A New Year's Eve to Remember

As 2009 draws to a close, and we reflect on our lives and our families, I have an extra reason to do so. Tonight at about 6:15 p.m. my Grandpa Mower passed from this life to the next. After nearly 2 years of living after a major stroke, Grandpa finally found relief in death.

My mind tells me I should be sad, but my heart is rejoicing tonight as I think of the ultimate New Year's Eve party happening on the other side of the veil (we believe in the afterlife and that families and relationships continue beyond this life into the next). You see, my Grandma passed away nearly 46 years ago, and Grandpa has often talked of how much he missed her. Tonight they were reunited. In addition to their reunion, I'm sure there were many others to greet Grandpa: his twin who died at 11 days old; his parents; all of this brothers; his in-laws; and many, many others.

As we went to Utah this last week for Christmas, we were able to go visit Grandpa and introduce Cooper to him. Grandpa wasn't doing well that day and didn't know who we were, and cried while he sat with us before he fell asleep. It was heart wrenching and we all prayed that he would pass away soon to free him from the body that had become a prison to him. I knew in my heart that would be the last time I would see my Grandpa living. I was so happy to be able to get pictures of Cooper with his Great Grandpa.

Things I remember about my Grandpa:

• His AMAZING blue eyes. His eyes were more blue that any others I have ever seen--so blue they were piercing.
• When I was young it seemed he often had salami in his pocket along with a pocket knife and often cut off chunks of it and gave it to me.
• When I was young Grandpa was still killing cows for the butcher for a living. I'll never forget watching him crank the wench on a trailer, pulling a big dead cow up onto it to take to the butcher. I remember how big and strong he seemed and was amazed that he did this every day.
• I remember one spring when Grandpa's pig had babies. We went to his house and he took us out to the barn to see the piglets. I must have been about 6. I thought the piglets were so cute. It was the first time I remember being in Grandpa's barn and having him show us around it.
• Grandpa always grew a HUGE garden. He always had lots of tomatoes and cucumbers to share. He knew how to grow the most beautiful, juicy, red tomatoes. They were so tasty and in the summer he always sent us home with some.
• Grandpa knew how to cook very well. He did a lot of the cooking in his home. Often when we went for a visit he would make a nice dinner of ham, potatoes, the best rolls I've ever had, and more food than we could ever eat.
• Grandpa was always a huge advocate for reading. He didn't become literate until later in life and was always looking out for us grandkids to be sure we knew how to read.
• Grandpa was a very hard worker. He worked several jobs at a time, and worked up until he couldn't work any longer after his stroke.
• Grandpa was an example of service. He served two 18-month missions for our church with my step-Grandma, one in Perth, Austrailia, and another in Delaware. They also served as temple workers in the Bountiful, UT temple for several years. Grandpa was diligent in his service to the Lord.
• Grandpa always had advice to give when we would visit. He most often liked to tell me to be sure to buy two tubes of toothpaste and it would save my marriage from one less fight because if Nathan and I squeeze the toothpaste differently, two tubes would resolve it. We don't have a problem sharing one tube of toothpaste, but it was Grandpa's way of telling us how to compromise and find solutions and humor in living.

I could go on and on with memories of my Grandpa. He was always so happy and I know how much he loved me and the rest of his family. What a special way to remember the turning of a decade.

Cooper meets his Great-Grandpa Mower (Dec. 23, 2009).

Grandpa meets his two newest great grandsons, Calvin and Cooper, both born in 2009.

4 generations

My last picture of Grandpa. I love you Grandpa and will miss you!!!

What are YOU thankful for?

My Dad sent me the link to this video. I thought it worth sharing.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

So what are YOU thankful for?

Things to be Thankful for

We certainly have a few things to be thankful for this year. Among the biggies: Nathan finished school and started his new job, and we added Cooper James to our family. What a big year.

This year for Thanksgiving we have visitors! This is the first time ever that we have hosted Thanksgiving in our home. And who better to have come? Poppy (Nate's Dad) and MeeMaw (Michele) came to visit Cooper for Thanksgiving! This picuture was the first time Poppy held his new grandson.

Coop was all ready for Thanksgiving dinner, sitting in his swing for a few minutes while we all ate (it's blurry because I didn't stop the swing).

This was the yummy food we consumed in mass quantities...turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole (thanks, Mel!), corn, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, banana cream pie, chocolate pie, and apple pie. A pumpkin pie is yet to be made, but will surely be enjoyed later this weekend as well.

It is fun to have Nathan Sr. and Michele here for a visit. I couldn't have done Thanksgiving dinner without Michele, who was a HUGE help and I think did more food prep than I did (feeding/taking care of Cooper in between).

After dinner Cooper and I played and he was all smiles for awhile. It has been a good day.

Bring on the leftovers!

