Freedom House Update

after 10 months of being open we are FILLED TO CAPACITY PEOPLE!!!!!! and have a FREAKING WAITING LIST!!!!
just had to share that....

Goal!

yesterday mason started on his soccer team at the ymca. they had a 30 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game. unfortunately i missed it, i was at my friends sons funeral. mike took the boys and said that it was really fun and mason really enjoyed himself. i was a little concerned about how the whole thing would play out (not just dad having to take the two boys on his own) but how mason would handle it. when dealing with the new & unfamiliar he has a tendency to be very shy and at times to get very frustrated. he's like his mom, he doesn't want to learn how to do things but wants to know how, already!! it sounded like it was a success. i can't wait to go watch for myself next week :)

6 months...really??

i am now into my 24th week of pregnancy. i cannot believe how quickly time has gone by, although i know that the last trimester is when things start to move at snail pace. i've finally started to feel the limitations that my body has as a result of being pregnant. after cleaning the whole house yesterday AND going to the gym i realize i need to take it down, just a notch or two. really i have been feeling well physically, i like being pregnant. i started back to the gym for cardio a few weeks ago and i feel really great that my big preggo butt is working it. i was SO sedentary with my last pregnancies and i feel very empowered to be able to run for 30 minutes (and to still be fitting into size medium maternity clothes!!!) for those that witnessed my body changes with the boys i know you can appreciate this with me :) i got HUUUGGGEEE!! people constantly asked me if i was having twins...i was like no. just fat. thanks! i LOVE feeling baby getting bigger and constantly moving around in my belly. its such a beautiful thing to be able to be a part of. there is a person. growing. in. my. body. again!! wow. here are a few pics from my u/s last week. he is sucking his thumb :)

the boys are doing fantastic. mason is getting along well in school and some of the behavioral issues we were having as he got adjusted into his routine have been working themselves out. he has been really interested in letters & sounds lately, oh and star wars. gotta have the battle droids! he is eating like a horse and is continuing to grow, we always joke that he has a hollow leg. man that kid can EAT!
stephen is rocking and rolling as well. he talks so much and has been (with help and coercion) counting to three. he is obsessed with trains. did i say obsessed? OBfreakingSESSED. still will barely eat a damn thing and it makes me nutso. he just got over having what i think was the flu last week, poor guy. he is enjoying his mothers day out (as is mommy) and having daddy around more often (as is mommy!)
so things are as they should be at the cottingham home. freedom house is doing very well and after almost 10 months of being open, we are still here!!! with clients...that pay rent....wow! i am so grateful and i think in shock and denial that this thing is/has really happened for us.
in other news my first niece should be born within the next week or so. my sister becky who lives in n. carolina will be giving birth to her first child pretty soon here. i get to go for a visit the first week in november and am so excited for her :) she has been a rock for me my whole life and been such a good friend, i am so happy about the birth of her daughter. i love you becky!!
in other awful/terrible/gut-wrenching news.....i posted a few weeks ago about the birth of my friends son rhyder who was born with some health complications. he passed away on saturday afternoon after being with us for 3 1/2 weeks. i don't have words for this, they all seem stupid and pointless and empty. my heart is so very sad for my friends and their family. i have never been so close to such a loss before. it is.....awful. my heart aches for them and their loss.
i hate ending on such a sad note but there it is.

new beginnings

mason started back to his montessori school this week. it is his last year of preschool before he starts kindergarten (wow!) and has done remarkably well transitioning back into the swing of things. mommy has been tired. i got used to not having to be anywhere at any specific time! i know, boohoo, i had to get the kids up and dressed and out of the house by 8:15, life is hard. mason is one of the oldest kids in his class so he really gets to be a leader this year. there are a lot of smaller kids than usual which i think will be good because he will get more attention from his teacher while doing afternoon work (which is where they work on reading, writing, etc).

we went today to meet stephens childrens day out teachers, i've been calling it mothers day out which apparently is very 20 years ago? it is now CDO, just so ya know. they seem fantastic and i LOVE his new classroom! he starts back next tuesday and i think he is really going to have some fun.

an update on baby rhyder who i wrote about my last post. they are currently being discharged from the hospital to go home. from what i know they have gotten a lot more information about his health and issues that he has, which can all be worked on once he gets a little bigger. soooo we continue to hope and pray for strength for him and his parents!

miracles in the making

this morning at 7:20 rhyder anderson was born weighing in at 4lbs 13oz and 15" long. when he was 2o weeks old in utero he was diagnosed with trismoy-18. if you do not know anything about this genetic disorder just know that statistically the babies have a 50% chance of not surviving until birth, the ones that do survive have a 50% chance of living for 24 hours. today he was born via cesarean birth, blue, not breathing, with a very low heart rate. after being given to mommy & daddy and getting some oxygen he began breathing and pinkened up! he has been able to relieve his bladder and has eaten at two seperate feedings (these are things that most tri-18 babies have trouble with). so already he is beating the odds, minute by minute, prayer by prayer. he will stay in the nicu for now so michelle & dave are staying with him as much as possible. it was important for me to share this on here because of how i LOVE this family and how close to my heart michelle & dave and their children are. please think of them, pray for them, send good energy their way (however it is that you may roll!!)

he is a handsome, strong little man!! i love you rhyder! see you again soon!!

20 weeks

i have not been writing on here as much as i have wanted to. i really wanted to document this pregnancy and the changes going on with the boys, but for some reason haven't been able to get it together.
i went yesterday for my 20 week ultrasound and midwife appointment. baby is growing well and looks very healthy. we are having another BOY as you can see in the photo below. he didn't cooperate and give us any face shots so at my next appointment i get another scan, darn. i am very excited to find out that i am having another son. i really was pulling for a daughter, but god knows what he's doing and knows what i need way more than i do. i keep thinking about my house full of boys, and though they can be handfuls how FUN they are. three brothers, what a gift :)

Mason went with me for the appointment and was really excited and on his super best behavior. poor thing was VERY disappointed when i told him he was having another brother. he crossed his arms & pouted. he really wanted a baby sister. he came around though and got to tell mike the news & stephen that he was going to be a big brother, to a brother just like him! mason told him that he would get to show his little brother how to play with trains. (stephen is OBSESSED with trains right now. obsessed.) it was really cool.

so i'm feeling well lately. baby is moving around a bunch. i've actually been feeling him since about my 15th week which has been different this time around. another difference is the change in my breasts?!?!?!? i know this is very common iin pregnancy but WTF? never for me before! other than an aching back, sore boobs and difficulty sleeping this pregnancy has been wonderful. i don't think i've been too difficult to live with (ask my husband, he'll tell you the truth!)

mason starts school back monday and i'm actually really sad about it. he will start going monday through friday instead of the three days he did last year. i am going to miss him. i know i will enjoy the time but i am so used to him being with me. stephen starts his MDO on the 1st. so in a week i will have two days a week to.... hell i have no idea what i'm going to do!

Canada Pics

here are pics from our trip to my moms a couple of weeks ago. i'll write soon about the trip.


at regina beach

with bailey in moms backyard

more beach

cuties

pickin strawberries at grandmas

chillin with grandpaw

stork

riding in the convertible

harvested from their backyard garden

at the expo - we sw a birds of orey show. this is a golden eagle

rides at the expo

at a local park