Mealtime Meltdown

I've mentioned this briefly in past posts but Cooper has stopped eating.  I figured I'd devote a whole post to it since I devote most of my day to worrying about it.  Mealtimes have turned into WWIII and his highchair is a battlefield.  He was such a good eater up until a few weeks ago.  He ate a good variety of foods and ate a good portion at every meal.  Now it's a fight from when he wakes up to when he goes to sleep.  I know he's hungry... he has to be!

He'll usually start out the day by eating a pretty good breakfast.  He used to always eat bananas, yogurt, and oatmeal.  Now he's cut out the bananas, he's getting picky on yogurt, and he'll still eat the oatmeal.  I've added cereal bars to the morning routine.  He's practically living off of them... he eats a few throughout the day when all else fails.  He used to eat any kind of fruit we'd give him with breakfast but now he won't.  The most frustrating thing is when he doesn't recognize a food as one he likes or knows (or he recognizes it as something he thinks he doesn't like) he puts his hands in front of his mouth and starts shaking his head back and forth, making it impossible to give him a bite.

Lunchtime rolls around and it's time for another fight.  We've pretty much reverted back to baby food for lunch because he's stopped eating sandwiches and macaroni and cheese.  He'll eat them every now and then but it's very hit and miss.  I feel like if I can get 2 jars of baby food down him that's a successful lunch.

Dinnertime is when it really hits the fan.  He won't try anything that I cook unless it's tater tots, chicken nuggets, or pancakes.  He was really good about eating whatever Andy and I ate but he's stopped that, too.  Last night I gave in and made him chicken nuggets and tater tots and he refused them.  I thought I could always count on those to get us through a meal!  By the time dinner is over he's usually crying and I'm usually crying.  I don't know what to do!  I'm at my wit's end!  Everyone tells me that this is normal for children his age and that he'll eat when he's hungry.  I'm sure that's true but am I just supposed to follow him around all the time offering him food?  Do I make him meals that I know he won't eat and let them go to waste?  Do I let him go to bed on an empty stomach when he refuses to eat at night?  Ahh... the worry is driving me crazy!  He's so tiny as it is, I'm terrified he's going to start loosing weight.  We had a hard enough time packing the pounds on him when he was a good eater.

For some reason he'll eat pretty good for my mom when she keeps him.  She's told me that she never puts him in the highchair, lets him watch Curious George, and just chases him around/keeps him distracted until he finishes a meal.  I guess I'm going to have to start doing that.  He knows exactly what the highchair is for and I think that sets a bad tone from the beginning.  It's like once he's in there he's just going to shut down.  I've tried letting him feed himself (thinking he'd like that) but he just throws his food in the floor... it's very frustrating!  We've tried disciplining him the best we can for his age but I don't want him to associate eating with getting in trouble.  Andy's better with all this than me, he just brushes it off and doesn't cry about it (unlike myself).  I've been spending some serious time praying about this... I'm hoping it'll get better soon.

My Pregnancy Right Now

I haven't had a recent post devoted to the happenings/symptoms of my pregnancy in awhile so I thought I should write one before we get too far along.  I'll be 30 weeks on Friday (yay!) so our countdown will be between 4 and 10 weeks before Clark makes his arrival!  My doctor told me to expect him anywhere from 34 to 40 weeks so that's how our countdown works.  That has kind of taken a toll on any summer plans but that's ok!  We're really hoping and praying come Friday that the countdown will be between 7 and 10 weeks... that way he'll be in the "full term" range instead of the preemie range.  Here are my latest symptoms of this pregnancy... I think they're pretty typical for the 3rd trimester;

1.  Heartburn-  I had horrible heartburn with Cooper and it's just coming on really strong with Clark.  I've had it basically the whole pregnancy but it's just now getting bad.  Cooper had a head full of hair (even for 6 weeks early) so I'm hoping that old wives tale holds true for Clark.

2.  Extreme RLS-  Restless leg syndrome is a part of my life that I've had to accept.  Pregnant or not I have it.  I have it A LOT worse when I'm pregnant and it seems to be more intense with Clark that it was with Cooper.  When I had it with Cooper it was very predictable (time wise) and easy to control with my medication.  With Clark it hits at all times of the day and I've had to up my medicine dosage.

