25 Random Things About Cooper

Ugh! Where is everyone lately? I keep checking, and checking, and checking and no one is posting!!! That's okay, I guess. It must just mean that you're busier than I am, and maybe not quite so lame.

Anyway, I promised 25 Random Things About Cooper. So here goes:

1. Cooper's middle name is Jae. Jae means "to prosper" in Korean.

2. Cooper was born almost a full month early. You would have never known it though since he weighed well over 6 lbs.

3. Cooper has already been to Disney twice. Once while still in the womb and once last spring. He loved it both times!

4. Cooper will not sit and watch TV.

5. He eats like a horse.

6. He's very mischievous, but very sweet.

7. When we get to daycare each morning he throws his blanket and binky into the cubby because he's so excited for breakfast.

8. He's a good sleeper (when he doesn't have an ear infection).

9. His room is decorated with fire trucks.

10. He loves his Pap-Pap Richard.

11. When he's done with his food he throws it to the dog (a bad habit I wish we could break).

12. He loves to play outside.

13. He fears nothing.

14. He doesn't go far without his monkey blanket.

15. He growls like a dog when he see's his Uncle Shane and Uncle Kyle.

16. He hates to have socks on.

17. He's always been a whiner.

18. He loves McKenna and imitates everything she does.

19. He will climb on anything.

20. He makes me laugh.

21. He likes to dance.

22. He's fascinated with Tucker's eyes.

23. He likes to do puzzles.

24. He screams "Da-da" when Earl comes home.

25. He's an amazing blessing.

25 Random Things about McKenna

If any of you frequent Facebook, you might have seen a little thing going around called "25 Random Things About Me". It's something fun to do and a good way to learn a little about yourself and your friends. I did mine last night and got tons of comments about it this morning. So, today I thought I would do "25 Random Things about McKenna" just for fun. Here goes:

1. When she talks she sounds just like my mom.

2. She will not put eggs in her mouth.

3. She goes for donuts on Saturday mornings with her daddy and brother.

4. Her current favorite color is purple.

5. Her favorite vacation spot is Disney World (what kid's isn't?)

6. She's sucked her thumb since she was three months old.

7. She was born a week early, and I'm pretty sure that's the only time she'll ever be early for anything.

8. She's the best big sister any little brother could ask for.

9. She loves to lounge around on her days off from school and watch cartoons.

10. She likes crafts.

11. She asks lots of questions about God.

12. She has the cutest voice ever.

13. She loves macaroni and cheese.

14. She doesn't go far without her Bear-Bear.

15. She's a good listener.

16. She's my biggest helper.

17. Someday she wants to be a veterinarian.

18. She will tell you that her mouth runs like a ducks behind....and she's not lying.

19. She covers her face if she tells a lie, because she thinks we can see her nose growing.

20. Most days she will choose going to school over staying home.

21. She is compassionate.

22. She loves Mommy to tuck her in at night.

23. She complains about getting a bath, but then is the first one in the tub.

24. She won't take an afternoon nap for me anymore.

25. She doesn't want to go to kindergarten because someone told her you can't talk while you do your work.

Stay tuned for tomorrow nights "25 Random Things About Cooper". Hope you learned something new about McKenna tonight. Feel free to join me in listing 25 things about you or your kids. I would love to read them.

Heather - This One's For You!

As many of you know, I hate the snow. Well, hate is a strong word...but strongly dislike just about sums it up. Yes, I think it's beautiful when it first snows, but mostly it's a huge pain to me because I'm terrified to drive in it. That makes getting to work a little difficult when work is almost 30 miles away. But one of my oldest friends, Heather hasn't seen snow in awhile. We recently reconnected after way too much time. Today we talked on the phone for the first time and it was wonderful. It felt like we had just talked ten minutes ago, not ten years ago. But back to my main point. Heather is wishing for snow in Virginia where they only saw rain the past couple days. I told her I would gladly send some her way. And after we got off the phone today I looked out the bedroom window and saw perhaps the biggest, most beautiful snowflakes I have ever seen. So, Heather...I'm sending them your way. I apologize for the bumpy video footage, I should stick to nursing and not videography.

