Lots of things happening...

Can you believe we are almost a week away from Thanksgiving?? I sure can't! We have had lots going on and I thought I'd share a few things.

Micayla moved into a house down the road with her friend, Megan, which means we have a room for the new baby! Actually her room is going to be Cooper's room, we've decided to keep the nursery a nursery so when we redo Micayla's room, we'll call it the big room, we will just put a full/queen size bed in there. I'm hoping to nurse the new baby like I did with Cooper and he slept with me until he was bout 4 months, until he outgrew the bassinet, so by that time, Cooper will be about 2 1/2 so we'll transition him then. However, we started this weekend, we took off the front rail of Cooper baby bed and put a safety shield so he can get used to crawling in and out of bed. He loves it and he slept just as good last night, we'll see how the next few nights go.

Cooper loves climbing in and playing in his bed.

And here he's sound asleep.

The last two nights have been good, I don't think he realizes that he can get out when he wakes up, he just sits in there and waits until someone comes and gets him and all this blankets.

Anther big thing we got this weekend was a new potty. We bought a 3-n-1 so he has a step stool as well as a potty. We were going to just go with a seat to put on the toilet but then thought he's going to need something to step up onto the toilet and I thought this would just be best. He loves to step on it to turn out the light, his new favorite thing, and he sat on it once, cloths on, but that's as far as we got. I"m not going to push it too hard yet, heck he's only 20 months (today) and I don't want my baby growing up just yet!
 

So that's what we do with the "potty" right now! I may need to move my towels because they are ending up on the floor every time he tries to "lite" (turn out the light, his new favorite thing).

And I got an early Christmas present

LOVE IT!! Tom's first text was "spoiled brat" LOL Love you honey! Now I just have to figure it out, any helpful hints, please share! Us Cellular finally got them in and it was perfect timing because my line was up for an upgrade, not that I needed it, but come on, why not??

Cooper's 18 month pictures

I can not believe I have an 18-month old already. Wow has time sure flown! I know I've been awful about blogging, it's just I'm so tired after Cooper goes to bed, I just don't have the energy to blog.

I want to remember a few ALOT of things about Cooper.

• He is still in a size 4 pamper, however I think the size 5's are coming up!
• He is the best sleeper, he fights with me something when he has to go to bed, but lately he's been good. 
• He loves to read before bedtime and play my IPad - these kids these days are so smart when it comes to operating these things, it just amazes me, but I love it!
• He talks up a storm!! He has a great vocabulary and is getting really good at telling us "yes" or "no" if he wants something or doesn't. He will point to what he wants with a little UHHH, UHHH. The other day Tom said "tell me what you want, do you want cereal" Cooper responds with "yeah, cereal" not that clear but we knew he said cereal. 
• He really loves mommy and daddy, daddy is becoming his buddy. It's so sweet watching them..

Like this picture, it's so sweet!

• He loves his bath, I'll ask him if he wants a bath and he'll say, running, yeah and run to the bathroom. He knows the routine. 
• He's a big helper. He loves to do things we ask, we just hope he continues this. He loves to vacuum, sweep, throw things away, flush the toilet (a dozen times) and just do whatever mommy or daddy is doing.
• I think his all time favorite thing to do is "cook", he will sit on the floor with the carafe of spatula's, pots and pans and just go to town! I think I know what I'm getting him for Christmas.
• Being outside..this kid would live outside if he could. He'll come home from daycare say "side" and point to the patio. We'll let him out there by himself, we do watch him, and he'll start to make his way down to the driveway to play "ball" basketball. I think we'll have a mini Jordan on our hands. Can't wait!
• He also loves to push things, anything..shopping carts, his stroller (this will be good for when the new baby arrives) his toy car and trucks too.

• He loves puppies, the one above, obviously is fake, but we recently got a new "puppy" name
  Calvin. Cooper is kind of scared yet just because the dog is very hyper and Cooper's not quite sure about him yet. But he's a good dog so far. He's a German Shorthair Pointer, cute dog.

• Cooper is not the best eater like he used to be, he's not so much picky but he's very choosy in what he wants. And he will let us know it too. 
• He had a blast camping this year, his favorite thing is the jumping pillow and swimming. We can't wait for next year with another little one with us.

Cooper has just been a blessing to all of us, he's so much fun. There are days I just want to hug him so tight and just never let go. He's the sweetest boy and if I could have a dozen Cooper's I would.

I know there are so much more I could write about him but again, I'm short on time, so I'm going to leave you with the rest of our pictures.

And a few family ones!

These were taken at a local winery here near Dubuque, it was so beautiful out there and I think the pictures turned out pretty good. We had a blast! Next set of pictures will be with our new baby boy!

California Vacation - (the trip out)

Almost a month ago, we packed up our bags and headed out west to beautiful California! I know, I'm finally blogging about it but there are so many pictures I want to make sure I get the best ones.

