Say Cheese!

I have found it nearly impossible to take a good photo of Sophie lately. I think it must be a 3 year old thing, because it seems I recall Ben going through a phase like this too. She forces her smile and she absolutely refuses to look at the camera! During one particular stubborn moment this summer, I took this series of photos. What can I say! We love our silly Sophie!!!

Summer Fun

I can't even begin to catch up on my non-blogging of late, so I decided that I would just upload some photos from our fun summer. Then hopefully, I can dedicate a little bit more time to birthdays, the start of school and the fun trip we just took! So here is a brief overview of the Cook Family's summer of fun (in no particular order)!

Adeline in a fountain in Charlevoix, Michigan. She was hesitant at first, but quickly discovered that is was great fun to run through the jets of water!

The Cook Family on the beach of Lake Michigan

(I do believe that Addie is pulling my hair. She wasn't thrilled to be trapped in the backpack)

Sophie proudly displaying a shell she found on the beach

Addie running from me on the beach. She is in her jammies because we camped ON the beach in Grand Haven Michigan. It was so fun and so beautiful!

Another of Sophie and Lake Michigan



Our little ham-I should probably post the series of these photos because they were hilarious.
Sophie has sand and sunscreen infused hair with a bit of humidity too.




Ben on the beach in Grand Haven, Michigan

Our friends Anna and Joshua before they moved to NY this summer

Ben and Sophie by our pool. We spent every morning at swimming lessons, then did a little extra swimming, had lunch and then headed home for naps. Both kids could jump off the diving board by the end of the summer and swim to the edge. Sophie was a force to be reckoned with at the pool-swimming seamed to come naturally to her. (I should probably note that she was the first to jump off the board, only then did Ben try it. There are no life vests or floatation devices allowed at our pool, and the kids have to be able to swim freely to the edge before they are allowed in the deep end.) We can't wait for next summer!

One of many picnics we enjoyed at a park on the Potomac River in Old Towne Alexandria

And I swear there is more to come! I have to admit that I miss blogging and will have to find time to fit it back into the schedule!

Our littlest patient

Sweet Addie has been as very good patient as of late. She's had lots of practice. We've been to doctors appointment after doctors appointment over the last three weeks. She isn't gaining wait very well. She has always been small, but has only put on 5 pounds in the last year. The good news is that she is staying on a growth curve, the bad news is that her curve isn't on the charts. The technical term is Failure to Thrive (FTT), and I would have to disagree. Although she may be tiny, she IS thriving! Her developmental skills are right on track, she eats well, and is a happy, social baby. Nevertheless, her pediatrician decided we better look into her growth issues to be on the safe side. There was also that pesky problem in which our little bugger pulled most of her hair out and had a fascination with putting it in her mouth. The technical name for that condition is Trichotillomania. That's more than a mouthful if you ask me! Unfortunately for Addie, we shaved her head back in the winter, and that seamed to put an end to her hair pulling for now.

Our pediatrician referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist at Walter Reid Army Medical Center which is on the north end of DC. We were very happy with the facility and the staff. We got to know them quite well. The pediatric department is sizable and great with the little ones. They even have a pediatric lab, which came in handy for all the blood work and tests she had to endure. The only drawback is the commute. We live in Northern Virginia on the south side of DC. The drive was taking me anywhere from 45 minutes to nearly 2 hours one day. DC traffic is just the worst! We are thankful for all of our friends who helped with Ben and Sophie over the last three weeks. We couldn't have done it without them! I think we made the commute 6 times, and it would have been really hard to take all three kids!

Anyhow, back to Addie. The doctor tested her for everything under the sun. She had blood work to test for any abnormalities and/or nutritional deficiencies . That came back normal! She was tested for a bladder infection which can cause stunted growth. That came back normal. There was the lovely stool test which tested for lots of things which I didn't really understand. That came back normal. We went in for a cystic fibrosis test one morning. that was a very interesting procedure and thankfully that came back normal as well!

We met with a dietitian and provided food logs for her. Addie was consuming nearly enough calories and had a good balanced diet. We've switched to Pediasure for 2/3 of her milk calories. She also now gets to eat canola butter on her vegetables and gets canola oil mixed into some of her food. The highlight is that she is permitted/advised to have a small scoop of full fat ice cream for a treat! Trust me, she is loving that part. I'm not loving the greasy/buttery food. It means she needs a bath more frequently. But anything for my sweet, little girl!

