My sweet, other child!

I grew up with one brother, so when I got married I told Jay I wanted 5 children. WELL.....after we had our first, we decided that 3 children was a more manageable number! And of course we wanted them close in age so we got pregnant with our second child when John William was almost two. We knew before he was born that his name would be Cooper Dow -regardless of the sex. We wanted all our children to have family names and knowing he or she would most likely be a middle child, (a combination of the older brother and whatever the little one may be) I thought it would be neat for this child to have a name from both of our families. Cooper was Jay's mothers maiden name and Dow was (obviously) my name and my mothers name and her grandmothers maiden name. His name is different and neat-very individual, like Cooper himself.

I worry all the time about Cooper being the "Middle Child". So much of what you read about a middle child is troubling-they can't find their place, they are often neglected or spoiled, blah...blah..blah... Cooper may be in the middle child in theory, but he is so much more of an individual than his brother and sister are. He makes up his mind about things, and usually there is no changing it. (Not always a good thing.) I try not to refer to him as the middle child, but Luci's big brother and John William's little brother. I wonder if he knows the special spot he has in our family-no pressure of being the oldest and first to do everything all the while not being the youngest who will have to do everything last and probably be spoiled(what a HUGE hurdle to overcome-believe me I know about this one)


Cooper has always had a very vivid imagination. A few years ago he had imaginary friends-Judy and Ron, both male. I got so upset when he first started talking about them-he said he had been to some man's house and hung out with him and his friend Judy. I didn't know what to think-hadn't we talked about "Stranger danger"? What was he thinking going into someones house-and where were his parents during this time? (He must have been in his daddy's care was what I was really thinking...) Finally I was able to breath a sigh of relief when I figured out that the people he was talking about weren't real ! Judy and Ron took Cooper on all kinds of adventures, owl hunting in outer space, spend the night parties at Chuck-E-Cheeses, all over!! Then one day I asked about Judy and Ron and he said, "Oh they got sick and died." (Dead Silence...)I was devastated-more so than he was!

Cooper also has the silliest little personality! I have very few pictures where he is just smiling. Most of the time he is winking or bugs out his eyes or sticks his tongue out! It drives me crazy! He is trying to wink in the picture below!

....A child is a curly dimpled lunatic. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Cooper has always been very interested in art. He will sit for hours and draw and color and paint. Loves it! I think he is so super creative because of that wild imagination he has. He is very detailed in his pictures. When I was pregnant with Luci, he would draw a picture of me as a stick person, and a circle on my mid section for the baby. He builds houses for his favorite toy, Blu Baby, to sleep in. And not only does he build him a house, but he decorates the outside too.




Cooper has also been my most sensitive child. He can get his feelings hurt so quickly and poke out that bottom lip! It's so pitiful! John William has always tried to "manage" him and Cooper caught on very quickly to this and did not like it at all. John William ended up getting smacked in the lip one day by his 3 year old brother and when we asked Cooper why he had hit his brother, Cooper replied "He was managing my manage." Enough said.

...We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher



Cooper loves to read! Oh my how he loves to read! He got an award in kindergarten for being one of the top readers in his class. He is also obsessed with Lego's. He will sit for hours and build things with his Lego's. I hope he's going to use all his brain power and hand/eye coordination for something wonderful like brain surgery! Of course, he could be an underwater basket weaver too! :)



...It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. ~Frederick Douglass

Before we had Luci, I got pregnant a third time. After 10 weeks, we lost that baby. I remember when I was pregnant with that baby worrying because i just did not feel like Cooper and I had bonded as much as I had with John William and I was so worried that he would get lost in the mix with a new baby. Well as we all know, some of God's greatest gifts are un-answered prayers. Losing that baby ripped my heart out, but it also gave me a chance to grow my relationship with Cooper. I clung to him as my heart was breaking with the loss of that baby and with the loss of my daddy and it made him that much more special to me. He was such a momma's boy. At that time, I remember thinking he would be living at home when he was 40 because he had no desire to do anything without me. He was not independent at all like his older brother. He wanted Momma and momma only. It's amazing how children grow and mature.

Now as I watch him in first grade, I am thankful for his quiet little spirit that saved me. I am thankful that he let me cling to him when I needed it the most. And holding him back some has helped him to become such an individual. His personality is that of a leader, not a follower. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for him. I can't wait to see the strong man that he is going to become-growing from that sensitive child

....You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes. ~Walter M. Schirra, Sr.