Testing the Waters

Cooper was sick all weekend but still managed to be a little stinker. He's really started testing the waters with his daddy and me. If he doesn't want to sleep (napping or bedtime) he's started throwing his pacifiers out of his crib and screaming at the top of his lungs until we come in and get them. Once we come in and get his "sassy" (we've even been keeping an extra in the crib) he goes crazy until we get him out. We've tried the whole "cry it out" method but he won't sleep without a pacifier. He just keeps crying... he's not wearing himself out. We've tried just going in, giving him the pacifiers, and leaving but then he cries harder. As soon as he hears us coming down the hall he stops crying and acts like nothing is wrong as soon as we enter the room. If we try to put him back down this routine starts all over again. I hate to admit it but I think he rules our roost right now... what are we going to do with that stinker?

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Today I ended up staying home from work. I'm still not feeling 100% and Cooper had been running a pretty high fever so we went to the doctor. He's just got a virus but it's kicking his tail. He's not himself and we can't seem to bring his fever down. He made himself feel even worse at the doctor because he went crazy as soon as he saw Dr. Meredith. I guess he's at the age now to where he realizes what's going on and he screamed the whole time he was examined. Then he had to get his finger pricked and that didn't go over too well either. Hopefully we'll both be back to normal by Monday.



Last Friday... 11 weeks & growing. I'm 12 weeks today!



Sweetness.



Andy would probably have a stroke if he knew I was posting this picture. He was playing some game at Chuck-E-Cheese where you had to hold on to these handles while they vibrated really fast.



Cooper driving at Chuck-E-Cheese.







Outside on a warm day... he didn't know what to do being outside.



Our newest family member, Petie, a penguin.



Our new (slightly used) rocking chair for our front porch. I'm going to paint it, probably black or white. I'd love to paint it a Tiffany blue or something though to give our porch a pop of color. Now I've just got to find one more.



Sick boy and his sticker he got at the doctor. I'm not sure his behavior warranted a stitcher but he got one anyways.

Sick Day

I'm blogging right now from the comfort of my couch. I woke up this morning, got ready for work, watched some tennis, and headed to school. I felt fine the first hour or so and then all of the sudden started feeling bad. Not like a pregnancy bad, like a sick bad. It progressively started getting worse so I left at lunch. Something is going around at school so I'm sure I've got it. I came home to find Cooper running a low fever. He was fussy so I put him down for a nap and tried to rest some. He's going strong now, even though he still feels hot, and I'm trying my best to keep up with him. I'm not doing a very good job though. We're supposed to go bowling tonight with our Sunday school class, I guess that will all depend on how we feel in a little while... it doesn't look too promising right now.

Valentine's Wreath Inspiration

I got the idea that I wanted a Valentine's Day wreath for our front door.  Since Valentine's is a very specific holiday (at least with it's "theme")  I decided I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a wreath that I would be more than likely taking down on February 15th.  I logged on to my trusty Pinterest account to come up with some ideas.   Here are my inspirations!

I love felt wreaths but I knew by the time I got out to Hobby Lobby to buy felt it would almost be Valentine's.  I also love heart wreath forms but they can get pricey and I didn't want to spend the money on a quick, trendy holiday.  I've used coffee filters for a wreath before (it was sadly destroyed in the tornados in the spring) and besides using a lot of hot glue they work pretty well.  The first wreath pictured above is dyed coffee filters so I figured I could do the same thing.  We've already got the filters at home and food coloring shouldn't cost me much at all.  Instead of buying a wreath form I'm going to use part of a cardboard box for my backing... I know someone who has the hookup with boxes!

I typed the beginning of this at the first of the week and ended up going a completely different direction. I had an extra wreath form from a wreath I didn't like so I used it. When Cooper and I ran to Walmart on Friday I got some yarn and some Valentine's decorations to make my new wreath with. I didn't want the daunting task of dying, cutting, and gluing coffee filters to make my wreath so I thought yarn would be easier. Little did I know that wrapping yarn was a daunting task due to tangles. I got it done in about 2 hours though when Coop was napping so it wasn't too bad. I hot glued the rest of the stuff on and was done! I wish it was a little bigger but I like it and it was cheap.

