Finn Abel Cochran

Baby Finn joined our family on February 12, 1016 at 2:19am. He was 8lb. 1oz. 21 in. and has large hands and feet. 

He came in his own way. I didn't really know I was in labor really. I woke up Thursday morning and my back was killing me. I was in so much pain I couldn't pick Quentin up to get him on the changing table. After sitting on the couch most of the morning I started having a little bit of an anxiety attach so I called Johnny to try to calm me down. I think he was pretty worried cause he told me to come in to see my doctor. While I was getting the kids ready and making lunch I started having contractions, but nothing really consistent. When we got to the clinic they hooked me up to the NST and I was contracting every six minutes and I was dilated to a 5 so they sent me up to the hospital for triage. I had an ultrasound to make sure baby's head was down and it was. By the time I was done with the ultrasound Johnny had finished his last patient so he could help me with the kids. After some snacks for the kids and Palmer and Brian coming to visit us they checked me again and I had progressed so we were admitted to the hospital!

Johnny took the kids to the Taylor's for a sleepover, Dr. Jenna when home to get ready for the night, and I got to answer about 3000 medical questions. When Johnny got back he and I took a walk to try to get baby to drop some more. We ran into Jenna and we all walked around and talked about stuff. When we got back to the room she tried to break my water, but couldn't. She left and Johnny informed me he already picked names when I tried to get him to talk names with me. Dr Jenna tried to break my water one more time and it didn't work again, so we decided to wait for the attending doctor, Dr. Mirrad. My nurse was getting a bath ready for me so I could soak in the tub and relax when Dr. Mirrad showed up. We decided to let me get in the bath for awhile and then they would come back and break my water. By the time the nurse had everything ready and I was getting out of bed I had started shaking really bad. The nurse wanted to check me because she said that the shaking could be a sign of late stage labor. I was at an 8 and low so she called Dr. Mirrad back to break my water. The doctors left and I had a few contractions. It could have only been 10 minutes when I felt baby go into the birth canal. The nurse called the doctors back in and I tried to breathe through the pain. I felt baby coming though and told them it was coming so they flipped me on my back and I heard the nurse say "the head is out". So they told me not to push then to push and baby was out. It was so fast the doctor forgot to tell me the sex and I forgot to ask. Johnny asked me if I wanted to know and I of course said yes! It's a BOY! I was so excited, but sad for Daphne. I got to hold him for and minute and he was so quiet and small. I was instantly smitten. They took him away and weighed and cleaned him, while I got stitched and cleaned up. After everyone was done with the work and fed him and Johnny and I talked names. He said he had picked Finn and I loved it and said I would love the middle name to be Abel after my grandpa Burns.

We got about an hour of sleep before it was time to get things done. Johnny had to go get his patients for the day covered and get the kids from the Taylor's. He brought them to meet Finn and they loved him they were so sweet and loving. Daphne just wanted to hold him and Quen was so soft with him. I had a good stay in the hospital, but I always just want to go home afterward. 

We have been home over a week and we are pretty settled. I am so happy this sweet boy is in our family. He is so good and we all are loving him. I'm so grateful for all the meals and people who have come to visit. It has made this first week so enjoyable.

So it goes...

 

Well the month and a half went by too quickly. We had such a great time over Christmas! We enjoyed a great ward party where the kids got to "shop" for gifts for the family. I also had a super fun night at a gift exchange with girls in the ward. Once Joey got here things went into high gear. We started his visit by going to see the new Star Wars film. I thought it was great, but I think the boys had warm up to it. After church on Sunday we headed north to the Twin Cities to go to the Mall of America. We did it last year and it was a ton of fun and we thought Joey might enjoy it. It was a short trip but we had good time. 

It snowed Christmas Eve and we had the best time going out to play in the snow and we made a pretty good snowman. Christmas morning came with lots of great gifts and food. We had fun Skyping with the grandparents too. Johnny was back to work after Christmas so we spent the rest of the days trying to keep ourselves entertained. Joey gave me a day off which was greatly appreciated. I went to my doctors appointment sans kids and then had lunch with Johnny at the hospital. then I took myself to see Star Wars again!

New Years Eve Johnny was working so Joey and I took the kids to a party some people in our ward were having. We played volleyball at the church for a bit. While everyone else had dinner we went to the hospital to see Johnny and have some ice cream. We went back to join the party at the Henderson's to eat and play games. We had a great time and good laughs. 