3.  Leg cramps- I've read this is very common in the 3rd trimester but I never had leg cramps with Cooper.    They usually strike in the middle of the night... not very fun!

4.  Nose bleeds-  I've never had a full out nose bleed in my whole life.  I'm not having them now but when I go to blow my nose it's often bloody.  It could just be dry but that's not a normal thing for me.

5.  Heat- I'm burning up all the time!  It's been in the 90's here so I'm sure that's a huge contributing factor.  I'm sleeping with the fan on at night so I don't freeze out Cooper but poor Andy says he's cold all night.  I just wake up sweating.  Instead of food cravings I'm having pool cravings.  I've never wanted a pool so badly in my whole life.  It's going to be a long 10 weeks!

6.  Restless nights-  I'm not sleeping well at all.  Between the heat, my big belly, and going to the bathroom 3-4 times a night I'm just not getting a good night of rest.

7.  Lots of baby movement-  This makes me happy!  Clark moves all the time!  So much more than Cooper did.  Cooper was active but not anything like this.  Also, Clark makes BIG movements.  I could see my belly move toward the end with Cooper but shortly after I could feel Clark I could watch him as well.  It's crazy.  That makes me think he's going to be a big, active baby boy.

8.  Exhaustion-  Between Cooper, work, Andy, housework, and being in my 3rd trimester I'm exhausted all the time!  I've been really good about going to bed early and that helps some.  I need to just get used to it... I'm sure I'll be tired all the time with 2 babies!

9.  Braxton Hicks contractions ??-  I put a ?? out beside this one because I'm not really sure if I'm having them or not.  Like I said in an earlier post, I have no idea what contractions feel like.  Several times a day I feel my belly get tight but I'm not sure if it's just the way Clark's moving or if it's an actual contraction.

That's my latest pregnancy symptoms in a nutshell.  I'm in no way complaining about being pregnant... I love it!  I'm so thankful that I get to carry a 2nd sweet baby boy after everything that happened with Cooper.  God is watching over us and I know there are so many women out there who would trade places with me in a heartbeat.  I believe motherhood is the greatest gift a woman can receive and I thank God daily for my baby boys.

Memorial Day Weekend

The Smithson's had a pretty low key Memorial Day Weekend.  Andy had to work Saturday so Cooper and I just tried to survive until he got home.  We went to Walmart (I don't know when I'm going to learn that isn't the best idea at 7 months pregnant with an 18 month old) and had a little shoplifting incident.  I had taken some stuff of Clark's back in a Walmart bag.  Some of it didn't come from Walmart so I put it back in our cart, in the Walmart bag.  I got Cooper a new sippy cup and threw it in the cart.  It somehow ended up under the Walmart bag and never revealed itself... until we got out in the car and I had unloaded everything.  I know this sounds horrible but Cooper was screaming at the top of his lungs when I found it so we just left.  I still haven't used it or taken the tags off so next trip to Walmart I'm taking it in and pay for it.  Promise!

Saturday night we went out to eat at our favorite place, City Cafe!  Mealtime in our house has become like WWIII.  Cooper has basically stopped eating and it irrates us to death.  He ate like a champ Saturday night, though.  He ate 2 slices of bread, half of 2 huge Mickey Mouse pancakes, and a ton of my fries.  That meal was one of the only successful ones of the weekend.  They had a new M&M cake that I just had to dry and it was delicious!

Sunday after church some friends invited us up to their family's lake house.  It was about 20 minutes past Andy's parents house so we dropped Cooper off on the way.  He only had about a 30 minute nap in the car and won't nap at other peoples houses (unless he's completely exhausted) so I knew it may be a long afternoon for everyone.  He also forced himself to throw up his lunch right before we left so he had an empty stomach.  Not a good combination for the day.

