MORE FUN TIMES.....

This past week held so many laughs. On Thursday I was at work sitting with a client. I had finished helping him but we still talking. I could feel Valerie, my co-worker, staring at me. Finally I turned to her and said, "Did you need something?" She responds, "Don't you have to pick up Raelynn today?". I glance down at the clock on my computer and jump to my feet....11:35am, she gets out of preschool at 11:30am. I tell my client I am sorry but I have to go pick up my daughter and go running out of the office. While I am driving to her preschool I am calling the school and every other Mom's cell phone. When I got there the kids actually got out late and I wasn't really late at all. I was giving all the Mom's a hard time for not answering their cell phones and they are all cracking up that I was so worried about it. When I get to Raelynn I tell her what I did and how worried I was she was going to be the last kid there. She starts laughing and says, "Oh Mom, I would wait for you you don't need to worry!". I love how confident my daughter is.

Friday morning the kids and I were on our own as Terry left early for a job in Missouri. As Cooper was making his bed we heard him saying "Be Happy, wooo hoo hoo....". He has this stuffed cow that sings Don't Worry Be Happy and Coop must have decided it was a catchy little tune. He gave Raelynn and I a good laugh. Cooper had his last synagis shot on Friday as well, Yeah! As we walked into the doctors office he begins to wine and says, "No shot Mommy, No Shot!" How sad. He weighed in right at 23lbs which means he gained a little more. He did have his shots and he was not pleased about it but he survived. Then Friday night we headed to swimming lessons after work. Coop has been having a horrible time with lessons. He cries like crazy! So I talked to Claudine and we decided to take a couple weeks off and just have him watch while Raelynn has hers. Raelynn had finished her lessons and was practicing dives with Rory, one of our favorite coaches. Cooper hopped off my lap and started walking towards Raelynn and Rory. I followed him and he walked right up to Rory. She asked if he wanted to put his feet in which he did and before we knew it she had him in the water playing. He loved it and didn't even want to get out. When we did get out he said, "I want my Rory!" It was so sweet. So maybe a few fun times in the pool he will be back to liking it! After that we headed home for dinner and bathes. As we are getting dinner ready Raelynn says, "Today on Inside Edition there was a family whose house burned down, and Mom you should NEVER go back in a burning house." Now first I found it quite hysterical that my daughter watches Inside Edition and second that we were having this completely adult conversation. I said to her "Honey, if you and Cooper were in the house and it was burning I would go back in to get you." She turns to me and says, "Now you listen to me, you CAN NOT go back in, that is the firefighters job. They will get us out. You go next door to Casey and Brianne's because that is our meeting spot and we will meet you there. Do you understand me?" Because there was nothing else I could say after that, I told her I did understand. Then while we were eating she looks into the living room and says,"Mom do you know you can remodel your house. Well Daddy can anyway. You and me can redecorate and we should do that in the living room." She proceeds to tell me how we can redecorate and then finishes with, "well we should probably wait until the basement is done so we can do everything at once." I guess she has it all figured out! Raelynn grows up more everyday and everyday I grow more in love with her and more proud of her. Friday night Raelynn and I had a slumber party since Terry was gone. We popped popcorn and watched cartoons in bed. By 10pm Raelynn decided it was time to turn off the TV and get some sleep. I am so glad 10pm is late to her!

Coop who is quickly becoming the family comedian. Saturday, he was playing downstairs where Terry and he spend a lot of time as Terry is working on finishing our basement. Like I said Terry was gone and had been since early Friday morning. I here Cooper playing downstairs and after a bit I went down to check on him. There he was with tools (his little kid tools) in hand in the bathroom Terry is currently working on. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "helping Daddy." I remind him Daddy is gone and he says, "ya, I working on the basement, I helping Daddy!". It was too cute, he was "holding" boards with one hand and hammering with the other.

Terry made it back Saturday evening which was a great surprise. The kids with ecstatic and loved having him home in time for bed. Today we had church this morning and then are making a brownie dessert for our new neighbors and then off to an investment club meeting with Terry's family. Next week we have many adventures in store for us. Early in the week we face some challenges and then Thursday we have pre op with Cooper and his cardiac catheter on Friday. We will also be meeting with a GI doctor after the catheter so hopefully will have an idea when his next open heart surgery is and where they are going to go with his eating issues. Oh the anxiety of the next step......

