Live, Laugh, Love

Logan is ONE!

2012-01-17T13:13:00.004-06:00

This past Friday the 13th, Logan turned ONE year old!!! This past year has been insane, and I can't believe we are already here. He had his one-year check-up yesterday, and here are the stats: 27 lbs (90th percentile) and 30 1/2 inches (75th percentile). Big boy! Not like we didn't already know that... :) Since Casey was at Men's Retreat with our church group on Logan's actually birthday, we had the party with family on Saturday night. Here's the list of attendants: Our family of 4, Nana, Pawpaw, Mamaw, Bonnie, Andrew, Laura, and Sean. Yes, we did have ELEVEN people in our tiny house--and we all miraculously fit! January 13 was Sean's birthday, too, so we included him in the festivities. :) Aunt Tara and Uncle Peter were snowed in over in East TN, but we got to Skype while we sang "Happy Birthday" and watched Logan demolish his smash cake. I'm so glad they could be part of it that way! The wonders of technology... For those who are interested, his Farm cake and Haystack smash cake were both made by the amazing Sassy Sweets (aka Rachel Bashaw Grady & Deb Bashaw). The farm cake is ALL piped buttercream icing--it looked amazing!!

Since I just updated on all of his recent achievements, I won't make another list. We're headed to the ENT this afternoon to see about tubes, so I'm anxious to see if that will make a difference in his language development. He is such a happy, energetic boy--we love you, Logan!!!

It's the Little Things...

2012-01-09T09:43:00.003-06:00

Hello, my name is Rachel, and I'm a total goob. I went for three full months without being able to put my hair in a ponytail. If you know me at all, you know this was basically a form of torture for me. So when I finally got my hair up into a ponytail this morning without too much pain, I celebrated by taking a ridiculously goofy picture. It is a significant event that should be remembered. :)

2012: The Year of All Things Awesome

2012-01-04T22:12:00.006-06:00

Wow. Um.... hello, 2012. When did you get here?? I'm fairly certain I missed the majority of the past few months, so this whole "new year" thing kind of snuck up on me. After breaking my arm, discovering the bone tumor, and then having surgery on Halloween.... well, let's just say that there were a lot of heavy medications involved. October and November are a bit of a blur for me, but I think I started coming around somewhere close to Thanksgiving. The bone somehow managed to re-break a couple of weeks after the surgery since it was too thin to stabilize with a metal plate and screws (thanks, giant tumor), so recovery and physical therapy didn't go quite as smoothly or quickly as originally anticipated. All of that being said, please forgive my severe lack of blogging for the entire last quarter of 2011. Here are some of the highlights (that I can remember):

The bone has finally healed, I've been doing physical therapy like it's the most important thing ever in the world, and so far I'm making decent improvements. The oncologist was impressed with my range of motion this week, so I have another month to continue improving before he determines if I will need another surgery to enhance my range of motion. Since I was in the sling for so long, a couple of spots in my shoulder joint have frozen up. The goal is to get them going with PT, but we'll have to see where we are in about a month. So far, so good!
Both of my kids are being referred to an ENT this month. Logan is probably (definitely) going to need tubes after numerous double ear infections, and Abby might need to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. Abby is constantly testing positive for strep, so they are concerned that she might be a strep carrier. We should know more after their appointments on Jan. 17. Stay tuned...
Logan is only a little over a week away from his first birthday! He is crawling at lightning speed, pulling up and cruising on everything, occasionally standing alone for a few seconds, and eating everything that is placed in front of him. This will be the boy that eats us out of house and home. He waves and says "bye-bye," and will say "mama" and "dada." He loves music, and his favorite songs are "Old MacDonald" (he sings the e-i-e-i-o part and always assumes the animal is a sheep by saying "baa baa") and "Jesus Loves Me." The current favorite game is to point to everything, say "dat," and then wait for someone to give "dat" a name. He also enjoys babbling at the top of his lungs while waving his arm around in the air--kinda looks like he's working on a hellfire and brimstone sermon, if you ask me. :) He loves being in the bathtub and is constantly trying to sneak his way into the bathroom when no one is looking. Favorite books include "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Ten Friendly Fish." Did I mention he likes to eat?? He currently weighs in at a whopping 26 lbs! He is SO tall, and I'm pretty sure his first shoes will be a size 5 or 6.
Abby is nearly 3 1/2 years old now, and she is ALL girl. Current loves include Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, coloring, playing dress up, Barbies/princesses, tea parties, and books. Lots and lots of books. She is getting a lot better at sounding out words, and she can usually read phrases like, "Hop on pop" and "I am Sam." (Can you tell we like Dr. Seuss? :)) She is dying to read and write, so we're doing a lot more of that than I would normally do with a 3-year-old. She loves to "share" with her brother.... which usually translates into, "Abby, why did you just take Logan's toy away from him?" "Because he's sharing with me!" Her logic is astounding sometimes. :) She's my big helper!
Casey is now the Mailing Center Supervisor at Harding. He started this summer as the Postal Services Technician, and then he was promoted and given a raise in just 3 months! I am very proud of him, and he loves his new job. Hallelujah!
I somehow managed to finish my grad school internship course this past semester, so there are only two classes left this spring! If I somehow manage to survive this semester, I should graduate with my M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education in May!!! Again--Hallelujah!

And now..... for the moment you've all been waiting for.... pictures! It'll be hard to narrow it down since there is so much time to cover, but I'll try to just pick out my favorites. I hope they are sufficient, and I'll try to post more on here soon!

Bella, Adalyn, and Abby dressed up for Halloween at school

The invalid, the pumpkin, the princess, and the dad at our church Fall Fest

My sweet babies :)

Grandma came to visit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sweetest picture ever of my precious boys

Logan's early b-day party in Ohio--just pretend Casey's eyes are open. :)

"Look, Ma--two hands!"

I hope that made up for lost time. Blessings to all of you who made it through this post... and thanks for actually checking this blog. I promise we're still here! We have big plans for this year, and I just know that good things are on the way!!

A one-handed post

2011-10-23T18:34:00.004-05:00

Typing with only one hand is difficult and obnoxious, so this will be brief. It has been a little over two weeks since my battle with the roach, and a lot has happened. After a visit with the orthopedic surgeon in town, we were referred to an orthopedic oncologist at UAMS. The local surgeon said he didn't have as much experience removing cysts this large, and the oncologist does this for a living, so we should go with him. When we visited with the oncologist at UAMS, he informed us that my "cyst" was actually a giant cell tumor. Awesome. He still thinks it is benign, but we won't know for sure until he does a biopsy. Since that meeting, I have had a chest x-ray that was clear, a full-body bone scan that showed NO other tumors, and an MRI of my shoulder so the oncologist has a better picture of what he's dealing with. The plan now is to biopsy and remove the tumor in my arm on October 31 at UAMS. They will probably fill the huge hole in my bone with a cadaver bone graft, and then stabilize the fracture with metal plates and screws. Doesn't that sound like a fun Halloween?? I'm so glad we have Halloween activities earlier that we can take the kids to so I don't miss them wearing costumes and having fun.

I'm basically useless right now. I can do a little more than I could the first week, but it will be a long time before I can pick up Logan, feed him bottles, change diapers... I hate this. The kids can sit in my lap one at a time, but Logan still gets squirmy. The pain isn't as bad as it used to be, but this arm sling is wreaking havoc on my neck--the headaches are brutal! We have been so blessed, though. Mom has taken way too much time off of work to help with kids, clean the house, and take me to appointments in Little Rock. When she couldn't be here, our church family has surrounded us. I have 2 people at my house everyday (one morning, one afternoon) while Casey is at work. They have also been bringing meals every other night. West Side church of Christ is a force to be reckoned with! I'm just ready to get this week over with so we can do this surgery! If all goes well, I should be in decent shape by Thanksgiving and good as new by Christmas. Please pray for that!

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us through this mess. Don't stop now! We still have a week of waiting with an arm that's still broken, surgery, and recovery. It's going to be a rough couple of months, but I have already decided--2012 is going to awesome. Just you wait! :)

Rachel vs The Roach

2011-10-09T13:23:00.003-05:00

I don't even know where to start... this is the most ridiculous thing ever.... As I sit here and attempt to type this with my left hand, I think I am still in shock about everything. Here is Casey's version of what happened on Friday: "Rachel tried to kill a cockroach, and we ended up in the ER." So al least you know this will be interesting.

Abby was in her bed refusing to nap on Friday afternoon, and she started yelling that there was something in her room. I went in to tell her that she was fine and just needed to go to sleep, but a huge bug crawled across the floor. It took a minute to get her calmed down and into the hall, and then I went to grab one of Casey's size 13 shoes. I didn't want to miss. :) I'm not really sure what possessed me to use the arm that has been hurting and getting weaker over the past few weeks, but I did. Holding the shoe in my right hand, I brought it up over my head and down towards the floor in an effort to annihilate the bug. As soon as the shoe hit the floor, I screamed in pain. Poor Abby thought the bug had gotten me. :) I wasn't sure what had happened, but I knew I was in a LOT of pain, and it was bad. I managed to get to my phone to call Casey. He came home to get me, and my wonderful cousins, Bonnie and Becca, came over to stay with the kids. I thought I must've done something awful to a muscle or dislocated my shoulder. After several hours of waiting in the ER, we finally got an x-ray of my shoulder and neck. I was in shock when the doctor brought us back to see the x-ray and told us that I have a pretty big cyst in my humerus (upper arm bone), and it had weakened the bone so much that I fractured my humerus when I tried to kill the bug... sooo.... I broke my arm by killing a bug. Seriously?! He said he already showed my x-ray to the orthopedic surgeon, and he said the cyst doesn't "look" like it's cancerous... but he does think we need to go in, remove the cyst, and possibly do a bone graft so my bone will grow back. So in a few hours, I went from a possible muscle strain to a hopefully non-cancerous bone cyst that needs surgery, a bone graft, and a broken arm that can't be casted. I'm supposed to call the surgeon on Monday to schedule an appointment so we can discuss options.

Y'ALL. There just aren't even any words. Several people have wanted the full story, so there it is. I've gotta go take some more pain meds and lay down. Please wake me up when my life makes any sort of sense. Thank you.

Be that kind of woman...

2011-09-19T15:53:00.003-05:00

Have you seen all of those cute posters that say, "Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, 'Oh, no! She's up!'" I was going to be that woman today. I have felt so beaten down lately, and I finally recognized Satan's hands all over it last night. There is a lot going on in this household right now that is completely overwhelming and burdensome to me. Top of the list: my health. A recent neck CT showed that I have further degeneration and new arthritis developing at the site of the fusion I had done three and a half years ago. All of this mess is bulging in my neck and pushing on my spinal cord. I had the CT done because I have been in a lot of pain again recently, and I am starting to lose function in my right arm. Y'all.... I don't feel good!!! (*understatement of the year*) I'm on several new medications to counteract the pain and inflammation, and I'm not sure yet if they are helping or making it worse...

So here's the problem--Satan knew that I was going to get up with that mindset this morning, so he has been wearing me down all stinking day long. The day started with my alarm not going off, which made me late for an appointment, and it just kept going downhill from there. I have been counteracting with prayer, positive thinking, and praise/worship songs all day. So my question now is this: WHY do I feel like I'm still losing??

This is not a post where I want to whine a lot or have a "woe is me" moment. I just want to ask for prayers. I need to not feel like death every blessed day. I need to reach a point where I can function like a normal human being and not be completely overwhelmed with life. I need the peace of God to guard my heart and protect me from the lies that Satan throws at me every day. We need to reach a point where our finances are not a constant burden and concern. I want to dig deep and find the strength to make the devil think, "Oh, no! She's up!!!" My joy and hope are in Christ and his promise of eternity with him in heaven. This helps a little, too:

Alphabet Eggs

2011-09-03T11:53:00.004-05:00

I just absolutely LOVE Pinterest.com!! If you are not familiar with this website, please let me know. I will email you an invite immediately. I have found so many good recipes, activities for kids, organization tips.... the list goes on and on. I actually found time to follow through with one of my "pins" today, and Abby now has a new game that she loves to play! Here is the original link that I found through Pinterest: Alphabet Eggs. All you do is take 26 plastic Easter eggs and write the upper and lower case letters on each one. This is a great game for various age levels. For the younger kids, it's great for matching colors. I love it for Abby because she is starting to write her letters, and this helps her recognize both the upper and lower case forms of each letter. Plus, it's excellent practice for fine motor skills--those eggs can be hard to get together! The eggs I used were hinged, so I just took scissors to clip the hinge after I wrote the letters on there. I will probably go back and put lines under some of the lower case letters--the d, p, and b can be a bit confusing. :) Here are a few pictures of our new (cheap!) game:

In case you were wondering...

2011-09-02T21:28:00.006-05:00

I'm not even going to try to catch up. I'm trying desperately to motivate myself to get back on this blog and record what is going on in life! I have every intention of eventually getting this thing printed off into book format so we'll have some of these memories to look back on. One of these days... So here's where we are right now:

The clinic that Casey had been working with for the past year had to file for bankruptcy and close it's doors. Thankfully, God provided a new job very quickly, and Casey is now the Postal Services Technician at Harding University. We work for Harding again! Woo hoo!! :) He took a fairly significant cut in pay, but they are already training him in administrative duties, and the potential for a promotion is very promising. We're excited about where this could lead over the next few years!
I am still working at Pediatric Therapy Associates providing Developmental Therapy services to children birth to age 3 years. It is not going quite as well as we had hoped, so please, please pray that things will work out soon. The state department decided to switch to a new system, and it has messed up everything (of course). My boss continues to pay me for the work I'm doing, but she has not been paid by the state for any of it! Since that is the case, I'm am only being allowed to treat one client for therapy--but I have placed 5 for services! That means there are 4 children (and more to come soon) that have been tested and qualify for developmental therapy, but they are not getting services because the state won't complete the paperwork to approve their funding. It is SO frustrating, and my boss is reaching the point of canceling all Early Intervention services until she gets paid. That basically means that I will be out of a job! Please pray that the state department will get their act together, and that I will be able to provide services for these children who need them.
Abby starts another year of "school" this next week! She goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and now she is a "big girl" class. They have to be potty trained to attend (hallelujah, we made it just in time!), and they will even take a couple of field trips this year! She is very excited to get started, and I'm excited for her. We had orientation this week to meet her teacher and see who would be in her class. I have a confession to make: I was that mom when we met the teachers. You know the kind of mom I'm talking about. Casey and I have recently had to accept that Abby is a special needs kid--just not in the way that people normally think of it. She is chronologically and socially at the level of a 3-year-old, but she functions cognitively at the level of a 5-year-old. Am I proud? You bet!! Does it give me great anxiety for school? You bet!! I want her to be in class with kids her own age, but I am very afraid that she will become bored with what they are doing and become a behavior problem. I know she's only 3, but she can be a crazy mess if she isn't interested in what is going on! So, yes--I was that mom this week. I wanted to make sure the teachers knew that it might take a little more effort to keep her involved. Aside from Bible stories, they mainly work on teaching colors, shapes, and letters. As and early childhood educator, I can say that this is excellent curriculum for a 3-year-old class. Our problem is that Abby is already sounding out words and asking how to write letters! So while the others might be coloring their pictures of the letter of the week, Abby might need to be practicing how to write it. Can you tell I've been stressing over this a bit?? Ok, moving on...
Abby had her 3-year check up this past week. She was 3' 3" (well over the 90th percentile) and weighed 35 lbs (about 75th percentile). Basically, she's a tall, skinny thing. :) She has been wearing 4T clothing since this last spring, so I even have a few size 5 things for this winter... just in case! She did have to get one shot, but the nurse didn't even have to fight her! She cried a little, but she took it like a trooper and dried up really quick. Thank you, Sid the Science Kid, for your Vaccination PSA on Netflix. "It might hurt a little bit, but it's gonna help a whole lot!" :) I'm sure the lollipop and silly band ring helped a little, too.
Logan is ginormous. No, seriously--he's huge. My 7 1/2 month old son is weighing in at 22 lbs, and he is outgrowing some of his 18 month clothing. We bought a ton of 18-24 month stuff for him to wear this fall and winter, but I'm not sure it will last! We also just moved him up to size 4 diapers. Un. Real. He is starting to crawl, and tonight it looked like he was beginning to realize that he could pull up on things if he wanted to. No attempts have been made yet, but I'm looking for it to start in the near future. He has two teeth on the bottom now, but I haven't seen any signs of more to come yet. We recently had a trip to the ER in the middle of the night after hours of screaming, and it turned out that he had a nasty ear infection. After 2 shots of antibiotics (the first wasn't a big enough dose, apparently) and a few days of steroids, I think it has finally cleared up. I am praying that this will not be a frequent thing for him--we don't want to have to do tubes in his ears! His reflux is still very strong, but it seems to be managed with the Prevacid. I am praying that he will outgrow this by the time he is a year old like Abby did. His a is a little different, though, and Abby never had to take medicine for hers. Time will tell....
I made new coasters! For any and all who are interested, be sure to check out my Etsy website for new additions! I have two fall coasters and three new scriptures. I love them!! Feel free to spread the word--it's time to decorate for fall!!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for..... pictures! Thanks to everyone who actually read through all of that. Your devotion is touching. ;) Hope these make you smile!

