Little Brother

Baby Cruz is in da house! Cooper's little brother is here. Born August 6th at 11:27am. 7lbs 11 oz/21 inches. Once he was ready to make his appearance, he wasn't messin' around. It was a pretty quick process. I started feeling pretty severe contractions Thursday night. The contractions were strong enough that I had my Dad help me start timing how far apart they were. They were about 10 to 15 minutes apart and I had been having Braxton Hicks for a couple of weeks so I decided (out of denial) that I would just go to bed because sleep sounded much better than giving birth.

At about 4:45 am Friday morning, I woke up and it was obvious that it was time (I'll spare the details). By 7:00 am we were at the hospital and by 8:30am I was given an epidural. I was honestly looking forward to a relaxing morning knowing that Cooper was in good hands with my parents and thought I'd have time to soak in the moment, do a little reading or watch some Non-Nickelodeon tv programming in my hospital room all while being hopped up on my epidural. But baby Cruz was ready! By 10:45 am I thought the nurses better check things out because things were feeling "different" down there and it was time! It happened so quickly that my epidural wasn't quite strong enough so they hurried and called the anesthesiologist while warning me that we might not have time to "kick it up a notch" and the epidural might have to stay at the strength it was (yikes!!). The anesthesiologist gave me a little boost and told me it would take about 15 minutes to notice any difference. Believe you me, I was holding him to that and watching the clock like a hawk. Let's just say the epidural was "adequate" and luckily Cruz was on the move. He arrived 17 minutes after I started pushing and just in time for the doc to take over for the nurses.

The rest of the story plays out like one would expect. We were overjoyed and relieved that our little guy was healthy and couldn't wait for Cooper to come meet his brother. My parents brought Coop by later that afternoon and Cooper was mesmerized at first but quickly moved on and wanted to check out my cool "hotel room". He was more interested in helping out the nurses. They were so sweet to include him in everything. He even got to help take some of his brother's blood work to the lab all by himself with the nurse.

We are now home and settling in. Cooper is having a blast playing with Gma and Gpa and checking out his brother while Mom and Dad are quickly being reminded of what life with a newborn is all about. Life is good. Even if sleep isn't really a part of it at the moment.

Before shot - Right after I was given my epidural. Ahhhhhhh.....

Baby Cruz

23 minutes old.

Proud Daddy.

First Bath


Coop meeting baby brother for the first time.

His first reaction.

Nurse Cooper.

Mark was nice enough to take a photo of the poster hanging in the hospital bathroom. A (not so) subtle reminder of my new life.

Thank-you Mark for putting up with me throughout this entire pregnancy and for being an amazing team mate as we welcomed baby Cruz to the world. I don't know how you put up with me (I could barely put up with myself). Here's to our next step as we enter this new chapter of parenthood. Buckle up Buttercup.

Sprinkler Fun

Throughout the course of our (Mark's) basement remodeling project, Mark has made many, many trips to the hardware store. One of these trips included the purchase of a brand new (kid friendly, lead free) hose for Cooper and his very own SPRINKLER. Therefore, we've been spending quite a bit of time cooling off in the front yard. All the fun and excitement also leads to the let down of having to come inside. This brings up the subject of a new milestone Cooper has entered into in full force: The Defiant, Independent Toddler who has mastered the art of stalling. I'm not sure if it's because I'm pregnant, oafy and a little extra lazy, but it feels like every task we have Cooper do these days is a chore. Cooper wants things HIS way on HIS time and on HIS terms. Therefore, even a simple task like washing his hands before dinner takes FOREVER. This should be interesting when we throw a newborn into the mix. I won't lie and say that I'm not totally terrified about how we're going to handle everything. Hello to the reality that is quickly sinking in.

It's a good thing the little bugger is so cute. Lately, during his tantrums we've been trying to tell him he has some choices to consider. IE: You can continue to have a complete and utter meltdown for no reason at all OR you can calm down and we'll read your new race car book before bed BUT that means STOP crying (for the Love of God--this part said under our breath of course). The other night when I gave him this option, he tried to stop crying and get ahold of himself and said "Okay, Mommy.....I feel better now, I'm Happy". I immediately started laughing hysterically. Why would I laugh at such a rational response from a 2yr old? Because he said this as HUGE tears were rolling down his cheeks, he could still barely breath or speak and was totally whining as he said it. He was having a tough time sounding convincing but I had to give him an A+ for effort. More importantly, I think he actually got the message.