Packing, Cooper wanted to sit in his suitcase so it was quite hard to pack anything.

Our flight left Milwaukee, WI around 9:00am, it's about a 3 hour drive so we wanted to be on the road by 4am "at the latest". We ran into a snag at 3:30am when we just ready to get Cooper out of bed and into his carseat. Brandon could not find his wallet! We tore the basement apartment, said a few harsh words and left without it. We went to his girlfriends house, who wouldn't answer her phone, to see if he could "see" it in her car. He couldn't and he didn't want to 'wake' anyone up, lets just say it was a very quiet trip up to Milwaukee. We did have his birth certificate and social security card just in case, but he didn't have to show anything, thankfully!

Bright and early at the airport!

Looking at all the big planes.

Cooper and KK enjoying the "ride".

Drinking a pop!

This was our lunch at a Mexican restaurant at the Phoenix airport, it was good, but Cooper wanted to run around and not eat.

Getting ready for the next airplane ride.

Overall the trip to CA was a breeze, Cooper fell asleep during each takeoff, it must have been the loud engine noise of the airplane.

Once we got off the plane we headed to get our luggage and to pick up our rental car. We found out, after talking with a Hertz customer service rep that our car was ready to go and we didn't even have to check in. Tom has a Hertz reward card or something from his previous job and it came in handy. Check out the sign! The keys were in it and all ready to go!

We met Luke at The Hilton Garden Inn where they were staying because there kitchen/bathrooms were being remodeled. They thought it might be done in time for us but they were about a day behind, so we stayed at the hotel too.

We enjoyed the pool at the Hotel, here Cooper is learning to swim! I think I need to get him into some lessons soon.

 Lane, he just liked keeping us on our toes and playing with cups. He and Cooper became good buddies over the week.

Grammy Pat sent some gifts for Leah and Lane and it just so happens that Lane LOVES Elmo! She bought the perfect gift. Lane loved his Elmo hat.

That night we ate at The Brewhouse next to the hotel and called it an early night, we were exhausted!

12 week ultrasound!

I'm actually 14 weeks pregnant today, but with vacation right in the middle of my 13 week, I thought I better get this blog started.

My sister-in-law asked me when I was going to start my weekly pregnancy post and I'm like ugg... I felt like I just got done doing 30 weeks of it, seems like yesterday I had Cooper and he's almost 18 months!

So I'm going to try my best, that's all I can say. No picture yet though, I'm just at the "I'm just feeling so fat and bloated stage" that I do not want to show myself. Maybe the next couple of weeks.

So here is our little peanut.

"her" heart rate was 159, I'd have to look back to see what Cooper's was but I don't think it was that high. I just look and the only one I had close to 14 weeks was his 16 week check-up and his heart rate was only 119. That's a good sign, right??

I've been feeling really good. I've started back teaching Jazzercise, with Cooper I never did, maybe for a month or so but I was too nervous. It feels great! I'm hoping to keep up with it, just low impact of course. I have a lot of support from all the girls, they love to watch my belly grow and when I say "squeeze your abs", I always chuckle because I feel myself squeezing but I highly doubt they see anything. LOL

And just to compare the 5 week with the 12 week, isn't it amazing at how fast they grow? I have an 8 week, but not with me at that time.

Cooper lately

I don't know where to begin, I know I've been awful lately but there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day.


However, I need to blog about what Cooper has been up to... my pictures are not the best as the lens on my phone broke and 99% of my pictures are taken with my phone :(

This was taken this past Friday at All That Jazz in Dubuque, it was a beautiful night!

I don't quite know where to start as he just amazing me every day! He turned 17 months on Sunday the 18th, crazy huh??

Cooper is a talker - he wakes up talking and his favorite words these days are "Abby" (mom's dog) he can say this plain as day. The other day at daycare they sang "If you're happy and you know it" and he woke up saying "Abby" and his teachers thought he was saying "Happy" sorry teachers...LOL I informed them the next day who "Abby" was. His other favorite word is Daddy and Mommy. Those three words are clear as day.

Uncle Hendu and Brandon always say "what's up" and Cooper replies by saying almost the same thing, just not as clear, it's so cute!

He loves to help clean! I can't vacuum anymore without the help of Cooper. So I try to "really" vacuum while he's gone or when he's occupied outside or something. His favorite toy is a broom. I swear with all our toys in the house, he'd rather play with the broom or the vacuum. Who would have thought?? I know when he's 10+ he's not going to be wanting a broom or a vacuum.

The other day he found a bag of suckers, little dum dum's, and of course there was no putting it back, so I took the wrapper off and told him he had to sit in his chair while he ate it. Well, he sucked that thing dry! He did not get one mess on his cloths, the chair or his mouth. He did awesome. Tom told me that evening when I got home that he found the suckers and that he ate it all. So he had 2 suckers in one day! He's learning already...

There is a sucker in his mouth, it's just off to the side. It's like he's a pro or something.

