Dance Off - Just for my Dad!!!

This is hilarious - I laughed so hard at this video that I was crying!!!! Also, I couldn't help but think what the heck my dad would have done if this was his team - probably crapped himself!!! Love ya Dad!!

The 2009 Dance off between USF and UCONN which took place at bright house field May 21st, 2009. Filmed by the staff at Bright House Field. This dance off was a result of the two teams waiting though a 5 hour rain delay...

Dr. Sear's Alternative Vaccination Schedule

As I have mentioned in some of our past blog entries we are using the Dr. Sear's alternative vaccination schedule with Cooper. We have recently received questions from a number of friends of how do we like it, do we recommend it and what is it really about.

It was definitely a personal decision for Corey and I - after much research and talking with our pediatrician (who completely supports this schedule) we had a better comfort level with the alternative schedule versus the CDC vaccination schedule. With all of the controversy of "vaccinate" or "don't vaccinate" - I think this schedule is a happy medium! Cooper receives all of the recommended vaccinations just in a more spread out time frame therefore limiting side effects and chemical overload. Also, it starts with vaccinations against diseases that are most dangerous to young children and then follows with shots for rare and/or usually mild diseases. We definitely recommend it!

So, if you are interested in the alternative schedule we recommend you read The Vaccine Book (Little Brown) by pediatrician Robert W. Sears, M.D. The Vaccine Book recommends the vaccination schedule shown below for babies and toddlers ages 2 months to 3 1/2 years.
Happy Vaccinating!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow???

Here are pictures of my trial garden.

Sweet Peppers, Cucumbers, and Tomatoes

Corey said if I could get veggies to grow in pots this summer then I could have a real garden next year.

Cucumber plants starting to have blooms!

Tomato plants growing tall!

Getting buds on my sweet pepper plants!!!

Looks like I am getting a garden!!!!

Clean Plate Club

What??? Nothing to see going on here!?!?!

It's okay DaDa - I can feed myself!!!!

Oh no it's all gone!!!! How do I lick my bowl clean??? DaDa does it - so why can't I figure this out??

Yeah!! I am in the clean plate club (CPC)!!!!

Ear Update #2

The ENT scheduled Cooper for surgery on Tuesday, June 9th to insert ear tubes.

Cooper's 11 Months Today - Hooray!!!

Which means he is a month away from turning 1- Yikes...How is it possible that our little boy is turning 1 - where does the time go?

Now we need to decided - 1st Birthday Party or No 1st Birthday Party??? I did order Cooper's birthday gifts last night. I am just not sure if I want to make a big ordeal out of Cooper's birthday or just have a quiet day with a mini cake for just Corey, Cooper and I. Thoughts?

Cooper's Feeling Better....FINALLY

Thanks to everyone for your texts, emails, facebook and blog get well wishes for Cooper. I think it worked, well maybe the antibiotics had a little to do with it also! We are still pumping him with the oral antibiotics, Motrin/Tylenol, and ear drops but he seems to be feeling much better!

Here are pictures from last night during dinner as you can see he is much happier and bright eyed - thank goodness.

Cooper now prefers "real food" versus baby food. He had bananas, peas, chicken and wagon wheel shaped pasta with his soy milk for dinner.

He was chowing down - he is starting to get very independent and wants to feed himself.

This is when we ran out of pasta - not a pretty sight. Cooper loves F-O-O-D!

Ear Update

Cooper's ear infection has increased to a double ear infection but the doctor can see improvement and believes the antibiotics are starting to work - hence no fever. He received round three of the antibiotic shots, again one in each leg. When the nurse had me lay him on the table his little lip started quivering - guess he knew what was coming. I had to really concentrate on him not to cry. He cried so hard for the first shot and held his breath for the second. It was terrible. This is definitely a job for Daddy - not Mommy! Cooper cried for 20 minutes after getting his shots and in between sobs was telling the nurse bye bye and waving to her. He was ready to get the heck out of there.

