Feeling better!

Finally some relief...Cooper is getting back to normal :)

Pop Pop came over with this dog as a get well present and it must have done the trick. Rob, Grammie and I all have sore throats and aches now but...nothing some good drugs won't take care of.

Sick

Cooper's got 103 degree temp, sniffles, cough....not feeling well over all. If we owe you a phone call or if you need something...talk to you in 7-10 days. :(

Catching up

What a whirl wind it feels like we have been living in! Finally, I have some time to sit down, blog, relax and get back into the groove.

So...to catch you up:

The cruise was great. We had a really nice time and Cooper loved being on "Grandpa's Ship". We sailed on the Carnival Sensation, Thurs-Sun to Nassau. I did freak out with anxiety before we left, stressed that I had packed everything we all needed and that I had gotten all I needed for work done before we left of Thurs. around 1:00 pm. I also had a hard time at the cruise terminal. All the Carnival employees who worked with my dad came up to say hello and trying not to cry got really hard, the men in the uniform he used to wear was hard to see too. Being there without my dad just felt so wrong but we pushed on as I held (not so well) the tears back.

Thursday we ate, got our bearings around the ship, ate some more, and Rob and my mom took in an 80's show, which if you know Rob he loved! as I put Cooper down to sleep.

Friday we woke up in Nassau and Rob and I took a morning to ourselves and got to go on a historical tour while Cooper napped back on the ship with Grammie. The weather for the weekend wasn't great, cloudy and kinda cold but lucky for us we are used to the sunshine so we didn't miss it. We got to enjoy our time outside and not be too hot. After lunch we all got off the ship and went to the straw market.Rob was so taken by the children selling things in Nassau (wooden flutes, necklaces etc) that I think he spent like $20 giving all the kids dollars as they asked him to by something. He knew this would happen as it always does but he said he couldn't resist their little faces even when he didn't know what would happen to the money. He smiled and talked to all of them and even if you see in the photos from the previous post, took a picture with one little girl. He told her "go get those tourists like me and sell, sell, sell!" So cute. Cooper napped most of the time we were out in his stroller and really did well the whole trip. The entire staff on board really loved making him smile and as you can imagine, Cooper ate up the attention! That night Rob stayed in the cabin with Cooper and Mom and I gambled (winning only what we lost, it was a wash really) and had a night out.

Saturday was our day at sea where we relaxed, read, took naps and ate....what else but eat, eat, eat. Every time we sat down Rob would say "I am not going to eat, I am too full from - insert last meal eaten here-" and then we'd agree and then we'd all eat like we hadn't eaten all day...crazy! That night Rob and I took in a show and Mom stayed back with the Coop. For all you who know we are crazy Bingo players, Mom and I did play bingo but won nothing but a bottle of champagne from the "lucky losers drawing" but I yelled for my mom when we she went up to get it like she won big money! "Yeah Joann!"

So we are home and I am also posting late tonight since I took one more day off work to go down to Stuart with my mom to finish getting everything out of Aunt Gracie's place for the donation people to pick up all the furniture, the TV etc. This past month seemed to have flown by with obligations like this, the trip, visits etc.

I posted these pictures with this post as a THANK YOU to my hubby whom I NEVER brag about. As you all know, I always give him a hard time. Today he stayed home to take care of Cooper all day as I was out taking care of things down in Stuart. Rob has really being pulling more than his share of the weight around here this month as I have been super busy with work, the Aunt Gracie stuff, grief in general etc. Today I came home from the 4 hour there and back drive to find: 1) Cooper so happy (the photos are the proof), fed, clean and his hair all rocker spikey 2) the house clean (I am talking bathrooms, floors vacuumed, kitchen cleaned) 3) laundry from the trip and in general washed, folded and all things trip related put away EVEN the dryer lint was cleaned out of the dryer. 4) clean up the yard and pool from all the wind we have had 5) have a meeting with the contractors who are putting in new windows in our house and a new garage door 6) get all the paperwork completed AND signed and noterized for the permits for the work 7) update our car insurance policies....all in the 6 hours I was gone today. Taking care of a 6 month old is really enough all day but looks like someone learned how to multitask!

I never publicly commend him but...I think the dryer lint sent his duties above and beyond so..thanks hon!

Oh, one more thing I almost forgot.... we all also shared one cabin on the trip (we are cheap like that you know!) and Rob got to sleep on the top bunk as Mom and I shared two twins pushed together underneath. Let's just say, Rob was a tremendous sport for not only putting up with this arrangement and really having a great trip but for taking Mom and I cackle with laughter as he got up and down that tiny ladder for three days! I prayed he wouldn't kill himself on that thing and I guess my prayers were answered :)

Happy Easter...we're back!