Productivity

The Smithson family had a productive night tonight and it's not even 8:30 yet! Andy fixed the drain in the spare bath that was acting up and fixed some small issues with my car, Cooper had a bath, and I baked not one, not two, but three homemade food items! This pregnant girl was hungry and took advantage of a rare burst of energy to cook. For dinner we had pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes, and homemade macaroni and cheese. Andy had been begging me to make that since we got married and I'm just now getting around to it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was and turned out good. I made a ton so we've got some left overs. Next I made homemade chocolate chip brownies. I'm the queen of box brownies so I thought I'd give the real kind a whirl. The only time consuming part was melting the chocolate and butter. I don't have a double boiler so I had to sit a bowl inside a sauce pan to melt them. Once that was done it was simple. They turned out really well too! I even started some vacuuming but Cooper was terrified so that quickly stopped. Now that he's asleep I'm afraid it will wake him up. All the cooking wore me out so I'm about to hit the hay with a full belly! Night!

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We announced our big news yesterday and I'm so excited that we can spread the word now. My doctors appointment went well yesterday. Everything looks great and I had even lost 3lbs. I wasn't trying to but I was happy. My doctor and Andy... not so much. Dr. Emberson said it was ok since it's still the 1st trimester but we don't want to see much of that in the future. I'm sure I won't have to worry about that... I never dropped a pound while I was pregnant with Cooper. I'm sure it won't be an issue if Andy keeps cooking meals like the one below. Enjoy the pictures from our week!




Spaghetti and meatballs Andy made.





Sleepy head!





Not too sure how I lost 3lbs. when I sat and ate this... not all of it though.





Cutie!





Eating my breakfast at work.





My new Nalgene bottle!





The new baby's 1st appearance on InstaFiday!

Big News!!!

Well the Smithson family has been sitting on some big news now for about 7 weeks. I wanted to make it "out of the woods" before I spread the word. A couple of weeks before Christmas I found out I was pregnant! I've seen my doctor several times now and even though it is a high risk pregnancy (due to everything that happened with Cooper) everything looks great so far! I'll be 11 weeks tomorrow and besides being tired I feel great. I had a little nausea at the beginning but nothing bad. I'm having some heartburn and my restless legs are back but I can handle that. I had to spread the word to people I see regularly a little sooner than I had hoped because I'm already showing... there is no denying the pregnancy in person. Even though my weight has hardly changed I had to bust out the maternity clothes at 9.5 weeks. It's crazy how much faster I started showing with this baby.




This was the baby 3 weeks ago at our last ultrasound (7 weeks & 5 days).

We're very excited and can't wait to find out what he or she is. If I had to bet I'd say it's a boy. I feel the exact same way as I did with Cooper and with the history on both sides of our family (7 boys combine and no girls) I'd be SHOCKED if it's a girl. I just knew Cooper was a girl so maybe my mother's intuition will be wrong again. What a surprise that would be if we found out we're having a girl. We've got names picked out for a boy or a girl so at least we've agreed on that for now... Andy has been known to throw a wrench in my name plans.

There's a higher risk than we originally thought of all the issues I had with Cooper resurfacing with this baby. There aren't really any precautions I can take now to avoid problems in the long run. Dr. Emberson said taking a baby aspirin once a day and cutting back on my salt intake (thanks Andy for bringing my love of salt up) were about the only 2 things I could do for now and that doesn't guarantee anything. We're praying that this pregnancy goes smoothly and that the baby will make it to his or her due date which is August 10th. Being huge will probably make for a hot, miserable summer but I'll gladly take a full term August baby over a preemie June baby. The good thing (if there is a bright side to all the problems I had) is that it usually comes on later in 2nd pregnancies and it isn't as severe as the first go around. Our doctor came up with a "game plan" at our 1st visit if it all goes down hill again so now we're just sitting back and waiting for August...and doing a lot of praying!




The baby today (10 weeks & 6 days).

Teething Time Again!

When I called Mom from school today to check on Cooper she told me he was acting fine but running a fever. As a worrisome mommy I went through a mental list of everything it could be... teething never crossed my mind though. When I got home we wrestled him down and took a look. He hates having his mouth/teeth checked so it was not an easy task to get a peek. Low and behold there was a little tooth that had popped through. It's the right one on the top. He had 3 bad poopy diapers too so it seems teething has taken over his day. He was still running a fever a little while ago so I gave him some ibuprofen & just put him down for a nap. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that's it's just a teething fever. If he keeps it through tomorrow or if it shoots up I guess we'll be headed to see Dr. Meredith.

Ants in my Pants!

Have I mentioned recently that I've been super tired? I've been going to be early, getting around 9-10 hours of sleep each night, and napping more often but it doesn't seem like it's helping. Sometimes I think added sleep makes me more tired. One problem I'm having is restless sleep. Around 2am I start tossing and turning and it seems to last until around 5am or so. I can't get comfy, I'm hot or cold, or I just can't sleep. Thankfully Cooper is a great sleeper so I'm not up with him and Andy hasn't seemed phased by all my moving throughout the night.

