Brother

This is the book that Dolly sent Cooper last month. It’s quite appropriate since Cooper is going to be a BIG BROTHER to a little brother. Yep, we’re pregnant and already 20 weeks along. Est. due date is August 17th.

Why have we waited so long to share this wonderful news? Well, that wasn’t the original plan. We decided to wait until we were through the 1st trimester before making the big announcement. During our 13 week doctor visit, the ultrasound indicated some areas of concern. Not the news you want to hear when you're ready to shout from the roof tops that you're expecting. Quick version of what the ultrasound revealed: thickened nuchal translucency/cystic hygroma/extra fluid behind the head & neck region. The measurement was a mere .1 mm above what is considered a “normal” range but my age (36) gave me increased risk as well. Cystic hygromas “can” be indicators of chromosomal abnormalities, heart defects and many babies who show signs of CH’s are born “completely normal”.

After the diagnosis, our days of worry, sleepless nights, avoiding Internet research at all costs and trying our very best to stay positive officially began. Google is not your friend when you get a scary bit of medical information. I finally had to refrain from researching online in order to stay positive.

We have since visited a high risk OB, opted to have an amniocentesis (all screening results came back normal) and today was our visit with the pediatric cardiologist for a prenatal echo cardiogram to test the little guy’s ticker. Apparently the cystic hygroma/extra fluid can also be an indicator of a heart defect. According to the doc, our little guy's ticker appears to be A-OK.

What have I learned through all of this? A lot. This pregnancy has definitely been different than our pregnancy with Coop. But thanks to the results from the amnio/echo cardiogram, we can now put ourselves at ease a little bit and enjoy the moment. We’re so happy that Cooper is going to have a sibling and can’t to wait to meet our newest little man.

Special thanks to Cooper for doing his best to keep our mind off of things. It’s amazing what the power of cuteness can conquer. It also puts into perspective as to what we have to look forward to with baby #2. Thanks for being there Coop. And thanks for being such a trooper during all the extra doctor visits.

So there you have it. It's official now. (Imagine me announcing this with a giant heavy-duty megaphone): WE ARE PREGNANT AND COOPER IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!! Man, that felt really good to say.

Fun with Gra-na and Gra-ga

This morning I was organizing the pics I took on my phone and camera from our visit to UT and stumbled upon a couple that I had to share. I'm missing my Mom and Dad this morning and these brought a smile to my face.............

Family fun with the Jack in the Box

Funny every time.

Coop, this is the guilty party that introduced your mother to People Magazine long long ago. You can blame your Gma Linda for this.........

CK's and K's

Cooper is starting to enunciate his words more and more and it is so darn cute. So cute, that I had to document some of it so we'll never forget. In time, this might be a sign of a speech/stuttering problem, but since it's only been a couple of days or so, I'm chalking it up to learning how to properly enunciate.......

Coop has started to really emphasize his ck and k sounds.

• Milk-k-k
• Park-k-k
• Duck-ck-ck
• Quack-ck-ck
• Truck-ck-ck
• Train Track-ck-ck

He's also figured out a way to pronounce tricky double syllable words/phrases. He just doubles up the 1st syllable:

• Fire (Why) Truck becomes WhyWhy
• Wonder Pets (one of his favorite shows) becomes PetPet
• Airport becomes PortPort
• Airplane becomes ManeMane
• And my all time favorite......Cooper is CooCoo. I promise we don't call him Cuckoo. He's done this all on his own. In the meantime, we'll have some explaining to do every time someone asks him what his name is. What's your name little boy? Cuckoo. Yep, that's my boy.

We love you and all of your Coopisms.

Homeward Bound

After a fabulous visit with Grandma and Grandpa, Coop and I are preparing for our very long journey back home tomorrow. We've had such a great time and a much needed fix of being close to family. Coop has really become fond of Gra-na and Gra-ga. I think he loves their backyard just as much. We've had to secure the doggie door and modify the sliding door or he'd be outside 24/7. He's also figured out how to unlock the laundry room door out to the garage so he can skedaddle right to the golf cart and simulate a ride. Hmmmmmm, someone also managed to lose the keys to Gma and Gpa's golf cart. Thank-goodness they had a spare.

Coop's new favorite phrase is 'Mon (like come on) Gra-na or 'Mon Gra-ga as he holds his hand out and waves eagerly for them to follow. He even tried to push Gra-na off the couch last night to coax her to join him outside. He jumped up behind her and starting pushing on her back until she gave in. There's nothing cuter than a Grandma throwing the football with her grandson. Even if she does kind of throw like a girl :)

Coop also likes to get the mail. By the way, we've noticed that most old people are fixated with getting the mail. My parents live in a 55 and older community and it is so fascinating to watch everyone swarm like hornets to the mail box immediately after the mailman arrives. Coop has also embraced this love of going to the mailbox. He fits right in around here.

