Welcome to Cooper's First Website!

As you probably can guess - Cooper is getting so big. He is talking non-stop, is already eating us out of house and home and even starting the potty training business. Today he even told me he had to poop on the potty BEFORE he went in his diaper...that was a big step for him and good cause for us to be excited. He hasnt worn a diaper in a week and there have been accidents, but not as many as we thought we would be having. He is signed up for swim lessons starting April 13th and he is pretty excited about that! We decorated his room in January - sports/Ohio State. He loves Brutus and sports so he has a "big boy room"now! There are pictures of it on this website and on Facebook (both Shane and I are on there, so look us up!). He has a swing set outside and a 4-wheeler...he loves that the weather is getting nicer out. He is total boy and loves to play rough and get dirty! He has LOTS of 'girlfriends', Roxy is his best friend, and the teachers always tell us at daycare how much of a big helper Cooper always is. We love him to death and love watching all the new things he does every day! And more now than ever, we realize he is such a miracle to us and such a blessing.

Shane and I are doing ok. Shane is working a lot of overtime right now, which is good. I was laid of Feb. 17th due to the economy. Akron General laid off over 250 people...I happened to be one of them. I got a severance package, so we are doing ok for now coupled with Shane's overtime. At first we thought it was a blessing as we were expecting baby #2 (we hadnt told anyone since I was only 6 wks). Unfortunately, Feb. 21st I woke up to lots of blood and we went to the hospital - another miscarriage (that makes miscarriage #5 for us and why we dont share good news so soon). They did surgery (a d&c) and I recovered really good and even started looking for a job. Then an intense pain in my stomach took me down a few days. After going to the doctor, it was discovered I was actually pregnant with twins and the second baby was tubal. I was sent to the hospital March 10th straight from the dr and had emergency surgery. When they went in, they saw everything was wrapped around each other and more than 10x's its normal size - they no longer could do just a laproscopy...they had to make a large incision along my c-section scar. Since the size was so large and ready to rupture, they had to take out one of my tubes and an ovary. The dr said I was very lucky cuz had it actually ruptured I would have been bleeding internally. The chance of a heteretopic pregnancy is "RARE" at best. My dr has been doing this for 16 years and I was the first case she has ever had of it. Four practices in Akron got together to review my clinical case study and all 4 determined the same thing. So the first question we get is "Do we want more kids" and the answer is "yes and no". We would love to have 1 or 2 more (Shane says 1 - I say 2) but there are a lot of questions to be answered first to see if we can have more kids and how complicated (& expensive) it will be. What do I mean by that? Well in mid-April we will be seeing an infertility specialist (IFS). Why infertility instead of a high-risk OB is always the next question we get. Well, we have had 5 miscarriages. An IFS helps people get pregnant and stay pregnant vs a high-rish dr is seeing patients already pregnant and determined to have complications or multiples. So the IFS wants to start with some basics...blood work on both me and Shane to look at genetic screenings and such and then another test for me called an HSG for short that will see if my remaining tube, ovary & uterus are actually able to function properly since the heteretopic pregnancy. Thing is, this could all get very expensive and is usually not covered by insurance. Unfortunately, to do this naturally might not yeild the best results as once a tubal pregnancy happens and only 1 tube is left, we have a 1 in 4 shot at having another and due to history, an 80% shot of having another miscarriage. We are not sure if emotionally (or physically) we can handle those odds. But as I mentioned - Coop is our pride and joy. We love him to death, we will continue to love him & spoil him and believe he is the miracle that he is.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We rang in the year nice and quiet. Shane and I watched a movie, played some Wii (MarioKart is AWESOME!) and were in bed at 12:04am! We went into Coopers room about 11:50pm and asked if he wanted to get up to watch the ball drop and some fireworks, but he said no. Probably turned out to be the best because at 7am the next morning, Cooper woke up (early) yelling for us. When we dont come right away, he usually either reads or plays in his room a bit, but he didnt stop yelling. I went in to check on him and sure enough - he had thrown up all over the place. Yuck - what a way to start the year, right? Well, after slowly getting him back on foods (he was acting fine, no temp - we just didnt want to push too much too soon) we decided he didnt digest one part of his food - not sure if its an allergy or what, but all the rest of his dinner was digested except the mushrooms. It's on my list to ask the dr about the next time we are in.

We went to Rich and Wendy's for a New Years lunch and some football & games. Cooper had a blast running around & played air hockey with a little girl (Anna - 4/5? years old). Surprisingly, he did really well. Cooper seems like a natural athlete (thanks to both mom and dad!). His favorite game though is "Football" with daddy. They clean up all the toys and move some furniture and Cooper takes his football, runs into Shane to tackle him, then the football comes loose and they both yell "FUMBLE" as loud as they can. This sometimes goes on for 30 minutes. Cooper has an advantage though- ROXY! She cannot help it when Shane is laying around on the floor playing. Its her favorite time of day!