But enough about grumpy Coop. Here are some pics that capture the fun stuff. These are the moments I will always cherish. Even the last picture that captures the beginning of a major meltdown because Cooper's mean Mom and Dad announced that sprinkler time was over and it was time to go inside. Oh, the nerve of us!!!

A little lizard that wanted to get in on the Sprinkler fun.

Here Lizard, Lizard.

What do you mean it's time to put the sprinkler down?

Here comes the water works of another kind.

The waiting game

Today marks the day of being 3 days beyond the stage of pregnancy that Cooper was born (37.5 weeks). I guess this little guy feels the need to keep on cookin' a little while longer. Maybe he senses that we still have things to do. I hope he can at the very least hold out until tomorrow night when my parents arrive. Gma Linda and Gpa Pat were nice enough to plan their stay a little early so that we wouldn't worry about what to do with Cooper when D-Day arrives.

This go around has been a little different. Very early on in the pregnancy I started to worry (fret) about what we would do with Coop when I went into labor. We only had the doggies (and our beloved Lexie) to worry about when Coop was born and luckily our nice neighbors were able to check in on them for us. Mark did several 2.5 hour round trip journeys from our house to the hospital so that he could check on the dogs and feed them but we made an emergency call to our neighbors (at about 7 am) on the morning Cooper was born. We thought we might have time for Mark to "run" home real quick to let the dogs out and the nurse pretty much told him if he left he'd miss the birth of his son. She looked at us like we were crazy to even consider having Mark leave at that moment. Hey, what can I say.....we love our dogs! Although, I do think the birth of our son trumps letting the dogs out to relieve their bladders.

It will be so wonderful to have Gma and Gpa here to help take care of Coop and the doggies and to welcome the arrival of our 4th (6th) family member. I can't wait until tomorrow night to give them a big ole squeeze!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're never too old to feel a sense of relief when you know your parents are there to take all your worries away. Now if only they could help erase the memory of how much fun labor is and all the stuff that comes with it. I guess that would be asking a little much.

Bike

Check out Coop's new ride. For some time now (before Coop could even walk), Mark has been wanting to buy a Balance Bike for Cooper. A friend of his purchased one for his son who has been riding a bike (without training wheels) since he was 2 1/2 years old. Mark thought that was soooooo cool. I told him that we might be a little premature to purchase one before Cooper was even a year old. About a month ago, I found an awesome deal on one and decided to buy one for Cooper (Mark).

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Cooper is rather cautious. So what does any rational parent of an overly guarded 2yr old do? Put him on a bike without any sense of security at all! Actually, I'm quite surprised at how well he has done so far. The concept of these bikes is to:

"Develop a child’s balance and coordination by simply allowing the child to sit and walk or run with the bike by pushing with their feet. If the bike starts to fall, kids instinctively regain their balance using their feet. Once they’ve gained some momentum and balance control they can lift their feet up as they feel comfortable and start cruising! "

Coop has definitely figured out the balance and walking part. He mostly rides in our front room (thanks to our hardwood floors) and patio but has recently ventured to the garage and basement. He hasn't made it outside to the driveway just yet but considering that he hasn't driven any of his cars on the open road, I don't see that happening any time soon. Who knows, maybe the bike will be the push he needs to feel comfortable riding on the open road again. Click here to see a video clip demo I found on YouTube. Hopefully we'll have a video of Cooper riding soon. Until then, we will remain in heavy training mode (one step at a time).

Basement

The nesting process has officially begun. My idea of "nesting" for our new arrival is to wash and sort through all of Cooper's baby clothes, blankets and various other baby gadgets that have been buried in boxes. Laundry, laundry, laundry! Fun times. I have been washing tons of stuff and getting quite sentimental sorting through all of Cooper's outfits and remembering when he was once that size. I've tried to bring Cooper into my nostalgia by showing him all the cute outfits and telling him that he wore them when he was a little baby and he could pretty much care less. Whatever Mom....a tiny little onesie that I once wore...yada, yada, yada. I get it. I was once a baby and now I'm not. Movin' on.

I think Mark is going through some "Man Nesting". Do guys actually go through this? His idea of nesting is a little more labor intensive than mine. He's decided to finish the basement. I think it's a fantastic idea so that the boys will have a place to move back to in about 25years (ha, ha). I'm not laughing at the fact that our boys might move back in with us after completing their masters degrees, med school or perhaps their first NASA space mission. I laugh at the idea of living here in 25 years. That to me seems less plausible. Regardless, it will be fabulous to have more room!

