Visiting Family in Arkansas

The boys and I took a little "last minute" trip to Arkansas over spring break. Originally, my sister, Heather, was going to come to Tennessee for a visit. However, my niece, Hailey, has been in and out of the hospital and Heather did not need to leave her. So, we decided to go for a few nights to see everyone.

Me and my sweet niece, Hailey

Colby and Carson with their cousin, Paxton (in middle)

My parents (Nonny and Papa) with Colby

Me and my brother, Jeff

Hailey enjoying the fresh air at the park

Paxton and Carson- these 2 have a great time together

My sister, Heather, with her Hailey

My other sister, Lauren, with the boys

One of the "highlights" of our trip was the beautiful weather while we were there- it was in the 70's each day and just gorgeous. We spent a lot of time playing outdoors with everyone. One day we went to a park and Nonny ordered pizza for everyone. There was a creek that the boys literally spent hours playing in. They had an absolute blast just throwing rocks and walking in the creek! I remember loving to play in the creek as a kid.....oh for the simple, fun things that our kids seem to miss out on with all of the technology, etc. distracting them. It was so much fun to watch them really PLAY! 

Nonny playing in the creek with my boys

Cooper loved throwing rocks in the creek

Colby throwing rocks!

Carson just chilling

My niece and nephew- Abby Grace and Paxton

Cousins having fun- Paxton, Abby Grace, Carson, and Colby

A Date With My Carson

I got to have a date with my sweet boy, Carson, when his school did a special "Boys Night" last month. The boys got to invite their mom, grandma, sister, etc. for a date at their school...complete with dinner, a disc jockey playing some dance tunes, and a Home Depot workshop to build your own birdhouse.

 Carson had a blast dancing on stage! He was cracking me up with all of his cool "moves". Most of the moms just sat and watched their sweet boys dancing like crazy up on the stage. It was quite entertaining to say the least!

We built a super cool bird house in the gym in record time! I get the "handy" gene from my dad. We were a great team and it was a lot of fun.

Carson with some of his buddies really strutting their stuff! It was such a fun night, and Carson was quite a little gentleman. He opened the car door for me and even told me that he would pull out my chair at the table (like his daddy told him to), except that the chairs were connected to the cafeteria table so he couldn't...... so sweet! I hope he will be a gentleman like this to his wife one day, but for now, I will just enjoy him being a little gentleman for his momma!

Cooper's Latest MRI Update

I realized that I had not updated the blog after Cooper's last MRI (March 7th). We are so thankful that Cooper has had another "ALL CLEAR" scan!

We went that morning, and in true "trooper" fashion, Cooper slept until I woke him up to leave for the hospital, never even asked to eat or drink, and even bobbed his head around dancing and smiling to the music in the car on the way! It's amazing how these little details are so important, especially at his age.

Once we went back to Radiology, he suddenly realized where he was and what was going on. His face went from just fine to horrified the minute the big doors opened. After pulling out a bag full of his "little men", which are his favorite thing to play with....he settled down.

We are so thankful, yet a little sad that we know the nurses, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and radiologists on a first name basis at Vanderbilt. They are amazing people and do their jobs beyond expectation. We were happy to have our nurse, Christa again this time.

Cooper with his nurse Christa

It definitely took longer to wake up from anesthesia this time and he has had a more difficult time over the last few MRI's, as he is getting older. He likes to point that finger and tell everyone "NO", if anyone tries to talk to him! He also threw up all over himself in the car on the way home.......not fun!

We met with Dr. Pine, one of his oncologists, on March 9th. Sadly, we found out that she will be leaving Vanderbilt to move to Utah soon, working with a Hospital specializing in bone marrow transplants. She has been such a blessing and will be missed. Dr. Ho will continue as our primary oncologist with Cooper and has been following him from the beginning.

Cooper with Dr. Pine

Basically, we got the exciting news from Dr. Pine that Cooper can now go 6 months between MRI scans until he is about 5 1/2 - 6 years old. If all scans remain clear between now and then, he will be discharged from the care of the Oncologists and considered in complete remission at that time!!


God is so good and we are so very thankful for this news!