Christmas seems like such a blur already - can you believe it? We started the holiday on Christmas Eve at my dad's house, or as Cooper calls him "Gamps". It was a small gathering, but nice to visit with Gamps, his mom, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Dale & Uncle Toy/Aunt Suki. Uncle Dale got Cooper a Little People truck that hauls cars and Gamp got Cooper a Cars(R) large Lego set. Cooper also got a Leap Frog drum that teaches numbers and letters. But really he just likes to make as much noise as possible with it.

Christmas morning we woke up before Cooper so we could get the video camera and regular camera ready. When we woke up Cooper we told him Santa came (he has been talking about Santa since Thanksgiving). You could tell he STILL didnt get it, but as soon as he got out of his room, he looked down to the living room, saw the presents, and was excited. We barely got a picture of him in front of the tree with all the presents like we do every year. He tore through the gifts so fast and even opened my gifts and Shanes. He couldnt move fast enough from toy to toy (not too much, but enough to keep him busy for a bit while mom made breakfast and coffee). It was a really smart idea to take all the gifts out of the boxes BEFORE wrapping them so we didnt have to do it right then! I will have to remember that next time!

Cooper's BIG gift this year was "his basement". Yes, if you ask him Santa brought him "presents and a basement". Shane and I spent one night cleaning up the basement, laying down carpet and flooring remnants from our build and bought some foam squares. Then we put out a bunch of toys, including his "new" train table with tracks, trains, etc. (Thank you craigslist for making this years Christmas perfect and inexpensive!).

After his nap, Maw-Paw/Paw-Paw, Uncle Aaron, Mat-Maw & Aunt Lou came over. I made some chicken parmasean and rigatoni for dinner and lots of cookies and apple pie for dessert. Then Cooper got to open more presents. I never saw the kid each so much so fast when we told him he couldnt open gifts until he ate dinner. He did good though and again, got LOTS of great presents (too many too list!).

We cleaned up all the decorations yesterday and Cooper helped. He is getting so big - it is crazy how fast it goes. But I can honestly say, besides newborn - this is by far our favorite age. We can sing songs, have conversations, watch movies, etc. It isnt easy but it is fun. We are totally enjoying him but am sad to think, come later this 2009, he will be in pre-school. Before we know it, he will be graduating college and off on his own.

Thanks for sticking with this as long as you have. This was a long post but lots going on these holidays! We wish everyone a HAPPY, HEALTHY & BLESSED 2009!

PS. I have a TON of pictures and video to load BUT cant until I find my camera cord. I promise I will do so as soon as I can! Keep checking back!

Cooper is really enjoying Christmas this year. He LOVES to talk about Santa, even though he wont go near him. Just this morning, when I went to wake him up, before he even opened his eyes he was like "I see Santa. I need to see Santa now". Sometimes, I really wonder what is going through his head exactly.

He has become extremely independent. He wants everything and he wants to do it himself. And he wants it now. He loves Christmas lights and the tree (the very first thing he has to do at night is tell us - no DEMAND - that we plug in the tree and the garland on the fireplace). He wants presents, nothing specific, just presents and lots of them. He sees commercials on tv and says "I need that Santa". So if we went off just that he wants anything Thomas, Dora, Bratz, High School Musical, Nerf Blasters, etc.

We are just going to enjoy the next week, even going to the Blossom Music Center to drive through the light display. Breakfast with Santa is Saturday - we will see how that goes. Not well, I can already report I am sure. Christmas morning is going to be magical and probably more fun for me and Shane than ever before so we will be sure to video it. We are just learning to upload our photos from the video camera to the computer, so once I get them edited, maybe we can add them on here. Maybe. Maybe not.

Speaking of camera...I broke ours. Not good considering it was only 10 months old and not cheap. It cost less to get a new (not as good) one but for what we do & want to capture, it works and maybe whenever D.C. gives us OUR bailout, we will upgrade.

I know this year has been hard on many, financially & physically alike. We are blessed to know so many and be surrounded by so many friends and family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Because of my physical ailments this year (back treatments & subsequent work absence & Barretts disease diagnosis (& preceding tests) - let alone the rising cost of everything minus the rise in our paychecks - we are extremely financially tight this year, much more beyond our comfort. Dont get me wrong, we are going to be ok in the long run and we wont loose our house or anything and we are thankful we have each survived layoffs at our places of employment. But if we are unable to send a card or a gift or hold our annual holiday open house - please know that we are still thinking of you, praying for you and your family and are so very thankful to have you as friends. God Bless & we wish you nothing but good health & happiness. And those in the same situation as us, please let us know if there is anything we can do for each other.

In close, I have added some additional pictures, but because of the loss of camera for a few weeks, there hasnt been a whole lot to add. We will add again after Christmas.

Is the fall going fast or is it just me? I am already seeing Christmas stuff in the stores. But thats ok, because they are catching up to me. Yup - I am 80% done with Christmas shopping! WOO-HOO!

I just wanted to share really quick a story from last week. It will melt your heart. I was going to stay home sick from work (as many know, I am suffering from extreme back problems, starting when I was 4 months pregnant). Anyways, after being 'stuck' in the same position for over 6 hrs and in agonizing pain...Cooper comes over, gives me a hug and a kiss and as he is leaving (his back is turned towards me) he goes "You're pretty mommy!". I told you it would melt your heart! Collective "AWWWE" goes here. Shane's respone..."SMOOTH". Aunt Pats response "Ladies Man"! ha ha ha.