8 Weeks Old: Cooper Discovers Toys

Cooper turns 8 weeks old tomorrow!

In honor of his age milestone, I guess he decided to show us just how smart he really is. He has been watching us shake/rattle/squeak his toys for several weeks now. He usually watches intently, follows them with his eyes, and occasionally decides to try to smile or giggle about it. Today was something new. I laid him under his jungle gym of hanging toys while I tried to get the dishes done. Within a few minutes of laying there just staring at his toys, he started to repeatedly bat at this particualr toy, which has a bell in it. He loves this one. I thought he may be doing it by accident, but once it stopped, he'd hit it again. Smarty pants. He looks less than thrilled in these pictures, but I think he's just concentrating really hard.

(Yes, we need a video camera...it's on our Christmas list as our gift to each other. So soon I'll be able to post clips of him doing something rather than posting pictures like this.)

Follow up on musings...

Got the car registered. The DMV was EASY! Walked right in. No line. Had to make one call to my insurance company to have one little thing corrected, and VOILA! $48 later I was registered. No late fees. No taxes until next year. PHEW! (The Drivers License Division was a WHOLE other story. Ridiculous lines that you had to stand in, not sit. I took Coop with me to that one, and it was awful. But hey, that worry is finally off my to do list. Hooray!)

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Left Coop with the babysitter for the first time yesterday. It was only for 2 hours while I went to the DMV and ran a few other errands. The purpose was to let them get familar with each other before I return to work tomorrow. Tomorrow will be for 4 hours, and then next week it's all day. Boo hoo hoo. I didn't cry yesterday though like I thought I would. I tried to call my sister, Camyll, for moral support as I drove away, but she didn't answer. So I mustered my strength, took a deep breath, and focused on the tasks at hand. I'm sure sometime within the next week of dropping him off I'm due for a total meltdown in the car afterward.

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From a drawing at my doctor's office, I won a free photo shoot with a professonal photographer. They waived the sitting fee and I get a free 10 x 10 print. Woohoo! Coop and I did a 2-hour photo session yesterday, and the kid thinks he's a future model. I'm excited to see the proofs, but not so excited about the cost of their packages--too expensive for my taste. How will I ever choose just one?

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During the photo shoot we had Coop entirely in his birthday suit for a few (covering up unmentionables, of course). With the diaper off, he sneezed while I was holding him and pooted all over my hand. That was an experience I'll never forget. He pooped twice more--once all over the front of my new white shirt (good thing I was able to get it out!), and once all over their white background/floor. It was gross, but comical. Then he peed all over us 4 times. They said in their disclaimer that accidents are prone to happen. I told them it was Coop's punishment to us for taking his clothes off. Coop agreed.

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With Cooper's eye infection, his eyelashes have been matted/wet a lot. I have noticed how much they've grown in the last few weeks. With a son that is the spitting image of his father (I get asked by strangers if he's mine, and say he must look like his dad--thanks a lot), it's nice to know that he inherited ONE of my features--long eyelashes. Girls, eat your hearts out.

Random musings

Took Coop to the doctor today for what I thought was pink eye. Turns out it's an infection caused by his clogged tear ducts, which don't seem clogged to me at all seeing as they're pussing and watering like crazy. But whatever. At least I don't feel like a bad mom any more wondering how my 7 week old could have contracted pink eye. Phew.

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At the doctor visit they weighed Cooper. At 7 weeks and 3 days old he weighs 12 lbs. 11 oz. But that's with clothes on this time, so take a little off for that. They didn't make me strip him down this time. That'll be in 2 weeks for his 2 month. It will be fun to see how much he gains between now and then. He's really starting to develop a nice double chin, and has developed a new roll on his upper thighs. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to revel in such things as an adult? I have a few rolls of my own in various places, and they would never be considered anywhere near cute. Coop's rolls are so adorable it makes me just want to cuddle and love him even more.

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In the last several weeks of being a temporary stay-at-home mom I have been made to feel like an idiot by several insurance agencies and other such personnel for not having a copier, scanner or fax in my home. Who knew that in today's society such things are considered normal for a middle-class household? Last year we had to buy a new printer for our computer and I opted for the print-only model, not seeing much value in buying a much more expensive all-in-one machine. At the time I was working in an office, as was Nathan, and we both had access to such machines all day. But now I'm home and having to send more faxes, make more copies, and scan/email more documents to insurance people, HR people from work, doctors, etc. I think the people at the UPS store down the street know me by now. At least they know me by sight. And how in the heck does it cost $1.50 per page to send a long distance fax?! With the amount of copies/faxes and mailed documents I've had to send out in the last 3 months from home, I think I could have nearly paid for one of those all-in-one machines!! Hindsight... So if any of you need a computer printer in the near future--opt for the all-in-one.

