Cook Clan vs. ALS: Reflections on 2006

Well, this has been a very memorable year for us. I want to take a moment to reflect on the year and what I think have been the most valuable lessons learned.

One of the most important things I have learned this year is that each of us have the opportunity to build a legacy. We build it every day with the people we love, the people we work with, our friends, and other random people we encounter. Our legacy is not what we looked like young and thin in those high school pictures with great skin and a heart-shaped face or even what we look like middle aged with little use of our neck and arms. Instead, our legacy is defined by our character and how we represent who we are on the inside. What we remember about Moanie and Papa and everyone that is not with us anymore, is not what they looked like but all the little things that they did and said to shape us.

With ALS, Popi is experiencing all the physical aspects of the disease. He alone knows what it feels like to no longer be able to scratch his nose or to give a big bear hug. But, even though he alone is experiencing the physical side to the disease, he is not alone in the mental and emotional aspect. We each feel it every day. In a way, Popi wasn’t diagnosed with ALS but the Cook family was. We have been forever changed as a family and will walk through each stage of the disease together.

Even though ALS has been the thing that has dominated our year, it has also been a gift to us. It has given us the gift of perspective. We all know that none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. But, this year we have been given the opportunity to look at life in a whole new way and to really squeeze everything possible out of each experience. 2006 will be remembered as the lemon that we discarded after we squeezed out every drop to make our sweetest lemonade to be served with steak and grilled potatoes and corn on a warm summer’s night spent together.

I hope that we will look back on this year and remember our beach trip—I want to remember the way it felt to see Jonson and Popi walking on the beach together. I hope we will remember the moment that the adoption was final and these boys became our boys once and for all. I hope we remember our RV trip and bumping along the highway napping and chatting together. I hope we will laugh for years to come at the incredible mounds and mounds of stuff accumulated by mom and dad in only 12 years. I think we will look back on this year and our news of Lillie and Jacey and all the other amazing things that have happened and we will remember these things. These things that were each and every one a result of our finding out that we have ALS. I think THIS gift is one that we cannot possibly deserve but one that we have embraced like only the Cook family can.

This is our legacy…our response to our diagnosis of ALS, our reaction to all that has happened and will happen. We have approached it with strong character and a will to make the best of every moment. We have approached this diagnosis together as a united front. We will look back on this and be proud of who we were and the legacy we created in 2006. I hope that we will now set about creating a 2007 that will top even this amazing year. Merry Christmas!

Baby Chronicles: Baby Gear

We found the nursery bedding and theme! Monkeys and frogs! Well, jungle babies by Nojo, to be exact but, though the set has other creatures, we'll be focusing our efforts on the cute lil frog and monkey in the set. Here it is...



Jonson doesn't know it yet, but I already confiscated this cute little monkey he made at Build-a-Bear. His first donation to Jacey's room. ;-p

Baby Chronicles: Visions of Margaritas Dance in my Head!

Yes, I know... not supposed to have hard liquor whilst pregnant. They always say, "but you can have wine." Um, the last time I checked, a cold margarita on the rocks with salt, a touch of olive juice, and 3 plump olives tastes DIVINE while a glass of wine tastes like Bandaids. I've never been a big drinker. In fact, I haven't had a drink since my birthday last summer. But, the fact that I can't somehow makes it maddeningly desirable. In fact, I have been having delirious visions of myself drinking from a trough full of Margarita, Pina Colada, or Cantelope Margarita from Baby A's. Yum!

Lori says that alcohol consumed during the birthing process does not pass through the placenta. Who of you, dear friends, wants to be in charge of the alcohol come April/May? The only rule... keep the good stuff hidden from my doctor... you know, just in case. I wouldn't want to get my hopes up and then be told that tequila and epidural just don't mix well together. Surely, my doc won't notice an industrial sized margarita machine in the birthing room! ;-p

Baby Chronicles: The baby has MOJO!

Up bright and early this morning, I discovered a beautiful fever blister, no doubt from all the anxiety and worrying about whether or not the baby would show its stuff (not to mention all the moving and Christmas tasks!). Russ and I went over to pick dad up since he was elected to be our parent chaperone at this fine occasion.

True to form, the baby wasn't so much on being bothered BUT, after much prodding, poking, measuring, etc. the technician said, "Now, you guys do want to know gender, right?" Slobbering in anticipation, we said yes and her reply... "Here's one leg, herer's the other leg, and there's the third little leg!" Yes, our baby is going to be a boy! Little John Clark (aka Jacey) Johnson spread his legs for the camera just long enough so that we could be certain that the baby has MOJO, not girl stuff. We couldn't be more excited to know who is in there AND to be able to commence serious gender-specific shopping. I told Russ that this is the first and ONLY time we'll ever want our child to spread its legs for the camera but we sure were glad he did!

At Joseph's request, we called him at school to let him know the baby is a boy. He said, "It's a boy! YEEEEESSSSSS! I knew it! I just knew Leechie was going to be a boy!" Then, to the whole classroom at large, "YEEEESS! Now I'm going to have a baby brother AND a baby stister. Well, actually, I'll have two brothers and a sister!"

