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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Waiting on Baby Cooper

The wait is on. The bags are packed. The house is cleaned. And I am getting NERVOUS!!! I am so ready to meet this miracle baby. After 3 years of trying to have a baby and finally just giving up, we were thrilled and shocked to finally be pregnant. The after countless tests and trips to the doctor we found out what was wrong with me and were able to treat all of my abnormalities (Jeremy LOVES saying that) so that baby #2 could arrive for us to enjoy. It has been hard making all the appointments and painful with all the shots and blood tests. It has been expensive seeing two doctors in two different cities. But has it been worth it? Absolutely.

This will most likely be our last baby since I am apparently not a good "incubator." We are so thankful though that God has blessed us and allowed us to hopefully welcome baby Cooper to our lives soon!

On Saturday I went to the Medical Center for an ultrasound with the exciting news that Cooper weighs approximately 6 and 1/2 pounds (more than twice what Colby weighed!) and that they could not measure his head because he was so low in the birth canal. This news excited me and Jeremy and I were sure it was going to happen SOON! We spent Sunday and Monday cleaning the house from top to bottom like crazy people and taking the Christmas trees down and getting all the baby gear in place.

We went to see Dr. Lyons yesterday for my non-stress test on the baby (measures heart rate, movement, and contractions) and she checked me and said my cervix is still closed!! I immediately asked her to check it again, a request to which she laughed at. I feel SO MUCH pressure down low that I am almost certain he is going to stick his arm out and wave at us any moment, but if the great Dr. says I am closed, then I must be. :(

The c-section has been scheduled for January 11th, but she did tell me that she truly feels we will go before that time because he is so low and I won't take time to rest. (Sorry.......ADD coming out in me Doc!) I am a little panicked about the thought of going into labor because with Colby I never even had a labor pain, plus all of the medications and "abnormalities" they are treating me for, but Dr. Lyons assured me that even if she is not on call she will come running to deliver Cooper so I shouldn't worry. She said she will only be unavailable New Year's Day from 11:30 - 5:30 so I will be on the couch with my feet propped up during that time!

I am sure that all of you other Mom's of more than one child have experienced this, but I am totally freaked out! I am terrified of not giving Colby the attention he will need to feel included and loved during this time. I am scared of having a baby that is sick or fussy or doesn't nurse well. I am scared of the pain and experience of being awake during a c-section (I was knocked out with Colby). And the list goes on and on. I know we will be okay and I know God will take care of our whole family, but I can't keep my mind from reeling and wondering what will happen in the days to come.

Thank you all for being so loving and caring during this crazy journey with us. I feel like I have complained too much, but this blog is my place to vent and so this is where I dumped most of my fussiness. Sorry if it has bothered you!

So until January 11th we are on pins and needles waiting for the arrival of baby Cooper! I can't wait to meet him and become a family of four!!!

Bike Riding

On Tuesday we braved the cold to head over to North Warren Elementary so Colby and Jeremy could try out their new bikes on the track. I was the happy recipient of Jeremy's hand me down bike so we were all able to ride.



Within the first five minutes there Colby turned his bike over. He jumped up saying "The elves must be trying to kill me!" because there were a few parts not aligned well. Jeremy fixed his bike and Colby was on his way!



After Jeremy had been on his new bike for about fifteen minutes he decided it was time to do a few tricks. He yelled at me and Colby to look and said "No hands!" and the next thing we knew he had been thrown over his handle bars and was on the ground! We tried to hold it in, but Colby and I laughed so hard that we cried! I think Jeremy was pretty embarrassed about his mishap because the excuses started flying of "the brake stuck" and "something's outta whack on the handle bars." Whatever. He wrecked. We laughed. The end. I just wish I had gotten a picture!

Both of the boys made it about a mile and a half while ole' preggo Mama only finished about 3/4 of a mile, but it was a great way to get their energy out!

Christmas Day

Oh how Santa spoiled us this year! (And the best part of all of the spoiling is that even though it looks like Santa spent a fortune he really only spent about half of what he does most years thanks to WONDERFUL sales and shopping early!)

Christmas morning is such a magical time at our house with a five year old! And our FAVORITE part of the day, other than watching all of the priceless expressions on sweet Colby's face is that we GO NO WHERE!!!! Family is more than welcome to visit, but we do not leave the house at all and stay in our pajamas all day and PLAY PLAY PLAY!!! We started this tradition the year Colby was born and Jeremy and I both agree that it is our favorite part of the holiday! Enjoy the pictures!