The final test was an EGD-Esophagogastroduodenoscopy! The procedure itself is not that complicated, but they did have to put her under for it. The purpose was to look for any abnormalities in her esophagus, stomach and small intestine that may be preventing her from growing properly. They were also going to look to see if there was a mass of hair in her stomach that was preventing her from properly absorbing nutrients. And finally, they would take small biopsies from the three sites to test for Celiac disease (Gluten intolerance).

We were all nervous wrecks as the day of her procedure approached-last Tuesday. We had a 5 am arrival time. A wife of one of Nick's friends came and stayed with Ben and Sophie, so Nick and I could leave at 4am. Ouch!, but we discovered that there isn't much traffic at that time. There was a lot of waiting, but eventually she was prepped for surgery. She was the oldest of the three babies in the pediatric wing that morning. The pediatric anaesthesiologist was a bit concerned that she would have some separation anxiety once they took her back since she was too little to understand what was going on. He decided that she should have some oral drops that would make her sleepy before they carried her back. The result wasn't so much sleepy as it seemed she acted a little tipsy. After the drops and for the next 2o minutes, everything was hilarious to her. She laughed and laughed at Nick and I. She would wriggle free from our arms on her bed and then dramatically fall down, roll over and laugh. She lightened a very tense mood and allowed us all to laugh.

When it was her turn to go back, she gladly went into the anaesthesiologists arms. We each gave her a kiss and she waved goodbye to us like she was going on a grand adventure! The procedure took less than a hour. The hardest part was watching her wake from the anaesthesia. It took her a really long time to come to, but once she did, she was her old self again. She found the oxygen mask enormously entertaining, and tried to put it on both Nick and I and the nurse. She cuddled with me and her favorite blanket and new stuffed kitty. We were trying to have a sense of humor about this somehow (hairball). After awhile she was allowed to have to juice. It was her first time! She loved it and guzzled it down and wanted more. Soon we were moved to the floor where she was allowed to have more juice, eat and we were discharged.

The doctors said that everything looked good in her stomach and small intestine. There is no obstruction or hair ball that is preventing her from growing. We are still waiting for the results on the biopsies for Celiac disease. Frankly, that is something we can live with. It would be a lifestyle change for us all, but is very manageable. I promise to let you know when we get the results! We are so blessed so far that nothing has come back positive. It's likely she's just little and will grow more in due time.

Random Spring Photos

I haven't been very good about updating the blog lately. Sorry! Blame the beautiful weather-we usually play outside until dinnertime everyday. Blame the start of t-ball, gymnastics, or the 3 busy kids! Here are a few random photos from this spring, especially for the grandparents!



Here is Addie in Sophie's Easter bonnet!




A decent (?) family photo on Easter day.

The best shot of the three (Especially for Kristen-your not the only one who finds it impossible to take a good photo of three kids! Notice big brother choking Addie?)

Easter Egg hunt-we came out with a grand total of 8 eggs! (Sophie found 7, Ben 1)

Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

Sophie 'melling' the blossoms!

Ben on the National Mall

Sophie before the egg hunt-it was very humid that day. Notice the curls?

And finally Addie with her birthday quilt from Aunt Pam! (Promise to get a better photo for you Aunt Pam!) She's sleeping with it every night now.

More to come I promise!

Sophie turns 3!

March 31 marked an important day in the Cook household. Sophie turned 3!

Benny was on spring break from school, so we decided to take a little trip. Shopping trip that is! We had been waiting for a good day to take Sophie to the mall to make a Build-a-bear, her reward for being fully potty trained. The malls here are CRAZY on the weekends, so we decided a mid-week trip suited us just fine. After all, who wants to go to an overly crowded mall with three small children and a husband who does not enjoy crowds. Not I!

Of course, the first thing we had to do at the mall was make her bear. She picked a coconut colored bear and named her 'Heart'. She also dressed her as a ballerina. She had a blast going through the process of stuffing her bear, washing it, brushing it, then deciding on clothes for it to wear.

