Another Bump on a Blog

Nathan the Greathan!

2012-01-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed that I haven't posted pictures of my family for a few months? It is because our computer had zero disc space left so I couldn't download them. But now we have cleaned up our computer and so I have some fun pictures to share.

Nate is now six months old!

His newest trick is sitting up. He is getting better at it everyday.

He starred as baby Jesus in the Christmas nativity. Notice the cute shepherd boy with the wild hair in the background.

Nathan's middle name is Douglas after my grandfather, father, and brother. It is a family name. I love these men so much. I've always known that I wanted to use it as a middle name and when we had Nathan it seemed like the right time. Here is a picture of my dad, grandpa, and Nate. I share a birthday with my grandpa. We've always had a great relationship.

Nathan is such a joy. He has gained more weight. He still isn't on the growth chart yet though. He is 13 pounds 2 ounces. Out of 200 kids he would be the second smallest, which is an upgrade from being the very smallest at 3 months the doc said. We anticipate him being on the growth chart by 9 months. He eats so much I still can't believe that he is so small.

And We Survived

2012-01-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

This month we...

Got sick then got better.
Pushed through rehearsal after rehearsal, then concert after concert.
Drove 25 hours to Utah in one straight shot with two little ones.
Sang I Am a Child of God at least 600 times to keep David happy on the road.
Had a crazy fun vacation in Utah with the Salisbury family.
Drove 25 hours to Texas in one straight shot with two little ones, Christmas gifts, luggage, a bike trailer (thanks Amy, we've already used it!), and A Mormon in the White House on cd.
Sang I Am a Child of God 600 more times.
Cleaned up puke #1 on our drive home at 3 in the morning. Poor David.
Got sick again.
Puked again--twice. This time at home which was more convenient.
Watched Finding Nemo about 3 times a day for a week.
Ruptured an ear drum. Poor David. I promise I try to be a good mom.
A fall out of the car seat off the table and onto the tile floor while I was reminding David to stay in bed. (Don't know how Nate pulled that off, promise to buckle him in from now on when I feed him his sweet potatoes).

And we survived! Amazing :o)!

I Love the Arts!!!!

2011-12-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been thinking about fine arts...music, paintings, classic literature, poetry, dance...and I have fostered a deep love and appreciation for them. I am in gratitude to my husband for sharing that love with me, even making my love for these things expand. We go together quite well the two of us.

Yesterday I finished Jane Eyre. It was a book that I have been wanting to read for some years now. I read each page carefully, as not to miss any meaning or description given. It was a challenge for me to do this because it isn't necessarily easy to read and understand (not to mention my boys didn't like me to read it when I should have been on their watch). But the experience was made all the sweeter by really delving in to the story as best as I could.

Jane Eyre will definitely be ranked among my favorites. I loved the themes of passion and reason. I loved that the heroine was a character with true integrity and strong values. I would recommend this book to everyone. It was truly a great classic. I found Wuthering Heights intriguing, but it is much more Gothic and sad to me. Jane Eyre was truly satisfying and was one of those rare books that didn't leave me wanting at all.

I love classic literature. I love it the best of any other genre. I love being challenged. I love how beautifully put and well described the actual character of individuals are in this genre. I suppose that specifically I speak of Victorian novels, although I love historical fiction as well.

I love the Victorian era and wonder what life would have been like then. The novels set in this period are often very romantic (think Jane Austen books). And I realize that life was difficult for people that didn't have great wealth. Still, was there really a time when women were so accomplished as to speak multiple languages, to paint, write, and play musical instruments so fluently? Was there really a period in which people sat together in one great room and entertained each other with said accomplishments? Can you imagine sitting at the knees of your family and friends and listening to them tell stories or sing or read poetry? I think the world we live in today would do well to remember times past.

Perhaps things seem better than what they really were, but even so I love the idea.

Christmas music has been added to the vocal and piano music frequently heard in our home (Brian teaches voice, I teach piano). Maybe that is another reason I have been thinking about the arts lately. I feel that art is a medium that is used to produce expressions and feelings that we would otherwise not be capable to. In many instances it lifts us higher and evokes feelings in our very souls that are difficult to describe. Whether it is a breathtaking piece of art or a sweet melody, art is a beautiful gift to the human race. And isn't it neat that we wouldn't have art without the talents and gifts that are bestowed to us? I don't consider myself a great artist or writer, but I'm grateful that I know how to appreciate these things. And I'm in awe and appreciative of those that do create art.

