Cooper Runs Away

Cooper is such a character. A few weeks ago he decided to run away. 

He threw one of his toys so I sent him to his room for a time out. Basically we have him sit on his bed with him arms folded for about 2 minutes and then go in and talk to him about why he got frustrated and what he should do different next time. Well this time I got a phone call and totally forgot that he was on time out (has this happened to anyone else or just me?).

All of a sudden I heard some clanking around and his bedroom door open. He'd taken his backpack and packed it full of his metal trucks and tractors and put it on. This is how our conversation went.

ME: Cooper what are you doing?

COOPER: I'm leafeen!!!

ME: You're leaving?

COOPER: Yes. I go find my Daddy. I leafeen!

ME: Ok. See ya.

Cooper then opened the front door and walked out on to our deck. I really just wanted to see what he'd do and since we live in the middle of a field there was really no where he could go. 30 seconds later he opens the door back up.

COOPER: Where's my shoes?

ME: In the house.

COOPER: Help me my shoes?

ME: I'm not helping you run away.

At this point he gives me the cutest most exasperated sigh I've even heard and walks back in the house and takes his backpack off. Oh that kid cracks me up!

Another incident happened when we were taking Shelby up to the airport after she'd been home visiting for about a week. We're driving and all of a sudden Cooper (who's sitting by Shelby in the back seat) starts crying and saying "my baby hurts!" Ever since I've been pregnant I've been trying to tell Cooper that Mommy has a baby in her tummy. Well he's decided that he has a baby too and often refers to his tummy as his baby. 

My first thought was that he was going to be sick so we pulled over and I switched Shelby spots so that I could hold a bag in front of Cooper incase he was going to be sick. We started going again for another couple minutes but Cooper seemed to be getting worse. Finally I told Matt he'd just have to pull over so we could get Cooper out of his carseat. As soon as he pulled over I took Cooper out and asked if he had to go to the bathroom. He said yes so I helped him go on the side of the road. As soon as he was finished he said "My baby all better Mommy!" He'd been making himself sick trying to hold it so he didn't have an accident! What a little turkey! I honestly asked him so many times before if he needed to go to the bathroom and he kept saying no :) hahah at least he knew not to have an accident in his carseat!

In the mornings Cooper walks from his bedroom into ours to come get me up. Usually I'm already up but just checking my email or something in bed so I generally hear him coming. The other morning I thought I heard him in the kitchen, but when he didn't come in right away I figured I was just hearing things. About 5 minutes later Cooper comes walking in with a giant double chocolate Costco muffin 1/2 eaten and grinning from ear to ear. He looks at me and says "I got my muffin mommy!" I guess he'd taken a slight detour to grab a muffin Matt had left out on the kitchen table and have a little snack. It makes me nervous for wrapping presents and putting them under the tree for Christmas!

Speaking of presents Matt and I decided to wait until Christmas day to find out what our baby's gender is. We've had it all wrapped up as a present ever since my ultrasound back at the beginning of October. Well we decided to decorate for Christmas last week for FHE and once we got the tree up I put the present under it. That lasted for 2 days because Cooper kept bringing it to me and asking me to open it up. I didn't trust my willpower enough and decided it'd be best to just put it on top of the microwave again so I wouldn't be tempted. Out of sight, out of mind!

Also I just realized I didn't post anything about Halloween! This year we dressed Cooper up as Mr. Carl Fredrickson from the Disney movie UP. I knew with his white curly hair I wanted him to be an old man and Matt was able to help me modify a cane to fit Cooper. He had so much fun and it was such gorgeous weather that we were able to go to our town's Trunk or Treat and then to a few other houses after. On the way home we even stopped at a couple of the other houses that are near us out in the country. I just have to say that I dread the day when he actually has an opinion about what he dresses up as for Halloween ;)

Lately we've been able to go with Matt to work a little bit during the day to haul straw in the semi. Cooper loves it! He just plays on the back bunk with his little semi and stares out the back window at the bales. He also loves helping his dad load all the bales with the tractor. The other day Matt had to go to Calgary and bring 2 loads of bison down. He left at 5 AM Monday morning and didn't get home until close to 7 PM from the 2 loads. Matt drove right into our yard with the semi and trailer on. Cooper kept saying "Where's my buffalo dad?". I guess he didn't quite realize that Matt wasn't going to be bringing any home with him. Matt was pretty tired and had to get up at 5 again the next day to do another load so I told him Cooper and I would go with him so that way Cooper could see the bison. Coop didn't even wake up when we put him in the semi the next morning and my thought was that Cooper and I would just sleep until we got to Calgary around 8:30 or 9. Matt mentioned how tired he was and grateful that I had come to keep him awake haha so I was stuck. Actually it was really nice to just spend some time with just the two of us and we were even able to decide on a boys name for the baby if it's a boy!! For some reason we always have an easier time thinking of girl names. Anyways we finally got to the feedlot and I thought I'd go lay down with Cooper while Matt helped load the bison, but as soon as the semi stopped Cooper woke right up and was hungry. I'd brought 2 Costco muffins thinking that Matt would have 1 and Cooper and I would share the other. Well Cooper did share…..barely. I got 4 bites and he ate the rest haha. He must have been a hungry boy! He loved that he woke up in the semi and we even went out to watch dad load the bison for a bit. 