We got to the lake house and it was scorching outside.  I'm not a big fan of natural bodies of water.  I don't mind the ocean up to about my waist but I'm not a fan of lakes.  They are too slow moving for me and I can't stand to touch the bottom.  I'm also afraid of what's going to brush up against me in a lake.  We bought a cheap float the night before so Andy blew it up for me.  It looked kind of flimsy and I was afraid it wouldn't support my pregnancy weight so I made Andy test it out first.  It held him up like a champ so I got in... it was too hot to sit on the dock.  The water was surprisingly warm and besides some waves from passing boats it was nice and calm.  Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Once we got back to Andy's parents Cooper let us know what a bad afternoon he had had.  He hadn't slept or eaten.  Trying to get him to eat anything that night made for one of the most frustrating nights of my life.  The stubbornness of not wanting to eat and being exhausted was a horrible combination.  I was also exhausted and burning up (we ate outside) and that made me ill as a hornet.  I had a good, long cry on the way home once he fell asleep because I felt so bad for getting frustrated with him.  Parenting is HARD!  It's totally worth it, though.

Monday morning Andy got up bright and early to go mountain biking.  Cooper and I were going round and round over breakfast when he got home.  Cooper had another bad day on the eating/sleeping front so I'm not sure what's going on with him.  I don't know if his teeth are bothering him or if he had a little stomach bug (he had some bad diapers) or what.  Whatever it is I hope it passes quickly.  I want my good eater and sleeper back!  That afternoon I went shopping to finish up getting what Clark needed.  I went by myself, which was nice, but by the 3rd store I was so tired I had to leave.  Shopping in your 3rd trimester isn't easy!

Monday night we went to our friends house so Cooper could slip-n-slide.  He needed a break from the house and a break from us trying to get him to do stuff.  We went about 7:00.  It was still hot but he shivered the whole time.  That didn't stop him from playing in the water, though!  He loved it and laughed hysterically anytime someone went down it.  Here are some pictures of him playing.

 His favorite thing to do was throw shoes in the slide.  At one point he had everyones shoes on it.

Andy pushing him down on his belly.

Photo Friday

It's been a bit of a hectic, long week in the Smithson household.  Between Andy's surgery, Cooper being under the weather, and a crazy week at work for me we're all exhausted!  Cooper had a bad night last night which, in turn, made for a bad night for mommy and daddy.  He was up from about 1:15am to 3:45am.  Nothing seemed to be wrong, he just wanted to be up.  Anytime we'd lay him back down he'd just whine like a cat... I don't understand what the issue was.  Finally, at 3:30 it was like he was over it and stayed when I put him back down.  Needless to say Andy and I became even more panicked about Clark's arrival after our first long night in ages.  I'm thankful for a long weekend and then our last week of school!  That's why it's been a bit crazy for me... trying to wrap up loose ends with all my kiddos.  Today was field day at school and the heat index was around 100*.  Luckily, I got an inside post due to the pregnancy so it wasn't bad.  We've hit the 29 week mark today and I'm feeling pregnant big time!  Clark's little bottom and feet are killing my rib cage... I can only imagine how much more pushed up he'll get in the weeks to come!

 He's getting really good at ignoring me when I try to take a picture of him (that's what he's doing in the picture on the left).  This was right after he got his hair cut last Friday.  He hates having it cut.  He had to sit in my lap with his blanket and he wouldn't let her put a cape on him.  Needless to say we were both covered in that sweet baby blond hair.  We had to strip him down before we left.

 He discovered Cheetos this week and loved them!  I think he had them with every meal until we ran out.

 We took advantage of Andy being off Monday for his surgery and went to the Aquarium.  We have a membership and don't get to go often enough.  We went about 4:45 and had the place to ourselves.  Cooper loved it because we let him walk.  He was very interested in the fish this time and would talk to them as the swam by!

I think this huge stingray was in love with Cooper.  When Cooper would move up or down the tank it would follow him and stop wherever he stopped.  Cooper got a kick out of that.

Ahh, some wonderful cuddle time with Mommy!  His latest bedtime routine has consisted of a bible story with Daddy and then watching an episode of Curious George with me right before bed.  He was snuggled up during George in the first picture and in the 2nd he was asleep in my lap.  That hasn't happened in ages!

Have a happy & safe Memorial Day weekend!

