Owen Stevens Cooper is born

What a day... Jenny woke up at 4:40 with contractions. Woke me up at 6:00 and suggested we start packing a bag and get ready to head to the hospital. Dropped Ava off at our wonderful neighbors at 7:30. Admitted to the hospital at 8:00. Dr. Stumpf broke Jenny's water at 10:00. Received epidural at 10:40. Decided on name at 2:00. Owen arrived at 2:33 8lb. 30z., 20 inches pink and screaming. All in all, it went super smooth. After Owen had his vitals checked and things settled down Jenny remarked to the nurse that getting the IV was the worst part. More to come...

Productive weekend

We got a lot of things done this weekend around the house, which has helped satisfy my need to nest immensely. We got curtains hung and (some) pictures on the wall, but most importantly, we finally put the nursery together. Yeah! And we're getting pretty close to picking a name, too. yeah! Steve also did a lot of outdoor chores like mowing the lawn and painting the swing set. That all happened on Saturday.

Today we were able to visit an evangelical free church that's less than 1/2 a mile from our house, and the teaching pastor seemed great. We'll probably go back to check it out again.

Today we also set up Ava's "big girl bed"--which really consisted of putting a twin mattress on the floor. She loved it. Here's a pic of her jumping on her bed for the first time. She was very excited about the whole thing. She helped push the mattress to the floor and get her "big girl sheets" out of the dryer and put them on the bed. We did our usual good-night process and tucked her in and turned off the light while she smiled. That was 1/2 an hour ago. We'll see how things play out tonight. So far, so good. The final pic showcases Ava's yogurt mustache during Saturday morning breakfast. She likes to drink her yogurt. yummy.

cankles

The cankles have definitely arrived. In full force. Down through the feet. The tops of my feet look like balloons from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I'd post a pic--but no one wants to see that.