Next stop was the day salon for little girls. Now, don't think I am crazy. I didn't really take Sophie to a day spa for her third birthday. That would be ridiculous. She did get her hair trimmed though for $5! I couldn't believe it-$5! Last time she had her hair trimmed at the salon I was going to they charged me $25! (Highway robbery I say, and I nearly had a heart attack!) Anyway, after her haircut, the stylist painted a little glittery heart on her cheek. Sophie was more than excited and decided she was a princess. After all, the salon was designed for little girls and was all pink and glittery. We will definitely go back next time we need a haircut.

We ran a few more errands at the mall, and then headed home for naps. Benny and I had work to do, frosting Sophie's cake and getting her presents ready.


Meanwhile, a friend picked Benny up at our house and took him to a new playground. When the girls woke from their naps, we joined them . Everyone had a great time exploring the new playground equipment. Probably too soon, we had to head to the Metro to pick up Daddy, and then head home to celebrate.

We had an easy pizza dinner and then chocolate cupcakes! Sophie had been wanting a Mermaid cake. We had originally thought we would have a joint party for the girls, but with spring break and Easter, most of our friends were out of town. We decided a party might be better another time. It seemed silly to order a big cake, after all there are only 5 of us, and Benny won't eat frosting. So, I concocted a Mermaid cake of sorts out of two colors of aqua frosting, some sprinkles and cupcakes! I think it turned out alright, and Sophie was thrilled!




Later we did some present opening. She enjoyed opening some clothes, puzzles, and best of all a pink cozy coupe! She loves riding around outside in her new wheels. A few weeks prior, Benny and I had a chance to do some birthday shopping. He decided to buy his little sister a birthday crown, stick on earrings (a huge hit!), and a Fancy Nancy beauty set which included body glitter, lip gloss, and nail polish. Our girly girl really thought she was now a princess and is seen here wearing her new crown.

Here is Sophie with her new bear and lots of pink presents!

We had such a wonderful day celebrating our little girls 3rd Birthday. She continues to be such a blessing to us!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Sweet Adeline turns 1!

She is sweet, she is little, and now sweet, little Addie is 1!

Adeline turned 1 on Saturday, and we just had to have a little celebration! This is the first time Nick has been home for one of his children's 1st birthdays! We didn't do much, but we tried to make it special. And, we do plan on having a combined party of sorts in April for both girls. (Sophie turns 3 next week!)

I stumbled upon this cute birthday shirt last month, and I just had to get it for Addie. It reads 'Birthday Girl'.




Sophie helped me make cupcakes, pink of course. We love the book Pinkalicious at our house, so it just seemed natural that Addie's cupcakes would be pink. Sophie also found this headband at the party store last week. Addie wasn't so much a fan, but I did manage to get a quick picture before she pulled it off.

Addie was thrilled when we sang Happy Birthday to her. I'm sure all of the neighbors heard too, as we celebrated out on our deck. It was a beautiful 75 degrees!

Pinkalicious was too cute in her 'pinktails' enjoying her pink cupcake.

Addie poked and prodded her cupcake, but I'm not sure she ate more than just a little bit of strawberry frosting. This was as messy as it got, and she soon started hollering to be cleaned up!

I have to say that I'm not so sure I'm a fan of pink cupcakes, but Sophie loved them. We will try chocolate for our next little girls birthday.

We had a lovely day and we are so thankful to have sweet little Addie as part of our family!

One lost, two gained

Teeth that is! We seem to be in the business of teeth these days. Addie is working on numbers 7 & 8, but most importantly Ben lost his first!

The tooth in question had been loose for about 5 weeks. I had no idea it could take that long for the little bugger to fall out. Ben was super excited about it, especially since most kids in his class have already lost their first. He couldn't have been a bigger boy about it. We wiggled it daily, he let us pull on it, but to no avail.

At the end of last week, the tooth was listing from side to side. It would turn sideways. It was just gross! Finally after dinner on Friday night, I told Ben "that tooth just has to come out this weekend. Dry it off, and try to pull on it again." He did as instructed, and out it came with one pull!

He couldn't have been more excited! By some amazing timing, Nick called just at that moment to tell us he was on his way home. Ben told him the news, and then excitedly made phone calls to his grandparents.

Here is a peek at his new smile!



Ben was really intrigued by the idea of the tooth fairy. I had bought him a sweet little tooth fairy pillow at Harrod's in London when he was just a little guy. He immediately went upstairs to dig it out of his dresser.