Oh, and if you ever ask Cooper about Paw-Paw (my father-in-law, Ron)...Cooper will give you 1 of 2 answers. Answer A) "Paw-Paw bring batteries" (for all of Coopers toys we let run out) and Answer B) "Paw-Paw sick" (because ONE time we went to eat with the family and he wasnt there because he was ill. ONE time!) Ahhhh...innocent children. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

I wanted to save this poem forever, so I am posting it in the story section. I just love this poem but felt it was time to change around the front page a little.

Your Son and Mine

Momma's Little Buddy.
The miracle before my eyes.
A reminder of God's presence,
Every time I see him smile.
His laughter is a joy to my Heart.
His forgiveness makes mine pale when compared.
He makes me laugh with a sense of humor,
That he is always willing to share.
The little things that excite him,
Make me remember the kid I used to be.
It reminds me to enjoy every moment more,
Instead of letting the world get to me.
Above all I only have to look at him,
His momma's pride and joy,
To remember to thank my Heavenly Father above,
For my special little boy.
I understand now how much God loves us,
Every time I hold him tight.
God gave up the Son He loved so much,
To give us eternal life.
Thank You God For your Son and mine.

Oh - I forgot to add this. Cooper got measured last week at his allergy appointment and he is 37 3/4" tall! WOW - and if you look at the past "recent stats" he was 35" in March - thats a 2" growth in 6 months! Thats one tall boy!

Cooper will be TWO on Friday! Can you believe it!? We can't! This time 2 yrs ago we were anxiously awaiting him and he was so precious and tiny (even at 9.1lbs). Now he is running, climbing, talking, saying the alphabet, counting, doing puzzles, coloring, talking on the phone, knows all the items in his "1st 100 words book", etc. WOW!

I added some pictures from his party. We didnt get as many as we wanted because we took a lot of video instead. Take a look at the pics.

I HAVE A HUGE FAVOR TO ASK EVERYONE! On his birthday - on Friday - leave Cooper a message for his birthday. Babyhomepages has added many many new features...we can play music, upload video, and print out the entire site when we are ready as a scrapbook. How cool is that!? And how cool would it be for Cooper to read all those birthday wishes for his 2nd birthday!? We think it would be a really great keepsake so we look forward to everyone leaving comments!

As I am learning the new changes to the site, please be patient if things arent working 100% all the time. I resolved on January 1 to be better on this site, and I am working on it but now there are changes and I need to spend even more time. Well, that's about it! We will talk to you all soon.

Oh and on Friday - Cooper is going to the ZOO for his birthday! He says he cant wait to see all the animals, especially the hippo and the giraffe's and the monkey's. (Seriously, those are his words!)

Wow - Cooper's party is next weekend. Cant believe that the little guy will be TWO! There are so many things he is learning and doing its amazing. But quickly I have to tell a funny story. With how much he is learning and doing, he is also very very smart/clever.

The other night he was acting up at dinner (which he does every night). And he climbed up onto the table to eat instead of sitting in his chair. I asked him to get down and he says "NO" and shoves more food in. I ask a second time and get the same response. As I physically move him to his chair, he starts crying. I said "Cooper, you have to eat while sitting on your butt". At that time, he threw his food at me and screamed and continued to cry. I firmly say "Do you want to go to time-out" (which usually gets him to behave). At this moment, he stops crying and answers "Yeah". At that point I say "Crap, you called my bluff" because we all know that I am horrible with the timeout thing and daddy is usually the "meanie". So now what do I do when I want to discipline him?!?!!!

I would be a horrible friend if I did not ask for prayers of comfort from my friends and family to another friend. My dearest friend Jerilyn - whom I have known since 2nd grade - lost her baby on Saturday. She was just about 8 months pregnant with Logan & suffered complications during labor that resulted with Logan now playing in Heaven with baby Kayla. I know that one day she will be a wonderful mommy but right now she & her husband Shane are having trouble wrapping their heads and hearts around everything and are searching for comfort. PLEASE pray for them as they try to face these difficult days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

We love you all and look forward to a wonderful celebration of live and love next weekend when we celebrate Cooper.

LOTS of new pictures! Just a note about the "formal" pictures! We were in the store the other day and the lady from a portrait studio came up and said she needed practice on some new backgrounds. Of course we had just gone to dinenr so Cooper was covered in spaghetti...thats why in some shots he has his shirt off and some shots, his shirt is on backwards! Talk about improvising.

Anyways, we got a free 8x10 out of it that we put in Shanes office but I thought I would share the rest with everyone! Even when he is cranky and uncooperative, he loves the camera!

Cooper is quickly approaching TWO! Can you believe it! YAY! He is such a big boy - doing so many things and increasing his vocabulary daily. Its amazing how much he changes day to day.