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I need to get my car registered in GA. Maybe I shouldn't admit it, but last year I renewed in Utah since it was over $250 cheaper, we still technically were not considered residents of GA since Nathan was a FT student, and all I had to do was get online and renew. No big deal. It was great.

Well, this year is a totally different story. To renew in Utah I needed to get an emissions test done IN UTAH. Not possible. Plus, we're not students any more, so I knew I'd need to register in the state in which we reside. Well, my Utah registration expired in March of this year. I know, I know. But at the time I couldn't take time off work to go get it done. Registering a vechile in a new state is a NIGHTMARE!!! First you have to go get a new drivers license (and relinquish your old one, even if it IS the BEST drivers license picture you'll probably have in your entire life). Second...well, you get the picture. We've all had our DMV nightmares to relate to, I'm sure.

So yeah, my registration expired in March. Couldn't take time off work then. Decided to let it lapse until I could take time off, which would be some time in April. Well, then April rolled around and we were supposed to find out where we would be relocated for Nathan's job, and were told it would most likely be Charlotte, NC. Why would I want to register my car in GA and go through all that hooplah, only to have to re-register in NC 2 months later? So I decided to wait until we found out where we were going. Ha. Yeah. Ended up not being told where we were going until middle of MAY. Oh well. So by then I knew we were staying in Atlanta, but also knew we would be moving to another county the first week of June; the taxes in the new county would be cheaper. What would a few more weeks do? So I waited.

Silly me. By the time we moved and got unpacked, we were off for vacation after vacation out of state, and then I was SO uber-pregnant that I REFUSED to get my drivers license picture taken being so fat. I know, totally vain of me, but c'mon--those pictures are shown as ID for the next 5-10 years!!! No. Not happening with an extra 38 lbs on my body, at least 5 of it in my face. So I waited....

Well, now I've lost most of the baby weight, and it's fianally time to bite the bullet and get the new drivers license and car registered before I head back to work the end of this week. Only problem is...now I have an infant that I have to drag with me. It's tempting to wait.... LOL. Tomorrow I'm braving it and heading off to the DMV, infant in tow. Wish me luck. And do you think that if I tell them this same story they'll waive the late registration fees I'm sure to be socked with? ;o)

The Bright Side

Since my last blog was such a downer, I thought I'd blog today about the happy side of Cooper and the good things that are happening. Yesterday morning and again this morning, I woke up to a happy, cooing baby. His happy time is 6:30 - 8:30 a.m. This is when I get those beloved smiles, coos, and giggles, and he's very playful. THOSE are the moments that make the night before all worth it.

I wanted to take a picture of him smiling to put up on here, but this morning he woke up with pink eye, not a cute picture (but he was still happy!). So we'll put up a picture when he gets better.

After going through all the crying the other night I was doing some contemplation about my son's needs. Yesterday morning I got up and turned on a previously recorded episode of "Supernanny" while I ate my bowl of cereal. The family had a 2-1/2 yr old that was still sleeping in the parents' bed. Supernanny said this was a huge no-no and that he needs to sleep in his own bed to learn how to self-soothe, a very important life skill that should have been learned when he was much younger.

At that moment I thought to myself that I'd rather try to teach Cooper how to soothe himself to sleep now rather than later. I think it may be easier now, but I could be wrong. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a shot. So starting with his first morning nap yesterday we started letting him cry it out, and...

We ended up having a very successful day! Hooray for another good day! Gotta love that. I only let him cry up to 10 minutes at a time. His standard is seeming to be a good 10 minute cry, a 3-5 minute soothing from his mom/dad to reassure him we have not abandoned him and do in fact still love him, another 5-10 minute cry, a quick soothe from mom/dad, put him back down, he wimpers for a minute or two, and then he's asleep. Not bad for our first day. This was consistent throughout the day until the 5 o'clock grizzlies.

But I did get him to sleep by 10:00 last night, and he slept until 2:30 this morning, and then again until 6:30. Not bad, not bad at all. Incremental improvements are great.

Another thing we did was purchase a DVD called "Dunstan's Baby Language", which was recommended by my sister. It teaches you the 5 "words" or cries that a baby 0-3 months uses to communicate. Nathan and I watched it last night while Coop was crying it out. This morning I used what I learned, and it seems to be right. Hopefully this is a turning point for our little guy. Also, in the DVD, she talks about the cry they use to tell you they need to burp, and said that babies with reflux or who are naturally windy a lot will give you this cry throughout the day, even when not being fed. It is important to burp them when they give you this cry so the air doesn't move into their intestines and cause worse pain. She mentioned that if you try to notice these cries throughout the day and burp them every time, you'll see the "5 o'clock grizzlies" diminish. Hey, I'll try that FOR SURE!

We are certainly learning a lot, and do enjoy our little guy so much. Thanks for all the responses to my previous post--the words of encouragement, sympathy, and advice.