still my little squeak toy!

We went to the ENT back in March to get a clearer picture (literally) of Cooper's noisy breathing a.k.a. his stridor. Today was our follow up visit and definitely didn't go as well as hoped.


The doctor had hoped we would notice significant improvements over the last 3 months and that he wouldn't even have to re-scope him. Sadly, that was not the case. 


In fact, during this second scope, they also discovered yet another reason why his breathing is so noisy. He also has a mild case of subglottic stenosis a.k.a. narrowing of the airway. So not only is his voicebox's cartilage weak and floppy but his vocal cords are narrower than average, both of which contribute to the stridor.


What does this mean? Well, it means we will be going to the ENT every 3 months until there is some significant change. It means we have to be extra careful about food allergies because the reactions could be life threatening for Cooper. It means Cooper is going to remain our human squeak toy until about 3 or 4 and will probably have to sit out of quiet games like sardines and hide-n-seek. (Thankfully surgery doesn't seem to be a concern unless it starts to worsen or interferes with his development.)


So hopes of Coop not remembering all of this are sort of evaporating. In fact, when we walked into the dimly lit procedure room where they do the scope, Cooper flipped out, like he knew or remembered something bad was going to happen.


But it could be worse. He could be refusing food, having difficulty swallowing and this could interfere with his ability to thrive. And it's not. He is definitely a healthy, growing, strong boy, with more perseverance than I have seen in a baby.


I am confident his thriving will continue and that one day he will be able to play hide-n-seek with his friends! :)

I said I'd save the world...

My class and the other teacher in my classroom are pretty much rockin'. And just when the excitement surrounding the class starts to die out, it booms. And when I say boom, we are talking like slam-in-your-face-this-is-waaay-bigger-than-we-ever-expected kinda boom.

Let me explain...

Rainbow Station was asked to present a 13 minute presentation as one of the leading innovative business as the Richmond Chamber of Commerce (alongside business like BioTaxi and The Martin Agency). The presentation is to be on the inspiration of the innovation, what kind of innovations come from that inspiration and what impact the innovations make.

Well as you read before about being exactly where I am meant to be, our innovation is obviously the 7 Habits of Happy Kids. They are life lessons, teaching children (basically from the first moment that can speak) to be leaders in their own right. In some cases, such as the Diaper Drive (or another class at a different school organized and raised money through a Trike-a-thon for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital) they are teaching children about the world around them, learning compassion and understanding that generally aren't usually considered age appropriate emotions.

What makes this innovation even more amazing, is that it isn't just the kids that are impacted. The children are impacting their TEACHERS, parents, siblings, extended families, too. They are impacting their local communities and even other communities around the country which lends itself to economic impacts as well.

This is a small seed that is blossoming in ways that can't ever be measured, in some cases no one will ever even realize.

These children will have these habits or paradigms or tapes playing in their minds about how to approach people and conflicts and life in general. They will be better people because of it and with this amazing wildfire catching on, they will start changing the world. 

Three teachers from all of the Rainbow Station schools were selected to assist our 8 preschoolers and 8 school-agers prepare and help Gayle, the brains behind all this innovation, deliver this 13 minute presentation to over 200 people. Oh, did I mention we have 2 weeks, which is apparently A LOT of time for things like this! (Ironically enough, we are presenting on our graduation day, June 23. Details to follow because it will be streamed online live!)

I said when I was about the same age as these kids, that I wanted to save the world. This might not save the world but it is the step in the right direction and I am so excited to be a part of it.

[This is me with my amazing teacher at our Diaper Drive Bake Sale. She is the best teammate I have EVER had. This school year, would've only been half as successful if it weren't for her! :)]

Best Brothers!

I think maybe my two "sons" have graduated from best friends to best brothers. I am not sure if it is the amount of time the two have spend together or if it that Cooper can interact with Fletch more (probably a little bit of both) but I am unsure of who is having more of an impact on the other.


I used to call Fletch my K-9 son, but now I think it is appropriate to actually refer to Cooper as our human pet. Coop spends most of his time at home crawling behind Fletch on all fours. I swear he even shakes his behind as if he has a tail. And more recently his incessant tongue thing has graduated to a full fledged tongue hanging. We are talking all the way down to his chin. Our bold human pet has even gathered enough confidence (and motor skills) to play tug-o-war with Fletch and his chicken aka Fletch's Sophie giraffe (This is actually Chicken II much like Sophie II.) 

