All Good Things...

Sad. A week away from work, even if the first half was moving / working, was kind of AMAZING. I forgot what it felt like to be in control of my own time... and by "in control of my own time" I mean "at the whim of Sir Cooperton" - a most ruthless (in a never ending energy kind of way) dictator. Whew - this week was busy and fun - who thought a week of vacation would lead to me feeling EXHAUSTED. We went to the zoo twice, thus already making our family year long membership totally worth it (and even more so since I didn't feel guilty about wimping out after 2 hours in the sun and heading home the second day.... we can go back ANY TIME without having to pay to re-enter. Oh the thrill of the thrifty!)

I apparently dodged a murderous week at work according to the associate that stepped into a deal for me - a deal that has been ongoing for about a bjillion years... since before I started... and has been murderous off and on throughout. I baked cinnamon rolls today from scratch and plan on taking him one as a "thank you for working that 17.5 hour day for me" as I have SO been that person (at Christmas) and a cinnamon roll would have been nice.

I have to find pictures and videos and post them all, because, as would be expected, Coop was full of the cuteness this past week and we captured it.

Tomorrow we get to see Baby Doo on the big screen again, now in 3-D. Pretty pumped to see how big s/he is and to get new pics. The 3-D pics of Coop were one of the things that made him a real little person to me... and with this one and the anterior placenta blocking out all of the dancing, I kind of want that extra connection, though this pregnancy has become very real in this heat... extra blood coursing through ones body and an extra layer of blubber are all well and good when pregnant during a Chicago winter, but I could really live without when it is 90+ degrees outside...

Real Vacation

So, we moved. It went... ok, I suppose. What's a move without the condo association ripping us off and then movers disappearing for 2 hours in the middle of the day???

So it goes.

Coop was amazing, as per usual. A total trooper day of the move and then passed out in his new room, with boxes towering in the corners, and slept a solid 13 hours. We thought this kid slept great before, but now that he has his own full room (not the lofted one in the old place where we had a makeshift wall) we realize that he actually is quite capable of falling asleep within 2 minutes of us leaving his room (a la his father), and does not need to chat for a half hour to nod off.

Anywho... With the move taking up ALL of Saturday, and settling in / running around consuming Sunday, and cleaning the old place taking up Monday, and then giving a presentation for 60 people at work (while on vacation) on Tuesday... Today was the first day that felt like vacation. Yes, there are still boxes that need unpacking but, eh, that will happen slowly over the next weeks (I did 2 of the remaining 15 or so tonight and we now have 2 bathrooms, a sun / guest room and a kitchen FULLY unpacked), but for today, it was time for FUN. Thus, the ZOO!!!! (or, the "zoom" in Cooper speak).

We are now zoo members and already contemplating going again tomorrow (for free! with free parking! and yes, I know that it's not really free until the THIRD time we go - we must go twice in a year for the membership to pay for itself, but we are in for a penny, so to speak, so from here on out, I will consider it FREE!). We got there right as it was opening at 9:30ish, and we walked and saw camels ("cows!"), zeebras ("zeeza!") and giraffes ("cows!")... and so much more, including a dolphin show that held Coop's interest as long as the box of popcorn we purchased stayed full. Coop walked that zoo for almost FOUR hours. No strollers for this kid (we didn't bring one, and praise God, he didn't need one). By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and both Steve and I were ready for a LONG nap, but of course, Cooper was going strong until he passed out at about 6:45 tonight.

