14 May
Where have we been?
We know, we know, you’ve all been wondering where the Coppenger family has disappeared to and you all want to see updated pictures of Josiah. Today I will attempt to catch you up on the past month and a half-it has been fast and furious!
We celebrated Easter with an amazing morning of worship at church. The church was so incredibly full-how marvelous it would be to have that many people there every Sunday! Then we went to Dr. Moore’s and enjoyed lunch with so many great friends. Here are a couple great pics of Jed and Josiah.
April was accident month for Josiah. Jed likes to say,”He may be in the 10th percentile for height and weight, but he’s in the 75th percentile for accidents/hospital visits.” During the month of April, Josiah managed to fall and hit his head on the bed frame and get an amazing goose egg and bruise, have another child bite him on the face in church nursery, lose a little piece of his ear during a home haircut, fall down the entire flight of stairs in our house, and then the wammy-his first trip to the ER. Let me fill you in on the last accident…
Saturday, April 18 Josiah woke up earlier than usual and was crying pretty hard. He usually sleeps great until 8 and rarely cries while in his bed, so I knew something was wrong. Jed had been up late the night before and he said Josiah had been coughing quite a bit during the night. I went in to get him and he was wheezing a bit and just seemed really uncomfortable. No fever, no runny nose, but he was pulling at his ears and didn’t want to eat, so I thought maybe an ear infection. Due to his broncholitis episode in February, the doctor also told me to call anytime there was wheezing. So we went to see the doctor at 11:30, he looked at him quickly and said he had an ear infection in his right ear and a little wheezing, but nothing to put him in respiratory distress. We left, filled the prescriptions, and Josiah continued to get worse and worse. He didn’t want to be anywhere but laying next to me, didn’t want to eat or drink and couldn’t fall asleep.
By 3:00, I did another breathing treatment and he fell asleep during it. Woke up and was still not doing any better. I knew something wasn’t right, but also thought I was being a paranoid mom. I ended up calling the pediatrician hotline around 5:30 because Josiah seemed to be working pretty hard to breath and I just knew there was something else going on than just an ear infection. She told us to take him to the ER, so I called Jed and he came home and he drove us like a NASCAR driver to Kosair Children’s Hospital. God was gracious to get us to the ER in record time (considering it was Thunder over Louisville weekend), and there was only one lady in front of us in line. When we checked Josiah in they said it sounded like he wasn’t getting much air into his right lung and he was retracting pretty badly. They quickly got us to a room in the ER, hooked him up to oxygen (his oxygen level was low 80’s and it is supposed to be between 90-100), scheduled a chest x-ray and got him set up on a 1 hour breathing treatment. They discovered he had pneumonia in the upper lobe of his right lung. We did the hour long breathing treatment and then Jed took him to get his IV, which took several, hear me several tries and 45 minutes later he was ready to be moved to a regular room. Once in a regular room, they tried several breathing treatments, magnesium and steroids, but he still wasn’t responding the way they wanted him to. He was seeming to feel better, but still reatracting and working very hard to get full breaths.
Around 2:30 AM they moved us to ICU, where Josiah was hooked up to an 8 hour breathing treatment. At this point Josiah was hooked up to oxygen, the breathing treatment, heart monitor, IV, and another tube to measure his oxygen level. He looked so pitiful and all the medicine caused him to be shaky. But around 8:30 AM, the doctor came in and listened to his lungs again and said there was no wheezing! PTL! They took him off of the breathing treatment, got to turn down his oxygen intake and he was able to eat for the first time. He seemed to be feeling much better. He got stronger and stronger as the day went on and by evening we got to go back to a regular room and he was on breathing treatments every 3-4 hours. Monday he was doing even better, was off the oxygen and we were discharged in the evening. We were sent home with pages of instructions and several medications. Sharon got to come down and was a huge help once we were home because Josiah was still receiving round the clock treatments, so she was gracious to give those to him and let us get some sleep.
We went to the doctor for a follow up appointment and they said he does have asthma and we have to do daily breathing treatments and watch for triggers to his asthma. At this point, we don’t know what the exact cause was to his episode, but we have to take more precautions when having him out. He has now had two doctor appointments and his lungs have stayed clear! Praise God for his mercy to us in this situation. We are continuing to pray that the asthma will disappear and the doctor said he is also hopeful that he won’t be on the breathing treatments 6 months from now. We will keep you posted on his progress.
Here is a pic of us getting ready to leave the hospital. You can see Josiah’s “cage” in the background.
Jed had a super busy end of the semester and we are so proud of all he accomplished! He had a 30 page paper, a couple 10 page papers, finals and other crazy business going on. He did an amazing job with everything and we are so proud of him for finishing his first year of PhD work. Josiah and I decided to go visit my parents in Missouri and give Jed some peace and quiet to work on all of his schoolwork. We got to see my sister, Erin and her two daughters while we were there and it was good for Josiah to be around other kids. His favorite part of the trip was getting to see Papa and Grandma’s dogs! He is absolutely crazy about dogs and starts panting every time he sees a dog! It was great to see my family and we are looking forward to having Grandma here when baby girl is born!
We are less than a month away from baby girl’s due date! Anyone who knows me, knows that the “nesting” is in full swing and I’m trying my best to have everything in order for her big arrival! We are still not settled on a name, so just plan on the big reveal coming when she is born. We’ve got favorites, but I think we’re just going to have to see her. I’m really excited to have her in our arms and have been trying to mentally prepare myself for another labor and delivery! Please be praying for us over the next few weeks! Josiah is going to be an excellent big brother. He really enjoys poking my belly button and saying “baby”.
