Happy 2013

When I got ready to post today, I realized that December 17th was my last post.  That is a long time.  But our family said farewell to 2012 with the head/chest cold that is going around!!  Richard brought it home from work a couple Saturday's ago and we are all still fighting symptoms.  The worst is that Cooper has a stuffy head and bad cough.  That means when we put him down for bed he can't suck his thumb and breath too and he coughs like crazy.  He usually only lasts an hour or two before he's up crying and trying to fall back to sleep.  After the first few nights of trying to sleep upright, we discovered that if he lays in bed with me on another pillow or the Boppy, he can fall back to sleep with a little prodding.  Plus that means, I don't have to jump out of the nice warm bed 5 or 6 times to get him up and rock him back to sleep.  However, it also means that Daddy gets relegated to the couch for about half the night.  The doctor at Urgent Care told us the cough would likely last around 14-days...so thankful for a loving husband who does not mind the couch because it helps us all rest just a little better right now :)

So over the past 14-days, there was Christmas Eve (when Richard was down)...Christmas morning (when we opened gifts as a family)...Christmas Day (when I was down)...Thursday (when I was still down, Daddy took Cooper to Urgent Care with Great Grandma Dot, he blew out his diaper, and ended up having his first sleep over without me even hugging him goodbye)...my birthday (when Cooper and I were both down)...and finally New Year's Eve (when we all went to bed by 9 pm).  But through it all we've grown closer as a family and Richard & I have come to the realization that we really need to take better care of our bodies for our little guy's sake!!

Looking back on 2012, there weren't any ups or downs that could outweigh the great joy and we had in receiving the gift of Cooper James into our family.  So thankful for the sacrifices made by his birth families that allowed us to bring him home.  So thankful for our family who supported us through the process.  So thankful to our church family for all the prayers.  Just plain THANKFUL for our son.

In 2013...we look forward to his first tooth...his first steps...his first birthday...Richard's 39th...our 12th anniversary...his first words (other than dadadada which he loves right now)...his third haircut...his first visit to the beach or maybe the Children's Museum...our first Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July together...plus we get to welcome a new nephew/cousin in the very near future.  So many moments to choose JOY!!

Happy 2013 :)