Another issue I've been having is restless legs. I've never been "officially" diagnosed with restless leg syndrome but have been treated for it. The first time my legs ever felt "antsy" was when I was 17 and on a mission/soccer trip to Costa Rica. It was the oddest feeling. We were on an extremely long bus ride and I felt like I needed to move my legs constantly. I stood up the majority of the bus ride because that was the only way I could find relief. Both of my parents are plagued by this so I'm sure it's hereditary. I've had it off and on ever since then but have never been able to pinpoint what makes it flare up. Andy always says he doesn't understand what I mean when I say my legs are restless. It's hard to explain if you've never had it. It doesn't hurt, they don't cramp, they don't ache, I just feel like I need to move them all the time. When I was pregnant with Cooper it got to the point where I was having it every night for at least an hour or so. I was so miserable I was crying every night. I finally asked my doctor about it. I didn't think there would be anything he could do for me but I was pleasantly surprised. He put me on a very low dose of the medicine that they treat Parkinson's patients with. It worked miracles and Andy says I'm hooked on it like a heroin addict. I would take it about an hour before my legs usually acted up and would never feel the first need to move them. After I had Cooper it got dramatically better and I only had to take my medicine every now and then. Now it's back with with a vengeance. I tried to fight it at first but it was keeping me up (it's horrible when you're laying in bed). I've been back on my medicine for about 3 days now and am feeling a lot better. Hopefully I'll get a good night of sleep tonight and be ready for my kiddos in the morning.

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Well we didn't get a snow day today but we did get a 2 hour delay which is better than nothing. It gave me some time to love on Cooper before heading into work so I can't complain. I was going to take him swimming with me this afternoon (to the place where I do water aerobics) but the temperature has barely gone above 30* so I figured we should hold off. Maybe we can make it to the pool tomorrow. Here are my cell phone pictures for the week... enjoy!




Mickey Mouse joined us for dinner at City Cafe.



A little too loud at Los Potros?



Coop's 1st spatula lick... following in mommy's footsteps.



Needless to say he was a fan.



Playing with some balloons left over from the baby shower.









Lazy bones finally holding his bottle all by himself!



Working hard in the nursery rearranging the furniture.

Andy has to work tomorrow but not Monday so I'm really looking forward to our 3 day weekend. Hopefully we'll get some good family time in!

New Beginnings

We've had a good start to our week in the Smithson family.  Monday Andy was off with Cooper and when I got home we went to visit some shut-ins from our church.  We hit up two local nursing/assisted living homes and made our rounds.  The first woman we visited was very alert and talkative.  She just loved Cooper, even though he was extremely shy.  It's so funny to watch that side of his personality since he's just developed it.  He stayed curled up in my lap the whole time... I didn't mind that though!  The next place we went was more like a hospital and wasn't a very cheery environment due to the severity of most of the patients weak conditions.  It's so sad to see grandmas and grandpas in such fragile states.  The man we visited there wasn't as able to communicate as the lady at our first visit so we weren't there as long.  All the patients that took notice to Cooper loved him though... how could you not?  I would love to make visiting our shut-ins a more normal part of our live.  Babies seem to bring joy to everyone and I know they get lonely.  This seems like a ministry Cooper and I could take up and I'm hoping we can get more involved.

Last night I was able to make it to my first water aerobics class in about 2 years.  It's amazing that you can work up a sweat in a pool but I did!  I went with a friend so that always makes it more fun.  She got a kick out of watching me struggle to keep my head above water during our crunches.   It's a very big pool, I don't know if the length is olympic size or not but afterwards we swam some laps.  I was so tired by the time we finished I almost had to be drug out of the pool but it was so nice to get the exercise in!  Water aerobics is great because it's a hard workout with the water resistance but easy on your joints.  I'm planning on going back tomorrow as long as Andy gets home in time!

Weekend Wrap-Up

The weekend flew by once again.  Friday night we went to eat at my favorite place, City Cafe.  I usually stick to my normal dish of chicken and fries (because it's so good I can't ever turn it down) but I had been wanting a meatball sub all week.  Andy found one on the menu (they have everything!) and talked me into branching out.  It was delicious!  Cooper had Mickey Mouse pancakes and loved every bite!

Saturday I hosted a baby shower at my house for a dear friend.  Luckily, another dear friend did all the food and decorations so all I had to do was clean my house.  We had a great turn out but by the time all the guests had left I was exhausted!  We put Cooper down for a nap and I fell asleep for awhile too.

Sunday was a rainy, cold day.  After church we went to eat and then I visited with my family.  After night church Andy's parents came down to see Cooper.  He was exhausted so once we put him down I tried to stay up with Andy for a little while but he started watching one of his shows and I turned in.  Not a very busy weekend but it was nice to have a little break!

