The many faces of Cooper Rafe..such a colorful child!

Coop has me cracking up daily. He has so many different facial expressions, and I never know what he is thinking. Cooper has turned a complete 360 and come out to be a different baby. All within 2 weeks, he is sitting, understanding words, and trying so hard to crawl and talk. He even throws tantrums..which means it's almost time for us to start spatting his legs and saying no!! That will be very hard..but necessary. He is all over the house. I was talking to Erin on the phone today, and I hear Cooper really loudly. I get up to go get him, and he is in the hallway next to his room. He was coming in there where he heard my voice I guess. I'm gonna have to put this child in a play pen.

Sitting all the time

Here is Cooper again, getting stronger every day. He can sit for about 5 minutes at a time!!

Off to church..then home to play!

This was Zac's weekend to be on call, so of course he has the work phone...and at 5:30 am that dumb phone rings and wakes us all up. So we have already had a long morning. Since we got up, I might as well just get ready for church early. So it was just me and my baby bundle at church this morning. When I went to get him after the service, he was having fun and did not even pretend that I was alive. Very hurtful. They also said that he decided today in the nursery that Winnie the Pooh is his favoritest character. Another kid was playing with Pooh, but Cooper, mouth wide open and hands flailing, reached over and grabbed it from that kid. (Way to go Coop!!) And yes, he held tight to it the rest of his time in the nursery. Then we came to play and also saw the Titans were losing..sooo we had to put on Coop's Titan gear for good luck. ( The last picture is not from today...it's just cute so I put it up...he looks so innocent doesn't he.)

Cousins

So, I got up this morning and watched a video of sweet Finn. He was so peaceful and quiet and is just at that precious baby stage where all is well. I also woke up to discover I have caught Coop's terrible cold, which is 10 times worse than that dumb swine flu. Anyway, I was trying to read Erin's blog and watch Finn's video but this atrocious noise kept distracting me...(cut to the video, which is also probably distracting you at this very minute). Yep, my sweet baby is now just a noise machine, no more days of peace like when he was Finn's age....nice job Finnster, way to show us up.

More sitting

Dr

Coop gained a ton of weight. He is now 17 lb and 15 oz. Today he got his 6 month shots and a flu shot. But the doctor said since he already had H1N1, that he didn't have to get that vaccine. But gosh, he HATES those shots. The second I picked him up though, he was happy!.So funny

Sitting!!

Big Day!! Cooper sat by himself today for the longest we have seen. In the picture of course he has a toy in front of him that he can hang on to, but the original sit was totally prop free. I was so proud of him. Now if he does that a little each day, he'll be sitting very soon!! (Which would help me out sooo much).

Uncle Zac and Aunt Em

Yep..we are already so in love. But no, it did not give me the baby fever just yet. I can't believe we are aunts and uncles. Now we have such a complete family!! It is so fun and Finn is just the cutest. Finn let out a cry, Cooper popped his head up, and looked at him like he was some foreign animal. It was so funny. He did try to grab Finn's face though. Ha

Finn is here!!

Erin had Finn yesterday at 4:40 and he weighed 8 lb 11 oz and 20 in . Yesterday was Coop's 9 month birthday, so now they share the same date. Finn is the most alert baby I have ever seen. His big eyes were just looking at everything and he was awake the entire time we were in the room. He is just precious.

Old friends and new babies!!

Coop and I had a weekend filled with old friends and new babies. Does Coop like other babies?? Nope, not really. Sunday we drove to Memphis to visit our old church, see my friend Kimberly that came in from texas with her new baby, and we also got to see Anna's new baby. It was such a fun time. Cooper and I were completely pooped at the end of the day. Then monday we went home to see Katie who also lives in Texas and was in town. Avery was trying to play with Cooper, and he was just not having it. It was hilarious. She is such a good natured baby. So it was nice to make the rounds and catch up with everyone.

6 months later...

Well, Cooper is now almost 9 months old, and it is also almost the 6 month anniversary of his heart surgery. Life has been so fabulous since we brought him home on April 7th with a repaired heart. We are happy, healthy, and have had no worries. This makes me so often stop, read my blog, and try to remember the days in the hospital which were filled with worry and prayers and believe it or not, incredibly strong faith. Sometimes it seems like a dream or I think.. how in the world did I do that and hold up and trust Jesus like I never have before? It makes me think that now my faith is not as strong, just because I am not in hard times (which I am thankful to not be in hard times). And I know now that it is just as strong, it's just that at that point, I felt completely one with God throughout every second of the day, because that was my only choice and that was what made me feel strong and happy. A song came on the radio the other day, and I love this song, because I always sang it to Cooper in the hospital. It fit us perfectly at the time and I sang it then with barely even a quiver in my voice. Now when I hear it on the radio, I can't even make it through without crying. I'm writing down my feelings so that in the days ahead when I read back, I can try to remember to live each day completely one with God, just as I did when times were so hard. The pictures above show Cooper at birth, surgery and now. He has come such a long way thanks to our Loving God!!

The song is Jeremy Camp's "There Will Be a Day"

I try to hold onto this world with everything I have

But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab

The many trials that seem to never end,His word declares this truth

that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold onto this hope, and the promise that He brings

there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day, when the burdens of this place, will be no more

We'll see Jesus Face to Face

I know the journey seems so long

You feel you're walking on your own

But there has never been a step where you've walked out all alone

Troubled soul don't lose your heart

Cause joy and peace He brings

And the beauty that's in store outweighs the hurt of life's sting

But I hold onto this hope, and the promise that He brings

There will be a day with no more suffering...

Heisman Coop

Coop and I pregame for a tough NFL Week 1 with a little photoshoot. Our ritual does not work on kickers.

For my Daddy

A little pick me up.. after a bad Florida State loss. If you did not see last nights game..let's just say it was not a happy time at our house. Did daddy at least handle it with class and grace?? NOPE. So me and mommy decided to play dress up and make dad feel better. We are such the creative cats.

Still Sick

Cooper's fever is down, but he is still croupy and cranky. He sleeps most of the day. Also, the newest news is that Cooper gave Erin (who is 38 weeks pregnant) the swine flu. You're welcome Erin. At least it doesn't seem like it's too bad. Coop has done very well with it. We still worked on muscles this morning though even with him not feeling great. I don't want him to take any steps backward.

Croupy Coop

Well, I took Cooper to the doctor this morning to check for an ear infection because he has had high fevers. The right ear was clear, but the left ear canal is still to small to see. Right before we left the office, the doctor wanted to check for the flu, which quickly came back positive. They did not type it, but she said it was H1N1 flu. She put him on antibiotics to treat an ear infection anyway because it can come along with the flu, and said just give tylenol and motrin. So, he is pretty sick and has slept all day She said we can expect up to 7 days of this. Wheww.