Santa wraps the gifts at our house to slow the morning excitement down a bit! After all the hard work put into it all we want to enjoy it as long as we can!


Jeremy was very disappointed that he did not get a gun like this to for self defense purposes! Nothing has been broken in the house so far..........knock on wood!


Colby was so pumped about this Wii game, but it is so advanced that he can barely play it. Santa never thought to look at the ratings on the back of the game! Whoops....live and learn!


This NERF game is the coolest for the Wii! You load the remote into the gun and blast away! I have secretly been playing on nights I can't sleep!


And the best part was the new bike! Santa left a note for Colby stating that the elves built the bike before he got his training wheels off so he left the tool for Jeremy to take them off with. He was in love with the "way cool" big boy bike!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is an exciting, but busy time at our house. The day started off with Jeremy and Colby going to Jeremy's mom's house for breakfast. My dear husband loves me enough that I was excused from the horrid festivities there this year so I stayed home and relaxed a bit!

When they got home Jeremy announced that he had still not done his Christmas shopping........shocker! He took me and Colby and dropped us off with my Daddy and he took off the Bowling Green.............where he called me from at least 10 times to complain about how wild it was. Ya think? Maybe next year you should shop early buddy!

At around 5:00 we headed to Aunt Linda and Uncle Kenneth's for a wonderful mean and the exchange of gifts with my side of the family. We always have a great time here and Aunt Linda is a wonderful cook!

We then went to Mom and Daddy's and had our Christmas with them. Last year during the Christmas season Daddy was in the hospital trying to recover from the horrible wreck he had last year and there was no time to focus on presents and such. That didn't bother us as long as Daddy was okay, but this year he really wanted to make Christmas a big deal so we were all spoiled even more than usual!

Colby got a Wii from Nana and Pa and was thrilled! It was so funny because when he opened it he yelled, "Yes! An X Box 260!" We all cracked up! He and Cooper also racked up with lots of other loot and clothes from Nana and Pa.





We got home around 10:00 on Christmas Eve and got our cookies ready for Santa and read a bedtime story and headed off to dream land in our snuggly new pajamas!





I felt so sorry for Santa for having to deal with the COLD down pour of rain on Christmas Eve as he brought all of the gifts into the house! I'll have to be sure and give him an extra hug for not making me get up and help him!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Gift for Jeremy

As many of you know, Jeremy and I have been together since we were 16 years old. We have had a wonderful friendship and marriage. In that time we have naturally told one another everything at one point of another.

Jeremy's childhood wasn't the best, but somehow he rose above his raising and has become a wonderful man. Some of the stories he has told me about growing up have broken my heart. Most of them there is nothing I can do anything about. But this year, I was able to check one of those stories off!

As a little boy Jeremy always wanted a Mongoose bike. He says that he can remember asking Santa for one every year only to never receive one. A combination of price and one of his brothers taking everything they owned a part was to blame. I also have always felt that his parents never really understood how much this bike meant to him. So a Mongoose has always been his dream.



Since Jeremy's Achilles surgery in the summer and his amazing recovery over the past 6 months, he has gotten to the point where he can pretty much do most physical activities with little discomfort again. When Colby learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels a few weeks ago Jeremy bought himself a $10 bike (a ladies mountain bike :) )at a yard sale and began riding with him. They have had a wonderful time riding bikes together.

After much scrimping and saving I finally had enough money to buy the Mongoose mountain bike that would fit Jeremy's biking needs as an adult. I am so excited about giving him this gift and I hope he knows how much thought, effort, and love goes with this gift! Merry Christmas sweetheart! I love you with all my heart and soul (even though I have been a moody wife lately!)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Baby Shower

On Sunday my baby Sis and Mom had a baby shower for me at our church. I had several wonderful friends and family members who were able to attend during such a busy time of year. I am SOOOO blessed and grateful to have these people in my lives!

We got a lot of really sweet baby gear for Cooper and TONS of diapers and wipes which I am thrilled about!!! We now have 13 packs of each so I am hoping that maybe.....just maybe......we won't have to buy any for a while! It would be nice to avoid that cost while I am off work! LOL!

The cake was made by Donna Long and it was beautiful (of course all of her cakes are beautiful!) Sis did a funny (but gross) game where she melted different candy bars and put them in diapers. She then passed the diapers around and everyone had to figure out from sight and smell which candy bar it was. This was pretty funny!

Thanks Sis and Mom for a wonderful shower! And thanks for all of my sweet family and friends who were able to come or just called or emailed to say they were thinking of us!!! Love you all!





Monday, December 21, 2009

Thank You Daddy and Mama!!!