Once Joey left it was back to our normal routine which now includes weekly doctors visits and weekly ultrasound and NSTs. The kids are not loving being at the doctors so much, but I am enjoying getting to see my baby once a week and getting to spend lunch with Johnny at the hospital. Things are going well with the pregnancy. Baby is growing at the right pace and heartbeat is good. It looks like a Cochran and we got to see some hair today in the ultrasound! Daphne is not enjoying school very much this week. We had been having so much fun with it and then we took a break while Joey was here and ever since it has been a little bit of a struggle. Johnny has been looking at job opportunities for the last couple of weeks and has had a few phone interviews that have gone well. We are heading to Wisconsin in a couple weeks for a face to face, which I'm excited for, but we are going to have to wait til after baby comes to go visit other places.

A long time coming

If I waited to post this next week it would have been a whole year since I wrote anything on here. I just couldn't let that happen, so here it goes! 

This year has gone by faster than I can believe. I cannot fathom that it is December today! We are in holiday mode and I couldn't be happier about it. I LOVE the holidays, always have, always will. We had a great Thanksgiving week. No family again this year, but we did spend it with great friends. We are expecting Joey here for Christmas, which the kids a super excited about. They love Uncle Joey! 

Johnny's year has been good. The beginning was a little rough. He was just getting worn out from all the long hard rotations at the hospital. He would come home looking so tired and drained sometimes. I worried for him, but he made it through.  We had to take a little vacation for him. We went to our favorite place Disney World. It also worked out that Joey got to come which made things even better for Johnny! I love how much more time he has now that he is into his second year of residency. He gets a little more freedom, but more responsibility now. I think he likes it that way though. 

 I haven't been up to much. Spending time with my kids, being pregnant, working on my little sewing job, serving in Primary! I did get to take my first trip by myself since I have had children. I wasn't for the best reason, My Grandma passed away, but it was a great visit with my family.

 Daphne and Quentin are growing up way to quickly and soon they will have another sibling to love. They are great little friends and I love catching them being sweet to each other or playing nicely together. Daphne is so silly and comes up with goofy ideas and Quen thinks its hilarious! They fight too, but what siblings don't? I am doing school with Daphne to get ready for kindergarten next year and she is doing amazing! Quentin is such a boy and loves to run and throw and get into any trouble he can. 

We are loving life right now and I hope things keep getting better everyday. I also hope I can get back into the groove of my blog again. I hate that I missed documenting a whole year of our lives. I can remedy that though. I WILL do it!

Singing Girl!

We had a great week! The beginning of the week I was doing little jobs around the house and playing with the kids. Wednesday after dinner I went to the church to practice a song I will be singing. I had a great time. The ladies that are singing with me are great and we sat after practicing and talked for awhile. It was nice to get to know them better and to have a little girl talk! I also took advantage of having the car and no kids, so I went to a couple stores.

Friday was the big night! We were having a party at our house. Johnny wanted to get together with his resident friends, so we made Elizabeth's birthday the excuse to get everyone together. We had a nice time. People brought over great food and my cake turned out great! The residents in Johnny's year are so nice and it was great to have company. You all know how much I love to host!

Yesterday was a busy day. I woke up early to get my shopping done. When I got home Johnny and I decided to go get Family pictures done. So after getting ready we headed out. We were happy with the pictures. We went to Costco and Lowe's while we waited for the pictures to be printed. 

We had to head straight to the church to help set up for our ward Christmas party. We got there late, but everything got done and it was a great night. We had dinner and then there were a couple of musical number and then a good ole carol sing! We did another short little practice for the song I'm singing which went great! Johnny dragged us to two more stores after the party so the kids and I were pretty pooped today. We all took a long nap after church. Daphne got to come in to primary today to start getting used to Sharing time. She did okay, but it was hard for her to stay in her chair. I can't believe she is going to be in Primary already. Where is the time going? 

Here are some cute videos of Daphne singing Christmas songs!

Expected Guest

Joey came to visit us an his way to Myrtle Beach. He just got a teaching job there and we are so excited for him and his new adventure. We were even more excited that he decided to stop by and spend part of the week with us. He arrived Monday afternoon and helped me clean up the house. We had the missionaries for dinner. They were a little surprised to see Joey here again. When they left and put the kids down we settled down for a night of, what else, games! 