Baby Clark Update

I went to the doctor yesterday for a checkup on Clark and myself.  I had been having my blood pressure checked regularly at work due to the dizzy spells so I knew it should be low going in.  It was 105/65 so I was thrilled.  So was my doctor!  I also don't have any protein in my urine which is wonderful as well.  I had gained a little more weight than I was expecting (I'm up to a total of 10 pounds now) and was upset about that.  I guess 10 pounds isn't too bad for 29 weeks.  I knew I couldn't hold it off forever.  Dr. Emberson thinks my dizzy spells are from my blood sugar dropping so he told me to avoid really sweet foods if I could.  Well, he's already taken me off of salt (my favorite) and now he's telling me to cut back on my sweets.  By the time Clark arrives I'm not going to be eating anything!  I guess that's one way to keep the weight down!  I just can't seem to resist chocolate.  I'm going to try though because I would love to keep the weight gain and dizzy spells at a minimum.

In other baby news we, or Dr. Emberson, thinks Clark is in the head down position.  That explains the extremely uncomfortable and often times painful pokes and jabs I've been getting since yesterday up under my rib cage.  He must have a foot up underneath my ribs.  That would also explain the odd jabs I've been getting by my hipbones, his little hands must be punching down there.  When I get up to walk and stretch that seems to help... he must be running out of room already.  I feel like he's a big baby already.  Compared to the strength of Cooper's movements he already feels bigger than Cooper did when he was born.  I know that's not possible (the doctor said he should be around 2.5 pounds now) but he feels like a big boy.  If I were having a VBAC with Clark I would be excited about his positioning but I talked with my doctor yesterday and we've completely ruled that out.  He said because of complications and health risks associated with VBACs they just don't do them.  Also, any hospital an our area would require that a doctor be on hand with me the whole time I'm in labor with a VBAC due to liability and health risks.  He basically said that he would have to clear his whole schedule for however long I'm in labor if I had a VBAC.  So... unless I just dilate all on my own at home (like my sister did with her 2nd) then it looks like I'll be having another C-section.  That's completely fine with me because I really didn't want to have a VBAC.  I still feel like Clark will come early.  I don't think he'll be as early as Cooper but with Dr. Emberson being so cautious I think the minute anything (BP, swelling, etc.) goes up after 34 he'll take him.  I may be wrong though... I'd love for a big full term baby!

Showers Showers Everywhere!

This past week Clark and I had 3 showers scheduled.  We had one at work, one at my MOPS group, and one my sister was throwing for us.  It was going to be a busy week with lots of new things coming into the house but I was excited.  I really loved the fact that all my showers were scheduled within a week of each other.  I like knocking them out all at once.

Our first shower was at work.  Up until a few weeks ago there were 5 pregnant women at Stone Creek Elementary School.  Now we're down to 4.  Three of us are due this summer so they were throwing all 3 of us a shower.  Two of us are having boys and one is having a girl.  They threw the shower for us after school and did a fantastic job.  There was a ton of great food and it was set up so cute.  I got a ton of clothes, diapers, wipes, and other baby necessities.  When I got home and unloaded it all there was no room left on his bedroom floor!  Andy was shocked at how many presents we received from my coworkers.  To be honest, I was too.  I didn't know what kind of turn out there would be since it was a shower for 3 people.  I know budgets are tight right now and I can't thank my coworkers enough for all that they did.  It was a great first shower!

Clark's gift table. 

A beautiful drawing that one of my coworkers drew for Clark.

Our cake.

The three pregnant ladies!  I look huge here!

The aftermath of my work shower.

My MOPS group threw me a sweet little shower with lots of goodies.  I got a "hospital survival kit" bag with all kinds of neat things in it.  Hopefully I can wait until Clark is born to bust it out... I'm tempted to use the things in it already.

My third and final shower was hosted by my sister (my mom helped out, too).  She was gracious enough to have it at her house.  The original plan was to use her brand new back deck as the meeting place but with the 85 + degree heat we had to have it inside.  Before I left a huge storm came up so it was good that we switched it to inside!  Her house is beautiful and always decorated so well.  I know how hard it is to clean a house with two little boys (I can't hardly clean mine with just one) so I can't thank her enough for all the hard work she did.