From Abby's Strawberry Shortcake birthday party: Hallie, Mackenzie, Adalyn, Abby, & Bella

This boy LOVES his Mamaw!!!

I love these precious, precious pictures! Tea time with Mamaw!

It's a little blurry, but it makes me smile. :)

Abby's creative rendition of "Logan, Mommy, and Abby"

Savoring the last moments of summer with Ben & Jerry's on a chocolate sprinkle cone!

Happy boy!

Giddy-up, Pawpaw!

Abby affectionately refers to him as "Chubs"

Abby is 3!

2011-08-03T22:32:00.005-05:00

We've been celebrating for several weeks since we took a trip to Ohio in the middle of July, but Abby's birthday has finally arrived! My baby girl is now 3 years old. How did that happen? I was ok with it when she turned 2... she was basically born acting and looking like she was 2. But 3?? That's not a toddler... that's a preschooler! Here are a few highlight pictures from our trip to Ohio and her birthday party there (in no particular order):

This past weekend, we also had a birthday party in Memphis... which looked something like this:

For her actual birthday today, Abby had cinnamon toast for breakfast, went to play and have lunch with her friends Adalyn and Bella, spent some of her birthday money on glittery princess nail polish at WalMart, had her favorite dinner at Chili's (her request!) of a cheese quesadilla and mandarin oranges with strawberry lemonade, and went to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 at the Rialto theater with Mommy. What a fun day! From mommy and daddy, she got a new Memory card game, sticker earrings, small figurines of Lemon Meringue and Plum Pudding (loving all things Strawberry Shortcake right now), and some Ariel princess PJs with a "magic wand." We already gave her our big gift in Memphis--her new "Princess" bible. If we're going be obsessed with being a princess, we might as well start learning how to be God's princess! :) Tomorrow is the birthday party with friends, and the theme will be Strawberry Shortcake (of course!). I'll try to get pictures taken and posted of that... just as soon as I update about the rest of July. ;)

Abby Liz, you are such a smart, energetic little girl! You have such a giving heart and a caring spirit. I pray that you will always continue to have the love for others that you do right now. You are such a sweet big sister and a wonderful helper around the house. This family is so blessed to have you in it. Happy birthday, sweet girl--we love you!!

Tooth #1 & Florida pictures

2011-07-21T19:48:00.008-05:00

Ok, before I forget: Logan finally cut his first tooth 3 days ago! He is now sporting one little tooth on the bottom! It has been a miserable, slobbery journey, and I know this is just the beginning. Casey's mother informed me that they never knew when Casey was about to get a tooth--the teeth just popped up with no warning. How nice for them. :-P Both of my kids, however, run a low-grade fever, cry a LOT, drool incessantly, and are basically mad at life through the whole process. How long does teething last? I think I've blocked that part out of my memories from Abby's first year or two of life...

For those who might still care, here are a few pictures from our family vacation in Florida last month. There are about a million, so I'll try to just sum it up with a few highlights. For the whole shebang, checkout the album on Facebook or Snapfish. :)

Abby & Mommy rocked the back seat of the rental suburban

We ate at Toucan's (on the beach) for Peter's birthday

We played in the ocean and made some awesome sand & seaweed creations

Logan started rolling consistently from back to front and sitting on his own!

Abby dug into Nana's craft box and made these amazing hats

Tara, Peter, & Dad chartered a boat and went deep-sea fishing!

We got back into Nana's craft box to paint frames & glue on seashells we found

We played pool a little

We rested... a lot :)

And we took a few family pictures on the beach at sunset

A good time was had by all. :) Sorry that took so long, but there they are. If I can find another moment to sit down like this soon, I'll try to get a few pictures posted from our trip to Ohio this month!

6-month check up

2011-07-13T11:17:00.004-05:00

Logan is 6 months old today! This is completely ridiculous, by the way. I'm pretty sure he was just born yesterday. I was eager to make sure he was better today since we found out he had strep on July 4--not fun. He had his first fever of 101 for 3 days over the weekend before we could get him checked out on that Monday. Most doctor's wouldn't have even checked for strep since it is so rare in babies this young, but his throat looked awful! The test was positive, of course, because this poor baby is a member of the Cochran clan. Bless his heart. :) One round of antibiotics later, the strep and ear infection in his right ear are all cleared up! He still has a lot of congestion and seems to be having allergy problems that won't clear up, so we are going to try a nasal steroid spray to relieve some of that inflammation. I just want him to be able to breathe!

At the appointment today, Logan weighed in at 20 lbs 3 oz (87%ile) and was 27 1/2 inches long (83%ile). Big boy! He just started having to wear 12 month clothing over the past week--crazy! I think we're going to have to move him up to a bigger car seat pretty soon, too. We're barely squeezing him into the one he has! Thankfully, I think we can give him Abby's car seat and get Abby a new one for only $50. I found a new one for her that has great ratings at Walmart and Amazon.com. Not bad!

Even while he has been sick, Logan is a very happy baby! He loves to laugh at his big sister--she is so funny! :) He can roll from front to back and back to front, so he is starting to maneuver his way around a room. He wants to crawl so badly, but we're not there yet. He is getting much more stable with sitting on his own. His torso is just a little too big for his short legs to manage, so he still topples over sometimes! ;) So far, he loves to eat baby food that is mixed with rice cereal. If it's not thick enough, he doesn't want it! Favorites include green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. The only one he hasn't cared for so far is applesauce, but we'll try again soon. We are just trying out Puffs for the first time, so he's learning how to chew. The boy loves his food!

Happy 6-months, sweet boy! We love you!!!

June (minus the big FL trip)

2011-07-03T09:18:00.004-05:00

I'm home with a sick baby this morning (Logan's first fever of 101) , so I actually have time for another update! He is drugged and sleeping in the swing, so I'll do what I can while he's resting. Make sure to read the previous post about May--it took a while to get it all on here. :) I'm saving the big vacation trip for another post, but here's what happened the rest of June:

Abby got her first ride on a four-wheeler... that didn't move.... in the middle of the mall. Ok, so I'm not that brave of a mom. Sue me.

Another one of Abby's friends turned 3--it's an epidemic! I am not ready for her to join the 3-year-old crowd in August, but I know it's coming up soon. She had a blast at Adalyn's princess party with swimming, jumping and sliding in the castle bounce house they rented, and eating the castle cake made by Sassy Sweets--it was amazing! Of course, I have no pictures of any of those events, but here's one of all of the party guests. Precious!

Logan had his first "swim" in a pool, but he's not a huge fan of the bright sun. Maybe if we could find an indoor pool... :) And one of his new favorite things is to read books with Daddy and Abby. This makes Mommy very happy!

Abby is learning to write her name! She explains it like this as she writes it: "Up, down, over. Stick and around. Stick and around. Then a 'y'." :) I wrote her name on the sidewalk, and she wrote it right underneath that!

And just for the record: I'm a good mom. Really. (Don't judge me.)

And then there was May

2011-07-03T00:18:00.008-05:00

Here's what happened in May (for those who might still check this blog once a month just in case I ever happen to update):

Abby "graduated" from the 2- & 3-year old class at Carpenter's Kids. They sang some songs for the parents, and we got to have lunch with them on their last day. Even Daddy got to come!

We got to join up with Tara and Peter in Memphis for Mother's Day weekend. It was so good to get the whole family back together! Abby even got to help Pawpaw make the shrimp skewers for our Sunday grill out--she was so excited to help out. :)

Logan turned 4 months old on May 13! He weighed in at 16 lbs 5 oz (77%ile) and was 25 3/4" (78%ile). He was already fitting quite comfortably into 6-9 month clothing! At this point, he could roll from front to back and was trying desperately to roll from back to front. He loves to push up on his arms and see the world around him, and he LOVES to laugh at his funny sister!

The kids and I travelled to Northwest Arkansas to visit one of my very best friends from HU and be there for her daughter's birthday party. I can't believe Hallie is 3 years old! Abby and Hallie are destined to be Harding roommates. We have gotten together enough over the years that both girls ask periodically when they get to play together again. Love it! Abby also came home from the party with her first tattoo. ;)

Linds & Tim

Happy birthday, Hallie Grace!

Abby and I were in desperate need of haircuts, so we both went in to chop it all off. This was our first time with Mrs. Betty, and we love her! She convinced me to give Abby bangs since her hair is always in her face, but Betty is in charge of keeping them trimmed every few weeks. I'm just not "that mom." My mom was "that mom," but she also has a steady calligrapher's hand so we weren't traumatized as children when she trimmed our bangs. :)

These are just a few extra pictures from daily life that month that I love and want to share:

Abby & Adalyn--best friends!

Their faces totally crack me up in this one. :)

Still to come: the month of June & the Curtis family vacation in Florida! I'm making progress, right??

Wrapping up April

2011-06-05T10:01:00.009-05:00

I know it's June now, but quite a bit has happened over the past couple of months that I want to remember. For now, let's start with April and see how long it gets.... May might need a separate post. :)

Casey had his birthday at the beginning of April, and Abby picked out a cake at Wal-Mart that she just knew Daddy had to have! To this day, no one knows why she thought this, but it was pretty funny--and surprisingly yummy!

Abby's friend, Claira, also had her 3rd birthday party (a tea party) in April where Abby got to dress up and paint her nails for the first time. It was a really big deal. Since she loved it so much, we have used that as a motivator to stay dry and go in the potty. If she is dry for a whole day, we paint nails the next day; if she has more than one accident in a day, the polish comes off. "Only big girls get to wear nail polish, and big girls go in the potty!" Abby has now been dry for over a week, and she wears big girl panties everywhere we go! Her current favorite nail polish is purple. :)

In an attempt to be like Aunt Tara and Aunt Candy, Abby has been using her doctor's kit regularly... mostly on Fancy Nancy.

Abby got to do two Easter egg hunts this year--one at Nana & Pawpaw's church, and one at Carpenter's Kids (preschool). She still isn't overly fond of walking through grass or putting her hands down in the grass and dirt to retrieve eggs, but she had a lot of fun and loves the candy!

For those who know Keevin & Susan Gray, this is their granddaughter, Lyla (Rachel's daughter). Abby loves playing with Lyla! There's probably a picture similar to this somewhere of me and Rachel around this age... ;)

Daddy got to come to school for the egg hunt on his lunch break!

At the end of April, my sweet Mamaw turned 80! All of her kids got to come in town, and we had a lot of fun visiting. We had dinner at Colton's, and then dessert at Aunt Carol's house. I cannot tell you how much I love this picture:

Abby loved spending time with Great-Aunt Donna! She's so fun. :)

We didn't manage to get a picture of the whole family at Easter, but I at least got one of each of the kids, and Casey got one of me with Logan. Maybe we'll do better next year... ;)

The month wrapped up with warmer weather, playing outside, and starting my new job. I have started testing kids under the age of 3 for developmental delays. I start my first therapy patient towards the end of this month, so it looks like I'm going to be getting a little busier! I love that I can work on my own schedule, and I have a wonderful friend who watches my kids for me. When school starts back in the fall, she'll only have Logan, which will be a lot easier. I don't think I can get to May events yet (this took forever!), but at least I'm a little less behind. I'll end with my final favorite pictures from the month. Stay tuned for May! :)

More toddler observations

2011-05-24T22:01:00.003-05:00

I know I have 2 months to catch up on, but this little story is all I have time for right now. I just want to make sure I don't forget this one. :)

Abby: (in a very serious voice) Mom.

Me: (just as serious) Abby.

A: I am about to turn into a huge crocodile.

M: What??

A: I am about to turn into a huge crocodile. Right now.

M: Woah, dude... that would be amazing!

A: (pointing to TV) And then I will fly into Peter Pan.

M: Really?? Wow!

A: (still pointing) But I cannot right now... because there is glass there.

I think it is important to note that we were not currently watching Peter Pan, and I'm not actually sure of the last time she saw that movie. Totally. Random.

I promise an actual update in the near future. Meanwhile, you'll have to let this hold you over:

10 weeks

2011-03-22T23:21:00.003-05:00

Logan had his 2-month checkup today, including his first shots. I hate when they have to get shots, but he was a trooper. I cannot believe that he will be 10 weeks old on Thursday. It seems like time is going by so quickly, but at the same time, I can't imagine what it was like before he was here! He really is such a good baby. If he cries, there is a definite reason for it! We are still working out feeding issues, but the medicine seems to be helping a lot with the reflux. With as much rice cereal as we add to each bottle, I feel like we might as well be giving it to him on a spoon!! He weighed in today at 12 lbs (58th percentile) and 22 3/4 inches (30th percentile). He's becoming a little chunk. :) I have managed to catch his smile on camera a few times, especially when he is laying down on his back. He loves the play mat Nana got for him, and his favorite place to sleep is the swing. Like his big sister, he sleeps the best on his tummy (much to the despair of my pediatric nurse). He is a big fan of the pacifier, but I have recently caught him locating his thumb. We have had a few nights here and there where he will sleep for 6 or 7 hrs straight, so I'm hoping this becomes more of a regular occurrence. :)

Abby is madly in love with her "baby brudder," and she tells anyone who will listen that he is her "baby brudder Logan." She gets very concerned when he cries and promptly informs me that I need to get him a bottle almost every time. The girl knows the importance of food. ;) If people try to be funny with her and ask if Logan can go home with them, she will respond with a very stern and serious, "No you can NOT take him home! He goes home wif ME!" at which point most people fall over themselves reassuring her that they will not be taking Logan home with them. She's very persuasive.

Logan, you are such a sweet boy, and we love you very much!!

Potty talk

2011-03-17T22:37:00.002-05:00

I wrote down this conversation so I wouldn't forget it. She was just so matter-of-fact about it all! It was too funny. Do you think she'll forgive me someday for recording conversations about her bowels?? ;)

Potty training with Abby. 3/15/11

Me: I want you to try to poop, Abby.

A: I can't. It's stuck.

Me: Well, just try one time.

A: I cannot try! It will not come out!

Me: Can you toot?

A: I can't toot. There are NO toots!

Me: Well, let's just try one time.

A: (in her very serious voice) Mommy, sometimes it works. Sometimes it does not work. Right now, it is NOT working.

Well, ok then. :)

It's March already?!

2011-03-08T14:14:00.007-06:00

I'm not really even sure where to begin, so I'm just going to rattle off whatever randomness pops into my head. Ready? Go.

Logan went back to the doctor yesterday for some tummy pain he seems to be having. It's tough getting everything regulated with his reflux, but I think we're moving in the right direction. The Prevacid seems to be helping, and we're using formula that has added rice starch in it PLUS we're adding rice cereal. Needless to say, the boy is getting big! He will be 8 weeks old tomorrow (what?!), and he weighed in at 11 lbs 12 oz yesterday. He's finally in the 59th percentile instead of the 11th! My babies might start out small, but I can get them chubby pretty quick. ;)

I started meeting with a group of girls for a weekly yoga session for the first time Monday night, and it was wonderful! I'm still fairly sore today, so I think that's a good sign. We had a lot of fun, and it was nice to be out of the house for an hour or so without the kids (thanks, honey!). I'm looking forward to meeting with these girls each week and (hopefully) getting back into some pants that have been sitting on a shelf for a while.

