I wasn't kidding. Cooper is a Real Life Bubble Boy

Great news!

Well only slightly good news!

Ok really it's kind of crappy news.

Today we called the allergist because Cooper just hasn't been eating. We also needed to find out the results from his previous visit and the lab work they ordered so that we could see his GI doctor and get the appetite stimulant started.

Before you go any further, if you haven't read about that visit, click HERE.

They were able to fit us in this afternoon due to a cancelation and we jumped on it!

We got in and got some results.

First thing first: weight check.

Normally at this doctor they keep him fully clothed, shoes and all, when they weigh him.

We wanted to know his actual weight since it is a significant concern. 

So we stripped that boy down to his britches (diaper) and had him step on the scale.

HE IS UP TO 20.8 LBS!!!!!

THANK YOU JESUS!

We do chalk a lot of that up to water weight because he is only drinking his bottles at this point since he refuses everything else we give him. But we will take the weight gain either way!!

Some other good news. Cooper is being put back on the Acid reflux medication he was on for a few months after his surgeries, as well as an allergy medication that doubles as an appetite stimulant.

WOO-HOO!!

That should help make him more comfortable and also more hungry!

Now for the "Crappy news".

We were hoping to have the Doctor tell us that a lot of the allergens he originally tested positive for were just sensitivities.

Wishful thinking.

I think it is time to accept that in Cooper's life, his motto for health issues is:  "Go big or go home".

It turns out there are even more things he is allergic to.

Joy.

Let's review the original list shall we?

Whole egg

Cow milk

Wheat

Soy

Oat

Corn

Cashew

Fish mix

Tree mix A (Trees)

Weed mix B (Weeds)

Summer grass mix (grass)

Dog (environment)

Now that we see those, lets add a few more to the list..

Quinoa

Beef 

(SERIOUSLY WHO IS ALLERGIC TO BEEF?!)

Peanut

Egg whites

Pork

Oranges

Tomato

Rice

After reading the list we received at the first doctors visit, I thought,"WHAT ELSE IS THERE?!"

Apparently Cooper wanted to be an extreme over achiever and show me what else there was...

So now at this point the allergist gave us these exact instructions:

Focus on his Elecare 

(Completely hypo-allergenic formula he has been on since he was 2 months old)

and

"He may have white potato, carrot and apple. He may have the welch's fruit snacks as well"

I crap you not.

Coopers diet is now formula, carrots, apples, white potato, and fruit snacks.

The fruit snacks were at my request because it is the only thing he will eat and he obsesses over them. Since they don't contain any of the allergens he is allowed to eat them. But from now until his next visit in December, He will be living on those five items.

Wish us luck...

Being shy

Modeling

Jeff would make a noise and Cooper would giggle and he would smile and look back. I couldn't catch the smile.

Comfy?

For real. That is the Doctor's orders for his food intake..

Grocery store buying his allergy approved food.

You are your child's role model

I am a very strong believer in the thought that children grow up and emulate the actions that they grow up seeing.

Being parents, you literally shape your child's reality and their norm.

I have always believed this,

However it is becoming more and more apparent as Cooper gets older.
The most important thing that I want to pass on to Cooper is how to love.
How to love your spouse, your children, your family, your friends.

It is very important to me that Cooper sees his parents show acts of love around the house.
Whether that is a kiss good morning or goodnight, holding hands, cuddling on the couch.
A kiss hello or goodbye,
Hugs all throughout the day,
Or random kisses "just because".

Some people may not think that small children are as perceptive as they truly are.
Everyone jokes as soon as babies start to say words, " I have to start watching what I say now",
but many people don't realize this is also the time when you really have the opportunity to completely influence how your child sees the world.

I have noticed how Cooper processes how he sees the actions of love being shown in our house.
He very quickly changed from open mouth baby kisses to puckering his lips and making the kiss sound.
He runs up to me or Jeff and just hugs our leg, or pulls on us to give us a real hug, then goes about his business.
He reaches back to hold your hand when you are walking in a store or when he wants to play with you or he wants you to get him a snack.
He will kiss his stuffed animals.
If he has two stuffed animals or his Woody and Jessie toys, he will quickly push their faces together and make a kiss sound.
He is very gentle and will rub your hand or a face randomly just to show love and check on you.
If Jeff and I are cuddled up on the couch watching a TV show before work, Cooper comes and cuddles right in.
He blows kisses.
He tries to kiss any pet within the family.
He knows to "give loves" (softly pet/ rub) family or animals.

