The four F's of July

It's a tradition in my family to spend the fourth of July at my parent's cabin. There are always Family, Friends, Fireworks, and lots of Food. This year was no different. Before we went up to the cabin I counted 33 people and 6 dogs that were planning on coming. I think we exceeded that by a couple people. While I thought it would be crazy and stressful it was a really great time. We started the 4th of July celebration with a boat parade and then had an incredible potluck.

We ended the night by taking out 4 boats to watch the fireworks on the lake. It was incredible! The weather was perfect, no bugs and there were at least 4 people lighting off what I am sure were illegal fireworks for Minnesota. Cooper loved watching them and kept asking for more.

Cooper also enjoyed playing in the water and jumping off Dad's boat into the water.

Where was the video camera when we needed it?

Last night Rob and I went on a much deserved date night. We dropped Cooper off at my parent's house and headed to the Dome to watch the Twins vs. the Pirates. I enjoyed the game more than I thought I would. Normally when we go to a game I spend more time watching the people around than watching the game. Not that I wasn't having a blast watching the huge multi generational family in front of us, those kids had me cracking up. But last night was different, I actually watched the game and paid attention. We had to leave the game at 9:00 to pick up Cooper. While both of us joked on the way there if Cooper would be up when we got there, I didn't really think he would be. When we walked into my parents house and Cooper was sitting quietly on my dad's lap watching a movie. Seriously? This kid turns into a monster at 8:30 at home, why is it so different at grandma and grandpa's? We thought for sure he would fall asleep before we hit Minnehaha Avenue but again he shocked us. He wanted to sing, or really wanted us to sing. So Rob and I sung every kids song we knew while Cooper was acting like a choir conductor by moving his arms up and down and "singing". It was hilarious! We had to do this almost all the way home until finally we ran out of songs so I put on his Kindermusik play list from my ipod to give us a break. I only wish we had the video camera with us so we could share our little conductor's talent with everyone.

P.S. He finally collapsed into bed around 10:15. Poor guy must be exhausted today.

Last couple nights

The last couple nights have been really great. Monday night Cooper and I had the best time. When I got to daycare he greeted me with a scream and a huge smile. He got into the car without a fight and when we got home he also came into the house without a fight, which never happens. Once we were in the house he was so good! He kept himself occupied while I was making dinner and would lay on the floor with this pillow and blanket. At one point I called Rob and told him someone had stole our son, this wasn't a normal Cooper day. Later he was playing with his Leap frog ABC fridge magnet and he would make noises like he was singing so I started singing with him. Once I started singing he would move his right arm like he was snapping his fingers. Then he wanted me to kiss him so of course I did. Then he kept asking for more. It was so cute.

Then on Tuesday when we were starting our night time routine he wanted to sit on the toilet. So I let him. Not soon after I asked him if he was pooping and he said yes. I figured it was one of the times he just said yes but I checked and he actually did it! I called Rob who had just left to run to Target. He was at the end of the block but turned around and came back. I made Rob grab the camera so we could document this big moment. Cooper was so excited he didn't want to get off the toilet. We had to force him off the toilet.


Then tonight he did the same thing during our routine! I know it probably won't continue but it's really exciting that he actually wants to do it. The funniest part is he also "wipes". He puts multiple pieces of toilet paper in the toilet through his legs.

Nebulizer

As of last night we are the proud owners of a nebulizer. Let me back up a little bit. Sunday night at the lake Cooper had a barking cough so instantly I thought "Crap! He has Croup again". By Monday night the barking cough wasn't there but his nose had become a faucet. He was also coughing quite a bit and we could tell he just wasn't feeling well. Yesterday when I picked him up from daycare I heard that he was wheezing and almost immediately I traveled back in time 10 years to when my god son Aries was diagnosed with asthma triggered by cat and dog allergies. I can't imagine what I would do if I had to find new homes for all the animals. So I packed his Elmo backpack and we headed to ready care. The doctor heard his wheezing and thought we should try a neb treatment to see if that would help. The nurse that came in with the machine turned it on and stuck it on Cooper's face. The poor little guy was so scared! I had to hold his arms and wrap my leg around his legs because he was kicking the crap out of me. Then he started thrashing his head so I had to use my head to hold him down. The nurse finally came back in to check on us, probably because she could hear his screams in the entire building. She tried giving Cooper a toy frog which he immediately threw across the room. I tried everything, even giving him my cell phone, to calm him down with no luck. Sigh. It was awful, probably the worst 8 minutes Cooper and I have spent together so far. The doctor gave me the good news, it was only a virus. Then came the bad, we would have to continue the neb treatments every four hours while he was awake for the next 7-10 days.