Merely 3 weeks after we had Logan, we moved into a duplex across town. It's actually a little bit smaller than our apartment was (if that's even possible), but it's a LOT cheaper so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. The transition has been insane--I'm not sure what we were thinking with the timing--but I think we're finally getting settled. The next goal is to go through everything in our storage unit so we can downsize. We have a family yard sale planned for the end of March with some friends, and I am so excited to do that! I think we have quite a bit to get rid of, and we're going to try to eliminate the need for the storage unit. I've already been purging a lot of the kids' clothes at consignment sales, and it has been wonderful. It feels so nice to have the (much needed) money instead of the (not so needed) stuff!

Casey was informed last Monday that the clinic he works for isn't doing so well and that he no longer had a job. Then on Thursday (his "last day"), they told him that half of the staff complained that he was being laid off instead of another coworker so they decided to fire her instead and keep Casey on for 4 days a week. So to sum up, the good news: Casey still has a job; the bad news: it's only part-time now. Awesome. Let the job search resume...

I am supposed to start a part-time job doing developmental therapy soon, but we're waiting on paperwork to go through so there's no telling how long that will take. Yes, this is the same job I was supposed to start a year ago. I was planning to start at the end of this month or beginning of April, but Casey's job situation bumped up my timetable a little bit. I thought I could just start right up, but apparently it's going to be a while. Again--awesome.

I am 28 years old today. Again--what?! Here are my hopes for the next year: enjoy my time with my two sweet children while they are still this young and at home, spend more time with my husband who would also like some of my attention and time, start this new job to help my family financially and help the kids who are in need of therapy, finish my masters degree (I should graduate in May of 2012). Is that too much to ask??

Abby has now been potty training for a year. She will be 3 in August, so I know there is still time..... however, I fear that she will still be in Pull-Ups when she is 16. She knows how to do it, but she lacks the motivation. Her teacher informed me this morning that maybe I should offer her a car. I might've considered that option for a minute. Don't judge me.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for... pictures! :) My pretty princess and sweet little man:

Toddler observations

2011-02-11T22:48:00.002-06:00

Abby, noticing a squirrel in a tree as we were driving down the road: "Look, Mommy! That squirrel is way up in that tree! Just like Zacchaeus was way up in the tree and Jesus said, 'You come down from there!'"

While reading a book about the birth of Jesus: "Look! Jesus is Mary's newborn son just like baby Logan is your newborn son! That is awesome!" (Yes, I was impressed she made that connection. Yes, I laughed out loud when she declared this to be "awesome.") :)

Casey and Abby were playing around together tonight, and this conversation resulted:

Casey: "Abby are we goofy?"

Abby: "Yes, we are goofy. Mommy! Daddy and Abby are goofy!"

Casey: "Is Mommy goofy?"

Abby: "No, Mommy is not goofy."

Casey: "Then what is Mommy?"

Abby: "Mommy is not goofy. Mommy is crazy. Angry and crazy."

Casey: *nearly falls on floor from laughing so hard

Let me just say... she is totally correct. In my defense, however, I think it is completely within reason to assume that moving into a new home with a toddler (who now has an ear infection) and a 4-week-old newborn (who now has acid reflux) might leave a mommy slightly short on patience and sanity. Right?? Right?! Oh, and clean clothes. We are definitely short on clean clothes...

Thus ends this session of my toddler's observations. Stay tuned for future wise cracks--um, I mean, wise words--from my sweet girl. :)

Day one...

2011-01-24T13:57:00.003-06:00

We were SO blessed to have Nana with us for the past 10 days after Logan was born, but I guess it had to end sometime. Today was the first "Nana-less" day, and I have to admit I was a little anxious about how it would go. I knew there was no way I would get a shower this morning, so I got one last night in preparation for what (I assumed) would be a day of chaos. So here is how it has gone so far...

Abby got up around 7:45 this morning, and I was able to wash my face, brush my teeth, get dressed (in real "I could leave the house if I needed to" clothes), and put makeup on while she played in her room. I got her set up with breakfast right around the time that Logan was waking up and ready to eat. We had a nice breakfast together (well, they did--I ate later after feeding Logan a bottle), and then Logan sat in his bouncy seat while Abby danced around to Disney music, and I cleaned up and started a load of the kids' laundry (which I think might become a daily occurrence). Logan went back to sleep so I put him in bed, and Abby and I built a few tall towers with her blocks. I needed to wash bottles and a few pans, and Abby was quite content to sit at her table in her room and color for a while. I joined her in coloring when I was done for a few minutes, and then I even managed to get the load of towels and sheets folded and put away and switched the kids' laundry to the dryer. Lunch time rolled around, so Abby and I sat down together and had sandwiches. Casey got to come home for lunch today (hopefully a new trend that will continue), so that was an added bonus! We finished eating just as Logan was waking up and ready to eat again. Casey sat with Abby for a few minutes while I got Logan ready to eat, but then he had to go back to work. I had Abby bring a few "Fancy Nancy" books over so I could read to her while feeding Logan his bottle, and she was perfectly content with that. Logan pretty much drank himself into a formula coma and was out again, so I put him back in bed. Oh, look--it's time for Abby's nap, too! As I write all of this, both kids are asleep. At the same time. I plan to join them very soon--just wanted to make sure I recorded this first completely manageable day at home with my two kids. Especially since I'm fairly certain it will never happen again. :)

Here's the catch--we haven't had to leave the house today. Tomorrow, Abby starts back to school and has to be there at 8:30 in the morning. As soon as I drop her off, Logan and I have to visit my OB for my post-surgery checkup. This means we all have to be dressed, fed, and packed with all of the essentials by 8:15 in the morning. Riiiight..... Say a little prayer for me, won't you?

Logan Edward Cochran

2011-01-14T09:59:00.003-06:00

On January 13, 2011, our family was blessed by the addition of Logan Edward Cochran at 11:25 a.m. He weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. I am totally in love with this sweet boy, and I can't wait to experience life as a family of 4! Welcome to the world, sweet boy. Mommy loves you!!!

My big girl & baby boy

2010-12-29T19:55:00.006-06:00

I know I'm supposed to do a big post on Christmas, but I'm still sorting through pictures so it will have to wait. Meanwhile, I do have a couple of things to update you on regarding my children. :) Abby is growing up way too fast! Here are her latest accomplishments that have really surprised us:

#1--She has learned to read her first sight word! She has seen it in different contexts on different items, and she reads it every time. With the Nana she has, it shouldn't really shock anyone that Abby's first sight word was...

Coca-Cola! :)

#2--We got Abby a new erasable activity table with some Christmas money she had (thanks, Grandma!), and she loves it! As she was drawing on it tonight, she said, "It's a happy face!" Casey turned around, and saw this:

What in the world?! I guess it just caught us off guard because we didn't slowly build up to her drawing a face with different parts... she just... did it! Here are a couple of other pictures from her drawing time tonight:

On the baby preparation front, we are down to the last 2 weeks! Casey assembled the crib the other night (and Abby helped... by popping the bubble wrap). :) She is very excited about sharing her room with "Baby Wogan" and changing his diapers when he "comes out." I just hope this enthusiasm continues once he arrives!

And finally, this is a week behind (I'm 35 weeks along now), but here is a picture of Mommy's new haircut and baby Logan at 34 weeks:

Christmas Card

2010-12-21T23:54:00.003-06:00

I had every intention of sending out Christmas cards this year, but it's just not going to happen. Sooo....

Merry Christmas from the Cochrans!

Tis the sniff cough sniff season! cough cough

2010-12-21T15:17:00.005-06:00

The past couple of weeks have consisted of a lot of illness in our family (hence the catchy title of this post). :) Abby started it all out with an upper respiratory virus, which then caused a lovely ear infection. She has been on antibiotics for about a week, and we went back to the doctor today after dealing with diarrhea and fever for the past 2 days. After ruling out other infections and severe dehydration, they determined she has another virus. Oh, goodie. Also, in case you were wondering, getting a 2-year-old's blood drawn is NOT a fun experience. Meanwhile, Casey and I have both picked up the upper respiratory garbage, and we're all just trying not to kill one another. We are not currently going to win any "Happiest Family" awards, but I'm hopeful that most of this will clear up before Christmas.

In other news, Logan is now scheduled to arrive on January 13, 2011! For those who are counting, that is only 3 weeks away--yikes! I will be 37 weeks along by that point, and the doctor doesn't want to wait much longer than that since the risks to Logan increase around the 38 week mark with this cholestasis. We are doing weekly blood tests to check my liver and non-stress tests on Logan to make sure he's still doing ok in there. So far, so good! The medicine seems to be helping with the itching--the itch is still definitely there, but I'm not completely crawling out of my skin 24/7 anymore.

I guess the last thing to mention is that Abby got another 6 inches of hair cut off the other day. That's a total of 18 inches over the course of her short little life! I had about 5 or 6 inches chopped off, too, but we don't ever take pictures of me. If we happen to get one, I'll be sure to post it. :) Meanwhile, you'll have to settle for this (you can tell by her eyes that she's sick, but her hair is cute!):

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello, December!

2010-12-06T14:56:00.016-06:00

Sooo... I apparently missed the end of October and the entire month of November. Oops. I thought of updating the blog a few times, but I either didn't have much to say or had too much to say and didn't know where to start. I'm supposed to be napping right now, but I'm way too itchy (more on that in a minute), and Logan has the hiccups... again. So here we are. There is no telling how long this will be or what all will be covered, so feel free to skip as you see fit. :)

The main item that should be discussed, I guess, is the pregnancy. I am currently at 31 weeks, 4 days--crazy! It has been a rough few weeks, and I finally got to see a specialist in Little Rock this morning. I started having severe itching all over my body the week before Thanksgiving. It is the worst in my hands and feet, and it just spreads to the rest of my body from there. A little itching is normal with pregnancy, but this is keeping me from sleeping! I average between 3 to 5 hours of sleep at night, but that is never all in one clump--hence the need for a nap right now. :) When I first started talking with my OB about it, we tried antihistamines and topical creams--no good. The more we talked, the more convinced he was that I might have developed Cholestasis of Pregnancy--a rare, pregnancy induced liver disease that causes severe itching. Feel free to click the link for more info. He has only seen 6 or 7 cases of this in his entire career, so he wasn't really sure what to do with me. The first blood test we did was negative, but apparently that can happen and you still have the disease. After a lot of aggravation and phone calls, I was finally referred to a perinatologist at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. We just had that appointment this morning, and he is fairly convinced that I do have Cholestasis. We drew more blood (results to come later this week), and I am starting a medication that is supposed to break down the bile so the bile acids aren't overflowing into my blood stream, which is also supposed to reduce the severity of the itching. PLEASE pray that this works! I'm about to crawl out of my skin! The good news is that we also got to do a very thorough ultrasound and check out all of Logan's major systems--he is growing right on schedule and is very healthy. I'm just so thankful that none of this is affecting him so far! The bottom line: the only cure for this is to deliver the baby, and if you wait too long, it can become harmful to the baby. Since we don't want this affecting him, we will probably be having him around 36 or 37 weeks (between January 6-13) as long as there are no further complications. We'll be monitoring my bile acid levels through blood tests every week, and I'll just keep taking this medication until he is born. Whew! That was a lot of info. Congrats if you made it through all of that. :) Moving on...

I delivered a TON of coasters to Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis at the end of October, which was great!... until their corporate office filed for bankruptcy a couple of weeks later. So where is my $400+ that I was supposed to receive for that order?? I might never see it. Not cool. I've been told that I might receive a partial payment after the courts get done sorting everything out, but that will be a while down the road. The store in Memphis is actually the only one staying open, but since my invoice went to corporate, there's not much they can do. Just thought I'd take a moment to whine about that. Next...

Casey is still enjoying his job at the pediatric office. He's basically the scheduling/medical records/IT guy for the office. They have been having a lot of computer issues lately, and he is always the one they turn to when they need something fixed. There is also an office nearby that was set up by the same doctor, and they have been asking for his computer assistance there, too. There has been talk between the bosses of having him do a "side job" of cleaning and reinstalling software for a lot of their computers, so that could be some extra money. It's just nice to see him being appreciated and being allowed to use the talents he has.

Since I missed a couple of major holidays, I guess I should throw in some pictures and comments on those. Abby wore a couple of different costumes for Halloween, so we have multiple pictures of that. For one party, she was Sleeping Beauty... until that costume made her break out in hives. Oops. But wasn't she cute??

After getting rid of that dress and administering a healthy dose of Benadryl, she decided to be Fancy Nancy for the other Halloween party. Again, with the cuteness (complete with red Koolaid mustache):

Other fall-ish events that took place included pumpkin carving, riding a horse that belongs to one of Casey's co-workers, playing in the leaves, and face painting at a carnival.

When asked if she wanted a heart or a butterfly on her face, Abby said, "I need a black spider on my face!" Naturally. :)

November was fairly uneventful until the end. There are a few cute Abby pictures to share, but that's about it until Thanksgiving.

I am happy to report that Uncle Peter has been trained to continue the tradition of the "Magic Mushroom" at Uncle Wayne and Aunt Helen's house. This is something my Uncle Russ used to do with us when we were kids, and it basically consists of flying each kid around the house on a stool while making appropriate "blast off" related sound effects. Sadly, the original Magic Mushroom is no longer with us (think: orange, velour mushroom-shaped stool from the 60s or 70s), but it's spirit lives on. I'm pretty sure Abby could've done this all day. Sorry, Uncle Peter. :)

Random funny story #1: Abby found my old flip phone the other day and started playing with it. When I asked her what she was doing, I assumed she'd say something like, "Calling Nana!" Instead, she replied, "I'm checking my email!" Good grief.

Random funny story #2: Nana has a child size desk at her house that she got down for Abby to sit and color in. She was ready with crayons and coloring books for Abby when she sat in it for the first time, but when Abby saw it and sat down, she said, "I need my computer, pwease!" I told Mom at least she didn't ask for an iPad. :)

So we're just about caught up. Congrats to anyone who made it through this entire post. :) Our Christmas tree is up, the apartment is decorated, and we listen to Christmas music every chance we get! My goal right now is to stay as healthy as possible through the end of the year, enjoy Christmas with my family, and get the apartment ready for Logan's arrival! Do you think I can update again before the end of the year?? ;)

The Basics

2010-10-14T14:29:00.005-05:00

I admit it--I just have not been in a mood to blog about anything lately! There hasn't been anything really exciting going on that I think merits discussing, and we're all familiar with the cuteness of Abby by now. :) But here we are--it's been about a month since the last post--and I'm feeling guilty/pressured about updating. There isn't much to tell, but I'll do my best. Here are the basics on the Cochran family:

- I am now 24 weeks pregnant! It's hard to believe that we're only about 3 months away from becoming a family of 4. I can't imagine how cramped we will all be in this tiny apartment, but I guess we'll make it work for a while.

Mommy & Logan at 23 weeks

- Casey's job is going well, but we're still looking for other ways to get a little more income. There are a few options that are being explored, so we'll see how that plays out over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, I am cranking out the coasters for the holiday season! Davis Kidd Booksellers in Memphis has put in their Christmas order, and I am planning to sell a bunch at a fundraiser for Harding Academy in Memphis again in about a week. I have a couple of other events where I'll have a coaster table set up in November, so hopefully those will go well, too. If you need some coasters (or know someone who does), let me know while I'm on a roll!

- Abby is growing like a weed! She is now 30 lbs and 36 inches tall--big girl! She loves going to school two mornings a week, and she is getting so imaginative. She will sit and play with her doll house or Mrs. Potato Head for the longest time, and it is so funny to hear some of the things she says while pretending. She talks nonstop (wonder where she gets that from??), and we can hardly keep her from running and jumping all over the place. I think Daddy is hoping our little boy might be a little calmer... ;)

Oooh, girl.....

2010-09-19T19:37:00.003-05:00

What in the world are we going to do with a baby boy?!

The poor kid doesn't stand a chance...