You can try to teach a child how to do things through words,
but as the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words".
I honestly believe that whole heartedly.
Children are going to imitate what they see.
That is a huge responsibility.

As I see how Cooper acts towards people and animals and stuffed animals,
I know he is imitating what he sees between me and Jeff, me and him, and him and his dad.
There are many things I know I am "winging" as a parent,
But teaching how to love, is something I chose a long time ago.
And of all the things Cooper has learned,
That is the one thing I am most proud of.

I know that by the actions I am showing in our house,
I am providing him with the instincts he will show to his family and friends,
and to his future wife and his future children.
If at the end of the day, he has learned that, I know I have done what I set out to do.

Mom moment

Today I am having quite a few "mom moments".

I call it that because I think all moms get them every once in a while.

Or at least I am hoping they do,

Otherwise this makes me a weirdo.

Tonight as I sat with my little man, who is now closer to two than he is one, I became sad.

I am cuddled up with this tiny little being who fits perfectly wrapped in my arms.

We are watching the Lion King and he just cuddles with me as he watches.

Then he readjusts and comes and sits on my belly as I am laying down, with his back against the couch cushion.

He has his plush Toy Story toy Woody with him and he is content again.

I can't focus on the movie.

All I can pay attention to is Cooper.

He is so loving and cuddly.

And it made me realize, he isn't going to be this tiny little boy forever.

In fact, he probably won't be like this for too much longer.

And that makes me incredibly sad.

In no time he is going to be forming sentences.

He is going to know more words and actually have conversations instead of just babbling incoherently.

He is going to want to sit by himself instead of cuddle with me.

I know it is apart of growing up, but it is kind of heartbreaking.

Im sitting there with my little man and I just am taking it all in.

The moments when he allows me to snuggle him for long periods of time, I jump at.

The laundry, or the dishes, or dinner can wait.

Having these moments will stay with me forever.

Before we got too involved in the movie I had to make sure Cooper had his bath so we went upstairs.

When we came down, I went in to switch the wash into the dryer and I hear, "Peas, rarr"

I look out and he has the remote and he is asking me please and growling like a lion. 

He wanted the movie back on.

As we watch the movie, I get up and give him his bottle.

When he finishes,  I tell him it's time for bed.

I tell him, " Grab Woody! It's bedtime baby."

He jumps up and grabs Woody and runs to the stairs.

Most nights I also tell him to give Daddy hugs and kisses.

He runs back towards the couch so he can blow kisses to Daddy. Then he usually runs up and gives big hugs and will give him a kiss.

Tonight, Jeff wasn't home when I was putting him to bed, so we had to skip this step.

But as we were walking towards the stairs, Cooper started blowing kisses to the dogs and tried giving them hugs and kisses but they were a little too fast and scared so they ran away. (We are dog sitting for my parents).

So even though Daddy wasn't here he still had to give his kisses. :)

We walk up the stairs and he says a variation of "climb" as he goes up each step.

I tell him, "let's go get pajamas" so he runs to his room.

I put on one of my favorite pairs.

They are light blue with little bears on them.

I then tell him to go brush his teeth.

He picks up Woody and runs to the bathroom down the hall. 

Another "mom moment"

Watching him run in his little baby pajamas to brush his teeth.

Soon it will take him 2 seconds to get from his room to the bathroom, instead of the 6 it takes him now.

When we get in there he is brushing his teeth and giggling.

When he is finished I tell him to  go to his bedroom because it is bedtime.

He runs in there, with Woody in hand, and heads straight to his crib.

Moments like this make me so happy.

He is the sweetest boy in the world and I am so lucky to call him mine.

Even though I am having more and more "mom moments" as he gets older and I realize he isn't going to do something for too much longer, I enjoy those moments as much as I possibly can.

