Fall

Cooper had a nice little fall on Sunday afternoon. We came home from running errands in town and we took Cooper out of the car and let him walk in the house like he does every single time he gets out of our vehicles. I don't think he was paying too close attention since he was playing with Jason's pop bottle, but he tripped over the mat right in front of the door to the house and fell on the small step right in front of the door. He cried and cried, we loved/comforted him, and he was put down a for a nap.  At that time, he looked completely normal. When he woke up 2 hours later, I went in to get him and the left side of his face and lip was swollen. I couldn't believe how different he looked from the time he went down for his nap until 2 hours later. I immediately called the emergency line for our dentist office and gave him some Tylenol. He didn't complain much and acted normal. I felt absolutely horrible and still do. I wanted to help him get better in the worst way, but there was nothing I could do. And dentist offices aren't open on Sunday's, so I knew it would be a day before I could even see if I could get him in. He slept fine that night and I called as soon as they opened on Monday. We were able to get an appt at 3:20 with his dentist. Jason brought him up and I met them. What we found out was that he has probably the worst dental injury you could have, which is an impacted tooth. Both of his front teeth and possibly another tooth were basically shoved up into his gums. The dentist said they may come back down, but we'll have to wait and see. He said x-rays wouldn't have helped him see if he's done permanent damage to his permanent teeth and we'll know that when his permanent teeth grow in. For now we are to watch him to make sure he doesn't get an infection and basically let his mouth heal on its own. He was such a trooper letting the dentist look at his bruised lip as well as touch his teeth. I was such a proud mama. I wish I could take the pain away and trade places with him.  I hate seeing my kiddos hurt!  His swelling is probably at the worst point and from here on out it should go down. Please say a prayer for my big guy that he heals quickly and we have no future issues with those teeth.

Deer & Turkey Expo

I never thought I'd be excited to go to a Deer & Turkey Expo, but I admit, I kind of am.  I will not be dressing up in camo attire to attend it, but I will dress my biggest little guy in it.  We are leaving Tucker with my parents because I honestly don't think he'd do well.  He's my trying child sometimes and I know it's just his age at the moment.  Cooper will be super excited to go.  He's told me numerous times how he wants to go shoot big bucks with Daddy when he gets bigger.  I know he'll enjoy seeing all the big bucks as well as all the other fun things he'll get to do at the expo.  We're leaving early on Saturday, April 5th to head up to Madison, WI and then we'll come home that evening.  Super excited to take a road trip with my boys!  Check it out!  Looks like a good time!  http://www.deerinfo.com/wisconsin

Hawaii

We spent the week of January 18-25 on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.  It's the garden island and it's very lush and green.  We arrived Saturday, January 18th around 4:30pm.  We immediately went to the hotel, got checked-in, and went down to dinner at Duke's (restaurant on the hotel property).  The restaurant was right on the beach and no windows-all open.  It was a great way to start the vacation.

We did a lot of relaxing, which means we laid out a lot, but we also did a lot of sight seeing.  We drove to Waimea Falls, Waimea Canyon (which we didn't get to see since it was foggy), the coffee plantation, and up to the north shore. 

All of the sights were beautiful, but the one I enjoyed the most was the day we drove to the north shore.  They were having record breaking waves of 50ft high and we saw them!  I expected to see some surfers, but we didn't see a single one.  We got up there pretty early in the morning, so by the afternoon, the waves were more intense and they eventually closed down some of the roads up there.  I completely understand why since some of the roads are right along the ocean and I can only assume the waves were crashing over the roads. 

We also went to our first Luau and it was such a neat experience!  They showed us how they cook the pig in the sand and there was so much food.  And it was delicious.  :)  After dinner, we attended the show and it was very interesting to learn about the Hawaiian culture.  They performed many dances using many different instruments and performed all of it in the Hawaiian attire.

We had such a blast and it was so beautiful.  We are so thankful we were invited to go!

 

Waimea Falls

 

The North Shore and the waves.

 

The view at our hotel.

 

Another view from the pool.

 

Our group at Waimea Canyon....we are at the top and that is fog behind us.

 

Us at the resort.

 

This big guy had his 3 year check-up last week and he's growing like a weed!  Since Jason took him, I don't remember all of his stats.  He is in the 99th percentile for height and he weighs 39 lbs and some ounces.  Such a big boy!

 

And this little guy is my big eater.  :)  He had 2 pieces of pizza this night among many other things.  I think he's hitting a growth spurt because his shirts don't fit that well anymore and he's baring his midriff.  :)

 

Jason put up the first part of the back splash!  I love it and he's going to work on the rest this weekend.  It went up pretty quickly actually since the adhesive is really sticky and it held the tiles well.  Jason was nervous they'd fall down, but the adhesive worked great and there were no issues.  It was also pretty easy since the tiles are all connected and go up in one big piece, except for those little ones he had to be cut to fill in.  I can't wait for the rest to be put up and grouted so that my floors can go in!  And then it will be on to new carpeting for the entire rest of the house!  Yahoo!

