Mama celebrated her birthday on the 16th! She claims she is still 29, funny because we are sure she has said this for a few years now. We spoiled Mommy on her special day, with her favorite things... family, Cold Stone Creamery, dinner at Red Lobster, and presents :)
Presents- we gave Mommy clothes from the GAP; I love reading her that word since it is SO easy to sound out :), a rolling tote for her Cricut machine, and a gift certificate for a massage (she is most excited about this).
Mom had to teach on her birthday, so she put on her "I'm so happy, It's my birthday" Hello Kitty pin on that she received as a young child (she is thinking Kindergarten). She also remembers receiving this Hello Kitty figurine as a birthday gift- funny that some characters, are still popular 29 years later :)
Heather had several special surprises for Mom when she went to work! A fun bulletin board decorated by the class, balloons, a banner, and a hilarious estimation chart! Mommy also received chocolates (Heather knows her so well), a Caribou coffee card (ditto) and the Kindergarten team had a yummy lunch brought in for the special occasion. Mom sure felt loved that day!
Oh my... Looks like Heather and Mom need to work on number formation and order (91 should be at least reversed to 19, we hope?!?!?!?) Mom is thinking of a creative way to "celebrate" Heather's upcoming birthday, ha!
Cooper and I like Red Lobster, so we chose that over our favorite restaurant (BWW's) for Mommy's birthday dinner. We don't "love" seafood, we only really like to eat shrimp, but we really like to see these nasty lobsters crawl all over each other. Some were HUGE and nasty! The nice lady took one out for us to pet. Notice we did so with our gloves on. Can't wait for the beach in a few months....
On Saturday, we headed to the cities so we could do some more celebrating! We had our cousins/aunts/uncles over to Grandma's for a nice lunch and birthday cupcakes. Our cousin Lexi also is celebrating her birthday this month; she will be turning 12 on the 29th! We cannot believe that she is almost a teenager, sigh.
Mom and Dad left us wild ones at Grandma's house and went to the Wild hockey game that night. Our family has season tix (Grandma/Grandpa) so our parents try to go to a few games a year. They love the entertainment, the amazing buffet (club level) and the game was awesome! The Wild beat the Stars in overtime! It was a physical, bit of a bloody game, but exciting (they say). They were on TV twice during the game and received text messages from friends/family telling them they were spotted. Unfortunately, the game cannot be recorded *?* so there is no actual proof/photos of this.
On Sunday, we hit the Mall of America because Santa gave us all day wristband passes and we couldn't wait to go! We met up with Uncle Jim, Auntie Karri and Jimmy for lunch at Noodles and Co and then rides, of course!
I am now tall enough to go on the little kid rides alone and on some of the big rides (Pepsi rollercoaster) with a parent! I was a trooper with all the kiddie rides because Mom is not a huge fan of rollercoasters and only wanted to suffer through a few of those that day. I could have gone on the big kid rides all.day.long. Daddy would have joined me, but our little
Daddy's Boy wouldn't let him without throwing a fit.
Cooper insisted on driving the bumper car, so this is where we were most of the ride.
I took over a "few times" just for a change of scenery. Cooper loved every minute of the slamming and bumping, where I took my driving job very seriously. My parents cringe at the very thought of driver's education.
This ride was hysterical. The 3 year olds were all in the middle of this ride that raised you up high and then bounced you down the track. It was hilarious to see all of our faces and to see those cute kids in the middle :)
We love the hot-air balloon ride. It is slow and relaxing (OK, my parents told me to write that). We also hit the log chute and got wet! The boys loved it and Mom thought it felt "icky" afterwards.
After a full day of fun, we were heading home. Cooper was all smiles, healthy and content. Later that day, I spiked a 102 fever so Mom brought us into the clinic on Monday.....
I was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and put on a 3 day antibiotic. Cooper was starting to develop a cough, but the pediatrician felt that his asthma med's and nebulizers would help him. We left the clinic and the next day, Cooper's cough was getting chronic and "scary." Back to the clinic on Mom's insistence and this time, more testing was done and he tested positive for RSV. Cooper's underlying asthma exacerbated the situation, so he was admitted to the hospital for "ONLY" one night (progress since last year's 4 day stint). Cooper didn't need IV's, but medication was administered regularly and he was being monitored closely. The next day, Cooper was released with a 5 day antibiotic/steroid/asthma treatment schedule.
And here is our happy, much healthier little man. RSV is a respiratory virus, so now that his fever has broke, he will be able to get back to preschool and daycare this week and our parents will be able to work too, yeah for all of us! We have kindly requested Cooper to stop scaring us with these hospital visits and illnesses and to stay out of the hospital once and for all! Let's hope he can keep his word :) Stay warm and healthy this week everyone!