We had a great turnout and Clark received a ton of great gifts.  The theme of this shower seemed to be diapers and blankets!  He got several beautiful homemade blankets and a ton of diapers!  I learned quickly with Cooper that you can't have enough of either.  I had a lot of my childhood friends and family at this shower and it's so nice to just be able to sit and catch up.  Everyone is so busy with work and babies of their own that we hardly get to have our "girls nights" anymore.  Girls nights now usually consist of us sharing breastfeeding stories, the best remedies for diaper rash, and updates on what our babies are currently in to.  I wouldn't have it any other way though!  I've known most of these girls my whole life and I'm so glad our baby journies are continuing together!  I can't wait for Clark to meet them all!

 Clark's map banner Summer made.

 I can't wait to hang this in his room!  It's made out of an atlas... she said she made the majority of it out of Canada.

The lovely food spread.

 I stole this picture from my BFF Jessica's blog.  She made Clark's bedding and it is FANTASTIC!  She dedicated a whole blog post to it and has a ton of great close up pictures of his quilt.  I've published a post that has a link to this so everyone can read about it and enjoy the pictures.  Jessica is an amazing seamstress and her blog showcases her amazing talent!

Sew Mama: Clark's Quilt!

One of my sweet, super talented best friends made Clark's bedding for his nursery.  When I had Cooper it took forever to find a bedding set that I liked and could afford.  They always have so many add-ons with bedding so they can jack the price up.  This time around, once I finally nailed down a nursery theme, I called up Jessica to recruit her help.  She's an awesome seamstress so once I found this quilt I knew she could do it.  I picked out some crazy fabrics that probably scared her to death, but she made them look wonderful together.  She also keeps a blog and has one dedicated to her products.  She did a post about Clark's quilt and I wanted to share it with you all.  If you ever need anything made or personalized she's the girl you're looking for.  I HIGHLY recommend her!

Sew Mama: Clark's Quilt!: I have been working on a special quilt for a special little boy coming to meet us very soon!  My best friend since we were 3 years old, Cas...

Dermatologist Day

Today was the big day for Andy's outpatient surgery at the dermatologist.  Friday afternoon I decided to take a half day at work so I was able to go with him.  I mainly wanted to hear what the doctor had to say and figured it would be best if I heard it directly from her.

When we got there we were taken back pretty quickly but had to wait a few minutes in the exam room.  The longer we had to wait the more nervous we both became.  The doctor finally came in and explained Andy's pathology report to us.  With atypical moles there are 3 categories for their cell severity.  There are good moles, bad moles, and severe moles.  Andy's mole was a severe mole.  She said that basically meant that his cells were rapid growing and had the possibility to turn into cancer.  She said it may never become cancer but in a case like his you take it off and take much deeper layers of skin out as well.  So, thank goodness, he didn't have cancer.  The nurse numbed him up and they got to work.  All in all it took maybe 3 or 4 minutes for the doctor to take all of the skin/tissue out that she wanted.  I didn't watch any of it but she showed Andy what she had taken.  He said it looked like a marble.  Once he was stitched up, he has 4, we were ready to go.  It's right in the middle of his upper back, kind of in between his shoulder blades and right below his neck, so it's going to be a pain to keep from pulling open.  The doctor said it was in one of the worst places for stitches and for him to not do any heavy lifting, especially boxes.  Well, we all know he works at FedEx so I'm anxious to see how this goes for the next 2 weeks, especially since he plans on going back into work tomorrow.  I have a feeling those 4 stitches will bust open at some point in the next 2 weeks but I'm hoping I'm wrong.  They'll send this tissue out for a pathology report as well and I'm praying it comes back clear.  I know he doesn't want anymore taken out and I know I don't want to keep worrying that something is going to show signs of cancer.