OUR FIRST FLOWERS OF SPRING.....

Last night when we got home from work the weather was gorgeous. The kids and I played outside until Terry got home and then he and the kids played outside while I made dinner. It was the perfect taste of what we have to look forward to. The kids had so much fun riding bikes, roller skating and riding their scooters. Coop is so cute riding his scooter and he loves it.


Tonight Coop had his meeting with Molly from Tiny K who helps him with his eating and speech. The last few days Coop has been eating yogurt with things mix in it. He feeds himself and has been eating it for lunch and dinner. We are all very excited about it. Well when Molly arrived Coop says, "I eat yogurt!". I don't know if Molly was more excited about the fact that Cooper was eating or how clearly he is talking now. It is so fun to watch him make so much progress. While we were meeting with Molly, Raelynn and Terry went out for dinner. While we were driving home Raelynn called Terry to see if they were going to go out to eat together. Hearing her on the phone with him was so sweet. Their conversation was so grown up. The best part of them going somewhere without me is when they come home. Raelynn always comes running in the door saying, "Mommy, Boo, we're home!" It is always so great to get that big hug and listen to how their time together went. Now Cooper in turn tells Raelynn and Terry about our time together why they were gone. This all gets better and better!

THERE HAS BEEN NO PARENTING BOOK WRITTEN FOR COOPER......

I am a firm believer in gaining knowledge about parenting and different practices. I read parenting magazines, websites and listen to other parents and from that I take parts and believe this pool of information helps me parent. However, I don't think anything I have ever read or been told seems to be helping with Cooper.:) He is a very strong willed child or maybe he just enjoys seeing exactly how long he can hold out until I loose it. I may be exaggerating a little but just a little example....tonight Coop is in the bath. We are done with the bath and I ask him to pick up his toys. He continues to play making no attempt to pick up his toys. Eventually I get him directed to picking up the toys but of course he has to pretend every toy is an airplane and has to dive into the toy basket or a ball that you throw into the toy basket. I am scolding him telling him that he needs to focus and just get the toys in the basket without playing. He is looking right at me and smiles in the middle of my scolding and says, "Mommy come here." He repeats this multiple times until I am nose to nose with him. Then he reaches up to my face, gently turns my head and whispers in my ear, "I wuv you". Right there in the middle of a scolding he so cutely and adorably, softly whispers he loves me right in my ear. I told him I loved him too but he needed to mind me. He smiles and says, "O tay" and then proceeds to pick up all his toys just as I had wanted him to 10 minutes ago. This is just one example of many. The truth is he is so hard to get upset with because he truly is incredible funny and as you watch him you can see that he knows exactly what he is doing. I love the challenges parenting gives and love trying to find the perfect way to relate to my kids so I think with every challenge Coop gives me I actual smile inside because I almost think he knows I like the challenge and maybe even knows he is making me a better Mommy. However, I also enjoy the fact that a certain look or tone of voice makes Raelynn jump and I can only hope with consistency it will someday have the same effect on Coop. Not only does his behavior amaze me but also the things he is doing. When Coop spent those 6 days on ECMO we were warned that he may have some brain damage or developmental delays but is it possible the opposite happened? Today while I was working on the computer he brought out these stacking cups of Raelynn's. He proceeds to unstack them and then restack them exactly as they should be. As he stacks them he counts them. He counted from 1 to 15 perfectly and then to 20 only missing 17. Then he takes them all apart again and starts to restack them again only this time counting in Spanish. He counts from 1-10 in perfectly and to 15 just missing 13. I was astonished. We practice counting and the alphabet and such but Raelynn is always so overbearing I never realized Coop could do so much. I told Raelynn to watch him and when he did it again she says, "'ya, he can count Mom, I taught him how, he's not a baby anymore." Well, I guess she told me! So needless to say, we had another amazing weekend and once again Monday has came too quickly. But with every Monday there is another weekend to look forward too. Not to mention, everyday with a family like mine is a day to look forward to.

