GO COOPER GO................

We had another weight check for Cooper today and he has gained 3/4lb and is back up to 25lbs! We were so excited but after yesterday not surprised. Yesterday Coop ate as much as if not a little more than Raelynn did. It was crazy to see him eat. He sat at the table for over an hour and ate little bite after little bite. He is now telling us what he does and doesn't like, "dat bite to big, I wike wittle bites!". Tonight it was just Coop and I for dinner since Dad and Raelynn had a Watch Dog meeting at school. I asked him what he wanted to eat and he says, "Yogurt and Puppy Cheetos"(this is what he calls the big puffy cheetos). I told him he could have yogurt but not puppy cheetos until he ate something else. He says, "O tay, what you having I eat too." I think he might finally be catching on!!!

We are still working on potty training too. He is doing pretty well but we still have accidents. This weekend at the family reunion Terry had taken Cooper to the bathroom a time or two and usually he doesn't. This morning I took Coop potty and when he was done he says, "next time I potty I stand up like a big boy". Oh boy!!! I told him he couldn't stand up until he learned to never potty in his pants. I have no idea what my excuse will be when he gets that mastered. I just cannot imagine cleaning up that mess!!!

Our family reunion was pretty fun and it was great to see everyone. We went to Manhattan on Friday night and stayed with Steph. Raelynn and Cooper slept in the same room and boy was that a treat. They finally went to sleep but I now know for sure they will never share a room. First it was too much giggling then Coop wanted to continue to be funny while Raelynn was ready to go to sleep. The both finally did go to sleep and even woke up pretty happy Saturday morning. Then it was off to Hays for the reunion. It made for a short weekend but well worth it. I am looking forward to a long weekend coming up though.

WHOO......COME ON WEEKEND....................

Raelynn had her first soccer practice on Tuesday. It was super cute and the coach and his wife are great. Raelynn had a great time and is looking forward to it. We are going to miss her first practice due to a family reunion this weekend but as Raelynn said, "it's ok it's just a game and family is family".


Wednesday we met with Coop's nutritionist and she was encouraged by Coop's progress and gave us some new ideas. He really is doing great and is getting even better. He eats well at Mary Beth's and after talking with Mary Beth and Stacy (Coop's nurtitionist) we have made a few adjustments at home that seem to be helping too. I am just praying that our weight check on Monday will be positive.
Tonight we had curriculum night at Raelynn's school. It was great to get a feel for what she will be learning this year and their methods of presenting the material. I continue to be amazed by how old Raelynn is already. Time really does fly and it is constant a reminder of how much each day with them should be cherished.
We leave tomorrow to spend the night with Aunt Steph and then on to Hays for a family reunion. It will be nice to see everyone but am really ready for a little downtime.......I guess there is always the next weekend, hahaha!

I WANT A PUNCH CARD...............

I have a purse full of punch cards and frequent shopper cards. You know the ones you get from The Buckle or Maurices.....each time you spend $10 they punch the card and after you get all the little $10 punched you get $10 off your next purchase.....or buy so many ice cream cakes and you get a free one......or frequent flyer miles, fly so much and you get a free ticket. The list goes on and on but where I really need a punch card is to our paediatrician's office.....why don't I have one there????!!! 10 Visits and your next one is free! This would be a card worth having! I could have punched one again today.

The kids had their last horse show today. We were just getting ready to get their shirts and helmets on to ride in their class. Cooper was in the horse trailer standing by the door. Apparently he was pressing his head against the screen and the door came open. He did a face plant right out of the trailer into the gravel below. I was right there and grabbed him immediately. As I picked him up his face was covered in blood, enough blood he didn't even open his eyes. We ran to the bathroom and began cleaning him up to see the damage. Because he is still on aspirin it takes the bleeding awhile to stop. About a half our later we had it pretty well cleaned up and he ended up with a pretty good gash on his forehead, a little divet out of the top of his head and a bloody nose filled with rock and gravel and a mouth full of gravel. After discussion with a nurse and EMT we decided to call Dr. Kelley and see if they wanted me to bring him in. We decided I would so off Coop and I went while we left Raelynn to her ride. We got there basically as the doctor's office was closing but as always they were all awesome to us. Dr. Kelley decided to glue the gash on his head and cleaned out his nose. Cooop was fine and he assured me that he had no head trauma which was my only concern. I was not concerned at all about a few stitches or a broken nose.....we are talking about Coop here and that was all minor. I simply can't ever shake the time he had his little seizure like episode or the fact that he did have some damage in the frontal lobe area of the head when on ECMO so anytime he falls or takes a blow to the head, brain damage and head trauma is all I can think about. But he was fine just looked a little beat up. We made it back to the horse show just in time to hear them announce that Raelynn placed 2nd, yeah! Coop was pretty upset when he learned he wouldn't get to ride Charm today but this wonderfully sweet lady who was going to lead Coop offered him a prize even though he did not get to participate and this made it all better!

