Reflections of the year with pictures

It is hard to believe that 2009 is drawing to a close. We have had such an eventful year.

Christmas 2008 brought us a Christmas to enjoy with our first born. James was only 6 months old and didn't really understand the concept of opening presents and the reason for the season. He sure knew how to play with the many toys though. This year James is 18 months old and a bundle of energy. He listens intently at church when Ms. Lovella tells him stories about Jesus. This year he enjoyed ripping into every gift and even practiced earlier in the week with Bethany's gifts that were under the tree from us and Grandma/Grandpa. He has brought us joy and never ending excitement. He also enjoyed eating birthday cake yesterday for Jesus that his cousins made and decorated.

We added to our family in September with the birth of Bethany Grace. As we celebrated her first Christmas we see the many resemblences she has to my mom and her big brother. She had no idea what was happening yesterday and can't really play with any of the toys she recieved. However, big brother is making a good attempt at keeping her toys warm for her until she can play with them herself.

This year has had its ups and downs. As 2009 started Barry learned that he would be laid off in March. This was about the same time I discovered I was pregnant again. We were excited about the new addition but worried about the financial aspect of an extra person to feed and clothe. We trusted in God and knew that He would provide for us. He provided Barry with a new job as his unemployment was running out in June. He gave us the wonderful gift of a healthy baby girl in September. He gave James the understanding to be gentle with sister and protect her. Which he does quite well. We have been blessed beyond measure in 2009 and look forward to what God has in store for us in 2010.

Please enjoy the pictures below from our Christmas celebration.

James, mommy, and Bethany opening one of Bethany's presents.

Bethany and daddy watching James play on his slide from Santa.

Bethany hanging out in her bouncy seat while James opens presents.

All the presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

James and Bethany dressed in the Christmas outfits.

Bethany's 3 month picture

Bethany (3 month) and James (18 month)

Almost Christmas

Well, I know I've been seriously lacking in the posts. Bethany is growing like a weed. She weighed in on Saturday at 15 lbs. 2 oz. James weighed in at 25 lbs. We go to the doctor today for his 18 month well-baby check and visit the dentist to get his teeth checked out. He really isn't going to like mommy today.

Bethany is currently seeing a GI doctor and a pulmonologist. Love the pulmonologist...not so much the GI doctor. We go back to see the pulmonologist next Tuesday. She has to see him for the next couple of months to make sure her lungs stay clear after having bronchiolitis before 2 months of age. The GI doctor is for her acid reflux which isn't getting any better. Although, we are not following his orders due to the pediatrician's new orders. The GI doctor wanted to change her formula and medicine. The new medicine made things worse. Go figure!

James has still been sick off an on for the last 4 months. We actually went two weeks without antibiotic. He goes to see an allergist next Wednesday in hopes of figuring out what he is allergic to. We are currently carrying an epipen until we visit the allergist due to his last reaction.

I will try to post some pictures when we take a break for James's nap today. Have a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Almost 2 months

Where has the last 7 1/2 weeks gone.

We have been very busy adjusting to having two kids in our lives. It has been a wonderful adjustment. Bethany is doing great. We are battling acid reflux. She was diagnosed at 17 days old. It has been bad. It has caused her to sound congested and has caused croup. We have had our first adventure to Children's Hospital Emergency Room with Miss Bethany due to the croup. Thank goodness it wasn't anything else. She seems to be adjusting to the fourth formula change and medicine. Unfortunately, the acid reflux causes her to often sound hoarse. Which of course had me really worried that the croup was coming back. Alas, no it is just the formula not staying down and cauisng irritation of the bronchial passages. With all the acid reflux problems, we have visitied the pediatirician at least once a week for the last 7 weeks. James has also been battling illness. He has managed to avoid the swine flu...although he's been exposed twice. He has however had a sinus infection, ear infection, and strep throat. He will finish up his 3rd antibiotic this weekend. He seems to only stay healthy for a few days in between antibiotics, so I am praying that this time is the last time for awhile. We didn't even know he had an ear infection. He didn't show the classic signs. I took him back to the doctor, because I thought the sinus infection was coming back...nope he had an all out, apparently really bad, ear infection. Oops!! We seem to be all getting healthy finally. Which is a good thing. The weather is finally getting cooler which is really helping his allergies.