Not Me....Wednesday???

Today would be a great day for a Not Me post...except that it's Wednesday. But for lack of anything else going on around, here goes: The kids are NOT still in their pj's at 12:16pm. And I am certainly NOT in mine also! I did NOT bake a batch of cookies before 8am after we just finished a cake last night. I did NOT just put a movie on for McKenna and put Cooper for a nap, then race to the computer to check the blogs. I did NOT just finish copying a ton of yummy (yet fattening) recipes from Kelly's blog www.kellyskornerblog.com Scroll to the bottom and you'll find the recipe link on the left side. Oh, and while you're drooling over the recipes, say a little prayer for Kelly's baby, Harper, if you haven't done so already.

On a more positive note, I was reading Angie Smith's blog this morning. She recommended a book for those of us with small kids. It's called, Parenting the Way That God Parents: Refusing to Recycle Your Parents Mistakes. Now, I happen to think that my parents did a pretty darn good job, but I still ordered the book this morning. Is anyone else interested in reading it, too? Angie suggests getting a group together to read it. And even though I don't see some of you very often, and some of you I've never even met face to face...I thought of our little blog group first. Anyway, I'm going to be reading it as soon as it comes so if anyone else is interested let me know.

Well, I HAVE been putting off some cleaning ALL morning (and most of last night, too) so I guess I better get to it. For those of you who are having an unexpected "snow day" at home - enjoy. For those of you who are routinely home with your kids - I'm jealous! But regardless of what you're doing today, have a great one!

Not Me Monday

Here we are at Monday again. I guess that's good because it means Friday is only 4 days away! Actually, that's no good this week because I have to work 16 hours on Saturday. YUCK. But don't fear...I will be taking comp. time on Monday to make up for the time away from the kids on Saturday.
Just to let everyone know, I did NOT whisper to my husband at 5am, "How about the kids stay home with you today," while he was still sleeping so soundly he couldn't say no. I also did NOT feed Cooper cake after dinner fully knowing that he had a piece earlier in the day. I did NOT get a knot in my stomach as McKenna got picked next to last at gymnastics tonight (remembering what it felt like to be picked almost last...or dead last in some cases). And I did NOT tell McKenna that tomorrow night she can stay up as late as she wants because Wednesday is definitely looking like a snow day. What was I thinking?
Oh well, I guess if that's the best I can do for "Not Me Monday" I must be doing pretty well so far. More tomorrow!

Our Week In Pictures

Can you believe that I went an entire week without a post? I can't. I've got lots of pictures to share. Enjoy.

Monday evening : Shhh...don't anyone tell them that they're playing quietly together!

Tuesday : McKenna's portrayal of the Obama's on their big day.

Friday : A fun morning at the Children's Discovery Workshop with McKenna, Megan and Joshua.

McKenna at the Discovery Workshop. Check out the static in her hair from the slide and everyone's favorite...the tunnel.

Tucker relaxing

And, my all time favorite picture of the week....Cooper catching a little shut eye while I prepare lunch.

We rounded out the week with Sunday school and church this morning, an afternoon at Mimi and Pappy's for the kids, and some alone time shopping for me. I found tons of great deals today. Earl was on call today. His beeper went off 45 minutes before his call even started this morning and he just arrived home. Please pray that he doesn't get called back in over night tonight and if he does that he will be safe both driving and giving anesthesia.

More good stories to come this week. Oh, and I've been tagged by Libby, so that's to come also!

Looking Back

I'm sorry to say that I don't really have anything good for 'Not Me Monday'. Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things that I did not do this week...I just can't really think of them. They're probably so horrific I've already put them out of my head. Plus it's going to be really hard to top my Perkin's incident from last Monday.

I feel like I've actually run out of things to blog about lately. So I decided tonight to reach into the little basket of tricks I've learned from other bloggers. I went to my picture file. I opened the first folder (for January) and the ninteenth picture (for today). Here it is:

Does anyone recognize that adorable little girl. It's Cooper with pig tails -- Just kidding! It's McKenna at almost exactly 1. I remember the day that we took this picture. My mom was over and I wanted to take a picture for our Christmas cards. Thankfully the Christmas balls were plastic and thankfully my mom had enough patience to wait for a good shot.