On a side note:  I haven't been very happy with the "Weekend Wrap-Up" format the last few weeks.  I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do but look for changes in the near future!

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We've made it to the weekend! Besides throwing a baby shower all I've got planned is relaxing! Cooper and I are doing that right now as we watch Martha Speaks. Here are my pictures for the week... enjoy!



Cooper testing out his new wagon.



Coop and Daddy were faster than me!



Cooper's 1st trip to the aquarium. Thanks Granna and Grandaddy for the year membership! It was one of my favorite Christmas presents!



Sentence building activity for the student I tutor. We focused on nouns and verbs this week.



The pictures on my desk that helped get through the long first week back from Christmas break.



You've got to love that runny nose!

Snow Day... Please!

I know we just started back to school last week but I'm already in desperate need of a break.  I think it's just because I know in my heart that our next major break isn't until spring break... the first week of April.  That is SO far away!  I don't know how I'm going to make it!  Haha, one of the reasons I went into the field of education was for the breaks... horrible, I know.  What other job are you going to get extended time off for holidays and all summer off?  Not to mention the children are pretty great too.  We're out Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day but it would be super nice if we got a 4 day weekend instead of 3.  They are calling for snow/ice in the Chattanooga area tonight and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something magical will happen.  That's why I changed my blog background to something a little more "snowy."  If there is the slightest bit of snow or ice we'll probably get out due to all the students in the county who live on Lookout Mountain.  Since the BIG snow last year and the tornadoes they've been quick to call school off.  I don't blame them at all... being in charge of students when extreme weather is happening is a scary thing.  Our new house is on a huge hill so if there is any winter weather we're stuck regardless.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get to sleep in with Cooper in the morning!  Here's to wishful thinking!

One Tired Mommy

This past week has worn me out. I've been getting in bed around 9pm every night (it's calling my name now) and have been sleeping around 9.5 hours each night. Hard to believe I'm that tired huh? Well I think going back to work, keeping up with Cooper, and getting back into the swing of things around the house have made me so tired. Tonight was our first MOPS meeting of the new year and I couldn't gather the energy after cooking dinner to go. I hate that I missed it, I enjoy my time with my fellow moms so much! I'm looking forward to 2pm tomorrow when Im off and get to relax some this weekend!

Welcome 2012!

Christmas break laziness got the best of me in all aspects of my life… cleaning, cooking, exercising, laundry, and blogging. I’m hoping now that I’m back in my daily routine all of those areas of life will pick up some. It’s hard to find the motivation to do much when your day is stress free and you’ve got a 13 month old to play with. Cooper and I had a great Christmas break; I miss him dearly since I’m back at work. We made it through the break without any sickness or major injuries. Of course now that I’m back at work he’s got a horrible cold is about to cut a tooth. His nose started running Monday and by Tuesday night his little face was so chapped that he screamed anytime I touched it. I lathered him up with baby lotion and a thin coating of auqafour before bed and I’m hoping that will help it some.

It’s been so cold the last couple of days I can hardly stand going out the car in the garage, much less walk outside. The heat hasn’t been 100% by any means at school so I’ve been taking a space heater and it’s been wonderful! My exercise routine that I was slowly getting into has been interrupted by the holidays, rain, and cold weather. Before Andy and I started dating (5 years ago!) I went pretty regularly to a water aerobics class. I loved it and it was a great workout. That class is still meeting and starts back up next week. It’s really close to FedEx so I’m hoping if Andy’s not home by the time I need to leave I can meet him with Cooper and make it to the class on time. The location is in the ghetto and it’s mostly older women who take the class but it’s cheap and you can’t beat the exercise. I’m really looking forward to it and hoping I can stick with it. Since Andy’s work has calmed down so I think I should be able to make it to a lot of classes.

In another aspect of my life The Bachelor has started back up! It’s my guilty pleasure. Ben is the new bachelor, the one I wanted to win in the last go around. I’m in the process of watching the first episode on my DVR. I’ve been getting in bed around 9pm every night since school started so it’s hard to watch it all in one sitting between Cooper, Andy, and sleeping. All of my other shows are about to start back up too… I’ve just got to figure out where to squeeze them into my busy, sleepy days.

Cooper update: Cooper has been busy here lately! I thought he was going to take his first step yesterday but he chickened out. He’s getting brave and leaping forward from the coffee table to the couch or chair instead of crawling to it. They are close together so he mainly just falls forward but at least it’s a “step” in the right direction. He’s standing alone a lot more for extended time so I think walking is just right around the corner. I may be wrong though. I think 2012 has a lot of big things in store for my little family and walking is just one of them!