Photo Friday and Birthday Weekend

Today all 3 of the men in my life are celebrating a birthday.  Andy is 27 today, Cooper is 18 months old, and Clark is 28 weeks!  We've got a lot of celebrating to do this weekend.  Tonight we're going out to eat at a restaurant of Andy's choice and tomorrow we're having some of his family over to eat.  I'm going to attempt to make him a homemade strawberry shortcake, that's what he's requested.  I've never made one so I'm a bit nervous.  I'm not the best baker on the block.  He got his birthday present from Cooper and me early (the kayak) so he's asking for money from everyone else to buy a few more paddling things.  I think he's wanting a paddling lifejacket and a rash guard to wear when he paddles.  Both of those make me happy.  I don't want him to drown and the rash guard will keep the sun off him... I think we're both taking sun exposure more seriously since we've had quite the scare with this little mole of his.  We're still not sure what's going to be done Monday morning when he goes in but he did remember she said something about "fast growing" on the phone and for him to not take any kind of medication during the week leading up to the procedure.  He keeps telling me that I don't need to go in with him but I'm still debating taking a half day and going.  I'd feel more comfortable hearing what's going on from the doctor.

Here are my photos for the week, enjoy!

 Mother's Day pictures.

 Bath time!

 Crazy hair!  He's getting it trimmed today.  I like the long, shaggy look but we haven't been able to successfully achieve that.  I just knew his hair would curl up because Andy and I both have naturally curly hair... no such luck though!

 As gifts keep piling in I'm trying to organize Clark's room.  It seems that as soon as I get something organized I get more of the same thing and have to start all over.

28 weeks today!

This was when I was 27 weeks with Cooper.  I'm definitely much smaller weight wise with Clark (by about 15 or 20 pounds at this point) but they look about the same belly wise!

**Oh, on a happy note- I just ordered a crib for Clark!  It's not used and it's not a drop down!  I found a good deal on one from Babies-R-Us in black and jumped on it!  It's a convertible crib and with the gift cards from my wonderful coworkers I was about to knock $60 off the price and came in under $100!

Our Life Right Now

This week has been a slow one so far.  We've been busy bees... I can tell by how backed up my DVR is getting.  Andy's work schedule has been a little hectic and Cooper still doesn't seem to be himself.  Work has been a bit crazy for me and on top of that I haven't felt 100% this week, I keep having dizzy spells.  I had one of the nurses at work check my blood pressure this morning and it was 114/74 so that's not this issue.  I called the doctor and they think it's either my blood sugar dropping and then coming back up or my blood pressure dropping and coming back up.  They didn't seem too concerned so I guess I shouldn't be either... it's just a miserable feeling.

Tomorrow is Andy's 27th birthday and Cooper's 18 month birthday so we're gearing up to celebrate.  I'm hoping for an easy, relaxed weekend since I haven't been feeling too well.  Tonight I'm having a baby shower and then my last shower of the week will be on Sunday.  I'm trying to organize Clark's room the best that I can.  It's hard when we don't have everything yet and when a wild child comes in behind me and pulls everything back out.  Andy and I have both began to panic this week about Clark's arrival.  It's like the showers have made us realize he'll be here soon and we're clueless on how to raise two children.  I know we were clueless with Cooper and we'll manage just fine but we're scared!  I think the thing that has scared us the most is just how busy Cooper has become lately.  He also seems like he's entering the "terrible twos" a little earlier than expected.  He's fussy a lot, pitching fits, and has an attitude all of the sudden.  He's becoming a very picky eater and that's about to drive us both crazy.  We're having a hard enough time handling him, how in the world are we going to manage with a newborn??  Hopefully we'll just fall right into it like we did with Cooper, I know people do it all the time but it's still a daunting task thinking of raising 2 babies.  Keep us in your prayers!

Update on Andy

It's been a few weeks since Andy went to the dermatologist.  We kept waiting and waiting to hear back from the doctor with his results but the days just kept passing.  With each passing day we (well I since Andy isn't a worrier) worried a little less.  Everyone we know who has had experience with melanoma said they call you within a day or so if there's an issue.

Fast forward to this morning.  Andy finally got a call from the doctor.  He called me at work (which he doesn't often do) and told me that the doctor wants him to come back in next week to take more off.  I, of course, panic and assume the worst.  He said he wasn't really sure what it was but he didn't hear the word melanoma mentioned in the quick conversation and that I shouldn't worry.  I hope he's right!  I just wish they had called us sooner to let us know.  He goes in next Monday at 9am to have more removed and hopefully find out a little bit more about what's going on.  Keep us in your prayers until then please, I know I'll worry until we hear more from the doctor.

