GA Davis’s

Our friend, Grace Gamradt, passed away last week after fighting valiantly for 5 months against a very aggressive cancer. She was only 31 years old. She leaves behind her husband Neal, 2 1/2 year daughter Alexa, and her 6 month old son Tyler. She found out she had cancer after much pain that doctors put off as pregnancy issues. She had to deliver Tyler at 33 weeks so that they could better diagnose and treat her. The Mayo Clinic had problems trying to figure out what type of cancer it was and I’m not sure that they really do know what it is even now. She had masses in her lungs, abdomen, and breast. She was accepted at MD Anderson after much effort. Through it all, she remain in a positive and strong spirit even until the end. I am so proud to have known her. She has inspired me to be a better wife and mom. Life is short. You never know when the Lord will call you home so make your life all that you want it to be while you are here. Let the ones you love feel your love everyday because that’s what really matters. We will miss our friend greatly but we have peace in our hearts because we know she is in a better place.

OK everyone…I hope no one gets too upset but I am going to try to make it a little easier for me to upload pictures onto the website. I will no longer place pictures under the Elise, Cooper, or Friends and Family categories. I will just make a folder for the month or event and those pictures will go in there. I realized that too much organization was just too much work. I hope this makes it easier for me and therefore, for friends and family (not on Facebook) to view our pictures.

Cooper is mobile! He’s not walking yet…but he does pretty well scooting around on his bum. He doesn’t enjoy ending up on his stomach and definitely not on his nose (which has happened on quite a few occasions, him being top-heavy and all). I’ll set him down somewhere and he’s usually within a 2-4 feet radius of that spot in just a bit. I think he enjoys his mobility. He is working on standing up now. He’ll get on his knees and try to pull up but most things at his height are not as heavy as him so they end up on him or just tipping over. He still eats and sleeps well. He really knows to reach out for you when he wants you…practically throws himself at me most of the time. We have had to put a sock over his left hand because he has gotten quite a gash on his thumb. We think it’s from sucking his thumb so much. He’s our little crab. He also has this red spot right beside his mouth from his hands being there while he’s sucking his thumb. Looks like we need to wean him from that in the near future. Got any good ideas?

Elise continues to do well with her potty use. There has been a few accidents but I think that those will be with us for awhile. She still gets along with her brother most of the time. We are working on sharing, caring, and not yelling at Cooper for no reason. Most of the time she is really good about being nice to her brother. It makes me smile when I see her pile pillows and toys around him when he’s on the floor..just in case he falls over. She enjoys feeding him puffs and going places without him seems just not right to her.

We had our first snow fall of the season and the year this past weekend. Elise really enjoyed watching it come down. She went out onto our back deck to play with what stuck on on patio furniture. But it didn’t stay too long for us. Maybe next year and then Cooper can enjoy it too.
I’m sorry that I haven’t been that good about posting recent pictures. I am working on not spending too much time on the computer so that I can get other things done in my life and not stress out about not getting things done because I spend so much time on the computer. Apparently, there is a condition that most moms are suffering from…internet addiction. I think I was afflicted with that disorder so I had to straighten myself out. I think it’s getting better.

Elise is officially potty-trained! I can’t believe that we actually did it. Being consistent really worked for us. I don’t even need to remind her anymore. She is in underwear all day now and usually wakes up with a clean diaper. I usually take her to the potty right before I go to sleep…I guess you can call it “dream potty”. I learned the trick from one of Kurt’s co-worker. She is still half-asleep and I sit her right on the potty then put her right back in her bed. I guess she is ready for pre-school next year! I signed her up for a 3-day program at a church up the road from us.  She’s really excited about it.
Cooper is doing pretty well himself. He can pull himself into sitting position from a laying down. He has his top 2 teeth coming in so we need to watch our fingers. He can finally pick up those little Puffs and put it in his mouth. Kurt thinks he can do high fives…actually so do I. He sure is talking up a storm.  I just can’t believe he is 8 months old already. I’ll try to get some recent pictures up soon!

OK…we just need to suck it up and get this over with…we are potty training Elise for REAL. We tried the timer method, taking her every 30-45 minutes but that was frustrating for us both. Either I would forget to reset the timer or Elise would fight me on the way to the potty if she didn’t want to go, and that was at least 90% of the time. We tried using the pull-up diapers and underwear throughout the day and that just confuses her because sometimes she has the security of her diaper and sometimes she doesn’t. So starting now or at least yesterday, she will just be in underwear or nothing and we will only use diapers at night.  We will stay in and practice for a few days or weeks even. We will bring backup clothes and towels everywhere with us just in case. Television time will be even more limited because it distracts her from remembering to go. We are prepared to accept that accidents will happen. We will let you know how it goes.

As for Cooper, he continues to grow too fast for my taste. He eats A LOT and is sitting up really well. He has taken a few baths with Elise in the actual bath tub and hasn’t fallen over. Elise and Cooper really enjoy each other’s company. It’s nice to see them laugh, talk, and play together.