Backtrack'n

Hello! I am backtracking a bit with this blog post and I apologize for the delay. We have had an exciting week, which I will be mentioning as I am writing along. I decided to do two separate blog posts this week and hope to have our most exciting news and pictures coming your way within the next day or so!

Backtrack'n to two weeks ago.... Mommy was feeling quite miserable. Not only did she waddle like a duck, but her back was killing her, so she had an even more interesting strut than usual. Mommy tried to take it easy, but she also tried to induce labor on her own by gardening, vaccuuming, eating spicy food, you name it! The doctor informed Mama that she was dilated to 3, effaced 75% and she stripped Mommy's membranes, OUCH! With all of that yucky information, Mommy was certain the baby would arrive within a day or so, but nope, Cooper didn't arrive for nearly a week. So, to stay busy, we did all the final details around home. If pregnant ladies are supposed to nest, than I think my Mama's nest must have been an Osprey's. She was in a crazy rage to have everything perfect before our little birdie arrived.

The nursery was all set with the finishing details... curtains arrived from PBK and a local tailor added a navy stripe. We found neat nautical tie-backs to bring the whole theme together. Daddy's aunt made new seat cushions for the rocker and we put these on last. The bedding is sea turtles and madras plaid from PBK. Daddy painted the bedroom (like a pro!), Grandma gave us the Moses basket, a lady hand painted the turtle pictures and personalized the center one, the rocker was the same one that Grandma rocked Mommy, auntie, and uncle Jim in when they were babies (Daddy refinished it before I was born).

One of our favorite decorations in Cooper's room is this boxed frame. Mommy and Grandma copied the idea from PBK. The C is obviously for Cooper and the shells were all collected in Captiva this year. Mommy was very particular; all of us who helped pick the shells from piles along the beach had to find scallops that were a certain size, and were as pure white as we could find. Mommy and Grandma than arranged and glued each shell around the frame. It has a special meaning since the shells are from Mommy's favorite place on earth and Cooper was in her belly this spring when we vacationed there.

Grammy bought this lamp that someone made using the PBK sheets. We have several picture frames in the bedroom that are ready for Cooper's cute little face. The crocodile will go up on the dresser with the other stuffed animals... this came from Grandma and we just think it is super cute!

Auntie gave Mommy and Daddy a very special frame about being parents. They just need to add a photo of Cooper and each one of them to place inside of it. This will be the final artwork to be hung up in the nursery.

The dresser/hutch is an awesome piece of furniture. It is stuffed with washed onesies, sleepers, and pants for baby. The top is a changing table and above, is where we have special momentos, frames, and the stuffed animals (that need to be tidied up a bit). The room was all set and ready for my baby brother to move into.

To pass time, Mommy attempted to keep us busy. We went to KinderMusik class and saw many friends and fellow music classmates from years past. We recently found out that our music instructor is moving to Alabama, so sadly, music with Jillian will no longer be offered. I just love "la la" class. The best part of the music class was the playtime at the end. I just LOVED this ride-on bulldozer.

As you can see, I take my job very seriously as a heavy machine operator.

It was great to see Ethan in music class too. We played house with the kitchen gadgets and I did a nice job of sharing.

The following day, we met up with Heather, Finley and Stephanie. Stephanie was the maternity nurse that cared for Mommy and I during our five day stay at the hospital. Mommy just adored Stephanie who was very good to our family. We have kept in touch with her these past two years. We recently found out that she is moving to CO to be closer to her boyfriend. We hope to visit with her when she returns for family visits. We met up at a pizza joint nearby and Heather did a fantastic job of keeping us boys busy! As usual, I am playing with my middle finger in the picture above and obviously thinking that I am pretty funny.

I was a little monkey at lunch and did NOT want to stay in the high chair. I am your typical 2 year old... busy, busy, busy. Mommy is trying to figure out how managing my needs and a baby's needs will work. She is hoping for lots of advice!

Here is our favorite nurse, Stephanie. Mommy will miss not having her this time around as a nurse since she will be delivering at a different hospital than last time. We keep trying to think of ways to sneak Stephanie into the delivery/post-recovery room!

Happy Father's Day to Daddy! We actually celebrated the night before, because Mommy was told she was going to be induced on Father's Day morning. There wasn't an immediate danger to Mommy or baby, it was just time to get the little peanut out. Mommy was miserable and ready to deliver on her due date. So the night before, we gave Daddy a few more gifts to celebrate Father's Day. As you recall, his big gift was a barefoot wetsuit (pictures are below in a previous blog posting). We ordered Daddy a mousepad for work with the picture below on it. It is Mommy's favorite picture of just the two of us.

The last gift was the engraving of Daddy's baby cup. It has sat on my shelf for two years with Daddy's name and Grandpa's name (both are named Chris). Mommy had someone engrave my name and Cooper's name into the cup as a special gift and treasure. Daddy loved his gifts and was touched by the cards and ideas. Mostly, he is excited to spend Father's Day with me and my new brother... what a perfect gift!

It was an emotional night as we prepared for baby. I gave the baby a few more hugs while Mommy was tearful. It is exciting to add to our family, but also kind of sad, as we know our family will never be just the three of us again. Our final evening was at the park, where we had a picnic with Grammy's side of the family. We all went to the park to eat and visit with everyone.

Our only picture at the park, was this last one as a family of three. That night I headed to Grammy's house, since Mommy and Daddy had to be at the hospital at 6:45 a.m. for the induction. Mommy and Daddy gave me kisses before I left with Grammy and Mommy had to quickly turn away and cry her eyes out knowing that my life would forever be changed. We all anticipate the very important place we have in our hearts and home for Cooper.

To be continued in the next few days with the debut of Cooper James...