There is so much I am loving about this week "off"... I can hardly keep track of the funny little Cooper things... when he gets "hurt" (no major traumas lately, thank goodness) and will say "no, okay" while his bottom lip juts out. How he plays "football" with Steve (seriously, he gets his little football, and walks up to Steve and says "Dada play futball" and Steve cannot resist). Football consists of Steve batting the ball out of Coop's hand and down the hallway (never picking it up, that upsets Cooper... he is the only one who can pick up the ball). Then they crawl (unless Coop decides to get up and run) towards the ball and Daddy pulls every cheap trick - grabbing Coop's feet and slowing him down, tickling him, tackling him, etc, but Coop magically ALWAYS manages to get there first. Then, as Steve gets closer, Coop will "scratch" at Steve to keep him away, and Steve will fall, maimed to the ground, and then Coop will "scratch" some more and Steve will flail, until Steve finds an opening and can bat the ball away again to start a new play. This scratching thing clearly needs explaining... when we first got keys to the new place we would bring boxes over every so often to try to move methodically... Well, with a GIANT new hallway, Coop was running back and forth and for whatever reason I thought it would be fun to crawl back and forth and pretend to be cats (we do this sometimes... sometimes Cooper won't want to take a break to go potty, but the "cat" Cooper will)... Well, Steve thought it would be funny to be the dog chasing us crawling down the hall... Hmmmm... as I explain this I see that the explanation may need an explanation... why do we do the things we find ourselves doing as a parent of a two year old? No real explanation that makes sense... point being, he learned the claw / air scratch thing from me and it has permeated everything... and is hilarious.

Also, "yucky".. if Coop doesn't want something or is told he can't have something, his explanation is that it is "yucky".

Anyway, I have some pictures of the zoo, and need to take pictures of the new place as soon as it is set up so we can document Cooper's home, Part III, but that requires knowing where the camera cord is. I do not. And that's ok, I am on vacation.

Moving Mountains

Today is Friday. That is sometimes an amazing thing, sometimes no different than any other day (i.e. when you have to work Saturday and Sunday as well), and sometimes an extra amazing thing. This Friday feels EXTRA amazing because it isn't a day before a two day weekend or even a nice long 3 or 4 day weekend. Today is the Friday before I take a WHOLE WEEK OFF (and since I am a greedy thing, I have made clear that the Saturday's and Sunday's around the week are also going to be occupied). Yes, I will without a doubt work some in the next 9 days. Yes, I am coming into the office on Tuesday to give a presentation. But... when the presentation is over, I AM LEAVING!!!!

Anywho, what precipitated this big "vacation" was the fact that we are moving tomorrow and, despite having a low billable hours for the month and some major stress around not working all next week, mama needs a break, even if said break is to move.

I am excited. SO excited. And terrified. And sad. There isn't so much that is amazing about our actual apartment now, but its proximity to work is so amazing, and I am so nervous about tacking on 1.5 hours to my workdays commuting. I know how much better the new place will be for Cooper, but we are leaving behind more than our apartment with his cramped bedroom and the 4 block walk to grass (zia!), we are leaving behind the babysitter he has come to adore. I almost cried when she left yesterday. Coop didn't bat an eye - he doesn't get it, and that is what is amazing about his age - the se la vie attitude and the 7 second memory...

Anywho... As we leave the THIRD place that Cooper has lived in his not so many years, I give to you a top 10 list... taking you through a day in our old house.

(1) "Hi, Momma" you say when you see me peak around the door. Most mornings I hear you say "Hi, Dada" over the monitor, as I am either slower out of bed, or already in the morning rush to get out the door, but this morning I get to get you up, and you greet me in that sweet voice with a sing song smile. Hi, Cooper, and good mornings are easy when I see you. After I get you out of your crib and into your big boy undies, you giggle as I tickle your pits as you slide off the bed, and you run into the kitchen to see Dada and ask for cereal / yogurt / eggs / milk / orange juice / whatever / all the above. You have an APPETITE. As you wait for your breakfast to be served you see your "bike" (trike) sitting on the floor and hop on and start pushing off the floor with your feet - your legs are still too short to reach the peddles. You run into the doorframe and get a wheel stuck.