Soup Recipe

2010-09-12T13:58:00.003-05:00

I love soup! It's so yummy and filling and (most importantly) easy to make! I found an easy beef vegetable soup the other day in my pile of recipes and decided to make a variation of it. I tend to print recipes off the computer when I find something I like online--hence, the pile of papers mixed in with my cookbooks. This one was so easy to make, and Abby even had a second helping! Here's my version:

Turkey Vegetable Soup

3 lbs. ground turkey

Minced dried onions

Garlic powder

2 large cans Veg All

1 large can tomato juice

1 can Rotel

Brown turkey meat with generous amounts of onions and garlic powder and drain well. Drain vegetables, and empty into soup pot. Add can of tomato juice and Rotel; stir to combine. If you need to dilute the tomato juice, you may add a small portion of warm water (I did). Let simmer for one hour and serve. Great with shredded cheese and crackers!

NOTE: You can add any other vegetables to this soup, just be sure to drain them first!

The original recipe called for ground beef, but we eat a lot of ground turkey so that's what I had in the freezer. Also, I added the onion and garlic powder because I almost always add those to ground meat when I brown it--I love the flavor! This could also probably be made in the crockpot, but we were short on time so I did it on the stove. I just felt so good watching Abby eat an entire bowl full of meat and vegetables at dinner. This is just about the only way that will happen! :) It does make a huge pot of soup. so get ready to freeze some, have guests over, or take someone dinner one night!

What's your favorite soup recipe??

19 weeks

2010-09-10T13:59:00.001-05:00

I finally had someone take a picture today of my pregnant self. :) I hope it is not the one and only picture during this pregnancy, but we'll see how it goes. Here's Mommy & Logan at 19 weeks:

School Days

2010-09-07T16:59:00.003-05:00

Today was Abby's first day of school! This morning was a little crazy, but we did manage to get a picture of Abby with her backpack and lunchbox. She was very excited to go, and she had a really good day! She keeps telling me that she needs to go back to school now. :) They just have school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so she'll have to wait a couple more days. But here's the important part: This morning I went to the doctor. All by myself. And then when I was done with that, I went on a huge grocery shopping trip to Wal-Mart. All by myself. Then I ate a very quiet lunch at home. All by myself. Isn't that amazing? It won't last long, so I'm soaking it up now... :) Here's our girl on her big day:

We also had a fun Labor Day weekend in Memphis with Mom and Dad. Mom and I did way too much shopping, and Abby let everyone revel in her fairy princess glory:

She did manage to get her first banged up knee this weekend. She scraped up her right knee pretty bad.... three times... on the same knee. And apparently she fell again at school and opened it up again today. This wound might never heal at this rate! I am pretty impressed that it's taken this long for her to get hurt, though. Here's hoping we go another two years without any bumps or scrapes! (Riiiiiiight.....)

I'm at 18 weeks in the pregnancy now, and I've recently realized.... we have no belly pictures yet! I'm pretty sure I took a picture every 4 weeks when I was pregnant with Abby. And so the life of a second child begins..... poor Logan! I'll try to get Casey to take a picture soon. For those who need a mental image, I am just as big as you imagine me to be... maybe bigger. :) Speaking of, I think it's time to get some dinner cooking!

Abby Funnies

2010-08-25T15:54:00.003-05:00

When Abby was saying her prayer before bed last night, it went something like this: "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, for Daddy, for Mrs. Joy, for Claira, for baby Grady, for food.... and for brownies! Yum, yum, yum! In Jesus name, Amen." That's my girl!

This morning, Abby woke up and came straight to my room (where I was still in bed) with a really upset look on her face. She was holding her stomach, and this is the conversation that followed:

Abby: "Mommy, my tummy hurts."

Me: "Your tummy hurts? Oh, no! What's wrong with it?"

Abby: "Yeah, my tummy hurts.... I've got a baby brudder in there!"

Me: (laughing hysterically) "Baby Logan is in your tummy??"

Abby: (still looking pitiful, but smiling slightly) "Yes, I have baby Wogan in my tummy, and my tummy hurts! It's too big!"

I was laughing too hard to respond immediately, but I did eventually reassure her that baby "Wogan" was actually in my tummy, and she would probably feel better after she ate some breakfast. :)

Baby #2 is....

2010-08-24T20:58:00.003-05:00

It's a BOY!!! :) We (especially Casey) are SO excited! Logan Edward Cochran is scheduled to arrive (via c-section) on January 27, 2011, at 8:00 a.m.--Woo hoo! I must admit, the slightly OCD part of me loves the convenience of scheduling my child's birthday. :)

In other news, Abby had a nasty stomach bug last week (read: puking in bed in the middle of the night, getting baths at 3:30 a.m., late night laundry sessions), but she recovered in time for us to make a trip to Memphis for the weekend. I was able to do some shopping with Mom and Tara, and I finally have some maternity clothes that fit! My seasons are completely off with this pregnancy since my first kid was born in the summer and the second will be in the winter. But, hey--who doesn't love a little shopping, right??

I also got a call at the end of last week from my new boss--I am officially certified as an Early Intervention Developmental Therapist! It took forever for the state department to clear my background check, but it's finally done. I am going by the clinic tomorrow to pick up the assessment they have that I will be using soon. I thought it might be good to become familiar with the testing tools before actually trying to administer them to children. ;) They have also ordered a new assessment, and I am excited to get that in and start studying it. I should be able to start testing kids in the next few weeks, and I'll provide therapy for those who qualify. I'm a bit anxious since I haven't done this with kids under the age of 3 years old before, but I'm really excited to jump in and get started! I'm meeting with my boss this Friday to hash out details and see what we still need to do before I start testing and providing therapy.

Abby starts her new preschool on September 7th, and she's getting really excited. It's just two mornings each week, which is when I plan to get my testing and therapy sessions done. For mom's who have done this already, I'm looking for quick & healthy lunch options to send with her--ideas? She usually just takes the insides out of a sandwich unless it's tuna (stinky!) or peanut butter. So far my main thoughts include homemade "lunchables," so I'm wide open to suggestions!

Casey's job at the pediatric clinic is going well. He has quickly become the "tech guy" of the office, so that keeps him a little busier than if he just sat and answered phones all day. We are still adjusting to him being gone all day every day. Our nights seem to fill up so quickly with other stuff, so we're trying to find more "family" time. I think we might actually all be home and free this weekend--yay! I'm hopeful it won't be too miserably hot so we can all go to the park together, or something. I am also trying to get better about staying on top of laundry, dishes, groceries, meal planning, etc. I did some organizing and meal planning today, so I think the next week or so should run a little smoother in that department.

Now you're all up-t0-date on the Cochran family! Here are a couple of sweet pictures to leave you with a smile. :)

Pretty princess

Lunch break w/Daddy--she likes to wear his ties :)

Moments of the day

2010-08-11T21:37:00.002-05:00

I was woken up at 5:00 a.m. this morning by Abby. She wandered into our room and declared, "It's dark in here!" I, of course, explained to her that was because we were still sleeping and she needed to be sleeping, too. After putting her back in bed, she reappeared again at 6 and 6:30. I finally gave in when I heard her rustling around at 7, so I jumped in the shower. She was apparently just shifting in her bed at 7 because she actually slept until 8:15! NOT a happy mommy... I think we were both equally glad when nap time rolled around!

We made a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a few essentials today, and Abby wanted to hold the 2-pack of paper towels when we grabbed them. She squeezed them really tight when I handed them to her and said, "I wuuuuv paper towels. I just wuv dem."

Abby has been wearing big girl panties for about a week and a half now! It's been rough since she's been sick with an upper respiratory infection, but she had NO accidents yesterday and only one today! She did really well telling me several times today when she needed to go. This is exciting people.... very exciting. :)

Although I am getting really tired of hearing "No" all the time, I did notice today that Abby is getting more vocal and expansive when she doesn't want something. Instead of just "no," she has started saying things like, "I don't want to go potty wight now," or "No, I don't wike dat. I don't want dat." I don't know why, but these responses are much less obnoxious and tiring than just hearing "No!" five hundred times a day. Anybody with me??

Those are just a few things I made mental notes of today that I wanted to get down in writing. I hope they made you smile. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Abby!

2010-08-04T21:48:00.003-05:00

Another year has come and gone, and I still just can't believe how much I love this sweet girl. She is a total crazy mess sometimes, and I even love that about her. :) She is two years old today, and I cannot believe how much she has learned in that short amount of time. Recent conversations have included her identifying trapezoids and describing the color chartreuse. (Links are included for those of you who aren't sure what those are... :))

Her little independent attitude is also beginning to show itself. Example: As Abby was jamming out (read: head banging) to Veggie Tales music the other day, I noticed her hair had become quite a mess. Here is the conversation that followed...

Me: "Abby, you're hair looks crazy!"

Abby: (as serious as she could be) "Stop it, Mom. Weave me awone. It's MY hair."

**pause of total disbelief and hilarity**

When did she become a teenager?! I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried....

She is Mommy's little helper around the house, and she loves to do laundry and help sweep the floors. I can't wait to see her in action as a big sister in a few months!

Happy birthday, sweet girl. Mommy loves you!!!

Exhausted

2010-07-02T19:35:00.004-05:00

I don't know how you people with multiple children keep up with your blogs--I'm just trying to raise one while growing another, and I'm totally worn out! Add in the excessive morning (noon and night) sickness, and you have this rarely updated blog. Sorry for any and all who might still check in once in a while. Here's a quick update on our little family:

Casey is finally finished with Uplift (he was videographer for the 5th year), and we are very happy to have him back home. It's pretty much a 24/7 job so Abby missed her Daddy very much! He has 2 weeks before he starts his new job at the new pediatric office here in town, so he'll get back to delivering for Mazzio's until that starts. He is very ready to start this steady, full-time job!
Due to my insane morning sickness and the minor complications we had early on with the pregnancy, I worked my last day at the gym nursery this week. I kept having to find people to sub for me at the last minute and send in doctor's notes, so we decided it was best if I just stay home and rest for a while. Everything is fine and baby is doing well, but we had several scares the first few weeks! I am 9 weeks along now, and hoping this nausea will pass after the first trimester!
Abby has hit the terrible twos (one month until her birthday!), and we are all trying to survive it. A couple of her current favorite phrases include "Nope" and "Maybe wayter (later)." She is obsessed with trying on shoes (regardless of their size or owner), and she's trying to improve her dressing and undressing skills. She is definitely turning into Miss Independent, and I'm trying very hard to give her opportunities to express that--it's hard! Potty training is an ongoing process, but I'm still not pushing too hard. She'll have several days where she goes in the potty all day, but then she'll have a few days when she forgets the potty even exists. I guess it'll click eventually. She has also moved up to a big girl bed, and she loves it! She has only fallen out once (oops), and she thinks she is big stuff because she can get out of bed all by herself. No late night wanderings so far, so we'll see how long that holds up.... Here's our big girl in her new bed:

I don't have many pictures from the wedding yet, but I think I'll be getting more very soon. In the meantime, here's a cute one of Aunt Tara and Abby dancing before the ceremony in the dressing room:

I'd like to say I'll update again soon, but I don't dare to make any promises. I'll do my best. :) Happy 4th of July to all!

Guess what...

2010-06-09T11:23:00.003-05:00

I'm going to be a big sister!!!

[Yes, there are two tests... just to make sure. :)]

Baby #2 is due to arrive on February 3, 2011!!!

Precious moments

2010-06-02T00:47:00.002-05:00

I have the sweetest daughter. Ever. Ok, if you would've asked me if this was true when she was throwing a crazy fit earlier today (yes, we have entered the terrible twos) I would've laughed in your face. But tonight before I get in bed, I want to record this moment so I can look back and say, "Oh, yeah. She can be a really sweet girl, too!" :)

In my routine of checking on Abby right before getting in bed, I accidentally woke her up tonight. She had already been asleep for several hours, so she was pretty out of it. As I walked up to the crib, I heard her whispering, "What is it? Who is it?" I didn't want her to get scared, so I told her it was just Mommy and she was ok and she just needed to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She smiled, sat up, and said, "Hold you, Mommy? Pwease, Mommy?" I picked her up and handed her the pacifier from her crib, to which she said, "Thank you so much, Mommy," and smiled as she put it in. I rocked her for a minute before putting her back in crib. As I covered her up with a blanket, I got another, "Thank you, Mommy." I leaned over and said, "Night night, baby. Mommy loves you." She smiled really big behind her pacifier, blew me a few kisses, and rolled over to snuggle with her blanket.

Sweetest. Baby. Ever.

Giddy

2010-05-19T22:23:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I'm a little bit excited about THIS (<--click the link, please)!!! Even if no one orders anything, I feel extremely cool right now. :)

tap tap Is this thing on??

2010-05-11T14:55:00.004-05:00

This post will be a random assortment of things that I want to remember, things that have been happening, and recent pictures that should be seen by everyone. :) I know I’m a bit behind on blogging, so here is an attempt to catch up. (And a cute picture to illustrate the point) :)

Abby has really gotten in a good routine for bedtime lately. Every night, we tell Daddy “night night” and “yuv you” with hugs and kisses before reading 2 or 3 books. Current favorites are Hush-a-Byes, The Night Before Christmas (yes, I know it is May), and The Going to Bed Book. Once in a while we will substitute with Kitten’s First Full Moon or something by Dr. Seuss. What are your kids’ favorite bedtime books?

Last Wednesday started a rough week in our house. Abby started running fever, and we found out she had strep (which I had the week before). I was still finishing my antibiotics when we got her started on hers. Her fever stayed between 101 and 103, but it climbed to 105 on Friday night—scary!! It was a long night, but we made it through, and her fever finally broke on Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day! :) I took this picture when her fever was around 103, but you can’t really tell!

One of Abby’s favorite movies right now is Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure (see above picture). Remember that one?? Yeah, it was made in 1987. Classic. I got the DVD on Amazon.com, and it came with a CD of the music from the movie—yay! Now we can sing along with the chipmunks in the car, too! Haha Speaking of…

Abby has figured out that she can sing along with any and every song she hears now…. and it is SO funny! One of the previously mentioned Chipmunks songs is “The Girls of Rock & Roll,” although when they sing it, it sounds like “rock and roll-ah” because of the pop-star emphasis. So when Abby sings it, it comes out as “rock an’ roll-YAH” or “roll-DA.” Hilarious! She will also bust out randomly with “Twinkle, Twinkle” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep.” I am looking for kids’ Christian music (other than Veggie Tales—we have a ton!) that we can listen to more since she is really starting to sing along. Any suggestions?

On the job front, Casey is scheduled to do some freelance video stuff for Harding in the next few weeks and will do video for Uplift again this summer. He’s still applying for other jobs, but no hits yet. I am supposed to be starting a new (VERY part-time) job soon, but it hasn’t been finalized yet. More details on that when it’s set in stone…

In closing, here is little miss priss trying to wear Mommy and Daddy’s shoes—what a mess! :)

On Hold

2010-04-19T20:37:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of things I have been wanting to do lately, but with our job situation being what it is, I have been afraid to commit to anything. Here are a few of my favorite excuses:

"We're applying for jobs everywhere, so we might not even live here in a few months."
"If Casey gets back in the army, we'd just have to leave when he's done with training."
"I'm not sure how many hours/what days/which shifts I'll have to work next month."
"I don't want to tell them I have to quit if things change and I can't keep doing [fill in the blank]."

Pretty good, huh? I have become the queen of evading commitment and responsibility. In lieu of this epiphany, I am slowly making plans for this fall. Here is what I am considering so far:

Enroll Abby in Carpenter's Kids
Join local MOPS steering team
Complete student teaching internship for Master's degree
Continue working at the gym as needed

I have already completed the first item, and the 2nd and 3rd are in the works. My main concern with all of it right now is scheduling, but if there is one thing I am good at, it's organizing the calendar. :) I spent this whole year saying, "I want to be more involved, but..." Nothing is certain for us right now. There is no telling when or where steady employment will come our way, and I don't want to keep putting things off that I know I should be doing.

I hope this wasn't overly boring for everyone. I guess I'm kind of taking a stand for myself... against... myself? Ha! Sometimes it helps to see it in writing--thanks for indulging my rant. To reward those who suffered through it, here is a video of Abby I took yesterday. She is currently in love with Blue's Clues and can sing along with the songs. I don't know what her obsession is with having her fingers in her mouth right now, and YES, we are going through the terrible/defiant twos (as you might notice at the end). Enjoy! :)

Need a Baby Shower Gift?

