1st Day of Pre-K

A week after the older boys started school, it was Sybella's turn. It's her third year of preschool and now she is in a Pre-Kindergarten Class. Honestly, I wondered how she would adjust to the extra hours of school this year and interestingly enough, it wasn't her but little brother who struggled to adjust. After having all the kids at home for the summer, Cooper didn't like having none of his buddies around. He's fine now but clearly, I am not as much fun as I thought I was.   :o)   

Cooper's Second Birthday

For Cooper's Second Birthday, April 25th, we decided to have a family party. Here are some great shots of the Birthday Boy. He enjoyed everything about the day-- singing, clapping, cupcakes, candles, presents, and of course, ALL of the attention on him!

Music Man

OK- It's definitely time to start some catch up blogging. So over the next week I will try to post some new stuff, starting tonight:

Cooper is our "Music Man!" This child has music IN him.

Music moves him, connects with him, and can change his mood in a way that is amazing.

He loves music in a way that has made every person in our house love music more.

There isn't a time when music is on, when Cooper isn't dancing (and of course, everyone in ear shot is encouraging him to dance more).

His favorite toy has become the iPod. He has an iPod? No Way, but there are several iPods and iPhones in the house and Cooper is always trying to find and 'take' one.

Tonight while I was giving one of the kids a spelling test, Cooper snuck off, found an iPod and speakers, dragged them up the stairs, turned them on, and hid under the counter to enjoy his music.

Checkmate!!!

Cooper was playing chess this morning with chess pieces that were as big as he is. The boys tried to teach him but he had more fun knocking them over then trying to beat his opponent.

Cooper's First Birthday

April 25th was Cooper's First Birthday.
It was Elmo and pizza everywhere in a low-key family event. Must say it was one of the best birthdays ever planned at our house and it'll be our last "1st Birthday" so everyone was doting on our 'baby.'


Can't fathom life without this little guy so it's crazy to think just one short year ago he was joining us for the first time.

Wordless Wednesday

Cooper's 9-month Check-Up

Almost 2 months ago, I took Cooper to the doctor for his 9-month check-up.
His stats were:
Weight: 18lbs-12 oz (25th percentile-this is BIG for our kids, they are usually 10-15th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (45th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches (25th percentile)

He had his 2 lower teeth by this visit. He was crawling well.
He was developmentally on track. He feeds himself, plays with his feet, babbles, and all such things.

Update:
Now, at 10 1/2 months old, Cooper can crawl up the stairs (all of them) of course we stand with him with protective hands ready just in case. He says Da-Da and Dow (Down from the high chair). He uses sign language for milk, food, more, up, and down. He has 2 more teeth coming in (total of 4). He eats everything: mac-n-chz, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, grapes, bread, turkey, cheerios, green beans, carrots, etc. Cooper is a cheerful child. He loves to laugh and is ticklish. He cruises the furniture quickly and is trying to balance standing on his own. Now, if we could just get him sleeping thru the night.

New Day

I have been meditating on this passage today.

Lamentations 3:22-23
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Last night I was up again in the middle of the night for almost 3 hours, 2+ hours with Cooper and then 30 minutes trying to get back to sleep. Cooper has not been my best sleeper. He used to wake up 4-5 times at night. By working with him and trying many different things, we again have him consistently waking up only once at night (in the last month). Unfortunately, every time we get him to this point, he gets a cold, a burn (see previous post) or cuts teeth and then we start all over. Sleep training is not easy and in the newest phase, he is fighting and mad; he got stubbornness from both parents.
Last night I was left frustrated and crying myself. I mean, including pregnancy, I have slept thru the night about 15 times in the last 19 months. And there are days when I finally hit the wall (figuratively). Add to that that we have been in the midst of the 2010 DC Blizzard read "locked in the house" and I was miserable. But today God gave me Lamentations 3:22-23 and I was reminded that He is Enough for me and this too shall pass. I had my most productive day in the last month and I felt Great. God is Good and I am glad for mercies beginning afresh each morning.

Cooper's Burn

DISCLAIMER: The pictures contained in this blog/note may take a minute to download and they are GRAPHIC. Please do not show to children. This photos were taken the day after the incident.


Many of you know that on Jan 9th, we were out to dinner and Cooper, our baby was burned by scalding coffee spilled by the waiter in a restaurant. Praise God, he is doing much better! He had first degree burns over his entire foot and 2nd degree burns/blisters on each of his toes. I (Sharon) also had a 12in by 5in first degree burn to my leg (through my corduroy pants -- which gives you some indication of how hot the coffee was).
I have taken a long time to decide whether to post this or not, but our blog serves as a "family history" of sorts and this was definitely a significant event in our lives. I have never seen one of our kids in pain like this before. They have had many injuries and even knocked teeth out, but when the injury occurs, it's over quick. Burns just keep on hurting (even thru healing) and there is so little you can do. I am very thankful for the Pediatric ER at Fairfax Inova Hospital. They were AMAZING and coordinated all of Cooper's follow-up with the pediatricians and the plastic surgeon. Cooper has required many dressing changes and pain meds. The other kids have often helped with his dressing changes and comforted him. As well, Sybella was very upset and still doesn't want us to order coffee in restaurants anymore.
We are still dealing with the restaurant over the issue and continuing to moisturize Cooper's new and healing skin.
Thanks to all who have prayed and asked about how Cooper is recovering. You are a blessing to us!

