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!