As if it could get any more obvious the love the two of them share... Cooper will now choose the chicken OVER Sophie and I am embarrassed to admit, we have even caught Cooper trying to eat Fletch's dog food. He may or may not have slipped one in his mouth, but that is a whole 'nother post.


I guess if I have to go through a dog-food-in-baby's-mouth-scare once in a while to have a dog and child that get along so well, than it is worth it because they truly are the best of friends brothers and I am sure there will be more stories were these came from!

postcard project take #4

We have added New York to Cooper's last of states visited bringing the total to 7 states in his short not-quite-9-months life. With this new state, is also the 4th installment in the postcard project. (You can also read about  installment #3, but it seems I never blogged installment #2 i. e. Key West- must of been during that blogging hiatus I took. So that has been added to my lengthy to-do list! :)


We traveled through the night on Wednesday to Long Island for my sister-in-law's Southampton beach wedding. We weren't in town very long because I had a class Saturday morning but it was quite the wonderful mini-vacation even with over 14 hours in the car and 1,100 miles we put on my car. It was all worth it to see Jennie and Brian tie the not as well as get to take Cooper to his very own Beach.


It is true. The #1 Beach in America is called Cooper's Beach so of course we had to take Coop. He was definitely unsure about his toes in the sand at first but he warmed up to it, which is a good thing because this family loooooves their toes in the sand!


The funny thing is, Rick and I realized we had been to Cooper's Beach before when we went to Long Island in 2007. Kinda crazy, right?


I am really excited for Cooper to have these postcards as he gets older. He is going to have the pictures and wonder about the details. Along with the postcards he will have all kinds of little mementos to remember (or pretend to remember) all the fun times we have together, as a family. Hopefully they will help remind him that life is about adventures!

And for posterity's sake...

Cooper's Beach circa 2007

Proud Momma!

August 30, 2010 was the best day of my life (and I have had a LOT of wonderful days!)
It is so unreal the amount of love I have for this child. It was on this day that I finally got a glimpse, if only a small one, into the amount of love that God has for each and every one of us.
I really must say thank you to my own mother and every other woman that has touched my life to help me be the mother I am today. Even those that don't have their own children have still managed to teach me how to love a little more deeply.

I am so thankful to be exposed to many different women with their many different mothering ways and their many lessons learned.

I am so beyond proud to be the mother of my sweet baby Coop! :)
Happy (First) Mother's Day! :)

all you need is love.

Two wrongs don't make a right.


I get it. I get that lives were lost and awful things are attributed to this person, and he may even be responsible for every single terrorist activity that has occurred. I get that those lives will never be replaced and the damage will never be taken back.


But somehow, I just cannot wrap my head around feeling happy about a murder.


We are supposed to be happy about a baby being born and happy about getting an A on a test and happy about having an article written about your young philanthropists. But a murder? 


I guess we could get really deep into politics and personal beliefs and conclude that everyone feels a little bit different. I have no intentions of changing anyone else's thoughts or feelings about this. In fact, I am trying to understand other's opinions. I will be the first to admit that I didn't lose anyone close to me at 9/11 but even if I had, I pray this still wouldn't make me happy.


My God has taught me that he loves EVERYONE. There are no exclusions, ifs, ands, or, buts about it. EVERYONE and as much as it is hard to say, even Bin Laden.


All day, I have struggled with how I am feeling about this situation. It wasn't until I read this quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that I felt like I had figured it out.


‎"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."


So I choose love. I choose to pray for those who choose hate and love them anyway. Love them they way I was loved and the way that I have been taught to love.

upside to everything.

Our doctor was able to get Coop in at 8:45 this morning. His fever was up to 102.6 last night so we were sure a sick visit was in order. I am so thankful for an amazing practice who would rather see my baby on a Sunday than send us to KidMed.

After a quick assessment and a strep test, our doctor concluded that he has a virus of the coxsackie kind, ie. yet another waiting game! Ya know, lots of fluids, tylenol and ibuprofen. Great! (Can you sense my sarcasm?)

The virus usually consists of 3-4 days of fever and blisters in the mouth and throat. She said not to be surprised if it gets worse tomorrow. Even better! (Now you gotta hear my sarcasm!)
Today there is an additional treatment that we haven't gotten before... our lucky (sick) duck also gets sherbet to soothe his throat, doctors orders. There truly is an upside to everything.