Big Brother

I am sitting at the computer, and behind me, Annie just asked Noah, "Will you read this to me?" 

And he is.   

He is reading the book to her.

First of all... man, he is getting so big.

Second, how cute is that?

PhotoStory Friday: One Of Those Mornings

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I had one of those mornings today...  you know...  the kind of morning that you roll out of bed, head for the fridge and grab a Dr. Pepper  (See the post below for an explanation).

So in lieu of an actual breakfast, Annie and Cooper wanted  donuts, (well, Annie asked and Cooper said "do-dos") which I happened to have a bag of.  Of course, they were the messy powdery ones, the ones that have to be accompanied by liquid in order to swallow.  

Mmmmm.  Donuts.  I can put the whole thing in my mouth...

...Okay, what have I done?.....

...Mom, drop the camera and help me!.....

("Cooper, do you want milk?") ....MMMMMM!!!!

...I think I will stick with the bananas.

Format The Memory Card... Sure!

Have you ever erased a bunch of pictures from your camera before you've downloaded them?

Dang, I am so mad!

I had some cool pictures of Fort Donnelson, and old Army post nearby,  that I was hoping to post this week, but as I was looking for them so I could edit them, I realized I erased everything on my card two days ago, thinking everything had been downloaded.  GRRRRRR!

Well, the Fort is close enough that I can go back and take pictures, but it's still irritating!

I Can Function On Three Hours Of Sleep, Right?

Ug. What a night.

I got home from teaching a class, put the kids to bed, watched Lost, and got myself to bed by 10:30.  Pretty well, considering I have been staying up till 11:30 every night that Pete has been gone (I have yet to figure out why I do this. I am not a night person). 

A few minutes after I got in bed, I heard Noah coughing, and then something more than a cough.  I ran in his room to find him sitting up in bed, trying to climb over the edge, and throwing up everywhere. 

Noah doesn't get sick like this very often, so he was a little scared.  I threw him in the shower, and stripped down the bedding.  Because everything on his bed was covered, I made up the futon for him to sleep on, with sheets and all for extra protection.  I was hoping it was just a one time thing, but Nooooo.  He threw up from 10:30 until 3:30.  He eventually ended up on the floor of my room, with a bucket next to him.  I think he threw up about 15 times, poor baby.  This morning he is really pale, so I am pumping him full of electrolytes, and he's bummed he can't go to school.  

Pete is on his way home tonight, and it's probably a good thing he wasn't here.  Pete's good for moral support in the puking department, and that's about it.  He calls himself a "contagious puker" if you get my drift.  

Luckily, all the kids slept until 7:00, and I don't have to teach any classes today, so we can pretty much be lazy.  We will just be doing LOTS of laundry.

16 Months!

Cooper is 16 months old today, so I figured it would be a good time for an update.  Cooper is such a fun, happy baby.  He has developed verbally much quicker than he has physically (he still isn't walking).  However, he crawls much faster than his siblings ever did.  He has now mastered the stairs, and likes to let go of things to see how long he can stand on his own.  I am sure walking is in the near future.  

He LOVES Annie.  When Annie and I pick him up from daycare at the gym, its not me he wants... "Ann, Ann, Ann!" And he has started rough housing with Noah.  Inevitably, he gets hurt, but he doesn't seem to mind much.

He says lots of words, too many to list.  Everyone in the family has a name:  Mama, Dad-n, Na-na, and Ann. His blanket is "banka", dinosaurs say "ra!" and his favorite food is bananas "ma-mas".  Noah taught him to blow kisses last week, and this week he attempted to say "I love you", which sounded nothing like it should, but it was so cute!

He is still tiny, and just barely fits in his 12 month clothes, and hasn't even graduated to real shoes yet.  Because he is so small, it's easy for me to forget that he is 16 months.  He still snuggles with me, and loves to give kisses. 

He doesn't mind having food on his face.