After what I went through last night I figured it would be easiest if there were two of us to hold him down this morning. Or to at least to give my bruises a break. Thankfully he did much better this morning. I am sure it helped that we showed him the mask, let him play with it, eased him into it and didn't strap the mask to his face - I just held it in place. Of course putting on an Elmo DVD didn't hurt anything either. Wish me luck for the next 7-10 days.

Ouch

Yesterday when I came home from Julie's bachelorette party I found Rob and Cooper outside playing. As soon as Cooper saw me he screamed and ran to me. Then I noticed his face.. Shortly before I got home Cooper was walking our dog Jasper and then Jasper started to run. Cooper didn't let go of the leash and his face took the fall on the sidewalk. Rob said he didn't cry when he fell, he just yelled at Jasper and chased after him.

Chop sticks

In the last week or so we have used chopsticks a couple times and of course Cooper didn't want to be left out. He figured out a fun game of eating Cheerios with chopsticks. Here is a video of him showing off his skills.

Cooper

I finally downloaded three months of pictures to the computer and I want to share some of the good ones.



Cooper and Kaylin at Travis' wedding.











This one makes me laugh.. He is such a character.










Doesn't he look like such a big boy? I took this picture in one of the family rooms when mom was in the hospital.









This is what happens when I turn my back for a couple minutes.





Cooper loves is tractor!













He thinks of the craziest things. If only you could hear the noises he makes when he does this.

Mother's Day

Today was a great day! Even though Cooper woke up much earlier than he normally does it actually worked well. Rob brought Cooper into bed with me to snuggle while he went to make us breakfast in bed. After breakfast we went downstairs where Rob had me open my presents. Cooper had made me this plate at daycare, he is quite the little artist.

Then we took Cooper to the zoo for the first time. It's amazing that it took us 20 months to take him to the zoo, I wish we would have taken him much earlier. He stood and watched the sea lion Sparky swim in his pool for quite a while and liked the lions where he could see them close up.

After the zoo we even snuck in a nap for all of us, I am so blessed to have such a great husband and son.

Easter

When my sister suggested we decorate eggs with the kids the weekend before Easter, I thought she was crazy. Cooper has a short attention span and gets frustrated really easy. Have I

mentioned he is in the terrible twos already? I finally gave in and I am glad I did. We decided to just use crayons and stickers and Cooper did really great! Here are the five eggs he decorated:

We alternate Easter and Thanksgiving with our families and this year was Easter with my family. Unfortunately we didn't get to make the trip to Wisconsin with the Peterson's, but we did celebrate Easter with the Peterson's the following weekend. We had Easter brunch at my parents house, as always it was fun to watch the kids play in their dress clothes. Cooper was standing on Kaylin's ride on toy and fell and split his lip about an hour after we got him into his dress clothes. Thankfully Adrian was able to take some pictures of Cooper before he fell. Here is my favorite picture:

And he was able to catch a good pitcute of both Cooper and I, which is really hard to do:

Of course I couldn't end this post without adding a picture of a beautiful little girl in a beautiful dress:

Breast Cancer 3 day

Kim, a good friend of mine has bravely signed up to do the Breast Cancer three day this August. This is no small undertaking, she will walk 60 miles in three days and camp out each night. If you knew her the camping part would be the hardest part. Anyway she doing this to honor her mother who currently fighting breast cancer. When signing up for this incredible walk you also agree to raise (or pay) $2,400.00! This is where you can help. If you would like to help Kim reach her goal and help find a cure for breast cancer please click on this link: http://www.the3day.org/goto/Kim.S.Williams

Without a cure, one in eight women in the U.S. will continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer. That’s why she is walking in the 3-Day. Because everyone deserves a lifetime.

Breast Cancer Facts:

* There are 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today.
*Early detection and effective treatment for breast cancer have been shown to improve survival.
* Men can develop breast cancer too.