Cute as a button

Not much has been happening here at the Cook Household. Nick has a new boss, so he is once again the Aide de Camp (General's Aide). He was not supposed to be in this position since we have orders to move, however, Fort Riley has failed to hire an aide to replace Nick yet. So, Nick is working really long hours and we don't see him much. He has spent the last several days in Washington D.C. with the General. We miss him terribly, but the upside is that he was able to scout out some neighborhoods to narrow our house search. He's coming home tonight, and the kids are really excited to have their Daddy back.

The house showings have seemed to slow down now that spring break time is over. I'm relieved that I don't have to keep loading the kids and dog into the car and finding someplace to entertain everyone for an hour. But, I'm starting to get a little nervous that we haven't sold it yet. It's only been six weeks, but we need to leave here by the first week of June. Our real estate agent is really optimistic though, so we are keeping our hopes up for now.

Adeline is growing like a weed. She sleeps and eats lots and is generally a very content baby. During an awake period the other day she was making the sweetest faces. She and I were snuggling on the couch, so I decided to grab my camera and take some photos of her. I'm finding it really hard to take many photos these days. Something is always going on here at home. But here are a few new ones.... Enjoy!

We still can't decide what color her eyes are. Benny's were blue from the start, and Sophie's were dark brown from day one. Adeline's seem to change by the day or the light. Just when we are convinced that they are a lighter shade of brown, there will be a day when they look really blue. I guess time will tell.

Benny has been an especially good helper lately. He often holds Adeline for me in the morning. This gives me a chance to do some dishes or feed Sophie her breakfast without having to put Addie in her bed or baby bouncer. She loves the attention, and Ben is so cute with her.

Sophie does ok with Adeline. I have to really watch her because she is constantly poking at Addie. She tries to give Addie her baby doll bottles. Sometimes she covers with blankets or gives her a rattle. Her intentions are good, but it still makes me nervous. Lately she is fascinated with Addie's mouth, especially when Addie has a pacifier. Sophie is constantly pulling it out and then exclaims "Uh oh, Baby's mouth, Baby's crying". More often than not, Sophie is playing with her baby dolls and mimics what I do. The other day I walked into the family room and found her holding her baby on the Boppy pillow. It was so sweet.

More sweet moments to come!

Easter

Our Easter Festivities started off with egg dying on Good Friday. At first Ben only wanted to use three of the colors, but finally decided to use most of them. I was really impressed when he wanted to dye some eggs red. His reasoning? He said the red dye represented the blood of Jesus. I guess he has been paying attention at church! We started the egg coloring after Sophie was in bed. I feel a bit bad about it, but we were all exhausted from two house showings (aka cleanings), and I just didn't want to deal with any more messes than I had too. She'll have here chance next year.

Our eggs turned out great, although of course we couldn't get Ben to try one.

The next morning was the St. Xavier egg hunt. Grandma and Big Pa were able to join us and see the kids hunting for eggs before they headed home to Michigan. Since our church hosted the event at a local park, there were a lot of familiar faces and kids from Ben's school. Of course Ben's best friend Nicky was there, and as usual they never left each others sides. Ben managed to pick up lots of eggs and treats and even won a kite in the raffle following the hunt. He can't wait for a warm and windy day to fly it!

It didn't take Sophie long to master the art of picking up eggs. Nick helped her a little at first, but then she got the hang of it. It was so cute watching the under three crowd searching for eggs. There was more than enough to go around, and the parents had to help the kids pick up the last bits of candy.

After the egg hunt, Sophie enjoyed a Tootsie Pop. She was very pleased with her stash of candy.

On Easter Sunday Sophie arose first which is unusual, so we decided to wake Ben so the two could hunt for eggs together. The Easter Bunny delivered lots of chocolate treats as well as a few small toys and books. We tried to keep the focus more on Jesus and less on the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny even brought chocolate crosses instead of chocolate bunnies! Ben is absolutely infatuated with the two eggs of silly putty he received. Sophie just loves her new marker set and wants to color all of the time.

After our fun egg hunting, we cleaned up for church. The kids both wore their new Easter clothes which they also wore to have their pictures taken a few weeks ago. (Those photos will go out with the birth announcements.... sometime!). Ben helped pick out their matching duds on a trip to Topeka earlier in the spring. He insisted that we buy him the tie that matched his dress shirt. It is the first time he has ever had a tie, and to our complete surprise, he actually wore it and didn't complain one bit!



Later in the afternoon, we joined our friends Jennifer and Christian, and their daughter Taylor for a great dinner at their house. We dined on smoked brisket and lots of other yummy things, and the kids had a great time playing together.

I hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Sophie's 'Happy' Day

Finding the time to blog has been a bit difficult lately. I thought I would have more time to catch up over the last week, because my parents were visiting, but somehow I managed to do less. Hopefully, over the next few days I can play catch up and get everything up to date.