I asked on Facebook what was customary for the tooth fairy to bring these days. A dollar seems to be the consensus. Daddy decided that since it was his first tooth, he would get $2, but $1 for all the next.

Ben was up early Saturday morning to check that pillow, and you better believe he was excited! I think he is still more excited about the tooth though!

Random Thoughts

Lots of things have been going on at the Cook household lately. We are busy, busy, busy with three very active kids! I have not been as good at taking pictures as I would like to be, but I just can't seem to find the time! There have been lots of sweet moments here lately, not all especially blog or picture worthy just yet....

Ben has his first loose tooth! He refers to it as his 'wiggly' tooth. It rocks freely back and forth in the tooth socket. It no longer hurts. It has been 'wiggly' for almost three weeks now. So, we are patiently waiting for this stubborn tooth to exit Ben's mouth so he can use his tooth fairy pillow. I also promised to take him to see the new tooth fairy movie staring 'The Rock'-that is if it is still in theaters!

Sophie is still a whirlwind of energy. The other day I was upstairs in the bedroom, when I heard a chair slide on the kitchen floor below. I ran downstairs to find Sophie sitting on the counter with the can of formula and a bottle. Apparently she heard Addie awake on the baby monitor and was going to fix her a bottle! She has also recently hoisted herself up on the counter to feed Ben's beta fish. She is trouble all around, but so much fun!

Addie is on the go. She crawls, she stands, and she spends her day cruising-around the furniture that is. She loves to push things too. She will push Bitty Baby's crib, toy baskets, chairs, and the kids art easel. She consistently takes a step or two on her own, but then she falls down. She has discovered that she can cruise around the kitchen holding on the the cupboards. Then one day, she discovered that she can open them too! It wasn't long before she was digging around in the pots and pans cupboard when out she came with the cheese grater! How is it that kids are magnets for things they shouldn't have? Daddy has since put locks on all of the cupboards and we are officially baby proofed (or at least I think we are!).

Addie has also discovered the stairs. We live in a three story townhouse with high ceilings. We have two big flights of stairs, plus steps leading from room to room on the main story. So, we have LOTS of stairs. We have the gates to some, but it really is impossible to block them all. Now that she has learned how to climb them, she is practicing her new trick at every chance. One moment she'll be crawling along behind you, the next she will be 8 steps up. When I catch up to her, she just smiles and giggles.

Addie is a very sweet natured baby. She is very content, loves to cuddle and barely fusses. We are so blessed. But now, her emerging personality is coming forward. I think it is safe to say that we may have another 'Sophie' on our hands. She's developed a knack for trouble and is just a little stinker lately! She has also discovered her voice. She makes all kinds of sounds and says a few words. But her favorite thing to do lately is to scream. She screams loud. So loud in fact that Nick started to yell at Sophie the other night for screaming when he realized that the noise was coming from Adeline. Sometimes in the morning, I can't tell which girl is awake and babbling on the baby monitor. They sound so much alike!

We are hoping that these winter days will soon be over so we can spend some time outside. The sidewalk to school is nearly cleared so hopefully we can resume walking next week. For the time being we have been carpooling with a friend. Sophie and I have been working a little each day at clearing the remaining snow out of the bushes and off our parking spaces (yes, we had that much snow!). Next week Sophie is taking a trial gymnastics class at Little Gym. She is very excited to "hang"-from the bars that is! If it goes well, we will likely sign her up for a session. Ben starts tee-ball in March and is anxiously awaiting meeting his new teammates.

I promise to post some videos of Addie walking soon, and hopefully some cute pics of Ben with a toothy grin!

Warmer Days

As we are still 2 feet under snow, I thought I would post some pictures from a warm January day. We took advantage of the nice weather to try out Ben's new bike, Sophie's new helmet, and my new camera!



I somehow managed to NOT get a picture of Ben on his bike, but here is one of him on his scooter!

Sophie has a new princess helmet, but nothing to ride! Poor girl is too short for Ben's old bike, we gave Ben's old trike to the Goodwill, and she isn't coordinated enough to do the scooter just yet. Don't worry, someone has a birthday coming soon!

Wishing for more warmer days ahead!

Snowpocolypse

Snowpocolypse, Snowmageddon, Superstorm.... Those are a few names swirling around on the news to describe our current snowstorm. Whatever you choose to call it, it is a lot of snow!