And to be fair to Cooper, here is the 19th picture I have of him.

The quality isn't very good, but I have to stay true to my mission : 1st folder, 19th photo. This was the day we brought Cooper home. I hope that's really him...it doesn't look a thing like him! I absolutely love them when they're that little. He looks so disappointed, like "this is all I waited 9 months for - BORING".

So, that's my post for tonight. Just a little trip down memory lane. I'd reflect more about how big they've gotten or how much I miss them being little babies, but then I'd be in tears and we're not going there tonight. Not even for 'Not Me Monday'.

Weekend Re-cap

After all the thought that went into what we would do on Saturday, we ended up doing nothing! Well, I shouldn't say nothing. Our friends Dave and Kathy called Friday night and invited us over for dinner. Cooper did complete a right of passage in the Mowry household though. He was finally deemed old enough (and behaved enough) to go for Saturday morning donuts with Daddy and McKenna. This is something that Earl and McKenna have been doing since McKenna was 18 months old. After my Perkins incident last Monday I was a little nervous for Earl but the kids did great. Later in the morning we decided to skip the Discover Center and go to Lowe's and the grocery store.

Today we headed for Sunday school and church which pretty much takes up the whole morning. McKenna and I are making more of an effort to go to Sunday school. McKenna was a little hesitant this morning, but settled into the class just fine.

While Daddy cleaned the house after church, McKenna and I attempted to hang some pictures upstairs. We didn't get very far. I don't know why I'm so afraid to put things up on the wall. It's starting to drive me crazy. I guess I need to just do it and not think about putting holes in the walls of my new house. It's just a house after all!

Tonight my parents, Kyle and Catie came over for dinner. We had one of everyone's favorites -chicken bundles. Chicken, cream cheese and crescent rolls - need I say more? It was delicious. I just finished giving the kids a bath and putting them to bed. I have to admit to rocking Cooper to sleep. He's just the right size for cuddling. And I love the way his hair smells like lavender after a bath. He's really starting to talk now and has added, yes, cheese, Tighe, and banana to his vocabulary.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Nothing earth shattering, just us hanging out.
Hope everyone has a good week. I'm looking forward to someone posting a Not Me Monday! Don't let me down!

Wonderful Week

I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday already. Where did this week go? It seems like I just finished my 'Not Me Monday' and already I'm gearing up for Friday. I have to admit that I had been dreading this week. Earl worked evening shift all week, which meant that he wouldn't be around to help with the kids, etc. I had visions of the mania of chasing Cooper around during McKenna's gymnastics class and the trip with both of them for shots by myself was almost enough to send me running for the hills. That doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of baths, packing lunches, laundry, twice daily breathing treatments, dropping off and picking up each day at daycare...the list goes on and on. So, I'm very proud to say that even though we missed Daddy a lot, we had and AWESOME week. I can't get over how well the kids behaved and how smoothly the week went. I guess all those prayers worked!

We had a special night with Mimi and Pappy tonight going out to dinner and doing a little shopping. It's Gymbucks time at Gymboree! Mimi came back to the house with us and stayed while we did baths, snacks, Cooper's breathing treatment and books. That was "pretty cool" to quote McKenna.

We are looking forward to this weekend and hoping for some decent weather so that we can all get out of the house and do something fun. Anyone have suggestions? I was thinking the Children's Discovery Center in Williamsport, but I haven't decided yet. Maybe a trip to Harrisburg. I guess we'll wait and check the weather. At any rate, hopefully I'll have some new pictures for you next time. I'll admit to not having the camera out much since last weekend.
Check in next time to find out how we decided to spend our Saturday.

