So The Consensus Is...

That I should not dye my hair black (refer to the post below).  I totally wouldn't do it anyway, I just wanted to see what y'all thought.  Wow, I just typed y'all.  I might be somewhere near the south....

Scenes From The Halloween Party

Noah eating with all the other Transformers.

Annie enjoying the noodles.

In the Costume Parade, Annie proudly announced her name, and that she was a "ballaweena".

Noah announced that he was a transformer, and quickly corrected himself by saying he was Optimus Prime.

Noah hanging out with the other transformers.

Pete doesn't think I should ever dye my hair black. I kind of like it.

A couple of whiners.

Annie showing off her ballet moves.

Cooper hanging out in the back of the van for the Trunk Or Treat.

I asked Annie to show me some candy, this is what I got.

PhotoStory Friday: My Baby is One

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Today is Cooper's first birthday. I can't believe that he is so big, and I know everbody always says that, but I am still just amazed at the fact that he is even here. I am so in love with him, as are the kids and of course, Pete. We will celebrate his birthday this year by attending a halloween party tonight and then we are headed to Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday with some friends. But I thought since it is PSF, I would talk a little about him.

Very shortly after I had Annie, I had a feeling that there was another baby coming to our family. I ignored the thought.

When I found out I was pregnant with Cooper, I had mixed feelings; most were shock and fright. I found out when Annie was 11 months old, and I had also been told that I could not get pregnant without the doctor's help. Imagine that. We had decided we were done having kids for this reason, so the thought of being pregnant was a little terrifying. Would this pregnancy last? Would it be an easy one or would it be difficult? Am I ready for this again, so soon? I cried when I told Pete, like he was going to be upset or something. He just looked at me and said, "Pam- you have done this before. You will be fine." I then had to call my friend and cried on her shoulder as well.

When I was about 7 or 8 weeks along, my placenta tore. Although it could have been worse, it was stressful and very scary. I had to quit teaching my fitness classes right away, which neither I nor my boss was expecting. Around 15 weeks, I could feel my round ligament, which I tore while pregnant with Noah, giving out.

I was the most sick with this pregnancy, and lost a lot of energy, trying to keep up with the other two kids. Luckily I had some great friends around to help when I needed, and most of all, to tell me that I could do this.

I went into labor almost 4 weeks early, which I knew would happen. I was pretty much prepared for it. Labor was not long, and I remember Pete sleeping through everything except the actual birth. When Cooper came, he was so tiny; the smallest of the three. He was a whopping 6 lbs, 2 oz.

Of course, we all loved him from the get-go, and automatically we wondered how we never wanted a third child. Throughout the entire pregnancy I kept thinking that I knew that this baby was coming before I actually knew, and I ignored it. This was my wake-up call. I learned at this point that I was not fully in charge of my life.

Cooper has been so much fun! He is such a happy baby, and Noah and Annie just love him. We love having him here, and are so glad that he is part of our family. I was blessed with a mellow baby, finally!

As of right now, he still isn't crawling, but he is working so hard on it! He inches his way to whatever it is that he wants. He likes to play with the kids, he loves the tub, and eats anything he can get his hands on. He says "mama", he calls Pete "dad-n", says "ba" for ball, "pup" for puppy, "bu" for bum, and "kiki" for his favorite toy, Katie Dog. He is the sweetest thing, and makes the best pouty faces; the ones that melt your heart. His eyes are just as stunning as Noah's, but he has the longer, darker hair that I had always hoped my kids might have. It's even curling at the ends!





I am so grateful for this baby in so many ways, and I can't wait to see how much he changes in the next year! Happy Birthday, Cooper! We love you!

A Question and A Comment

I was at the gym today, and the Today show was on. That's the only time I get to watch that show, and I have to watch it with subtitles, and my headphones in. Good thing I can multi-task.

Anyway, someone was making chili, one that required beer as an ingredient. While I think this is funny, I understand that it makes the beef very tender. It looked really good, and I thought, "I should make chili for dinner this week." But after the thought left my head, I realized I have no idea how to. So I was wondering if anyone has a good recipe for stew, or can tell me where to get one. You can email it to me if you don't want to post it!

As for my comment, my blogging-obsessed brother-in-law (well, you are, Chris) and myself had some issues with posts yesterday on our blogs, and I ran across a few friends' blogs that I could not post on. Well, Chris figured out how to fix it, so if you are having the same issue, here's the solution:

Go into your settings option on the blog with the issue.
Go to the Comments section.
Scroll down to the Comment Form, and choose either full page or pop-up, and save it.

Apparently Blogger added a new element, and hasn't guite perfected it yet, leaving some of us with an issue. Easily fixed. Everyone say it together, "Thanks, Chris."

The REAL Father

Can you guess...

Who the real father.....

Of my children is?

IT'S THIS GUY!

Beads, Beads, Beads

Every month, the wives in the dental core get together for a social. This month we went to a store that one of the wives owns called Busy Beads and Moore. It was a lot of fun, and a little overwhelming. I decided not to make myself any jewelry, mostly because I wasn't really sure what I wanted. So I made these snowflake ornaments instead.

It also turns out that the owner of the store is my Stake Relief Society President. When I was introducing myself, because I am the new girl, I mentioned that I was originally from Utah, so she asked if I was LDS. When I said yes, she said she was also, and that she was RS Pres. We got a few looks, so one of the other ladies said "that means they're Mormon; you know- Latter-day Saints." I was proud of this woman!

Anyway, we had lots of fun, and I am glad to know there is another LDS wife attending these things. Not that I wouldn't go, but when the drinks come out, I am glad to know I won't be the only one not drinking!

Tennessee Tuesday: Racing!

Just up the road, literally, up the road, is a drag racing track. Is that what you call it, a track? I don't even know. Anyway, the Speedway (ahhh, that's what it's called!) is so close, it's all we hear Friday and Saturday nights. I'm not complaining; I think it's fun to have it so close, and if it weren't so loud, I think the kids would love to go to it. I do feel bad for the people who live super close, though. I think it's interesting that the fire station is right across the street. Safety first, people. Safety first.

Look, you can see the sign for the Fire Station.

Can you imagine- Noah thought this gate was for climbing?!

Excuse me, were you drinking when you put this up? Let's sing the song: ABCD.....