Tuesday we went to Adventure Land and we had an awesome time! It was so nice to get to play and go on rides. Daphne did have accidents and I forgot my swim suit, but other than that it was a perfect day. Joey took the kids for an hour so Johnny and I got to go and do what we wanted and it was nice to get to go on rides together. 

Johnny didn't have Wednesday off so we just hung around the house. I was planning on a walk to the park, but it was raining. Joey went out and got a hair cut while we did our normal thing. When he got back we did lunch and then put the kids to bed. Joey and I played games and had a really great talk about life. I think we both needed it. 

Thursday we took Joey to try Zombie Burger. I think he liked it, but he couldn't finish his burger. None of us could actually. This time we all got some intense ones and we couldn't handle it. They were all tasty, just to heavy. Afterward we headed to the State Fair to walk it off. We had a fun time walking around and looking at everything. We all eventually got hungry again and had to get some fair food. We were all pretty pooped by the time we got home, but made some time for a couple of game because we joey would leave in the morning. We always have a great time with him. 

Friday Johnny saw him off while the rest of us slept in. Quen ended up sleeping most of the day. Saturday was pretty much the same. We all relaxed and hung out. Johnny's friend Brian did stop by. He was headed home to Chicago from a Residency Program Conference. It was good to see him and Johnny got to help him out a little bit.

Today I got set apart in my new calling. I am a primary teacher for the CTR 6. I got to go sit in with them today and I think it will be a good class. Johnny got a calling as well, but won't be set apart until next week. 

We are here!

Wow, how did this happen again? Its been another month since I posted. Life has been crazy busy getting ready for the move, actually moving and then setting up house. 

Three generations of Cochran men have slept in this crib!

Quentin turned nine months during all our crazy. He is growing up too fast. He is so smart and I can't believe how well he eats. He got one bottom tooth this week and has the second on the way. He has learned to wave goodbye and to high five. He loves that he can follow us around now and loves to play with his sister. He is still a crazy mamas boy and that makes it hard to get anything done.

We are liking in here in Des Moines. Our house is nice and in a great location. It is quick to get anywhere. It was so helpful to have John come help us on our move. We used the horse trailer to move our stuff from Colorado. Driving up was a long day, but I'm glad it only took a day to get here. So much better than driving across the country. We got here on Thursday last week and we unloaded and then stayed in our relater's condo for a couple of days before we got to move into the house. We weren't supposed to move in until Monday, but the previous owners moved out early so we got to move in on Saturday. We spent the weekend working in the yard and cleaning and moving what we could with the car. On Monday we had movers come and help us(we have the best relater, he paid for the movers and let us use his moving truck). Then is was unpacking and more unpacking. 

I am starting to feel like we are settled now. It has been slow going with the kids being so cranky, but the main floor is basically done now. We need to buy a couple more pieces of furniture, but we will get them over time. 

We have got to relax a little since being here. On Thursday night we went to a fellow residents house to have dinner and get acquainted to a few of the people Johnny will be working with. Yesterday we went to Adventureland (the local amusement park). The kids loved it. We had a blast ridding the rides and swimming in the water park. We had gone as a group with Johnny's co-workers, but got separated pretty early on. 

So life at the Cochran home is going well. I will try to get back on track with keeping up with the blog.

Easter in Estes

Well did we have an awesome weekend!?! I am so glad John wanted to take the boys to a baseball game and I'm glad we decided to make it a little family reunion! 

We headed up to Denver to meet John and Joey on Friday. Meeting up with everyone took longer than we thought because we had a little miss-communication about Joe's flight, but it all worked out. After a quick dinner we all headed up the mountains to Estes Park. this is one of The Cochran's favorite places and it seems we try to make a trip up every time we stay with them. I don't know if it will ever pass Sedona in my list of favorite places, but I do love it there. 

Saturday morning we all headed out to the shops to walk around and enjoy the mountain air. We had fun looking at all the shops and talking and reminiscing while we gorged ourselves on all the delicious candy we bought. We had to keep that trip short so we could get the boys fed and ready to head back to Denver for the game.

They seemed to have a lot of fun. They got there early so they could get autographs and catch practice balls. They enjoyed the squirrel that decided to join the game and their messy hot dogs. The Rockies won which they always like to hear and they stayed late to gather cups from the stand which is part of the tradition of going to the game.

