the big boy bed boondoggle

don't let this adorable boy, with his pet mukah (supposed to be the orangutan from the zoo:), his cheerful smile, snugly sheets all tucked in tight to his big boy bed fool you...the last 7 days have not gone by this happily!

i've been dreading this day for quite some time. it's a huge milestone for my baby, i suppose. and more freedom for him seems to translate to less freedom (or more vigilance) for me. josh, for some reason, has been way more excited about it. hmmm...maybe excited is not the right word, but he has definately been the big advocate for the 'transition'.

for ease of scrolling, captions will be at the top of each pic today. let's begin our story:

The 'before' shot

my men working hard! to da da da daaaaa...

create the 'after' shot

patriot 1st cautious recline in the big boy bed

his quick exit...

and re-entry.

this is pretty comfy!

the christmas lights used as a night-light the first 3 nights

the old bumper/pst first official luvie!
even shaped itself like a heart for it's final pic:)

patriot & daddy muggin for the cam.
they both seem to have high hopes for the 1st night!

one last glance as i exit the room with tears in my eyes...
my little baby is growing up SO fast!
i'll cry again when he's out of his toddler bed, i'm sure!

12/15/09--the first night was full of josh's facebook status updates:

Well it's 3:39 a.m. - you can guess how the night is going...here are some of my favorite quotes so far..."I don't need to sleep; I need my motorcycles; close the door...leave the door open; I'm in trouble; come check on me..." I'm hoping sleep deprivation sets in soon and I'll find him alseep on the floor (but preferably the bed) ;)

December 15 at 3:41am

PT update...still going...still crying...new quotes: "this is a cool bed; I got a boo-boo; I need some ice; can we rock and then get in bed?"

December 15 at 4:11am

PT Update: Well PT woke up about 9:30 this morning after falling asleep sometime after 5:00 a.m. When quizzed about the night's events PT was happy as a clam - loved his big boy bed...now that of course didn't ring true at nap time later this afternoon...check out Kelly's FB for an update on the nap :) We'll see how tonight goes...

my day 1 nap status: Folks, it did NOT go well last night. But, josh took the lead, so he deserves all the credit for Patriot living thru the night. He was patient, repetitious, and firm. I watched the monitor most the night trying not to cry! I would have given up HOURS before he did...so, no promises tonight, if I'm on the night shift.

ps--i'm sorry to alarm any of my friends who thought my child was in the hospital!! i was definitely sleep deprived and didn't think how my words out of context would be read! my fave quote of the night---"mama...i need my nails clipped...come clip my nails... mama ... MAMA ...i want you to come here and clip my nails..." this from the boy who detests this particular grooming habit! my little drama king:)

night #2 --12/16/09:

/The BED v. Patriot, Night 2: PT started off the night swinging! He dealt the first blow by slamming the Bed with a wall of tears, a feat that would throw any mother into a tizzy. But fear not, PT's mom had already broke under the pressure from the earlier bout at nap time...she's out with the girls and was unaffected.... But in a surprise move, the Bed struck back and lured PT in to curl up under a blanket......Not knowing how to react, PT wimpered his usual excuses (new favorite quote of the night: "I don't want to get in the bed, I just want to cry"), but the Bed held strong. PT's been in there over 30 minutes now...not alseep, but appearing content, i.e. not crying...let the prayer vigils continue...December 15 at 11:01pm

PTL!! Patriot slept ALL night in his bed! I hear the 3rd night is charm, so I'll keep you posted this evening...December 16 at 10:08am

here's a naptime post from thursday:
Kelly Wheeler Tetens doesn't want to count her chickens...BUT patriot did stay in his bed AND fall asleep at nap w/out me sitting in his room to keep the 'cwows' away! Josh Tetens, does this call for a celebration? one day at a time...!December 17 at 2:43pm

friday's post:
The BED v. Patriot, Nights 3 &4: We're making some great progress...It's still rough going down and he's waking up at least once during the night, but overall, PT is doing great. Last night he woke up about 3:45 a.m. and was pretty upset, but sitting back and reading a little Charlie & Lola seemed to help :)Fri at 11:04am

and today, monday 12/21/09, a full week later:

I'm happy to report Patriot not only went to bed on his own last night, but slept through the night without getting up...PTL!! Let's pray this continues :) And props to Kelly Wheeler Tetens for getting him to do the same at nap time yesterday!

so far so good tonight. did i mention that we started this transition on a MONDAY NIGHT?!? blame it on jt, who decided to go hunting the weekend we planned to originally do this, but decided, why the hey not try it on a weeknight, b/c pst was having some crazy sleep issues anyway!

whew...thanks for reading along with us, but now it's time to hit the hay while the boy is snoozing!

1st day of school shoot

how much camo does it take to get a tot ready for mother's day out?

way toooo much! but, isn't cute? i wanted a bigger kid backpack so i could stuff in his giant nap-mat, extra change of clothes, 2 diapers, elmo, artwork, etc. i LoVe that his lunch box clips on the front, making it easy for me to keep him all together. thanks, noni, patriot hearts his new backpack set!

i promise i don't make him carry it himself... yet.

next, you are going to see a few 'last year vs. this year shots. i'm amazed at the difference a year makes!

