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!

Doctor Daddy

 We had another great day with Uncle Joey on Monday. We went out shopping and it took all day. I did a little shopping for myself, which doesn't happen often so, exciting! We covered a lot of ground, two malls and several stores. When we got home we were all pretty pooped. 

Tuesday was Johnny's first day of residency, like actually being a Doctor! We went to visit him and give him a little card.  We didn't get to stay very long cause he was really busy, but he did buy us a little lunch. We cannot even say how proud we are of him. I know he is going to do awesome. This year is going to be hard on us I know with his long hours, but we can do it.

Joey stayed longer than we were expecting, but we loved it. One day he even watched the kids for me so I could take a nap and its always so fun to have some one to Thursday really early. The kids were really sad. They love Uncle Joey.

We didn't do much to Celebrate the 4th. in Iowa you are not allowed to have fireworks without a permit, but it seems everyone, but us knows that you just go down to Missouri and buy a whole bunch to set off. I have NEVER heard so many fireworks. They literally were going off from about 8pm until midnight. It was crazy. We went and watched some big ones at around ten. We got some ice cream as well. 

Johnny had a day off yesterday so we went out and did some errands. We were planning on going to a local football game, but when we got to the stadium no one was there. We had a dinner packed so we just went to a park and had a picnic dinner and played. it was such a nice night. 

Johnny had to work today so I was all by myself at church and it was not a fun experience. Daphne ended up peeing on Quentin and me (don't know how she managed that) so we went home early. The rest of the day was a little better. I got to take a nap since both the kids slept for a long time which was really nice. 

Starting Again

This week was another good one. Johnny started orientation on Tuesday. He has had some busy days and not as busy days. We spent the week getting back into our routine. I have been trying to get deep cleaning and organizing so we can get this place set up the way we want. 

Friday I had the car so I took the kids out to wander around and play around. I got some much needed clothing for the kids as well. We did the same on Saturday, but Johnny got to come along this time. We are trying to get our fill of him before the real work begins. We know we won't be seeing him as much once his job starts. We are so proud of him. He is now a licensed M.D!!!

Sunday We were invited to a friends house for dessert! They are a couple in our ward. There are not many young families in our ward and I think they are happy to have someone to get to know. Daphne loves their little girls. Mindy is a little quiet and I'm not very good at getting to know people, but I think we will become fast friends. We have a few hobbies in common and with how much fun the kids have I'm sure we will see more of them.

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.

Quentin is 8 months!

My sweet Little Man is growing up to quickly! he turned 8 months old this week and I just can't believe how fast the time is going. He will be a year old before I know it. He is such a good little boy. The only complaint i have with him is that my arms get so tired from holding him all day, but that also seems to be the best part of him. He is scooting all over and refuses to eat baby food. He always eats what we eat now. He seemed to just skip the baby food stage. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but manages to eat just fine. He growls all the time now. When he plays with any type of animal a growl is the only sound they make: cow, snake, dinosaur, doesn't matter it growls. He loves having so many people to pay attention to him. he loves to sit out on the swing in the front , but only in the evenings so the sun isn't in his face. 

Other than that our life is just going by in a flash. I'm still working most days at the Anderson's house doing whatever they need done around the house. It has been good training for when we have our own house. Johnny got the job subbing for the school system here which is great cause it pays well. Daphne is loving having a yard to play in and family around that plays with her and dogs and cats to love. Life is good.

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!

A week with Johnny

This week was a little strange. Johnny wasn't felling good so he stayed home on Tuesday and Wednesday. He said he needed to go in the next day and he tried, but we got over a foot of snow Wednesday night so he couldn't get the car out. Then we got another 6 inches Thursday night and couldn't get out again. So we got lots of Johnny time. We played games and had a little fun in the snow. It was great making a snowman with Daphne. She didn't help much in the actual building, but she kept asking for a nose and mouth for her little snowman. She also kept asking why Elsa was sad and made it snow and I will give you one guess what she named the snowman...