Even though they are sad moments, they allow me to really take everything in and cherish the moments

There will come a day when there will be a slightly different variation of bedtime and that is going to be a very, very sad day.

But until then, I am just going to enjoy every single moment I can!

Testing. Testing. Are these Allergies on?

The day finally arrived!

The day we will finally know all the answers to the questions of what is wrong with Cooper!

Seems like a lot of pressure to put on one tiny appointment. Doesn't it?

Serves us right.

We learned some things, but now there is a whole lot more we have questions about..

Here is what the day consisted of and what we learned.

We saw the allergist.

They did an Allergy skin test on Cooper's little back.

They tested 24 things, 2 of which were just baselines to follow so only 22 different allergens.

I'm sure you are wondering at this point which of those allergens he had a reaction to.

Well, let me tell you.

Whole egg.

Cow milk.

Wheat.

Soy.

Oat.

Corn.

Cashew.

Fish mix.

Tree mix A (Tree).

Weed mix B (Weeds).

Summer grass mix (grass).

Dogs (environment).

For those of you counting, That is 12 allergens of which he had a reaction, of 22 tested...

"What could possibly be left?"  you may ask

3 other nut variations, Shellfish, mold, dust mite,

and the opposites of the final four he tested positive to: Tree mix B, Weed mix A, Winter grass mix, and Cats.

So basically he has a reaction to half of the environment, as well as, three quarters of foods.

Lovely.

Now to be 100% certain, we did a blood test and we will see if the skin tests and the blood tests produce the same allergens. We will get those results and do a follow up in three weeks. From there we will remove those items from his diet/environment on a trial and error basis. (HAHA if we could even introduce those items to his diet we would have been happy).

Basically, my son will forever live in a bubble.

He is a real life bubble boy.

Did I mention what spending 4 hours at a Doctors office and a blood test lab with a 1 1/2 year old looks like?

No?

Well, enjoy.

Nothing to see here. 

Just kidding! I'm what you see here!

Crying on the floor

Just kidding! I'm happy now!

I didn't say you could be happy.

"Hey mama! Wanna see my tongue?"

"OK now I want snacks"

Running it is.

Peek a boo

Where are you?

The initial grid test. Red dots are marker to show Doctor the middle between allergens

"Whatcha doin' ma?"

Allergens starting to show, If you look closely you can see a lot of raised bumps

Peek a boo. Like a boss.

Mother, I am not amused. I just had blood drawn. Let me be.

Who am I kidding? I'm always amused!

Oh hey there, screaming child. I have a present for you!

Nobody likes the screaming child at the store.

Nobody.

This my friends, is how you combat the monster that encompasses the child's being.

P.S. You bet your sweet pants we bought that hat.

Ole!

Ring Ring. Telephone!

Want to know one thing that will always make Cooper smile?

Give him your cellphone or a remote and he gets super excited and has a conversation into it.

So last week we did just that.

We gave the phone to Cooper and he decided he wanted to make some phone calls.

Ring ring.

Cooper it's for you!

*Squeal*

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

It has been 13 years since the unthinkable happened.

13 years since our entire world changed.

13 years since 2,977 people were killed.

13 years since a horrific act of hatred altered everything we knew.

I was in 5th grade when the World Trade center was hit.

I remember coming downstair that morning having my dad in the family room while the news was on. 

The first tower had been hit. 

Then the second.

Then the Pentagon.

51 minutes was all the time there was between four hijacked planes causing catastrophic devastation.

At 10 years old I didn't understand how anything like this could happen.

How were there people in the world who could be so heartless? 

How could people be so sick to plan out attacks to kill thousands of people?

I remember going to school and it being so somber.

I remember my teacher talking to us and trying to make sense of it even though there wasn't any way to.

I remember not doing much of anything that day, just everyone sitting together trying to understand what happened.

I remember that was the only day that our school had the TV going so we were updated on what was happening in our Nation.

I remember crying because so many people died. 

I remember being afraid that something that horrible could happen in our country that was supposed to be the greatest and the strongest in the world.

I remember worrying that the same thing could happen to either of my parents.

There are not many days I can remember from elementary school.

In all honesty, that may be the only day I remember from start to finish.