Blessed

So last night was pretty funny...at least looking back. Our Perkins trip was eventful, but again tonight I am reminded just how blessed I am to even be able to have experiences like that. I continue to be amazed, humbled, overwhelmed with world that has opened up to me through the blogging community. Since that first prayer request that Megan sent in October, I've always checked in on Stacy's blog and on 'Miracle Max'. Of course I've sometimes wandered onto other sites and read stories about other precious babies - some here on earth and some in Heaven. Tonight as I read on 'Miracle Max' I learned of another baby who has gone on to be with Jesus. It can happen just that quickly. A reminder to all of us, I suppose. I don't mean to be depressing, just honest, just counting my blessings slowly and deliberately again tonight. In the past few years I wasn't very 'connected' when it came to the internet. Lately I feel more 'connected' than ever before.

The kids are sleeping peacefully tonight after enduring a number of traumatic events (as far as they were concerned) at their well child check ups today. I was a little intimidated about taking both kids to the appointment by myself but it turned out to be the best appointment I think we've ever had. The staff was awesome, talking to McKenna at all times and not to me about what they were doing. And our pediatrician must have been sent from Heaven if she can work with me AND deal with me as a parent. I have never met a resident with more care and compassion. She is amazing. McKenna was of course upset about the four shots she had to get today. She probably would have been okay with one, but four...I probably would have had a problem with that. There were tears, but she was a trooper. As we were leaving we stopped at the desk to tell the doctor goodbye one more time. When she saw McKenna had been crying she got down on her knees and asked if McKenna would give her a hug. By the time they were done with their hug I think we were all crying. That's just the kind of doctor every parent wants for their children. Unfortunately, our doctor will be leaving us in May. But I have no doubt that she will move on to bless other families the way she has truly blessed ours.

Sending blessings to all of you tonight as I have been so blessed in my life...Emily

"Not Me Monday" - What a Great Idea

A couple of weeks ago I read about "Not Me Monday's" on one of Megan's posts. Her post was hilarious by the way. I thought it was a cute idea, but wondered exactly what my "Not Me Monday" might look like. Well, here goes...

I did NOT come up with some crazy idea to take both of the kids to Perkins tonight by myself after gymnastics. And I did NOT watch as Cooper smashed a coffee creamer on the table sending creamer flying everywhere. I did NOT give the kids the choice to order the pancakes with sprinkles and whipped cream (thank God they chose the mac and cheese). I did NOT give Cooper ketchup even though I knew he would just play in it. I definitely did NOT watch as he then smeared the ketchup all over my recently laundered white winter coat. I did NOT have to tear him away from the table in the middle of dinner to take McKenna to the bathroom. (Why when you're five years old do you have to go pee every single time you're out to eat? And why do you have to wait until the food comes to decide you have to go?) And I did NOT inhale my entire meal in record speed so that I could get out of there as quickly as possible.

Whew! What an evening! Earl called on our drive home. Our conversation went something like this:

Earl: Where are you?
Me: On the way home from Perkins.
Earl: You took both the kids to Perkins...by yourself.
Me: Yep.
Earl: That's like....suicide.

It wasn't really that bad...but it certainly did make for a good "Not Me Monday". Thanks Megan for the idea and the laughs! Oh, and one more for good measure...I did NOT find Cooper playing with window clings in the toilet yesterday! Gross, I know.

Hope everyone had a better Monday than me! At least you can have a laugh on me today!

Finally, a SNOW day!

It took a little longer than usual I guess, but we've finally got a real SNOW day! No ice this time, thankfully. Aside from creating a bit of a mess with the plans I had at work this weekend, the snow was a welcome sight for us. I think that we're all appreciating a day that we're pretty much forced to stay at home and relax.

McKenna wanted to head outside as soon as her feet hit the floor this morning. We managed to convince her to wait until there was a little more snow on the ground. Around ten we finally gave in and I began the process of dressing 2 kids in snow gear. Looking back, this was my first time attempting such a feat. It took a little while, and I thought McKenna might start to sweat if I didn't hurry, but finally we were outside.

I wasn't sure what Cooper would think about the snow. I'm sure that we probably had him out for a short time last year but I can't quite remember. Sad, I know. Needless to say, he loved the snow! He and McKenna played around a bit and McKenna made a snow angel. What Cooper wanted to do most was chase the dog around the yard. But there's still a lot of ice under the snow making walking difficult. Getting Cooper back in the house took a lot of convincing and ended in a few tears. Nothing a little hot chocolate (well, more marshmallows than hot chocolate) couldn't fix.