Mother's Day Weekend

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star. ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  I spent it all with my baby boy!  Cooper and Andy spoiled me big time and I loved every minute of it!  Friday afternoon, for our anniversary and Mother's Day, the boys treated me to a full pedicure, hair cut, and color.  It was so nice to have a few hours of pampering.  When I got home we went out to eat so I wouldn't have to cook.  I also picked out some Redbox movies of my choice.  I got The Vow and The Descendants.  Andy wasn't thrilled with my choices but he ended up liking The Vow and I ended up crying hysterically through parts of it.  I think my pregnancy hormones got me carried away.

Saturday Andy had to go to defensive driving school so Cooper and I lounged around all day.  He still isn't feeling 100% so we did a lot of cuddling.  He'd play for a few minutes and then come lay in my lap after a coughing fit.  I'm ready for my happy baby boy to be back, I hate seeing him sick.  Once he was down for a nap I cleaned some and watched The Descendants.  It was different but good.  Andy wouldn't have liked it.

Saturday night we went to eat with Andy's family for Mother's Day.  We went back up to his parent's and as soon as we pulled in the old van started smoking.  I've never been one to hide my feelings about our minivan... I don't like it.  It's very convenient for babies, traveling, and grocery shopping but at 25 I feel like it's cramping my style.  Andy tells me that since I'm about to have my 2nd baby that I'm in not "cool" anymore, he says I'm a mommy who needs to be practical.  Whatever.  Anyways the thing had smoke billowing up and we panicked a little.  After some looking Andy found that a hose had broke and we were leaking power steering fluid everywhere.  We couldn't drive it home so we took my mother-in-law's Civic home.  Andy let me drive and I forgot how much I enjoy driving a little car.  Once we pulled in and I had to get Cooper out I quickly remembered why we got a van.  Little cars are so hard to get babies in and out of.

Sunday morning Andy got up and cooked me a big pancake and sausage breakfast.  It was so good!  His breakfast food always turns out so much better than mine.  Once we finally woke Cooper up he enjoyed it, too.  He loves pancakes!  We headed to church and Cooper made me the cutest picture frame magnet for Mother's Day.  The rest of the day we spent relaxing and visiting with my family.  All in all I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.  God has given me the best gift I could ever imagine in Cooper and I can't wait to celebrate next year with 2 boys!

Oh, and I'd like to wish the most wonderful and amazing woman I know, my mom, a Happy Mother's Day, too!

 My leopard print toes.

 Mother's Day pictures!

Photo Friday & 27 Weeks

We've made it to the 3rd & final trimester!  It's crazy to think that we've only got a little bit of time left before baby brother makes his grand arrival!  He finally has a middle name!  His "official" name is Clark Michael Smithson.  We finally came to an agreement and I love it!  At times this pregnancy has flown by, at others it has come to a stand still.  I can't wait to see Clark's beautiful little face.  I'm anxious to see who he looks like!  I figure he'll look just like Andy since Cooper did but I'm hoping he'll have a little of me in him.  Cooper is still the spitting image of his father but has traces of me in some places, especially his nose and chubby cheeks.  

This has been a bit of a crazy week for us.  Andy's been slammed at work due to Mother's Day and work for me has been a bit stressful with the school year winding down.   I seem to be carrying some extra stress these days (I won't bog you down with all the details) but hopefully I can stop my useless worrying soon.  We celebrated our 3 year anniversary this week with a nice date night to ourselves and are moving into Mother's Day weekend, Andy's birthday week, and a week full of baby showers.  Clark and I have got 3 showers scheduled this week and I'm excited about all of them!  Hopefully we'll get a little down time this weekend to relax.  Here are my photos, enjoy!

 This was the only nap Cooper took this past Saturday and it lasted maybe all of 15 minutes.  I'm not sure what was going on with him (virus, teething, or what) but needless to say it was a LONG day for everyone.

He's OBSESSED with the little aprons they have in the church nursery.  Every time we take him he goes straight for them.  It's so funny to see him develop little quirks for every where we go.  Most of the time he has them all on.  This day he decided to just wear one.