(2) "'Ahlp" you cry out in a(nother) weird little foreign accent. You still need our help sometimes and it is hilarious to hear you ask for it. I unlodge you from the doorframe and we go to draw cars. You draw a car, I applaud, then you hand me the pen, and I draw a car,

(3) you clap. You clap for me and proudly proclaim "mama draw car" and I smile because I know you learned that behavior and I am glad to see you see how proud we are of you. I am also so touched by what a sweet and loving boy you are. You love to make other people smile, and your happiness is contagious. After breakfast I will be dragging my feet to get out the door, and your dad and I will be talking to you, telling you to do this or that - making you put on a show before I head out the door. We usually high five, and you hit Daddy's hand and say "Dada high five" then hit my hand and say "Mama high five" then hit your hand (clapping) and say "Coopah high five" but on a day of randomness we ask you to shake hands. You won't shake my hand or daddy's, but instead,

(4) you shake your own hand. I nearly cried I laughed so hard. Generally this is where I am out the door, your running in the hallway and pushing the up and the down to help me get on the elevator. I am sure others in our building will not miss our presence : ). I talk to you and your dad at lunch usually, and like most days, I get a report of how good you are being, and on special days, I hear about how you celebrated your lunch...

(5) "HOT POCKET"... oh my goodness... as we neared the move I stocked the fridge with a few easy meals as we were out of major groceries but didn't want to load up until AFTER we moved, so I got you hot pockets and you are in love with hot pockets. When I get home from work, your babysitter tells me how good you know your letters and I see you sitting on the couch strumming your guitar and singing "A, B, C..." So cute. Then you start making another noise...

(6) "MEOW" and the babysitter asks me if we had taught you a song with / about cats because you had played your guitar and meowed for about 20 minutes. I can't help but stifle a laugh. No, there is not a "song" per se, but we do crawl around a lot pretending to be cats... that's you Coop, putting life to music. Speaking of music, OMG...

(7) the way you DANCE now. You got this arm grove and you tell us to "get down" with you. We have been having family dance parties almost every night this past week. You clearly got your moves from your dad : ). Then it is time to go to bed, and we brush teeth, read books, barnyard dance and rockey. I put you in your crib and bring you water in your cup and shut the door as I leave. Sometimes this is where it ends. Sometimes, you aren't ready for that yet and I find myself going back in your room a while later, and you say

(8) "Pick Me Up" with such authority that I must comply. You are good at bedtime, you don't do this all the time, and sometimes, I know the feeling, you just need a little extra snuggles. We rock through one more singing of the alphabet and You Are My Sunshine, then you will usually sit back and look at me and say

(9) "Mommaaaa" and drag out the "aaaa" and I will say "Coopeeeer" and drag out the "eeer" until we bust up into giggles. Eventually the "can't sleeps" are all snuggled out and I lower you back into bed, and you hand me your sippy cup, because little did I know, this is now filled with

(10) "Yucky Wa Wa"... who knew water got yucky in such a short amount of time. But I know you. I know you need routine, so if we are going to go back to the rockey part of our routine, then we must play out the rest, so I go get you fresh water, with ice (zia!) and bring it back in. This isn't the last I see of you, but it's the last you see of me. I creep back in later before my bed time and take the blanket off your head and put it across your body and blow you a kiss.

And that's a day. And our days will keep on keeping on, only in a "new house"... one you ask to go to EVERY DAY now. I can't wait for this move for you, Cooper James. Like all things, I am learning, you will take the change in stride and help mama get over her worries.

Starvin' Marvin

Oh my goodness..... get me food NOW!

Apparently 21 weeks is when I get HUNGRY. Forget HUNGRY, I am STARVING. ALL THE TIME.

I have a feeling that 3-5 pound weight gain is about to double... then double again... then triple... and so on and so forth until I am a waddling mess.

And I don't care, because there is nothing that I can think about other than FOOD.

Yesterday we had a frozen pizza for dinner (it had been a long day, every now and then frozen pizza is on the menu). Then I made homemade strawberry shortcakes for everyone. Then... Cooper went to bed, and I made Steve go get break and bake cookies... and I ate 4... then I ate 3 pickle spears... and then I went to bed because it was farther from the fridge, and if there is one thing that can make me slow down this mass consumption, it is having to hoist myself from a lying down position to upright.

