Our Fourth of July :)

We had such a wonderful Fourth of July as a family of three!

The day began by sleeping in. Little bit woke up on his own around 6:15 a.m., but after I fed him, we were playing in bed and he kept rubbing his eyes, so back to sleep we all went, and I didn't get up for the day until 9:30 a.m. It was heaven ...

After breakfast and some house work, we got all dressed up to head to a small town in our area for a Fourth of July picnic. They have a big meal that includes kettle beef & gravy, fried chicken, chicken & dressing and more, so we definitely stuffed our faces. I love the food so much, I made hubby go back in line to get me more dressing and tomatoes :)

It was so hot we didn't stick around long, and ended up spending the afternoon at Grandma and Pa Pa's house. They hadn't seen Coop for a couple of weeks and commented on how much more he is moving and getting around. Still scooting and no crawling forward, but definitely getting closer.

Once we got home, Baby Coop was exhausted from not having a real nap, so he napped a couple hours while hubs and I just relaxed. Later, we went to town to pick up some BK and then went to watch the fireworks display. It was waaaaay past C's bedtime {the show began around 9:15 and typically he's asleep by 9} but he was a trooper for about 20 minutes then decided enough was enough, so we went on home.

This cracks me up, I think it looks like he is flying

Watching the boom boom pow!



Me and my boy

 Hope you all had a fun Fourth as well. God Bless the USA!

XOXO,
Michelle

Wednesday randoms

• Is it only Wednesday? With our summer hours, our monthly planning meetings that were Wednesday, Thursday & Friday are now Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, so I'm seriously confused. Add that to the fact that I've worked 11 hours both days this week {two of which were driving} and I'm just plain exhausted already!
• Baby sitter's husband is having surgery today, so Super Coop is with my parents for the day. My dad, bless his heart, even drove down to pick up little man at 6:45 to save me some hassle.
• Tomorrow, he's staying at home with our friend Lynn. I'll have him Friday, of course, and also on Monday ... totally looking forward to a day off!
• Hubby and BIL were baling hay on Sunday and I got roped into helping since it looked like it may rain. Picking up 50 lbs. of hay is a workout for this girl ... I am still sore!
• My brother and SIL are coming in for a visit next weekend, so I've gotten roped into helping my my clean her house to help prepare on Friday. I know I owe her, but man, this mama is just worn out. I will be sleeping in, that's for sure.
• I had my office in pretty good shape when I left on Friday and haven't been here the past two days, but it somehow looks like something exploded. Lovely, Michelle
• Did I ever mention that about a month ago, I met Meadowlark Lemmon? I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I had no idea who he was .. he came to our main campus for a visit on a day that I happened to be there :)

• When we found out he was coming, a staff member went out to buy a bunch of basketballs for him to autograph. Coop really liked his :)



5.10.12 ... super delayed posting this



• Speaking of balls, we were at a friend's house last week and they pulled out a large ball and Cooper really loved it! We may need to buy him one to roll around with us soon.
• Moms - since we've began giving C food, he hasn't been finishing all of his second bottle. Typically I nurse in the morning, he takes all 8 oz. around 11 a.m., has food at 1:30 p.m. (I'd prefer it be earlier but that doesn't really work for the sitter...) then she gives him his last bottle around 4 but he's only been taking about 6 oz. Should I scale him back to just one cube of food for lunch? I'd prefer he get the calories and nutrition of milk than veggies at this point.
• How is Father's Day this weekend already? I have no clue what to buy for hubby. I mean, he's mentioned some tools, but I just don't know if that's appropriate to give ... but then again, I don't want to get some cutesy thing he doesn't really like but thinks he needs to keep just to be appreciative.
• If you are adding anyone to your prayer list, please keep my friend Jessica's dad, Mickael, in them, as well as Mr. Jim, our sitter's husband. Jim is having back surgery, while Mike has had cancer for almost four years and they just found a tumor on his brain. They've done surgery and everything looks OK, but man, that's just scary.
• C has decided he wants to be a farmer :) I spent last Friday at my parent's house and let him go ride the tractor with cousin Trent again for a bit. Actually, he rode in the "buddy seat" with my dad first when dad moved the tractor, then took an hour ride later. Trent said he was an angel and they sang and had all sorts of fun. That's my boy! If C really wants to farm, though, he will have to learn to stay awake while in the machinery :)



excited and being a very big boy :)



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down on the farm

As I mentioned in my weekend wrap-up, we took Baby Coop to see his PaPa's farm and check out the wheat harvest over the weekend. These are a few of my favorite photos ... and a glimpse at a Father's Day present for my dad :)

My dad farms mostly on his own, but my cousin and uncle often help. Unfortunately, my dad is the only one with a license to drive a truck with air brakes, so he didn't get to take Coop on his first ride :( My cousin did a great job, though, and luckily Dad stopped in to get a new load to take to the elevator just before we left.

Cooper and Mommy

Driving the tractor

Amazed at how a combine works

My cousin, Trent, let him "drive"

PaPa was busy hauling the grain, but got a minute to stop and snuggle

This time C is looking at the camera <3

Twinkies in their blue shirts :)

You've already seen this I know, but I couldn't resist.

These pictures just make me so happy. My dad and I sorta lost touch while I was in college, and we were both too stubborn to give in on our beliefs. I was so scared, while pregnant, that my son would miss out on a great relationship, but thankfully, having Cooper is the best thing that could ever have happened for both my dad & I. My dad is a total baby lover, and seeing them together really makes my heart happy.