On Thursday we had visited our Optometrist for both Raelynn and Cooper. She found Cooper's eyes were improving which was very encouraging! We also found out Raelynn was teetering on nearsightedness and would probably join the rest of the family in glasses before too long. I don't know what we could have expected coming from Terry and I. Anyway, after the appointment we had Coop's glasses adjusted and cleaned. Unfortunately after today's spill, we need the adjustment again and new lenses. The gravel did quite a number on his lenses!

Come on Sunday.....let me see what you've got in store for us!

COOP IS STARTING EAT...................

Here is what our big boy had on Day of 2 of trying to eat:
BREAKFAST: Little piece of toast with PB and honey, 1 slice of banana and milk.
SNACK: 2 animal crackers, 4 fish crackers and 15 golden puffs and milk
LUNCH: 7 little bites of grilled cheese, 2 green beans, 5 small bites of mashed potatoes w/ cheese, 2 small dishes of yogurt
SNACK: 1/2 of a full graham cracker and milk
DINNER: 3 Puffy Cheetos, 3 crunchy cheetos, shredded cheese and more chips (I wasn't home and this was Dad's idea of dinner)
SNACK: Ice Cream with chocolate and sprinkles and M&M's (again, Dad was in charge)

I know this might not sound like much but this is so very much more than he has ever ate before!!!

THINGS ARE GETTING A LITTLE BUSY........

This week is just a little busy and a little taste of what the year holds. First, we saw Dr. Kelley on Monday. Coop's current weight is 25lbs and this week we can only hope he can maintain that. We are giving eating a real try. For the next 7 days we are not fortifying Coop's milk, and we are only giving him water an hour before meal times and at meal times. Our hope is that he will get hungry and start to eat. Today was our first day and well, at least he tried things. He ate a bite of pasta at lunch time and a carrot dinner. He had some other things such as crackers, Popsicles, pringle stix, yogurt, etc. He didn't eat enough that would make any of us even feel like we had a snack but he did try things. I am really really nervous about it and just hope he doesn't fall behind. We have several indicators to watch for and next Tuesday we will go in for a weight check to see how he is doing. At that point we may go back to our old way of fortifying milk if he isn't doing well or if he is doing well we will continue. If we don't succeed this time, we will wait 3 or 4 months and then will try again. Someday we all know he will eat, we just have to see when.

Raelynn's second day of school was harder than the first. As I dropped her off she went in the gym for a story before the dismiss her to her classroom. I don't know what it was but just to let her go and hope she made it to her classroom about killed me. Never mind the fact that there were multiple teachers around to see that she did indeed make it to her room. I know it will get easier but right now it is harder for me to tell her bye each morning than it is for her to tell me. However, I think we are equally happy to see one another at pick up time. She is loving school and is meeting several other really nice kids and only 1 boy that is not very nice at all. :)(that is in her words)

Tonight was my first PTO meeting and yes because I thought I needed some more things to do, I volunteered for a couple committees. I think it is important for us to be involved in her school. We stayed involved in preschool and we will do the say now. I enjoy knowing what is going on in the school and meeting those that Raelynn spends her day with so I am happy to take on a few more things. Besides, I figure at this point, what's another couple projects, heeheehee!

I have started a new bedtime routine with Raelynn. After our story and prayers and after lights are turned out, I lie with her and ask her what her favorite part of the day was and then after we discuss that I ask her for the worse part. It has really be great. I hear stories that happened during the day that I hadn't heard yet and I have even been a little surprised once in awhile by what her favorite part of the day is. Anyway, tonight she says to me, "what was your favorite part of the day?" "That's easy, when I woke you and Coop up this morning because I knew I had a whole day of surprises and a whole day to talk and laugh with you." She giggled and mentioned a couple funny things that she and Coop did today. Then she asked the worse part of the day? I couldn't really think of the worse so I responded, "Raelynn I am so lucky and love every day with you and Cooper so much that even the bad parts don't seem all that bad." She said, "well then I guess putting us to bed is the worst part because you won't see us until morning!" I love her thinking and with a big smile I agreed. Then it was time to go in and give Coop his goodnight love. Now Coop and I are going through some separation issues because we don't have near as much time together in the mornings that we used to. So I knelt down beside his bed and he says, "Lay with me Mommy." I happily obey. "Snuggle close Mommy" as he wraps his little arms around my neck. "I love you Cooper." "I wuv you too Mommy." "Mommy when I get big I live on a big ship and be a pirate." "Will you still come visit Mommy and give me hugs and kisses?" "You come on ship too, you take me potty." I could not help but crack up, there world is so small and so centered around what is happening now. I love this age and this development. His imagination is expanding right along with his base of knowledge. He is our little comedian and I think he makes us all laugh more than Raelynn ever did and let me tell you we laugh a lot. Oh the perfect ending to another perfectly wonderful and busy day!