Tuesday we went to the doctors which was overdue for Quentin. He had to get shots and he was so good. Daphne and I both just got well checks. We have to go back in two weeks to get his 4 month shots. Then we will be caught up with his shots, but he will need to get his six month shots soon too because he will be turning 6 months in a couple weeks. He is getting so big and I finally have his weight (15lbs.) and height (25.5in.). Daphne got hers checked to: weight (31lbs.) and height(36.5in.). They are growing to fast. 

Shopping Around

This week was a little lonely, but it went fast. Johnny went to two interviews this week. The first was in Quincy, Illinois. He was gone a little longer on this one because he couldn't get on a flight back home on Monday so we didn't pick him up until late Tuesday night. We did go to the mall and I actually shopped and bought something! That hasn't happened in a long time. The kids did so great out walking around we took advantage of it and went to another mall when Johnny went on his second trip of the week. I was super sad I couldn't go on this one with him. He was in Saint Petersberg, Florida and he was right by the beach. We thought about trying to go with him and do a Disney trip, but it wouldn't have worked out.

Now he is done interviewing and it is time to decide how to rank them all, which I know will be hard. He liked so amny of them and they all have plus and minuses. 

Finally I'm doing it!

One of my goals for this year was to write on my blog every week on Sunday. Well that hasn't happened, at least not the Sunday part. Today I'm doing it though. I haven't before because the previous two Sundays we have been on trips. Its not a good excuse, but its an excuse. 

After getting home on Monday we haven't done much...haha. I have been trying to potty train Daphne. The first day was horrible, but it got better until I started making her wear underwear. We may have to revert to a nude bottom, but I think she will get it soon.

Yesterday we headed out after cleaning up the house and went to a new mall. It was nice, but a little far. The only reason we went out there was for $1 Burritos at Cafe Rio!

I had gotten an email from a lady at church and I could have sworn it was for Chipolte, but when we were pulling up Johnny looked at the ad and said it was for Cafe Rio. I was so excited. I like Chipolte, but in my opinion Cafe Rio is WAY better. I didn't even know they had them out here. It has been years since I have gotten to eat there so I was a happy girl. 

We took Johnny to the airport again this morning for another interview. This time he is in Des Moines, Iowa. We will see how it goes. Wish him luck!

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! 

Life in the new year

I am way behind in this post. I meant to post on the 1st. When I missed that I wanted to do it on Sunday and missed that to, but better late than never...right?

Quentin turned four months right before Christmas. He is the sweetest baby. He has the best laugh and is pretty ticklish. He still loves to be held all the time which means I'm making dinner to the sound of a sad baby, but other than that he is a happy baby. He is starting to grab things and we have been practicing sitting up with him. He also seems very interested in the food we eat so we have been giving him tastes of real food.

After Christmas we spent our time playing with our new toys. Daphne definitely loves the train set she got as well as her stuffed triceratops aptly named "Tops". We have enjoyed all the card/board games we got. Its so nice to have some games that don't need other people to play them with. 

Johnny hasn't had to go to the hospital very much since Christmas which has been fun. New Years Eve we had our sparkling cider and lucky pickled pigs feet. We watched about 5 minutes of the "Ball Drop" and it was horrible. Not worth all the junk to watch the ball drop for 10 seconds. 

 

On New Years Day we headed down to D.C. Johnny has really wanted to see the Holocaust Museum. So we went there and then headed over to the American History Museum as well. It was nice to take things slow while we were there. We usually are rushing to hit everything in one day, but we were there just to waste time and it was a lot of fun.

After a couple days of work we headed north for Michigan for Johnny's interview in Brighton. I'm so glad we left a day early. We got to go stay with the Price's which was a joy! I love Katie and we had a good time playing games and talking. We did get there later than planned on Saturday because one of our tires blew out. We did beat the storm though. After hanging out on Sunday we drove over from their house to the hotel in Brighton. The storm was going pretty strong by this time so the drive was long and slow. At the hotel we just relaxed and stayed warm. Monday morning we dropped Johnny off and then just went back to the hotel instead of roaming the town like I wanted to. It was just to cold and to snowy to be out roaming around. We headed home once we picked up Johnny, but we didn't get very far with all the snow on the road. We ended up staying the night in Columbus. We woke up to another flat tire the next morning. So after getting the car repaired, again, we drove the rest of the way home. 

