The swingset

I'm so glad we have three swings on our swingset. Daddy was pushing all three kids on the swingset the other day. Here's a video - Matthew was sort of sitting in the swing.

Erik and I are making our way through Wizard's First Rule and he really likes it. I'm so glad that we are reading together and discussing books. We sat at Starbucks and spent the whole time discussing what we liked/disliked about the book. We were so trendy!

I started reading one of the books he read called The Death Ship of Dartmouth by Michael Jecks. This book is historical fiction set in 1324. It is not fantasy but still is interesting, although not my favorite (no wizards, aliens, or Amish people in the book).

In contrast to the Amish and the technology of 1324, Erik mentioned that our cell phone contract would be up September 20. He also said I could get a new phone. Naturally I said droid???? He said yes! Yipee!!! So my life will change on Sept. 20 - I can get my droid and be really, really, really cool.

Another thing that happens September 20 is that Matthew will be 3 months old. This means I can take him to the childcare center at my gym and I can start working out. I even bought new shoes and am so excited to try them out. I'm sure I could work out prior to September 20 but I don't really want to start running with a hole in my boob. I haven't gone running in over a year. Hopefully I will remember how to run and what is happening in my audiobook.

95 on Quiddler today!

One Month Birthday!

Little Dude is not so little. Today he had his 1 month checkup and we found out that he weighs 10lbs 14oz. In one month he went from 8lbs 2oz to 10lbs 14oz. That's pretty impressive. No wonder I can't keep up with him (in milk production that is, not in physical activity).

As with the girls, we took a picture of him with his horse to show his growth. We will continue this for a year to show how he is progressing. This outfit is particularly cute - I love the fish. There's even a big orange fish on his bottom - too cute!

Warning - these next few paragraphs talk about my surgery. If gaping holes in breasts gross you out, don't read this:

I was wrong about getting the gaping hole in my breast stitched up. The surgeon said he is letting it heal on its own and will take a few more weeks. It feels much better now. The Tuesday before I had surgery, I was in tears much of the day due to the pain. Erik has been changing the dressing on "stupid boob" twice a day (that's what he calls it).

Erik also said "having seen the outside of your breast and the inside of your breast, I much prefer the outside." This comment is a good representative of Erik's sense of humor. This is why I love him. No matter what - he can see the lighter side of anything.

I have not been producing enough milk to feed Matthew. This is very sad considering after I had Sarah I had so much extra milk I sent it to Africa. Fortunately two of my friends, Joy and Erica have given me some of their breastmilk to give Matthew. I have tried nursing him several times but he hasn't nursed for long.

I did terrible on Quiddler today, only earning 41 points since I lost the Q. Apparently QED is not a word. Hello? Have they never done a proof?

Cooper Book Club

Our family has been so blessed by friends bringing us dinner and my mom and mother-in-law coming to help out after my surgery. It has been a good experience (as good as having a gaping hole in your body can be). Our small group had a welcome baby party for Matthew. From the party Matthew got some nice clothes and even some swim trunks. I don't know when I'll be out swimming but at least Matthew can be out in the pool.

I snapped a picture of all three kids when they were about a month old with just a diaper on. Looking at these pictures, I'm amazed at how similar all three kids look. Besides the size difference their faces are remarkably similar. I showed Sarah's picture to Erik and he thought it was Matthew!

Erik and I along with David and Joel have decided to form a Cooper Book Club. This is totally awesome. I've always wanted to be in a book club, sipping tea, eating crumpets, and discussing books but have always assumed the books picked would be lame. Since Erik, David and Joel are in the book club we will pick good books. Currently we are reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. The world is rich and complex and the storytelling is excellent, however this is the series I had to stop reading because it became too gruesome for me. I'm not a wimp either - I have read some pretty gruesome stories (Dark Tower by Stephen King got pretty gruesome at the end). Anyway, we'll see what they think when they get to the mord-sith!

This book club is going well and I've been so happy that everyone is reading the book. Now we can sip tea and discuss the book while playing EQ2.

I've compiled a list of books I want to read in the future and as possible book club books.

• Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I've read Soldier's Son by Robin Hobb and liked it quite a bit. The book was slow moving at the beginning but she has fabulous character development.
• Magister Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. C.S.Friedman is one of my favorite authors that I have recently discovered. Usually when I read a novel I tell Erik about the plot, characters, and my theories of what will happen in the book. I can't do this with C.S.Friedman books. Her books are too complex to even explain to Erik (which I'm sure he doesn't mind at all).
• Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erickson. This series was created as a world for role-playing games. I like role-playing games :) and love entering new fantasy worlds so this series sounds interesting to me.
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This book is always on a list of top fantasy novels. I liked Stardust (by Neil Gaiman) but thought the movie was actually better than the book. The book was good though. Really the only reason this is here is because the book is always listed as a top fantasy novel so I've wanted to read it.
• Magician by Raymond Feist. The Riftwar Saga has long been on my list of books to read. This is another series in which the world was created for a role-playing game.
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin. This book won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. A few years back I made it my goal to read all Hugo and Nebula award winners. I got through many of them but never read this one. I read The Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin a few years ago and liked it but never got to this one.
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. This book is one that maybe only I would like :). I have read that it is a combination of Jane Austen and Fantasy literature. I love Jane Austen and love Fantasy so this book appeals to me. That's about all I know about it though.
• Sevenwater Trilogy by Juliet Marillier. This is a celtic historical fantasy novel that several people have told me I would like. I haven't read much historical fantasy so this sounds interesting and different.
• Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. One of the fantasy bloggers I read loves Guy Gavriel Kay so I wanted to read something by him. This book is set in a place similar to Italy. I like Italy (and lasagna and gelato) so this sounded like a good one to start with this author.
• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Brandon Sanderson is the author of Mistborn, Elantris (which I just finished), and is finishing the Wheel of Time series. I love his writing - it moves fast, is intriguing and fun. I am excited about this new series that will be released Aug. 31.

So I have compiled a pretty good list of books I want to read. This list may be different than other lists of those in our book club but I wanted a start. One issue we have with these books is that many of them are series'. Since we may not want to read the entire series, we need to know if the first book in the series has a satisfying ending or if we need to read all the books in order to find out what happens. This recently happened to me when I was reading a new series by Timothy Zahn (the Conquerors trilogy). I finished the first book but was left dangling. Anyway, we need to find out how the first book in some of these series ends. Erik said he knows only one person (our friend Tim) who has read more fantasy than me so we should ask him, but I don't know if he's read the books or not either. We might be stuck.

87 points on quiddler today. I got to make the words "sinned" and "froth"

now my nude modeling career is shot!

Ahhh nursing.... Such a good bonding experience with your baby. You feel close to your baby and know you are providing the best nutrients he or she needs. I wanted that - I really did this time.

I had nursed Matthew without giving him a bottle until Saturday night. Today (Thursday) he is only on bottles. Last Thursday I went to my OB because my left breast was very painful and I thought I had mastitis. Mastitis is a breast infection that usually clears up in 24 hrs after taking antibiotics. So I got antibiotics and was excited that my pain would go away.

On Saturday night my pain was so bad in the left breast that I had to stop nursing him and just pumped it. He nursed only on my right side.

On Sunday I went to the emergency room. Something was not right. My pain was excruciating. The internet (source of all that is good) told me I should have been better in 24 hrs after taking the antibiotics. The emergency room didn't know what to do and told me to go to my OB on Monday.

So I went to the OB on Monday and he said it was an abscess and I should go to the breast surgeon to have it drained. Yea!!! I could have this pain fixed. I was so happy. The breast surgeon looked at it and said it was too deep. I would have to have surgery. What???

My surgery was scheduled for Wednesday. On Tuesday the abscess broke open and was leaking blood and pus. That was not fabulous. I could not nurse on the right side on Tuesday since if he barely touched the left side with his little legs or hands, it caused miserable pain.

I was put under twilight sleep on Wednesday (which was pretty cool by the way) and had my surgery. It is a big gash in which I will have to change the dressing twice a day until Monday when he will stitch it closed. I can not shower or bathe until then so I'll be pretty stinky.

Now I'll have a scar and can no longer be a nude model. Bummer since this really was a career goal of mine :).

The real problem is that I will not be able to nurse the baby. This is something I've wanted all three times and never had. I had three weeks of nursing which is better than 0 though. I should look on the bright side! Another good thing is that my friends have been pumping milk for Matthew so I haven't had to give him formula. Thank God for that!

75 points on quiddler today!