WHAT A WHIRLWIND.....

I cannot believe it has been over a week since I posted. There has been so much going on I hope you have a few hours to kill as you sit down to read this post. First I want to thank Raelynn's preschool, First Presbyterian Church Preschool, for their fundraising efforts for Cooper's Cause. They have decided to hold "Coins for Cooper's Cause" during the second semester of the 2008-2009 school year. The kids will collect loose change from home and bring to school. I think they plan to incorporate art time for decorating the collection cans, counting lessons, money lessons, etc. I am so excited about this. Raelynn really understands what Cooper's Cause Foundation is in basic terms and she was very excited to know that her preschool would be helping to raise money. Their support has been and continues to be wonderful.

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We started our day bright and early and were up at Terry's Dad's a little after 9 am. This was our first holiday without Jean but Carol, Bonnie and the rest of the family made sure we had all the traditional dishes, even those that we thought only Nannie could make. It all was delicious. Steph had been here since Tuesday and it was so great to have her at Thanksgiving too. The kids had a blast.
There are so many kids to play with and they played until they were exhausted. As you can imagine, I felt like we had more to be thankful for this year than I ever had before. When I just began to think of the things I was thankful for, it far exceeded the thoughts of Cooper and our family and extended well into people I did not even know well. We have been so blessed this year, to be thankful seemed so small.


Friday morning Steph and I got up at 3:30am and headed out shopping. We had a great time and got most of our shopping done. We were home by 7:15am and there when the Birthday Boy woke up. What a day to celebrate. We let Coop open a few of his gifts and then started right in on Christmas decorating.

After decorating for awhile we took the kids to Halmark to pick out their ornaments. Raelynn picked out Little Einsteins Rocket and Steph and Raelynn decided on this little Super Man outfit ornament for Cooper. We felt it was quite appropriate considering what he had been through. We headed back home after a few more erands and finished decorating.
Friday night we went downtown to watch Santa fly in. This is such a fun night for the kids and for us too. The kids get to visit Santa and the whole atmosphere is wonderful. It was a little chilly but we had a great time. Raelynn told Santa she wanted a hat, scarves, gloves and the Rocket on the Little Einsteins. Yes that is right, she wants the actual Rocket to fly around in. I told her that was a big request for Santa to build in such a short amount of time and I didn't know if he would get it done on time. Everyone said the gifts would get more difficult as she got older, I mean she did only ask for a sucker last year, but difficult is one thing, impossible a whole other! Cooper's cute face made the news again as he sat on Santa's lap. We also discovered Coop loves peppermint. He ate an entire candy cane within seconds.






Saturday was the big celebration, Cooper First Birthday!!! We had so much to celebrate. I don't think anyone was more excited than Raelynn. She loves her brother and could not wait for him to open his gifts. The party went great and I think everyone had a good time. Cooper got so many "boy toys" and I had never seen him play so much. It is now obvious to us that he has been extremely bored and now is having the time of his life. He also met a girl. Her name is Andie and she is adorable. Cooper fell in love immediately. He kept kissing and hugging her. He would go play and then come right back to her. It was so cute.

Kelly made Cooper's cake which was so great of her and it was awesome. I got to help him blow out his candle but it was his Aunt Steph that helped him get right into the cake and frosting!!! Of course Cooper doesn't really eat so he didn't want to have much to do with the cupcake I sat it in from of him but Steph did not think a baby's first birthday should go by without frosting on his nose.



Cooper got so many great toys and he loved them all. Aunt Karli got him a suit for Christmas that was unbelievably cute and Uncle Gary and Cassie got him a pair of Spiderman pajamas which every little boy needs.


Everything was absolutely perfect and I could not help but look at him and know he is a very special little boy and we could not be any luckier than to have him in our lives. I have learned so much from him. This was a day worth celebrating for so many reasons. And to think that one year ago our journey began. This time last year I could never have imagined where we would be today and how things would change and how I would change. Nor would I have imagined we would be looking at this cute little boy with big ears and enjoying every second of his life.



So now the holiday craziness continues and I accept that I have many late nights ahead, again, trying to complete Christmas projects and just keeping up with daily activities. We head to see our cardiologist tomorrow and probably Dr. Kelley as well. Cooper is fighting a cold but it seems to be getting worse and we do not want it to turn into something more serious. Tomorrow we also mail off our final application to the IRS for Cooper's Cause Foundation. We are so close to being on our way with the foundation and that excites me so much. It has been a lot of work and will continue to be but it feels so good and seems like the perfect thing to do. The kids continue to amaze me. Cooper is developing so quickly right now. He points to people as you ask them who they are, "Where's Raelynn?" and he points right at her with a big smile. He is blowing kisses and Lisa said he said "uh oh" today. He has called me Momma a few times and I love that. Little by little he is getting there. Tonight he stood all alone for a few seconds. He is getting so close to walking. He is all over the place and into everything already but I can't wait to see him take his first steps. Raelynn is witty as ever and continues to overwelm me with questions about everything from why she can't fly to when we will die. She has been through so much this year with trials of Cooper and Nannie's death and she seems to understand it all. I do not hide anything from her and I try to be a basic as possible in our discussions but I truly can say I would never have imagined I would be having the conversations we have with a 3 year old.

So hopefully this catches everyone up and I will try not to let it go so long between posts. Thank you all for "reminding" me I needed to make a post :)