4th of July

Happiest Patriot

Saddest Patriot

Tiniest Patriot

Furriest (and most frightened) Patriot

My goodness, does this girl like to pose, or what?

So stinking cute!

Love that smile!

Hooray for fireworks!!!

These cousins love eachother!

Berkeley was being a "puppy" and trying to console a very drugged Jake!

Happy Boy

Laura & Cohen

Berkeley & Riah loved their hats

Have I mentioned how stinking cute he is? He looked like a little jail bird in his stripes!

No more tears...cup cakes make everything better!

Timmy paused for half a second to smile for me!

I'm not sure who this little girl is, but at one point we found her in our toy room so Berkeley took a liking to her and held her hand for some fireworks in the cul-de-sac!

We did something different this year for the 4th and stayed home to have a neighborhood party in our cul-de-sac! Tom borrowed his dad's smoker and started some brisket at 8:00am. He had every dog and man in the vicinity drooling in our driveway by noon. Some of the bigger kids set off fireworks while the parents of those kids prayed against burned limbs and severed appendages. At one point Berkeley tugged on my leg and said "Mommy, this is the funnest party EVER!"

When it got pretty dark we all went up on our deck and watched the fireworks from all over the valley. It was spectacular. We could see the shows from a few of the lakes in the area which was awesome. I think the best part about it was the fact that we didn't have to put tired kids in the car and make the trip home. There's something to be said for that!

Cohen was a trooper for his first 4th. He slept through some of the fireworks and then smiled and flirted with everyone while he was awake. It's hard to believe a year ago Chris & Laura were at home making some fireworks of their own and today they have their own little "sparkler." Berkeley was devastated when Cohen went home. She loves to feed him and can't wait to give him his first chicken nugget someday!

This morning when she woke up, Berkeley came into my room and said "Mommy, why is the 4th of July over?" I told her that we celebrate how special our country is only one day a year, but that we'd for sure do it again next year. She replied very matter of factly, "Oh, well that was totally fun." I agree darling girl, I agree.

It's Official, I'm a Mom!

Well, a few of you have inquired about our new vehicle so here she is! We loved our Lexus, but it was getting a little cramped with 3 dogs and 2 kids so after the insurance company decided to total it out, we bought this herculean vehicle in order to transport the traveling circus that makes up the Potts family. It's like I always say, “Go big or go home,” right? We searched and searched until we found a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali in the right color. So, it’s official…I’m a mom! I am driving a “mom” vehicle and there’s no going back! Seriously though, after driving this behemoth I could probably be certified to drive a bus. She is colossal, but she is a tank and I feel very safe with my family in her. If it wasn’t for the back up camera I probably would have crashed already. I miss my Lexus a lot…she was much smaller and I could zip around in her. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as “zipping” in this mammoth vehicle and I feel like I have to park out the woods in order to find a parking space to accommodate her substantial bulk! I have had some good practice with small spaces lately though as I have had to take Berkeley to a few Dr. apts in VERY tight parking garages. Talk about nerve wracking! I was glad I didn’t forget my deodorant on those occasions:)

The other day Tom caught me gazing forlornly at the bench seat in the very back. He asked me what was wrong and I said “That seat needs some little bench warmers don’t you think?” After an audible sigh and a not-so-subtle roll of the eyes, he let Sterling lay back there to warm it up! Wise guy! I keep dropping hints that since we now drive a "school bus," we might as well fill it up. Needless to say, the baby campaign is ongoing, but has been fruitless thus far. There’s not much else I can do. I planted my seed, we’ll have to wait and see if Thomas plants his!!

Beautiful Summer Days

Fun tractor rides

Oliver's face cracks me up in this picture. I think he is thinking "Where the heck is mine?"

That's ok, he decided to shove his face full of graham crackers...

...and marshmellows

Fun wheelbarrow rides!

I love this picture. She is looking up at Uncle Andy with the most adoring look!

I also love this picture of big sister with a protective arm around brother!

Papa pushing Berkeley on the rope swing

We are absolutely loving these fun summer days and nights. Papa & Grandma Potts have an amazing backyard with a creek & a fire pit and we have had a couple of really fun hot dog roasts with s'mores for dessert of course! Uncle Andy piled the kids in the wheelbarrow and took them for a wild ride which they loved. They also get to ride on the riding lawn mower whenever they go over there which is sheer bliss!

My kids are at such fun ages right now. My uterus is craving some company. I brought this up to my husband a month or so ago, but I received no response. Apparently he developed a case of sudden and complete hearing loss. Funny, oftentimes at night he is the first one to hear one of the kids coughing or talking in their sleep. After a particularly fun day last weekend I mentioned again that my womb had a vacancy that needed to be filled, but once again received the same response. His loss of hearing acts up at the most inopportune times :) In the meantime please join me in praying fervently for total restoration of hearing!

Fishing Derby

We went to our second annual fishing derby on April 25th. It was a very chilly/windy day and we had to stand in line for about 45 minutes, but each of the kids found success in catching a fish! This was the second fish Berkeley has caught in her entire life, and once again she didn't have the heart to see the poor thing suffer so she asked if we could let it go. The fish had much to be grateful for that day! Oliver wasn't too keen on his first fishing expedition. As you can see in the last picture he is NOT an avid fisherman yet, but he sure had a great time cuddling with Papa!

My "Sweetpeas"

Well, I finally made a half-hearted attempt at getting both kids in one picture and as you can see it wasn't a huge success, but it'll have to do! Life has been busy and I have been bad at blogging, but I am going to try and catch up because I love looking back and reminiscing!

These nice days have been such a blessing! We have been outside almost nonstop and the kids hare tuckered out every night. Berkeley is at such a fun age. She loves every animal and critter and we spend our days hunting for frogs, worms and ladybugs. Oliver is a little speed demon on his bike and he can go faster than sister now. I don't think he has a fearful bone in his body! He is "all boy" and oh-so-much-fun! I love it!

Cohen Pics!

Here are some pictures of Cohen at 5 days old! I have been sick so I have been trying to stay away, but I was able to see him last night for a bit and just had to get some more pictures of this beautiful baby boy! You'll have to excuse all the feet pictures...I am having a love affair with his feet! Who can blame me???

He is doing an awesome job at eating and Chris & Laura (along with the rest of us) are in love!! Chris has been a HUGE help to Laura. He takes the 10pm-2am shift and she takes the 2am-6am shift. They are great parents and everything seems to be going really smoothly!

Welcome Cohen Christopher!!!

Cohen Christopher was born Monday, March, 23 at 10:39pm. He weighs 7 lbs. 6 oz and is 20" long! He is so absolutely perfect! Laura did such a great job. Her water broke around 11:30 am and by the time she went to the hospital she was dilated to an 8 or 9. She started pushing around 8:00 pm, but baby's heartrate was dropping every time she finished pushing. The Dr. decided that since nothing seemed to be progressing (after pushing for 2 hrs.) and the baby seemed to be getting stressed out they would do a c-section. As soon as Chris put his scrubs on the surgeon came in and wanted to try the suction once to make sure the baby really wasn't going to come out. When Laura pushed along with the suction the baby made quite a bit of progress so they had her keep trying. 2 pushes (and suctions) later the baby popped right out and we have a boy!!!!! He is so unbelievable adorable and sweet! My sister did an amazing job and I am so proud of her. I'll be going back to the hospital tomorrow so I'll be taking many more pictures! Congratulations Chris & Laura! I love you!

Leaky Laura!

Laura's water broke a few hours ago so today could be the big day!!! I am charging the camera and heading out when Chris calls, so I'll keep everyone posted as soon possible!