So far, he's a pretty good listener, if we ask him to throw something away, such as the stick from the sucker, he'll go to the garbage, open it up, and throw it in there. He's very smart! He always knows right where things are. When I say, let's go change your diaper, he goes right into his room.

He adores his brother and sister. He will hear Brandon walk up the steps and run to the gate to greet him. He's been saying something, I can't quite figure it out, but it's like he's saying "Shh" I still can't figure this one out, it's usually when he's looking down the steps. Maybe he's trying to say "steps". Who knows.

The last couple of days he's been wanting to walk down the steps. We normally carry him, but the other day he wanted nothing to do with it, so we had him turn around so he was on his belly and down he went. Sometimes he'll turn around and go on his butt but I'd rather him be on his belly. It sure makes this momma nervous!! Going up is fine, but going down, when we have tile at the bottom of the steps, I just can see a doctor's visit in the future.

Cooper has officially started throwing tantrums! Yes, the terrible two's are already starting. If he doesn't get his way or get what he wants, then he does this scream that almost blows your eardrum out. We are working on this, (is it too early for time outs)? LOL and when he see someone he doesn't really know or someone is trying to hold him, he grunts at them. Just ask my two Sisters-in-law. It's funny but not really. He is just getting stubborn!

He threw a tantrum after this! He peeled the banana and threw them on the floor and didn't want to finish his 'nana' so he threw on of his tantrums!

Cooper is a fast eater! When he eats fast, he starts coughing, then throws up. I'm not sure what's going on here, but at our next doctor's visit, in September, I'll be asking about this. I'm not sure if its milk or what, but it's like he gets something caught in his throat and can't do anything but throw up and it's everything! He's not chocking but it's like something is not going down right. We always know when it's coming so we have time to prepare. I think he just loves to eat and can't seem to get enough of it and doesn't know when to stop. Plus he eats fast! We are practicing to eat with just a fork but he'll hold the fork in his right hand and scoop up food with his left. Silly kid!! He does good with the fork/spoon when he uses it...

He loves being outside, he'd play outside all day if we'd let him and he gets so mad when he has to come in. I'm nervous for when winter comes, what are we going to do??

Cooper has been spending a lot of time with Grandma Pat since "papa" passed away. He even spent the night with her last Friday! They had a blast! I will show a picture of dad to Cooper and he'll say "papa" and give him a kiss, it's so sweet.

My big boy moved up a room at daycare as well, he's now in the Older Trans Room called Crayola Way. They have lots of fun and I get fun little notes on his daily activity sheet of how much fun Cooper is and all the songs they sings, it's so sweet. I save the ones with notes so I'll have to post some fun ones.

And just a couple random pictures. He loves to push his stroller, he don't like riding in it anymore. This is going to be a problem when we travel to CA in about a week! Not really looking forward to the plane ride but can't wait to see the Hendricks'!

This past Saturday, we went and ate Pizza at The 19th Hole, they have mini golf there and Cooper loved it. Thankfully his cousin's were with us to keep him occupied, but I did get a few pictures!

Well, that sums it all up!! I know there is so much more but all I know if my baby is growing up way too fast. I'm already starting to think about a toddler bed and potty training. I know crazy, but with another one on the way, oh boy, don't get me started!!

Remembering Dad

This post seems long overdue since Dad's passing, but I find myself not wanting to blog about it just because it hurts. However, I want to talk about what an AMAZING father I had.

This picture was taken in November, right after dad was diagnosed. 

Dad was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in November 2012. The doctors gave him around 6 to 12 months to live! Well, he made it 9 months! And let me tell you, it was the hardest 9 months of my life, but it was all worth it. We tried to spend as much time with him as possible. He got to know Cooper and spent a lot of time with all his Grandkids. I don't want this post to be sad, so I'm going to say this. Dad did not suffer! He left this world peacefully and knowing who we all were. We spent the night with him and said goodbye to him. He drifted off peacefully Friday morning August 2nd!

So with all that said, I went through some recent and not so recent pictures off my phone and I have to share. I tell you, he was THE BEST dad ever! I am going to miss him so much!

Helping Grandpa push his walker around.

Grandpa (aka Papa) gave the sweetest kisses.

Father's Day! Giving Cooper kisses bye

Mom making a new recipe. I can see Dad's face now LOL

These are a few of my favorites that were taken on July 3rd before the fireworks show!

 Riding the golf cart at Leisure Lake

 Dad recording a book for Cooper, instead of reading it himself, he read it to Cooper. It was so sweet, this was just one week before he passed away.

Pictures of dad will be plastered all over my house, I really want Cooper to be able to remember Papa! He sees one of his pictures and says "papa" all the time. It's so sweet!

We are going to miss him so much, but we know he's in a better place and he's keeping his eye on us! He's looking out for this new baby that's growing inside of me. Oh and he thinks it's a girl!!