I returned to work on Monday, October 19, 2009. It was a sad day for me. I had to leave Bethany for the first time in 7 weeks. She's been with me every day for the most part. I did pretty good. I dropped her off with plenty of time to hangout and get extra kisses from both her and James. James was surprised that his sissy was actually staying with him at daycare. He had become accustomed to me dropping him off and taking her with me. When I pulled her out of the carrier and handed her to Ms. Crystal, he looked up and said, "Sissy. My sissy!" I told him to be good and take care of his sister. To which he replied, "All done! All done!" I'm not sure if that was he was all done watching her or all done with his milk. Once I got to work, I kept myself very busy until my students arrived. I actually managed not to cry and only called daycare 2 times to be told she was doing great, smiling and talking.


We did go and have some new family pictures done and pictures of the kids. It was a fun experience. This was the first time James wasn't really cooperative for pictures. But we did get some good pictures. Please enjoy the pictures. I will try to update again soon.









Barry and I had our first picture taken together since our wedding. It turned out pretty good. It's hard to believe it has been 3 years, since we were married. What an amazing 3 years it has been though.














This one is of our family. James really wanted the pumpkin. He pitched a fit until I told the photographer to give it to him. It added to the fall feel of the picture with all those fall colors we are wearing. I love Bethany in her overalls.














Bethany did great for her pictures. We were going to wait until her 3 month pictures, but I had to have pictures to take back to school with me this week. I think they turned out great. Especially since she was hungry and sleepy.
















James loves his little sister. He is always trying to kiss and hug on her. When he was diagnosed with strep throat I laughed when the doctor said to keep him away from her. I told the doctor that would be easier said than done, since he has suddenly decided he loves his little sister. Here he is kissing on her. This of course was right before he tried to climb in the basket with her as daddy was grabbing him off of her. He still doesn't completely understand gentle, but he is getting better.

Three Plus One Equals Four

Bethany Grace made her arrival on Tuesday, September 1, 2009. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 1/4 inches long. She is doing beautifully. Her billirubens were up on Friday when we took her for her first doctor's visit. So, we went back on Saturday, and they were still up. We go back tomorrow to have a weight and billiruben check. Uncle Kevin checked her today and said her eyes were white which is a good sign. Hopefully, tomorrow everything will check out good.

We brought Bethany home on Thursday. Her big brother James has been mesmerized by her. He wasn't real thrilled when she cried at first. He is having some issues being gentle. We hope that he will eventually learn how to be gentle with her. We've thought about buying him a baby doll to help him get adjusted to the baby. We probably should have done that earlier.

I've attached some pictures from the hospital of our newest addition. Please enjoy!

Bethany and daddy hanging out at the hospital. Daddy was a little nervous with her at first. He's getting better. She is just so much smaller than her big brother ever was.

Bethany hanging out getting ready for her picture debut in the nursery. Her pictures turned out way better than James's did, because they waited 24 hours to take them. Now, the debate is do we buy them or not, since we didn't buy James's first pictures.

Bethany and mommy together. Bethany sure is a good sleeper in between feedings.

This was James's first visit to see his sister. He wanted to be with whoever had her at the time. Here he is with Uncle Adam and Bethany. She was about an hour old in this picture.

Here is Bethany and mommy immediately after delivery. I was so excited to hold her in my arms. It seemed like a very long 9 months at this point. Although, this delivery was much easier.

I hope you've enjoyed the pictures of our new family member. I will try to update more often, since I will be home for the next 6 weeks. My plan is to go through some stuff and spend some time scrapbooking while Bethany sleeps. Big brother, James, will still be going to daycare to keep him in his routine. Plus it gives him someone to play with during the day while daddy is at work.