2010-04-03T23:20:00.003-05:00

If you are in need of a gift for an upcoming baby shower, please check out my friend's Etsy site:

Baby Boutique (babyboutiquecrafts.etsy.com)

Mandy finds the cutest fabric and sews her own burp cloths, nursing covers, and diapee bags. There are still several items that will be added to the store soon, so check back when you need a gift idea or something for yourself! All of the money she makes on this site will go towards their adoption expenses. You can do your shopping online, get a really cute gift, and help fund an adoption all at once! Does that make you feel good? :) Spread the word!

Blast from the Past

2010-03-25T23:14:00.003-05:00

Does this look familiar to anyone?? I feel like I've seen that tiny face and huge glasses somewhere before.... hmmm......

These are Casey's BCG's (read: Birth Control Glasses.... yes, the army really does call them that). We had to take the pictures fast before Abby got a headache. :) Can we say, "Mini-Me"??

Is it really mid-March??

2010-03-18T14:15:00.005-05:00

I hate to say it already, but.... I'm back on Facebook. NOT because I wanted to be, but apparently you can't function in the social world without having access to an account. No one sends actual invitations to things in the mail anymore, I guess. Within a matter of two weeks, I was accosted by several people wondering how on earth they were supposed to let me know about their children's birthday parties or see if I was available for (insert event here) if I didn't have a Facebook account?! So all of that being said, I have reactivated my account for those who feel they cannot reach me by any other means. ;) I am sticking to my original intentions and not wasting my life away by stalking people on it. I get on quickly to check messages and get right back off! So far, so good...

Casey is working nights and weekends right now delivering pizzas, and I am working a few days here and there at the gym nursery. It isn't nearly enough to pay all of the bills, but somehow God still keeps us afloat. We're still hoping to hear back from Searcy PD soon (they can't check his background forever!). If that doesn't work out, it looks like we might be heading back to the army.... please continue to pray as we search for God's plan for our family!

I hope you had a lovely St. Patrick's Day.... if you remembered that it was yesterday. :) I would not have given it a second thought, but my friend Joy let Abby borrow a dress to wear that her grandmother had made (she had two, so we got to wear one of them). Abby loves to wear dresses right now, and anything that involves a skirt/dress and tights means that she is a "pwetty pwincess." I haven't posted many pictures lately (or taken any, for that matter), so we'll end with a few recent pictures. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Abby picked this outfit herself--she wanted to wear the "turtle" (aka turtleneck) and "pwincess dwess" (aka skirt) with tights. :)

Daddy & Abby throwing pebbles in the creek at Berryhill Park

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Goodbye, Facebook!

2010-03-04T21:36:00.004-06:00

Well, I finally did it. I deactivated my Facebook account. I have been considering this option for several weeks, and after discussing it with a friend from church, we both decided to free ourselves from the addiction. Do you know how many hours I waste looking around that site?? I can't even tell you... it's that embarrassing. Don't worry grandparents--I will still upload Abby pictures on Snapfish (and a few on here). I just can't justify spending so much time with a pointless social networking website and so little time with God! How much Scripture could I have studied in the amount of time I spent on Facebook last month? How many hours of sleep have I deprived my body of by staying up too late online? I can't even imagine...

So here we go. I am driven to prioritize my life. The struggle that has been before me recently is this: I know what is good for me physically, mentally, and spiritually. Why, then, is it so difficult to follow through and put thought into action? I am determined to transform my intentions into actions. These are the things I am currently striving to do to improve my life and that of my family:

Get in bed no later than 10:30 p.m.
Drink water. LOTS of water.
Study my Bible every day.
Pray with my child and husband every day.
Incorporate more Christian music into our daily lives.

The Word of God speaks, and I have been spoken to:

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:17

***What has God been saying to you lately??***

Tara & Peter's Wedding Website

2010-03-01T20:47:00.003-06:00

This is just a quick post to let you know that Tara and Peter have a website with details of the wedding. It includes the cute "About Us" and "The Proposal" sections, so check it out! (Make sure to read the "How We Met" section--it's my favorite.) :) Don't forget to sign their guestbook!

The Curtis/Snell Wedding

And for those who have Facebook, you can see their engagement pictures here:

Tara & Peter's Engagement Pics (by Amanda Kay Moore)

Catching up & Growing up

2010-02-26T22:06:00.006-06:00

So here's the latest on the job situation:

Casey has a part-time job delivering for Mazzio's, and he really likes it! It's usually just 3 hours a night, but he typically comes home with cash in his wallet from tips so that makes him happy.
I was able to get my part-time job back at the gym working in the nursery. My schedule is anything but regular, but I am scheduled for at least 10-15 hours each week. The bonus: I get to take Abby with me. We've just gone once so far, but she had a good time playing with the other kids. It's amazing how much she has grown since I worked there last! She is able to reach so many toys now that she couldn't get to before. She has gotten a LOT taller in 6 months!
Casey has been interviewing for a job at the police department here in Searcy as an entry-level officer. He has made it through interviews with the hiring lieutenant, major, and chief of police. They like him so far, so they are going ahead with the background investigation! If/when that clears (could be a few weeks), they will have him do a psychological evaluation. Then if that goes well and he fits their profile, he should begin training! Obviously there are still several hoops and hurdles to get through, but we're excited that they are considering him as a candidate!

Ok, now is the time where I ask for input from other moms who have been through (and survived) potty training. :) **If you have no interest in reading about my child's toilet habits, please stop reading now. You have been warned.** Here goes: Abby is a pro at going in the potty.... as long as we are at home.... and she is completely naked from the waist down. I don't have to worry about her having accidents around the house--she always runs to her potty in the bathroom when she needs to go. But the moment we put on a pull-up (princess, of course) or panties, she just goes in whatever she is wearing.

Question #1: Is this a developmental/she'll-do-it-when-she's-ready thing? Or is this something she has to learn and I'm just not teaching it well? I wouldn't have even messed with potty training this early, but the girl loves to go in the potty! She pretty much begged to be potty trained. So here we are.... running around the house half-naked, but wearing diapers when we leave the house. Which leads me to...

Question #2: Should I put her in pull-ups all the time now and just nix the diapers? Or do I keep putting her in diapers when we leave the house knowing that she will go in whatever she is wearing?

Question #3: What should I do if she has already figured out how to manipulate the reward system?! She will go pee in the potty, and then stand up and say, "Yay! M&M??" So we go get her an M&M. She will eat it and then go right back to the potty and pee some more! Same response--"Yay! M&M??" and she runs to the kitchen where I stash them. Seriously?! She is stopping mid-stream so she can get 2 M&Ms?!? *sigh*

Ahhh, the joys of motherhood. But I can't get too frustrated with her. Especially not when we have times like this:

Oh, and remember how I mentioned the insane increase in height? Here is Abby with her piano 10 months ago (right when she started walking):

And this was her yesterday:

I mean, really. It's just ridiculous. Also, the hair.... the hair! In between those two pictures being taken, the child has had seven inches of hair cut off! I know... I can hardly believe it myself.

I'll end here with an Abby funny of the day: I made blueberry pancakes this morning, and as Casey was helping Abby cut hers up, he said, "It's a blueberry massacre!" To which Abby replied, "Massacre da pancakes!!!" ..... I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. :)

My 18-month-old

2010-02-08T23:52:00.005-06:00

For those who are wondering, Casey is still looking for a job. Moving on... :)

Abby is now 18 months old! Can you believe it?? Here are a few of her recent developments (so I don't forget them later!):

Counting to 10--she'll go to 14, but she leaves out 12. :)
Telling you her first and last name (Abby Cokwin!) & age
Spelling "Abby"
Naming the colors red, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, and black
Speaking in sentences (ex: "Whed Mommy go? Deh she is!")
Finishing phrases in songs when we sing together
Saying "no!" just because she can
Pretending to talk with someone on the phone by saying, "Hewoh? Nana?? It's me!" She has started "calling" people other than Nana, so she's branching out. :)

Her favorite songs right now are "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," "A-B-C," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "Jesus Loves Me." She gets a little more girly every day, and I am so glad we have moved from Elmo to Disney princesses. This might speak to what a horrible mother I am, but she will sit all the way through Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid without budging. She also loves Care Bears, Veggie Tales, reading books (especially Dr. Seuss right now), and building with blocks. Her favorite foods include avacado, lima beans, cheese, yogurt, and anything you can put in "dip" (aka Ranch dressing). Here are a few of the most recent pictures, including one of the snow we got today!:

Cooking in her new kitchen

Playing in the snow (end of Jan.)

Sporting her new Disney princess backpack

Working on her "tall tower" (yes, she did choose her outfit)

Our snow! This is the view outside Abby's window--so pretty!

And Happy 25th Birthday to my beautiful sister, Tara! She was stuck driving back to Searcy in the blizzard today, so I hope it wasn't an awful day for her. To celebrate the day, we'll finish the post with a picture of Abby with "Aunt Tawa." :)

8 is enough...

2010-01-18T21:14:00.002-06:00

I've decided 8 is plenty of goals for one year. It's not quite as catchy as "10 in 2010," but it'll have to do. I don't want to just make up 2 more random goals to reach a certain number. :) Here are a few other high points I'd like to hit in this post:

Abby and I are taking a potty training break for now. She did really well the first day and then had a meltdown the second day. I didn't want to traumatize her, so we left it alone for a while. Then we took a trip to visit my friend Lindsey for a few days (more on that later), and now Abby has been sick the past few days. Nobody wants to potty train a toddler with a fever! I did buy some pull-ups a few days ago, but I think we're going to give it another week or two before starting back up.
The trip to visit Lindsey in NW Arkansas was a very busy time, but it was a lot of fun. We were best friends at Harding, and she just had her second baby right before Christmas. Her older daughter is just 3 months older than Abby, so they had a lot of fun playing together. Abby would wake up from her nap, look around, and say, "Hawie!" (aka Hallie) "Hawie, come on! Come on, Hawie!" Lindsey said Hallie has been asking about Abby since we've been gone, so I guess they bonded... :)
Casey is still applying for jobs all over the place and waiting to hear back from the ones we've been really hoping for. In the meantime, he is going tomorrow to put his name in as a substitute teacher to the local school districts. I think he'll mainly sign up for high school, so we'll see how that works out. He was also told today that there might be a part-time job available for him related to computers that he could do in the late afternoon/evenings so he's going to look into that. Keep praying!!!
My regular activities start back this week, so I'm really excited to get back into my routine. Living in a town that is so dependent on the university schedule really drags out holiday breaks...
We still don't have a camera cord to hook up to the computer, so I don't have any new pictures to share. :( Sorry.

***Important! Some good friends of ours are beginning the process of adopting a baby, and they have started a new blog! I highly encourage everyone to visit the blog and donate in some way: it doesn't have to be money (although, I'm sure they'd appreciate it!), but you can donate your time to pray! Please check it out, share with others, and keep them and their future baby in your prayers! Nate and Mandy's Adoption Adventures We are so excited for them!!

Goals, and potties, and pictures--oh my!

2010-01-07T21:27:00.004-06:00

A few more goals for 2010:

6. Read more books for the pure enjoyment of reading! I'm taking another break from grad school since we have no idea where life will lead us in the next couple of months, so I actually have time to read what I want to now! Current book: "Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw" by John Flanagan. This is #6 in the series--love it!

7. Plan a big family vacation. There is no way we will be able to afford one of these any time soon, but I think it's important to dream and plan together for something fun like this! Then if/when we do save up the money, we'll be all set! Current possible locations: Australia/New Zealand, Ireland/Scotland, and Italy.

8. Send cards/notes to those who need encouragement. I'm that person who always knows who to send the note to, thinks about it a few times, might even buy or make the card.... and then never sends it. LAME. And then I kick myself for it! It meant a lot to us when people let us know they were thinking of us and praying for our family when we were having a rough time. There is no good reason why I can't do the same for others!

Only 2 more goals..... hmmmm..... I'll have to get back to them later.

In other news, Abby started potty training today, and she did amazingly well! A friend's mother-in-law recommended using a particular method and sent me a copy of the book she used. I was a bit anxious about starting the process since I haven't done anything like this before, but Abby made the whole day so easy! The only accident we had was at the end of the night--she had just gotten in trouble and was crying, so I think she just let it all out (quite literally). But other than that, she used her potty all day! We'll see if it lasts...

Other than a few rejection emails, no more news on the job front for Casey. He has several good possibilities in Searcy, Memphis, and Jackson, TN, so we're waiting to hear back from them. He has applied for about 60 jobs in the past couple of weeks, so we really hope one of them works out!

We left our camera's computer cord in Ohio, so here are a couple of the latest pictures I have on my computer--enjoy!

Before the haircut

Five inches later!

Love the baby...

My sweet family--I am so blessed!

10 for 2010

2010-01-01T19:46:00.002-06:00

This might be a common thing right now, but my friend Clarice blogged about having 10 goals for 2010 (as opposed to making a "resolution"). I love the idea.... mostly because the "new year's resolution" is infamous for being a huge failure. There probably isn't actually much difference between a resolution and a goal, but I like the way it sounds. :) This is still a work in progress, but here's what I've got so far:

Study the Bible more often each week. Right now this means staying on top of the Beth Moore study on the book of Esther that my ladies' class is doing. I really love it, but I don't always make time to study it as thoroughly as I'd like to.
Focus on each day as it is happening. I'm a big planner, so it's really easy to miss what it happening "right now" and be constantly focused on what is coming.
Get in better physical shape. I purposefully didn't list "Lose weight" here because that isn't really what I want to focus on. It would be nice to lose another 10-15 pounds, but I really just want to be in decent shape. I'm working on a plan to make time for work-outs at home.
Get more sleep. I am so tired (literally) of staying up too late for no good reason at all! I spend way too much time on the internet or watching junk on TV. Luckily, we just switched from Cable to Netflix, so I won't have as many options to tempt me. :) I know that Abby will wake up between 7 and 8 a.m., so I need to plan my bedtime accordingly.
Drink more water!!! This is a huge one for me because my lack of hydration is a huge part of the pain I have most of the time. If I would keep my muscles hydrated, they wouldn't scream at me so much! Tara got me the tumbler I wanted with lids and straws for Christmas so I can keep water with me all the time--perfect!

There will be more, but these are the ones that stand out for me the most. Stay tuned for the rest!

The Verdict

2009-12-04T21:51:00.002-06:00

For those who have not seen this on Facebook, here is what the Army decided:

Finally, a decision has been made! It isn't exactly what we were hoping for, but I still think it's pretty good. Here are the results:

Casey is being discharged from the Army, but it is a "good" discharge (as opposed to "dishonorable").
He should be processed out quickly and could be home as soon as a week from today!
We were going to have to buy plane tickets to get him home for Christmas, but the Army is going to pay for his trip home!
He will have the opportunity to get back in the army in 6 months! He just has to get a medical waiver of some sort signed, and he can go right back in!

I think that pretty much sums it up. We were hoping he could stay, but at least he can go back if he wants to. We will be looking for a new job ASAP, so we will just see where God leads us next. He could find a great job and decide to stick with that, or he might decide to try this army thing again after 6 months--who knows? God knows where we need to be, and He will guide us through this time of transition.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has been with us through this mess! Casey will still be in Oklahoma for at least another week trying to get this paperwork done, so please keep him in mind. He is a bit lonely, bored, and trying to get over a nasty cold and cough (aren't we all??). We can't wait to have him home with us to celebrate Christmas together!!! I am so proud of him!

They that wait...

2009-12-03T13:28:00.002-06:00

Casey called this morning--he found out yesterday that he has been cleared medically (yay!), but they still have not given him an answer about whether he will stay in the Army or be processed out. Since the seizures he used to have were psychosomatic (non-epileptic), they want him to talk with their mental health people before they decide. I can't imagine that this will be an issue for him, but we still have to wait and see what they decide. Once again, we are faced with the army's famous "hurry up and wait" approach. I am mainly getting more anxious because he still has not been able to buy his tickets to come home for Christmas, and prices are going up every day! I hope we will have an answer before we reach the weekend, and that he will be able to buy his tickets for Christmas soon.