Waking up in the semi and eating a chocolate muffin! Best day ever for this little boy!

I just love this kid so much! He always keeps me laughing with his goofy grin!

Clumsy Thumbsy

This all started way back on September 4th. Matt and I had our house refinished with Hardi-board siding and, since I love to have things match, we decided we'd refinish Cooper's playhouse/my storage shed with the leftover materials. Then Matt had the great idea to do Ruby's dog house as well so everything would really match. Well he'd been pretty busy with drywall and farming for quite a while so things were a little slow going with our 2 smaller projects. Since I actually really enjoy doing things like that I would do what I could during the day to help things a long. Plus neither project was very big so it wasn't like we needed 2 people to work on it together. 

So I got the playhouse done like I'd wanted but kept putting off the dog house cause it was so small and I didn't really want to have to cut the trim that small. Well September 4th rolled around and I figured I just needed to get it done before it started getting too cold. So I started ripping the trim all down so it would fit. I was just ripping down the last board when it kinda caught on the end and I tried to flick it through the rest of the way with my thumb. No the greatest idea. I didn't realize how high the blade was up and ended up filleting my thumb when I tried to push the board off the table. 

I'm so glad the body going into shock when something traumatizing happens to it. It honestly didn't hurt that bad but it sure looked gross. I'd cut from the top of my thumb down through the first joint of it, running parallel with my fingernail so 1/4 of my thumb was just hanging there. I used my right hand to put pressure on it and hold it together, but that made it hard to try and call someone to help. Because we live out in the country we don't have the greatest service and because of my weak stomach I needed to lay down/crawl on the ground or I was afraid I'd pass out. So I ended up crawling around outside in the back yard until I could find service. My first call was to Barb to have her come down and drive me in to the hospital, but they'd just gotten to Lethbridge so she called Matt's grandma Orr instead to come and get me instead. A minute or two later Matt called me. Honestly I'd forgot to even call him :S. He was drywalling out in Taber so it wasn't like he'd be able to come get me and I was more focused on keeping pressure on my thumb. He left as soon as he could but was still going to be over an hour before he could get there. 

Through all this Cooper was inside. He'd been watching a movie while I finished up the trim and then, once it happened, I wasn't able to open up the door to get inside the house without letting go of my thumb. That was when I started to cry. Having Cooper standing at the door crying for me and not being able to help him broke my heart. I'm not exactly sure but he may have been looking out the back door when it happened because afterward when we'd ask him what Mommy said he'd say "Bzzz ow ow ow". I told Matt luckily I didn't swear when it happened or I'd wonder what he would have been saying instead. Thankfully for the shock, since it wasn't hurting at the beginning, all I honestly remember saying was ow.

Once Matt's grandparents got there we decided Grandpa would stay with Cooper until Barb got there and Grandma would drive me to the hospital and stay with me until Matt could get there. As a side note through all this Cooper was in the middle of potty training so when Grandpa come for some reason that was my biggest concern, making sure Cooper went to the bathroom enough. Fortunately he stayed dry the entire time. 

Once Grandma and I got to the hospital they took us right back and had some x-rays done to see if I'd gone through the bone and tendon. I had so they decided the best thing to do was bandage it up and send me home so that I could have a plastic surgeon look at it in Lethbridge the next morning and re attach the tendon before they stitched it up. They'd frozen my thumb with some local freezing so it hadn't started hurting again yet, but in the middle of the night I woke up in the worst pain! Because I was pregnant the strongest thing they recommended me taking was an extra strength Tylenol. Needless to say it didn't do much and I didn't get a lot of sleep before heading in to the hospital the next morning. Since I didn't want to take Cooper with me to the hospital I drove myself in so that Barb could watch Cooper for me. I had quite a few offers for people to come and sit with me at the hospital, but I preferred to go by myself since I knew what a baby I could be and didn't want anyone to see me cry. 