Sophie turned the big 2 on March 31! On her actual birthday, we celebrated with a nice dinner, a few presents, and of course some chocolate cupcakes! I had taken both Sophie and Adeline to Walmart, our first real venture out, the day prior. I let Sophie pick out the cake mix, frosting, and cupcake papers. Much to her brother's delight, she picked chocolate cake and frosting. She very much enjoyed her cupcake, but didn't get nearly as messy as I had anticipated. I guess she is growing up!

She opened her presents that had arrived in the mail from both sets of Grandparents, as well as a new Vera Bradley purse from Mommy and Daddy that matches Adeline's diaper bag. She was thrilled with her new clothes, and the purse that promptly became her baby's diaper bag. It's so funny to watch her play. She's filled the purse with a play bottle, rattle and plastic spoon. Bitty Baby also received a birthday outfit which Sophie wanted her to wear right away.

We had to save her big present for the small party we were planning for Sunday. Sunday was also the day we were having our first open house, and we didn't want too many playthings out for everyone to see. Saturday my parents arrived to help for a week, and to meet baby Adeline. Sunday evening Sophie was able to open the remainder of her gifts. She received the sweetest little play cottage. It's made of fabric that covers a metal frame. There are two halves that push together to make a house. Inside, it came with a stove and some kitchen accessories. We have a few more things to go with it, but are waiting until after the upcoming move to put them together. The house has curtains and a door with a mail slot and is really just too cute! She and Benny have had a blast playing 'house' together. Benny pretends that he is the husband, and Sophie is the wife. It's really sweet.

After presents we had a treat. Ice cream cake! We sang Happy Birthday again and Sophie was thrilled. Nick tried to teach her to say Happy Birthday, but all she'll say is 'Happy'. Now, every time she sees a cake she exclaims 'happy'!

And really, she is the happiest little girl. I can't quite believe that she's two years old now!

Surviving the 1st week home

Well, we have been home just over a week, and we are surviving. The phrase "You don't have to be crazy but it helps" runs through my mind frequently though! Nick was off from work last week, but returned to his normal schedule today. Luckily, normal means he is home by 5:30 everyday!

Daddy with his girls

Adeline continues to change and grow right before our eyes. She is really starting to get chubby cheeks and a double chin. She still has those chicken legs though! Tomorrow we go for a check up, so we'll see how much weight she has gained. At the beginning of last week, we weren't getting much sleep. Actually, she was getting sleep, but we weren't. She is a content, easy baby so far, but really likes to be cuddled at night. She'll happily sleep all day in her bassinet, but until Saturday, she wanted nothing to do with it at night time. The last two nights have been better, and I am starting to feel human again.

Both kids love to hold Adeline

We've made a few outings uneventfully too! Thursday we went to pick up some essentials at Target, and she was so good that we stayed out to have lunch at Panera Bread too. Saturday we received more snow than we have the rest of the winter combined, so we laid low until Sunday when it warmed up enough for us to go out to church. Today, I even ventured out myself with both girls to Walmart to pick up some birthday supplies for Sophie who turns two tomorrow!

Sophie helped with Addie's first sponge bath

Now for the crazy part. Last week we showed our house three times! For those of you who have never had your house on the market, this means that you live very, very clean. Then you get a call that someone wants to see your house. Sometimes they call the night before, but twice we've had just an hours notice. At this point, we all run around like crazy, cleaning even more. Then all 5 of us, plus our 100 pound dog hop into the car and drive around for an hour. It's great fun...... Luckily, Nick and I have the home staging thing down to a science. The hardest part is keeping the kids busy, and not letting them make more messes while we clean. This is especially tricky for Sophie who always wants to help. She has zero interest in the tv, so we try to give her a chore to keep her busy. Hopefully, someone will want to make an offer soon!

Sophie has learned a few tricks this past week too. When she wants to see the baby, she goes into the bathroom and gets the stool so she can look into the bassinet. She also now fetches the stool to help me put clothes into the washer. The trick that isn't so great is that she has learned to open doors. Now, all of those clean and protected rooms are no longer Sophie proof. She loves to go into Ben's room since it's a virtual treasure trove of toys. Now, nothing is safe.... Help me!

If one 'pretty' is good, then 6 must be better!

As crazy as our week has been, we are so blessed to have Adeline as part of our family. Nick and I are so thankful for our three beautiful and healthy children. I haven't been the greatest about taking pictures this week, but I promise more to come soon!

Sweet Adeline

Our first day home has been uneventful. We have pretty much just been cuddling on the couch with the kids and the new baby. Sophie is absolutely fascinated by the new baby. She wants to hold her and touch her all of the time, and every time she leaves the room she says "Bye baby". Sophie gets a little upset when we don't let her hold the baby by herself. I have to say that it will be a while before we trust her, since her track record with her baby dolls is not so good. We had a long night, but I hope that it will get better soon.