Us girls just sat and relaxed while the boys were gone. We went out for a nice steak dinner and came home and soaked in the hot tub and then warmed ourselves by the fire. 

Sunday morning Mary and John went down the mountain to visit Nana and Papa's graves while us kids stayed home and played games. When the parents got back we started a game of "bases" or as I always knew it as "pickle". We had so much fun and we were all exhausted when it was time to come in. We hid Easter Eggs and Daphne and Tanner each got a basket to open. We had a wonderful Easter dinner of ham and potatoes. Joe, Bekah, Tanner and I went on a hike after and I realized half way through that I am way out of shape. 

The evening was spent in the hot tub and then playing games. The resort we stayed at was so nice and comfortable. We had and amazing time. 

Monday we were all up early to head back home. On the way we had to stop and get a car that John had purchased and then it was back to Lamar. 

The Big Move

Well I have missed a few weeks, but I was pretty busy the last two Sundays. So now I have tons to catch up on. 

Quentin turned 7 months old on the 24th. He is getting so big and grown up. He wants to move all the time as is evident in his monthly pic. If you set him on the floor he immediately turns on his belly. He is still a mamas boy and prefers to be in my arms at all times. He is eating some solid food and is a little picky. So far he only likes to eat sweet potatoes, corn and any fruit. He also likes real rice not the rice cereal. He can play peak-a-boo and loves to grab anything in arms reach, cords seem to be his favorite right now and I am constantly having to take them away from him. 

Johnny's last week of rotations seem to take forever but Friday came and our lives changed very quickly that day. After going to the doctor to get Quentin some shots we picked Johnny up from his last day as a med student. We headed home, but before we went to our leasing office to see if we could move out whenever we wanted (I was previously told we could not move out until the last day of our contract). They told us we could move anytime we wanted so we went home and decided we wanted to move a whole week earlier than expected. All I can say is the next three days were a blur of packing cleaning and getting things ready for our move. We decided to stop by in Des Moines to drop off our stuff and look for houses before we headed to Colorado. I was also excited to get to see the place we are going to be living for the next three years! 

After packing the truck and driving the two days to Des Moines We were so glad to get unloaded and be off the road. Our kids are always so good traveling, but after the three previous days of not so much mommy time and the car breaking down it was nice to be off the road. We didn't get to rest though because looking for houses is hard work when you a dragging two little ones along with you. I'm not surprised, but a little disappointed we didn't find anything while we were there. So the search continues over the internet. The rest of the drive went very well and we were happy we got here safely.

We have been having lots of fun here at Nana's house. I can't decide who loves who more, Daphne or Tanner. We figured they would love playing with each other.Quentin loves all the attention he gets and he loves his bouncy gym. I have found a little job doing house/yard work for people in the ward. Its good to be making money and having things to do while I'm here. Johnny is hoping to get a job substituting at the schools here. Other than that our life is as normal as it can be. 

What we've been waiting for!

Our seven year anniversary was on the tenth. We didn't do anything because we wanted to wait to celebrate until after the match. So the week was spent waiting for this week to come. I know I shouldn't spend so much time looking to the future and focus on the present,  but I have been waiting for us to match for YEARS.

Monday we found out that we DID match and it was so nice to know that we did it and that Johnny would have a job in the summer being a REAL doctor! We are so proud of him and all the hard work he has done to make his dream come true! It was also St. Patty's Day and we celebrated with Corned Beef and Cabbage. 

The rest of the week was long and hard for two reasons: one because I had to wait until Friday to find out where we are going to spend the next three years, second because Johnny had the night shift all week. It was hard to have him gone for so long. On top of his 12 hour shift he had to stay for morning report and rounds which means he really had a 16 hour shift everyday. Hard on him and us. The kids seemed to sleep horribly all week so none of us were getting any rest. 

Well the long awaited Friday came and we found out we are headed to Des Moines, Iowa! It was not what I was expecting, but we are so excited! I really didn't care where we went as long as we got in some where. It will be so nice to feel settled and have friends and feel a part of a community.

Johnny says the program is good and the hospital is very nice as well as the people he will be working with.

Saturday after Johnny got home from his last night shift he took a little nap and then we headed out to celebrate! We went out to dinner at Longhorn Stake House. It was super tasty and we all were stuffed so we decided to take a walk around the mall. We also went to get our groceries for the week. By the time we got home we were all pooped. It was a week of ups and downs and now its time to get busy with the move, finding a house, and Johnny's LAST WEEK as a med student!