Sometimes I think in the virtual and at times artificial world we live in today, people forget the arts, or at least how majestic and inspiring they can be. What can replace a live performance of Chopin or Liszt? What can compare to coming face to face with an original masterpiece painting? Or what feels better than the weight of a book in your hand and the smell of real paper pages?

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate technology nor do I despise this day and age. But sometimes I do wonder how it would have been to live a in a world a few hundred years younger than this one.

Mi Templo Bello

2011-11-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

This is a video I wanted to share because this land and these people are very dear to my heart. Just seeing this video brings backs so many wonderful, tender, and spiritual memories that I am moved to tears. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve a mission and help to fortify and prepare a people for this temple, even to some small degree.

Yo Amo El Salvador.

-brian

And if the best isn't good enough...

2011-11-16T12:21:00.001-08:00

And if the best isn't good enough, meaning breastfeeding, you switch to formula!

Today I had an interesting doctor appointment with Nathan and David. Nathan has gained 10 oz. in about 2 months, so now he weighs 9 lbs. 12 ounces. I knew he was small and predicted that the doctor would say to beef up the formula intake. Shoot. I thought I had a good nurser this time! Which I do, but my milk is too skim and Nate's metabolism is too active. So he is definitely no where near being on the chart. David I learned today, is on the chart but dropping. So he hit a spurt and now is slacking off. Not too big of a deal. I guess the point is both my boys are small for their age. I keep asking myself why I am surprised. All I need to do is look at Brian and then I can say "Oh yeah...you're the dad huh?". But the doctor suggested kidney and liver screens for both of them. That's when I knew being underweight can kind of be a serious medical issue. My gut tells me they are okay, that it is just genetics, which even the doctor agreed with, so I think I'll wait on further tests for now. Part of the deal for me is that babies in my family, the Salisbury family, are generally fat. I was pretty fat. Brian was no where NEAR fat and never has been chubby. So who knows? My mom and I joke that a fat little baby girl is coming my way in the future. She'll take after me and my family and gang up on her brothers. Or maybe I won't have a girl. Maybe I'll just have a bunch of skinny blue eyed boys. Which is okay too. So I'll breastfeed Nathan until my supply runs out, which it likely will as I increase his formula intake. It is funny because this is almost exactly how long I made it nursing David. I just need to embrace the fact that I can still be a good mom if I don't nurse my babies for a year. But I never imagined I would have a hard time breastfeeding my babies. But that's life right? Full of twists and turns you never anticipate.

Nathan is definitely spirited and lively. He has awesome head control, he rolls over, he giggles and kicks his legs. Yet a lot of people are surprised that he is four months old and that he wasn't a preemie.

Anyway. I guess that is all I wanted to say. Just a little vent.

Grocery Shopping

2011-11-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Last week at the grocery store I was approaching the check out in a pretty typical way. I was pushing a cart full of groceries, David riding in the car attached to the front of the cart, which of course had a broken lap belt. It was all I could do to keep him in the thing. I was holding Nathan out in front of me because he was screaming his head off which is usually what he does at some point during our shopping trip. I'm unloading groceries very slowly, using one hand at a time, when a red headed kid with a messy face, about ten I would guess, approached us. "LOOK AT THAT LITTLE GIRL!!!" he squealed. "What is her name?" Meanwhile, I'm trying to swipe my card with my one free hand to help the line along as the people behind me were understandably wanting me to get a move on. And thanks by the way, to those people for not helping me unload my groceries and just watching me in amusement. I tried to ignore this kid but he was persistent. "CAN I GIVE HER A KISS?" Woah. This kid meant business. I told him no flat out. And if I wasn't in a hurry I would have explained that we don't let kids kiss him on the face but that he could look from an appropriate distance. I kept dodging the boy who was getting ever closer to Nathan's face. I was swinging Nate out in front of me to the left and right while I was trying to find my debit card. Then his little sister got in on the action. She also thought Nathan, the girl, was cute. It was about this point that I wondered where their mother was. I looked around and found her, with a long red-haired ponytail, also juggling kids through the dreaded self-check out lane. She was brave. But short line so I could see her point. I felt her pain. She also had her hands full and probably could hear her kids talking to me but acted like she couldn't so she could just get out of there. So I go to swipe the card and WHILE I AM SIGNING MY NAME, the kid plants one on Nathan. Right on his face! Who does that? The oldest brother of a gaggle of cute red-headed kids is who would. Any I meant to include that on my way to the check out line, the sushi lady, with a thick accent, offered to hold Nathan while I finished my shopping. I politely declined. But she insisted on grabbing his hands and cooing in his face. I actually kind of liked it. I like that people like my kids.