We are going a little stir crazy here in the house. Luckily we were able to play outside a little yesterday and also today. Ben has played with every toy he owns, we have made forts, treats, watched movies and colored in the kitchen by the fireplace.

Here are a few photos from the latest storm. We received about 24 inches of snow over 30 hours. School was cancelled Friday (before it even started snowing!), today (Monday), tomorrow and Wednesday. Oh, and due to a mini storm last week, and a four day weekend, Ben only attended school on Tuesday and Thursday last week. We are now 5 days 'in the hole' for snow days, one will be made up on President's Day, the other four possibly on Saturdays, or tacked on to the end of the school year, sending Benny to school until almost July (I'm serious!).

We are expected to have another storm starting tomorrow accumulating another 10-20". Tell me, where will we, or should I more accurately say Nick, put this snow? We have run out of room!!!!

Here is Benny in his 'Snow Fort' or large hole he dug in the snow.

Sophie enjoyed sliding around in the snow too!

Here is a front view of our townhouse. Notice our narrow driveway and the amount of snow already piled in our tiny yard (if you can call it that!).

Here is the view from our garage before Nick started the big dig out. This photo was taken in the morning before it snowed an additional 6 or 8 inches.

And finally, here is the picnic table on our deck!

We are prepared as we can be for the next storm coming tomorrow. I went to the grocery store to try and refill our cupboards. Unfortunately, they were all out of meat and most produce from last weeks big stock-up pre-Snowpocolypse. I did manage to come up with a few meal ideas as well as picked up staples for the kids. Things may get a little interesting at the Cook household over the next few days, but I know we will survive.

If you have any great ideas to entertain our kids, please pass them on!

Christmas

Here is a quick Christmas recap from the Cook family! We decided to brave the trek home to Michigan-an 11 hour drive! It went quite smoothly this time. Ben kept himself busy in the way back with his Leapster system, coloring books and toys. Addie was an angel baby and somehow entertained herself or slept for the entire trip. Sophie was her usual self and needed to have constant interaction with the parent in the passenger seat. The last hour and a half was a little hairy, but otherwise we managed to keep her somewhat happy. Luckily, Smokey did not make this trip with us, but instead stayed at a kennel in Virginia. He's a good passenger, but rest stops get a little chaotic with three kids and a dog!

We arrived late on the 23rd, just in time for bed. The kids were so excited to be at Oma and Little Pa's house!

We brought our stockings from home and actually took a picture of all three kids with them on Christmas Eve (this proved to be much more challenging on Christmas Day).



Addie fully enjoyed the present opening. Of course she loved the paper, boxes and bows, but she seemed to enjoy her presents too! She still had to perform her usual tricks-'I love my doll, but I love to stand more!'



It was a very princess Christmas for Sophie. We are still finding glitter on everything! She received a princess crown, princess dress up clothes and princess shoes! My parents also gave her a box of Disney princess dolls. She loves them! She is very into matching her princess shoes to whichever doll she is currently playing with.

Here is Sophie admiring her box of princess shoes from her Uncle Steve. (And of course she is dressed as 'Mermaid' or Disney's Ariel.)

Ben had a great Christmas too. He had so much fun with his grandparents, Uncle Matt and Jackie, Uncle Steve and Maria, and all those seconds cousins and great aunts and uncles! Christmas is the one time of year where our kids can be with all of their extended family. It was so good for them to be so showered with love and attention!

Our journey home was a very looooong one. Poor Addie was sick (but slept most the way) and Sophie split her tongue as we were getting ready to get in the car. Needless to say we got a later start than planned. Sophie couldn't eat anything for most of the ride home, although we were lucky to find jello at one stop and a yogurt parfait at another. She was cranky, cranky, but understandably so. Now about 10 days later, her poor tongue has just about healed but will probably have a scar.

Our rough ride home was brightened when we walked in and the kids realized that Santa had visited Virginia too! He brought a new, bigger bike for Benny, an art easel for all of the kids, and a kitchen for Sophie. It's been way too cold for Ben to take his bike out, but Sophie loves her kitchen! She makes lots of treats for us, but her specialty is making coffee while talking on the phone......

I hope you all enjoyed the many blessings of Christmas this year!