Valentine's Day

I gave the girls each a little box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. Lindsey gobbled hers all right away and Gracie saved hers for several days with a bite out of each of them. I ended up just throwing them away. Gracie is so funny about things. When I offer her candy or cookies she says she doesn't want them because she doesn't want to get her hands dirty. Poor kid.

Granddad

With all the drama going on here the only fun thing Granddad got to do while he was here was go to the zoo with us. It was good to get outside and get some fresh air. There was a cool wind that day though and there have been several windy days since. Makes me wonder if we brought it with us from Idaho because when I ask people if it's normally this windy here they say no.

I'm afraid we wore Granddad out but it was good to have his help. He ended up having to help a lot more than any of us thought and it was a blessing to have him here. Thank you Granddad! We love and miss you!

Taking a nap with Granddad.

Three Generations

I don't know how to choose where a video goes when I post, so this video from the zoo should be up with the pictures from the zoo, but as many of you know, I have a technology handicap, so here it is.

Gracie's "Big Pink Band Aid"

Little Grace has to have this cast on for 3 1/2 to 4 weeks and then a shorter cast for another 2 weeks. Poor thing! I've never broken a bone but casts just seem so uncomfortable and I've heard that they get so itchy. So far she seems pretty positive about things though. Tim said they asked her what color she wanted and she chose pink. She is such a girly girl!!! Her fake picture smile cracks me up! When I asked her if I could take a picture of her cast she said yes and rolled her pant leg right up. Hopefully she can stay positive about everything.

Scrunching her face up in the above picture - that's her fake picture smile again :)

When she was talking to Aunt Sarah on the phone she said something about her big pink bandaid and held the phone up to her cast so that Sarah could "see" it. So cute!!!

I tried to load video of her telling us about it and scooting around on the floor yesterday before she had the cast but it wouldn't work. I'll try again tomorrow.

Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf! Love you all!

Living at the Doctor's Office

So today we officially already met our family deductible for the year and Cooper's birth hasn't even been factored in yet. Our kitchen counter is covered with medicine and we feel like we live in a pharmacy. A couple weeks before Cooper was born the girls got really bad colds. After taking them to the doctor several times since because they aren't getting better we have gone through sinusitis, ear infection, croup, rash, and now today strep throat, and poor Gracie fractured her lower tibia.

I think she was trying to jump from the air mattress to the couch because I heard her hit and I thought I heard a snap and when I turned around she was on the floor in between the couch and mattress. She was crying really hard. I had been rushing around all morning because we had to bring Cooper in to the doctor and I had scheduled Gracie for a checkup too because she's had her rash for a week now. Lindsey had a terrible night and couldn't breathe because of all her mucus so I decided to bring her also. All of that, plus just getting back from the hospital with Cooper already had me stressed so even though I was holding Gracie and comforting her I was also upset and telling her, "That's why we've told you not to jump on the mattress." All I needed was one more reason to visit the doctor.

As the morning continued any time Gracie would put any pressure at all on her leg she would crumple to the floor and cry. Then I figured something really was wrong but I don't know where any ER's are around here so I just figured we'd get it taken care of at the doctor appointment and they could tell us where to go.

So at the appointment we found out that Gracie had strep throat and that there was something going around that was probably causing the rash. Also, one of Lindsey's lungs sounded bad so they had us go to another place to get Gracie's leg and Lindsey's lung x-rayed. Luckily Lindsey's lungs were fine, but poor Gracie does have a fracture. They can't get her in to an orthopaedic surgeon until Monday so in the meantime we just have to keep her from putting weight on it.

My poor baby! It's so sad seeing her in pain and confined to the couch. To top it off she's been asking me to hold her constantly and for some reason she only wants me to hold her. Granddad and Tim offer to hold her but she cries, "only mommy". It breaks my heart because she cries and asks me to hold her when I can't, either because I'm in the bathroom or feeding Cooper or cleaning up after a meal or trying to eat my meal. At one point I came out of the bathroom and she was crying for me on the floor. She had tried to crawl to me but her leg hurt too much. I wanted to cry!

As soon as I got done with dinner and got Cooper fed I just held her on the couch and talked to her and read her stories and then I carried her in to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. Once she finally got attention from me she was smiling and talking and it was good to see her doing better. She still asks to use the potty but we have to carry her in and lift her on and off and even though we try to be gentle getting her pants off she still wimpers. Nothing breaks a mom's heart more than to see her child in pain and be absolutely helpless in fixing their problem.

My Handsome Cooper!

Cooper Timothy Corless was born on February 15, 2011. He weighed 10 lbs even and measured 21 1/4 inches long. What a big handsome boy!!! We are so glad he is here with us!

Momma's boy!

Gracie and Lindsey were so excited to see him! Lindsey cried unless she was the one holding him and Gracie said, "My love him!" When we brought him home from the hospital we put him in our bedroom with a gate blocking the door and the girls kept standing at the gate staring at him.

The picture below is blurry but I wanted to put it in because it reminded me of my brother Colter's newborn pictures. He was a big brute too!

Gifts from the proud Papa!!!

Look how beautiful his skin is! The hospital photographer said he looked like a c-section baby. Perfectly round head and no marks or bruises. He is so handsome!

My Little Man!

We had the carseat all ready in the smallest settings and when we tried to put him in he wouldn't fit, so we had to raise the straps up a level.

I love my baby so much!