Today, we starting the 10 day oral antibiotics and continuing with the ear drops for the pain. He seems to be in much better spirits and definitely on the mend. I would say he's 80% back to his old self! A good sign he is getting better - he is starting to get into EVERYTHING again!

So, Wednesday will be the big day with the ENT to see if tubes are in his future. With the research we have read and talking to the pediatrician I definitely think it is Cooper's best interest to go down the tubes route.

Cooper's Never Ending Ear Infection

We received a call on Monday from daycare that Cooper had a 102 temperature, tugging at his ear and diarrhea. Wonderful - not again!!! Corey took him to the doctor first thing Tuesday morning - ear infection again! We had a scheduled appointment for next Friday to check his ears and make sure the last ear infection was completely gone and healed - guess we won't need that appointment or then again maybe we will! This is the 4th ear infection in 6 months so his pediatrician is very concerned and doesn't want to continue to play this game. Ear infections in infants can impact and delay walking, talking, and possibly cause damage to their hearing. We are pretty much at the last resort when it comes to a treatment plan so Cooper received an antibiotic shot in each leg and was prescribed a 10 day dose of oral antibiotics.

Tuesday evening, all day Wednesday and Thursday morning Cooper had a fever ranging from 102 - 104 degrees. We called the doctor Thursday morning and she wanted to see him immediately. Corey took Cooper for his second appointment of the week - it was determined that the antibiotic had not touched the ear infection and the ear was very inflamed. So Cooper was given round two of the antibiotics shots (1 in each leg), we were told to discontinue using the oral antibiotic and he was prescribed ear drops for the pain. The doctor said the fever would continue until we got the infection under control. This is the sickest I have seen Cooper so far...

Wonderful news to report - Cooper woke up this morning with a low grade temperature and a smile - this is a great improvement!! Also, he slept 12 hours last night and is on hour 3 of his morning nap! So, it looks like shot #2 is working or has worked! Today we head back to the doctor for round three of the antibiotic shots and a check up. Next steps - We have a consultation with the pediatric ENT doctor next Wednesday to discuss tubes.

I will update everyone once we get back from the doctor...

Cooper's Easter Pictures

I know I am a little late posting these, but they're too cute not to share-Cooper's Easter Photos.

Good Morning, Book Worm & Uh-Oh

Happy Birthday DaDa!

Corey's 32nd Birthday was this past Wednesday - May 13th (be sure to mark your calendars for next year). I was in Virginia Beach for the week attending a conference for work (will update in a separate post). Corey had made comments a couple of times before I had left that he couldn't believe I was going to miss his birthday. So, I talked to my government client and boss and asked if I could leave the conference early and surprise him - they said absolutely! I had talked to Corey a couple of times earlier in the day and unfortunately he was not having a great day! He started ranting that it had been the worst day, now he had to come home, eat hot dogs and spend the evening by himself on his birthday! Little did he know that I was parked in our development, where he couldn't see me but I could see him, waiting for him to get home. Once he pulled in the driveway, got Cooper out of the car, headed into the house and closed the garage door - I pulled into the driveway. I started to get out of the car with birthday cake, champagne, and dinner in hand when Corey starting walking out the front door - he had forgotten his laptop. I was so bummed because I wanted to ring the door bell and surprise him. But oh well, he was completely shocked and couldn't believe I had pulled one over on him! He thanked me repeatedly for coming home and that me surprising him made it a Happy Birthday! Yeah me!

Here is a picture of Corey and his cake. The cake was delicious! It's called a Mozart cake - it is the signature cake of Sugar Plum in Virginia Beach. Yes, I drove 3 1/2 hours with the air conditioning blasting and me freezing so the cake would not melt. Here is the description - 3 split layers of yellow cake filled with a layer of raspberry filling and a layer of Bavarian crème filling. The cake is iced in vanilla butter cream and finished with melted chocolate fudge and a purple rose. We are not cake people but this cake was absolutely deadly! Thanks H-Butt for a fantastic recommendation!