Besides our fun with our kids, we also took my nieces back to western Kansas this weekend. Cassidy had taken care of the kids on Monday and Friday of last week and they loved it. She did a fantastic job as well. Chandler got to stay with us Friday and Saturday and she and Raelynn had soooo much fun. Raelynn really misses having them close and I think they miss us too. They actually spent the whole week here and went between our house and their Dad's in Olathe. Terry was fantastic all week running them here and there and then today he took them to Salina to meet Sherri. It made for a crazy week but again we loved having them. They got a special surprise when they returned home too; a new puppy named Alli. There dog had passed away around Christmas time and they had been begging for a new one every since. I would have loved to have been there to see their faces. Thanks girls for spending the week with us and congrats on the new dog!

Watch out Monday, here we come...................

ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE....

This is the 2nd year we have had a float in the St. Patrick's Day Parade for Cooper's Cause. It was much colder this year than last but was still a lot of fun. Thank you to all of you who braved the cold to come out and watch! Thank you also to the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and for what you do to support local charities!

PRE PARADE PERFORMANCES......

Just a little look at the performers I have warming up this morning...

MARCH MADNESS.............

This past weekend we headed back to Scott City for my niece, Chandler's 10th Birthday. The kids travel pretty well. Coop is amazing. As long as we give him the DVD player he is set. Although, 6 hours of watching DVDs does take a toll on a person.

Raelynn continues to show my characteristics. She starts asking if we are there yet at about Topeka and when she isn't I am. Even though we are anxious to get there, she still does very well.

The weekend was fun and the party was great. Afterwards we visited the new park which is amazing, but it all goes by too quickly and before we knew it Sunday had arrived and we were headed back.






My other niece, Cassidy, came back with us. This week our daycare is closed and trying to find someone to watch the kids all week turned out to be quite a challenge. So Cassidy came back to watch the kids on Monday and Friday and spend the rest of the week with her Dad. Monday the kids had a great time with her and things seemed to go pretty well. The house was more than a little frightening when I arrived home but they did assure me they had picked up :). It is a very small thing considering my kids were taken well care of and had a great day! Thanks Cassidy so very much! Today we had things lined out for the kids but for various reasons things did not work out so Terry and I split the day. Terry took the kids to Kansas City with him to pick up supplies and then dropped by to me around 1pm. We headed home but not before treating Raelynn and Coop to Sonic. That is all they need to think they have had the perfect day! After we put Coop down for a nap we decided to do a little spring cleaning in Raelynn's room. We went through clothes and toys, washed windows, organized drawers and more. This sounds like it wouldn't be that much fun but it was great. Raelynn and I spent the entire afternoon side by side, talking, laughing and organizing. The girl is an amazing organizer. I have taught her well. When I directed her to her toy box to get it cleaned out, she says, "I will make 4 piles. 1 to keep, 1 to go downstairs, 1 to give to Coop and 1 to give away to the kids who don't have toys." By the time she was done, she had 1/2 the toys in her toy box that she did when she started. When we cleaned out her drawer that holds her hats, mittens and scarfs she told me I needed to keep things color coded. I could not have been prouder, hahaha! Anyway, we had a great day together and when she said our dinner prayer she thanked God for our warm home and our food but tonight she also added for giving her a day that she was half with Daddy and half with Mommy.

Coop had been doing pretty good with the throwing up but today he did twice. We are getting better and seeing it coming though and the Cooper Clean Up Machine was not needed! Coop is now choosing who he wants to put him to bed, give him a bath and pretty much everything else. "Mommy put Boo to bed", "Daddy need my medicine", "Tissy goodnight, I wuv you". I love how much he talks and what he says when he does. I am also astounded by how much of a prankster he is already. You will ask him to pick up his toys and he will walk right over to the toy, bend down as though he is going to pick it up, and then giggle and run off without it! I will ask him to quiet down a little and he will respond with "O TAY!" at the top of his lungs. He does everything with this little smile that you can hardly resist. I haven't really found a discipline technique that seems to have much impact on him but I figure being consistant and stern with our rules will pay off.....someday. I make it sound like he is super bad but really he is a great little boy it is just shocking to me how mischievous he is and he is only 2!

Tomorrow is the St. Patrick's Day Parade which we have a float in for Cooper's Cause Foundation. It is so much fun and we are all looking forward to it. Thank you to everyone who continues to support the foundation!