We have been settling into the new house and with that, trying to get everything ready for Coopers birthday party! As many of you know from the emails I sent out - Coopers party is being planned for Saturday, September 6th 2pm-?. We will have food, drinks, cake. The theme is "Airplanes" which is one of Cooper's newest obsessions (along with tractors and motorcycles). Like last year, we are making a request for gifts. Thanks to last year, Cooper has plenty of books and now he is also set in clothing (I hit up 3 AMAZING garage sales and bought 2Y & 3T stuff for the ENTIRE next year for under $50!!!!). Plus, Christmas is just 3 months later, so we all know he will be spoiled with stuff then. The one thing we are really wanting to do for Cooper in the upcoming spring is to put up a playset in the backyard. SO - that means we are asking everyone to forego toys, books and clothing and instead contribute to Coopers playground . If there is anything you really want to get him for his birthday, Cooper is loving art time, imagination play (he loves the Little People toys) and anything educational. Of course, if anyone has any questions, just call or email us!

We will update soon with new pictures - there are a TON of amazing ones from our recent trips to the Blasicks pool parties (they are so kind to invite us) and also from Shanes recent base ball games. Which brings me to my next thing - rumor is since next year is the 15th year of the Akron Black Stockings - they are going to make it their last year of play. If you are in the area and want to catch a game - make sure you make it a priority! You will never see a better team play together, have fun and remain competitive while being complete gentlemen! We will miss it for sure!

21 Months. Wow. Can you believe it!? We are enjoying Cooper more and more every day. This is by far our favorite age. Ok, we LOVED the newborn first couple of weeks but 21 MONTHS! Too much fun. He thinks he is completely independent but still needs mommy to tuck him in at night or daddy to help brush his teeth. He is the biggest chatter box and says so many things and in sentences too. For example, today I was talking to him on the phone and he said "you at work mommy?" and of course I was (daddy had told him earlier in the night I was working). He is so smart.

BEFORE I FORGET - 10,000!!!! Yes, more than 10,000 hits on this site! (there is a hit counter at the bottom of the page). I know that most of those are because it is set for the home page for our home computer but still! I could not have imagined! I promise to keep the page going for Cooper forever, so we can reach many more hit milestones! YAY!

As many of you know, we have made the switch to the toddler bed. He LOVES it. Really since night 1 we have had no issues. He gets in bed all by himself and lays down and I lay down next to him, we read 1 story and then I tuck him in really good and say good night. He might let out a little cry but he doesnt get up and he stays in bed all night all by himself! We have all the stuff to "redecorate" his room but time has just gotten away from us. We are doing an Ohio State and Ohio sports theme (Indians and Browns) and its going to be fabulous! Cooper can even go "O" with his arms! I cant wait to take him to a game when he is older (anyone have access to tickets!?).

The move is pretty much over. I guess I can say that when I only have 3 boxes total to still unpack. I mean there are boxes of storage in the basement, but they are all categorized and labeled, so I say thats complete. We had our lawn installed Memorial Day weekend, so trying to keep up with that. Shane was thinking he wouldnt have to mow this summer or at least not until August - ha! With all this rain lately, it looks like we have a jungle for a yard. We are working on getting a fence installed so Cooper and Roxy can have free roam of the backyard.

For those that dont know - I entered Cooper into the Parent Magazine Cover Shot Contest. lol. Everyone tells me he is so cute and should be a model so I thought why not give it one shot. It will be 1 in a million I am sure so I have no high hopes of winning a trip to NYC to be on the cover of a magazine but thats ok. He IS the cutest baby and we already know it!

And Shane would like everyone to know that the "score" is no longer a shut out...meaning yes...I have been pooped on. Hey - it took 21 months for that to happen. I am ok with that! But Cooper has been working on potty training and he said "mommy potty" and on our way there, I smelled it first and felt it second! He is just a little too late but he knows the feeling. We arent pushing him - we gave him 2 weeks in big boy underwear (not panties I know I know!) but are in Pull-Ups and diapers again. He goes in spurts, so when he is ready, we will be ready and thats ok with us. But yes - I have been pooped on. So what IS the score 8-1? lol.

I will add pictures soon - I promise. Oh, and if you didnt notice, I removed the password! YAY! I know some people were having problems but babyhomepages.net just added a new security feature where you can disable to right click and copy option on the pictures, so that is what I have done and so I feel safe, for now.

Congratulations to cousin Jessica (who sang at our wedding for those of you that were there). She graduated from high school on May 31st and we just attended her graduation party! We are so proud of you!

Ok - we are getting settled into the new house, so I thought it was time for an update. Now that we have the office set up (including a new desk - yay!), I think I might spend some more time in there. I was also lucky enough to get a Palm Pilot for Mothers Day, so I am able to access email and internet whenever I want - so there should be no more excuses, right! ha ha ha. We can all dream...