month in review

So it's now the 26th of September, and about a month ago is when things got Really crazy busy in our lives. They've been a bit obnoxiously crowded for several months with the house on the market in St.Louis and house-hunting here, but a month ago is when it all ramped up. Here's the time line of the last 4 weeks...
Sun, Aug. 24- This was the last night we got to go to Summit at Efree. Very Surreal experience. I am not a fan of goodbye's, so a whole evening of them was overwhelming. It didn't seem like our last night there--and even now it seems like we'll be there again this Sunday. We are so sad to leave this ministry. We really love the students and leaders and will miss them greatly. Mostly bc they're so flippin crazy. You know who you are.
Wed, Aug.27 -we finally realized the "prepacking" work could no longer be procrastinated bc the truck was coming the next day. It was a late night.
Thur, Aug.28 -the movers came (a day early) and started packing up our house.
Fri, Aug.29 -The movers arrived early in the am, tossed the rest of our stuff in boxes, threw it all on a truck, and started driving to WI 2 days ahead of schedule. Wow. We spent the rest of that Friday cleaning our empty house, with help from Ted and Jan. By the end of that day my lower back decided it had had enough, but I was ok by the next morning. We all had a slumber party at Papa Cooper's house that night, with Ava pleased as punch to be with Papa and Moots.
Sat, Aug.30 -That morning we got to go and visit Tim and Amber and their newborn son, Grady, at St. John's. He came 5 weeks early! Glad ours didn't get any similar ideas! Grady was absolutely beautiful and Amber looked wonderful! Then we hit up some errands in Kirkwood, did one more walk through of our empty house on Nirk and our neighbors, Brian and Jenny, were nice enough to take our pic in from of the house. Jenny also sent us on with a bag of goodies from Trader Joe's. Yummy! We then got to have a nice mid-day meal at the Cooper's before hitting the road. Our caravan involved our two cars plus a trailer loaned us by Steve's dad. Here's a family pic thanks to Papa's tripod before we backed down the driveway.
That evening we only drove 3 hours or so, stopping in Bloomington, IL I think. It only takes 6 hours to get from St.Louis to Milwaukee, but breaking up the trip was nice on my back and Ava. I was still having contractions most of the drive, so I was ready to stop when we reached our hotel that night.
Sun, Aug. 30- That morning we slept as late as Ava would allow and finished the trip up to Milwaukee. It happened to be the end of this huge Harley Davidson event in WI, so we literally passed thousands of bikers heading the opposite direction. They would go by in clusters from 10 -over 50 at a time, and the clusters were constantly coming at us. Every road stop was filled with them. It was neat. Ava liked watching them drive around the gas pumps. When we got to the new house, Ava was so excited after hearing us talk about it for months. She ran up the hill and even put down her drink to try and get the door open herself.
Mon, Sept. 1- Well, the goal all along was to be in the new house by Sept. 1 so we'd have a month before the baby's scheduled arrival. As it would turn out, it came to be. We spent the day cleaning the new house. Bummer considering we had just done all this deep cleaning at our old house, and now we were doing it again. I don't think the previous owners even ran the vacuum. It was all pretty gross. But nice to finally be in and working on getting settled. By 5pm we threw in the towel and headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner as a treat. Thank you, Sigma, for dinner. That night poor little Ava slept in the 5th new place in 5 days in her pack and play. She was so flexible and sweet through the process.
Tues, Sept. 2- That morning a lady our real estate agent new met us at the house to help us pick out colors for the walls. The whole house was white--very much in need of some color. The process took a lot longer than we thought--all were hungry and tired by the end. How high maintenance is that?
Wed, Sept. 3- I had a doc's appointment that morning and took Ava with me so Steve could start painting and meet the painters who were coming to do some of the rooms. By the time I got back to the house around noon, I walked in to a yellow house. I like yellow and all--but this was a bit much. yikes. that became our first do-over. The rest of the week was spent painting and running errands until finally,
Fri, Sept 5- My mom arrived from Oklahoma! It took her a whole day of travel--flying into Chicago and then riding a bus up to Milwaukee. She was for sure a trooper, and we were very glad to see her. She stayed the whole week! Ava was completely tickled. She LOVES her grandma! That night we were invited to a big block party on the street behind us. This was a last minute gathering planned by the neighbors the night before--and impressive for it's spontaneousness! There must have been over 40 people there not including the 40+ kids running around. Lots of food, a corn bag tournament to top it all off. Ava was in hog heaven running around with the kids and we met lots of really nice parents!
Sun, Sept. 7- Steve was up and painting by 8am that morning, then we all left the hotel and headed off to church later that morning--we visited Vineyard. We really enjoyed it. Nice people, non-cheesy worship. and we know there's a lot of cheesiness in the church world today.
Mon, Sept. 8- After a week and a half of suitcase living, we were excited when the moving truck arrived! The unloading process was done by 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and then did the nesting instinct ever kick into high gear! The house instantly felt more like home seeing out stuff in it--and the unpacking went pretty well.
Tues, Sept. 9- Steve headed back to work--a welcomed change of scenery from all the chores at the house! I also had a doctor's appointment with a new OB who was much closer to Grafton than the other one I had met. He seemed great. Hope it all works out.
Wed, Sept. 10- First day of CBS! Ava stayed home with my mom for the week while I went. There were 3 other little pregnant gals in my discussion group and a neighbor from around the corner who has 5 kids. I'm really excited to be involved in CBS! I enjoyed it in St.Louis. They also have a great preschool program for Ava, and allow the babies to also attend. Newborns can go to group with their mom, so it should work out great once we're up for more outings after baby arrives.
Mom and Ava and I also spent the week checking out all these neat little places in our area. It was a busy but good week with a lot of work accomplished and new places explored.
Sat, Sept. 13-Mom got to stay until Saturday, where I cold-heartedly took her back to the bus station. After a week of her helping us all day and night, it seemed so wrong to take her to a bus stop! That night there was another party on the block--this time adults only. So Steve and I went in shifts. I headed out first and had such a nice time talking with people. There are 4-5 stay-at-home moms on the block who have regular play groups. They put me on the email list. They are also involved in MOPS--though each in a different one. Ava and I are signed up for MOPS as well--but I think we'll only make it to one, if any, before baby arrives. But it's nice to have such things lined up. At least you feel like you're connecting. ha. There are lots of other fun women there as well, and everyone was so thoughtful and introduced themselves including me in conversations, asking questions, offering to keep Ava when the baby is born. All very nice.
Sun, Sept. 14- This week we tried out another church. The fit didn't seem quite right. We'll try another next week. Then all afternoon I had monstrous contractions. They weren't regular and I was pretty sure it wasn't labor and I had an appointment the next day anyway.
Mon, Sept. 15- The contractions all morning were so bad that I had to call Steve to come home and help take care of Ava and get us to the OB appointment. He was planning to attend anyway bc of a scheduled ultrasound, but his help was much appreciated. The ultrasound looked great, he's head down. I was 1+ dilated and 60% effaced--which reminded us that we should pick out a name and put together the nursery. Though we know that you can walk around for a month at a 1+. Ultimately some extra strength Tylenol fixed me up and let me function again. Yeah for drugs. The rest of the week was also busy--we had CBS on Wednesday and Ava loved it. She talked about going to "Bible Study" the rest of the day and sang the scripture memory song they had learned. SO CUTE. The evenings are a bit compressed--Steve has all these presentations to sit through at work--gets home close to 7, leaves little time for dinner, play, bath, and the honey-do list. But it's getting done. eventually.
Thurs, Sept. 18- Today Papa Cooper arrived! He drove up with our 2 dogs in tow. Ava was So excited to see him. She talked about him all day until he arrived that night. "Papa Cooper be here soon!" and then would always add, "and Moots!" and I'd have to tell her that Moots couldn't come to the new house today. Maybe next time. We miss you, Moots!
Fri, Sept. 19- Well, Steve just about worked his dad to death all day Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday. At least they got out to play a round of golf on Sunday afternoon! I hope his back is feeling ok!
We also had the whirlpool tub professionally cleaned out that morning--to get to the non-draining pipes and such. I was out running errands but Steve said they stuff they flushed out of the system was really disgusting. ugh. glad we got it cleaned out. Hate to bath in that. Yuck-o.
Sun, Sept. 21- So that morning Steve and his dad and Ava worked on the house while I went to a church. I went back to Vineyard to check out the teaching pastor, bc a guest teacher was there when we had gone before. I would have taken Ava with me, but she came down with a cold that weekend. I liked the church, again, but there was not a typical message bc this week was their "grand opening" of sorts of their new building. But I did learn a lot about the history of that church and got a better feeling for what they are about.
Fri, Sept. 26- So this week has been more of the same--Steve working (late), compressed evenings, me wanting to get more done that I can get done, CBS on Wed (which was wonderful) and an OB appointment on Tuesday. The doctor said the plan for now is for me to come in for my regular appointment next Tuesday, check on my progress, and most likely schedule a date for induction. This plan I like. It would be nice to have the baby while my parents are in town, despite all the great offers from neighbors to watch her while we go to the hospital. Better for Ava, and hopefully great for my parentals to be her and meet the new little guy! In the meantime, I'm getting more and more antsy about the things left on the to-do list before baby arrives. Like setting up a nursery, etc. It will all get accomplished, I'm sure.
Sorry for the ridiculously long post--I hope no one is still reading. This was more for my own sake I suppose than any other on-lookers. I wanted to write things down before they were too far gone and I forgot about it all. There should be no more such obnoxious posts!

