The Beautiful Mess: 32-33 weeks!

Well...I made it 31 weeks with a perfect record of posting each week (some were a little late, but they still got posted!). The last 8 days have been rough! We have been sick in our house! It started last Thursday, when I should have posted Cooper's 32 week update. That morning I could tell he wasn't feeling well at all! We got his pictures for the week and it all went down hill from there! He was a snotty mess! By the end of the day it was green and his eyes were oozing yellow/green gunk by Friday. I called the Dr. Friday (of course we were in Winston and couldn't get into the Dr. but i was hoping they would tell me something over the counter that I could get him). They wanted to see him but said that if it was still be on Sunday, when we got back into town, to call and bring him in (one of the offices is open for a few hours on Sunday). Sunday I called and we got him in there at 2. I thought it was just an icky cold because his only real symptoms were runny nose, oozy eyes, and a fever (101.3) on Saturday that didn't last long. It didn't take the Dr long to determine that BOTH ears were infected!?!?! I would have NEVER guessed it had anything to do with his ears! I had been mindful of watching to see if he seemed to be bothered by his ears but he never so much as touched them, pulled at them, or anything! Such a little trooper! He was prescribed Augmentin and we started it that evening! within 24 hours he was significantly better! The snotty-ness had cleared and he just seemed to be bothered by ear/throat pain. It got a little rough in the evenings...he did not want to be laid down in his bed (I presume that lying down hurt with the pressure in his ears) and we had a few rough nights! Thankfully he seems to be almost completely back to normal now!
As if Cooper being sick wasn't already enough, i ended up getting sick on Monday myself! I felt like I had the flu and Cooper and I just lounged all day Monday. By Tuesday, I still felt horrible and couldn't really swallow (my throat and glands felt like they were swelling shut!) so i called the Dr and went in the afternoon SURE that it would be strep. Both the rapid and the longer throat culture came back negative for strep, so it's still a mystery. I was prescribed a z-pack though and it helped tremendously....immediately! on Wednesday, while not completely 100%, I could at least swallow again! We were able to celebrate the 4th of July that evening and I was able to go back to work at the Y on Thursday morning. We returned to our house Thursday evening and Cooper and i are spending today here at home!
It's definitely hard having a sick baby, but even harder when you feel awful yourself! I guess it was inevitable that I would get it because he was slobbering and snotting all over me, hazard of the "job" I guess! :)

ok....this is a lot since it's 2 weeks worth!
at 32/33 weeks Cooper:

weighs right at 18 pounds even...such a little peanut!
wears 6 month and 6-9 month clothes comfortably
sticks out his tongue and blows "raspberries" all the time! He especially does it when he thinks something is funny....it's the new laugh :)
LOVES when we make a tent out of his blanket! I think he's going to be a little boy who needs daddy to build forts in the living room with him! When my brother and I were little we used to take the couch cushions off of the couches at my grandmas and pretend that we were animals at the zoo in our cages, or that the couches were our forts....I foresee lots of couches with no cushions on them in our future too! :)
loves to play peek-a-boo! I think he just loves to play!
has a slight vain streak....this kid absolutely LOVES to look at himself in the mirror, or anything that reflects his image!
has gotten a little out of whack with his bedtime schedule due to being sick for the last week (and probably due to how much time we spend elsewhere and not at our own home) but he seems to be getting back on track the last few days, thankfully! I was afraid we had undone all the hard work of getting him to sleep so well through the night in his own bed!
LOVES his sippy cup! we have tried a few different ones but so far the ones that he does the best with are his nuby and nuk cups. Both of these he is able to drink water from really well with very little dribbling now! And if he sees it....he wants it! :)
is a typical boy when it comes to making noise! if something will bang against something and make a good noise, you can be sure he's going to keep doing it! The other night he crawled into the kitchen while my mom was cooking and she gave him a few metal measuring cups and spoons and he was making the MOST racket in there! I finally asked if she was looking for a particular pot or something because I thought it was her banging around. She replied that it wasn't her at all.....he was going to town banging things!
along with the banging, he loves to go straight for the dog bowls! and if it's filled with water...that's even better! If the bowls are empty, he just proceeds to bang them against each other and on the floor! :)
loved his first fireworks! I was a little concerned, with his ear infections, that the loud booms would hurt his ears and/or scare him but he was mesmerized by them! I watched them with a big 'ol grin behind that paci in his mouth; it was the cutest thing ever! I'm so glad he enjoyed it and didn't cry the entire half hour while they were going off!
has ventured to climb the stairs! yikes! we're in for it now! Not only does this little booger crawl around EVERYWHERE and pull up on EVERYTHING....now he's climbing! I started to see him with a climbing tendency at bath time....he stands at the edge of the tub while I'm filling his bath with water and he gets so excited to get in there that he's been lifting one foot as if to try to climb up the side of the bath tub. The last couple days at my mom's house, however, he has actually climbed a few of her stairs! Her steps have 2 steps then a landing that turns slightly, then another step that turns slightly, then the full flight up. At the bottom of the full flight of stairs she keeps a baby gate up to keep the dogs from going upstairs and getting into things. Cooper has made his way all the way up to the gate and then stood up and held onto the gate! wait until he figures out that coming down is a lot more difficult (and quicker!) than going up! Good thing we don't have any steps in our current house to worry about!
is obsessed with the computer! It is very hard for me to get anything done on the computer when he's nearby...he helps himself to pushing buttons, pulling the cord out of the computer, and grabbing the screen :)
definitely understand cause and effect! He has a couple of books that when you turn the pages, they read aloud. He has clearly figured out whats makes them talk, stop, and talk again! He has one that starts "peek-a-boo..." and we hear it over and over and over and over again! :) open close, open close, open close! :) We also build towers with his wooden blocks and he definitely understand that when he grabs one the tower falls down....and he thinks it's hilarious!
gives the sweetest kisses! He's especially generous with his kisses for mommy! they are so slobbery but he just grins when he gives then (and so do it!) I love it! Check out the pictures from 4th of July below where he's trying to give grandma a kiss! :)
has learned, from his daddy...who deliberately taught him one night and then left the room, how to splash in the tub! now as soon as he get into the water those hands go to town splashing! At my mom's we bathe him in the sink and he literally splashes water all over us, the floor, the cabinets, and any dog that might be nearby! He thinks he's so funny (as does his daddy who taught him the trick!)
seems to be quite the nursing acrobat...especially when nursing in the side laying position! One minute he's nursing normally, the next he's flipped himself over onto his tummy (still latched on!) and is pushing up onto his legs, all but standing up!
can stand holding onto one thing and move to something else nearby....I don't think we are too far from independent standing!
seems to be starting to understand the word "no." As he's gotten more mobile and adventurous he's started getting into things he's not supposed to (like the fake rocks in the fireplace). Sometimes he'll work his way over there and then look back at me like "is it ok this time mom?" I think he's heard "no no" to that so many times he's starting to know that it's not something he's supposed to be doing! :) but in true boy fashion....he's going to see how far he can push it! :) little stinker!
is starting to get on somewhat of a nap schedule. typically he's tired in the morning after being up for a couple hours and then again in the afternoon around 1 or 2 o'clock. I usually have to force him to be still enough to fall asleep though. Sometimes he'll nap for about 45min-an hour in the morning and it can be up to 2 hours in the afternoon. we're getting there with that routine! :)
is the SWEETEST baby I know! I love how he fits perfectly into my arms, curled up, when I'm rocking him to sleep. I love how he holds my arm or finger while he's falling asleep or nursing. I love how his mouth drops open when he's totally relaxed and his paci drops out. I love how he looks up at me and gets the biggest grin when I make a blanket tent over the two of us. I love how he finds the simplest things funny, like knocking down a block tower. I love how he loves dogs and just grins at them. I love how he puts his arms up to me when he wants me to hold him. I love how he gets excited to see daddy come home. I love how he relaxes when I sing to him even though I'm aware that I probably don't have the best singing voice....but he thinks I do. I love how he enjoys watching other babies and children. I love when he tries something new, and succeeds, and looks back to us like he's so proud of himself. I could go on and on about all the little things I LOVE about this sweet baby but most of all I love that I get to spend the next 18+ years raising him and guiding him and, hopefully, helping him grow to be a loving, compassionate, responsible, respectful, god-fearing, generous, kind, and giving man. What an honor to be his mother and get that opportunity! How did I get to be so lucky?!?! :)