::Lord give me strength (???)::

We've all heard the advice "don't ever pray for strength." Well, I didn't (I'm complete Jello inside and I'm okay with it!), but my strength was tested anyways.

This week baby Cooper was born! Things went well for about the first 12 hours. After that the drs and nurses began to get concerned about his rapid breathing and elevated heart rate. After getting some extra fluids through IV, he had a chest x-ray that revealed fluid in his lungs. So then he was treated for pneumonia and received 2 different types of antibiotics through IV. He also had blood cultures drawn to monitor any bacterial growth in his blood that would indicate infection. Anyway...long story short...we had a loong, sad, emotional week. It was SO hard to see our sweet new baby hooked up to machines and IVs. It was SO hard to say goodnight to my other two babies at the hospital and watch them cry as they walked away. We finally got to come home Thursday night, and all is well.

I know this is minor compared to what some parents go through with their sick babies, but it was hard nonetheless. I think I've been strengthened even though I didn't ask for it. The Lord wants to make something of the Jello that's inside. We're glad to be home as a family again and are enjoying our new baby :)

Cooper Lee was born on Monday (11-17) just after 4pm. Weighed 7lbs 15oz and 21 inches long.

::unibrow::

ByE ByE UnIbRoW...

Today when Chloe got out of the tub with a wet face she said "mom look at my unibrow!" It was all wet and dark and thick looking. She told me she wanted me to make it go away (I told her a long time ago that we could if she wanted to). So we got out the Nair and made it go away!!

before

after

Checkin' it out...

::practice::

Chloe & Port are so excited for "baby bwudwa" to get here!! They're always playing with his things, putting baby dolls in his seat and swing. Portie gets Chloe's babies and says they're poopy and hungry. He says (in this voice he always uses when he's talking to or about babies) "baby bwudwa gonna look at my finnas (fingers) and my tra-tras (tractors)." {{{{So CUTE!!}}}}

::naps::

ArEn'T tHeY CuTe??

Naptime at our house :)

::me, according to chloe::

I saw this on another blog and thought it was cute. These are her EXACT answers...

1. What is something mom always says to you? "I love you"

2. What makes mom happy? "Giving her kisses"

3. What makes mom sad? "When somebody tells her 'no'"

4. How does your mom make you laugh? "saying funny things...tickling me"

5. What was your mom like as a child? "I don't know....probably just like ME!"

6. How old is your mom? "26"

7. How tall is your mom? "I don't know...this tall (raised her arms up). 5 Inches long, I think"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "Maybe cook" (busts out laughing)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "sometimes go to the store"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "your child?"

11. What is your mom really good at? "helping"

12. What is your mom not very good at? "bending over" (that's lately cause I'm pregnant-usually I can do that-haha)

13. What does your mom do for her job? "you don't have a job!!"

14. What is your mom's favorite food? "The Cheesecake Factory"

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "you fix broken things"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "a duck" (I'm not sure she understood the question)

17. What do you and your mom do together? "color pictures together, help eachother"

18. How are you and your mom the same? "our eyes"

19. How are you and your mom different? "I don't do the same things as you"

20. How do you know your mom loves you? "she does stuff for me"

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? "he helps her with stuff"

22. Where is your moms favorite place to go? "Cheesecake Factory"

::halloween '08::

So our Halloween was just kinda normal. We dressed up the kids and took them trick-or-treating. Chloe was Princess Aurora and Portie was a green toothbrush--totally his idea too!! I asked him one day if he wanted to be a turtle, and he says "No." I said "what do you want to be for Halloween?" Port said "a biiig toothbrush." What a goof!! I made the costume on Friday and he wore it that night. It took some creative thinking, but it was pretty fun to make.
On Saturday, Matt had golf plans down kinda by my parents, so we met him down there when he was done and went to Cornbellys. It was way fun! There were tons of things for the kids to do and play on. They had lots of slides and activities to do. They especially loved the princess moonbounce and the "tra-tra" diggers in the sand box (Matt liked the diggers too).
They had these "jumping pillows" there too. They were just like it sounds...HUGE pillows full of air. There was a little one for the little kids and a HUUUUGE one for everybody else. Portie liked the little one...he kept hopping from one end of it to the other and falling down once he got there. Chloe and Matt LOVED the big one. Matt was doing these huge "butt jumps" and bouncing all the other kids on the pillow. They all kept asking him to do more...haha

::happy birthday to...me!!::

It was my birthday on Friday!! The big 2-6 (yikes). Matt was taking me to dinner at my FAVORITE restaurant in the WHOLE world... The Cheesecake Factory...

...but we wanted to stop by Gardner Village to find some things for the house (we didn't really find anything, but that's mostly cause I can't make a decision). The witches were all out (Portie was a little scared of them) and we watched the ducks.

After that, they went to Grandma Kitty's to paint pumpkins while we were at dinner.

The next day Matt and Kevin went to the BYU game, and the kids and I decorated the outside of Grandma's house for Halloween (sorry no pictures of that). Then Billy's family came over and we had a little party for Matt's and my birthdays. We got a cool game from B&S and massage gift cards from my parents!! We've never had professional massages, so we're SO excited about that!!

Look at that cake!!

::easy bakin'::

Chloe got an Easy Bake oven for her birthday (from Grandma & Papa with the kitty), and she LOVES it!! We cook with it almost every day!! It's perfect for her too, cause it's tiny little portions, and she can handle the stirring and mixing and even the waiting for it to get done.

Tonight it was yellow cake with chocolate frosting. MMMMMM!! Portie likes it too :)

After it was done "baking" we got our jammies on while it cooled and came back to do the frosting. Portie's showing everybody his cake in his mouth :D

::8 obsessions::

TaGGed
::by Carrie::

8 obsessions right now...
1. my family
2. clean house
3. new car
4. politics
5. my weight!!
6. Christmas
7. basement
8. getting comfortable

8 words/phrases I use often...
1. "stoooop!"
2. "I'm so biiiiig"
3. "Chloe"
4. "Portie"
5. "Matt"
6. "you cute"
7. "baby bwudwa"
8. "tootie"

8 things I want to do before I die...
1. go to Hawaii (just me & Matt)
2. go to Venice (just me & Matt)
3. try scuba diving (I get too claustrophobic, but I wanna try)
4. finish school
5. write a book
6. speak another language fluently
7. invent something spectacular :)
8. do a backflip

8 things I want/need right now...
1. to not be pregnant anymore!!
2. a new car
3. more money!! (who doesn't need that??)
4. a finished basement
5. new furniture
6. Matt to be home more often (he'll be traveling for work for the next 3 months!!)
7. LOTS of new clothes!!
8. a fence around our backyard

::oh, little brothers!!::

Poor Chloe! She has a little brother!! Porter's sweet and lots of fun for her and she LOVES him to death, but he........

::broke her little flat iron in two pieces::

::broke the dishes in her porcelain tea set::

::smeared her make-up all over the floor in her room::
::pulled the head off of her Princess Aurora doll::
::broke her crown from the circus::
::broke her new crown she got for her birthday::

...and those are just a few! The crowns and Princess Aurora were the worst-we couldn't fix them, and they were her favorites! He loves her too. He always asks where she is if she's not around, he always wants to sleep in her room with her, and always has to give her a hug and kiss goodnight. We always fix or replace the things he breaks, and she's a really good sport about it, but oh the pain of having a little brother!! AND she's got another one coming!! Poor child!