So moving onto Cooper's world. He is a true toddler, now 20 months old! WOW! He is talking constantly and even putting 2-3 words together. Some of our favorites are "ready?" "tank you" "please" "daddy funny" "wheres the duckies" "airpane!" "puppy potty" "elmo elmo elmo" "no" "yeah" "mommy sit" "dinner seat"...I could go on, but there are so many. He can also count to three, although his favorite numbers are "2" and "NINE!" (he shouts "NINE!"). He has also learned how to jump. And if he jumps high enough to fall on the way done, even better in his opinion - he just laughs and laughs. His other favorite thing to do now is "tickley". We tickle daddy mostly, but he also tickles anyones feet he can, including Roxy's...which she isnt too fond of. He also has learned to tickle HIMSELF! We were riding in the car the other day and he just goes "tickley mommy, she" and started tickling himself and laughing hysterically. It was so funny. There are MANY MANY MANY times we ask him questions, he answers either "no" or "yeah" or with a hundred word dissertation...to which we cannot understand any of it but at the end he goes "K?" and we say "yup". He was doing good potty training for awhile - we never pushed him - but then he became disinterested, even crying when we would mention or try to sit hiom on the potty. All of a sudden, last week he became reinterested and has sat there a few times, read a book, but nothing regular. Again, we arent pushing him, but he at least gets the idea. When he is ready, his teachers have said they will completely work with us (they have a pint sized potty right in the classroom) and it usually takes a week or two and its done...they even say by 30 months old, he will most likely be potty trained - woo hoo!

Cooper loves his bathtime, he loves to read, he loves to run and go for walks (no more stroller - ahhh), he talks to the ducks that live in the pond behind us, and he loves to run around the house naked! Many times we are chasing him before he pees all over the carpet - he is really fast though! He also loves to look out the front windows and yell for Bunny - she is one of our builders. One time he was yelling "hi Bunny" while he was naked. When we tried to move him, he sat down, yelling for Bunny louder (it was bedtime, she wasnt there, but he didnt want to hear it!) Probably a good thing...we are the new neighbors and our son likes to flash everyone!

Shane has been working a lot...a few changes at his job with people leaving and stuff, which has given him more work but he likes being busy. He has also traveled to New Orleans a few times, with a few more trips most likely coming up. Base ball season has begun, the team is currently 1-1. They have a big trip to Indianapolis over Memorial Day weekend. Cooper and I are staying home (he gets car sick and bored, so probably best to stay home). On Sunday we are probably going to Jack's baptism celebration (Jack was born January 3rd to Maureen & John - I used to work with Moe at Medina). If anyone else wants to get together, let me know!

I am still trying to figure out how to balance working full-time, being a mommy full-time, being a wife full-time, and organizing a new house full-time. I think once the house is "done" it will go back to 'normal' but that will be awhile. I have already started to plan Coopers bday party this September. I know I sent out a date of the 13th, but looks like Shanes base ball team has a major event that day & my family has a wedding to attend, so we will most likely we will move it up to the 6th! Consider this a "save the date"!

Well, back to moving onto the next box. Make sure you check out the new pictures! There are more to get uploaded onto here, so in time I will do - plus all the new additions!

Hello All -

We just wanted to let you know we are home from Cooper's surgery. Here is how the weekend/day went.

Weekend - we traveled to Cincinnati to visit Heathers family. Cousin Jessica is a senior in high school and had her last play for theater. She is very accomplished in acting and singing, and many of you know her from singing in our wedding 4 years ago. Cooper was fine all weekend (beside 3 episodes of car sickness - he gets that from mommy) and cousin Alexis is his new 'best friend'. The highlight (besides seeing everyone) was our "potty parties" because Cooper has decided to take up potty training on his own and this weekend he went #1 twice on the potty and #2 once! We woke everyone up the one morning during one of our "potty party" celebrations, complete with M&M's!

Monday morning - we let Cooper sleep in because he wasnt allowed to eat or drink all morning. He must have been worn out from the weekend, because he slept until 8:15am. Considering we had at leave at 8:30am, we pretty much woke him up, changed his clothes and left for Akron Childrens Hospital.

9:00am - we checked in, changed him into hospital pj's, they took his vitals, we met with the anesthesiologist & he played all morning. Considering he had not had food or drink since 7:30pm Sunday, we was in AMAZING spirits.

11:15am - Dr. Griffin was running late (as always) but she came out to the waiting area, spoke with us briefly and took Cooper back to the Operating Room.

11:30am - we get lunch from the cafeteria and start reading magazines.

12:15pm - Dr. Griffin comes out and says the surgery was successful. There was NO infection in the sinus cavity, therefore the blockage is all irritated tissue. She removed the adenoids and sent them to the lab to be "grown" for cultures. We will find out the results either Friday or Monday. If they grow bacteria, we will know what kind and from there, will be better able to treat his illnesses, including possible medications. Since there was no infection currently, we didnt have to do any antibiotic, which from the discussions prior to the surgery, everyone was unsure of WHAT to give considering all his allergies. (You dont even want to know the looks we got each time we had to 'list' his medicine allergies this morning. Everytime we said "everything" the nurses, anesthesiologist, etc all looked at us like we were crazy! Once we mentioned the Infectious Disease dr's name...they kind of "got it" but all shook their heads and said "poor baby").