Another Month

It is hard to believe that another month has gone by already. This summer is just flying by. We had a 4D ultrasound of Bethany Grace done last Friday. She is beautiful. She has super long fingers and big feet. As soon as I get the pictures copied to the computer I will upload them. We are on the final stretch of this pregnancy. I will be 32 weeks on Sunday. Which means in about 6 weeks little miss should be here. The doctor is going to do an ultrasound at 36 weeks to determine how big she is and make a decision on when she will come. He doesn't want her any bigger than James was and neither do I. We will keep you posted.

James is growing like a weed. He has another ear infection...yuck!! We ended up at the pediatrician yesterday afternoon to find out the verdict...which I was pretty sure of going in. He's on antibiotic for 10 days. Yeah!! He doesn't seem to be letting it bother him. We went swimming today with church, and he had a blast. He came home exhausted. We have successfully managed two naps in our big boy bed. We hope that this will keep improving, so we can transition him to the toddler bed before Bethany arrives. We don't really want to uproot his entire life in a matter of days. He is so active now...it is hard to keep up with him by myself being so pregnant. He is learning to say new things every day. He now says baby, daddy, mommy, sissy, Adam, deer, ducky, doggie, see, yes, drink, and occasionally no. He at least knows what the word no means...he doesn't like it though.

It is amazing to see the changes he has made in the last year. We are looking forward to this new addition to come in the next 2 months. We are thankful for the prayers on Barry's behalf that helped him get a job that he is absolutely loving. The job came at the right time as well. He unemployment benefits ran out the week he started...as if that wasn't God's timing. I will upload those pics of Bethany Grace hopefully this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone!!

James is finally one!!

James turned one last Friday. It is amazing to see the changes that have taken place over the last year. We had him at the pediatrician today for his one year check-up. It has been exactly a year today since he first saw Dr. Harsh. James has gone from 20 1/2 inches long on 6-16-08 to 30 1/2 inches on 6-16-09. He now weighs in at 22 lbs. 4 oz. He tried to help Nurse Pam with the scale this morning. He has hit a growth spurt finally. We were beginning to worry. He wound up back in the 75th percentile for height. His weight is still in the 50th percentile, though. Dr. Harsh didn't seem to worried this time after seeing how active he is now. They were impressed with James's vocabulary. He now says momma, daddy, Adam, deer, doggy, ducky, and kitty. He occasionally says sissy, thank you, and look. He is so smart. Daycare is working on please, thank you, and sissy. I guess that is what James will call sweet Bethany when she arrives in 3 months. We had a wonderful first birthday party at church on Saturday for him. He enjoyed himself and then crashed with Uncle Adam and Aunt Megan while we cleaned up the mess. Enjoy the new pictures.

Daddy and James in our neighbor's pool. He is such a fish!

James on his birthday with his new Mega Blocks vehicles. He loves them and is trying to build with the blocks.

James and his soccer ball. He loves balls! Go figure it must be a boy thing!

James and his favorite lounging bear!

James's tractor cake. This cake was made by Johnny Gautreaux; he also made our wedding cake. It was delicious.

James's other cake from Food City. It has his farmer and cow on it that go with his tractor. We wanted to make sure we had enough cake for everyone to enjoy!

James playing with Carson and Egan. Of course they are playing with the balls!

James and mommy opening presents. He wasn't into the opening of presents. He wanted to play!

James playing with his puzzle from the Carvers.

Singing "Happy Birthday"

James enjoying his cake. He really liked the icing.

What a mess!!

James enjoying ice cream with Aunt Wendy!

James with the pinata. He wasn't real sure what to do with it! Mommy had to help him and Quinlin.

We hope you've enjoyed a little piece of his party. We are off to the zoo on Thursday for Super Safari Thursday with the Children's Ministry at church, so we will have more pictures I'm sure.