How could I forget our fun dress up time today after all our work was done!

OH THE CONVERSATIONS................

Our evening began with a run to Wal-mart for some quick household items. While we were there we briefly ran through the toy aisle to get an idea of what we might get Coop and Raelynn's little friend who is having a birthday party this weekend. As we wander down the aisles we approached the cars and Coop literally yells...."KADEN LIKE THAT! KADEN LIKE THAT TOO!" as he pointed from item to item. I told them we were just looking tonight and to think about what they would like to get him. Raelynn says, "Kaden is a good friend and he has been our friend for a very long time, we need to get him something very special." She tells me he likes dinosaurs and Elmo. We looked at a few other items too that they thought he might like. As we were leaving the toy aisle Raelynn says to me, "Maybe we should just get something now and then come back and get something more later so we don't spend so much all at once." Remind me, is she 4 or 40!

Tonight Coop came to the kitchen while I was getting dinner ready, "Mommy I poopy, my bath now! I sit on potty now!" All I could do is remind him that he should sit on the potty BEFORE he was poopy!

Later in the evening Coop recapped the night's episode of Berenstein Bears. Raelynn asked me, "when you were a cub, did you watch the bears?" She had no idea what was so funny about that.

Cooper told Raelynn, "Tissy I wuv you!" completely unprompted. Raelynn responds with, "I love you too buddy!"

As we say our bedtime prayers Raelynn tells Cooper he needs to say the prayer with us, Coop says "don't know prayer". Raelynn says, "it's ok buddy I had to learn it too, just say it after me and Mommy." Then very slowly we said our prayer, pausing after every few words for Coop to repeat. After we were done Raelynn says, "see Buddy you know it now." Then she turns to me and says "now if he'll just eat!" Seriously, the kids is so beyond her years!

Can you think of any better evening than to be blessed with these conversations. As Raelynn improves her communications skills, Coop is learning to talk in sentences. I think every age is better than the age before but for both of them together, these has to be the best ages ever!

I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHERE THE TIME GOES......

The past week had so many funny and warming times it is hard to recap them all. I need to update more often but like everything else it is a time factor. Wednesday night Steph and Cody came up and went to the KU/K-State game with Terry and Raelynn while Coop and I went to the Pollard's to watch. They had a great time at the game and Raelynn was a champ staying clear to the end and even listening to Sherron's speech. When she got home and I asked her how the game went she said, "It was great, KU won and Sherron even cried. It was emotional!" Her big words and perception of things always makes me chuckle. Earlier in the day at preschool, Raelynn had gotten a little upset at her teacher for a little KU/K-State joke. Every day I write a note to Raelynn in her lunch bag. Of course she is still learning to read so her teacher reads the note to her. On Wednesday I had written, "Get ready to cheer on those Hawks! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!" Instead her teacher read to her, "Get ready to cheer on those Wildcates! Go K-State!". They thought this would be funny but Raelynn found no humor in it at all. As a matter of fact she was very upset. When I arrived to pick her up she walked out of her room with a frown on her face and said, "Let's go Mom". This is very unusual for Raelynn so I stopped and knelt down to ask her what was wrong. She did not want to tell me but her teacher did. After further discussion with her I could not figure out if she was more upset about their KU joke or that she trusted her teacher to read what I wrote and now her trust was broken. Anyway, needless to say, her teachers were apologetic and we assured her that they would read just what I wrote from now on. Raelynn also entertained us this week when one morning as she ate breakfast she broke into an air guitar solo. It was hilarious! She was a rocker for sure! I would have given anything to have recorded it and I have no idea what brought it on but she is an amazing air guitarist! She also came to the realization that taking a nap during the day was not such a good idea. One night Raelynn still lay awake at 10:15pm. We heard her singing and playing with her animals and just having a good 'ole time. Then I hear her ask for me. I go back there and say to her, "Raelynn you need to get to sleep!" She says,"that is what I want to talk to you about, I don't think taking a nap is a good idea because my eyes just won't listen at night when they nap during the day!" She ended her conclusion with a huge smile. Her wittiness is comical. Our laughs continued when on Thursday we had haircuts. Raelynn always has to go first. She hopped up into Demetria's chair and says, "I want it stacked in the back this time." Now how she knew what "stacked" is I have no idea but I thought Demetria was going to fall over laughing. So a "stack" is what she got and she looks pretty cute. So as you can tell Raelynn continues to grow her vocabulary and keeps us on our toes every day. Besides her wittiness she is also maturing. Coop got upset in his Sunday School class this morning. I guess Raelynn was walking by with her class to use the restroom when she heard Cooper crying. She stopped by to see what was going on and I guess Coop was pretty upset. With all the issues we are having with him, Raelynn knew that him being this upset was not good. She she comes into the sanctuary and walks right over to where I always sit. She says, "Mom Coop's upset and needs you, I tried to calm him down but he still wants you." She makes me so proud how she handles things so maturely and knows just how and what to do for her brother. It would be impossible for me to be prouder of her than I already am.