I tried to be proactive and pack a bunch of food to take with me to work. Cereal, chips, sandwich, granola bar, cherries... that lasted until the afternoon when I went and got a string cheese and a chocolate milk...

All of this is horribly boring and not hardly worth writing about, but having been struggling with maintaining any desire for food, this is a nice change of pace (though I am quite sure the added weight I am bound to put on will end up being less than nice). Baby doo was already measuring big for his / her gestation age, but OMG... HOW BIG WILL THIS (not so) WEE ONE BE IN ANOTHER 19 WEEKS??? Ek! Don't want to think about that one too much!

Okay. Yucky

Man, the hilarity continues... at least, I am laughing a lot when I am around Coop.

He has another new thing. He will want something, or want to do something (such as, to run in the hallway, to have a cookie, to get a new car toy at target)... rather than ask and let us respond, he has started asking, responding himself and taking action:

"Boopah run hallway? Okay" (takes off for door)

"Boopah have cookah? Okay" (reaches up on counter)

"Boopah new cah? Okay" (stretches from shopping cart)

Sometimes he will say "Yep" instead. This has come our of nowhere, and while I hear myself saying "okay" or "yep" sometimes, it certainly isn't a new thing for me, but Coop is in this really specific repetition phase (for example, he says "draw cah" and I say "where is the pen, baby?" and he says, while looking under the couch "where is pen, baby?") so I think he is just now starting to mimic these words.

Also, according to Cooper, he is Boopah James Yucky.

Seriously - "Cooper, say 'Kowalski'"

- "Yucky" (though, clearly, in his head, he so just nailed it).

Is his speech still a little "delayed"? Probably... but he is his own little person, it isn't holding him back, and we all master different skills at different paces. Right now Coop may be a little behind on diction and forming full sentences, but he is WAY ahead on comedic timing.

Nightmares

Something about pregnancy (or watching Criminal Minds before bed) makes my dreams way too vivid for comfort. I spent all night Sunday and Monday tossing and turning and suffering from miserable insomnia, only to wake up in total panic half-way unable to breathe. I went from the bed to the couch to the bed. I went wandering around the circle of our apartment. I peeked into Coop's room (a lot).

Basically, I wasted TWO WHOLE NIGHTS OF SLEEP. Thus, despite having a fitful night trying to fall asleep last night, when I did finally fall asleep, I almost didn't wake up through the whole night (thank you bladder dancer for forcing the "almost" in that sentence). It was AMAZING, and I woke up feeling like a whole different person.

So, too, did Sir Cooperton. Apparently he woke up someone who grew up in the Netherlands... or Canada... or somewhere (I have no idea the accent - I am not that well traveled... if it isn't Midwest Americana, East Coast, Southern Drawl or Mexican, I likely have only heard it on TV or in passing by a foreign student...

Anyway, he woke up this morning, and everything was a question, because every sentence would end with him tacking on the work "yah?" Kind of like "dah", but a distinct "y" sound.

Mama's juice, yah?

More geg (egg), yah?

Um, ok, yeah, sure dude, but by-the-by, who are you?

Also, in the past 2-3 weeks, Cooper's favorite refrain is repeating "Mama, Dada, Boopah" (Boopah = Cooper). I think he is keener than we think and has caught on to this new addition coming into his life, and I think he is beginning the brain wash.. he is like, just us THREE. NO ONE ELSE. If he repeats it enough, I think he thinks that will remain the status quo. Sad news for him, the nearly one pound baby in my belly would tend to disagree. Sometimes I imagine the wee one yelling back "and Baby Doo!"

Somewhat Half-Hearted, Somewhat Distracted

Sometimes we get fewer letters, sometimes we get more. Sometimes they go in a familiar order, sometimes they are a little more "spontaneous", but here is Cooper singing his "letters" and counting to five... kind of... he was only half paying attention to me... The story of my life... unless I have a cookie. Then he is all "Mama, cookah? Mama, cookah?" and keeps his eyes on me with a laser like focus that is quite intimidating.