Swimming Adventure and More

It is hard to believe that in 1 week James will be ONE!! Where has the last year gone? We are preparing for James's farm party scheduled for next Saturday. It is amazing that this time last year I was waiting patiently for James to come on his own before visiting the doctor on Monday to schedule induction. Now my little man is on the go and keeps us hoping which in turn makes mommy very tired. I didn't realize how tiring having a toddler and being pregnant would be. Bethany is growing as she should be. She has been very quiet today. I guess to much sun and fun will do that to a girl. She moved quite a bit this afternoon when we got home and is once again quiet. She'll probably start her kicking as soon as I decide to go to sleep. We have 3 months left until she will be here keeping us moving with her big brother. Below are some much awaited pictures of James in action over the last couple of weeks plus his one year pictures that we had done on Thursday. He is really photogenic and a ham for the camera. Enjoy the pictures, and I promise to blog after his party next weekend...with pictures!!



In preparation for the arrival of Bethany Grace, we are turning our spare bedroom/Egan's train room into a big boy room for James. James enjoys playing in there when the door gets accidentally left open. Here he is playing with the big fish pillow.


This is James's big boy bed. Thanks to my friend Rose we were able to get him a Disney Pixar "Cars" toddler bed. He loves it. He wants up on it all the time. Then he goes up to Lightening McQueen and talks to him. It is absolutely adorable. Of course, Joey is in the mix trying to figure it all out.

Barry took James to Dollywood on Memorial Day with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Wendy while I worked. We all had lunch together, and James visited the office to see everyone that I work with. Then Barry, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Wendy headed down to Country Fair for James to ride his first Dollywood rides. He rode the Piggy Parade and the Lucky Ducky. He had a ball. He also walked the whole way through the park...Daddy forgot the stroller at home. He was exhausted after the day.

James's first year pictures were taken by our favorite photographer. He always does such a great job with James. James really hams it up for him. I hope you enjoy just a few of the 140 pictures that were taken during this visit.

James had his first adventure in the swimming pool during Nathaniel's 9th birthday party. He had a ball. He wasn't real sure of the water at first, but he finally warmed up to the whole thing and enjoyed the day. We bought him one of those swimsuits that has the floatation stuff in it. It works for the most part, if we let go of him though he'd tip sideways. He was super cute in it though.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the latest pictures of our little man. We plan on having a great birthday next weekend and like I said earlier I promise to update the blog after the party most likely on Sunday. Have a great week!!

It's a Girl!!

We found out on Thursday that our new addition will be a girl. Her name will be Bethany Grace Hooker. Barry asked the ultrasonographer if she gave a money back guarantee. She just laughed. She has never been wrong in the years she has done the job...she will only call it if she sees exactly what she needs to see to be sure. There definitely weren't any boy parts. We will have more ultrasounds later in this pregnancy, so we can double check then.

Barry is still not working, but he is certainly finding stuff to keep him busy. Our front flower beds are just about finished. We didn't buy enough flowers the other night, so we made a trip back to Lowe's after church today and got the rest. They actually look really good. We have gone with a red, white, and blue motif out front. It actually has worked pretty good. Unfortunately that means my yellow roses will be relocated after the summer. Only one of them appears to have survived the winter. Then we will have to figure out what to put in that bed.

Barry is also working very hard at getting the nursery switched around, and James into a big boy room. We aren't going to move the crib until closer to Bethany's due date. At that time James will go into his big boy toddler bed. We are saving our money to get him a really nice Disney "Cars" bedding set. His room will be done all in cars, and then we will add daddy's Nascar models to his room soon.

I seem to be more and more tired as the weeks go on. This school year seems to be dragging on. I think the kids are really over it. It has been really nice the last few days, and they are daydreaming about going outside. It may be a really long 5 weeks until the end of the school year.

