Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sunday: February 23, 2014

We have had a very busy week. Cooper had two therapies on Monday, I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, Cooper had all three out-patient therapies on Wednesday, MRI on Thursday, and therapy on Friday. We were excited for a nice quiet weekend at home.

Cooper did great during his therapies, he has really enjoyed showing himself off. Daddy is ready to build a pool because Cooper has so much fun in it during therapy. We were finally able to make our donation to the PICU and PEDs floor at Roanoke on Wednesday. With the help of the school system and community, we had a truck load of blankets, clothes, socks, hats, mittens, stuffed animals, and cups. They were very happy to receive such an awesome gift. We would like to thank each of you who made a donation.

We stayed in the Ronald McDonald House Wednesday night. Cooper did not have a good night. We were late getting in so he was able to go right to sleep. However, around 1 a.m. he woke up. Randy and I took several turns sitting up with him. Finally, we were all back in our beds shortly after 4 a.m. He did wake in a good mood and was very patient while waiting to be taken back for his MRI. The results were what we expected. No growth of the tumor. That's great news. That tells us that the Chemo is at least not allowing it to grow anymore. We were hoping to see some shrinkage, but the doctor said that would have been very unlikely at this point. Several minutes into our visit we received news that has made me worry myself sick. The doctor said that Cooper has a chance of losing his vision in both eyes due to where the tumors are located. This is something glasses would not be able to fix due to the tumor being in his eye nerves. He has such a long road ahead and may obstacles to face. I don't want this to be another one. I don't want him to lose something else that he once had. We prayed very hard for Cooper to have vision in one eye and that prayer was answered. We are now praying that he will keep it! I'm asking for everyone to please send up extra prayers for him. Also, his blood counts are down. They are actually too low for him to have his next Chemo treatment. He has to have blood work done early Tuesday morning to see if they are up enough to go on with his treatment on Wednesday. I hate seeing him go through Chemo, but he needs it. So, we are also praying his counts are high enough for his treatment.

Cooper has had a great day today. We were able to get outside for a walk in this nice weather. He loved being outdoors. I love my weekends with this little guy!

Only part of the donations we took to the hospital


Mommy and Cooper playing in the playroom at the Ronald McDonald House
 


Cooper enjoying the fish
 

 
Patiently waiting for his MRI

 
Mommy and Cooper asleep after the MRI
 

Eating some Chicken and Fries at Chick-fil-a
 

 
How precious is this face?
 

And check out the Beefaroni Face!
 


How many tub toys are too many?
 

 
This is too funny. I asked Cooper to look at the camera and he made this face, shook his head, and said no. I wonder if that means I take too many pictures of him???

 
He heard a 4-wheeler coming up the road


Cooper was waving bye to the 4-wheeler
 

 
Playing outside


He is just too darn cute!
 



Finally! We have waited forever to do this. Cooper loved going for walks in his car. Today it was warm enough to spend a while outside. I pulled his car into the driveway and brought him out. As soon as he saw it he started pointing and yelling "car, car" and trying to get out of my arms. He was so excited, and so were Mommy and Daddy! Bringing back our favorite memories.
 


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sunday: February 16, 2014

I was hoping to have this posted much earlier, but we have been enjoying our precious little boy a lot! With him being on "off" weeks of Chemo, he has been so happy. Cooper is eating great, playing well, and usually in the best mood. He enjoyed the pool this week with dad and has done great in speech. We got a new stander that he can roll himself, however, he will only get in it if we put food on the tray! We were able to get him in his gate trainer a couple of times, but he is still unsure about it.

I went back to work on Monday, but we had 2 1/2 snow days, so of course I enjoyed my days off with Cooper. He helped me clean the floors, do laundry, clean out the fridge and cabinets, and work on some school work.

Since it was warm enough on Friday we took Cooper outside to play in the snow. He loved it until you put him down. Friday was Valentine's Day and we finished our Halloween project. I got Cooper's thumb prints and foot print the day before he was admitted to the hospital over three months ago. I had laid them to the side to dry. Friday morning I was going through some papers and found them. I had to finish them.