He knew I was trying to take a picture of him so he kept closing his eyes... so silly!  I had to blow dry his hair this night because it's so long, like boy band long!  He desperately needs a trim but he hates having it cut so much I keep putting it off.

  A little treat after my sugar test.

Someone was super sleepy, even after a 3.5 hour nap!

Andy has been playing softball for about a month now and Cooper and I finally made it to some games.  It wasn't easy keeping my busy 18 month old contained (there were foul balls everywhere that made me a nervous wreck) but I was glad to finally watch Andy play.  These 2 pictures were right before and after he nailed a poor guy in the shin who was on deck.  I'm really surprised nothing in his leg broke, it was that hard of a line drive foul ball.  He had to sit out the rest of the games and Andy felt awful!

Cooper woke up crying at 6am Thursday morning.  That's about 3 hours earlier than his normal wake up time.  He had a dirty diaper but wouldn't go back down.  He wasn't a happy camper but a little bit of food and Curious George slowly cheered him up.

This chair was one of my few yard sale finds from last weekend.  It's a little recliner and we had the perfect spot for it in our bedroom.  It's a little dingy, I've got to find something that cleans microfiber well.

Enjoy your weekend!

Better Safe Than Sorry

The last couple of weeks Cooper just hasn't been himself.  He's been super fussy, whiny, and clingy.  He's had bad diapers, a bottom I can't get cleared up, a runny nose, and has been pulling at his ears.  He's stayed true to himself though and hasn't ran a fever in the midst of all this.  It's been very hit and miss as well.  One day he'll be fine, no runny nose, normal diapers, and running full speed ahead.  Then the next day he lays around, won't play, and has snot pouring down his face.  I kept telling myself it was just teeth but finally decided it's gone on long enough.  He woke up at 6:00am this morning with an awful diaper, runny nose, and kept poking at his ear.  Still, he didn't have a fever.  I almost wish when he's sick he'd run a fever so at least I'd have a clue of what was going on.  I left him in my mom's hands while I went to work but called first thing to make him an appointment.  It seemed like he was progressively getting worse as the day went on.  He was extremely fussy, not eating, and not sleeping well.  I figured once we got there they'd tell me it was just a cold or that he was teething.  That's usually how it works but I needed some peace of mind, he'd been back and forth for too long.

Before we left for the doctor I checked his temperature (the old fashioned way) at it was 100.6.  We got right in at the doctor and Cooper weighed a whooping 21.10 pounds.  He's still so little!  Back in the room he just laid on the exam table with Binks (his blanket) and let me rub his back.  I knew he didn't feel well when he did that.

His ears looked good, thank goodness!  He had 8 or 9 ear infections before his first birthday and then they just stopped... he hasn't had one since.  I'm so glad we didn't end up having tubes put in like we had planned on.  He sent us for a strep test.  Cooper loved having his throat swabbed.  He took it pretty well surprisingly.  Of course, it came back negative.  So... he's got a resporitory virus.  There is nothing we can do for it.  I hate viruses!  His lungs sounded good with no wheezing so at least we won't have to use his inhaler.  Hopefully it will all pass soon, I just want my happy boy back!

3 Year Wedding Anniversary

Today Andy and I celebrate our 3rd year of marriage!  I know I say this in all my posts but I really can't believe we've been married that long.  I'll be the first to say that marriage hasn't been easy but it's been worth every second of it.  I'm so thankful to have a loving, caring, hardworking, handsome, and sweet husband.  More importantly, I'm thankful that he's such a good man of God.  He's a wonderful father, partner, supporter, and best friend.  I love to reminisce on this beautiful day 3 years ago by looking at pictures.  Here are some of my favorites, enjoy!

We got married at my childhood church, Flintstone Baptist.  That's where we also attend now.

 Andy's dad is a preacher so he married us.

Andy cried more during the ceremony than I did.  : )

Dancing with Dad, crying my eyes out!

He smeared my whole face with the cake, I was very mad at him for that!

We had our reception at the Chattanooga Trade and Convention Center.

Here we are today on our 3rd wedding anniversary.  I was pregnant on our first anniversary and am now again on our 3rd!  God sure has blessed us and our family in our 3 years of marriage!