Extra Kiddos

Johnny didn't go to school on Monday because a big storm was supposed to snow us in again, but it ended up not snowing much. We just stayed at home but we did give Quentin a little haircut. We tried just trimming around his ears, but it looked weird so we ended up buzzing it. It was a little sad at first, but I decided I like it how it is his big brown eyes stand out even more and who knew there was a little blonde boy under all that hair. 

We didn't do anything out of the ordinary until Friday night. I babysat for a couple in our ward so they could go out to eat and then go to the temple. So I had six kids to take care of including mine. I was a little nervous especially since one was only 2 months old. 

But the kids had so much fun and it was so much easier than I thought it would be. Daphne was so happy to have someone to play with. I had a fun time cuddling with this little cutie. I thought Quen would be totally jealous, but he was fine with it. 

Johnny had to work on Saturday so it was another normal weekday basically. I don't like not getting a full weekend with him, but sometimes you gatta do what you gatta do.

What we do.

I missed updating you all last week, but that's okay because we really didn't do anything. Just our normal daily routine. We didn't do anything this week either. I guess we went to the doctor on Monday, but that was it. 

Quentin turned 6 months. I can't believe it. Time goes by fast when you are a mom of two. Its funny to think he was only 2 weeks old when we moved to Maryland. He is still as needy as ever and the thing he needs is me. I can't get anything done because I always have to hold him. I love my mamas boy. We have started feeding him baby food and he doesn't seem to enjoy it very much. He always makes a face when I put the food in his mouth like its gross. He is so happy and always has a big grin on his face. I think he may be scooting around pretty soon. He loves balls and mirrors. He has started making dinosaur squeals when he talks and is pretty loud. You can tell he always wants to be playing with his sister and that he loves her. I can't wait until they can play with each other. We love them both to pieces! 

Last week

Last week went by so. After we got home from Michigan Johnny only went to school for one day and then it was back on the road for him. He left for Jonesboro, Arkansas Thursday morning.  We didn't do much while he was gone, but we did run a few errands including getting our breaks fixed while we had the car. We picked him up super late  Friday night. It was nice to have him back the next day so I could get us all ready and packed for the next interview. Sunday morning we headed up to Somerset, New Jersey. I love being able to go with him to interviews so I can see the city. New Jersey was the last one I get to see so I am a little sad about that. We drove home Monday after he was done with his interview. I love road trips. It's always so fun to sit and talk and listen to music and books. Our next road trip will be our move to our new home! 

I LOVE Christmas!!!

We had the best week (and a half)! It started Friday morning picking up Joey. We always have such a great time with him. He was a surprise for Daphne and she was...but not as surprised as Johnny was when he saw his dad sitting in our car when we picked him up from school! Joey, Mary and I did quite a bit of scheming to get him here with out Johnny knowing, but it was so worth it. 

The kids had such a great time with Papa and Uncle Joe! Saturday we went to D.C. to be tour guides. We started our very early morning at the White House. I was pretty excited about this. Its one of the things on my bucket list to visit the White House at Christmas and thanks to Joey we got to. John didn't get to see it because we didn't submit his name in time. 

It was so pretty especially with all the decorations, but a lot smaller than I thought it would be. We got to take pictures too, which is normally not allowed. The rest of the day was spent going to the typical places. We were all pooped by the end of the day.

Sunday was the main event! We blessed Quentin. I actually heard what Johnny said this time and it was so great to have family there.

We were all sad when John had to leave Monday. I think he was the most sad though. I know it was the best Christmas gift we could give him, to see his grand kids and to get to help bless his first grandson. On our way back from the airport we stopped at the temple to see the lights. It was beautiful and I loved getting to see the nativity scenes from around the world. 

The rest of the week we spent playing games and hanging out. Christmas day was full of fun. Daphne loved her gifts and I think Joey and I both felt spoiled. Johnny is such a giver. He loves to give gifts! 

It was a sad day when Joey left too. We went and met Lindsay (Joey's girlfriend) down in Richmond. We had lunch with her and then it was time to say goodbye. Daphne cried for a good ten minutes. She kept saying she wanted to see "Joey and Lindsay NOW". It broke my mommy heart.