Snow Day!

Say Cheese!

Thankfully, I was sent the sweetest and happiest little guy. He LOVES to smile!

My Boys!

Jack's Blessing

More Pictures of Jack

This was Cooper and Jack's first meeting.

Jack's First Pictures

Jack Thomas Nelson was born on November 26th, 2009. He gave us a lot to be thankful for, being born on Thanksgiving. I was still over 3 weeks away from my due date, but after 2 days of contractions, I finally woke Derek up about 4 AM on Thanksgiving morning and told him we needed to go to the hospital. Jack's labor was very different from Cooper's. It was painful, but didn't come on as a fast. When we got to the elevators in the hospital, I almost turned around and came home. I didn't want to be sent home. Because we were already there, we decided to head up to Labor and Delivery. When they checked me, she immediately said "you are going to have your baby today, and soon!" Had we gone home, my water would have broken within the hour. My labor continued without much of a hitch and Jack was born at 9:15 AM, just as the Thanksgiving Day Parade was starting. I doubt I will ever watch that parade again and not think about the day I was blessed with my sweet baby. Jack did however, have a few problems after he was born. They allowed me to hold him for a minute, but then had to rush him to the NICU. We then had another reason to be thankful because he only had to stay there for a few hours. Because he came so early, he had a difficult time breathing at first. My hospital stay went well. The nurses and staff were all wonderful. I was even lucky enough to have the same nurses both days I was there. The only sad part of the experience was having to introduce Jack to his big brother through the window of my room. Derek and Cooper stood outside while I held Jack up to the window. I think I will always feel like a small part of the experience was taken away from me because Cooper wasn't allowed in the hospital. I was able to visit Cooper in the lobby and couldn't help but just cry as soon as I hugged him. He is am amazing big brother to Jack. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and 2 incredible little boys. I really don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful family. Jack is now 3 months old and I'll post more pictures, but I've been terrible at writing about his arrival. Thanks to everyone who has been so helpful and supportive as I have tried to figure out how to handle 2 kids. So far so good!

Someday...

Just in case anyone was concerned, yes, we are still alive. I have been having way too much fun with a new baby to take the time to update this blog. Someday I'll get to it. : )

Neighborhood Christmas Gift Ideas

One of the biggest items on our "to-do" list before the baby comes, was to finish our Christmas shopping. I am happy to report that we are about 95% done! YAY!

One of the hardest things every year is to come up with something to give to our neighbors. I found a website that has a lot of easy ideas. I thought I would share it with all of you who might want a head start on your Christmas to-do list!

http://opossumsal.homestead.com/Household/103.html

Pumpkin Patch

Cooper started preschool this fall and is absolutely LOVING it! He would go every day if he had the choice. Most of his friends go to the same preschool and he adores his teacher. I am amazed at how much he has learned already. Last month he had his first field trip to a pumpkin patch. I still can't believe I have a child old enough to go to preschool, but it is so fun to see him do new things.

*Cooper and 2 of his best friends, Tate and Hannah*

Isn't this why we have kids?

My cute little housekeeper. : )

SYTYCD

I was lucky enough to go with some friends to the "So You Think You Can Dance" concert. It was awesome!! We had really great seats and I actually remembered to take a few pictures. If you didn't watch the season, these pictures are probably meaningless to you, but I thought it was a great concert!

Ah-hoy There....

We highly recommend visiting Pirate Island Pizza. It makes for a fun filled evening!

Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween 2009!

Paige, Cooper, Maddy and Bailey
Cute boys!

Fall Fun

Thanksgiving, Toothaches, and Taste Buds

This is going to be a really random post, but I thought I would write about a few things that I am thankful for right now. I had the best week ever last week. I had a big break from Cooper one day (thanks Amy!), Derek sacrificed his day off on Wednesday to allow me to use a gift certificate for a massage and a pedicure, my friends planned a little shower for me on Friday night, and I overall felt great all week. Finally!

I am also thankful for a dentist that came to my rescue on a Saturday afternoon when I thought I was going to die from the worst toothache ever. Seriously... It was that bad! He filled a cavity several months ago and it decided to revolt against me over the weekend. I'm pretty sure it was the worst pain I have ever felt. He was kind enough to take care of some prescriptions for me and luckily the pain is under control now. My day of misery actually was an eye opening experience that being pregnant might not be as comfortable as I'd like, but it sure is bearable.

The last thing I am thankful for right now are my taste buds. Most of you have heard me complain about my tongue being numb. Well, the same dentist that I was previously thankful for, while filling the previously mentioned tooth, hit a nerve and half of my tongue has been dead since August. The numb feeling doesn't bother me too much any more, but the lack of taste buds can get depressing! At first I thought it would be a good diet since I can't taste very well, but it actually has the opposite effect. It takes more yummy things to satisfy my cravings. It is very very annoying! But the purpose of this post really wasn't to complain about my lack of taste buds, it is to celebrate the fact that I can at least taste on half. My good friend Cari was in a car accident about a year ago and lost her ability to taste completely. I can not imagine having them completely gone. So this thanksgiving, I'm VERY thankful for the left side of my tongue that will be able to taste a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy week before Thanksgiving everyone!

And after my last post, if anyone was wondering, I REALLY do feel great right now! Honest! : )