cute. Luckily Brad was still home so he came back upstairs. Cooper was so excited. Cooper also was worried about where Indiana or as he calls him "Inna" was. Once he started crawling around on the bed he saw Indiana at the foot of the bed. He again was so excited. Cooper is happiest when our whole family is all together.

I can't believe Cooper woke up so early with missing out on 2 1/2 hours of sleep in the middle of the night. Surprisingly he is happy as can be this morning. I have a feeling it will be an early nap day!

basketball

A few weeks ago Brad's family had a little get together while one of his uncles was in town. We usually do it at the church because there are so many people. We let Cooper run around in the gym and he had a blast.

What more could a little boy want than to run around like a spaz freely and to be able to throw some balls around???

Just a peak at our crazy little boy!
Ignore my awesome filming skills.

And YES Cooper has that much energy all day every day.

peaceful . shower

Well today my shower was quite peaceful. Cooper was being so good playing in his room. I can't shower when he naps anymore or I wouldn't be showering until like 2 in the afternoon. That just won't work. So I close all the doors upstairs except his bedroom door and I put the gate up at the top of the stairs. Usually while I shower he plays anywhere from my closet, my bedroom, the hall or his bedroom. He is usually quite good while I shower! There are only a few minor messes that take only seconds to clean up once I get out. Today was one of those days.....well so I thought! After I got out I walked to his room to see what he was doing. I didn't want him to see me so I barely peek around the corner. He was sitting there so quietly reading! I was so proud seeing him be such a big boy. Here is what I saw....

Well I went back to my bathroom to start getting ready since he was being so good. I then started thinking that maybe he would be tearing some pages in some of his books so I just went to hurry and check. This is what I found....





I honestly just stood there and looked at the mess. Then I had to smile and laugh because Cooper could tell he had done something naughty. He looked at me all innocently and said "Uh oh". I died laughing and had to pull out the camera! How can you be mad at something so cute! I took in the moment and then made him help me clean it up. It took all of 3 minutes and you couldn't tell it had ever happened so why freak out about it!