COOP PULLS HIS TUBE......

Saturday Cooper finally pulled his feeding tube around noon. We left it out a good 6 hours :) He actually showed a little more interest in eating but again did not eat enough. He had about 10ml of apple juice, 2ml of formula and he played with some green beans and jello but only drops made it to his mouth. The day was fabulous though. He didn't throw up which was so nice. We played and played without worrying about him grabbing that silly tube. He didn't spend the whole day rubbing his eyes and nose either. At bath time he actually got to play and splash and had a great time without me constantly trying to hold the tube up and avoid water on his face. It was all so great and I must say we were all, including Raelynn, very disappointed and sad to put the tube back in. I know it sounds crazy but Cooper was just so happy without that tube, it irritates him so much. If only he could realize all he has to do is eat.

Besides his stubbornness in not eating, he is also very ornery! He is starting to grab things he shouldn't, pull Raelynn's hair and really grab anything he can get to. When I tell him "No no Cooper" he just tilts his head a little and gives me this heart melting smile as though to say "I love you Mommy!" Seriously he is going to grow up to be terrible because I can't help but smile back. The boy will have no discipline!!! He is just so darn cute and his eyes and smile just blend together to remind you every time he looks at you what he has been through and how special he is. It is not just me either, Terry melts too. Raelynn told me the other night that he needed discipline because he kept pulling her hair. I laughed and said I try but it isn't working. So she took it upon herself and when he pulled her hair she said "NO COOPER!" He started to laugh at her and then she laughed and then said to me "I can't discipline him either!" Boy are we in trouble!!! He is getting very strong and loves to stand. He has to have help but wants to stand all the time.

Raelynn is her usual adorable self. There are daily laughs and I never know what she is going to come up with. I absolutely love my weekends with them. I can't wait to see them at the end of the day during the week either. This past weekend I was trying to teach Raelynn to write her name. It was not going so well. I told her just make an R like Mommy, how hard is it? She flipped the page over, drew a squiggly line and said " You draw a river like me". I took the pen and drew a squiggly line under hers. She looks at it and says, "Does that look like mine? How hard is it? Try again!" Of course we both started to laugh and I said ok, enough for today and we went on to other, less technical things. We also started a savings plan for Raelynn, an idea I got from Sherri. Raelynn has 3 envelopes, one for spending, one for saving and one for charity. We talked about the meaning of each and what she has to do to get a quarter for each envelope every week. She seemed pretty excited about it. Later we were all in the car and she was talking to Terry about it. After she told him about the 3 quarters she asked me, "why can't they be dollars?" She is already toooooo smart!

Cooper's Cause events are going strong. I am still amazed at the community and its generosity. I have an interview on the Lazer Morning Show on the 21st between 7:15am and 7:45am. I am a little nervous but just hope I come across as somewhat intelligent! Our friends are working so hard to get sponsors for the different events and participants. Honestly, I have no idea how we could make the ultimate dream of Cooper's Cause come true without every one's hard work. Our friends and family are amazing. I know I say this all the time but I really am in awe.

Sunday at church, Pastor Bill was doing the sermon on "How to Experience Real Contentment". There was so much of this that spoke to me because I always want more. But there were 4 things he said we needed to be content: Learn to avoid comparisons, Learn to adjust to change, Learn to draw on Jesus's power and Learn to trust God with my needs. Within these four he said the one thing that is constant in our lives is change. How true is this. Things are always changing and much of that we cannot control. Therefore learning to adjust to that constant change will help us find contentment. I feel like our life is in constant change right now and none of it I feel I have control over which is something I am not really good at. Listening to him Sunday though made me realize the changes are the constant in our life and learning to adjust is what we are doing daily. It was a very good lesson and made me realize that thinking about when things will be "normal" again is a silly thought. Things will never be like the were a year ago, a week ago or even yesterday but all of that will help us with what things will be tomorrow.