I am currently going to a Ladies' Bible Class on Tuesday mornings, and we are doing a Beth Moore study on the book of Esther. Each lesson has been wonderful, but the message this week was especially relevant for me. I kept turning to my friend Joy and saying, "She knows me!" as we watched the video. :) Beth was pointing out that when we wait on the "thing," whether it is an event or person, we get SO worn out! But "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31) GOD is in control, and all things happen in HIS time. If we wait on Him, we will be strengthened! I don't know how people deal with situations like this without leaning on the strength of our Lord. I couldn't do it! Knowing that He holds my family so close in His hands gives me all the comfort I need to keep going. We often say, "in the meantime..." and in this past lesson, Beth pointed out that the "meantime" is "God time." His timing is amazing--He knows just what we need!

Casey/Army update

2009-12-01T23:06:00.003-06:00

For those who can't see the note I posted on Facebook, here is the latest update on Casey's situation:

Casey left for Basic Combat Training (BCT) 2 weeks ago. While he was in the reception process (filling out paperwork, getting head shaved, getting uniform, etc.), he was asked, "What did your recruiter tell you not to report on your paperwork?" Casey is an honest man, so he told them that he was instructed not to report his past medical issues. They immediately requested his latest test results from the hospital and told him that he would NOT ship to BCT with the rest of his platoon. He had an appointment set up for today (Tuesday) to meet with a Captain to discuss the possibility of being processed out of the army.

He met with the Captain today, and we STILL don't have an answer, but it is much more hopeful. He asked Casey how much he wanted to be there, and Casey told them he has wanted to do this for a long time, he wants to provide for his family, and he wants to serve his country. The Captain looked over the hospital report and saw that Casey's seizures weren't epileptic (or even connected to abnormal brain activity), and Casey told him I could fax over statements from his doctors stating that he received the treatment he was supposed to, he is no longer on any medications, and he is fine to stay in the army. The Captain took him at his word and said I didn't need to fax that over, but this was a bit over his head so he will have to talk with his superiors before making a decision.

Casey has another appointment tomorrow (Wednesday) with the Captain to see what he and "his superiors" have decided. Best case scenario: Casey can stay in the army and start BCT immediately (they might be adding a couple of guys to his original platoon tomorrow since they've barely started). Next best case: Casey can stay and start BCT in January. Worst case (but it will be ok): Casey is discharged from the army and we have to find a new job ASAP.

I will post an update as soon as I hear from Casey again, but I have no idea when that will be. He might be able to call me again tomorrow night, but there is no guarantee.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for the continued prayers and words of encouragement!! I know that God hears each of us, and I am so grateful to have so many voices lifted on behalf of my family. We are truly blessed by you!

Gotta love a man in uniform! :)

2009-11-21T14:21:00.003-06:00

In case you have been in a state of disbelief that Casey joined the army, I now have proof:

Doesn't he look great?? They apparently had a good amount of personal time today, so he got to call for 32 minutes (yes, every minute counts!) and I asked him to send a picture from his phone. They have been doing a lot of paperwork, getting shots (immunizations, tetanus, etc.), being issued their uniform.... they've been busy. :) He is doing well and says he is enjoying it so far. He said he has already sent a letter, but won't have an address until they "cross the tracks" to Basic Combat Training (BCT) next week. As of right now, they are scheduled to cross on Wednesday. I'm not sure when I'll hear from him again, so I'll be checking the mail box every 5 minutes between now and his next call. :)

Moment to remember

2009-11-19T23:51:00.002-06:00

I do not want to forget this, so suffer through with me while I jot this memory down...

We made a video of Casey reading books with Abby before he left so she could watch it while he is gone. Yesterday, Abby and I watched the video for the first time, and we looked through each book as Daddy read it. As we were reading her Bible, she started grabbing at my hand and saying, "Pay? Pay?" over and over again. I couldn't figure out what in the world she was doing, and then I saw her do it to Casey on the video, too. I finally figured out that she was trying to hold my hand and was saying, "Pray?" How sweet is that?! Sometimes when we read her Bible stories at night, we say a prayer when we are done. I guess that is an automatic association for her now, and I love that! So we did stop and pray to thank God for our family and ask that He keep Daddy safe. I didn't cry then, but I'm tearing up a little now as I type it out...

I am very, very proud of my husband and what he is doing for his family and country. I got to talk with him for about 3 minutes tonight--just long enough to hear that he is ok, things are going well, he will write me a letter soon with more details, and all of his hair is gone. :) I think it will be sometime next week before I get his address, but I'll be sure to email it to friends and family when I get it. Thanks to all for the continued prayers and words of encouragement!

And so it begins

2009-11-17T15:09:00.003-06:00

Casey is now at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) hotel and will leave for Oklahoma (hopefully!) tomorrow. He might be able to keep his cell phone with him for the next couple of days while he goes through reception, but then we'll just have to take it a day at a time. I did cry a little when we dropped him off, but I'm doing pretty well so far. Then again... it's only been 3 hours. :) I'm not too worried.

Is it Christmas yet??

In other news, this is what I found when I got off the phone yesterday:

Isn't she lovely?? Yes, she thought so, too. :)

Lord's Prayer for the Military Wife

2009-11-08T23:15:00.003-06:00

We are one week from Casey's departure to Basic Training. Several of the guys from church took him camping this past Friday night, and they gave him the "Soldier's Bible" to take with him. It has a lot of neat stuff in addition to the Scriptures for soldiers to read when they are studying the Bible. I found this in the back, and I love it.

Lord’s Prayer for the Military Wife (Author Unknown)

Lord, grant me the greatness of heart to see

The difference in duty and his love for me.

Give me the understanding to know

That when duty calls he must go.

Give me a task to do each day

To fill the time when he is away,

And Lord, when duty is in the field,

Please protect him and be his shield.

Army Strong by the grace of God

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:51:00.004-05:00

Abby has been sick most of this week so we didn't go to Harding's Trunk-or-Treat tonight, but we did get some pictures of her in her costume. We did manage to get out of the house for a while this morning to visit the petting zoo at Harding. She was great while we were out (for the first time all week!), but I think she was pretty worn out after a full morning. Here are a few pictures from today. I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!

Petting the pony with Nana

Cuddling with a bunny and Aunt Tara

Pony ride with Daddy!

Mommy and the Fairy Princess

Monthly review

2009-10-19T22:38:00.004-05:00

We've been a little busy this past month. Sorry. :) Here is what you should know:

I am doing entirely too much this semester. Grad school is ridiculous, and I'm not really sure when I will graduate with this degree. It will happen.... one of these days.
Casey leaves for Basic in 4 weeks--we are within the 30 day countdown. There is way too much that we need to do before he goes!
There are still a few boxes that need to be unpacked, but this apartment is becoming "home." Whenever I get frustrated that we don't have a yard for Abby to run around in, I remind myself that this also means there is not a yard that I have to mow. Frequent trips to the park: check.
I sold several sets of coasters at an event in Memphis this past weekend. Not quite as many as we had hoped, but it was definitely worth the trip. I would not be sad if I never made another coaster in my life.
I don't know the exact number, but Abby has about 50 words now. This number will be obsolete as soon as you read it because she seems to say a new word (or 5) every day! Current obsessions include Mickey Mouse and (heaven help us) Elmo. She loves to play outside and to swing. She is definitely a girly girl, though. Anything that you can put things into is a purse, and if it fits on the wrist, it's a bracelet. She is getting much more coordinated with a fork and spoon, and she can name the letter 'A'. Every day is a new adventure.... for both of us. :)

I would like to get some decent family pictures made before Casey leaves. In the meantime, we'll all just have to settle for this:

Movin' and Groovin'

2009-09-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

We are in the apartment, the house is SOLD, and I am exhausted! I really do plan on putting updated pictures up... just as soon as I can find the camera. :) It was down to the wire, but we did manage to get everything out of the house before closing today. We are so blessed to have the friends and church family here who are always eager to help out. We couldn't have done this without them! A ton of our stuff is now sitting in a storage unit, and there are piles all over the apartment just waiting to be sorted. I have a feeling we will be making more trips to deposit "junk" in the storage unit before this is all said and done. The goal is to have it all sorted and settled before Casey leaves in November!

I don't have a single recent picture to share, but I do have this quick video of Abby and her friend, Claira, dancing to the "Hot Dog" song on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Heaven help us--we have discovered cable TV.

I once caught a fish THIS BIG...

2009-09-09T12:50:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I didn't catch this fish--Mamaw did! I'm sure Dad has emailed these pictures to some of the family members, but in case you haven't seen it, here is Mamaw with the 10 lb. walleye that she caught while fishing with Dad this past weekend!

And here is Abby in all of her 13-month glory. Mamaw really liked this outfit, so she had me take a picture. :)

I will try to write more later when things calm down a little. We're currently trying to get moved out of the house and into the new apartment, so things are a bit chaotic. Stay tuned for pics of the new apartment!

Girls' Weekend

2009-08-24T13:11:00.004-05:00

My three very best friends from college came to visit this past weekend, and it was wonderful! It was a short visit, but a good one. We just hung around, played with the kids, ate (of course), and enjoyed catching up. I love that I am still so close to all of my bridesmaids. We still talk on the phone, but it's just not the same as getting together! I hope we're able to continue the tradition of getting together at least once a year for a very long time. I love these girls!

Sara, Rachel w/Abby, Melissa w/Asher, and Lindsey w/Hallie (and baby #2 on the way!)

Houses and haircuts and birthdays--oh, my!

2009-08-09T22:52:00.005-05:00

In the interest of getting to bed as soon as possible, here are the high points:

Our house is officially for sale! We put it on the market this past week, and I am planning to get an apartment here in Searcy when we sell it. Why Searcy? I have a strong church family here and friends to have playdates with for Abby. Plus, I'm SO close to finishing my masters degree at Harding. It will be much easier if I don't have to try to complete it long distance. Why an apartment? Abby and I won't need all this room when Casey is gone, and I don't want to keep up with house/yard maintenance. Pray that we sell it soon!
Abby and I both had our hair cut this past week! Well, Abby's was more of a trim so it would look healthier (and less like a mullet). I had mine completely chopped off! It has become an annual event for me. :) Abby was such a good girl:

Before the cut...

Reading while Lindsay cut her hair :)

The finished product (aka "trim")

I don't actually have any pictures of my hair yet (too busy taking pics of Abby, I guess), but I'm sure we'll take one eventually.

We had Abby's family birthday party at Mom and Dad's house this weekend, and I made the cake! It is the first cake I've ever actually decorated. I usually struggle with just icing a cake, so I was scared to death about putting "hair" icing on a teddy bear! Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Aunt Tara made a really cool cardboard house for Abby!

My teddy bear cake! The tummy says "Happy Birthday Abby" (written by Nana), and the eyes and nose are Hershey kisses. :) He's holding a "1" candle.

Enjoying her new recliner (thanks, Nana & Pawpaw!) and teddy bear (thanks, Peter!)

Playing with a new toy (thanks, Smith family!)

Ok, so this was a really long post... but now we're all caught up, and I can go to sleep. :)

"We're in the army..."

2009-07-31T21:28:00.002-05:00

Oh my word, here we go. Casey is officially a member of the US Army. WHAT?! Yeah, that's what I keep thinking, too. Basic training is delayed, so he doesn't ship out until November 18... but STILL! That's only 3 1/2 months away! Before everyone gets the wrong impression, let me clarify: I am very excited about this. It is an amazing opportunity for us, and Casey is extremely excited about it. He has wanted to do this ever since I've known him. I think it will be really good for him personally, and let's face it--it'll be nice to have a solid income again! :) It's just also a little... scary? Anxiety-inducing?? Ok, I'm not really sure what the right word is, but you get the picture. The idea of being a single mom for 6 months is completely overwhelming, but I know God will see me through it. The thought of Abby having no idea who her father is after hardly seeing him for 6 months breaks my heart... but I know we'll come through that, too. We have no idea where we might end up being stationed, but I think we can view that as an adventure. My immediate human response is to totally freak out, but I am trying to remind my spastic self that God is in control of everything.

So what will change right now? We're not sure yet. We are thinking about selling the house in the next few months and looking for an apartment in Memphis so I can be closer to my parents while Casey is gone. Nothing is set in stone yet, but it's a possibility. What am I saying? Anything is a possibility right now.

Random side note: I received 2 more coaster orders on my website - from Canada! I have no idea how that woman came across my site, but I thought it was really neat. One set will be sent to Ontario and one to Nova Scotia. I should also be making more for David-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis soon, so that should help get us through the next few months. Hazzah for coasters!

And there you have it. My life is nothing like I thought it would ever be, but I'm learning to love it. :)

Early birthday

2009-07-27T00:00:00.004-05:00

So that I don't forget, here are the most recent things Abby is doing:

Signing "please" instead of throwing a crazy fit when she wants something (now that she's got it down, we just have to teach her that it doesn't mean she automatically gets whatever she's asking for... suggestions?) :)
Putting stuff in and out of containers... over and over and over...
Dancing to music
New favorite song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"--she will stop fussing immediately if you sing this
NO MORE BOTTLES!! Abby goes to bed without a bottle now. What a big girl!
This one is hard to explain, but I'm going to try: she has learned the inflection we do when we say, "Look!" Kind of a high-low/double syllable thing to get her attention. She points to stuff and makes the pitches while excitedly saying "Ee-ee!" Now if only we can build up the vocabulary to go along with the sound...
Shaking her hair around in imitation of me when I blow-dry my hair.
Reading books... and then getting some more books..... after looking through books
Quacking when she sees a duck on anything
Sticking out her tongue when you ask, "What does a giraffe do?"

We are almost a week away from Abby's first birthday, and Casey's parents came down early to celebrate this past week. We only get to see them a couple of times a year, so this was only their second time to see her--ever! Well, Grandma Rhonda came down to see her in February when we were visiting a friend in KY, but Grandpa Terry hadn't seen Abby since Christmas. Abby has changed a little since then. ;) They brought presents, Casey made a cake, and we just had a small party at home. Here are a few pictures from their visit and the party:

Playing with Grandma Rhonda

Checking out a new toy with Grandpa Terry

Opening presents!

Our happy family

Checking out her first piece of cake

I think she likes it! :)

One more week...

2009-07-16T21:31:00.003-05:00

Can anyone out there believe that my little baby will be one year old in just 19 days?! I can't. I'm totally unprepared for this. I mean, I know she looks like she is at least 2 years old (see evidence below), but it's just too soon! The year has gone by way too fast.

Ok, so here is the craziness we are currently dealing with at the Cochran household:

I have completed one grad class (with an A--yay!), and I'm halfway through the other. Just one more week of summer school! It really hasn't been that bad because I've had a great professor and not too much work. I'm only a few classes away from my Masters degree!!
Casey is going through the process to join the army. Yes, you heard me--the ARMY. He has wanted to do this for years, but I've never been too thrilled about the idea. He's been looking for work for a long time, and finally decided that this is really what he wants to do. Since he already has his college degree, he would start out as an officer (which equals better pay!). He has passed the mental and physical tests. Now he just has to gather letters of reference and write an essay for the Officer Boards which are in Oklahoma at the end of this month. If all goes well, he should be signing up after that! So how do I feel about this? Excited/anxious. I know it could be something great for Casey, so I want it to work out for him. I am a little nervous about doing the single mom thing while he's away for 23 weeks in basic training and Officer Candidate School. I'm also anxious about where they might station us when he's done with training. LOTS of unknowns, and we still don't know that he'll definitely get in so we would appreciate your prayers as we go through this process!
The director of the nursery where I work cut back on my hours significantly this past month since I was in grad classes, but she assured me I would get my regular shifts back in August. WRONG! I was working 5 days a week before this month, but someone took over those during July so I could be in class. It was supposed to be a temporary switch. When I talked with my boss today about the schedule for August, she informed me that I will be working 9 days that month. Nine days out of the whole month!! Does that sound like things are going back to normal? Is that nearly enough income to buy anything?? Can you tell I'm a little bit upset about this?! Now we are really hoping that Casey's plans will work out and we won't need to depend on that income as much.