NOW, this week at the store, I decided to ditch the type of cart that made me feel like I was a circus show, and chose instead a normal cart. It is one thing to push a normal cart with one hand, but have you tried pushing and steering one of those huge ones with one hand? Not easy. I put Nathan facing me in his car seat and stuck David in the basket. I have done this before and although difficult, we made it through okay. I foolishly took David to the store hungry though. I soon found out that he was tampering with almost anything I put in the basket. He took a bite of a banana with its peel on for pete sake! So I was strategically placing the food that he could damage in the small area around Nathan's car seat right in front of me. All the while I am breathing threats to David that he is going to have to sit up by me and not in the basket. So I was putting things around him that I thought were safe, cans of food, gallons of milk, etc. It wasn't long before David, who doesn't really talk well yet, was getting my attention "Daddy! Daddy! Hmmmmshlaaaa uhhhhhh." I tried to ignore him but after a while he started to whimper. I couldn't really see him over my mountain of food stuffed in the kiddy seat with Nathan included, so I walked around to the front to see what was up. Oh no. David had throw up all over his clothes and dribbling down his chin. My first instinctive feeling was guilt for getting after him so much. He obviously wasn't feeling very good. "Oh David. Let's get you cleaned up." I pushed my way to the side of an aisle and found a wipe. As I wiped him down I realized that the puke didn't smell sour like I thought it would. I looked around and found a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup halfway open and knew immediately that he didn't throw up at all. He popped the easy lid of the can and took a swig! And the worst part of all is that I didn't want to pay a dollar for the blasted soup! And I knew I didn't want to try and save the rest of it because it would spill all over my car.

I don't know what the point to these stories are. I guess for me it is that my idea of normal is totally different now that I have kids. I've heard stories like these before but never really understood how real they were. This is my reality. Do I love it? Sometimes. Is it hard? Oh yeah. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I love these guys so much. Even if they make things 20 times harder than they need to be.

Happy Birthday David!

2011-11-01T09:48:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!!!

David's mommy always said "Oh David!". Oh David! You are now a terrible two! And not so terrible. Not yet. Although you enjoy an occasional temper tantrum and the need to say "no" to everything I say.

I love that you are a boy. This means nose picking and killing bugs outside.

David, I love the way you like to stick your tongue out. Especially when you feel shy. I love the way you wrap your arms around my neck when I put you to bed and giggle in my ear.

I really love your small little mouth. Just like daddy's.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little kid I know!

Winter Wheat

2011-10-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just finished this for the second time, a few years after reading it for the first time. This time round, I loved it even more and felt that I could connect well with the themes in this novel. The book describes the life of young Ellen Webb and what she learns about love and hate. Whereas last time I related most with Ellen and her lover Gil, this time I really enjoyed the story of her parents. The book seems to address the question "How is true love defined?". It was also written in the 1940s and is a classic. It reminded me of My Antonia in some ways.

View all my reviews

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

2011-10-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really fun mystery novel. I usually get spooked easily but the suspense was just right in this one. I loved how the author (who I learned is a 70+ man) writes about things forgotten, like stamps and stamp collections. The book also included chemistry/poison and magic which made for some pretty interesting whodunit ideas for the reader. The main character was really developed and it was refreshing to read about an eleven year-old girl heroine. Fun read for October!

View all my reviews

For Dad Sequel

2011-10-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I posted about a little froggy on my porch. The post was for my dad because he is a true outdoors-man. I was trying to describe to him that we have frogs, geckos, etc. here. He really loves critters, and was recently wondering about armadillos in Texas. Well dad, here you go. I found one on my porch the other day. He was digging up fire ants for lunch. I wish he would come back and eat some more.

Want Some?

2011-10-04T10:48:00.001-07:00

AWESOME BROWNIES: They won't fail you!

