Sick Days

When I was teaching, I used to dream of the days when I could stay home in case George got sick.  It would send me into a panic attack thinking about getting sub plans together, trying to find a sub in April/May (which, for an 8th grade Math Teacher is next to impossible), and coordinating pick-up/drop-offs, etc.  Here is one thought that never crossed my mind: who stays home with George when I get sick?  Well, we found out on Tuesday of this week: Dad comes home.

I have no idea what I had caught, but it knocked me out for almost a full 72 hours.  Here are a few conclusions I was able to draw from my time under the weather:

* There are few things more heart-breaking than physically not being able to pick up a pitiful baby.

* I used to fantasize about taking a sick day to stay in bed and watch movies all day.  It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

* On the flip side, I really was able to quench my thirst for chick flicks.  Here was my line-up:
He's Just Not That Into You, Father of the Bride, My Best Friend's Wedding, and, my personal all-time favorite:
When Harry Met Sally (I actually watched this one twice, back-to-back).

* Clay is the all-time best husband and dad.  Ever.  He came home early on Tuesday and worked from home on Wednesday.  George was, how should I say this, needy yesterday.  I'll also throw in the fact that Clay had the busiest work day since he's been at this job yesterday.  He had a meeting at church during his lunch hour, and took George with him.  He took care of George, took care of me, and took care of his work yesterday.  And I'll admit it, I might have been the most needy of everyone in the house.

* I'm afraid we forgot that Harper was in the house yesterday.


This is a total side-note:
Clay and I have gotten totally sucked into Downton Abbey, and we had just finished Seasons 1 & 2 on Sunday night.  If you haven't seen it, it is worth the $7.99 for a Hulu subscription for a month to see all 18 episodes.

So without a Downton Abbey episode to watch, Clay wanted to watch a movie from On-Demand, and he chose the movie, Contagion.  You may have seen the 1995 rendition called 'Outbreak'.  Anyways- the movie is about a disease that spreads like wildfire because of simple contact among humans.  Needless to say, my random sickness has caused us to Lysol our entire house and constantly sterilize everything.  I'm sure I'll go back to my '5-Second-Rule' ways soon, but for now, I'm just using Lysol wipes instead of paper towels.

Big Times!

I need to start with the most important event of this week, which would be Frannie's arrival!  My sister-in-law and brother welcomed their daughter on Wednesday, July 18.  I italicize daughter, because we are so excited to have a girl in the mix!

Saty & Pop with their grandkiddos:

George, Rogers, and Frannie!

While we love boys and the energy and excitement they bring, we are so excited you are here, Frannie!

Pop will love putting your hair in pigtails.

Saty will love doing all things that pertain to a little girl (tea parties, lunches, shopping...just to name a few).

I will love going to your dance recitals (fingers crossed!).

But for now, since you're only 2 days old, we will just celebrate you for the teeny little newborn you are.  

In other news, Pops Cochran retired from his job!  We are all so excited for him, and know that he will enjoy this new phase of life.  Pops brought his 'Tractor' over and let George drive it around (or pretend to, at least...)

Sorry for the missing pants in this picture.

We were in half of our jammies because it makes for easier crawling.

Lastly, George turned 10 months yesterday!  We have hit several milestones, all of which are exciting.  To me, selfishly, I am most excited for George's most recent accomplishment.  He sleeps until at least 7am every morning.  For the previous nine months, George was a 6am-er.  I am greatly appreciating the extra hour of sleep.

We have two more teeth on their way in, and these have been some doozies.  But they will definitely help his efforts of eating, which is his favorite part of the day!  Clay and I will have the kitchen cleaned up, have finished our own dinners, and George is still going.  It is definitely showing, as we consistently get the comment, "You can tell he never misses a meal!"from complete strangers.  

Oh my goodness, George!  I absolutely love my days with you.  You have become more careful lately, which has helped with my anxiety levels.  You love playing with any door you can get your hands on, and get even more excited when you can close it.  I love your fascination with new things, new experiences, and new people.  

George, I pray that you will hold tightly to this love and excitement for life, and the people who surround you.  Your dad and I love to watch you get excited, because you can see it in your face, all the way down to your toes.  Thank you for the excitement you bring us, Georgie!  

Happy Ten Months!      

When Mom and Dad Are Away...

George will play!
I know for the vast majority of the people who read this blog (mainly grandparents and great-grandparents), you may feel deprived of George pictures.   You may be wondering what George did while we were in Seattle/Portland.  Well...he spent lots of time with Saty and Pop!  My mom did such a great job of sending 'Daily Pics' and Clay and I would race to see who could download them first.  Here's a glimpse of the fun George had:

George got his first glimpse of stairs...and he liked them.

Still intrigued by the stairs:

He got to go to Publix for no other reason than to ride in the cart.

Do you see the excitement?!

He was introduced to The Walker (separate post to come later) and wondered how 

The Walker would do with the stairs.

Luckily Saty saved him right before he went down the stairs.

George loves his Pop.  They are both old souls that just seem to prefer the simpler side of life.

If this is not Clay Cochran reincarnate as a baby, I don't know what is!

And then he was introduced to the baby pool...and bubbles.

