This past Tuesday, Nanna wanted to take all her grandkids to the Exchange Club Fair in Brookhaven. Well, Matt and I couldn't stand it so we tagged along for fun!
Anna Lauren LOVED the fair...I mean she LOVED it so much that I never saw her without a smile on her face. And needless to say, she walked right past the "kid" rides and went to the "big" kid rides...here she is on the roller coaster with Matt ~ the 1st ride of the night!
Coming off the roller coaster, which she thought was great fun! Matt said he wouldn't get back on it again. Now...you must remember this fair has been around since my mom was a kid so saying the rides are OLD is somewhat of an understatement!
Mommy just snapping pictures of all these wonderful smiles!
You know she is having fun when she actually looks at the camera and smiles when I ask her to take a picture...
Sweet Reid agreed to ride the "tee-tiny" ferris wheel because we thought Bently would ride with them...well, Bently quickly told us she was not getting on the ferris wheel so Reid rode with Anna Lauren. After it had gone around 15 times (yes, Reid counted), he was thinking...why did I agree to do this?
Nanna pretty much "forced" Bently to get in a car thinking she would like it once the ride started...well, look at her face...I'm thinking she was not thrilled!
Nanna tried one more ride with Bently before giving up...what do you think? I'm thinking she was not so happy with her Nanna! Needless to say, we called it quits with her riding rides and just let her watch the big kids.
The ferris wheel...what all the big kids and Anna Lauren really wanted to ride. You cannot really tell, but that is Anna Lauren and Reid at the top and Matt and Jake behind them. At this point, I stopped and said a quick prayer because I realized Anna Lauren was swinging back and forth and was held in by one small little bar that was not even touching her. If you know me very well, you know I am not a "nervous" mom...but...this put me over the edge!
Anna Lauren smiled and waved the whole time...she LOVED it, despite her mom's nerves!
The fun is over...time to get off...
Just look at her...obviously that was a fun ride too!
And last but not least...the train! 
Unfortunately after the train ride it started raining so we had to call it a night...however, the kids would have been completely happy for several more hours!
Bently's favorite...the ice cream cone! Here she is begging for more!
Anna Lauren enjoyed her ice cream cone too! Thanks Nanna for fun night at the fair...we look forward to next year!
Matt and I are happy to report we have received GREAT news the past couple weeks at our doctor's appointments.
Two weeks ago, we began hearing a "normal" heart beat and thankfully it has continued to beat "normal" ever since. We saw the pediatric cardiologist this morning and were very comforted / pleased with her diagnosis for Cooper. She truly believes the medicine I am taking for Cooper is correcting the problem...there is some little flap (no idea what she said it was called) that is very flopsy / mopsy, which she thinks is causing the irregular heart beat. She predicts after birth, this flap will get itself under control and Cooper will be just fine and not even have to take medicine at all. Now...she used lots of BIG medical words and when Matt asked her to put it in English, she got a big smile on her face and said, "you need not to worry, your baby is going to be just FINE"!
Upon his arrival, he will wear a heart rate monitor for at least 48 hours. Dr. Shores says 48 hours because we need to make sure the medicine that I am taking gets out of his system so we can get a true reading of his heart beat with no medicine in his system. After the 48 hours, he will have some tests done, which Dr. Shores (cardiologist) will read. If we get "normal" heart beats from the monitor and the tests are good, he will not ever even go see Dr. Shores. This is her prediction...
I will see Dr. Shores in a month for her to look one more time...after that point, she says she cannot get good prenatal pictures so we will just have to wait until he arrives to do further testing. Now...we have been released from the specialist (Dr. Perry), and I will see my regular doctor (Dr. Cole) every week just so she can listen and make sure the medicine is still working and the heart beat is still normal. As long as the heart beat continues to be normal, Dr. Shores sees no reason for me not to deliver with Dr. Cole at Woman's and no reason I cannot have a vaginal delivery...unless of course, something happens in labor, which could happen in anyone's labor / delivery.
Needless to say, we are all smiles at this point and proud of our little man for being a trooper...he has been put through the ringer as someone wants to look at him at least once a week! And just for the record, he is still "wild" and takes "beautiful" pictures!
Some neighbors invited us to their "cul-da-sac" for a 4th of July fireworks show...
Anna Lauren could not even enjoy her sparkler because she was afraid that someone would shoot a firework across the street and her ears would not be covered.
This is how Anna Lauren spent the 4th of July...she did NOT enjoy the fireworks! However, we asked her over and over if she wanted to go home, and she said no.
Cooper stepped up to the plate and performed today...we heard a NORMAL consistent heart rate! It was the BEST sound we have heard in a long time...we have listened so much that we now know what we are listening to and it was obvious it was NORMAL today. Needless to say, Matt and I both sighed a huge sigh of relief...the medicine and prayers must be working and we are so thankful!
Through the chaos of his little heart issue, my doctor failed to schedule my sugar test so I will go back Thursday for that, and she will listen to Cooper's heart beat again. She said listening 2 times in one week cannot hurt and especially if we can hear something as good as we heard today!
I cannot thank you enough for all the prayers...keep them coming because obviously they are working! I will continue to keep you updated as we continue to get doctor's reports, which come pretty frequently these days.