12:30pm - we got to go back to P.I.C.U and hold Cooper. He was awake, but fussy. Mommy held him and he went right to sleep.

1:00pmish - we get moved to the step down recovery room. Cooper is still very groggy but resting. We expected to be here a few hours, and we were. Cooper had to drink at least 3oz of juice without getting sick, which he did at the beginning of our time here. He also ate a cup of jello, which Nurse Kristen was very happy to see. He wanted held the whole time but perked up when the Doggie Brigade came by. For those unfamiliar with Childrens, they have the DB which is a group of volunteers and their trained dogs. The come through the hospital on their own time and visit the kids. Today we saw Tank, a black lab/rotweiller mix who showed us a bunch of his tricks. He also has a "baseball card" which Cooper got to bring home! It was the first time Cooper smiled all afternoon!

3:30pm - we got discharged. Cooper was drinking fine, his vitals had been perfect the entire time, and he didnt need any pain meds (they gave him morphine in surgery). When he came home he looked for Roxy but she was still at the "doggy resort" from our weekend trip, so Shane went and got her. Cooper ate some applesauce, read some books and began to perk up to his normal self.

6:00pm - dinner time. Cooper ate just fine (veggie soup) and played some more.

7:30pm - Cooper went to bed with no problems. He has had a little bleeding from his nose, which the dr said was normal. He will stay home from day care with mommy tomorrow to rest up some more but should be good as new!

We wanted to thank everyone who has called, emailed, text messaged, etc over the past few days to see how he is doing, how we are doing, and if we needed anything. Just knowing so many are thinking of him and praying for his well being and quick recovery means so much to us...more than you all know.

We havent updated his website in ages (I know!) but that is my new "New Years Resolution". I can give every excuse in the book (Cooper being sick all the time, work, moving, etc) but for how quick and simple it is, I really dont have one. There is so much he is doing now, saying, learning let alone the million new pictures we have to download from the camera so we will do it soon - promise. And if we dont, feel free to harrass us until we do! ha ha ha.

Talk to you all soon. We love you all and for those we havent seen in awhile, we miss you and hope to catch up soon!

-The Gaults (Shane, Heather, Cooper & Roxy)

SURGERY FOLLOW UP! Great news - we had our follow up with Dr. Griffin yesterday. She agreed with our pediatrician and said the tubes are working perfectly and that the results are amazing. She mentioned that had we not done the tubes when we did andwith his current sinus infection, we would without a doubt in her mind, been dealing with a sinus infection PLUS another double-ear infection. So YAY for tubes! Also - the BEST news is that the hearing loss that Cooper showed signs of in our first appoitment (pre-surgery) is GONE! Dr. Griffin suspects that the loss was just from the amount of fluid sitting in his ears and now that his ears drain and are clear, there is ZERO loss! So again I say - YAY for tubes! We will go back in July for another follow up and then possibly one more 6 months after that but around that time, the tubes will fall out (as his head/ears/ear canal grow - totally normal & expected).

We are going out to the new house site this afternoon. The basement in complete and inspected and the lumbar drop happened this morning. The framers will start this afternoon and we should be under roof by the new year! Then we will really see changes happening every day! I have pictures we have been taking each week, so I will post those later this week!

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year! Hope to see everyone soon!

December 16 - Ok, so I lied. But I am sure everyone thinks its a good lie. I ADDED PICTURES! We went to Breakfast with Santa at my old work and saw our friends, and Coopers "girlfriend" Bianca. If you remember, Bianca was born Sept. 1 - just a few days before Cooper. Look back at some of Coopers beginning pics and there is one where he is just 2 weeks old and she is 4 weeks old! Adorable!

Ok, off to wrap presents now that his is asleep but I wasnted to say a quick hello and show off these adorable pics!

December 14 - Can you believe Cooper turned 15 months old this week!? Boy, did that time go fast! As you all know, on December 2nd Baby Kayla grew her angel wings. Her mommy Julie is having a difficult time but is taking it day by day, minute by minute. I cannot fathom what she is going through but Kayla's loss has been hard on me and Shane as well so I know Julie and Jason are feeling a million times worse. There hasnt been a day I have not cried this month. But that leads us to fighting the cause. The Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 needs our support so we do not loose another innocent child to this disease. Julie is actually going to be working with Cure Search the ONLY foundation that works just for curing childhood cancer. Kayla was here a short time, but her legacy will live on in all of us and through Julie's work.

As for Cooper, he is doing wonderful! He had his 15 month checkup yesterday and everything was perfect. As you can see from his stats he is tall and skinny. He is off the chart in height and his weight and head are 40-45%-tiles. The doctor was really happy with his development of motor skills and verbal skills. His only negative part of the appointment was that poor baby has a sinus infection (which we guessed but waited a week and just went to the dr forhis regular appt). She also said from her standpoint, his ears are absolutely perfect and the tubes are doing their job! We do go for a post-surgical appointment with Dr. Griffin (the ENT that did the durgery) next week but I am sure she is going to say the same! YAY!