1st day 2008:
1st day 2009:

last year, you were not even walking on your own yet (yep, you made me wait 'til you were almost 16 1/2 months!) and this year you run, jump, hop everywhere we go!

patriot & mama--i just wanted ONE quick shot of the two of us!

here's the list of patriot's class mates for the school year:

patriot and his new teacher, ms. deanna--i love her already!!

i love this '1st day of school shoot' and hope we will continue this for many years:)

sweet boy--i pray you will enjoy your 2-year-old school year by making new friends, enjoying creative play, learning how to listen and follow directions given by others, and making fun art. i think we both enjoy the break from each other once a week, but i'm always thrilled to squeeze my baby boy again at 2:30 on tuesdays:)

happy birthday, henry patrick!

okay friends, this has been an emotional and thrilling day that i have been blessed to watch unfold via facebook:) pictured below is my super-woman of a friend Rose (many of you read her blog or might recognize her as my co-host on momeez:) who lives in Florida, thus the reason i had to follow the many twists and turns of the day on my computer!

so, sweet rose checked into the hospital today (09-09-09) at 41 weeks pregnant for her scheduled c-section, but below you see her pictured right after her epidural which came shortly following her water breaking---what, you say? that's right--after showing NO signs of labor AT ALL yesterday at her doctor's appointment, her sweet baby decided to get a move on today and took us all on an emotional rollercoaster that ended in a VBAC!

that's right---rose, who has been preparing for a VBAC all along had finally conceded to the idea of a second c-section and then her water breaks while she's waiting for the doc to arrive to do her 1:00pm surgery---crazy right? well, i am aMaZeD at her strength, grace, and determination. she labored through-out the day, and 10:16pm she was able to hold her little miracle in her arms.

so here he is, the 'little' 9lb 8.4 oz, 21 inch miracle--henry patrick cochran!

this first family photo makes me tear up each time i look at it!
SO much love and relief on her face.

matt, rose, & baby henry!

i thought this one was precious--matt has an incredible love for colin
and you can see the same joy and love for henry in this shot.

proud papa--matt daddy:)

okay--this kid is gonna be a heart-breaker like his older bro, colin. speaking of, i can't WAIT to see what he thinks of his new little brother when they meet tomorrow!

i cannot WAIT to cuddle and kiss this adorable little baby!

congrats, again, rose & matt--this birth story will definitely go down in momeez history:)

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9/10/09 update--big bro colin meets little bro henry

as you can see, colin is enamored with his new little playmate:)

sweet summer babies: mason, griffin & claire!

okay---i realize it's a bit of a stretch to put 3 birthday's together, but we will just call it the summer baby post! Please welcome some of my newest little loves:)














the first will be the birth of my dear friend Lauren's baby boy on July 17th --Mason Garrett:

lauren and i have been friends since high school, we were roomies in college and in each other's weddings. we go WAAAAAY back, so to hold her sweet baby in my arms was a very emotional experience. i was thrilled that erin and i happened to be in the dallas area the day he was born (a tad early) so we could cuddle this precious little guy.

me and baby mason--don't you love his red hair?

eee w/ sweet sleepy baby mason

a cute close up:)

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now scene change to august 3rd in waco, tx and the birth of the newest playgroup baby!

kimberly is one of my 'mom friends' from playgroup and is the amazing photographer who took our christmas pix and my fave shots of patriot's birthday! she was very sleepy after her c-section, so had a mini photo-shoot with the baby in the doorway:)

patriot loved meeting the baby and was in a silly mood:0)

i was so excited to have one of his eyes open!

nic nic had these adorable crumpler's cookies ready to go
when you stopped in to visit griffin:

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now skip ahead a couple of weeks and meet our newest neighbor, baby claire:
my neighbor, sara, is baby claire's mom and she is one of my FAVORITE reasons we live on our street! their sweet family has been building memories with our family for the last year, and we SO excited to welcome the first baby GIRL on the block to our crew of 4 boys!
claire was the first baby we have gotten to visit at the new hillcrest hospital and it was NiCe!
she had to hang out in the warmer while stopped by for a
visit and patriot wasn't too sure about it!
he really wanted to hold her or play football with her...something fun!

so, the next day we had the privilege of watching claire's big bother, jack, for a couple of hours. the boys had SO much fun and even found a new game to play at the top of our couch:0)

i'm thankful that so many of my friends are having babies and letting me cuddle & hold their precious little bundles. they stand in such stark contrast to my baby--who is now an amazing 27 months old. my how the time flies!

the next picture has nothing to do with babies, but might give you a glimpse into our drama of a 2-year old. this was taken moments after jack left, in an attempt for a new facebook profile pic:
and some of you wonder why he is still an 'only' for now... hmmmm.