And we took Josiah in for his first real haircut. The seminary has a little shop for men’s and kid’s cuts. Josiah was the first customer they’ve had who received his first real haircut, so they presented him with a certificate. He looks so handsome now that the mullet is gone! Here are some before and after pictures:
Before the haircut. Notice the nice mullet that has grown 
After the cut. Receiving his certificate!
23 Mar
Spring Has Sprung!
We have had some amazing weather here in Louisville and Josiah is thoroughly enjoying spending time outdoors. We have been taking lots of walks, playing out on the patio and we even went swimming at the indoor pool at the Seminary. The grass is greener, flowers are starting to bloom and I get to wake up to the sound of birds chirping-so wonderful! Here are a few pics of our latest adventures.
Yee-haw!! Cowboy Josiah
Josiah with “crazy, i just woke up from my nap” hair
We’ve been experimenting with potential hairstyles for Josiah. What do you think about this one?
Playing outside on the patio.
Showing off his fancy new red Chuck Taylor hi-tops from Shusha and Grandpa. Isn’t he the cutest?!!
Here I am at 28 weeks. We’re still working on a name for baby girl, but we will let y’all know when we do finally decide!
13 Mar
Sweet!
I found a recipe a while back claiming to produce perfect chocolate chip cookies. I saved the recipe, but was skeptical about the outcome. Yesterday I was craving chocolate, so I busted out the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I will have to say these are some pretty good cookies and the batter may be one of the best I’ve ever eaten. The recipe calls for a lot of vanilla and I think that may be what makes them taste so good. Jed and Josiah couldn’t stop eating them last night, so I know I succeeded!
Here is the perfect recipe:
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks butter (meaning 1 cup butter)
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups chocolate chips
In a mixer, cream the butter. Add the vanilla, sugar and slightly beaten eggs. Mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes.
** Sidenote…I recently read that you are supposed to cream the butter for at least 3 minutes, never in my life had I done this, but last night I did and I do think that it helped. I always use my kitchen aid, so y’all choosing the manual route, stretch before making these cookies-it will be a workout!
9 Mar
Recent Happenings
We’ve been busy around the Coppenger house lately and here are a few pics to show you what we’ve been doing for the past month.
We celebrated Josiah’s 1st Birthday on February 21 (but his birthday is on the 12th)! Grandma and Papa and Shusha and Grandpa, along with friends, were able to make it to the cowboy party! Josiah got a lot of wonderful gifts and we all had a great time watching him try sugar for the first time. We found sugar creates new laughter in Josiah! It was a great time.
Josiah with his Uncle Matt, Grandma and Papa
Josiah’s Uncle Ben Dockery introduced him to eating pizza by the slice and now that is the way he prefers to eat it. We also had him try spaghetti for the first time the other night and he was hooked! I was even able to sneak in a few green beans, so I was very pleased!
At the end of February, we got to travel with Jed and the Boyce Bulldogs for the Conference Tournament. Since Josiah loves anything to do with balls, shooting a basket and running around, a gym is heaven to him. He loves the games and will even start yelling when I yell. But his favorite time in the game is when it is over and he can run around freely on the court. Here his is showing you that the Bulldogs are #1!!
12 Feb
Our big one year old!!
One year ago today on a very snowy day our little man was born! What an amazing year he has blessed us with and how quickly it has flown by. I remember the nurses telling me to enjoy every moment because the years seem to go by faster than we realize and their words are so true.
It has been so much fun to see our little guy learn to sleep (and sleep so well!!), eat, roll over, discover his hand and feet, sit up, stand up, crawl, walk, clap, wave, say mama, dada and uh-oh, and so many other things. His blooming personality is such a joy to watch. It seems that everyday he is discovering something new to do or some challenge to overcome.
Here are a few first year happenings:
Now sleeping 12 hours at night!!
Started walking at 10 months and is now cruising along quite well.
Has two bottom teeth, one top and three others pushing through on the top.
Has a serious attachment to a blue blanket that goes everywhere with us and that always seems to help him cope with his hard life.
Loves to eat grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas and applesauce.
Loves to have books read to him.
Enjoys baths, seeing Daddy come down in the morning, snuggling with his parents.
Hates getting his clothes and diaper changed.
And here are a few pictures to capture his growth over this past year. We love you so much Josiah and are so excited to celebrate your birthday with you!
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
30 Jan
Happy Birthday Jed!!
This time last year we were recovering our Camry from the Babies R Us parking lot after a tornado swept through the St. Matthews area of Louisville. We were also both sick and trying our best to recover so that we would be healthy for the birth of Josiah. So for Jed’s birthday last year we spent the day calling the insurace company, trying to get our Camry towed to a shop, and nursing ourselves back to health. Everything you dream of doing on your birthday!
It seemed there would be no way to top last years birthday…however, Louisville received an ice/snow storm that has knocked out power to about 250,000 Louisville citizens and cancelled classes at Southern Seminary for the remainder of the week. So for the past two days we have spent time in various locations seeking heat and electricity. There have been gracious families that have taken us in for the past two nights and this weekend Josiah and I will be accompanying the basketball team to Knoxville, TN to celebrate “Da Da’s” first birthday and to stay warm.
Such exciting birthdays, but we are hoping next year we will get to have a normal birthday celebration. Happy 29th Birthday Jed. We love you and are so thankful for the way you love and provide for us, lead and care for us, as well as entertain us!
22 Jan
The Gender of Baby #2 is…
Josiah had a hard time dealing with the news at first…
Dealing with the news
But it didn’t take long for him to get excited. Here he is texting his friends…
Texting his friends
19 Jan
Picture Update
To catch you up on life since Christmas, here are some pictures for your enjoyment.
Josiah sporting his Christmas outfit
Josiah and Daddy
Josiah on Christmas morning
Eating his favorite snack-Ritz crackers!
One of our favorites
Playing peek-a-boo under our bed
11 months old!!
Playing in his favorite cabinet