So yes we are continuing to deal with Coop throwing up and a few other things, but beside that he is talking up a storm. One morning I was loading the car and I hear the back door open and Cooper yells, "Mommy are you ready for me?" He is adorable! He continues to expand his vocabulary and is even getting out full sentences now. He and Raelynn play together so well and he loves his "Tissy" sooooo much as does she. Cooper is also wanting to do more and more on his own. He likes to try to dress himself, put on his shoes and coat and even pour his own drink. I love this stage. I love that they want to do things for themselves and this is such a great time for teaching and learning. It is also a time that makes us late for a lot of things! It is amazing how long it can take to talk a 2 year old through putting on his pants :) Today, Raelynn was going potty and all the sudden Coop says he has to go potty. We are being advised not to pursue potty training until after his surgery but I wasn't going to let this past. So Raelynn and I sat Coop up on the potty and encouraged him. I think he went a very little and he was very proud of himself. Wouldn't it be great if he just potty trained himself? I know wishful thinking.

Today we had 2 birthday parties. One for one of Raelynn's friends and the other for the kid's cousin, Skylar. They had so much fun at both! We love having family and friends to share time with. It also makes Mommy and Daddy slow down enough to watch and realize how wonderfully fortunate we are!

WEEKEND COMPANY AND BUSY START TO THE WEEK.....

This weekend my Aunt Barbara came to visit. Since my Grandmother passed my Aunt has been able to visit us about once a year. This year she came in on Friday afternoon and was able to stay with us until Monday morning. We did some cooking, baking, shopping and just hanging out at home. She did try to teach Raelynn, Cooper and I how to make a homemade pie crust which was delicious but really a lot of work considering I can pick one up at the store in less than 5 minutes. We made a coconut cream pie with the crust and to my surprise the coconut cream pie filling is also made from stuff other than a box! Then there was the meringue. Who knew egg whites could do that!


Cooper gave Aunt Barbara lots of love and I think she enjoyed that. It was a great visit for all of us.

Monday always rolls around way too quickly but the first two days of this week has already felt like a full week. Is it really only Tuesday? Today Dr. Kelley called about his consult with Coop's cardiac team. They have decided that they cannot make any decisions right now about Coop's stomach and eating issues without more information. What they did decide is that on April 2nd, while we are there for Coop's cardiac catheter, we will also meet with the gastroenterolisist. After we meet with them, they will consult with the cardiac team and determine if they want to do a Ph Test or scope or if they want to pursue a Gtube or Fundoplication surgery. If they do decide to pursue one of these avenues they will probably do so before his next open heart surgery so they can try to get a few more pounds on him. It seems that the doctors are getting concerned about Coop's weight even though he is still gaining. What they were clear about is that they will not do any of these procedures in conjunction with his cardiac procedures. Right now I am back and forth on what I think would be best for Coop. I think I am finally feeling a little overwhelmed just with current things going on in our lives along with the upcoming catheter and the anticipation of the open heart surgeries. I know we have the best team of doctors ever and that they will do what is best for Cooper but I can't shake the constant reminder of fear I have in my head. I watch Raelynn and Cooper daily become such amazing people and they make Terry and I laugh so much and so often. I just can't seem to get enough of them. I know my fears are just fears of the unknown and I know I have to just have faith that things will turn out the way God has planned but I can't help but continue to just hope and pray that God's plan for us is the same as my plan for us. The good news is we have 30 days before we have to do anything and so that is 30 more days I can make more memories with all of us!