The BIG 0-5

Today is Cooper's 5th birthday! Today is the anniversary of the day that my world was flipped upside down, but since right side up hadn't been working for me, upside down became a welcome view!

This morning, I gave Cooper his present and he loved it!  I got him a portable DVD player for long car trips and the occasional instance when Mom must have the television (hello Criminal Minds!) He was so excited that he wanted to take it to school to show all of his friends.  Of course, I smacked that idea right down and he spent the better part of this morning pouting, poor Cooper... (that last part was sarcastic in case it didn't read that way...)

Since I was so annoyed with my kid this morning, I was forced to pull up one of my favorite pictures of Cooper of all time to remind myself of how fabulous he is. Maybe I just like him when he is sleeping, that could be why this is my favorite picture...

Happy Birthday Cooper!

Musings on a tiny Christmas tree

So, tomorrow is Coopy's big 0-5!  Today he has been feeling sick, so after his three hour nap, he felt well enough to put up the Christmas tree.  Now, he does not understand why tomorrow isn't Christmas.  His birthday is no longer good enough, now he needs some Santa lovin'!!

This brings me to our Charlie Brown Christmas tree... I get so jealous of my friends' world class Christmas Trees.  Someday, I keep saying, someday. I bought a little 4 foot pre-lit Christmas tree last year because Cooper wanted a tree and it was really cheap, great reasons I know.  This year, I set it up on a box to give it some height, but it is still just a pathetic little tree.  Now that I have dissed my little tree, let me tell you why I LOVE it. 

I love my tree, because Cooper LOVES the tree.  It is truly OUR Christmas tree.  We turned the television and computer off and spent an hour together unpacking decorations and putting everything together, it was such a precious time.  We unwrapped every precious ornament and I told him about why each one was important to me and to him.  I got to share the ornament that I got for my first Christmas, the first, second and third Scarlett O'Hara ornaments my mother got me to satisfy my lifelong Gone with the Wind obsession, the Smokey dog ornament that my parents got me for my first year at UTK (go Vols, next year we will overcome!), and my favorite ornament of all time... My favorite ornament is the little black baby in a basket that my sister, Erin, gave me for Cooper's first Christmas.  We scoured Hallmark for our options and we both agreed that a little white baby did not really work for us! So, my little mocha baby had a little mocha baby ornament... PERFECT! All of the completely mis-matched little ornaments on this little four foot Christmas tree work for our little family.  It is a great analogy for me and Cooper, a completely mis-matched, little work in progress. Each year, we add an ornament and the tree grows a little taller in our minds.  Maybe next year we will graduate to a six footer, but this year the four foot will do.

So, now, I am going to hop off this blog and go bask in the glow of our fabulous Christmas tree while doing a little holiday Facebook stalking...  TAKE THAT eight foot live tree with color coordinated peacock feathers sticking out of the top with your handpainted Portuguese ornaments, TAKE THAT!

Spiderman Jr.

Cooper has a new passion in life.  Rock climbing.  He is a natural.  All that climbing on the back of the couch, and climbing up ladders at Home Depot has really paid off...
Last night, he finally climbed all the way to the top of the wall and rang the bell.  Please tell me why, I was more thrilled than if he scored a three pointer in a basketball game.  Maybe, we will not be in the NBA... Now if we can just find some company willing to give a rock climber millions in endorsement deals... We'll work on it!
(Sidenote: please note how I said we when describing Cooper's future!  I am keeping a running expense tally and that kid is paying me back!  His wife will hate me because I will live with them! Seriously!)

Let's Start at the Beginning

So, about five years and eight months ago, I found myself in quite a pickle.  My nephew Eli was in the hospital with pneumonia and had to sit in an oxygent tent.  Well, as any of you with 2 year old children know, he wasn't staying in there alone, so I crawled in beside him.  After laying there a few minutes, I started to get real woozy and sick.  The nurse asked me if I could be pregnant and of course, I said Gosh NO! In my head though, I was thinking aw crap.  I wrestled with this for a month and honestly, my first thought was to not have the baby.  Ha, what a "choice!" I finally told my best friends and my sisters and they were all very supportive, though my older sister did have some choice comments to make first, haha.  So, I gathered the courage to tell my Mom, BIG MISTAKE.  I should have just had him and then apologized later...
The pregnancy was miserable, I was sick and I never felt that excitement because of the situation I guess.  I reluctantly began to prepare myself and when the day came, I made my friend take me to Methodist Germantown via Southaven, for those of you out of Memphis, calling that the long way is a serious understatement...
I had a 36 hour labor with no movement, so the doctor finally told me a C-section was the way to go.  When I had Cooper, I was just not sure what to do with him.  My sister held him first and then I just studied him, I was not sure what to think.  Looking back, he was fabulous from the first moment, chubby and mocha with dark hair and dimples that you could drown in, but I was just still in shock...
My Dad and sister stayed with me in the hospital and my friends all came to visit often, when they would leave, I shipped Cooper right back to the nursery.  I just didn't want to be alone with him. I took him to my sister's house to recover and the first night was miserable.  He stayed up all night and would not stop crying and even though I was at my sister's house, I realized that I was all alone.
I remember walking in my sister's room the next morning and telling her to take him away.  I was going to take a nap and when I woke up, I wanted that baby gone!  She very kindly (not) told me that I was being ridiculous and to lay down.  When I layed down, she put Cooper in my arms, turned the lights off, and walked out of the room.  At that moment, it literally poured over me, I fell in love.  I fell in love with that chubby little ball of crybaby.  I knew right then that I wasn't alone, I was the captain of the ship, but Cooper was going to be my little first mate (like that analogy?)
I still think about that on tough days.  I saw a glimpse of how much God loves me through the eyes of a parent.  It is pretty indescribable.  I love that little kid more every day.  He looks like my little mocha twin and he knows how to work his Mommy like a little pro.
Well, enough seriousness, I pretty much laugh about Cooper every day now, he is a mess even when he acts up, he is funny...
This is our story, still being written every day!

Inspiration

So, my friend Katherine has become a blogger and she has inspired me.  I am going to give this whole blogging thing a try... Stay tuned for my first post...