New Year's Resolution

I'm feeling inspired.

I forgot how much I loooooved being crafty.

I use my creativity pretty regularly creating lesson plans but when you do it at your full-time, put-food-on-the-table-job, it just isn't the same.

As I worked on my crafts the weekend, even through the millions of hot glue gun burns and the frustrating crafting pot holes (burlap is a pain to sew) I loved every second of it.

Especially the feeling when I took a step back from my freshly painted bricks to admire my beautiful book page wreath (that only took 1 hour labor and $7).

Why haven't been crafting since I love it so? (Oh, that's right! I had a baby and bought a house!).

So here is my new year's resolution a month early.

I am going to open an etsy shop.

I will spend 2011 researching like crazy, gathering ideas and feedback, getting my crafting space organized and developing an inventory (of whatever I am going to sell) and MAYBE even creating a separate blog to go with it!

Ambitious much?

Isn't that what resolutions are all about?

Part of the pack.

Our K-9 son has been something of the jealous older brother type to say the least.

As soon as Cooper arrived, Fletch started chewing on everything (especially things found in the nursery), peeing in the house, back to his old general puppy ways... "acting out" is what we call it.

We figured eventually things would settle and eventually Fletch and Coop would become best buddies. In the meantime, we had to expose them to each other without over exposing them...

Every evening before Coop's last bottle, he gets his last turn on his playmat and usually can stay occupied for an hour some nights! This is usually when we try to give Fletch lots of attention.

Tonight, Fletch went and found his giant tennis bone that he loves so dearly. Instead of bringing it to one of us, he dropped it right next to Coop and sat down, patiently waiting for Coop to throw it and play with him.

I guess it is official. Cooper is a part of the pack! :)

Momma called the doctor...

And the doctor said... Sounds like an ear infection, bring him on in.
So back to the doctor for Cooper's 5th sick visit (no one is counting!) in his short 3 month life (I can't believe he is almost 3 months!)
The doctor concluded that he might be teething but he probably is still feeling pretty crummy from the respiratory infection he had which was just 2 weeks ago.
He did however say that baby tylenol would be appropriate for helping with his cold symptoms in addition to teething symptoms, so whatever is going on should be helped.
Here's hoping this isn't a prelude to a lifetime of sicknesses! Or he might just need to live in a bubble like his accident-prone mom and K-9 brother!

So soon?!

Could my sweet baby Cooper be teething already?

It would explain so much...

After our agonizing stint in the hospital... Cooper stopped sleeping through the night (which he had been doing since he was about 7 weeks old).


At first, we thought it was leftover from his respiratory infection. He was still pretty congested and in the hospital he was getting up at really random times during the night.


But then his middle of the night feeding would be at 2:30am on the dot every, single night. We began to think that he was going through a growth spurt. But then during the day he wouldn't finish his bottles. Everything seemed to be a little awry.


Then all of a sudden, out of no where he started drooling like crazy. We are talking puddles and puddles of drool. Shortly after, lots of hand in the mouth, chewing on his paci, clothes, my finger, basically whatever he could get his mouth on. Then tonight the irritability... waking up from a deep sleep screaming only to stop as quickly as it started and passing back out.


Then it hit me. My baby is teething.


Which of course would make sense. This is the baby that could hold his head up on his birth day and was pushing all of his weight on his little chicken legs when he was 5 days old. It would only make sense for him to start teething before even hitting the 3 month mark.


Then I started thinking about his sweet gummy smile... and I imagined his smile with little baby teeth and of course started crying.


Are we already here? Is my sweet baby really almost 3 months? Really?


So, next to a laid back personality, we are going to have to add a little asterisk that reads "except when teething."


Oh boy, I was not expecting this so soon.

from the rice cache.

Found this while going through my photos on my phone. I think Coop was 4 or 5 days old. Look at that squished up face!

can't sleep,,,

Cooper is in his crib asleep. I am in my bed awake. 


Its is our first night home, Coop is breathing easier but apparently I'm still a little uneasy.
I have a confession to make. We swore up and down we wouldn't let Coop sleep in the bed with us. We haven't but...


One of us has slept on the couch with him almost every night. Might as well sleep with us right?


We tried over a weekend to force the bassinet but then he was said to have the tracheomalacia and the doctor explained he wouldn't be comfortable sleeping flat on his back so we went back to taking turns on the couch.

Night one in the hospital all I wanted was for him to be comfortable so our nurse Jessi kind of looked the other way when I held him all night.

Night two, our second night nurse Shannon got creative. She cranked the mattress up at a 45 degree angle and created a U shape out of blankets which she covered with more blankets to create a little nest. Coop's bottom rested on the U so he wouldn't slide down. Coop's trachea didn't have to fight gravity, he had better drainage and mommy didn't have to hold him all night. He didn't even sleep with his paci!

Night three, I was confident and didn't need any assistance getting coop situated in his nest and when Jessi came on shift in the middle of the night, she was not only surprised to see we were still there but that Coop was in his crib! (Shannon was very proud!)

I thanked Shannon for taking care of us but more importantly helping me figure this crib thing out.
So here I am awake in my bed while my sweet baby Coop is asleep in his big boy crib. Rick fixed it so it is at a 45 degree angle and we, too, made a U shape to keep him from sliding down. He has only slept in the crib for 4 hours at a time but as long as we are consistent he will get it. I think this crib thing will aid in maintaining a bedtime routine as well as his ability to self soothe and go to sleep on his own.

Just one more thing to add to our list of positives.

Finding the positives...

So anyone how knows me, knows how hard I try to find something positive in every person and every situation. 


So there I was, sitting in a hospital room, feeling like I could lose it at any point. My son could barely breathe and I hadn't slept in days, trying to remember everything happens for a reason...


What could possibly be the point of all of this?


Here is what I discovered...


I am strong. I am strong for Cooper. I am strong for Rick. When I am not strong, Cooper and Rick are both strong for me.


I have the most amazing support system. From my biological and in-law family to my church family to my friends I call my family to acquaintances that I only speak to via facebook and people who I hope to become closer with. We have more people who care about us and our well being than I will EVER be able to count.


Did I mention how brave my little man is? How tough he is? I learned that he really is a little man... not a little baby.


But I think the most significant thing is what I learned about my marriage. You don't know the depth of a person's love until you have to go through hell together. And we came out alive and more in love than ever.


Just in time for Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. So much.