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Tag: Cooper

Pictures on a Snowy Day

Pictures on a Snowy Day

Six weeks ago, we went on a camping trip where I re-sprained the ankle I injured in the spring. I wasn’t  doing anything exciting, just taking a step down on a hike. It caught me off guard. There I lay on the ground writhing in pain with my family, equally surprised, staring at me. The injury sent me down a 4-6 week path of limited exercise. I spent two weeks in a boot and two weeks in an intense brace….

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1st Day of School, Etcetera

1st Day of School, Etcetera

This year, the first day of school was completely bananas. There was such an overload of emotions that I was pretty much numb. (And for most of the day Noel literally was numb.) But, let’s back up a minute. The Tuesday before school started, Noel had an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon. We knew there was a strong possibility that his arm would need to be reset since the bones didn’t look like they matched up in the x-rays from…

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Commencement

Commencement

Nothing could make a parent more proud than to see their child work hard and finally graduate . . . from kindergarten. I personally think kindergarten graduation is a little silly, but as a parent, I have to admit it was both adorable and hilarious to see the kids in their cardboard graduation “caps” and see the slideshow of what they want to be when they grow up. (Cooper is going to be a firefighter.) Cooper really has worked hard…

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Cooper Turns 6

Cooper Turns 6

This year, Cooper was sick the week of his birthday. He had a rough couple of nights with a croupy cough and I kept him home for two days. The day before his birthday, Ellen was inconsolable from the moment she woke up. She had a fever and just wanted to be held. I gave her medicine and it finally seemed to kick in after about an hour when she became deliriously happy. After 45 minutes she crashed again and…

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First Week of School

First Week of School

Whenever the word “kindergarten” was mentioned over the summer, Cooper would light up and I would try not to hyperventilate. Back in the spring, we met with the special ed team from the preschool and the elementary school to talk about his transition. After the meeting, the two teams collaborated to make him a book that would hopefully help him adjust easier to his new school. I also took Cooper on a tour of the school and then during the…

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Golden Birthday

Golden Birthday

I get pretty excited about birthdays, but especially excited about birthdays with special dates like a golden birthday or the time Noel had a birthday on 12/12/12. Needless to say, I’ve been looking forward to Cooper’s fifth day, probably since the day he was born. This is also the first year that Cooper has anticipated his birthday. Ever since Ellen’s birthday whenever the subject of birthdays comes up he would tell us, “My birthday’s next!” The Sunday before his birthday they sang to…

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A letter to My Firstborn

A letter to My Firstborn

When I went into labor with you I was completely at peace. Yes, you were technically preterm and yes, I’d never been through labor and knew considerably little about motherhood, but deep down in my budding momma heart I just knew that everything was going to be okay. I didn’t rush to the hospital or even wake your dad, but just spent a few quiet hours with you in the pre-dawn. The two of us peacefully laboring together before all…

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Mormon Message About Autism

Mormon Message About Autism

I swear the people that work on the Mormon Messages are evil righteous geniuses. I feel like almost every one that I’ve seen has made me teary-eyed, but this one in particular had me full out crying. I guess you could say it struck a chord. Ellen and Cooper are already good friends (they’re also excellent at squabbling) and I’ve had several people tell me they’re lucky to have each other and that they’ll help each other grow in different ways….

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Our Four-Year-Old

Our Four-Year-Old

When you live far away from family, birthdays tend to stretch out over a couple of days as the gifts, cards, and phone calls trickle in. Fruit is still his favorite food, so Cooper was pretty excited when this edible arrangement showed up from Noel’s Aunt Brenda a couple of days before his birthday. He’s been coveting the Thomas the Train and Cars 2 rugs at Lowe’s. Every time we go there he’ll drag us to that section of the…

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Light It Up Blue

Light It Up Blue

I was offended the first time someone suggested Cooper might be autistic. How dare this speech therapist make such an assumption after observing him for 30 minutes? Cooper was mellow, smart, and adored people – he definitely wasn’t autistic. The second time it was suggested that Cooper was autistic I did my best to be strong. “Yeah, we were thinking we should look into that,” I said focusing all my energy on keeping my voice steady. I sat across the…

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