Apple Tree and other pics

It was fun to see that we have an apple tree in out backyard! The previous owner planted it 3 years ago, and according to the neighbors this is the first year it's had much fruit. It's a scrawny little thing, but there have been a lot of apples! We've been eating them--Ava especially enjoys them.


Here are some pics of Steve and his dad working on the house and playing with Ava this weekend. Those guys can really get a lot done!

Small Town USA and other news

The city we moved to has a very cute little downtown area with shops and restaurants. About 3-4 miles southwest of our little town is the town of Cedarburg--with an even cuter downtown of diners and quilt shops and candy stores. While walking down the sidewalk I actually saw 2 school-age boys pulling a red wagon along the store fronts and dropping off fliers for some fund raiser or event. I really thought I was on the Andy Griffith show. I took a picture. Couldn't help it. We are living in Mayberry. The weather has been so wonderful since we arrived, so we've had several chances to get out and explore these little areas near our house in between unpacking, doctor's appointments and other chores. While our neighborhood is newer and therefore lacks some character of older neighborhoods--there is plenty of character in the little town and those around us. The other fun discovery is that all of these places are so close to us. And of course, the super nice neighbors have been so wonderful, so that makes up for the rest. I'm still pounding the homemade cookies and breads that have been brought over. yu-mmy.

In other news, Steve's dad was able to come up for a long weekend. He was here Thursday night through this morning, and he was a huge help. He and Steve did a lot of paining in the house, installed the invisible fence for the dogs, hung blinds, installed cabinets in the laundry room, and the list goes on. What a blessing to have his help. Not to mention fun for Ava--Ava loves her Papa and they had a lot of fun together.

Last week my mom came up for the whole week, and that was also a huge huge help. She loved on Ava, (practically meeting all of Ava's day-to-day needs), prepared meals, even did the grocery shopping while Steve and I managed the unloading of the moving truck and began unpacking. It was a crazy week and we could not have done it without her. I'm excited for my parents' next visit up--they're scheduled to fly up for the week surrounding my due date--which means they'll be here 2 weeks from today!


Here's a pic of Mom and Ava helping unpack, and from our trip to the Covered Bridge near our house. It's the last covered bridge in WI, and it's not in the picture. sorry. ha.

In the meantime, Ava came down with a yucky cold last Thursday, and I was feeling it as well by Saturday. Now it's really difficult to sleep between the huge belly, frequent contractions, and the inability to breath when horizontal. Hopefully it was pass quickly! Before delivery!

The Great Migration North

I decided to go ahead and start a blog spot of our own since we have moved away from all family and all old friends. With a 2-year-old daughter and one due any day, this seems a good way to keep in touch and share fun times and photos, as well as an easy way to record memories for ourselves. Life is so busy and moves along so quick, it will be nice to have some help remembering what we've been doing!
We're mostly unpacked in the new house and most of the rooms are painted. Now we're working on some details like curtain rods (how boring is that errand??) and where to store the windex, etc.
Everyone we've met here has been super-duper nice. Crazy nice. So much nicer than the people in St. Louis! (sorry, but true!) We've been blessed to have moved to a VERY socially active block filled with young families. Ava brings the count of young children on our block up to 45! We've been to a couple of block parties already--all very encouraging and fun!
I hope to post some pics soon--and 3 weeks from today is the due date for baby boy Cooper!