It's now about 1pm and McKenna is outside with the neighbor girls (and their mother) playing in the snow again. It causes me slight anxiety because all I can think of is sledding accidents (it's a job hazard), but I have to let her be a kid. So, I'm going to fight the urge to look out the window every three seconds and I'm going to enjoy the few moments of quiet in the house right now while McKenna plays and Cooper snoozes. I guess there's plenty of time to be neurotic later.

As promised we (the kids and I) spent the today at home. Earl was brave enough, or maybe just crazy enough to head out at 5:30am in the ice. I swear he will stop at nothing to get to the hospital. An hour or so later he called to say he made it. The kids and I spent the morning on the couch watching cartoons and playing games. After yet another sleepless night, Cooper and I also took a short nap. Around 9 I called the doctors office to make an appointment for Cooper. Something told me that his ears were the source of his crankiness and the lack of sleep. Shortly later I ventured outside to assess the ice situation on the car. I couldn't believe just how much ice covered the entire car. It took me a good 5 minutes to get into the car and another 20 or so to get enough ice off of it to see out the windows. By the time we all were loaded in the car I couldn't tell if I was soaked with rain or just sweat...gross, I know. It turned out to be worth all the effort. Once again Cooper has bilateral ear infections. Not surprising considering that Earl and I both suffered from similar problems as kids. I'm not quite sure how McKenna escaped the same fate. So, antibiotics AGAIN. I shouldn't complain. It could all be much worse. It's just so frustrating. I guess it gives me more of an appreciation for what the families at the hospital go through.
McKenna was so sweet today, getting Cooper drinks and covering him up with blankets while he slept on the couch. When I told her I could do those things she said, "Well that's what big sisters do, they take care of their little brothers." How sweet. Maybe I should remind her of that the next time she yells for me to get him out of her room. I suppose that's another thing sisters do though! She's a great big sister, but if you ask her if she wants another brother she says, "No way, I can't take care of two babies. How would I do that?" Too funny.
The rest of the day turned out pretty well. We played some more, McKenna and I made window clings, and tonight we danced with Daddy and had some silly time. As of 8:30 the kids were sleeping peacefully. We'll see how long that lasts tonight. I guess I should take advantage of the time quiet to get some sleep myself.

Ice Day?

Hmm...Ice Day...doesn't have quite the same fun ring as "snow day". But who cares, right? We're not thrilled about the impending ice that is forcasted for tonight and tomorrow morning. What we are excited about is the chance to spend another day together. Stuck in the house is much more fun with two little ones to entertain you. (Well, let me clarify...it's fun for a day, maybe two.)

Anyway, I'm supposed to be taking Christmas garland off of my stairway while the kids are down in the basement with Earl riding their little bikes and playing with the kitchen set. I got about 1/2 way done before I couldn't help but check in on the blogs.

McKenna started back at gymnastics last night after their Christmas break. I remember thinking that January 5th seemed so far away. But there we were again! It seemed like we never had a break. This session is much better than the last. The kids are smaller and the class is smaller in general. Of course, McKenna is still the smallest (not youngest, just smallest) kid in the class. I guess she doesn't have much hope in that department. She's only got Earl's genes to work with.

I think Cooper is cutting teeth because he hasn't been sleeping well lately. On Sunday night he woke up at 10:30. It was 3:39am when I finally got him back to sleep. Luckily he wasn't grouchy the entire time. He wanted to play and have a snack and feed the dog. I wasn't really into all of that to say the least. Needless to say, we were both exhausted when it was time to walk out the door at 5:50. Sometimes it amazes me just how little sleep I can actually function on these days. I don't really blink anymore after getting only 1.5 hours of sleep. Sad, very sad. And I call sleeping four straight hours a good night. Again, sad. I know there are many others of you who are feeling my pain. Pass around the toothpicks I guess. Maybe it's good to know that no one is getting sleep. At least we all have company when we're rocking at 2am desperate searching for something decent on TV while our kids cut teeth!