Nick and the kids are at church, Adeline is napping, and I am supposed to be resting. Of course that means I've showered, picked up the kids toys, started the dishwasher and some laundry, and now am on the computer. I wanted to post a few more pictures of our sweet little one (and big ones too). I promise more to come!

Here is a thrilled big brother, holding his new baby sister. Benny has been so wonderful and patient over the last few days. He does everything asked of him, and has been so sweet with his newest baby sister. However, his patience with Sophie has not increased, and who could blame him since her mission seems to be to terrorize him! (We can't count how many Lego creations have been destroyed!)

Sophie loves to hold Baby Addie. So far, she hasn't been jealous-just a bit curious. She wants to be right there in the middle of the action all of the time. She fetches burp cloths, sleepers and blankets for the baby. I guess she thinks we need to change her clothes more often. Yesterday, I was explaining to Sophie that I had to feed the baby. She ran off into our bedroom and came back with a pacifier for Adeline. I think she was trying to help!

Finally, here is Baby Adeline in her huge car seat before we left the hospital. The outfit I bought for her to wear home was way to big, so we had to settle on this one. She still looked cute though!

I promise to post more pictures as soon as possible!

A Pirate or an Alien?

Here at the Cook House, we are anxiously awaiting our newest little one. I am predicting that it will be any day now, but who knows! We had a very busy week last week, full of doctors appointments. Baby Cook has dropped significantly, and earlier in the week, my midwife was concerned. I had been measuring right where I should be (36 weeks, 37 weeks), and then I dropped back to 32 weeks. I was sent for a myriad of tests including two ultrasounds, two non-stress tests, and an extra appointment with my midwife. All is well with the baby, she is just on the small side (about 6 pounds), and is sitting very, very low. She could come at anytime!

On Wednesday I had two appointments, and Nick and I had to juggle the kids around. Sophie went to the YMCA for the day to make things easier for us. Ben went to Church group with me, and then Nick picked him up from Church and took him to work on post. Ben was thrilled to go to Daddy's office for a few hours. I went to my ultrasound appointment, and then we all met up to take Ben to school and get a quick lunch. Ben was so excited about being at Daddy's work and having a quick Happy Meal in the car that he couldn't stop talking about it when he arrived at school. His teacher decided to sit down with him and record the mornings events. Just to preface, Baby Cook is still to be named. Ben is convinced she should be named Elizabeth, which is both my and Sophie's middle name. We are afraid we have used that one too much (sorry Mom). We'll let you know her name when we finally decide! Also, the picture from my ultrasound, was not very good. It is a front on picture of the baby's face, and Nick can't even figure out where her eyes and nose are. This is Ben's take on the mornings events...

We were in the car having my McDonald's meal. My Mom and Dad were eating some of my french fries. Then my Mom showed my Dad the picture from my Mom's doctors appointment. I'm naming her Elizabeth, that's my new sister that's in my Mom's stomach still. Her eyes looked like one had on a pirate patch and then the head looks like a skeleton head. She looked like a t-shirt a little, like there was sleeves in the picture, like long sleeves. That was her body. I saw no feet in that picture. I was like 'this is an alien baby'! The first time my Mom had the pictures taken, the baby looked like she was an alien. It creeped me out!

I sincerely hope that our sweet baby girl will look nothing like a pirate, or an alien for that matter. Hopefully, we will find out very soon!

Our Next Move!

It's been a little while between posts. That virus the kids had finally caught up to me, and then Nick had his Lasix surgery last Friday. It was a rough weekend, but we are all on the mend now, and finally have some news to share!

Nick was accepted into the OCLL (Office of the Congressional Legislative Liaison) Fellowship program! It will be a three year assignment in the Washington DC area. We are more than thrilled! We have lots of friends in the area that we are anxious to catch up with, and we can't wait to experience all of the cultural attractions.

This year, the fellowship program has changed in that now it will include a Masters program as well. Nick will be attending The George Washington University, and over 18 months will earn his Masters in Legislative Affairs. This was a huge surprise to us! The original program did not include the opportunity to earn a masters. The other big surprise is that he has to report in late June! We were planning on arriving in August. Needless to say, we have swung into full gear here, and even met with our realtor today. We were planning on putting our house on the market next month, sometime after the baby arrives. Now, we have been forced to move our timeline up 6 weeks.

Nick will start classes just after the 4th of July. In September, he will begin orientation on Capitol Hill for the OCLL program. In January 2010, Nick will start a one year term as a Congressional Aide. Basically, he will be a military advisor to a Congressman (let's hope he gets a good one!). All the while, he will be taking his Masters classes. The following two years will likely be spent working at the Pentagon, although we are not exactly sure.

We are very excited about our upcoming life changes. Most people focus on either having a baby or moving, but we've decided to take both head on at the same time! The biggest thing weighing on our minds is selling our house in this terrible market, but our realtor seemed optimistic. Keep your fingers crossed!