Ch-ch-ch-Changes

I borrowed the title for this blog from the most recent episode of Friday Night Lights that Clay and I watched.  It also is appropriate for our life, as it was for the lives of those in Dillon, Texas for that episode.  I've had several friends recently discover this series, and Clay has just started it over for us.  It was like being reunited with old friends starting back over with Season 1.

Anyways!

The Cochran family is going to get a little bigger in August!  We are so excited for George to be a big brother in August, and are so thankful for this little baby on the way.  It's going to be another long, hot summer for me, as I'll be the biggest in June, July and August, but the good thing is that it's all I've known, so I'm ready for it.  I'm also ready to spend my summer submerged in a pool, and I think George is on board with that idea, too.

We got to tell our families on Christmas Day with this little picture.  I'm not sure who was the most excited- our parents, us, or George.  This could be one of my favorite pictures of him.


George is going through changes of his own.  He's starting to crave more independence- which is a double-edged sword, for sure.  He knows what he wants, and an absolute meltdown ensues if his wants aren't met.  I have to admit- it is really hard not to cave.  Because sometimes what he wants isn't necessarily a 'bad' thing- raisins (he walks into the kitchen saying 'nack pees...nack pees'), another episode of Mickey Mouse, etc.  But it's not always what is best for him at the moment.  I have a hard time communicating this to him, and I look forward to the day that we can communicate and understand each other.  I guess right now we're working on ironing out the minor detail that Clay and I are the final authority in the house.

George is also extremely picky about what he eats.  But not in the way that I was picky as a kid (Marianne and Saty- no comments about my pickiness!).  I actually think it would be easier for me if he was picky like me- especially with this first trimester nausea lingering around for a while.  George absolutely loves vegetables.  We've tried a wide range- asparagus, okra, carrots, brussel sprouts, all types of squash, zucchini, spinach, green beans and then some.  He loves them all with the same passion and excitement.  The smell of roasting veggies just about makes me turn green right now, but I'm trying to power through for Georgie.  I mean- what kid cries when he runs out of okra?!  That would be George tonight at dinner.  He would rather eat okra and butternut squash than the baked chicken nuggets sitting next to his veggies.  It is bizarre.  His teachers at school asked if I would start sending in this squash/zucchini/orzo pasta salad I used to make instead of PB&J, because he wasn't eating the peanut butter & jelly sandwich I had sent.  At 8am, a PB&J is a whole lot easier to whip up than a balanced-made-from-scratch meal.  I'm just being honest.  

There are a few things that George has a true love for, and I want to make sure I record these for posterity reasons:

* He is obsessed with reading books.  There are some he likes more than others, but he gets excited for pretty much any book.  He picks it out, brings it up to us and says "REE!!" and then shimmies into our lap.  I am also obsessed with these moments.

* There are some times when I wonder if Mickey Mouse showed up to our house, if George would run away with him, and never look back.  Sometimes he points to the TV and says 'mick mick????'.  I think we're all seeing why we have to limit the TV watching around here.  The other night Clay caught George with his stuffed Mickey in his lap "reading" a book to him.  I'm telling you- it's real love.

* A close second to Mickey would be Elmo, but this one is a puzzler.  We have no books that have Elmo in them (until we learned about this love of Elmo), and we've never watched anything with Elmo in it.  Is it just ingrained in children from birth that Elmo exists, and that he is good?  Whatever the catalyst to this new friendship, George cannot get enough Elmo.

Overall, I feel like we are in the sweetest spot with George.  He's a great napper and sleeper at night.  He has the sweetest spirit.  His laugh could melt me into a puddle.  My favorite thing these days is that I can tangibly tell that he loves Clay and me.  If Clay and I are hugging, he runs up to us and wraps his whole body around our legs.  The entire first year of a newborn's life is spent taking care of any need that arises for the baby, and you do these things out of this unconditional love.  But that love is unrequited for- what seems like- forever.  Now that I see glimpses of George's love for us, it is unreal to me.  It makes me know that he will be a great big brother to this baby, and I look forward to watching him continue to grow and develop.  

Wow- this was a long post with only one picture!  Sorry for those of you who only want pictures- I'll do a picture post soon.

Cabin Fever

I feel like I need to preface this post with the obvious statement:

I really love staying home with George.  He is so much fun to me, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I absolutely treasure my days with him.

Last week was the first week back to Mother's Day Out since 2 weeks before Christmas.  I knew George would have so much fun at school, and I was (selfishly) excited for a little bit of time by myself.  Almost on cue, George came down with RSV (respiratory virus) after Day 1 of school.  We've never experienced a viral infection before, but those bugs don't come and go like a bacterial infection.  They like to stick around for a while, and get real cozy.  

Since the week after George was born, I can honestly say I have not spent an entire day within the confines of our house.  Last week, I realized why- it's because it makes me crazy.  I need human interaction and fresh air.  Coincidentally, the Northwest's wet season must have also migrated this way, as it has been raining for the last 10 days (maybe it hasn't been that long- but truly, I lost all sense of time last week).  All of these situations piled together gave me a bad case of cabin fever.  I'm pretty sure George was feeling the same way, but he was so tired that he stopped caring.  I am so thankful that Clay took care of us- and even planned a fun date night for Friday night.  I cannot express how much that was needed.  

George was such a trooper, though.  He is a good sport about doing his inhaler.  He became an expert sleeper, which is pretty much the only thing that will help him get better.  Best of all, he is now the best snuggler ever.  I was talking with a friend about how much sickness has come in and out of our house since we brought George home from the hospital almost a year and a half ago.  I can't remember ever taking a sick day from work before having George.  It was easy to avoid being sick before kids: if someone was sick, I just stayed away from said person.  Now, not only can I not stay away from this sick person, but I'm wiping his nose, covering his cough, changing his diapers, and snuggling with him in between all of this.  My only hope now is God's protection and the 2,000mg of Vitamin C and echinacea I take daily.  Fingers crossed!

I know there are a few people who check this blog just for pictures, so this one's for you!

Somehow a balloon from Publix always brightened his day.

Here's to a healthier week for us and y'all throughout this sick season!