Once I got to the hospital I found out they didn't have me scheduled in so they were just going to try and squeeze me in. Once I got back there they didn't have the right equipment (a C arm I think) in the room that would allow the Dr. to see if he was setting the bone and tendon right, so he had to do his best to guess and then stitch it up. Then they sent me for another x-ray to see if everything was set right. The joint was in so many pieces and there were a couple that had to be rotated into the right place so back I went to the plastic surgeon to have them take the stitches out, rotated the bones, and then restitch me up again. They wanted me to get a brace made for my thumb/hand/arm so that I wouldn't move it, but the hand clinic was so backed up that they just put a full cast on it and told me to come in the next week to have a brace made. This whole process took just over 5 hours so by the end I was very glad to be able to go home. 

My parents came and took Cooper for the weekend so I could get some rest and I was lucky they did. Because my thumb was healing and swelling so much the cast was putting a lot of pressure on it. I ended up being sick all Friday night and by Saturday morning needed to go back to the Fort Macleod hospital. I was still only taking an extra strength Tylenol every 6-8 hours like they recommended, but it wasn't enough. Combine that with the morning sickness I had still and I wasn't able to even keep the medicine down. Matt hadn't gotten any sleep the night before either because he was taking care of me so Barb took me back in to the hospital so he could get some sleep. They gave me 3 or 4 IV's to rehydrate me and a shot of morphine in my thumb and I was able to get some sleep for a bit. When the doctor came back he told me I had hints of starvation and that he was concerned that I might have gestational diabetes because of my blood glucose levels so to make an appointment with my OB. He also gave me a prescription for morphine and told me that I could take 2 extra strength Tylenol every 4-6 hours instead. This helped a ton! I made sure I was still careful with what I was taking but it was such a relief to be able to manage the pain better. 

I made it through the weekend and by Monday had appointments with my OB, the plastic surgeon, the hand clinic to get a splint made, and my chiropractor. The OB said the pain meds were fine to be taking and that they would still wait until I was 26 weeks to check for gestational diabetes. The plastic surgeon took my cast off and had me get an x-ray again before they made a splint for me at the hand clinic. It was a busy day and just a hint of what the next 2 months would be like. My trips to Lethbridge consisted of going to see different doctors and leaving Cooper with Grandma Barb in Fort Macleod. Slowly my thumb has been healing and I've been making appointments at the hand clinic for my rehab. I almost have full movement in the joint at the base of my thumb, but the top joint can only move 15 degrees instead of the 70 degrees that my right thumb can do. It's a work in progress but the more I work with it the more movement I'm able to get. 

It's been a long process (almost 3 months) and I'm ready for it to be done. Although I am very grateful that it happened when it did and not when I was further along in my pregnancy. It's given me the time to heal that I need before the baby comes. Cooper is also at a very independent age which has been a huge help to me. Another small blessing is the fact that I could wear maternity jeans so I didn't have to do any buttons up! I don't have feeling in the very tip of my thumb so it's made doing buttons up a very difficult task ;P. 

Count Your Blessings

I'm not a super positive person and this is something I'm working on changing. As a result I usually end up saying something negative and then trying to think of something positive about that instead. For example if I'm venting to someone about how Matt loaded the dishwasher 'wrong' I usually catch myself and end by saying "but at least he's willing to help me out." It's still a work in progress.

Considering this past week I've realized I could do a lot of complaining OR count my blessings. These are some if the blessings I've counted do far:

• I have a thumb! We'll still have to wait another 6-8 weeks to see how functional it'll be, but at least it's all there!

• I have wonderful neighbors/family who were able to help me out in my hour of need. Without Barb to organize having Grandma Orr take me to the hospital and Grandpa Orr to watch Cooper until she was able to get there I don't know what I would have done. 

• I have an amazing husband who has helped me with everything lately. Whether it be washing and doing my hair or rinsing out my puke bucket he's been such a great example of Christlike service to me. 

• Our families have also been incredible through this all. My parents took Cooper for the weekend to help me recover and Matt's family has been there to take me to the hospital, watch Cooper so I can nap or wash my dishes. It's all been so appreciated and I can never say thank you enough. 

• I've also been blessed to have wonderful doctors and nurses anytime I've been to the ER or had surgery done. I feel like I've spent a little too much time with them lately, but I'm very grateful for all their care and understanding. Especially with my weak stomach  

• Cooper has also been another huge blessing. He has such a sweet spirit and has been so mindful of 'mommy's owie'. He's always trying to 'help mommy feel better' while Matt's at work. 

• I'm so grateful for this pregnancy. It definitely hasn't been a walk in the park. I've had to be very careful with the amount of pain medication I take, and I usually end up getting sick at night. But all those things remind me of the blessing we have to grow our family. I know there are some who are struggling with that in their lives so I've learned it appreciate every part of it.