Other than that, we are just gearing up for Christmas. Cooper will see Santa on Sunday morning for breakfast (if the weather is ok - we are suppossed to get a lot of snow Saturday night to Sunday morning) and I am sure he is going to get lots of good things under the tree this year since he has been such a good boy. After Christmas will probably be the next time I post pictures, so definately check that out around that time!

As for the rest of us, our house is still up for sale but the interest in it has picked up tremendously this week. We have had a showing almost every day and we have two groups coming back for their second visits. YAY! Our new house has the basement/foundation poured and will be waterproofed & inspected next week. They were hoping to have it all framed by the new year, but the weather this week has set us back a little. Thats ok, all we want for Christmas is for our current house to sell! Keep your fingers crossed! It hasnt hit us yet how much has happened in our current house because we have been so excited about building. But we were just talking last night that we got engaged in this house, married while living in this house, this was Roxy's first house and Cooper's first house, too. We hold these memories dear to us and looking forward to all the new memories in the new house, but I am sure it will still be an emotional day for us when we move out.

Great news! Cooper's surgery went excellent today! Here is the timeline of events for our long and busy day!

3:30am - yes - 3:30AM! Cooper woke up screaming for the second time during the night (3rd night in a row). Shane and I just knew this meant another ear infection. We took his temp and sure enough - low grade. He finally went back down for about a half hour but mom couldnt get back to sleep.

4:30am - Mommy wakes Cooper up to eat breakfast. If he didnt eat now, he wouldnt have a chance for another 12 hours and that would make for an impossible day.

7:30am - Mommy & Cooper go back down for a nap! Cooper sleeps until we wake him at 9:30.

9:30am - We wake Cooper, but him in comfy pj's and head off to Akron Childrens Hospital.

10:30am - We check in at Outpatient Surgery. Cooper is given hospital pj's and has all his vitals taken. He doesnt seem to know what is happening and just plays in the playroom.

12:30pm - Coopers surgery time comes and goes. Uh-oh. He is starting to get fussy because he hasnt even had water since 7am. And its nap time.

12:50pm - Dr. Griffin comes out to talk to us, ask if there are last minute questions. She carries him off to the OR. Mommy has tears in her eyes and watches each moment tick on the clock. Daddy is Mr. Cool as always!

1:20pm - Dr. Griffin comes out to the waiting room and says Cooper did amazing. She mentions that the surgery was an absolute must because as soon as she made the incisions, not only did the fluid she expected come out - but a ton of puss as well...a sign of infection! Which, given the fact Cooper has been on antibiotics since Oct. 8th and had a dose last night - shows he has become resistant to it and this surgery was much needed.

1:25pm - We get called back to see Cooper in PACU. He is already awake from the anesthesia. He is NOT happy but is starting to drink juice. He downed it so fast- thirsty boy! They quickly move us to a step down unit (we were originally told we would be in PACU for 45 minutes).

1:35pm - We are in recovery. Nurse takes vitals. Cooper is calmed down and wants to sleep. Nurse comes back and says since he is doing 100% we can go home (we expected to be in this recovery area for an hour).

1:55pm - Only 1 hour since Cooper started surgery and we are in the car on the way home. Daddy and mommy had bet what time we would be home 'at the earliest' (daddy said 4pm, mommy said 5pm...no one would have ever guessed 2pm!)

Cooper fell asleep in the car (its a 15 minute drive to the hospital) and didnt wake up when we got home. He slept for 2 hours and then woke up ready to eat. He had a chicken taco & fruit for dinner and an Arrowroot cookie for dessert and is now playing like nothing happened today.

Cooper is able to go back to day care tomorrow and will only be there a 1/2 day on Wednesday then its family time for Thanksgiving!

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and are so thankful we all kept Cooper in your prayers today!

Did you see Cooper in the newspaper!? How cute is that!? Don't worry, its already in his memory box so I can show him when he is a teenager and too cool to be a skunk! (a scanned copy is on the picture page as well as the website front page!)

Before I go any further - PLEASE read this entire update. I know its long - but there is some VERY IMPORTANT information about Cooper near the end.

As I mentioned to some, we are traveling this weekend to visit family so I will have a lot of pictures to upload Sunday night. Check back on Monday! Or better yet - sign up on the website (on the bottom of the front page) to receive automatic emails when I update. You are going to want to be updated on the upcoming information anyways!

Well, some know already and some dont but the Gault's are going through an exciting time and an unsettling time right now. The good part is that we are moving - actually building - a great home (2400 sq feet!) in Uniontown. Lake has an AMAZING school district and we couldnt be happier about the move - even though we have been busy picking out siding, carpet, fixtures, faucets, tile, paint, etc! On the bad side of that is that the housing market to sell our current home (also a great home) is really bad. We got a deal on our house in 2004 so it isnt as bad as it could be for us, but we need our house to sell no later than February to remain comfortable. Past that, things will be really tight. Akron is probably going to loose the residency requirement for police/fire/government workers next year so there will be a mass exodus then so we are trying to stay ahead of the game. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ok, onto Cooper. He is doing great as always! He is running and climbing and his new favorites are the stairs. he goes up perfect and is learning scooting down on his butt quicker than we thought he would. Roxy is his best friend and so is his stuffed music dog. He is doing sign language for "Blue" & "Purple" and his new favorite word to say verbally is also "Purple". He eats like a pig and can find a frog in any picture! We have had no reason to believe that Cooper may have a hearing problem. Until today.