Mark has been working his butt off and Cooper and I are doing our best to stay out of his way. We have given him a little bit of "help" (I use this term very loosely) here and there just because it has been driving Cooper nuts to hear all the action right below his feet. Every once in awhile Coop has demanded to go "hammer Daddy". So as I supervise Mark's Supervisor, Mark has been teaching Coop the ropes of Basement Building 101.

Before Shot

Not quite After shot. Progress is being made.
Safety First

What's the deal Mom? Are you working or taking pictures? Why don't you make yourself useful?

Coop the Supe.

Again Mom....we could REALLY use some help here. Enough with the paparazzi.

Lady Bug Tent

Roughing it. Surviving the elements. Exploring the great outdoors. Some might refer to it as camping. Whatever you want to call it, Cooper had his first taste of it the other night. Yes, Coop and his Dad took a little camping trip………………to our screened-in porch.

One of Cooper’s favorite tv shows; Ni Hao Kai-Lan, has a campout episode with a Lady Bug Tent. Cooper loves this episode so we thought we’d bring it to life. Yes, once again I’m drawing attention to the fact that our son’s life tends to revolve around Nick Jr cartoons. I will say that it has given Coop quite the imagination. Cooper LOVES his ‘Lady Bug Tent’.

We started off the Camping Adventure with our normal bedtime routine of bath, story and then bed. The only difference was bed was in the tent. It took Coop awhile to comprehend that bed was actually going to take place IN the Lady Bug Tent. The campout began with story time then Mom tucked Coop and Dad in and said good night. Notice how Mom didn’t volunteer to participate in Coop’s 1st Campout. I decided it was a perfect Daddy-Son bonding moment. (Translation: Big Mama values her sleep waaaaaay too much these days and selfishly wasn’t willing to sacrifice a good night’s sleep).

It did take a couple of hours for Cooper to settle down and realize that people actually SLEEP in tents. Dad had the pleasure of spending these hours trying to convince Cooper that sleeping was a good thing. I must admit that I had Cooper’s room prepared for a middle of the night early return from camping and doubted that he’d actually last through the night. Much to my surprise, Cooper MADE IT. He survived the elements of our screened in porch thanks to his Lady Bug Tent. Do I think he’s ready to re-enact an episode of Survivor Man? Not just yet. But he’s well on his way.

The Campsite and Cooper's Lady Bug Tent

Kokanee was excited to campout too. Sadly, she got the boot because she wasn't helping in the going to sleep department one bit.

I can’t wait for our future family camping adventures. Who knows, maybe we’ll even explore beyond our front porch. I also think a bigger tent is in order.

Tractor Pull

Mark is home from Colorado! Coop and I thought we'd do it up right and celebrate Dad's homecoming in a big way. We went out for burgers and then hit the County Tractor Pull. The perfect Saturday night if I don't say so myself. It was Coop and my first tractor pull experience and I guarantee it won't be our last. Who knew a tractor pull could be so exciting? Watching the tractors, biiiiiig trucks, and PEOPLE made the night AMAZING (one of Cooper's new favorite words). Cooper wasn't sure about the noise at first, but he/we managed to cover his ears during the LOUD parts. Poor Cooper was stuck wearing fuzzy, winter ear muffs (he didn't look so cool) because we didn't have any professional tractor pull hearing protection but we made do with what we had. Doesn't every mom have a spare pair of winter ear muffs in her purse in the middle of July? That's what I call preparation.

We were able to walk around and check out all the tractors, trucks and trailers before the event began and even had the opportunity to buy some pork rinds. Too bad we were still full from dinner because I have never been to an event where pork rinds were the hot menu item. Cinnamon Flavor even---yum, yum. Next time maybe.

Scoop up the Coop

Smoke. This is NOT why the area is referred to as the Smoky Mountains.

It was difficult to pick a favorite tractor but Coop and I decided we liked Dusty Deere the best. His driver was the cutest little teenage boy that was smiling ear to ear and not trying to look all macho and cool. That and his tractor was "pullin' for Jesus". How could you not fall in love with a tractor that was pullin' for Jesus?

Honorable mention goes to Dixie Deere, Green Fever and Harvesting Hooker.