Three recent adventures (or, maybe I should be posting more often)

Last weekend was my aunt Joeanne's surprise wedding shower. I made this oven mitt & pot holder,

and a towel cake (2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 wash cloths, & 2 kitchen towels):

Unfortunately, I had a very squirmy toddler on my lap for most of the shower (& when I didn't I was stuffing food in my face), so I didn't even manage to get my camera out, but you can check out my mom's blog for pictures here.

We also went to the Garfield Park Conservatory this week with moms & toddlers from our nursing moms group. It's free (can't beat that) & about 75 degrees so it's a wonderful place. Cooper liked wandering,

and checking out the fountain:

Yesterday we had a very different adventure. I took Cooper to the park to enjoy the gorgeous weather & went down the slide with him on my lap. Apparently, I didn't really listen to all those amusement park warnings to "keep your hands & feet inside the ride" & didn't make sure Cooper's feet were on my lap all the way. The rubber sole of his left shoe caught on the plastic slide & his foot or leg bent. I didn't really think anything of it at the time because it really didn't seem to bad, but he got pretty upset. By the evening we were at the doctor's office getting x-rays of his hip, knee, & foot. Luckily, nothing's broken. It looks fine & he doesn't seem bothered by anyone messing with his leg or foot, but he cries every time he puts weight on it & he really can't walk on it. The doctor thinks it's a sprain or something so he's getting Motrin every 6-8 hours & we're hoping it's better in a few days. Cooper's not pleased about being held or sitting & keeps squirming to get down, then crying because it hurts. Poor baby! I'm working on getting him to crawl instead of walking 'cause it seems much more comfortable for him, but he's not happy doing that for very long. I'm really hoping for a miraculous recovery over naptime!

Brookfield Zoo & an accident

Sunday we spent the morning at Brookfield Zoo with Granny Smith & Fred. John & I were there with Cooper about 6 weeks ago & Cooper was interested in the giraffes, whales & sea lions, & birds, but that was about it. He didn't really seem to notice anything else. This time was totally different - he was fascinated by everything! He even seemed to notice the animals that were far away. Very cool. The day was turning out perfect until we were leaving the primate house (the last exhibit we planned to visit) & I was carrying Cooper on my hip. Somehow I tripped on the edge of the sidewalk & down we went. I fell to my knees & Cooper landed on the sidewalk on his back & hit his head. Needless to say, we were both hysterical. We were able to get ice on Cooper's head right away, & when we got him into the air conditioning & I was able to nurse him he calmed down a lot & he took a nap. I felt/feel horrible, but we got him checked out at the first aid station & he was fine; he doesn't even have a bump or mark on his head so I'm thankful for that!
John's sister Anna & her boyfriend Pat came over for dinner & played with Cooper. He was as happy as can be.

Wow!

Too interested in the animals to look at the camera

John, Cooper, & Granny Smith

Cooper took this!

Pat, Cooper, & Anna

Anna & Cooper playing with his toes

Bad mommy

So yesterday after Cooper's nap we got ready to leave for St. Charles to go watch John in a Public Defenders v. State's Attorneys football game. Just before we walked out the door I needed to put something else in the diaper bag so I set Cooper on the couch while I stood in front of it. I never ever put him on the couch, only the floor so I have no idea why I did it. He crawled around a bit but I was always in front of him so he couldn't fall. As I'm watching him, he dives off the side of the couch & lands head first on a ride-on toy. I don't know how it happened; I was watching him, but it was so fast that I didn't even realize what was happening. He bumped his head & has a huge bump & red mark. Of course, he didn't want ice on it, but he let me keep the ice there for a little while if I nursed him at the same time (thanks for that suggestion Mom!).
We finally got out the door (45 minutes late) & Cooper immediately falls asleep in the car. It was a long drive, especially with rush hour & some rain, but he slept the entire time. I'd normally love that, but I was terrified he had a concussion or something so I kept poking him, or touching his head or arm to try to get him to move around.
We finally made it there, but the game was rained out so we hung out at a restaurant with some of the PDs. Afterwards it was off to Aurora for an apartment-warming party at my friend Joslyn's. Her daughter, Althea, is three months younger than Cooper so they played around on the floor together a bit (mostly Cooper tried to steal Althea's pacifier & any toy she touched).
Cooper fell asleep at his normal time, slept the whole way home, & stayed asleep when I put him in his crib. Then it all went downhill from there. Cooper was up every half hour (or less!) with the exception of one 2-hour stretch after I nursed him in the middle of the night. I think I got a total of 3 hours sleep. When I did sleep, I had dreams about being tired & not getting enough sleep! John had to go into work for a few hours this morning & Cooper was up at 6 am & I was exhausted. Cooper didn't take a morning nap (although I tried really hard!), but he was in a good mood at least. When John finally got home I was able to nap & I think he's going to have to take over most of the awakenings tonight so I can get some sleep. He did nap for John (no fair!) & I just walked to the park with him & he fell asleep on the way home & he's still napping.
I just hope last night was just a freak thing & not another phase of bad sleeping. I don't think I could take that again & I feel like such a crabby, boring, crappy mom when I'm that tired.
Wish us luck tonight!

Fat lip, floods, & food

Last night Cooper was standing in front of our entertainment center & fell. John thought he just hit his shoulder, but then I noticed blood on John's shirt. I think Cooper must have bitten his lip or something, but he recovered quickly. He has a bit of a fat lip today, but I probably wouldn't even notice it if I wasn't looking for it. His injury has not deterred him - he continues to pull himself up on the entertainment center to chew on dvds.
I watched the news last night (never a good thing) & it's so awful to see all that flooding; they said the Red Cross is helping, but is out of money. I'd really like to donate, but I don't know that we can fit that in our budget now, so John & I were thinking of volunteering somehow, but I don't know if that will work either. I just feel like we should do something because there are so many people who lost so much. They were also saying that food prices are going to go even higher now because of all the crops damaged. Even meat because all the cattle eat corn products. So we went to Sam's Club & stocked up & we're finally using the freezer we have in the basement.
I've been watching Weeds the last couple days. Adam gave me the Season I & II dvds as a replacement birthday gift (my original birthday gift was a massage gift certificate, but the place went bankrupt!). Anyway, I'm almost through the first season already (one of the benefits of having a son who loves to marathon nurse) & I love it! Everyone should check it out; it's a great show.
Tomorrow we're going to the Shedd Aquarium (free admission this week!) with moms & babies from our nursing group. Cooper loves to watch the fish & stuff at the zoo so I think he'll really like it!

Here's my little monster demonstrating his latest trick:
Feeding himself grapes (he's still not totally sure about it!)