A Reception

Well, Zac and I had a great time at Ryan and Jenna's reception this weekend. All of Zac's friends were finally able to see Cooper. Cooper was very well behaved..I was so proud of him. Everybody loved him, and he got way more attention than I expected. But most important we got to see friends that we have not seen in a long time. At the hotel, we ordered a king size bed so that Cooper could be in between us. Well, we get there and we have two double beds. ( And Cooper rolls around now). So immediately, I lay Coop down on one bed to change him and he pees on it. So, I designate that as Zac's bed. Cooper and I went to bed about 10:30, and I got up at 3:00 to feed him and layed him back in the bed with me. Well, he spit up on his side of the bed and, the smart kid that he is, rolls away from it and squeezes so close to me that I am hanging off my side of the bed. Then, I finally wake up at 7:30 this morning and his head is buried into my side. Ughh, he is a wild sleeper. So even with two beds, we were both sleeping in some sort of Coop's bodily fluid. YUM.

A saturday together

Ahhh, I woke up this morning (after a full night sleep,that's right Cooper slept through the night ) to Zac making me pancakes. It was a very relaxing morning. Well, I didn't eat all my pancakes so Zac saved them. I went to the gym to workout and when I returned, my 5 month old had a pancake in his hands chewing on it. And as always Zac was photographing it. I just never know what I am going to find when I come back. Cooper chews on everything now though. All of his toys have little hard slobber spots on them. He still doesn't really like to eat though. Even though he slept through the night, he didn't eat what he should have to make him do that. Oh well.

Proud mommy and daddy

Cooper is getting stronger every day. I didn't know how fast Down's babies would do different things such as hold their head up, sit up, etc. I can say after being completely imobile in the hospital for 2 1/2 months, he's catching right up. Of course, I work with him every day even though he screams and hates it!! But he is doing very well at holding his head up, so hopefully, we can start trying rice cereal soon. Zac is so precious with him. The other night he was holding him and looked at himself in the mirror and said "Oh Emily take a picture, I want to remember him just like this. He'll never be just like this ever again" Oh, break my heart. That is one of the good things about Down Syndrome...we get more baby time than other parents. It's just such a precious time.

Cooper and the Raccoon

This weekend, Cooper got to go meet uncle David's raccoon..Ricky. Ricky is just the sweetest little thing. Mama fed him with a bottle, and he just cuddled up with her. Cooper was pretty interested in him because he moves a lot. And no...I did not let the raccoon touch Cooper. I was given strict instruction by Zac to not bring our baby home with rabies. It was so fun. It's not often you get to hold a wild animal.

My Precious Baby

Gosh is he cute or what?!! They are so precious when they are asleep. He had a bath this morning, because he has thrown up like 3 times and had two stinky poops. God definately gave me a challenge. Cooper is wonderful, but he is a really hard baby to take care of. Most babies eat fairly quickly, burp and go back to sleep. Cooper takes like 45 minutes to eat, then will burp some of the time and then will throw up, which means in the middle of the night, we both have to change clothes. I am usually cleaning carpet or the couch, then I have to rock him back to sleep and then I go back to bed. So, that usually takes about an hour. Then by the time I fall asleep after all of that, it's almost time to get up again. And Coop is just 5 months. I am in for a long ride. Just thought I'd give ya'll the details of a day in the life of Emily.

More tubes

Ugghh. Cooper still has this nasty cold and will not eat. So, this morning I got up and put an NG tube down his nose. It was so sad because he woke up just smiling and giggling . I felt like the worst mom ever, because he was so happy, and I knew I was about to make him cry. It's for his own good, but bless him. I felt sooo bad.

My first Mother's Day!!

What a great weekend...Zac and I got a house this weekend!! Yay. It is 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, all hard wood floors, with a nice fenced in back yard and porch. We are going to be moving in June. And then, today was my first mother's day and it was so special. Zac and Cooper woke me up this morning, and I had the sweetest home made card. Zac bought me a necklace/locket. Then we dedicated Cooper again at our parent's church, and I sang for Cooper's dedication. I pretty much made it through, but looked over at Coop once and got a little choked up. At least I made it through. And now we are back at home and relaxing. Sooo great being a mommy.

View from Zac's eyes

Zac took Cooper walking in his little back pack that sits on your front and then started taking pictures from above Coop's head. Is that not the sweetest face?! Cooper was up all night with a cold, and Zac came home from work and gave me the night off. I worked out, washed my car, got a manicure and pedicure, and got my hair done. It was so nice. Cooper did not eat anything for about 8 hours, and then finally started picking up today around lunch. I am taking him to the doctor tomorrow just to make sure that none of it is getting in his lungs. Hopefully he will get over this soon, because the sleepless nights are getting tiring.

3:00 AM

Cooper has a cold and has decided he wants to sit up and play in his swing. He can't breathe, can't sleep, doesn't want to eat. Now he is looking at his hand and just cooing. I am just sitting here looking at him.ughhhhh. so exhausting.

Baby Dedication

We dedicated Cooper today at church, and they had such a nice ceremony with pictures of him and a bible for him. He slept all the way through it until the end when people clapped and it startled him. I had him in a little white outfit with stitching on it which Zac said was girly, so we changed him into cozy clothes when we got home. Zac sat him on the couch with the remote like a "real man." Those two are such a mess. For Cooper's gift's, his nana and papa gave him a sterling silver baby rattle with his initials engraved on one end and his dedication date on the other. We love to fill his bookshelf with books.

Trip to Memphis

Well, we survived our first road trip. Cooper was GREAT. He slept for 4 hours in the car, and then decided to wake up and eat once we got to Olive Branch to eat with Dana, Darby, Cindi and Lindsey. Then, he was so happy the rest of the day. After we ate lunch, we went to Bolivar to Kimberly's mom's house and waited there until the shower. The shower was at 7, and it was so fun and crowded. She had such a good turn out. I got to see all the girls from our old church and there babies. Then, even though Coop slept all day, he went right to bed and only got up ONCE!! We're getting there finally. Then this morning, we went back into memphis and had breakfast with Laura. Cooper was not near as good today as he was yesterday, but he was extremely gassy. He slept all the way back to Nashville. I did have to reach to the back seat and hold his pacifier in his mouth for about 30 minutes (ouch), but that at least put him back to sleep. Tomorrow is baby dedication at church, and Cooper is the only little baby. So, we have just had a busy weekend. Zac was gone for 5 days, so I got to experience keeping Cooper with no help, and it is very busy.