It is 5:55 AM on Saturday morning, and I am pulling into the parking lot of Courthouse Gymnastics. Oh don't worry...I'm not the only mother pulling into the parking lot and there are already 11 cars (yes, I counted) in the parking lot...not sure what time they began arriving. And you are asking why in the world was I pulling into Courthouse Gymnastics...well, it was because they were having their registration for gymnastics, and I was told the line would start before 6 AM for the registration to start at 8 AM. After being completely shocked I had to wait in line for a 3 year old to do gymnastics, I put on my big girl panties and got in line with every other mother doing what us mothers do best...crazy things for our children!Needless to say, Anna Lauren has a spot for gymnastics and the child is absolutely beside herself...she has been asking to go to gymnastics for weeks and now she knows she has a spot and has asked to go the past two days. She cannot wait to go turn flips and has asked everyone she has seen to come watch her turn flips! Now...let's hope she is this excited when the time actually comes for her to go...we start on August 9th!
Well, it appears from this point there may be a weekly update on baby Cooper because when we saw the specialist (Dr. Perry) on Friday, he said he would prefer that someone take a look at Cooper every week. As of now, I see one of my three doctors the next 3 weeks...this week my normal doctor (Dr. Cole), the next week the specialist (Dr. Perry), and the following week the cardiologist (Dr. Shores).
I saw Dr. Perry on Friday after taking the medicine for a week and a half only to find a "few" normal patterns of a regular heart rate. This was comforting as it was the first time we had heard "normal" in the past several weeks...however, the problem has still not been cured. Dr. Perry was going to talk to the cardiologist, but he said they will most likely leave my dosage of medicine where it is for now...he hates to change the dosage because he is afraid I would see some major side effects with a stronger dosage...so far, I've been "ok"...haven't felt the best this weekend so I'm wondering if it is due to the medicine just now really getting into my system. But...I'm trying not to complain because I want this to work for baby Cooper!
My prayer is that by the time we see the cardiologist on the 27th that we will have a regular heart rate...I think it is reasonable to think that it will take the medicine some time to get in my system and actually work.
And last but not least, thank you all for the many phone calls, texts, e-mails, and especially prayers regarding Cooper...words cannot express how much we appreciate the love and support of our family and friends!
Oh...and a few "fun" things we have heard about Cooper:
He is going to look just like his sister...
He takes beautiful pictures (Jennifer, you should appreciate this)
He is WILD...really? is one wild child not enough?
Wednesday, Anna Lauren had her 4th of July parade at school, and she was so not happy about being in a parade. She DID NOT participate to say the least...no marching, shaking her shaker, smiling, NOTHING! When we picked her up from school Wednesday afternoon, she said she was not happy about the parade because all the classes were in it...she just wanted it to be Ms. Tammie's class...oh my...we have a problem, don't you think?
Anna Lauren walking beside Miss Sarah with her fingers in her mouth (her new thing), which is what she did the entire time.
The only good thing was that she agreed to wear her 4th of July outfit along with the crown Ms. Regina bought her and Holli Grace. Just ignore the purple flip flops...we were close to having it all together!
Anna Lauren was not interested in me taking her picture so I just took pictures of Holli Grace, who was LOVING the parade!
Sweet Holli Grace...
Not so sweet Anna Lauren...
The girls ~ Sara Kate, Holli Grace, and Anna Lauren...
Holli Grace still posing for Ms. Mandi...
Anna Lauren's class with Ms. Tammie...of course, Anna Lauren was being ugly and would not get in the picture...
Anna Lauren (far right)...this is what she did while I was taking pictures of her class...sometimes we just don't understand this child of ours and this was one of those days.
Ms. Tammie and Anna Lauren...of course, Ms. Tammie felt sorry for her and was loving on her...oh my gosh, can we say SPOILED!
Anna Lauren LOVED the fair...I mean she LOVED it so much that I never saw her without a smile on her face. And needless to say, she walked right past the "kid" rides and went to the "big" kid rides...here she is on the roller coaster with Matt ~ the 1st ride of the night!
Coming off the roller coaster, which she thought was great fun! Matt said he wouldn't get back on it again. Now...you must remember this fair has been around since my mom was a kid so saying the rides are OLD is somewhat of an understatement!
Mommy just snapping pictures of all these wonderful smiles!
You know she is having fun when she actually looks at the camera and smiles when I ask her to take a picture...
Sweet Reid agreed to ride the "tee-tiny" ferris wheel because we thought Bently would ride with them...well, Bently quickly told us she was not getting on the ferris wheel so Reid rode with Anna Lauren. After it had gone around 15 times (yes, Reid counted), he was thinking...why did I agree to do this?
Nanna pretty much "forced" Bently to get in a car thinking she would like it once the ride started...well, look at her face...I'm thinking she was not thrilled!
Nanna tried one more ride with Bently before giving up...what do you think? I'm thinking she was not so happy with her Nanna! Needless to say, we called it quits with her riding rides and just let her watch the big kids.
The ferris wheel...what all the big kids and Anna Lauren really wanted to ride. You cannot really tell, but that is Anna Lauren and Reid at the top and Matt and Jake behind them. At this point, I stopped and said a quick prayer because I realized Anna Lauren was swinging back and forth and was held in by one small little bar that was not even touching her. If you know me very well, you know I am not a "nervous" mom...but...this put me over the edge!
Anna Lauren smiled and waved the whole time...she LOVED it, despite her mom's nerves!
The fun is over...time to get off...
Just look at her...obviously that was a fun ride too!
And last but not least...the train! 
Unfortunately after the train ride it started raining so we had to call it a night...however, the kids would have been completely happy for several more hours!
Bently's favorite...the ice cream cone! Here she is begging for more!
Anna Lauren enjoyed her ice cream cone too! Thanks Nanna for fun night at the fair...we look forward to next year!
