Tired Boy

Spending the day at home with Mommy and his sisters makes for one tired little boy.

But he sure is cute when he is sleeping.

He's growing up.

Cooper John is growing into a big boy. I think it is time for potty training. He has been giving lots of signs lately that he is ready. Last night when I heard a scream come from the girl's bathroom and ran in there to find Cooper wet from his knees to the middle of his back I knew it was past time to buy a potty seat.

Cooper had pulled down his pants, taken off his diaper and climbed onto the potty to see. What he didn't realize was that instead of just flipping up the lid, he flipped up the seat. He fell in and was terrified. I dried him off and put on a clean diaper. He was very upset because he said he still needed to pee. Unfortunately he didn't want to try the big potty again and he refused to sit on his little potty. Today we will buy a potty seat and over the Good Friday/Easter weekend we will attempt potty training.

I think it is also becoming time to move him into a big boy bed. He has been having more and more issues with going to sleep and sleeping all night in his crib, but every chance he gets he will curl up in Grace's bed and pretend like he is sleeping. The past few weeks we've been bring him into our bed and he is pretty happy to sleep under the covers with us. We have a toddler bed in the garage so I'm tempted to bring it into the house and see if he sleeps better in it.

I don't really have a problem with him sleeping in our bed, but frost season has begun. Last night Jason had to get up to take care of the vineyards which left me at home with the kids. I brought Cooper into our bed around 2:30am and around 3:15 I was awoken with a thunk. Turns out Cooper kept inching over to Jason's side of the bed until he finally fell out. There were no tears and I pick him up and he stayed pretty close to me the rest of the night. I feel much more comfortable when he is sandwiched in between us with no chances of falling out. It makes me feel that a toddler bed might be a safer option for him, at least if he does fall out he won't get hurt.

How can you be mad at a face like this?

Cooper John has sure been giving us a run for our money lately. I know that he can't be blamed for being crabby and refusing to sleep when he has one (or two) ear infections, but he has been on antibotics for over 24 hours now, and he should be feeling better.

I don't think that Jason or I have gotten a full night's sleep in a month (besides our mini-vacation a couple of weeks ago). Not only has Cooper been waking up asking to "rock more". He has been screaming for his Papa in the middle of the night. He has given up on speaking and will only scream at 2am. He has Jason and I wondering if there is something more going on than terrible twos and ear infections.

Thankfully in the morning he is a happy little boy and a joy to be around. We are praying that the ears, sleeping and screaming will be better soon.

Little Ladies Man

Cooper John knows exactly the way to his Mommy's heart.
Last night Jason and Emma Jo were at FBC's softball game, so I was alone with Grace and Cooper. After getting Gracie safely tucked into bed I took Cooper to his room. We rocked and cuddled as I tried to get him to go to sleep. He was almost out when all of a sudden he realized he was almost asleep. He immediately squirmed his way until he was laying on my chest with his head on my shoulder. He almost fell asleep again at which point he started kissing me. He would grab my face pucker up and kiss me full on the lips. Then he would lean back, look me in the eyes, and giggle. Clearly he knew that I couldn't resist little sloppery kisses and this would surely give him more time before he had to go to sleep. I tried my best not to laugh, but a few chuckles did erupt. This continued for a few minutes until I got my self-control back and finished rocking him to sleep.
I'm trying to enjoy these little moments of his babyhood. I know how quickly he is going to be a big boy and want nothing to do with snuggling with his mommy.

Bedtime Stories

We have always read bedtime stories to the kids. It started when Emma Jo was about 1.5 years old and continues to this day. About a year ago Emma Jo started reading to herself before she went to bed. We continued to read aloud to Grace on the bottom bunk while Emma climbed unto the top bunk and read to herself. This past week we decided to change that routine. Emma and I decided that it would be nice to have a family bedtime story that we read out loud together. She picked our first book, Charlotte's Web. The first night it was just Emma Jo, Grace and me. All three of us climbed onto Mommy and Daddy's bed and Emma read the first chapter. It as nice. The 2nd night Cooper was already asleep, so Emma Jo, Grace, Mommy and Daddy cuddled on the bed while Mommy read the 2nd chapter. That was even nicer. Two nights ago Cooper was having nothing with sleeping so he got to join us on the bed too. It was great having the whole family together even though Cooper was doing a lot of moving and very little listening. Last night it was back to just the girls and while it was nice and relaxing, it definitely felt like we were missing someone. Hopefully this is a new tradition we can keep up.
By the way, everyone seems to be sleeping better, even Cooper fell fast asleep after the family story night.

Long, Long Night

Poor Cooper John has been fighting to get his molars for over a week now. We've had a fever, a bite and lots and lots of drool. Last night was the worst. He finally let me look in his mouth and there appears to be a blood blister where his upper left molar should be. He was up and down most of the night and got the best rest sleeping in my arms in his Lazy-Boy chair. Hopefully it will finally pop through today and he can get some relief. Then there will only be three more...

Knock on Wood

He did it! For the first time in over a week, Cooper slept through the night last night. I'm not sure what has been going on lately, but it sure hasn't been sleep. Lately he has been waking up once or twice a night. Friday night was the worst when Jason and Cooper had a few hours of bonding time in the La-Z-Boy chair. Last night Cooper went to sleep around 6:30pm, woke up around 8:30pm and then slept through until 5:30am. I sure do feel better after a good nights rest!