Cooper's present to DaDa was "Uh Oh". He learned a new word on DaDa's birthday and now he can't stop saying it! It's too cute!

Ever since Corey received an email from UVA that U2 was playing a concert at Scott Stadium he has been asking me if I wanted to go and if we should buy tickets. Every time I said no and that I didn't want to go to the concert. Which is true - I know a lot of you are thinking I am crazy but I only know like two U2 songs... However, I could tell he really wanted to go so I decided to give him two tickets for his birthday. He was pleasantly surprised! So, we are headed to the U2 concert in October - guess I need to start downloading songs off iTunes so I can learn.

Happy Birthday DaDa!!! We love you very much!!!!

Cooper's Expressing Himself

Cooper's vocabulary now consists of - Mama, Dada, Emma - for Emmet, BahBah - for Bottle, NumNum - for Food, Bye, Hi, Uh Oh, Bahl - for Ball, No No, Nana, More, and MawMaw.
He also gives high fives, claps, points, waves hi and bye (two totally different waves), shakes his head no, signs for more, gives kisses on the mouth and blows kisses.

His favorite toys are still his books. Every night when we put him in his crib he looks at his books for 30 minutes or so before falling asleep.

Every week he surprises us with something new.

The view from our deck...

What a great place to end a long hectic day!

My 1st Mother's Day!!!

My 1st Mother's Day weekend was wonderful!!

Saturday night Nana and Gramps babysat so Corey and I could enjoy a night on the town! We caught a 5:00 movie - "Ghosts of my girlfriends Past" - it was very cute. Then we headed to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Good food, good company, good conversation! It was a nice night out and Cooper had a blast with Nana and Gramps!

On Sunday, Nana, Uncle Aaron and Brooke got up with Cooper in the morning so I got to sleep in till 8:30 - woohoo!!Corey brought me breakfast in bed - coffee, cantaloupe, pancakes and sausage - yummy!!! I could get used to this treatment! I received a fabulous spa package (manicure, pedicure, massage and facial) that I can schedule sometime in the near future. I can't wait!!! My mom and I got pedicures in the afternoon - I feel like a new woman! Mom and Dad left around two. Corey, Cooper and I took a three hour nap after they left. I love naps! Later that evening we took an hour walk around the neighborhood. It was a great way to end the weekend!

I received this email from a friend in honor of Mother's Day...it's so true I wanted to share with all of the other Moms and Mom-To-Bes.

Before I was a Mom -I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!! Thanks for making the world a better place and keeping the human race going!!!

The day my life change forever for the better! I absolutely love being Cooper's MOM!!!!

My Blankie!!!

Cooper will be mowing the grass in no time!

Tomorrow will begin a new chapter in my life...

For the past five, almost six, years I have worked at BearingPoint. I have been truly blessed to work for and with some of the best people I know. My clients have had their ups and downs - but hey I do support the federal government so what should I expect! This past Friday the sale of BearingPoint to Deloitte LLP Consulting became final. I have such mixed emotions about this entire ordeal - I hope for the best and I am very thankful I have a job especially in these economic times! So, starting tomorrow I will be a Deloitte employee. Wish me luck!

Who needs fancy toys when you have Mommy's pots & pans?

Cooper is into everything! You name it and he has somehow gotten it open. Bathroom and kitchen cabinets - no problem - he's a pro now! Cooper found the cabinet that stores my cake and muffin pans. He had a blast! I figured what the heck he would get more use out of them than me...I have had the pans for 5 years or so and I don't think I have ever used them.

Doesn't he look pathetic - double ear infection, pink eye and respiratory issues again. The lovely bruise on his forward is the result of day care - it's over a week old and still looks horrible! Poor little guy....really could you tell that face and those eyes "No"?
Cooper thought it was hilarious putting the Tupperware bowl on his head! This kept him busy and laughing for a straight ten minutes or so. Too funny!!