Halloween Parade

Today at preschool, the kids had a Halloween Parade for the parents. It was adorable.

Sybella dressed up as 'Cindabrella' (Cinderella for those who don't speak 3-yr-old) and Cooper was her Coach (but it was past midnight, so he had turned into a pumpkin). There were many other characters in the parade: a cute Nebraska cheerleader, fire fighters, superheroes, a post man, Yoda, fairies, and various animals.

**Don't forget, if you click on the mosaic or any other picture in our blog, it will enlarge for better viewing.

Bumbo Seat

Cooper loves to "sit up;" of course, he can't sit up yet on his own. A Bumbo Seat is the next best thing. Cooper can hang out and see what's going in the house while I help with homework, make dinner, or read to Sybella.

Waking Cooper Up

Sybella loves her little brother, loves him so much in fact, that she'll wake him up to spend time with him. LOL---can't ever take your eyes off a toddler!

Thumbs!

Sybella loves her baby brother and will support him in ANYTHING....even if that means taking up thumb sucking.

Now, many of you know that Colin sucked his fingers when he was little and I determined that I would NEVER have a finger baby again. I practically shoved the pacifier into Connor, Sybella, and Cooper. My rationale: you can throw away pacifiers when they should be gone and I can't cut off fingers. Colin sucked his fingers at night for a lonnnggggg time and I could just hear the orthodontic bills "cha-chinging" away!

What may you ask did I do then when Cooper, my fourth and final baby decided last week (after lots of pacifier training I might add) to start toying with the idea of sucking his thumb???

Well, I'll tell you!

First, I took a picture quick, I mean it's absolutely adorable!

Next, I reminded myself that there is NO room for the word "NEVER" in parenting; I should have known better.

And Last, I decided that since: everyone in our family has had braces and both Colin and Connor have recently gotten head gear in preparation for braces (one was a finger baby and the other a pacifier baby), the odds were against us no matter what Cooper does.

So, I am offering the pacifier, which he sometimes takes, but smiling fondly on the occasions that he chooses his thumb. We'll see what happens.

Three Months Old

Cooper is three months old! I can't believe how much he has changed since he was born. I think knowing that this will be my last little one, I am savoring each new thing a little more. And, it doesn't hurt that I absolutely LOVE watching my other kids love him! Wow, I am blessed.

Summer in the Pool

This summer has been a great opportunity to spend time at the pool. The pool is a sorta "magical" place where age doesn't matter. Many activities we partake in are designed for 'little' kids and at those times, my awesome older kids indulge all of us by genuinely participating. Then there are activities or sporting events that are for the older kids. For these, we just take the little ones along with lots of snacks and toys and try to disrupt nap time as little as possible. There are some events that all of the kids can enjoy, but even these take some planning and thinking about how to maximize the experience for each of the kids.

However, at the pool, the age challenges all just wash away (pun intended). Whether you are 11, 8, 2 1/2, or just a wee baby, the pool is for you! The older kids can hang out with their friends, swim, practice new tricks off the diving board & all around enjoy themselves. Sybella loves the baby pool and playing with all the water toys. And, now, she is tall enough to stand in the shallow end of the big pool (with her floatees of course), which she also thinks is great. At the mandatory 'rest break' the older kids have to get out of the pool and they always come find their sister in the baby pool and play with her. And now, even Cooper is 'chillin' in the pool.

P.S. This year was the first year that I have gotten swim shirts for the kids and can I just say that those things are awesome! I am so much less nervous about sunburn.

Wordless Wednesday

First Orioles Game

Connor and Cooper at Cooper's First Orioles game on June 28th. They played the Nationals and lost but we still had fun!

We visited guest services and they even gave Cooper an "Most Valuable Orioles Fan" Certificate to commemorate his first game.

Thanks to our friends for sharing in the adventure with us: Katie McFaddin, Chad Riley, and Dana Frisillo! (More pictures to follow.)

Out for Another Walk

This is a quick shot of the kids during our 4-mile walk yesterday. Why does Sybella look like that you ask? Because she has been a "Camera Ham" lately. She either poses like this OR she won't look at the camera at all, wants to point at the camera, covers her eyes, or plays coy. It cracks me up!

The National Zoo

This past Wednesday, Sybella, Cooper, and I went to the National Zoo. Our friends Kylee and Shauna rode with us and we met up with lots of NCC Moms to trek around the zoo and have a picnic lunch. I heard there were 18 kids under the age of 3 with us. What a FUN time! Here is a picture of us right before we got in the car to go back home....and we LOOK like we enjoyed ourselves.

Look-A-Like

When you look at families, sometimes you say that one child or another looks like one of the parents. In our family, it seems all my kids look alike. But, it’s still fun to figure out who looks the “most alike.” The consensus from just about everyone who has weighed in with an opinion is that Little Cooper looks most like Connor. So, I thought I would put this fun picture up of Connor laying with Cooper.
(All the kids LOVE Cooper and believe it or not they will take every opportunity to hold him, lay next to him, entice him to make gurgle noises, or just watch him sleep. Boy, am I Blessed!!!!!!)