James is doing more and more everyday. Poor little guy has some awful allergies though. I think he got daddy's sinus problems. The Zyrtec does seem to help a little bit. He really enjoys being outside, so I hope it doesn't keep him down. This morning he walked all the way from the car to the nursery at church. He doesn't seem to want to be held as much and is getting more and more independent. We are trying to teach him to say Bethany...he gets out B. He does say momma, daddy, Adam (ada), D (dog), der (deer), and uh oh. He is learning so much and so quickly.

Well, I guess that's all from our house. We are roasting down here in Tennessee! Have a great Sunday afternoon.

April Happenings... (plus pictures as promised)

It is hard to believe that another month has almost past. James is growing and doing new stuff every day. He is now fully walking. He still stumbles a little, but he mainly walks anywhere he wants to go. When he gets sleepy; he will start to crawl where he wants to go.

I'm going to let the pictures explain our last couple of months and especially the last few weeks. Enjoy!!

We went to the zoo with Uncle Arthur, Aunt Gwen, and cousins Egan and Quinlin. James got to watch his very, brave Aunt Gwen ride a camel with Egan. He also enjoyed his first taste of ice cream. He got really angry when mommy took it away from him. He enjoyed hanging out with daddy down at Kids Cove while at the zoo and watching his cousin Egan play on the slides in the barn.

Barry and I were very brave and kept all three boys for a Saturday while Arthur and Gwen went car shopping. We even braved a trip to Walmart. That sure was an adventure. They boys even sat together briefly for this picture.

Eggstravaganza 2009 was held at our church on Saturday, April 11, 2009. James got to participate in his first egg hunt. Nothing like 15,000 eggs and lots of kids. James wasn't real sure about what to do. He found one green egg and never let go of it. "Aunt" Becca had to help him figure it out along with mommy. James also visited with the Easter Bunny. He was a little afraid of the bunny, so "Uncle" Adam helped him out. I think he was just exhausted. It was a very long day.

James's First Easter was on Sunday, April 12, 2009. We went to church and then to Uncle Arthur and Aunt Gwen's house for dinner. James wore a really cute shorts outfit. I struggled with an outfit for him, because he gets so hot at church. Everything we found was long sleeve with sweaters and a pair of pants. When we found this cute shorts outfit at Sears, we bought it. "Aunt" Megan took a family picture for us in front of the stage in the worship center at church. I think it turned out pretty good. The Easter Bunny visited our house for all three boys. We took their buckets to Uncle Arthur and Aunt Gwen's house for the boys to open together. They were all excited about what the Easter Bunny had left for them.

We left for Pennsylvania on Monday, April 13, 2009, to see Grandma and Grandpa. We knew they'd be shocked when they saw James. When they saw him last at Thanksgiving, he was just sitting up by himself if someone sat him up and rolling over. Now, he is walking and talking. Plus he eats normal every day food...when he feels like it. James enjoyed reading the paper with Grandpa, playing with Tyler, Zacary, and Isaac in their playroom, and playing with Kiersten and Brooke. He also spent a lot of time looking at birds on the porch as they ate from Grandpa's birdfeeder. James did great in the van on the way up and back. He stayed awake for most of the trip and just took a few naps. We watched "Franklin" on the way to Pennsylvania and "Veggie Tales" on the way home. He sure was a trooper with a 9 plus hour trip.

James is growing up so quickly. He has certainly learned the meaning of the word "NO". The picture below shows his response to it every time it is used. The face is priceless. The first time I had to tell him "NO", and he responded this way...I cried right along side of him.

James enjoyed his first piece of pizza this afternoon. We had been giving him the crust off of pizza for awhile. This afternoon he didn't want the crust and took the piece of pizza right out of my hand. He sure did enjoy it.

I hope you have enjoyed our walk down memory lane for the last month or so. We will find out on Thursday whether this new addition is a boy or a girl. Please continue to pray for us and our family with Barry unemployed and our new little one on the way. We trust that God has a plan and will provide. Enjoy your spring! We will update again soon.