There you have it: the good, the bad, and the really cute little girl who is getting way too big for her britches... literally. :)

My Little Bookworm

2009-07-05T23:50:00.003-05:00

Mom took this video a couple of weeks ago at her house. Abby loves books! Right now, she would almost always rather sit and read instead of playing with toys. Is that weird?? I guess she really is my kid... oh, and I guess Casey's, too. :) We both inhale all forms of media like it's going out of style, and it looks like we might've passed that on to Abby. She has already learned that she can walk to the bookshelf, pull off a book, bring it to you, sit down, and (naturally) you will read to her. The other day she tried to pull off 3 at once, so I said, "No, just one book. One." So she stopped... looked at me... and just picked one book! I love that she is so smart, but it does make me a little anxious about the years to come. I don't want her to get bored too quickly! We are just one month from her first birthday--how on earth did that happen?!

Whatever Happened to Summer Vacation?!

2009-07-01T22:30:00.004-05:00

I have been acting in the role of single working mother for about 3 weeks now, and I must say that I am thankful this is the last night of it! Casey is currently finishing his last night as the Harding Uplift videographer, and I am SO glad. He has been leaving around 8:00 a.m. every morning and getting home around 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. the following morning... on a good day. Last night, I think he managed to get one hour of sleep. He was getting home as I was waking up! This might be the last year he does this... we're getting too old for this. :) I'd say he has put in his time, though--I think this was his 5th year to do it!

Abby has been going to work with me a lot more since Casey has been unavailable, so we've had plenty of time to bond. Plenty. I started a grad class this week, though, so I'm not really working right now. I have a wonderful friend who stays home with her 2 1/2-year-old boy and keeps another friend's child, and she has helped SO much this week keeping Abby while I go to class. Abby loves going to her house, so it hasn't been too bad leaving her every day. It's only about 4 1/2 hours a day, but after being together 24/7 for so long it's a big change! She'll stay at home now since Casey is done with Uplift. We're not sure when or how much he will be working at Hibbett Sports now. They're supposed to work him back into the schedule, so we'll see how that goes.

Casey has been looking at a couple of other job opportunities, so I'll post more on that when we have more info. Just keep praying he finds something stable soon!

I am very tired and have class again at 8:00 a.m., so I'll finish here with an Abby picture (or 2). :) Thanks for those of you who still check this blog--I know I haven't been consistent with keeping it updated. Happy 4th of July to all!

My New Favorite Picture & Current Desktop Background:

Abby's 1st Pool Experience -- She loved it!

Good-bye baby, Hello toddler

2009-06-16T21:24:00.004-05:00

Abby is still only 10 months old, but somehow it would appear that we have already moved on to the toddler stage. I thought she would be at least a year old before we dealt with this stuff! Here are her latest accomplishments:

Grabbing everything off of the table/dresser/desk she can reach and pulling it onto the floor
Crawling up onto the couch
Slamming every door closed that she comes in contact with (I'm waiting for the loss of a finger to occur at any moment.)
Using the signs for "eat" and "please" (only when she feels like it, of course)
Saying "mama," "baby," "yum yum," and "uh oh" (again, only when the mood strikes her)
Waving bye-bye and clapping
Giving kisses.... big, open mouthed, sloppy kisses

Oh, and let's not forget about this:
What. A. Mess. Please observe that she got herself into the ottoman cube first before climbing up onto the toy table. The girl is into everything!

Although, I guess no matter how big she gets, I'll still feel like this:
That's my baby girl. :)

A walking vampire

2009-06-03T00:07:00.003-05:00

I was going to be in bed by 10:30 tonight, but as I was about to shut down the computer, I saw Abby's baby calendar... which I haven't been filling out.... at all. I was struck with sudden guilt and decided I had to get it up-to-date before I forgot everything she has done in the past few months! (Yes, months--I was that far behind.) Luckily, I blogged about some of her accomplishments and adventures over that span of time so I was able to put some of that on her calendar. That combined with the millions of pictures we have taken might have saved me. The calendar is now up to speed! And now for the latest entry on Abby's calendar....

She's walking! Can you believe it?! We have been counting her (independent) steps lately, and the highest she had gotten to was four. On Monday night, she had to go to work with me because Casey was working, too, and apparently she decided that was her moment to take off. I saw that she was going to take a few steps, so I started counting.... all the way up to 18! After that, it was all over. She just walks around all over the place now! She will drop back to her knees and crawl if she's really in a hurry to get somewhere, but she's much more confident with her walking now.

My baby will be 10 months in just a couple of days, and she's already walking around the house! I think I'm still in shock. :) We haven't had the video camera around when she's been walking yet, but we will get video soon.

In other Abby news, she has started looking like a little vampire (or hillbilly... we're not sure which). She has gotten two teeth on top now, but they're both of the side teeth! We have yet to see any sign of the front two teeth on top. It looks a little odd, but I have been assured by 2 different dental hygienists that it is nothing to worry about. Here's our little walking vampire:

More changes

2009-05-10T20:19:00.005-05:00

Here's what is going on in Cochran-land. :)

Casey recently got a new job at Hibbett Sports. (For those who were unaware, he lost his job at Harding at the end of March due to seizure issues and his inability to work. He's doing better and has been trying to find a job--any job--so we can pay our bills.) Orientation is Tuesday, at which point we will find out what position he has, what hours they expect him to work, etc.
I am still working in the nursery at the gym. I got a really great offer for another job today, and we are still considering the possibilities it might have. More on that later (once I know more about it).
Abby is now 9 months old. In case you missed the last post, she is trying to WALK! She has taken a couple of steps by herself and will stand alone for a little bit, but she's still a little nervous to just take off on her own. Sometimes we can trick her by getting her to hold on to a toy or her sippy cup when she tries to walk, but she figures it out after a couple of steps and sits down. She also has her 3rd tooth coming in, this time on the top. It's one of the side teeth instead of the middle ones, so this should be interesting. :)
I am starting back to grad school in July to continue work on my Masters of Education in Early Childhood Special Ed. (same as my BA degree). The current plan is to be done by next summer--only one year from now! If I can stick to it, I will be able to make more money if/when I go back to work full time when Abby is older. (I think I can, I think I can...)

Tara took a lot of cute pictures a few days ago of us playing in the backyard with Abby, so I hope to have those soon to put a couple of them on here and Facebook. In the meantime, here's our little mess (literally):

Oh, here we go...

2009-04-23T17:42:00.003-05:00

Abby's attempt to walk down the hall while only holding ONE of Daddy's hands...

She made it! And doesn't she look so proud?? :) It's only a matter of time...

Easter

2009-04-13T23:29:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I should be in bed right now, but I wanted to post my favorite pictures from our Easter in Memphis. Happy viewing, and goodnight! :)

Eight months old!

2009-04-04T09:29:00.003-05:00

That's right... my little Abby is now 8 months old. Can you believe it?! I can't. She now has 2 teeth on the bottom, she crawls all over the house, pulls up on anything that will stay still long enough, drinks out of a sippy cup, eats just about anything she can get her hands on, and talks all the time. It was so much fun when she figured out how to say "mamama" and "dadada". She is the bright spot in my life! Here's our girl (and I managed to capture the new teeth in the photo!):

Results

2009-03-19T20:55:00.004-05:00

The colonoscopy is over, and I don't remember a bit of it. Casey has informed me that they said my colon looks "perfect." Great, right? I'm definitely glad they didn't find anything weird or scary in there, but it also doesn't really give an answer for the problems I've been having. They gave Casey a couple of prescriptions (I'm not even sure what they are yet) for me to try over the next 2 weeks. If I'm still having problems after that, then I'm supposed to go back to the doctor. Until then, I think they're sticking with the IBS-C diagnosis. We'll see how the next couple of weeks go... stay tuned. :)

I don't have a good picture to prove it yet, but Abby is getting her first tooth! It's been a long, drooly time coming, but there is finally one coming up through her bottom gums. I reached in to get who-knows-what out of her mouth tonight (she's really good at finding everything she shouldn't stick in her mouth and then eating it), and she bit me--ouch! There's definitely something sharp coming in there! As soon as we can get her to sit still long enough and smile, I'll post a picture here. In the mean time, you'll just have to settle for this:

If it's not one thing...

2009-03-16T09:30:00.005-05:00

Abby just went down for her morning nap, so I think I have a moment to update. We will begin with a cute picture, and end with a cute picture. It's just the right thing to do.

Don't you just want to kiss all over that face?! Ok, moving on.

We don't know what in the world to do with Casey right now. The neurologist has offered to refer us to the seizure specialist at UAMS, and we're considering taking him up on that. Casey definitely does NOT want to go through more testing, but we haven't really gotten any answers that are making a difference or helping him in any way. No decision has been made yet, but we're considering it.

Do you ever get tired of reading about all of the Cochran family health issues when you come to this blog? If so, please stop reading now. There's more.

I am scheduled to have a colonoscopy this Thursday morning, and I cannot WAIT! Ok, that's a lie. I'm totally nervous--about the test itself and about what they might find. I've been having a lot of pain and other unpleasant issues which I will not disgust you with by describing on here, and the doctors think I might have some form of colitis or Crohn's disease or something. It could just be severe IBS, but they think there might be more to it. It's always the same dilemma with these things: I'd like a solution to fix the problems I'm having, but I'm scared of what they might find.

Do you ever feel like Job from the Bible?? I do. Ever want to slap yourself in the face and say, "Quit feeling sorry for yourself! Everybody has to deal with stuff!"?? Yeah, me too. I'm ready to be done with this now. How do I keep going? Here it is:

I dare you not to smile when you look at that picture. You might have even giggled a little. :) She was completely unplanned, but God knows. Totally amazing.

Casey Cochran: SIU - Part II

2009-03-03T19:41:00.003-06:00

This was October of 2007:
And this was last week:
Oh, we just love visiting our friends at Baptist Hospital in the Seizure Investigation Unit. Apparently, they like seeing us, too. We had the same nurse to put in Casey's IV again, and several of the techs were there from last time, too. One of my favorites, Adam, even hunted down a cot for me to sleep on when no one else would look for one. What a guy. :) We were only there for 24-hour monitoring this time, so it was a quick trip. Casey was sleep deprived and didn't take any of his normal medication, so it was a rough 24 hours for him. I actually slept pretty well (thanks to Mom who kept Abby for us!), but I felt really guilty about it when I woke up and saw Casey. Sorry, honey!

We went back to the neurologist this afternoon to hear the very frustrating results. The brain activity looks exactly the same as it did before, but the physical activity is notably different. The neurologist still thinks this is stress related, but he was also very concerned that our pharmacy had switched Casey to the generic form of his primary seizure medication. Apparently, they've had a lot of issues with that in other patients. He wrote a new prescription for Casey saying that it was medically necessary for him to take the brand name pill, and we are very hopeful that this will make a difference. Only time will tell, I guess. In the mean time, we are really hoping he can get back to work soon and life can get back to normal... whatever that means. :)

As a happy side note, my baby will be 7 months old tomorrow, and she is getting into everything! She can now crawl all over the house, and she pulls up on anything that is in reach. At every meal, she eats like she has never been fed before--you'd think we were starving the girl! She loves to feed herself those Gerber Puffs, and she is now a pro with the sippy cup. If you have a cup of water, be prepared to share--she thinks she's big stuff now! Here's the latest picture of my (not-so-little) baby girl:

Yes, she did get there all by herself. Those little arms can reach a lot farther than you'd think!

Things and stuff

2009-02-12T22:29:00.004-06:00

I am very aware that I am overdue for another post. However, I feel very scattered at the moment, so this might be a I'm-totally-rambling-in-efforts-to-catch-up-but-go-to-bed-soon post. Here are the important items I feel warrant mentioning tonight:

Casey's seizures have gotten worse this week--so much that he hasn't been able to go to work since last Friday. We went to Little Rock to see his neurologist today, and it looks like we're going back to the Seizure Investigation Unit at Baptist in 2 weeks. The doctor is concerned that the seizures are more frequent and severe, and he wants to make sure we're still dealing with the same thing.
I somehow miraculously created 120 tile coasters in 3 days and delivered all of them this past Monday. 24 sets went to Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis, and 6 sets went to Aunt Janet to give as gifts to her Tupperware managers. In the rush of it all, I forgot to take pictures of the new floral set, but I hope to make it again and post it on my Etsy site.
Throughout the insanity of this past week, I have also been trying to prepare and pack for a week long trip to Kentucky to visit Kyle and Melissa Vath. I'm SO excited to visit them now that they're back from Tanzania, and I can't wait to see Mel as a beautiful pregnant woman! My friend Lindsey and I are packing up everything we own along with our baby girls and making the long drive to northern Kentucky together. It should be quite an adventure!
I am currently searching for peace. I usually thrive on being busy, but I'm feeling a little overloaded/overwhelmed right now. Too much to think about and do--not enough hours in the day. Hopefully, things will calm down soon.
Abby now thinks that she can stand up all the time, and she is driving us crazy with trying to pull up on everything! She almost has the crawling thing down, and the poor girl just can't sit still! There's always something across the room or higher up that she just has to get to. I know I will regret this later, but I really am looking forward to her being able to stand and move on her own without having to cling to Mommy and Daddy constantly. Here's my little crawler:

See that last picture? She just has to get that box! :) Ok, I'm sure there are other things I could mention on here, but it is definitely past my bedtime. I hope this was enough to appease the masses (*ahem, Becka*). :)

Early morning

2009-02-02T09:13:00.003-06:00

Abby was having a hard time breathing at about 4:45 this morning (time for another cold, I guess), so I got up to give her some more medicine, clear out her nose, and rock her back to sleep. After I had her back in the crib, I realized... I was totally awake! Since I knew there was a Zumba dance class at the gym at 5:30 this morning, I decided I was just going to get up and GO! It is now almost 9:30 a.m., and these are the things I have accomplished so far:

Folded 2 loads of laundry and started another load
Worked out at the gym--I love Zumba!!!
Taken a shower
Put dishes away
Prepped Abby's bottles for the day
Made a pot of coffee
Changed 2 diapers
Talked to Dad
Fed Abby breakfast (yum, rice cereal!)
Had waffles and coffee for breakfast
Rocked Abby back to sleep for a nap
Washed tiles for sample coasters I need to make today

Hmmm.... maybe I should be napping, too! I'm afraid if I stop going, I might not be able to get back up! I also have to work from 3 - 8 p.m. tonight, so I'm sure I will crash when I get home from that. This is the week Abby turns 6 months old, so I can start taking her with me--more hours! This is going to be a very busy week, so I guess I'm just trying to start it off well. I'm working 25 hours at the gym nursery, and I also got another order of coasters from Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis. I have until this coming Monday to make nearly 100 coasters--yikes! Looks like I don't really have time to keep blabbing on here! :)

Too Fast!

2009-01-30T22:52:00.003-06:00

My daughter will be 6 months old as of this coming Wednesday, and I have to tell you that it is entirely too early for her to be doing this:

What's that? Did we put her there?? Did we prop her against the crib railing??? Oh, no. She definitely pulled up there on her own. Actually, this is the third time she's done it... after we had already lowered the crib mattress following her first time. And now we're going to have to get one of those teething rail thingies because she just wants to chew on it! Plus, she now thinks she can stand all the time and wants to pull up on everything, so she's no longer content to sit around. Noooooo...... you just try to sit her on the floor with a bunch of toys and see how that works for ya. Good luck, friend. The crying is getting to be a bit much, actually, but I know I should be thrilled that she's working so hard to get mobile. *It's only a phase, it's only a phase...* Oh, and the talking has turned from mostly vowels to lots of consonants since she found her tongue a few days ago. Here's the current favorite face:

Love it! My world is totally changing (every day, it seems like!). She is such a joy, and I cannot believe how quickly she is growing up!