Life is going to be crazy for the rest of the month while Johnny finishes up his interviews. He will be gone a lot since he still has five interviews. We will miss him, but I know it will be worth it. Can you believe he will be a Doctor in three months! I can't wait for him to accomplish his dream and to find out where we are going to be living.  

To much fun to handle!

So I have so much to talk about because we have been so busy and I haven't posted in forever! We have had my sister to visit, Quen turned two months, we celebrated Halloween, and we went on a big road trip for a couple of Johnny's interviews. So you can see that we were busy. Lets start with my sisters visit. 

This was something I was SO excited for. It had bet to long since it was just the two of us and back then we didn't get along as well as we do now. We had a time from the moment she stepped off the plane. We spent our first two days walking the D.C. Mall. We went to the Capital, the Archives, Library of Congress, Fords Theater, Arlington and all the Monuments. Even though it was a ton of walking we had a great time taking all the history and all the gelato. Saturday morning we did a session at the temple that was perfect. We were starving by the time we were done so we went out for a big lunch and a little shopping. Sunday she helped me sing at our stake conference. We got home and decided to take one more trip down to D.C. to see the Holocaust Museum. It was a great exhibit even if it was a depressing one. We didn't have anything planned for Monday and ended up driving the short distance to Gettysburg. I felt chills looking up towards Little Round Top and thinking of the men charging and the men defending that little hill. Tuesday was the sad day of her departure, but we did take a little trip to the bay to walk the beach before she left. All in all it was a perfect visit! I can't wait for our next encounter!!!

Now on to my sweet baby. I can't believe how big he is getting! He is wearing 3 month clothes already. He is so sweet and happy. I love every minute of him. I feel like I could never get enough of his face. 

Halloween gets better every year. Some things are just better as a parent. Daphne loved it! We carved pumpkins before Rachel's visit. They were very rotten before Halloween arrived. The ward had a party that was great; great chili, great treats, great fun. On Halloween night we did our tradition and dressed up and when to Chipolte for $3 burritos! Then it was off to trick-or-treat. We went to a person's house that is in the ward to meet everyone and all go out together. It was a really good neighborhood for trick-or-treating. Daphne got tons of loot. We will be eating it for awhile.

Our little interview trip was so awesome. I like to be able to go with Johnny on his trips. I get to see our options for the future and I get to get out of the house for a couple of days. This trip we had two interviews. One in Saginaw, MI and the other in Cleveland, OH. Both would be fine options for us even with the cold weather. 

The kids and I had lots of fun while Johnny was at the interviews. In Saginaw we spent our day with the Walpole's, our good friends from Dominica. We went to a story time at the library and then to the children's museum there. After picking Johnny up we met back at the Walpole's because we were going to stay the night there. We got together with a whole bunch of people from the island and it was the highlight of the trip! It was so good to catch up with friends that were our family while we were on the island. Everyone looked so good and sounded like life was going well for everyone. We stayed up way to late that night talking with the Walpole's (we tend to do that with them). Saturday we woke up to a great pancake breakfast and then it was off to Kirtland. We got in a little later than we wanted so we didn't get to see the temple, but we went to the LDS Visitors center and the buildings they have there. Sunday we Went and did the tour of the Temple and it was really nice. I had been before, but they have changed things since then. Monday was the interview in Cleveland so while Johnny did that the kids and I swam and then had lunch at McDonalds while Daphne played. We headed straight home after picking Johnny up. We got home and we were all pretty tired. Its been a week since we got back and we haven't done anything at all. I'm getting excited for the holidays. We are going to have Joey here for Christmas again and its always fun to have him. 

To much fun to handle! (Pictures)

Sorry, these are very out of order!

Cinderella and her Prince

Halloween

Me and Katie!!!

All the Dominica Kids! They belong to us, Jamie, Holly, Crystal, and Ann.

Daphne had a ball playing with Hayden!

Pioneer Children at the Temple VC.

Two Months

Me and the Sister at Arlington

Kirtland