Cooper had a double ear infection in October and went back on Saturday to be diagnosed with another. We saw an ENT specialist today, and while the ear infection is gone, Cooper still had a TON of fluid on the ear. They actually measured it and with it hard to explain the graph on here - basically, it was the most he could possibly have. So they did a hearing test. Cooper responded very well for the most part. However, as the sound got lower, he didnt respond. We later learned that the lower sound - a 20 decible - is normal for his age. He didnt respond to anything under 40.

With that said - Cooper is scheduled for surgery to place tubes in his ears on Monday, November 19th. THIS IS ROUTINE! It is a 10 minute procedure! He will be home an hour afterwards and be able to go to daycare the next day. No reason to be worried about this one. This will drain all the fluids and help prevent most, if not all, ear infections for the next year or two.

However, we will return for the hearing test a few weeks after the surgery. It will be at this time we will see if the hearing loss was just from all the fluid or if it caused some sort of permanant damage. This is a crucial time in his speach and hearing development, so we are moving quickly and Dr Griffin of Akron Childrens Hospital has been named one of America's "Top 100 Pediatric ENT Doctors" and we are blessed already that our pediatrician sent us to her. Please keep Cooper in your prayers these next few weeks. We are hoping its just the massive amount of fluid since his current vocabulary seems to be fine.

September 19. I am horrible at updating anymore. Cooper can no longer just play on the floor in one spot like he used to do when I would post. We are running after him constantly! Yes, because he is running! The kid is good at climbing, too! Which, if you havent heard, has been the recent cause for a trip to Akron Childrens Hospital, to receive 4 stitches (they wanted to do 6 but Cooper wasnt cooperating for the 2 internal ones, so they just did surface). That was exactly on his ONE YEAR birthday, last Wednesday...September 12! Can you believe it!?!?!? That went really fast! I was always told that you have no sense of time until you have a child and then there is never enough time for your responsibilities let alone spending all the precious moments with them before they are gone. Isnt that the truth!

Besides walking and climbing; Cooper claps when others clap, is drinking from a cup now (no more bottles!), is eating 100% "real" food instead of baby food, can wave "hi" & "bye-bye", he can give high fives to the guys & blows kisses to the girls, "calls" for the dog by patting his leg or our shoulders if we are holding him and he has a long list of words. Da-da, momma, dog, brown bear, red bird, and 'bob" for Sponge Bob on tv...yup, you guessed it - that is ALL daddy right there!

We are blessed that he is so healthy and growing so fast! He loves commotion so 'school', going to the store or out to eat, daddy's baseball games, etc...we take him anywhere and everywhere (including camping in August!). He has been sleeping through the night for about 7 months now, so we are loving that as well. And now that he is moving everywhere all day (with only one 1-2 hour nap) he usually goes down around 7:30pm and wakes at 6:30am!

I know - I have been bad at updating! A quick note about me before the Cooper info which is why you are all here, anyways! I started my new job the end of March and we opened a brand new building last week - so there is my excuse! In daddy news - his base ball season has started and the Black Stockings are doing well! We also sustained major damage to the house during a hail storm last week, so residing and a new roof are on the project chart right now as well. Ok, onto Cooper news.

Most recents stats: CRAWLING, STANDING, 5 TOOPHERS, Eating more 'big-people' food, SLEEPING through the night, blowing KISSES, SWIMMING like a fish and says "DADDA". So as you can see, we are busy keeping up with him! He knows and remembers where the tupperware is in the kitchen, he chases the dog and loves doors swinging back and forth. He had his first swim outing last week and loved every minute of it. I think every picture has me squinting from him splashing!!!

We went to Philadelphia Memorial Day weekend and had a blast meeting other September babies and their families that I have gotten to know on a message board over the past 18 months. The girls are some of my best friends and I cant wait until we can get together again. Cooper LOVED playing with the other babies and going to the ZOO! After our Fathers Day celebration tomorrow - I will definately post pictures of everything he is doing now.

He had his 9 month check up on Thursday and the dr confirmed what we already knew - he is a tall skinny boy (like daddy not mommy). He is 19.1lbs and 31.5" long! Weight is 25%-tile and Height is off the chart!

We cannot believe his first birthday is less than 3 months from now. His birthday party is planned for Saturday, September 8th...so mark your calenders now! Its a DR. SEUSS theme because we are doing a reading party! Gifts are not required and we are asking that toys & clothes are forgone (or donated to Akron Childrens Hospital in Coopers honor) and that if you want to get Cooper something, a book off his wish list is purchased. We are hoping to put together a library for his adolescent years...through high school even. Cooper has been blessed with lots of toys already and more clothes than he can even wear before he grows out of them, so contributing to his learning through books is what we decided would be pefect for his first birthday!

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