He has figured out how to ride his "Jaf" (giraffe toy) and this scooter.

He gets mad if there is anything under the bathroom sink.  He needs his hiding space.

Like the other kids, he is so dang cute in a hat!

Who doesn't enjoy the slide?

He loves this Lion blanket he got for Christmas.  When he wants to wear it, he brings it to me and says "RA!"

And for 23 out of the 24 hours in a day, he has his blanket with him.  He quite often hides himself under it.  Abby, it might be time for a new one!

Tennessee Tuesday: Down By The River

*I hope somebody gets that title*

So Tennessee Tuesday has been gone for a while.  Sorry.  We just haven't gone anywhere lately!

There is a fun playground and park down by the Cumberland River not far from home.  It is the same park that we saw Christmas lights.  We decided to take the kids after visiting the fire station last week, and of course they had a blast.  This is also where Annie got the awesome hair posted below.

There's A Money Fairy At My House!

I was about to slip my shoes on tonight and noticed I had a surprise in them.

1. 
   

Can Anyone Say "Addiction?"

I know, I know.  I have an addiction.  

These are not all mine.

Pete claims that he likes Coke better, however I rarely see him drink one anymore. 

We are a Dr. Pepper home now.

Did you know that if you gave up all soda for 1 year, you would lose 6 lbs?

Totally not worth it.   I will make up those 6 lbs somewhere else.  Dr. Pepper is my friend.

Cancer Update

A few weeks ago I posted about the possibility that my sister-in-law might have cancer.  It turns out that it is not Lymphoma like originally thought, however she does have a cancerous tumor.  It's called a Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), and it was situated on the outside of her stomach.  This type of cancer is rare; only about 1% of cancer patients get it.  Fortunately, a doctor at the Huntsman Center in Utah is very familiar with it.  

She went in for surgery on Thursday to have the tumor removed, along with 1/3 of her stomach.  This type of cancer does not respond to chemo and radiation, which is a good and a bad thing.  Hopefully all that will be needed from this point on is medication.  

She is doing well as of today, and has only had a few problems since the operation.  The outlook for the whole thing is very positive.

For those of you who read Chris' blog over at Life...Or  A Reasonable Facsimile then you already know all this.  If not, go ahead and check it out.  He has kept everyone updated.

PhotoStory Friday: Electric Slide

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

We took the kids to a nearby park last Saturday (more pictures to come later) and the kids had a blast at the playground.  As I was playing with the boys, I  heard Pete yelling, "Pam, bring the camera!"  This is what deserved all the yelling:

She totally reminds me of those huge glass globes with all the electricity running through them.  It's awesome.

Picture Tag

This is fun- no cheating! I was tagged by Darci Kent.

Here are the official rules:

1. Go to my documents/pictures.

2. Go to my 6th file folder.
3. Go to my 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 people to do the same.

This was taken outside our apartment in Milwaukee.  Annie was about 9 months old or so.  She is also wearing Noah's old snow pants, and that pink hat is my favorite of hers so far.  Man, she is getting so big!  She is almost three now!

I tag: Mandie, Laurie, Carolyn, Jenni, Amy M. and Kathy

I Got My Prize!

Scrappysue picked me as a winner for one of her drawings, and I got this awesome shirt from New Zealand!  So here it is!

Pete made me laugh.  I might have even snorted a bit.

She even made me this cute card!

Thanks Scrappysue!

We Invaded Another Fire Station!

We decided to invade another Fire Station yesterday while my mom and aunt were here.  I drive past Station No. 4 on my way to the dance studio I teach at, and have fallen in love with a truck that is visible through the window.  It is a 1931 Seagrave that has been restored for parades and shows.  The firemen pull it out every now and then to check all the fuel lines and clean it, and just make sure it is still in working condition.  The firemen let the kids (and me) climb all over it, they let Noah get dressed up in call-out gear, and took us inside to see their patch collection.  They even had a fire helmet from Germany that glowed in the dark!