Baby Doo, You are a Busy Little Boogity

Today I had my 20 week ultrasound. This was actually an ultrasound I was somewhat nervous about, what with the placement of my placenta making me feel eerily... uninhabited. Well, let me assure you, baby Doo is fine. Great, in fact. This little thing was squirming the WHOLE time. Steve commented that it looked like Doo was shadow boxing prepping for a sparring match with Cooper come November, and IT SO DID. Seriously. It is soooo weird that I cannot feel it (except every great once in a while, which even then, I wonder if I am making things up).

Apparently the contractions that the nurse practitioner was not too bothered by, are in fact, not a good thing for someone with my history. Thus, three week follow up. For now, however, I am not showing signs of pre-term labor and the baby is growing fabulously.

Cooper is still awake, and thus demanding of my attention, and magically a co-worker that didn't contact me all day has suddenly decided that he would like me to do something... lovely.

Dada Toot

Steve may kill me in my sleep for telling this story, but it was too hilarious not to share...

This morning, right before I left for work, I was loading up my bags and about to head out. Coop, as per usual, was running in hyper boy circles around my legs. I knelt down to ask him for a hug and a kiss and he kind of slowed and then the pipes gave this weird rumbling noise. Cooper looks at me, looks at Steve, and then goes "Dada toot."

HILARIOUS!

MOVE, ________ IT, MOVE!!!

So, the wee babe had been annoyingly, and then somewhat alarmingly still. Unlike Coop who I felt... by now, I was not feeling any baby dancing, and on top of that, a little over a week ago I had some unnerving pain. All is well, baby is fine, pain is gone. I learned I have an anterior placenta. Thus, most baby movements are not going to be felt at this point. Harrumph. I have seen baby dance on the ultrasound, and I have heard the thrump of baby moving when we doppler the heartbeat at the doctor's office in between, so I am not concerned (anymore), but I am bummed. I will likely have to wait several more weeks before I feel consistent movement.

Ah well, at least I feel a little more alive these days. My energy is higher, though I still feel nauseous, but with the boost in energy and the beautiful weather, I am un-glooming, and taking advantage of the last little bit of three, before we add doo and become four.

We spent the weekend hanging with family, and prepping for our move. We have purchased a spiffy new toddler bed in an effort to make Cooper feel like he is "graduating" to a "more cool" (his favorite saying) bed, rather than being ripped out of his crib for baby doo's convenience. He shall move to the bed when we move to our new place. I will likely put up the crib in the new place for the first little bit anyways, so he can choose if he is ready for his big boy bed, or if he needs the comfort of sameness, but this kid has always been a rockstar with change, so I am hoping this time is no different. I would like to take the crib down for a bit in the interim so that Coop kind of forgets it is/was his, and it is not a big deal when we put someone else in it. (99% of this whole parenting thing is hoping my kid has the memory of a goldfish sometimes...)

Upside / Downside

My job allows us to pay rent, which has kept us from being evicted or defaulting on any loans. Yay job!

My job also has the uncanny ability to take EVERY FRIGGIN holiday and turn it into a work day. Boo job!

I mean SERIOUSLY....
Thanksgiving - WORKED THAT ONE
Christmas Eve - YEP
(day after Christmas - which was a Sunday - worked 14 solid hours on that one... not a "holiday" but it SHOULD be)
New Years Eve - Oh yeah

Why did I think the fourth of July was somehow worthy of a day off??? I didn't really, I just hoped. Futile hope... May it die out soon, as this would all be less painful if I had never hoped to begin with.

