Cooper is 2 months old now! The other day I looked at a picture of him when he was a week old, and I could (for the first time) see how much he's grown! I know he's grown a ton, but it was crazy to look at the older picture of him and immediately notice how little he looked in it.




He had his 2 month check up last week and he weighed 15 pounds 12 ounces! Dr. Key didn't freak out and say he was a giant baby... but that's what I was thinking. lol. She also told me I could start him on rice cereal if he wasn't getting full enough by my breast milk. Crazy. I'm not ready for that yet.

He is starting to smile a LOT, which is really fun. I'll just look and him and smile... and he smiles right back. He laughs all the time too. He's just a happy, easy baby. The only time he really cries is when he's getting hungry. It's really pathetic because he pouts out his bottom lip. SO sad (and cute). I think he's going to have a chill personality like his daddy.

He is also sleeping through the night! This started about 2-3 weeks ago. We usually go to bed around 10p or 11p and he sleeps until 6a or 7a. (This morning he slept until 8a) Perfect! It's sooo nice to be able to sleep again.

I started WW about 1 month ago. I lost 4.4 pounds in the first two weeks. I haven't weighed in since then because of the snow storm... but I think I've lost more. I really like WW. Of course, I wish the weight would come off FASTER (especially since my body is not used to carrying this extra 20+lbs around) but it is coming off so I can't complain. Yesterday, Philip told me he'd buy me some True Religion jeans once I hit my goal weight.... so I'm am even MORE motivated now :)

Here is my favorite WW recipe right now:

MEXICAN MEATLOAF!

1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 pound(s) raw extra lean ground beef
1/2 pound(s) lean ground turkey, breast
2 large egg white(s)
2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix, (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion(s), chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced
8 oz canned enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray.


In a large bowl, mix beef, turkey, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chili powder, cumin, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together. Shape into an oval with your hands and place on prepared broiler pan.


Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 minutes more. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

God,

Thank you for the blessing that is my child. I know he is from You, God. I pray you will use me in His life to teach him about You. Help my actions to reflect you at all times. Show me how to raise him to glorify You.

Amen.

I've had very few baby dreams so far during this pregnancy. Last night was a weird one.

I went into labor, which I vaguely remember, and the next thing I knew I was at home with baby Cooper. I asked Philip why I didn't remember labor and he said it was because there were complications and they had to drug me up. I was so disappointed I missed the birth of our son! Philip told me I had a vaginal delivery. I asked him if I had to have an epi, and he told me yes and the use of forceps were needed. I was bummed I had an epi. While we were home, I don't ever remember seeing Cooper's face. I put him in his swing to sleep for a while. My mom and Philip were home with me. All the sudden Cooper JUMPED out of the swing and was running around the house like a dog. In fact, he looked like Daisy, but I knew it was Cooper. I tried picking him up to calm him down but he kept squirming away from me. I started to get really upset because he was NOT what I expected him to be. I put him in his crib and he crawled right out and was roaming around the house.

It was really disappointing to me that he wasn't what I expected. WEIRD! I wonder what it could all mean...

Today I joined Wealthy Affiliates. I first stumbled upon it two days ago. I was searching for other work at home jobs when I saw an ad talking about "making money typing ads". I know NOTHING about internet marketing and I never really even thought about it being a job. I did a LOT of reading and research on the company before signing up with them. I have a vague idea of what to expect from the company and what I'll be doing. I was a little hesitant of WA before signing up because there is a monthly $40 fee. I've ALWAYS said you should never have to pay money to make money. I've now realized, you should never pay money for a JOB. Paying money to start a business is different. With this in mind, I signed up today. I'm so far impressed with the resources available to me. I'm going to begin the 8-week Action Plan today. I told Philip I would see how I do for the first 8 weeks and then decide if I want to continue :-) Wish me luck!

25

I am so frustrated with people. WHY do people rationalize abortion as a "choice"? And how is this act of murder, legal?! It's shocking to me how stupid people can be. I visited a web site, imnotsorry.net It's full of women telling their abortion stories and how they're not sorry they had their abortions. THEY'RE GLAD THEY KILLED THEIR OWN CHILDREN!! What!? They're all the same.... "I was young and stupid. I wasn't ready for a child. I didn't WANT a child. I didn't have the money for a child." Interesting how all these sentences begin with the word "I". These people are ridiculously selfish. It's shocking to me just how selfish. Some of these women were even married, but just didn't feel like they wanted a child right then. ???!!!!

I've learned a lot about abortions and how they're performed. It literally makes me want to throw up. My stomach was turning in knots while I was reading it. These doctors and nurses are so deceiving about what's actually happening during the procedure. I'm sure that if some of these women were better educated about abortion they wouldn't be so quick to think of it as their "only option".

I don't know why God has instilled such a passion in me for this subject. There are a lot of evil things going on in this world, but I have a strong desire to get the word out about abortion and enlighten people as I have been enlightened.

I don't know who reads this blog, if anyone, but I really encourage you to visit this site: www.abort73.com AND www.imnotsorry.net and form your own opinion about abortion.

God,
I just want to pray for any women out there considering abortion. I pray you will open their eyes to the decision their about to make and how wrong and destructive it is. God, I pray you will keep your hands on the women who are suffering after an abortion. God show them Your love and forgiveness. I want to pray for the success of abort73.com and all the people involved in it. I pray You will use me in Your will for this topic God and getting the word out.

Amen.

23

Today I was totally overwhelmed. Of course, everytime I see an Army guy in uniform I think of Deano. Fine, no big deal... whatever. Sometimes I even talk to them about being in the army and what it's like. More than once, I've said "Yeah, my uncle is in the army". Is. Not was. And it feels weird everytime I say it. I don't want to make them uncomfortable... but I want to say, "He died." Why? Anyways, today there were three Army guys in my section and they were all around Deano's age. I have NO idea where this came from, (maybe God) but I really wanted to tell them how much their job means to me. I wanted to tell them thank you for all they sacrifice for me and my family. And right there, in the middle of the lunch rush, my eyes started tearing up. I just wanted to burst out into tears and run home. I wanted to tell them, "My uncle was in the Army. He was in MediFlight. He loved his job SO much. He died." WHY? Somedays I have such a hard time with it. Still. And it's been over a year. Those guys were so cool and they chatted it up with me just like Deano would have with some random waitress. They reminded me so much of him.

God,
Please just keep Your hands on me and my family. It's still so hard with Deano gone. God, I just pray that you'll ease the pain for me and my mom and dad and Denise and the kids everyday God.
Amen.