6 months old

Cooper is 6 months old today! At his doctors visit last week he was 16 lbs, 10 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long. The little guy is starting to sit up all by himself now and still kicking his feet like crazy.

Visit with Laurie and Cole

Unfortunately, Laurie is here from Texas because her Grandmother passed away. Fortunately, it's my birthday week (yes it fell on a Sunday yesterday so I get to celebrate turning 35 all week long) and I got to visit with Laurie, Cole and Barb tonight. Cole loved to kiss Cooper and you can see he returned the favor...can't wait to spend more time together tomorrow.

Countdown to the Bahama's Cruise begins...we leave on Thursday and come back this Sunday, Easter Sunday :)

First visit with the Easter Bunny

Cooper got to visit the Easter Bunny today for the first time, and got to spend the day with Brody!

Below is the ONLY naptime Cooper had all day, and that lasted maybe 15 minutes. Needless to say on the car ride home he fell asleep and still is as I type this.

Good Bye Aunt Gracie

Grace Costa Kuenzel, 93

Mrs. Kuenzel, a Stuart, Florida resident for 30 years, died Sunday, March 9. Born in New York City, she retired as an industrial engineer for General Electric.

Survivors include a brother, Joseph Costa of Boca Raton; and two sisters, Josephine Motta of Merritt Island and Mary Brower of Melbourne. Grace was the matriarch of her family, helping her father with their family of 6 children after her mother's untimely death to leukemia. The family resided in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was the first female industrial engineer for General Electric and retired with her husband Fritz, 30 years ago to Stuart, Florida. She took great pride in her 10 nieces and nephews, 19 great nieces and nephews and 3 great, great nephews. She was the family "memory" knowing every one's age, birthday and family milestone. Grace loved to knit, play Bingo, drink wine, eat ice cream and laugh!

She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

She was predeceased by her brothers, Thomas and Johnny Costa and her husband Fritz.

Night Night...Sleep tight

Rob and I have settled into such a nice bedtime routine. After Cooper gets his cereal, he gets a small amount of play time, then it's bath time with Daddy (even a little floating and kicking in the big tub getting ready for the pool this summer) and then off for his lotion rub down and story time. Each night we put a blanket on the floor and every other night take turns reading a story. Cooper gets so quiet and loves to listen. Here are a few pictures from him tonight laying on his blanket waiting while we made his bottle so he can then drift off into slumber. He has been quite chatty these days, "talking" through most these pictures as well as playing with his feet. He just found out that they belong to him I guess! We spring ahead tonight with the clocks so we'll see how well we all do :)

Coopercabana

As you know, my family has a love for all things Barry Manilow (Manilowians I think we are offically called). So when we discovered that my new wonderful house didn't have a pool bath for people to change in and out of their swim suites...the Coopercabana was born. I LOVE to have a pool but I HATE to have people walk wet through my family room, past the office/eat in kichen area to the bathroom dripping on my hardwood floors to change their clothes. Mom and I got our heads together, and armed with too much HGTV and DIY knowledge, we were bound and determined to come up with something so we didn't change under our towels anymore. We have a privacy fence but I never think to notice our sliders are parrell to our front window and I am sure my neighbors across the street or those walking their dogs have looked through my house and caught me getting out of a wet suite. What a sight! So....in order to keep my house open and free and not just put up blinds, we created a cabana in the corner of our very large porch so you can change. "The Cooper- cabana" my Mom proclaimed, and with that, I could hear the beat of the Barry Manilow song thumping..... "Music and passion were always in fashion!" I got even so crafty as to decoupage a sign, used an old coat rack I had hidden in the back room to hold our clothes/wet suite and rolled up some towels to create the whole effect. Stick on magnets hold the curtains together on the front and on the sides so guest will feel more secure. The girls used it this weekend so I declare it a success. HGTV, eat your heart out!

Cousins!

We all had a great time visiting with Hope, Brit and Taylor today. Cooper loved seeing his cousins, laughing and playing with them. It was a beautiful weekend and we had the first cook out of the season. Grandma, Pop and Grammie also came over and enjoyed the hamburgers, hot dogs and fresh corn. Yum-O. Everyone enjoyed the girls, Pop can't wait until Brit's meet in May in Kissimmi! Thanks to Nana and Papa for bringing them over, we had a great day :)