Another Christmas present

On Christmas day Donna, Diane, Grandma Charlene and I went upstairs to change Cooper's diaper. They weren't coming up to watch me change his diaper, they were coming up to see if I could get him to giggle. He almost always giggles when I change his diaper on his changing table and he actually did it! I was so glad they all got to hear it, it is one of my favorite sounds. So then I was telling them about how much he moves when he is in his crib so we tried to see if he would do that. Of course he wouldn't do that but he did do something he has never done before - he rolled over! I had put him on his tummy and he rolled over to his back. He has been moving and rolling over to his side but never from his tummy to his back. I just stood there and couldn't believe it. I only wish Rob would have been up there so he could have seen it as well.

Christmas

Every year at Christmas I always get so stressed out and end up not enjoying Christmas as much as I should. This year I have to say was really different. We did all the same things we always do but it was different, I don't know if it was because of Cooper or just seeing things a little differently. I made 9 different kinds of cookies, baked banana bread, made Krumkaka with mom and made two batches of Chex mix. This did stress me out a little bit because I had a deadline of Wednesday night because Rob was giving some of the cookies to his employees for their presents. But I still enjoyed baking them, the late nights got to me though. Dad, Christy and I did our tradition of going shopping for mom on Christmas eve morning. They came out to our house at 6:00 and Rob watched both babies while we had breakfast at Perkins, shopped and wrapped the presents. We stopped at my aunt Anne and Uncle Denny's house for a short visit before we headed to mom and dad's for our Christmas Eve tradition. We have oyster stew, read the Christmas story and open presents. James and Natalie always stop over with their boys so we can exchange Christmas presents with them. Having the boys over gave us a glimpse of what our Christmases are going to be like in the future with two kids running around. Christmas morning I got up made us a nice breakfast, we opened stockings from Santa and just relaxed. Then got ready for all of Rob's family to come over to open presents and for dinner. We opened presents for about an hour and a half before Cindy, Doug and Brian came over and we still weren't done. I always enjoy watching people open the gifts we bought for them. This year was no different. When ever we asked Tim what he wanted for Christmas he only said one thing. An Vikings Adrian Peterson jersey. So to be funny Rob made him a Peterson Jersey from an old t-shirt and told him that we couldn't afford the real thing. So after he didn't have any presents left to open I brought out one last present that we forgot to give him - the real Peterson jersey! At least we thought it was funny. Dinner was great! Everyone brought something and thankfully Grandma Charlene helped with the gravy. I was nervous to make the gravy by myself, I have never done it without my mom's help.

So even though we did a lot for Christmas it was probably the best one I can remember. Even though Cooper had no idea what was going on and slept most of the time, it was so amazing having him there with us. He did attempt to tear at a couple pieces of wrapping paper and seemed to enjoy all the attention he got.

Reflecting

As I am sitting at my desk today, I realized exactly one year ago today I found out I was pregnant. Where does the time go? I remember not feeling right all day at work so when I got home from work I went upstairs and took the test. I waited and waited and then I saw the little lines forming. I was so shocked at first I was speechless. If you ask Rob this hardly ever happens. Anyway when I found my voice I started screaming for Rob over and over. I made my way downstairs to where Rob was sitting on the couch watching TV. I couldn't tell him I just stuck the test in front of his face and then we sat and stared at each other. Neither of us could believe it was real, we were so shocked, terrified and excited.



Now a year later I can't imagine what life would be without Cooper. He has changed our lives in so many ways and is such a blessing. I enjoy every minute I get to spend with him.

What no Christmas Card?

I have been feeling really guilty about not sending out a Christmas card this year. We have done it every year since Rob and I started dating. Especially now with Cooper I thought it would be fun to send out a Christmas card. Well with sending out the birth announcements late we kind of ran out of time. So I took these pictures today and figured I could at least add them to the blog so people can see how much he has grown since the announcement picture where he was 6 weeks old. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

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Crib

Last night Cooper moved from his play pen in our room to his crib for the first time! With our cats and how many times I get up to check on him it made me feel better having him in our room. Rob kept pushing me to have him sleep in his room, he kept saying "he is going to be in our room until his is 15!" So I finally gave in. Of course he was fine but boy did he move! When we put him to bed he was in the middle of the crib with his sleep positioner and wrapped in his blanket. When I went to get him ready for daycare he was at the end of the crib with his face against the bumper pad and is body sticking out at a 90 degree angle. It didn't look to comfortable to me.

Christmas Concert

Tonight to help us get in the holiday spirt Rob and I went to see the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus' (http://www.tcgmc.org/) production of Homespun Holidays. I was kind of surprised Rob said he would go since normally when I ask him to go to something like this, he tells me no. I think the reason he agreed had something to do with the fact that his co-worker and friend Terry was in the chorus. I love Christmas music and was so excited to go. We dropped Cooper off at the Peterson's and headed to the U of M campus where the concert was. Of course before the show I figured I had better run to the bathroom just in case. I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't a line for the women's bathroom, only the men's! The first act was very serious and formal. During the intermission Rob and I walked around and then we called to check on Cooper before the second act started and of course he was doing great. We had both been away from Cooper separately but this was our first night out together since he was born. The second act started and it was great! The last song is their signature song they sing at every show called Walk hand in hand with me. They asked everyone to hold hands. It was really amazing to see a whole auditorium filled with so many different people holding hands and singing together. I had to wipe my eye when it was done I was so moved. If you have never been to see the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus I highly recommend you do so, we really enjoyed it.

Rob FINALLY joins me in the 30's

After hearing old jokes for the last 2+ years Rob has finally joined me in the 30's. We couldn't let this milestone birthday quietly pass by so partied like we were in our 20's again. We were lucky to have so many friends and family come during the busy holiday season. We had three babies in the house under the age of 4 months. They were passed around like little footballs. Everyone wanted to hold them. I finally had to cut the night short at 3 am because I know Cooper wouldn't sleep in and would probably be up at 6 am. I think the last person went to bed around 6:00 am. Needless to say everyone seemed to have a really good time and Rob was welcomed into the 30's with a bang.

Doctor

Today I took Cooper to the doctor. He has been fighting a cold since about Thanksgiving and three of the kids at daycare are also sick. I was sure it was just a virus and there was nothing they could do, but I had to be sure. I was starting to get worried about him being dehydrated and if I should continue sending him to daycare. So after my 2 hour commute home in horrible traffic because of a snow storm; Cooper and I headed out. Thankfully traffic had cleared up and the roads were much better. When we got to the doctors office we were the only patients there! I guess no one else wanted to brave the weather and the roads. We luckily were able to see Cooper's regular doctor, I swear she is always working. She checked him out and said what I thought she was going to say "it's a virus and continue what you are doing". A $20.00 copay is totally worth my piece of mind that he is going to be ok and we were doing everything we could for our little guy. Also a little fun fact - even with being sick he gained another pound since his two month appointment so he now is 15 pounds and 8 ozs!

Grandma Charlene turns 88

Today we met Rob's grandma Charlene, Di, Rog, Donna, Ron, Nate and Tim in Rochester to celebrate Grandma turning 88. Thankfully the weather held out. There was talk of rescheduling because of Saturdays snow. We rented a hotel room and had a potluck because grandma doesn't like going out to eat. Everything was super good and we had a great time.