When I first moved out on my own about 9 years ago Jeremy bought me a washer and dryer. They had been great for most of that time. The dryer still works well, but the washing machine leaves A LOT to be desired for! For the past ......... oh ......... 6 months or so the agitator in the washer has not been working so I have had to use my ARM to agitate the clothes! This means little else gets done while the laundry is washing because I have to "agitate" every few minutes. I KNOW that this hasn't been getting our clothing as clean as it should (but I have gotten some good arm strength built up!) but nevertheless I have continued "self agitating." About a month ago something else messed up and you could only do extra small loads........about 6-10 pieces of clothing depending on what it was! Yee Haw! Oh what fun! If I wasn't so lazy I would have packed up the dirty clothes and taken them somewhere to wash..............but I AM TOO LAZY for that!

So on Sunday Daddy and Mama surprised us with a new washing machine for Christmas!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have caught up on all of my laundry in just 4 loads!!! Life is good!

Fun Friday

On Friday Jeremy and I were able to go to Colby's Christmas party at school.


Colby at his party.

When we left school at noon we headed to Nashville for a check up with our doctor down there.



Colby was so good in the truck! He entertained himself with his wipe board for most of the ride!

I was hoping to find something definite out about little Cooper's arrival from the doctor, but my regular doctor was out on emergency and I saw a man with the personality of a saltine cracker that informed me in a monotone voice that "You could go into labor at anytime." Really? I didn't know that.

After the helpful visit to Dr. Personality we headed to Opry Mills so that Colby could make himself and his little brother a Christmas gift at Build-a-Bear. It was a lot of fun. I got so tickled at Colby. When they told him to make a wish he said "I wish that baby sleeps good and doesn't wake me up!" Oh honey, Mama does too!



After Build-a-Bear we drove around Opryland Hotel and looked at the lights. We didn't get out and walk because it was raining, but they were still beautiful! We had such a Fun Friday!




Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Jeremy's Good Deed

For the past few weeks I have been agonizing over how to properly introduce Colby to the concept of breast feeding. This is something I plan to do with baby Cooper and I know it will be an odd experience for my outspoken son. I really didn't know what to tell him, so Jeremy, tired of my whining, offers "I'll take care of it."

So while I am in the kitchen fixing supper, Jeremy initiates a conversation about how excited they both are that the baby is coming and how wonderful it will be having a baby brother. As the tears come to my eyes I hear, "You know Colby, Mom's gonna feed the baby from her boob."

What? Could he not think of another way to tell him? So as I begin to cringe and come into the living room to run interference I hear him say, "And she will use milkers like at the dairy barn to pump some milk out so we can feed the baby with a bottle."

Well hell. What a way to tell Colby of coming attractions. All the explaining in the world can not undo what he has done. Colby has laughed and laughed about it all and Jeremy thinks he is Super Dad and did me a wonderful favor.

So, faculty and staff of South Edmonson Elementary and all of our family and friends - I apologize in advance for whatever crude and inappropriate things my child has to say about nursing. Blame it all on Jeremy and his "good" deed!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Dirty

Okay. I have to do some confessing here. I love the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyers. I love the way she writes and the majority of the content of the books. I do not like the movies, however. I know that I am in a group of my own in this thought, but I think that when I read I get such a strong image in my head that it is hard to let go of and agree with what is on the big screen.

The one thing I did like about the New Moon movie............



Now this I can handle! But here's the thing...............he's like what...........twelve? The fact that I get so tore up over this half naked BOY makes me feel like a dirty old woman! There. I said it. Now how many of you are feeling a little "dirty" with me??? Come on. I know you're out there!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

It's the Little Things!

Over the past several years I have come to realize that life is all about the little things. Playing with your child and hearing his wonderful laugh. Sitting on a porch swing with your husband and watching the world go by. Watching a child that you teach have a twinkle in their eye because they have learned something new.

I have a new "little thing" to add to my arsenal of what is important in life. LITTLE NEEDLES!!! I am now on a new dose of blood thinner that is twice a day, but will get out of my system much quicker just in case Cooper makes an emergency landing. This new shot was not in a convenient pre-dose measured needle. It comes in a vial so I have to use Jeremy's insulin needles to give it to myself. THEY ARE SO MUCH SMALLER!! Seriously, it's like comparing a post hole digger to a push pin! I am so stoked at this wonderful change of my daily medical regime.


Old needle on the left, new needle on the right!

Old needle on top, new needle on bottom!

And really, why has Jeremy Vincent been whining for the past year and half over the LITTLE needle??