And, of course, we headed off to Babies R Us for some gear. I was thinking to buy a bit of the crib set but we didn't find exactly what we wanted. However, we DID find a super cute little onsie and cap that says "Little Flirt." We also couldn't resist the golfer's outfit with tiny little golf shorts, v-neck sweater with golf cart embroidered on it, and, of course, the tiny old fashion golfer's hat--in honor of the grandads, of course. We just hope Jacey likes hats!

We made a total haul too... mom stopped by Kohl's and picked up 7 little onsies, a couple pair of pants, and the sweetest blue and white bubble suit. My favorite is the onsie that says "Stud Muffin." Woohoo! This kid is going to be so spoiled!

The baby weighs 11 oz. now at 20 weeks and is in the 54th percentile for his size. We've proved the old wives tale wrong too with a heart rate of 162 bpm.

It feels really different now that we know the baby is a boy. I can already tell that we think about him differently and have started planning differently. It's so much fun to know who he is!

J&J Strike Again: Monkey Business

Last night, I had a huge craving for Garlic Parmesan wings. Russ and I took Jonson to get dinner and I was thanking Russ for taking me out to Wing Stop because it's not where he wanted to go. Russ said, "Well, anything to prevent my baby from being born naked." This is one of dad's favorite ways to get us to do what he wants us to... (for example, "Let me pay for dinner or your baby's going to be born naked.") So, Jonson is familiar with the phrase but thought about it for several minutes before replying...

"Russ, the only way to make sure your baby isn't born naked is going to cause Tika a lot of pain and your baby is going to need to be REALLY SMART." We both looked at him confused to which he replied, "Well, you're going to have to make Tika eat some baby clothes and you're gonna have to hope the baby figures out how to put them on before it's born."

We were all still laughing about Jonson's cleverness when he pointed out that he sure does hope the child doesn't come out wearing the underwear on its head. I explained to him that since the baby is kin to Jonson and Joseph, it will no doubt be as big a monkey and would indeed probably try to wear the undies on its head and socks on its hands!

Baby Chronicles: Chubby Guts

Alright, so I feel like the goodyear blimp. My belly is pooking out now and I'm really feeling it... the sense that I am following my belly around (as it walks ahead of me) is comical and frightening all at once. I have a feeling that the pregnant lady waddle isn't far behind. My doctor confirmed today that I've got serious chubby guts going on.

Last night, I woke up around midnight with some pretty big pain down low in my uterus. When I slept on my left side (the side of the pain), it was even worse. So, I spent the night trying not to move my body in a way that tweaked the pain. I figured I'd feel better when I got up. Not so. Around 10 this morning, I decided to call my doctor. I told the nurse that it was a constant ache unless I moved even a little and then it was a pain. Of course, she said to come right in.

Russ and I went in and here's what we found out... my uterus is so heavy that the weight of it pulled a round ligament (the little strings that hold the uterus suspended in your belly). Round ligament stretching and discomfort is common during pregnancy... I'm not sure how common it is to actually pull one of these things though. Evidently, I must have rolled over in the night too fast and my uterus (which was lying happily on my left side as I lay on my left side) flopped to the right side and pulled that ligament. Seriously. Could it get any wierder?

(BTW, the baby's heartbeat was 154 bpm this time... I say it's a girl. Russ is still calling it a boy. 5 more days til the sonogram where, God willing, I will reign supreme!)

Now I'm told to give the ligament a couple days to heal and to go get one of those pregnancy belts that give your belly support. How humiliating! I can just see me getting fitted for one of those things! Arrrrrgggh!

Baby Chronicles: Agent Orange & Other Weirdness

I just came from the kitchen here at work. Three times. Yeah, I know. I went back three different times because, as usual, nothing really sounded good and so I was sampling different options. So, I came back to my desk and unpacked a plate full of baby carrots (orange), a bowl full of cheese doritos (orange), and a Sunkist soda (orange). Now, is it just me or do you think it's weird that I ended up with 3 snacks all in the same color?

For the record, Leechie was highly in favor of the carrots, which were juicy and crunchy delicious. However, Leechie was not too much on the doritos or soda. But, after a fourth visit to the kitchen, Leechie did approve of a Slim Jim (odd, I know but I don't think this exactly qualifies as meat to my vegetarian child). And now, I'm feeling a call for the sweet midget pickles I saw in there earlier but I am trying VERY HARD to resist this urge. Isn't all that other crap enough!?!

In other news, I have been noticing a pregnancy phenomenon that I find absolutely endearing and hysterical. It seems that people (usually men) fall all over themselves to do stuff for me now that my belly is pooking out. They want to open doors, pick up stuff, carry stuff, etc. It seems that, all of a sudden, I'm incapable of opening a a door or pushing an elevator button. Yesterday at McDonald's I was about 4 steps away from the door when a man sprinted across the parking lot to open the door for me! The other day, I was at the grocery store and a man even wanted to unload my basket for me! Umm... I put all that stuff in there, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of taking it out.

Ya think it might be because they feel subconsciously guilty about their 10 second role of "fame and glory" in comparison to the long, hideous 10 months we endure? People are so strange and amusing.