We are asking for extra prayers this week. Thursday Cooper has an MRI to determine if the Chemo is working on his tumors. It's very scary not knowing. It seems as though we just assume everything is going like we hope, but in reality we have know idea. The thought of us finding out has made us both very nervous. Please keep Cooper in your prayers. I will try to post Thursday night when we get the results.

Giving Harley Kisses

 
 He loves Beefaroni
 

Cooper in his gate trainer
 


New Stander
 


"Are you going to share your ice cream Daddy?"
 


Loving on Pup Pup
 



Candy Corn Foot and Bats and Spiders Thumb Prints
 

 
Snow Fun
 
 
Cool like Daddy


Love this kid!!!
 


Giving each other five!

 
 
Guess who wanted to try a lemon? Then through a fit when I took it away from him!
 



Therapy Time
 

 
Our Little Valentine


Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sunday: February 9, 2014

Cooper had a great day today. He was so full of himself. He did wake up around 5:20 and didn't really go back to sleep. It was okay though because Mommy and Cooper cuddled in the chair until a little after 7. He didn't fuss when I put his AFO's on him and he wore them most of the day. For some reason he didn't want to eat very much today. He took a long morning nap. We cuddled again in the chair for about half an hour before I put him in his bed. I sat for a long time just staring at him and rubbing his hair. As I was doing this, his hair just fell out in tiny little chunks. Just another reminder of the road that lies ahead for my sweet baby boy.

I have to go back to work tomorrow. With that being said, I will now only be doing the blog once a week. I will post sometime on the weekend. I'm not sure what day will work the best, but once I figure it out I will let everyone know. I hate the thought of leaving Cooper. We have been together every single day from sun up to sun down since October. I'm praying that Cooper and I both handle this situation well.

Look at those lips! Sometimes Cooper wants to do his medicines himself!

 
Eating with pup pup


Mommy's Fav of the Day: Cooper giving Harley kisses. The love this kid has for his dog is unreal!
 


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Saturday: February 8, 2014

Even with his sodium being high, Cooper rested pretty well last night. He only woke once, had his water, and went right back to sleep. He woke in a good mood, but I ended that when I put his AFO's and shoes on. He had a major meltdown. I managed to keep them on him for a little over 2 hours this morning, took them off for his nap, then put them back on when he woke. Surprisingly, he got used to them and wore them all afternoon. He has been in an awesome mood since his nap! His sodium is still high, we are praying it lowers and we won't have to adjust his medicine.

Cooper standing at his table
 

 
Cooper wanted to play in the sink while I was washing dishes. I ran him some clean water and he ate his lunch in the sink!


Cooper and Harley playing together
 


Look at how happy Cooper is with Harley
 


Playing in the floor
 


Mommy's Fav of the Day: Cooper and Harley napping together!
 


Friday, February 7, 2014

Friday: February 7, 2014

We are pretty sure Cooper's sodium has spiked. He has been wetting every 10 minutes and drinking cup after cup of water all day long. It has made him a little fussy and he was unable to sleep well last night and nap today. His appetite has come back, he is eating a lot!

Cooper standing and playing with his toys: Good Therapy 

 
Yum Yum, peanut butter fudge for dinner!

 
Mommy's Fav of the Day: Cooper enjoying his milk with Harley

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Thursday: February 6, 2014
 
Cooper had another good day. He did get pretty fussy this afternoon, but it didn't last too long after he got some cuddle time in with Mommy! He had PT this morning (at home) and did okay. We were told we need to make him wear his AFO's and shoes the majority of the day. This is really hard because he hates shoes and screams every time we put them on. We did manage to get him to wear them about 6 hours today. Our goal is 8 hours each day.

When Cooper woke up this morning his shirt was covered in little blond hairs. I guess his hair is finally starting to fall out due to Chemo. We can't really tell on his head yet, but several times throughout the day we found little blond hairs here and there.

Cooper working hard doing pull-ups


 
Best Friends


Mommy's Fav of the Day: He was so happy rocking in his chair