Such talent. What can I say? I think you might be able to see to his toes!

No random thoughts tonight. Just a couple of new pictures as promised! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Trying to stay up to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. We didn't make it but we had fun trying.

Cooper didn't make it either...notice his little "New Year's" hat he made at daycare.

"So Pap, why do you think Penn State stinks today?"

We get a A+ for spirit.

Random thoughts

I really don't have anything in particular to write about tonight, but for some reason I feel like writing. In my former life (before kids) I liked to write a lot. I was actually kind of good at it once upon a time. It's not secret that a career in nursing doesn't really lend itself much to writing unless you're doing research. I'm not quite into that type of writing. So anyway, here's your chance to move onto another blog tonight. My thoughts are random and may even be wandering from topic to topic.
The past few days have been pretty great. In the past I've never thought of myself as being the stay at home mom type. Usually three or four days at home are enough for me. Usually I'm happy to get back to work. But I have to admit that having this time off for the holidays has been awesome. I'm not planning on turning in my nursing shoes just yet, but this is the first time in a long time where I've thought I might be able to do the stay at home thing for awhile. I think part of it goes back to the fact that this is the first time in literally as long as I can remember that I feel "settled". As long as I can remember Earl and I were always planning for something or knee deep in some project or big plan. A house, the wedding, a baby, ANESTHESIA school, another baby, a house....it just has seemed to go on and on. Now that we're here in the new house, unpacked and with the holidays behind us I have found a new sense of calm. Agreeably, our lives have never been busier or more chaotic with two kids and two full time jobs, but for the first time in so long we are not aggressively chasing some goal...we can relax. IF, we can remember what that means.
We tried relaxing this weekend. Today we all stayed at home...until 2:30pm. As soon as Cooper woke up from his nap we put on our coats and headed out the door. So much for a day at home! I guess we're just not that type of family. We talk a good talk, but when it comes down to it we love to be on the go. After a quick trip to Lowes, Earl is eagerly hanging the six blinds in our sunroom. And I think he's actually enjoying himself. The kids have been asleep for awhile now. The break from daycare has been good for them but McKenna has already asked when she goes back to see her friends.
I guess I can't really say that I'm looking forward to returning to work on Monday. I guess it's time though. I'm so grateful for the past two weeks and I'm so looking forward to the months ahead. I know that it will be spring before I can blink. That terrifies me some, but so far I haven't found a way to slow time down at all. I'm open to any hints so feel free to leave a comment!
I guess that just about wraps up my random thoughts for tonight. I hope all of you were able to relax over the past couple of weeks or can at least do so in the weeks ahead. For those of you on the blogs, I'll continue to look forward to your posts! Keep those great stories coming.
I promise more pictures of the kids on the next post!

Happy New Year

Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We had a very low key evening here last night. McKenna attempted to stay up to watch the ball drop, but announced much to my relief, that she was ready for bed at 10pm! Cooper was ready to welcome in the new year promptly at 5:15 this morning. I can't say I shared his enthusiasm to begin 2009 quite so soon.
Today we spent a quiet day around at the house before hosting a few family members for the Penn State game. I'm sure many of you saw it, so I don't have to fill you in on the awful details.
It's kind of sad that the holidays are over already. They seem to fly by more quickly every year. I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, although I am making it a point to spend more time with my family and take more pictures. We are looking forward to my dad's "semi" retirement this year. It will be nice to have him around even if it's just a little more. I'm looking forward to the spring and summer when we can get outside and Cooper can run around and play. I think he's going to be a lot of fun this year. And we're going to take advantage of our time with McKenna before she starts school in the fall and hopefully sneak in a vacation sometime in May. I must say that's the only thing I dread about 2009, McKenna starting school. I'm trying to look for the positives....but I can't really come up with any. If you thought I had a hard time with her turning five, I'll probably be an outright basket case when she goes to school.
In all, we have been extremely blessed in 2008. Admittedly, we had kind of a rough summer. We miss Grandpa Ron and Uncle Larry for sure. But we have so many wonderful memories from this year that we will cherish.
Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2009.