13 years later, as I am writing this and as I look through pictures, I am in tears.

I still don't understand how anyone could have such hatred for people.

How any one person, let alone a group of people, could be so willing to kill innocent people.

I will never understand how 19 men could have hijacked four planes in order to kill themselves and thousands of other people.

I can't understand how a plan was formulated to bring on such a devastation.

It is disgusting that there are still terrorists out there who think they did the right thing. That would do it again if they had the means.

My heart hurts that there are people like that in this world.

It makes me physically sick to my stomach to think of all the victims.

There were people as young as 2 and as old as 85 who were killed in the attack.

Being a mother, my heart aches for those children.

It aches for those mothers, for those fathers, for those sisters, those brothers, for those friends, for those husbands, those wives.

It was scary bringing a child into this world when there is so much hatred, and so many horrible people.

I worry every day about the world my precious innocent little boy grows up in.

It is heartbreaking to know that I can't protect him, or Jeff or my parents or my in laws, or my family.

It is heartbreaking that I can't protect them any more than any family member who lost a loved one in the attacks.

Looking through pictures from that day 13 years ago,

I sat here crying multiple times, and lost it a few times scrolling through the images, reading the facts.

The numbers of victims, the time frame of the attacks; So many things are incomprehensible to me: 

When the South tower began to collapse, it took approximately 10 seconds from start to finish. 10 seconds for hundreds of floors to crumble to the ground.

102 minutes. That is the time between the first attack and the collapse of the final tower. 

This year, on May 10, 2014, there are still 1,115 victims that have not been identified by any physical remains or DNA. That is 41% of the victims.

It took over 8 months to finish the clean up of Ground Zero.

It officially ended May 30, 2002

It took 3.1 million hours of labor to clean up 1.8 million tons of debris and cost $750 million.

Those numbers leave me speechless.

I pray that there will never be an act of this magnitude, hatred or evil towards our country ever again. 

In these 13 years since that horrible day,

we have declared war

We have fought battles

We have fought to take back what is ours: Our freedom, our peace.

We united that day in a way that no one could have ever foreseen.

We had always been a country, but that day solidified who we are, what we stand for and what will be tolerated.

Even though every Citizen may not have had someone physically affected by the attack, each and every American carries this day around with them.

We are still fighting to end this tragedy and ensure that nothing will ever happen again.

Some people have fought first hand.

While others at home still heal a little bit more each day from the day that shattered our world.

As I was reading through stories of September 11th,

I came across one about Lauren Grandcolas.

She was on United flight 93.

I really encourage you too look this story up on this mans profile. 

It is both heartbreaking and inspiring. 

I did my best to link the story as close as I could. It will take you to Frank Somerville KTVU Facebook page. The story is from September 7th so you will have to find it (as of right now it is only two posts back) but you can find his page HERE

After reading the above story you will understand why I asked you to read it.

 I will never cease to be amazed at the courage people have in the moments before tragedy.

When they are facing death and still have poise.

Lauren Grandcolas was a hero in many ways.

Her grace, and her beauty in the way she handled her inevitable death is inspiring.

I was in tears reading the story and how she handled it. 

I am in awe of this woman.

She would have been an incredible mother.

On this day I hope that everyone will take a moment of silence to think about all those who were killed, all those affected physically, personally, mentally, impersonally.

To take a few moments to bypass any political feelings or any current issues and remember the day that so tragically unified us.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

This song gives me chills every single time I hear it.

Let it Rain

(Tune to "Let It Go")

The rain floods towns in Arizona today

Not a dry spot to be seen.

A State of constant drought warnings

and it looks like the storm is free.

The winds were howling like the rainstorm was outside

We couldn't stay inside, Heaven knows I tried.

Don't let him cry, Don't let him fuss

Be the good mom you alway choose to be

let's leave, just breathe, and let him free!

Just let him free!

Let it rain!

Let it rain!

We can't sit inside anymore!

Let it rain!

Let it rain!

Grab your coats and run through the door!

He didn't care

what clothes he was going to wear

Let the storm rage on

The rain never bothered us any way!

attempting to jump

Stealing some of Mama's oatmeal, of course only to eat the apples..