 There was no doubt that George got the full 'Grandparent Experience' while we were away.

He had undivided attention, got to eat a cinnamon roll for an entire meal, and had fun on-demand all day long.  It absolutely blesses Clay and me so much that George's grandparents are chomping at the bit to get to do all of these things for him.

Then George came home to boring-old-home, with just Mom and Dad. In 24 hours he developed a mild case of the flu/stomach bug.  I'm wondering if he was just homesick for Satyville?!

Anyways, in other news.  George has started eating people food and drinking from a sippy cup.  This may not seem like big news, but to Clay and me, it means hands-free meals!!

Oh...sweet water!!

 Bathtime has shown George's agility.  

For some reason he loves to stack his toys on the faucet.

Last weekend we had an early dinner and took George to a playground nearby.  This seemed to remind him of his dear Saty & Pop's house, so he perked right up.

George is generally a happy baby.

He often uses his walker for other purposes.

I've had a few emails with things like, "George is the happiest baby!", or people at church will say that "he never cries".  While I do think that George is a silly and happy baby, he definitely has his moments.  For those that may need proof that George can be fussy, here are a few that I captured on camera:

I think the only thing to take away his blues is some Mama Zo 'shuga shuga!!!"

Lastly, here are two pictures that just melt my heart.  This summer has been restful, relaxing, and soaked up in sweet family time.  On Wednesday of this week, our family is getting bigger with a new niece for Clay and me, and a new cousin for George.  Okay Frannie- we are ready to meet you!!

  

Happy Monday, y'all!

Seattle

After getting in to Seattle Thursday night, we decided that we'd go for a hike the next day.  We went to Seattle (and Portland, really) to visit our friends, Allison and David.  Allison and I went to high school together, and we just love any time we get to spend with them.  When we decided to go on a hike, both Allison and David assured us that this would be a pretty easy hike.  Based on my working knowledge of hiking, I wasn't intimidated, because hiking is just walking for extended periods of time in the woods, right?!  Maybe in Alabama, but we were in Washington.

 Lucas the Wonderdog getting ready for the hike

 Everyone is all smiles and goofing around at the beginning.

Notice that I am in the back of the line at this straight uphill ascent to the top.

Now, there are a few hours, and several thousand feet in between this picture and the next set of pictures.  I'm not sure that I really understood this at the time, but we were going to summit this mountain.  On our vacation.  We played games, had really great conversations, and pondered at the people who were running the trail we were struggling to walk with poles.  You read that right.  People were summiting this mountain for leisurely exercise.  I guess that's the difference between southerners and north westerners.  

Anyways...I digress.

We finally reached the top, and we were literally in a cloud.  (Disclaimer: We were, literally, in the cloud.  My brother has pointed out that sometimes I misuse the word, literally.  This is an appropriate use of the word)  We ate lunch on top of a rock, in the cloud, overlooking the town below.  It was incredible.  

 Almost to the top...

 Finally at the summit

 View while the clouds were around us.

 Allison thought this would be so funny.

 Then everyone wanted to feed the birds- so the birds hung around us for a while.

 I love Clay's face in this picture: pure joy.

He was so happy that we went on this hike, 

and even happier that the birds wanted to eat out of his hand.

Even though the clouds were still there, this is my favorite picture from this day.

 Al and Dave at the top.

And Lucas.  The Wonderdog.

We had resolved that the clouds were settled in for the afternoon, so we started to pack up.  All of a sudden, the clouds parted, and the sun came out, revealing the most expansive view I have seen.  It was definitely worth the hike.

After coming back down the mountain, we started to make plans for that night, since it was the last night of our vacation.  We stumbled upon a little treasure in this mountain town, The Dairy Freeze.  Everyone got a milkshake, and it was delicious.  We noticed the most incredible view of the mountain we had just climbed right in front of us!

Friday night we went to Ray's Seafood for some fresh, local seafood.  We had sablefish, calamari, and shrimp and crab cakes.  Everything was so delicious, but the view was incredible!

After dinner, we went to most delicious little dessert place, Hot Cakes.  They specialize in s'mores desserts, but Clay and I had our eye on a dark chocolate and salted caramel milkshake.  Since that didn't sound rich enough, we decided to top it off with a salted chocolate chip cookie.  I have a deep love for desserts, and this little combo blew my socks off.

Saturday morning we got breakfast and took it to the park next to the locks- where boats come in and out, and the salmon swim upstream to get to the ocean.  

 Just hanging out at the park.

 View under the Locks Bridge.

 Salmon going up the ladder trying to get upstream.

Last picture of the trip!

This was a trip to remember, for sure.  We absolutely missed George, but it was so great to just be with Clay, and be the couple that started our little family.  I absolutely love traveling with Clay because he keeps a level-head when things get tense, or we have 15 minutes to board our plane and we're still in the security line (this actually happened this trip), or I want to buy a souvenir that makes no sense whatsoever.  But he also makes me laugh so hard (and if you know me, you can finish this sentence), and when we're out of town, that's just what I need.  We laughed more in Seattle than I have in a really, really long time.  It was the most perfect getaway, and we came home rested and relaxed.

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th!