Bunky's 40th

My super sweet, funny, hot, amazing husband turned the BIG 40 this month! I wanted to do something meaningful for him, so for a whole month I had to be sneaky, getting together a book for him full of letters, notes, and pictures from various people in his life (family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc- some he has known most of his life). I set up an email account so he wouldn't come across anything in my regular email and for about a month before his actual birthday, received emails from people who were in on the fun. I also got a few mailed to my neighbor's house. Overall, there were 70 letters in his book.....some really long, some shorter, some funny, and some heartfelt and serious. It turned out to be a great combination of words to my husband who has had an impact on a lot of lives. I think he felt extremely loved and celebrated, which is just what I set out to do. He is truly one-of-a-kind, and I am honored and blessed that he is MINE! For what it's worth, I don't think he looks a day over 29 either! :)

Bunky checking out his book the morning of his birthday!

We also had a wonderful steak grill-out with our community group and a few other dear friends that night. Here's to 40 more wonderful years and a continuing legacy that is well-respected! I love you Bunk!

Some of the guys checking out Bunky's book

Praying- Yes, I take pictures during prayers sometimes

Blowing out the candles on his favorite.....Oreo Ice cream dessert

The girls- From L: Lora, Traci, me, Jami, Melanie, Tricia
Bottom: Molly, Suzanne, Alyson

The Guys- From L: Brian, Jeff, John (with Josh), Jeremy, Dustin
David, Bunky, Patrick, Greg

Molly with Bunky

Jeremy with Bunky

David and Bunky

Alyson, David, Tricia, Bunky, and Dustin

Jeff, Lora, Bunky, and me

"Sock Hoppin It" with the Cook Brothers

Colby and Cooper's Mom's Day Out program has a 50's party and sock hop each year around Valentine's. The boys dressed up in their 50's best (unfortunately we have a limited supply of this stuff) and had a blast. Colby even "practiced" some dance moves before he went to school that day, with little brother just jumping around behind him in excitement. He even showed me some line dancing he learned after the day's events.

Tis the Season for Sickness

It seems like since before Christmas, someone in this family has been sick! I used to brag about how we seemed to dodge a lot of the illnesses going around, but this year has proven different. No matter how much we wash hands, lysol and disinfect every thing, and take all the right precautions.....we have still managed to get everything from strep, stomach bugs, and fever viruses! Cooper usually tends to get it the worst, with his compromised upper respiratory stuff. I hear the sound of his nebulizer in my dreams often, after all the breathing treatments we have had to give him! Boy- will I ever be glad for the spring to come and the illnesses to go!

I thought it would be fun to remember how each child's personality is when they are sick....as they are so different. So, here is the "typical" when it comes to each one when they are sick:

Carson- Ultra dramatic, you would think he is at "death's door" with even so much as a cough. Needs lots of attention and wants someone close by. Typically, comes down to our room at least 2-3 times a night when sick. Likes to have the following items surrounding the head of his bed or in near reach: a flashlight, a full glass of water, extra blankets, an extra pillow, a full box of tissue, humidifier, barf pan, and a hand towel. We have to set up "shop" to accommodate.

Colby- Doesn't complain- the only way you know he is sick is if he actually has visible symptoms OR from the "look" in his eyes....they are usually droopy and red when he runs a fever. He may be a little more whiny than normal. His only request is to stay in his pj's all day, otherwise, you could basically just leave him alone. His typical response when I check to see how he is feeling is, "a little bit good and a little bit bad".

Cooper- I am truly convinced that it takes a WHOLE lot to get this kid down. He is a bit more clingy when sick, but the magic number for him is a temp of 102.5 or higher- if it's below that, forget it- you wouldn't know anything is wrong. He runs around like a wild Indian. He sounds like he is going to cough his lungs up and out of his chest, but is used to getting up throughout the night to get breathing treatments, so he just rolls with it usually. I feel guilty saying this, but if he's going to be sick then I would just assume he have a higher fever to slow the child down a little! :)

This is Cooper with a fever of 103.8 and pneumonia- Check out Carson's face (He's crazy). None of us know how to react when Cooper slows down this much, because it is so rare!

Colby's 5th Birthday

We celebrated our sweet Colby's 5th birthday on February 10th. He truly is such a joy to our family. He is definitely our most laid back, easy going one of the bunch. Colby is also very respectful and well-mannered. He is my big helper and will often go out of his way to do things, even without being asked! He wanted to celebrate by having his class from Mom's Day out and a few neighbors over for a Scooby Doo party. We LOVE us some Scooby around here- all of us!

Happy 5th Birthday Colby Watson Cook

"Mummy wrap game"

Dog bone relay

Cake time

Carson was really sick so he just had to stay in the room until the very end, when he came out to watch the pinata!

Nonny and Papa got to be here for the party