Tuesday, September 29, 2009

My Adorable Nephew
























I had to post some pictures of little Cohen! He is getting to be so fun. He "chats" non-stop and smiles, laughs and flirts with all the girls. He is quite the charmer! I can't wait till he starts talking and running around. It's so fun to see Laura as a mom. She is so sweet and patient and just loves him to death. As you can see in the last picuture, the feeling is mutual - Cohen would gobble her up if he could. He is quite the little "mama's boy" and he just adores her. He is so fortunate to have her for a mom...I can't imagine a luckier little boy!!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

A Seed Has Been Planted!!!

I have some news…Thomas planted his seed!!! I have been busy watering it. Lots and lots of watering, in fact. I water around the clock...at 12, 2, 4, and 6 am, etc. Poor Tom was speechless and couldn’t believe his eyes when I showed him the test. Much to his chagrin, it pretty much happened on the first or second shot. I now call him “One Shot Potts.” I suppose this is one instance where being a hard worker doesn’t necessarily pay off. I told him that I have heard “baby relations” can be very stressful and not at all fun after a while, but he would have none of that. I kind of lured him into it with promises of lots of “trying” and the return of my juicy “girls.” He actually got kind of excited over the thought of having another baby, but then when it happened right away he was a bit disappointed. Also, my “girls” have not really come in yet, so I think he is feeling kind of jipped!

We told Grandma Sam on her 86th birthday which was special to her. Being the first to know that kind of thing is a really big deal to her so we wrote in her card that she would have ‘8’ great grandchildren. She was pretty thrilled to be the one to announce it to the family.

The following day we had dinner at my parent’s house to celebrate a late birthday for my dad and we decided to tell them there. I have always wanted to use Molly Ringwald’s line in “Sixteen Candles” (this was a hugely popular movie in the 80’s for those of you in the younger crowd who may not have any idea what I’m even referring to). She plays a pregnant 16 year old, who has to break the news to her family. So, at dinner she nonchalantly says “Pass the turnips, I’m pregnant,” hoping to fly under the radar and not get anyone all riled up. I didn’t do it with my first 2 pregnancies just because it didn’t seem appropriate, but by the 3rd one, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just do something really cheesy. Plus, Chris begged me to do it that way and I didn’t want to disappoint! As we were dishing up I completely forgot about it (I blame it on pregnancy brain) until I noticed Laura raising her eyebrows at me and silently prodding me to do it. I got a bit flustered and said “Oh, oh, pass the turnips I’m pregnant!” My dad just kept cutting his meat and didn’t even look up even though his hearing aids were on and my mom stopped eating and just stared at me while the rest of us busted up laughing and couldn’t stop. My mom just stared at me with her mouth open and finally asked “Are you serious?” I was finally able to compose myself and confirmed that yes, I was indeed serious. She looked at my dad (still cutting his meat, mind you) and said “John, are you hearing this?” He looked up and said “Well, yeah, but I just thought she was joking.” I was hoping for an “Atta girl” from Chris, but instead I got a head shake and a “Good Lord, don’t ever become an actress.” My husband agreed with him and said “No kidding, you have horrible timing.” Oh well, Laura and I got a kick out of it, which is traditionally the case. It actually kind of reminded me of something you’d see with the Griswold family! Total cheese!!! Ya gotta love it!

So there you have it…that’s my big news for the month of September. My uterus is now flashing a "NO VACANCY" sign. I learned a couple of new things about myself throughout all of this: I probably won’t ever be earning a paycheck by acting, however, sales just might be in my future! I have always said I don’t have the personality for sales and would be horrible at it, but I’m starting to change my tune. After all, I sold my husband on having another baby and I didn’t think that would ever happen! Watch out world, here I come!!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

School Girl







Berkeley had her first day of school today! She is only 3, so she's not in preschool yet, but she is in the 3's class at a Christian preschool and today was the first day. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I have always stayed home with her and she has only ever been babysat by her grandparents so I was kind of expecting lots of tears and clinging! She does ok during Sunday school, but our church recently changed buildings, so now it's like we're starting all over in a new place. I had been praying nonstop that it would go smoothly and peacefully and God totally answered my prayers! We went in and I stayed with her for 15 minutes and got her interested in some play-doh and when all the other moms were filtering out I gave her a hug and a kiss and told her I loved her and that I'd be right back to get her. As I was walking to the door I looked behind me and she wasn't even watching me leave. I was so proud of her! In the car I was a little weepy at the thought of my sweet, shy girl on her first day of school being so grown up and brave.
Poor little Oliver Bean is completely lost without her. He walked around the house calling, "Sissie, Sissie" and then he'd walk to the front window and say, "Sissie?" I explained to him that she was at school and that we could pick her up in a little bit and he'd say "Why, Sissie, Why?" It was a little heartbreaking to be perfectly honest. He is not himself when she is gone and he just doesn't know what to do without her. It will be a bit of an adjustment for both of us!
Oliver was so anxious to pick her up and was trying to be the first in line at the door. When I asked her how it went she said "Good, I didn't cry at all" and her teacher also said she did great. She said she was very quiet and kind of hung back a little bit trying to take it all in, but was very obedient and did everything she was asked to do. We got in the car and I was going nuts praising her for doing such a great job and I asked her if she liked school and she said "YYYYESSSS!" We met Tom at Dairy Queen afterwards for a special ice cream reward and when she saw him she said "Daddy, I liked school!"
This was such a huge milestone and I'm so thankful it went well. I know she is going to blossom and thrive and these are some of the sweetest, most precious years we have with her.


Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Oliver's 2nd Birthday!


Fun goody bags

Brother & Sister

Oliver & Mommy

Daddy with his boy

Uncle Jer giving Oliver a wild ride on the swing

Berkeley & Gracie

Kate & Rusty - what a cute smile

Cohen & Laura

Rusty posed for a quick picture

Cupcake time!!

Papa & Oliver share the same birthday...so special!

Papa encouraging Berk to blow out his candle

Papa helping with clean up

We had a cupcake eating contest and Blake won by a landslide. He ate 3!

Papa throwing Oliver into the bouncy house! What fun!

Grandma & Papa making Cohen giggle

Oliver loved the 'CARS' wrapping paper so much, he didn't want to open it.

Giving Grandma Sam a nice smile

Thanking Cousin Gracie for her gift!


Oliver turned 2 on Sunday! Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday that we watched him take his first few official steps on his 1st birthday. It's unbelievable that another year has flown by. Since he is a speeding maniac on his little red bike we decided to do a party with little red cars and trucks which was fun.
Uncle Jerry won the Uncle of the Year/Best Gift award with an amazing bounce house that the kids loved. They would jump for about 10 minutes and then come inside parched and ready for some fluids. After a quick refreshment, off they'd go to bounce some more! Thanks Uncle Jer for such a fun and thoughtful gift!
Oliver was pretty funny with his gifts. He didn't quite know what to do with the ones that were wrapped. I think he really enjoyed looking at the wrapping paper and it made him sad to tear it up. Everytime he tore a little piece off he'd hand it to me and say "Here Mom." It was pretty cute.
All in all it was a pretty fun birthday party. I am gearing up for another whirlwind of a year...before I know it we'll be celebrating his 3rd! We love you little Oliver Bean!!!