The RIGHT Way

2009-01-28T21:32:00.004-06:00

We had two biscuits left over from dinner last night, and I decided that was going to be my breakfast this morning with butter and jelly. This is not necessarily anything of importance to blog about, but I always think of Papaw when I eat biscuits with butter and jelly because he knew the right way to eat it. If you are a Curtis cousin (or aunt, or uncle, or any other relation) you know exactly what I'm talking about. It was just a happy thought as I ate my breakfast this morning. I will make sure Abby grows up knowing how to eat her biscuits with butter and jelly appropriately. :)

Play Date

2009-01-24T20:33:00.003-06:00

Abby loves to go play with her friend, Claira Tittle. Claira is 9 months old, and Abby just thinks she is the coolest thing since sliced bread. Joy (Claira's mother) and I laugh so hard at how tickled Abby gets just watching/pestering Claira. She will watch Claira cruise around the furniture and crawl around the room, and she just smiles and laughs. Ah, to be a big girl like friend Claira. :) Abby does kind of act like the little sister, though--she can be such a pest! She's just curious and wants to play, but so far that includes reaching out to grab or pull any part of Claira she can get a hold of. Claira is not such a fan of this game, but I guess she'll catch on and pop Abby one of these days. I am thankful Joy and I can get the girls together because they have so much fun, and I really want Abby to learn how to play well with other kids. Plus, it never hurts to have some adult conversation (and maybe a Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper from Sonic!) during the day. :) Here are our big girls:

Confession

2009-01-13T22:03:00.003-06:00

Ok, I have something to admit:

My Christmas decorations are still up.

There it is. Go ahead, say what you will. It's not that I'm hopelessly clinging to the holiday season... I just really haven't had the time or energy to put everything away! Plus, the Christmas tree (that's right, our sad little fake tree is still up, too) makes a wonderful night light in the living room when I'm feeding Abby and rocking her to sleep. I suppose we could just invest in an actual night light, but this one is so... festive. :) I am very aware that it is mid January, and I really need to get on the ball. Maybe this weekend?? Oh, well. Perhaps we'll just celebrate Christmas year round this year.

In other news, I have started my new job in the nursery at Health Corp (local gym/spa), and I love it! There isn't anything overly exciting about it, but I am glad to be working with kids again. Here are the perks:
1) The shifts are only 4 or 5 hours long, depending on the day.
2) I make more than minimum wage.
3) When Abby turns 6 months old in a few weeks, she can go with me every time I go to work.
4) I get free gym membership.
5) I am actually using the free gym membership!
6) I spend my work day coloring, building with blocks, reading books, and tossing balls and bean bags.
7) I get to wear workout clothes and tennis shoes to work.
8) The parents are only allowed to leave their kids for 2 hours max at a time, so there's a constant rotation of children.
I think that about covers it. Right now I'm only subbing for people on the weekends or evenings since I can't take Abby yet. The good news: one of the regular girls put in her 2 week notice today, so I'm going to fill her spot starting in February--more hours! It was looking questionable for a while whether or not I would have many hours to work, but this helps a lot. She said she would try to finish out the month, and then they're mine!

In true fashion, I will now leave you with a couple of recent Abby pictures. Here's my big 5-month-old girl:

Would you like to eat this block?? Trust me, it tastes great!

Can I play with the camera, too, Mommy?

Where to start...

2008-12-30T20:33:00.007-06:00

Good grief, I don't even know where to begin. I feel like so much has happened since I posted last, and I just can't get it all in to get caught up.

I guess the most important thing to mention is the passing of my amazing Papaw. He struggled for so long, but he was finally able to rest on Christmas day. He was such a wonderful person, and the best representation of a Christian man/husband/father/grandfather I have ever known. I am so glad he is not in pain anymore. I really am happy for him, but that doesn't make me miss him any less. I am also so grateful he got to meet Abby. He was there the day she was born!

All 12 of the cousins were able to come for the funeral, and it was so good to see everyone. Word on the street is we hadn't all been together since 1995! We somehow all managed to make it through singing a song at Papaw's funeral, and I'm so glad we could do that. Here we are... all grown up. :)
Casey, Abby, and I started our Christmas break in Ohio with Casey's family. We had "fake Christmas Eve" with Casey's Aunt Lana, Jeff, and Grandma Jean. That night after everyone went home, Abby decided she was ready to sit up by herself! It was so cute, and I actually got it on video! She's been sitting and playing nonstop ever since she realized it was a possibility. Then the next day was our big Christmas lunch, and Abby got to try her first vegetable: sweet potatoes! She loved them. We've eaten some here at home since then, and this is how Abby usually looks after a few bites:
She's not quite as messy now that she's had a little more practice, but she usually manages to get quite a bit on her face. Now that she knows she likes food, she lunges for the spoon when it gets near her mouth. We've had quite a bit of squash end up in her nose. Lovely. :)

There are many more pictures I could share from the holidays, but I'll leave you with my 3 favorites:

It's just so stinkin' funny--look at that face! haha

Abby in her Ohio State cheerleader outfit, playing with Daddy and a new toy

She's sitting up and so proud of herself!

That was really long, but I had a lot to make up for. I hope you had a good holiday break!

Another Tag

2008-12-16T11:33:00.002-06:00

Once again, I've been tagged. So.... Tiffany made me do it. :)

*i am ready for Christmas break to get here.
*i want to have a little more money to buy some clothes.
*i have a very sick baby. :-(
*i miss my Melissa Jean.
*i fear being alone and failing as a mother.
*i hear Abby's swing.
*i search for ways to live as I should.
*i wonder if it will ever get easier.
*i regret eating that extra cookie.
*i love my family more than words can express.
*i forgive less often than I should, but I'm working on that.
*i ache all over.
*i always eat the edges of my sandwich before eating the middle.
*i try to be a good wife and mother.
*i seem more outgoing than I really feel sometimes.
*i know that my Redeemer lives. :)
*i feel silly that I am filling this out.
*i dance when I'm at home.
*i dream about weird stuff.
*i give when I see a need.
*i listen to Disney music. A lot.
*i sing constantly.
*i laugh when Abby does something new or weird.
*i can't believe Abby is already 4 months old.
*i cry when it seems too hard sometimes.
*i sleep less than I should.
*i am hungry.
*i see my parents' Christmas tree.
*i need to get some thicker socks on my feet--it's cold!
*i should do some laundry since Abby's illness is making everything gross.

Wasn't that fun?? I tag Casey (because he hates these things but can't keep from doing them), Becka, Christy, Joy, Nicole, Sara, Stacey, and Trisha.

My Little Roller Over-er

2008-12-09T16:03:00.003-06:00

Abby is such a big girl now--4 months old! She rolled over from back to front the other day... while Aunt Tara was babysitting. What a goober! But I did manage to catch her in action today, and I even had the camera ready! Here's our little roller over-er:

I love that last picture: "Hey, did you see that??" :) We are getting ready for Christmas, and Abby is so excited! Well, not really, but she does like our Christmas tree with the lights on it. It's a sad little tree, but it works for us. Here it is in all of its glory:

Merry (almost) Christmas! :)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T15:28:00.001-06:00

Happy 4 days after Thanksgiving! :) We spent the day with Mom's family in Heber Springs again this year. Here are just a few pictures to document the occasion. I think Abby enjoyed her first Turkey Day. I hope yours was good, too!

2008-11-14T23:22:00.004-06:00

I know I'm way behind on blogging--sorry! I'm up late for no good reason at all, can't sleep, and so here we are. I do need to get to bed soon, so this will be a quick update with a few Abby photos.

Item #1: My coaster business is really taking off! I now have the online shop (with one order filled), there is a gift shop in Searcy selling them (Corner Gift and Florist), and now I have an order for Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis. Yay! I plan on spending all of tomorrow and most of Sunday trying to get all of the coasters made for DK so I can take them over there this week. I have a couple of days off at Payless this week, so I can manage a quick trip to Memphis. Plus, I don't think Nana would mind having Abby there for a couple of days. :) Between these stores and the individual orders I've gotten from family and friends, I've got a lot to do!

Item #2: We had a great weekend "camping" in cabins with our family and a few other families from our church in Memphis last weekend. It was so good to get away for a while, see friends, and enjoy nature... a little... when we weren't in the cabins. :) I would like to post pictures from that eventually, but they're all on Tara's camera and I haven't gotten them from her yet. Hopefully, more to come on that later.

Item #3: I finally got my hair cut after a year of growing it out! I wasn't trying to grow it out, but I never made the time to get it cut. Six or seven inches later, here we are:

Item #4: I have decided that having a baby makes the holiday season much more fun and exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing how Abby will respond to everything this year, and I can't wait to put her in all of the cute Christmas clothes we have! I know she is going to be spoiled rotten since it's her first Christmas and she's the only grandchild on both sides of our family. Speaking of my cutie, I'll leave you with these pictures from today. 3+ months old--can you believe it??

Tummy time!

Does that smile look like trouble, or what?? :)

I know she looks pitiful with the lip sticking out, but she really wanted to try sitting up and was actually really happy!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T09:25:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy (and relaxing) Halloween. :)

New business

2008-10-28T14:06:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a long time coming, but I'm finally starting my own business... sort of. :) I have an online website to sell my coasters, and I've added a link on the side of this page if you'd like to check it out. Christmas is coming, so tell your friends and family:

simplecharmcrafts.etsy.com

I have several new stamps that I'm anxious to try out, so check back often for new designs! I'm really excited to get this going, and I hope it all works out. Let me know what you think! (Or even better, place an order!) :)

Abby's first pumpkin

2008-10-27T08:56:00.001-05:00

For those who don't have Facebook, I put together a slide show of my favorite pictures from when we took Abby to pick out her first pumpkin this weekend. Mom and Dad were in town, so it was a fun family day!

Fun Photo Tag

2008-10-24T20:10:00.014-05:00

Kim has this on her blog, and it looks like fun. I believe the concept is to take the first picture of the first folder on your computer, the second from the second folder, etc. up to 10. This should be interesting... :)

First from the first:
This is from January 2006 (or was it 2007?) right after Christmas. We wanted to take some family pictures, and believe it or not, we did not plan the color scheme. :)

Second from the second:
These are 3 of my 4 HU Posse girls: (from the left) Lindsey, Melissa, and Jessica. We had a great weekend together in Memphis in January 2007.

Third from the third:
In July of 2007, Casey's friend, Tyler, came back from teaching English in China to visit us. His gift to Casey was a Jedi robe made from material he bought in China. Yes, Casey does wear this around the house when it's cold in the winter. :)

Fourth from the fourth:
This is my other HU Posse girl, Sara. I went to visit her and her husband at their house in Alabama in October of 2007.

Fifth from the fifth:
Also in October of 2007 was the Race for the Cure in Little Rock. This was my first time to do it, and I was amazed at how many people were there!

Sixth from the sixth:
Apparently, October of 2007 was a busy month. This is Casey in the Seizure Investigation Unit at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. His first nurse, Phyllis was SO sweet! It was a long week, but doesn't he look great?? :)

Seventh from the seventh:
Sara is also my stamping/scrapbooking friend. We got together for a weekend in November of 2007 at Mom and Dad's house to work on scrapbooks we were making for Christmas presents. She made one for her grandparents, and mine was for Tara. It was a mess, but we had a blast!

Eighth from the eighth:
Thanksgiving in Heber Springs, November of 2007. I think I ate a ton of those rolls to make up for the ham that made me feel sick. Little did I know, I was pregnant at that time!

Ninth from the ninth:
More family pictures being taken, this time out at Mamaw and Papaw's farm in November 2007. Yay for sisters! :)

And finally, Tenth from the tenth:
These are my BEAUTIFUL parents! This was this past Christmas (2007) right before going to a Pfizer, Inc. Christmas party. Don't they look amazing?? I think this is one of my favorites of them together.

Ok, that took quite a bit of time, but it was fun! Thanks for the idea, Kim. I needed something to do while Abby was sleeping other than clean. :) Feel free to do this on your blog, too!

Just one word??

2008-10-21T20:50:00.002-05:00

Apparently Deborah has "nominated" me to do this tag thing, and I actually have a moment to do it! Work is over, I'm finally eating dinner, and Abby is asleep. Yay!

To accept this nomination, I have to answer the following questions with one word answers (this could be difficult :)) and nominate 10 other blogs for the "I heart your blog" award. Here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? here
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? lovely
5. Your father? giving
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your dream/goal? heaven
9. The room you're in? office
10. Your hobby? stamping
11. Your fear? loneliness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? chef
15. One of your wish-list items? Chuck
16. Where you grew up? Memphis
17. The last thing you did? work
18. What are you wearing? PJs
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? nonexistent
21. Your computer? sufficient
22. Your mood? tired
23. Missing someone? girlfriends
24. Your car? huge
25. Something you're not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? book
27. Your summer? pregnant
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday

Okay, here are my 10 nominees:

Casey
Amie
Becka
Brooke
Christy
Emily
Joy
Nicole
Sara
Tricia

So strong!

2008-10-19T22:08:00.004-05:00

Well, I hate that I wasn't home for this, but at least Casey took a few pictures. Abby pushed up on her hands today! She's been lifting up on her forearms for a couple of weeks now, but Casey said she got up on her hands and pushed herself up. She has also been rolling over from her tummy to her back for a couple of weeks now. She doesn't do it all the time, but it's funny to watch her face when it happens. Between that and the scooting across the floor with her legs, I really have to keep my eye on her! I predict crawling by Thanksgiving and walking by Christmas. :) I'm thinking we might have a future athlete/gymnast/ballerina on our hands with muscles like these! Or as the grandmothers both like to say, "She's so advanced!" Ok, so maybe they're a little biased...

Here's the best picture Casey got of the momentous event (thanks, honey!):

And here's one I took a couple of days ago... just because it's cute. :)

Catching up

2008-10-16T22:22:00.005-05:00

I'm a little behind on blogging, but we've been busy! Here are a few recent events in pictures:

Abby showed Daddy that she can take him down in a staring contest.
We tried sitting up in the high chair for the first time.
"Aunt" Sara came to visit for a few days.

***Additional story: Sara and I had a great visit while she was here, and she was so helpful with Abby. She spent the first half of her fall break hanging out with us--I miss her so much! Sad part--our last night to hang out was Tuesday, and it was cut short because Sara had to take me to the ER. Didn't you think we were all done with those pesky ovarian cysts rupturing?? I know I did. Apparently not. They didn't find any more, though, so hopefully we're done with that again. Other than the excruciating pain, the ER visit, and being doped up on pain pills into the next morning, we had a really great night out while Casey stayed home with Abby. (Thanks, honey!) Moving on...

Grandma Rhonda and Grandpa Terry came to visit (it was the first time Abby got to meet Grandpa Terry!)
Cutest. Dimples. Ever.
Then we took a quick trip over to Memphis to visit Nana and Grandpa Curtis. Here's our big girl taking a bath in the sink--no baby bathtub (won't be doing that again for a while)! :)

Nana decided to experiment with the video on her digital camera, and this is what we ended up with:

Live, Laugh, Love

Logan is ONE!

It's the Little Things...

2012: The Year of All Things Awesome

A one-handed post

Rachel vs The Roach

Be that kind of woman...

Alphabet Eggs

In case you were wondering...

Abby is 3!

Tooth #1 & Florida pictures

6-month check up

June (minus the big FL trip)

And then there was May

Wrapping up April

More toddler observations

10 weeks

Potty talk

It's March already?!

Toddler observations

Day one...

Logan Edward Cochran

My big girl & baby boy

Christmas Card

Tis the *sniff cough sniff* season! *cough cough*

Hello, December!

The Basics

Oooh, girl.....

Soup Recipe

19 weeks

School Days

Abby Funnies

Baby #2 is....

Moments of the day

Happy 2nd Birthday, Abby!

Exhausted

Guess what...

Precious moments

Giddy

*tap tap* Is this thing on??

On Hold

Need a Baby Shower Gift?

Blast from the Past

Is it really mid-March??

Goodbye, Facebook!

Tara & Peter's Wedding Website

Catching up & Growing up

My 18-month-old

8 is enough...

Goals, and potties, and pictures--oh my!

10 for 2010

The Verdict

They that wait...

Casey/Army update

Gotta love a man in uniform! :)

Moment to remember

And so it begins

Lord's Prayer for the Military Wife

Happy Halloween!

Monthly review

Movin' and Groovin'

I once caught a fish THIS BIG...

Girls' Weekend

Houses and haircuts and birthdays--oh, my!

"We're in the army..."

Early birthday

One more week...

My Little Bookworm

Whatever Happened to Summer Vacation?!

Good-bye baby, Hello toddler

A walking vampire

More changes

Oh, here we go...

Easter

Eight months old!

Results

If it's not one thing...

Casey Cochran: SIU - Part II

Things and stuff

Early morning

Tis the sniff cough sniff season! cough cough

tap tap Is this thing on??