He's also developed a love of the garbage truck. You know you live in the sticks when your kid is fascinated by his very first garbage truck sighting. You just don't see something like that in our neck of the woods. This week Grandpa was nice enough to take Coop and follow the garbage truck throughout the neighborhood in the golf cart. I'm sure the Garbage Man (so not PC) thought he was being audited by one of the old guys in the neighborhood.

Oh, the list goes on and on..there's just too much to recap after nearly 3 weeks of solid fun with family. Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful visit. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate and love you both. Thanks for helping us create so many memories.

Grandpa Pat starts his radiation treatment this Weds. I'm so glad we were able to spend time with him so that we could all laugh and giggle together to help keep our minds off of things. It's amazing how a cute little toddler can help you forget about all the icky stuff and remind you of all the amazing things in life. Family truly is amazing. Thanks to Gma and Gpa, Coop will always know that.

We love you guys!
Love, Amous and Coop

Coop went for another haircut and this time he sat in the chair ALL BY HIMSELF

instead of in Mom's lap.

Coop wants to take Simon home with us.

Happy St.Daddy's Day

Happy Birthday Dad! We'll be gobbling up this cake in your honor today. Sorry it isn't a yummy Guinness but we figured you'd understand. We've had a great day today enjoying the sunshine and playing outside. Wishing you were here with us to celebrate. Coop INSISTED on holding Tessie's leash today. It was quite the feat because as you know she PULLS. Coop managed to hold his own and did a great job wearing her out. We won't mention the part about Tess jumping in the river and almost drowning. My former life guarding skills came in handy today. It wasn't pretty as I raced down the river bank to rescue her. Let's just say that I looked NOTHING like Pamela Anderson (not even close).

Coop loves Gma and Gpa's Jack in the Box. Funny how it never gets old and that creepy little clown manages to catch him off guard every time. Surprise! Hey, where did you come from???? Over and over again.

Cheers Dad. We love you!

Hello from Utah

Coop and I are having a blast with 'Gra-ga' and Gra-na'. So much so that we decided to stay another week! We were supposed to fly home today and were starting to get very sad (prepping to say our good-byes) when Mark called to tell us he was heading out on a fire today. We decided that there was no point in hurrying home just yet and we might as well spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa. They are waaayyyyy more fun than boring old Mom. Coop truly is in vacation mode. He is getting spoiled every minute and embracing all of the attention that Gma and Gpa are throwing his way. The kid just can't get enough of them and that makes me so happy. It truly melts my heart. The only downside is that the poor doggies have to stay in the kennel another week. Luckily, they had a 3 night reprieve this past weekend while Mark was home for a few nights. Back to the kennel they go...........Sorry doggies, I promise we'll make it up to you when we get home. Until then, we will continue enjoying our time with 'Gra-ga' and Gra-na'...................

Beautiful view from our daily walk along the river.

Mesmerized watching some kids play baseball.

The kid LOVES baseball.

This was the happy face before we made him take the helmet off causing a major meltdown.

Fun with cousin Pete at the Wild Animal Museum.

Their first safari together.

Getting some lovin' from Gra-ga

Fun on the 'Why-Why'

Taking 'Gra-na' for a spin

Bound for Utah

Coop and I are heading to Utah tomorrow. I'm soooooo excited I can hardly stand it. I honestly haven't been able to sleep as the days have gotten closer to our departure because I'm so giddy about hanging out with my parents and spending time at "home". Even though it's not the house I grew up in, every house that your parents live in is considered "home" as far as I'm concerned. I just hope that someday Coop will look forward to coming "home" as much as I do.

Coop seems excited too. Although, he appears to be more excited about going to the airport ('port-port') and riding on an airplane ('mane-mane'). We've been practicing sitting on my lap and talking about how many more days until we get to go on our trip. I think he actually gets it because every night when I put Coop in his crib the last thing he says to me is 'port-port'....so cute. Finally, tonight I was able to say "tomorrow is the day buddy. We'll wake up and get ready to go to the airport". He smiled and said 'kayyyyy'. That's his way of saying okay/or he's down with that.

Now if I can just get over the anxiety of flying (3 connections) with Coop as a "lap child". This will be the last time he can travel with me on a plane without having to purchase a seat for him. Oy, this ought to be fun, fun, fun! Wish us luck................

Helping Mom squeeze the suitcase shut.

(Notice the fur on the suitcase....yes, we even bring fur with us when we travel. There's no escaping it)

Packing is soooooo exhausting.

Coop's new thing is to pretend he's asleep and fake snore.

Oh, I almost forgot. Coop gets to hang out with his cousin Pete too!!!!! They're only 2 months apart in age and haven't seen each other in over a year. My sis-in-law, Jennifer is driving from SLC to spend several days with us. I can't wait to hang out with them and watch the boys in action. Batten down the hatches Grandpa and Grandma, Coop and Pete are comin' to town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!