Anywho, since I have yet to see Sir Cooperton, lad of our lair, today, I shall shamelessly plug his awesomeness in a TOP TEN list:

1) Tew / Too. Cooper used to say "doo", but now he says "tew", which is EVEN CUTER... but that isn't even really the item to discuss here - pronunciation is ONLY THE BEGINNING. It is that Cooper now understands that there are various uses for "tew". Counting (one, tew, twree!) AND the "also" version. He is CONSTANTLY saying "Mama _____, tew" or "Dada ____, tew!" I love it. When I lay him down for bed each night, he constantly asks / affirms "Dada go nigh nigh tew?" Yes baby, Dada go nigh nigh too.

2) Alphabet. Cooper is GREAT at singing his alphabet. It is a slur of letters with very few pronounced properly. There is "S" which is "zia", there is "G" which is a grunt, there is "LMNO" which is "elmino", and there is "R" which is TOTALLY ignored. I started singing ABCs at night every night after our regular nightly song. Now, if I start with "You are my sunshine" he will put his hands on my mouth (softly) and start singing his letters. I resist the urge to gobble up said fingers... barely.**

3) Flip Flops. Cooper has 2 pairs of flip flops. One pair is Mickey - one foot has 'Mickey' written in big letters on the shoe, and the other has Mickey's face. One pair is Cars, and like the Mickey pair - has a picture on one and a Cars logo on the other. He only wears two of the four shoes... EVER, and yet, both pairs were necessary, BECAUSE, he will ONLY wear the ones with the images, not the words. Thus, he is constantly putting on different shoes. They are his flip flops. He loves them. And, despite the fact that he cannot move faster than a one-footed turtle when walking with them on, they are oh so adorable that I overlook his pokiness.

4) Dutvie! This means BLUEBERRIES!!!! He loooves Dutvie yogurt. I LOVE his pronunciation. Not even sure how it evolved...

5)Sing, sing a song! Cooper LOVES to sing - his favorite 2 songs are "Trouble" from the Farmer's insurance commercial with the "Puppy!!!" and "Hot Dog" from none other than Mickey Mouse. The best is when he does a mix and starts out with a forlorn "Twubble" and then a few "twubbles" in got "HOT DOOOOOOOG!!!!" Perhaps it is a must hear... Who am I kidding, it so IS a must hear - AMAZING!

6)Ranch. Our child has grown up in a house where one puts ranch on more than salad, specifically, PIZZA. Steve joked several months ago that Coop will think it is WEIRD when people don't eat ranch with their pizza. And as if to prove him right, when Coop had a boboli pizza slice for dinner the other night, he got out of his chair, went to the fridge, grabbed the ranch and loudly said "gick" (which is Cooper speak for 'ranch')... He INSISTS on ranch dipping sauce with his pizza - good tastes my man!

7) Zia. As already mentioned - zia is a go-to word for young master Coop. So far, and I am probably leaving something off, it means: "S", "Ice", "Grass"... ok... I am running out, but I think it means about 4 more things... my favorite is when he asks for "zia cream"...***

8) Pleasing. Cooper loves nothing more than to make me proud of him. He is a stinker, he is two and he is ENERGETIC, but more than any of that, he is a love bucket*, and he LIVES for positive reinforcement. I am more than happy to give it.

9) Hugs. Seriously - this kid is no-nonsense with the hugs. He is a two armed squeezer, and I find it hard to ever let go.

10) Conversationalist. Cooper really hates to be left out of conversations these days. If Steve and I are talking and he is not part of the conversation he will suddenly start stringing together jibberish, as though he is carrying on some OTHER conversation that we are not privy to. What a social little bucket.

* This has lead to his most random nickname (from Mommy)... "bucket"... I will literally say, "come here, bucket"...

** Edited to add that my FAVORITE part of EVERY time Coop sings the alphabet is the ending. Instead of "Now I know my ABCs, next time won't you sing with me" he says "I know, I know ABCs, (mumble mumble) song (mumble mumble)... maybe someday I will decipher the mumble, but for now, the "I know, I know" is so wonderful, the mumble is just icing.
***Edited to add: Zia means "white" and anything with the "ess" sound.