Cooper = 3

My big boy turned 3!  Oh my goodness.  There is so much to say about this sweet boy.  He is so caring, smart, fun, hilarious, naughty at times ;), rambunctious...the list could go on and on.  We just love him to pieces and I can see each and every day how much older he's getting.  Yes, it makes me sad as I remember back to the day he was born and how quickly the past 3 years have gone, but I love him getting older and being able to experience so many new things.  This year will be the best yet and I can't wait for all the fun things we have planned for him!

We celebrated on Saturday at Happy Joe's with family and it was a success!  Lots of yummy pizza and cake was consumed and it's safe to say Cooper and Maggie had a blast in the game room.  I know Maggie was super pumped about Cooper's birthday party....she kept on telling her Mom the party was going to be awesome!  :)  Cooper received a ton of great gifts and won't put any of them down!

His actual birthday was yesterday, so we saved our gifts until then so he'd have something to open on the day of his birthday.  He got a bike, helmet, a baseball tee, baseballs, a bat, and a glove!  It was warm enough out yesterday, 46-47 degrees, that Daddy, Papa, and Cooper went outside to play baseball, ride bikes, and ride his tractor!  He had a blast and he was pretty good at hitting the ball off the tee!  I have a feeling I know what we'll be doing this summer.  ;)

We ended the day with dinner and cake, again.  We sang Happy Birthday to him and he loved blowing out the candles.  He's a special boy and we just love him more than words can describe.  Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Christmas and House Update

We had a few Christmas celebrations this year, so I'm probably thinking Cooper is pretty sure you get to open presents 4 different days.  ;)  We celebrated a few weeks ago with Jason's Mom and Dad and then we celebrated 1 week ago with Jason's Dad and Mary.  We had a wonderful time visiting with Gary and Mary and the we received some very nice presents!  Thank you for everything and we're looking forward to visiting in a few weeks!  Gary also retired from his job last week, so we celebrated that as well.  Congrats, Gary!

This past week on actual Christmas day, the boys and Jason and I celebrated at home by opening presents and then we went out to lunch with my parents.  The boys loved what Santa brought them!  This past weekend we celebrated with my side of the family and it was crazy. Lots of little ones running around and lots of wonderful presents.  Great food and great company as well! 

Last Sunday, Cooper was sleeping and sleeping.  It was finally 8:30 and I decided to actually go in his room instead of just opening his door to check on him and when I did, he was on fire.  His temp was 103-104 and I knew he didn't feel good.  He was offered cake and all sorts of yummy goodness and he would eat only a bite and then put it down.  We gave him Ibuprofen/Tylenol and it would help, but his fever would come back right away.  I decided that if he still had a fever during the night and when I got up for work the next morning, that I was going to stay home and take him to the doctor.  At 5am when my alarm went off Monday morning, I went in to check on him and he still had his fever.  I called the doctor at 8am and made an appt for 10:30am.  They did a rapid strep test and within a few minutes, they came back into say he had strep and called in a prescription.  He's on medicine for a few more days, but the medicine worked quickly and he was back to normal. 

Friday afternoon Jason decided to start putting in our wood laminate flooring in the entryway and completed it yesterday morning.  It looks great and what a change from the 1970's vinyl.  I love it!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Cooper showing his cookies and milk for Santa and his carrots for the reindeer.  :)

Before of the entryway with the beautiful wallpaper and flooring.

Another before of the entryway.

And the after of the entryway.  All wallpaper is off, new front door, and new flooring. It's coming along!

Happy 1st Birthday, Tucker!

Tucker turned 1 year old yesterday.  Such a big boy.  And a little stinker, I might add.  We didn't do anything crazy since Jason is traveling.  My family got together and went to Happy Joe's to celebrate.  The big celebration will be this weekend at our house.  I can't wait!  Jason was bummed he didn't get to see him on his actual birthday, but Tucker won't remember. 

Tucker's walking around like crazy.  He took his first steps at 9 1/2 months, so he's had a few months to practice.  :)  He's a solid little guy and is pretty tough.  He does get his feelings hurt quite easily when his brother is mean to him.  For the most part, he's the happiest little guy you'll ever meet.  He has a smile on his face the majority of the time.  He's a pretty special little boy.

Happy 1st Birthday, Tucker!  Mommy, Daddy, and Cooper love you so very much! 

Christmas #1

We celebrated Christmas with Jason's Mom and Don this past weekend.  They came down Friday and we had to open presents that evening.  Cooper is super into the present action this year and wants to open every single one, even if they're not his.  :)  He got some really nice gifts and loves them all.  Tucker got a fun little car to ride on and he likes to do it side-saddle.  They both are enjoying playing with everything and had a great time visiting.  Thanks again!

Saturday morning we had family/1st birthday/3rd birthday pictures taken with Angela Wyatt.  We have only seen one and we're super excited to see the rest!  Can't wait!

Yesterday we went to Santa Brunch and Cooper was star struck by Santa.  He kept making an 'O' face and wouldn't talk at all.  This was the best picture we could get.

 

 

This photo was taken from a couple weeks ago when the boys went to see Santa at Bass Pro in Peoria.  They were both less than thrilled to see hin. 

 

 

 

Yesterday afternoon into last night we had some snow!  Cooper was super excited to see it and we have yet to go out in it as Daddy thought it was too cold out.  Hopefully soon we can get outside and make a snowman!