Checking In. . .

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. Laziness is, I guess, the biggest reason I haven't posted in a while. I have just been wanting to sit and watch tv at night. Also, after it has been so long, you don't know how you would ever catch up, so you just tend to feel overwhelmed with the thought of it. Well, I am not even going to try to catch up, so there you go. There are a couple of things that I want to mention for future reference, and that's about it.

First, Cooper is enjoying his first "organized" sporting adventure, Mighty Mites Soccer, after a rocky start. Although he was not at all enthused at his first practice, he seems to be enjoying it. They had their first "game" if you can call it that, last Thursday, and it was so much fun to watch. I don't know how much excercise the kids got, but Jenna, our coach, was probably exhausted that night. Trying to direct 6, 3 and 4 year olds with extremely short attention spans is a daunting task. As I watched them play, it became very evident that 85% of them were not ready for such an endeavor, but as long as you focus on the fun of it, and not the sport of it, it's ok. Cooper and one of the other little boys spent more time talking and playing with one another than paying attention to what was going on. I can already see that I am going to have to give myself a pep talk before the games not to "over encourage" him to pay attention and kick the ball. They really are just too young for pressure in this area, but when the ball is sitting in front of them, and they don't seem to notice or know what to do with it, it can get frustrating. We just wanted a way for Cooper to get to spend time with other kids his age, and also expose him to some type of "organized" setting, and it is serving great for that. It is a learning experience for all of us, that's for sure!

One of the other things that has been exciting for us is that we have become the foster family for a litter of stray kittens. We have had so much fun playing with and watching them play for the last couple of weeks. Cooper has fallen in love with them, so we are going to keep two of them, and give the other two away. I hope to post some pics of him with them soon.

Cooper had his third surgery for hypospadius last Wednesday. John and I had braced ourselves for the worst, considering his age, and low pain tolerance, but he has done wonderfully. He was a perfect angel (Cooper and angel rarely go togehter in the same sentence), on the day of the surgery, and he has done extremely well in the days since the surgery, especially considering the catheter. I was devastated when I found out that he would have to have another surgery. I think I cried for two days. There were so many worries and concerns that I had. At the time, he was only 2 and 1/2 and had just potty trained, so the Dr. said there was no harm in waiting until he was a little older. I felt that waiting any longer would just be putting it off, so I had decided that this spring was the right time. I am so glad that we waited. Not only was Cooper able to understand enough that he was not so scared before the surgery, but it gave John and I the time to mentally prepare. The fact that he was not afraid that day helped us tremendously. I knew that we had to be strong for him, and the fact that he was so strong and care free throughout the day made our job so much easier. I praise the Lord for that! John and I are removing the catheter tonight. I am looking forward to getting it out because I know that it will be more comfortable for him, but he is terrified that it is going to hurt, and I know that it is going to be a struggle for us to get him to let us do it. A friend here at work who has had a catheter before assured me that it does not hurt, so that makes me feel better in telling Cooper that it won't hurt, but it is not so easy to convince a 4 year old with a very sore "pee pee." Bless his little heart - he really has been a trooper, and I am very proud of him! He inherited my tolerance for pain, so I know what he is going through:)

Lastly, I guess it would not be a complete post if I did not mention what Lena has been up too. Well, I don't know where to start there either. She is the perpetual "Ham" as usual. She is talking more and more, and is just now starting to say two words together at times. The dynamic between her and Cooper cracks us up. The older she is getting, the more she tries to "get his goat," I guess you could say. She will do things that she knows will make him mad just to get his reaction, and then laugh about it. They definitely already have that sibling "love/hate" relationship. I was just thinking this morning that I am so glad that I have a sibling myself. It helps me to understand them and how they feel about each other. As a parent, you love both of your children beyond measure, and sometimes, you might not understand why they would not love each other that way, but because I have a sister myself, I know that it is normal not to feel "love" for a sibling when you are young. In fact, it's often quite the opposite. The love and appreciation that you have for your siblings comes later in life. I am glad that I have that experience to draw on.

Lena is starting to show us her "willfull" side more and more. She can throw quite the little temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way, and can miraculously recover from this in a matter of seconds if you were to give in to her will, which, of course, we try not to do (wish Gammaw was reading this:) She got three "pops" with the belt this morning for continually eating and playing with the dog's food. The second time I caught her, she had carried the dog's bowl of food into the living room and lifted it up to me with a big smile on her face - some nerve, huh? It feels like kiddie boot camp around our house lately. Between Cooper going through one of his little "ruts", which I believe precedes a growth or development spurt, and Lena testing her limits constantly, my patience is being tested to the max. Some days I feel good about my job as "Mommy" that day, and some days, not so good, but that's life, I guess. I really do wish there was an instruction manual, and although I believe that my childhood was good, overall, and I suppose that I wouldn't change it, I often wish that I had more of a model to draw from in the day to day parenting arena, especially when it comes to discipline and that sort of thing. For me, that part has definitely been the hardest part of parenting. For our very high intensity kids, it seems that lots of dicipline is in order, and you want to feel that you are striking the right balance between enough and too much, and I question myself alot in that area. I think that all of the differing opinions of people in that arena these days just adds to the frustration. It all seems difficult and frustrating at times, but I just keep praying that God will walk with me and John, and help us to be the best parents that we can be. That's all you can do, I guess!

I will post some pics soon!