Coop's 1st Birthday Celebration! -

Time really is a thief. I cannot believe that I have a 1 year old now! Cooper has grown so quickly this year that it blows my mind that a full 365 days have passed. It really is true what they say: the days go slow but the years go fast. I want to freeze him at every stage because the thought of him getting bigger too fast makes me a bit sad. But I also love to see how much he has grown and learned over the year! He always amazes me and I am really looking forward to what year 2 has in store.

Coop’s Birthday Party

Since my family is scattered across the midwest and my husband and I are really the only ones down in Florida, we decided to have his party at my sister-in-law’s house in Ohio. This way, we were the ones with the big commute and other relatives had at most a 3 hour drive. This was perfect for us because I wanted Coop to spend his 1st birthday with his family, including his cousins.

We started out the trip by seeing my family in Illinois for a day and then drove to Ohio for the big party. We made this a long weekend trip since we drove. We were able to see my sister and her kids for a little bit, but they were all sick! They ended up with the flu and ended up not being able to attend his party. But at least he got to see them for a bit.

We had his birthday party on his actual birthday and it was “Rookie of the Year” themed. My mother-in-law threw the party and my mom made Cooper’s smash cake. It was amazing! The decorations were great and the food was perfect! Coop got lots of toys and plenty of clothes. He loved being able to open his presents and play with his cousins all day long. It was so sweet to see them all together.

Heading back to Florida

While Coop’s birthday party and our long weekend trip was fun, it ended rough. Because we spent time with my sister’s family right when they were all sick, we ended up getting sick. My husband got the flu on Cooper’s birthday so he missed the end of his party and I had to take him into urgent care after everyone had left. The next day, I was not feeling good so thought it best to get myself checked out as well since we had a 17 hour drive back to Florida that night. I also brought Cooper with to make sure he was doing okay and, boy, am I glad I brought him.

After going to urgent care, the doctor gave me meds for the flu as well to get ahead of it and tested both me and Coop for RSV, the flu, COVID, and strep. Coop ended up with strep. We have no clue how that happened since he is the only that got it and everyone else had the flu. It just seemed like that was our luck that weekend.

After we drove back, hubby ended up getting fully better about 2 days after we were home and as for me, I still have a gnarly cough and sinus infection. Coop seems to be 100% better but I am finishing off the antibiotics to make sure that strep is gone. It seems that the past few times we have travelled we have all gotten sick so next time, we are only going around healthy people!

Looking back

After an eventful first birthday, I feel like I can now finally take a look back at the first year of his life. Not only was this his first year, but it was also mine and my hubby’s first year at being parents. The transition to parenthood is something that you can’t prepare for (as much as we might try), but all you can do is hope that you chose a partner that will walk by you through all of the turning points. From learning how to breastfeed to Cooper’s first steps, this year has been a wonderful rollercoaster and I honestly couldn’t have picked someone more gracious, kind, and loving to share the journey with. Time really is a thief so make sure to soak up all of those precious, fleeting moments. #coopsadventures