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crippling fear

They say having a kid changes the way you see/handles things in your life, and boy, does it ever.

This morning, I woke up around 3:30 to the sound of some powerful winds. By 4:15, my phone was beeping with text alerts from the local newspaper/national weather service regarding tornado warnings in our county.

Pre-Cooper, I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep, which is what I attempted to do. But then it got windier. And windier. So I woke up the husband, as I was absolutely terrified. I mean, I couldn't even bring myself to get out of bed to see what it looked like.

He got up and said not to worry. He took my phone away so I'd stop reading all the darn updates {we live on the border of two counties, so I was receiving texts for both.}

I got emotional. I told him we needed to grab our baby and run to the basement NOW. With a mattress. And water. And a year's supply of food. He disagreed. I was about to take Coop and go myself, but when I checked on him and he was sleeping so peacefully I couldn't bring myself to wake him up.

After a couple hours, everything died down enough for me to get a little sleep. After I woke up, I almost had myself convinced I was a lunatic and it wasn't as bad at the thoughts that had been crossing my mind.

About a half hour later, while pumping, I turned the TV on to the local news station. This is the video of the scenes they were showing.



Immediately, I burst into tears. That could have been us. My husband, our baby and myself could have been trapped under all that. Never mind that this was in another state and about an hour away, it scared the living heck out of me.

Hubby and Coop both saw I was a hormonal mess and tried to comfort me. I mean, my three-month old is on the ground shrieking and cooing trying to make me smile while I'm losing it. What is wrong with me?

Nothing, I've decided. I'm a mom now who loves her baby and doesn't want anythng to harm him or any of us. While I used to sit on the front porch as a sotrm appraoched, or at least in front of the window, now my priorites are keeping my little family safe.

And it's not just thunderstorms/tornado watches. I freak out if Cooper is in the car with me and I see someone swerving. No way I speed with him in there. I think all other drivers on the road are idiots {which may be true in Southeast Missouri ...}

I guess you could just say I only want the best for this little guy ...

The storms are expected to continue through the day. Hubby drives a box truck for work and high winds can make those things topple over since they are tall, but without a lot of weight at the top. I told him if it gets super windy, he better pull over. And if he's in the middle of nowhere, he pulls over on the side of the road and crawls into the ditch.

Yeah, I think he's working on a Xanax perscription for me right now.

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Cooper's birth announcement/our holiday card

So, I realized I never shared Cooper's birth announcement/our holiday card. Then again, I didn't get them sent out until mid-January, so I'm cutting myself a little slack :)

Front inspired by one my cousin, Ashton, found on Pinterest. Ashton works at a printing company and actually designed the card for us, I just provided the photos and text. I wish I could afford to mail one to all of you!

last name blurred to protect our privacy ...

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Tidbits

• Today is my first day back in the office since Cooper was born. And it majorly blows.
• Which means today is also Mr. Cooper's first day at daycare. Luckily, hubby is off work today for New Year's, so he was able to drive us both to the sitter's house and I sat in the back seat and cried. Then pulled it together to take Coop inside and talk to his sitter, and cried again on the way home before I went to work. I HATE this. I don't want to stay at home full time (that might be harsh, but it's true, I'm a bit too social) but I'd really love a couple more weeks.



This morning - 1.2.12

• Hubby is taking me to lunch today. We're going to either BWWs or Mexican - basically a non-baby friendly place.
• I had my postpartum checkup last week (a little early at only five weeks) and everything looks great. I was given the OK to start exercise again so I'm hoping to finally run a 5K this year (hopefully April) and lose those 10-15 lbs. I wanted to get rid of before we knew about Cooper.
• I hoped to get an IUD at the appointment but I have a weird body and they couldn't get it placed. Seriously - I actually went back on Friday and the doctor who saw me then said I was the first person she hasn't been able to place one in.
• Before my appointment on Thursday, I met with the lactation consultant for some tips when it comes to maintaining my supply, etc. while back at work. While there, we weighed Cooper and it looks like he is up to about 11 lbs. 9 ounces. Such a big boy ...

12.30.11 - my boy loves Mizzou! And look at him sitting up all strong :)

• Speaking of breastfeeding, if you would have told me two months ago I would come to love it this much and be so dedicated to it, I would have called you crazy. However, I have had a pretty easy time with it (I broke down the weekend after Coop was born and my milk came in because it was SO PAINFUL!!!) so I'm sure I can attribute that to it. I feel very blessed that it's something we are able to do because I know not all women can. Plus it's a huge money saver!
• Hubby's birthday is next Monday. And he already knows what his gift is - in fact, he bought it (with my debit card!) because Cooper was having a fit and needed to be fed ASAP. I have no idea how we will celebrate the day.
• We have been spending entirely too much at the grocery store lately. I guess it doesn't help that I'm eating for two ... Some days, I feel like I should eat heathier, but it seems like no matter what I eat, it all goes to the milk.
• Then again, my five-week old has about five ounces in his bottles. Which he seems to demand every three to four hours
• My five-week old is also working on sleeping through the night! He was down from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. one day last week, and went from about 10:30 p.m. to 6:15 a.m. today
• My cuddle bug also LOVES the mornings. Not sure where that comes from. Today, he was just lying in his crib smiling until I fed him. On weekends, we like to bring him back to bed with us and he'll just smile the entire time. So sweet
• Hopefully I'll be back soon this week with my goals for the year. For the most part, I just want to survive and continue to soak up every minute I have with my precious boys ...

I love my family! 1.2.12