My family loves brownies. Usually we just make them from the box, but because I didn't have a box on hand one time when I wanted to bake some up, I decided it was high time I just made them from scratch. For all of you adventurous bakers out there, I thought I would share with you my awesome brownie recipe.

Two things that are KEY to good brownies (in my experience).

1) If you beat the batter you're going to have cakey brownies. If you're going for fudgey, use a wooden spoon to mix the batter. Beating them fluffs the eggs too much.
2) Don't let brownies over cook. As long as the toothpick comes out clean, it doesn't matter how soft they look or feel. Get them outta the oven!

The Recipe: And don't worry, cause it is easy!

In a bowl mix the following with a wooden spoon one ingredient at a time:

1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten (I just stab the yoke with my wooden spoon and incorporate them in to the above ingredients)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. flour (this is where it takes some muscle using that spoon!)
1/4 tsp. salt (sprinkle around the mix before using the spoon so it is well incorporated)
1/4 tsp. baking powder (same as above)

Stir all ingredients well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes in an 8x8 greased dish.

Frosting: What really makes the brownie!

3 T. softened butter
3 T. cocoa
1 T. Honey (yes honey)
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix above ingredients together. For best results, frost brownies while they are still warm.

If you live in Texas, don't forget to serve it with the good stuff:

We had this for our FHE treat last night. What does your family like for a treat?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

2011-09-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. What a memoir! I found this really fascinating. It really got me thinking. I'm just getting used to the idea of motherhood and how to get my two year old to say "mom", but teaching math to toddlers? I think I connected with the theme of this so well that I gave the book four stars. However, I could see how well seasoned mothers would find her methods horrifying. I do think that Amy Chua is extremely prideful to the point of bragging about her life...of course in the Chinese culture this attitude is acceptable, but I would say that the American culture is turned off by someone that flaunts their lifestyle so openly. The author really isn't very likable. But the ideas in her book! I would never adopt her parenting style, BUT I really thought she had some good observations about "western" parenting. One that I thought most true, was how Americans feel that children should have the freedom to choose what they want to be passionate about. Her premise was that if you let a child do that their "passion" will be to spend hours on facebook everyday and eat junk food. But her flip-side is extreme, commanding her children and telling them what they will and will not do. She wanted her children to be music prodigies and so she made it happen. I do think it is important to invest in your children and observe what they may naturally be good at whether it is sports, music, acting, etc. I don't think I would force my children to do something that they did not want to do. There is just no way I could compare myself to this mother HOWEVER, from a mormon mommy standpoint, I would like to see her try and have seven or eight kids. I understand better why a lot of Asian families tend to be small. Very interesting read if you are up for it!

New car and other ramblings

2011-09-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

We bought an awesome car this summer. We had such a crazy summer that we didn't have time to think about how bad we needed another car, especially because Brian has such early mornings as a teacher, and a decent commute. Now that we have it I don't know how we could have survived...I would have had to wake the boys up and we would have driven him to work everyday. Not so fun. Anyway I'll talk more about the car in a minute. But buying the car has caused me to reflect upon my summer a bit...

Our summer seemed to be one of constant change and extremes. I thought about blogging about it, but I don't really know what to say or how I feel about my summer. But I do enjoy reading what a great summer others have had. It seems surreal that people actually had a summer of swimming, vacationing, and relaxing. Our summer was anything but normal. In some ways my summer seems so far away, and in others it seems as if the season didn't come around at all, as though I am stuck in that strange period between winter and spring, summer and fall.

In a nutshell (a big nutshell) Brian finished his degree and there was still no job in sight. We were living with his parents and my obstetrician's practice closed down (weird). So I was left without an OB and it was looking like we wouldn't be in our new place before the baby came. So I told Brian we should spend the summer in Utah. It is SOOOO hot and muggy in Houston that nobody spends time outside. In fact, a lot of people around here seem to disappear during the summer, the way older folks gravitate to warmer climates during the cold season only opposite. I needed to find a new OB anyway right? We may even get a job in Utah right? I mean we did have several applications in there. So after much convincing, Brian agreed that it would be fine to go to Utah.

We had so much fun. It is hard for me to talk about it because I miss my family a ton. We stayed up late playing Mario with my little brother and sister. We celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday which I helped plan. We spent time outside. We got to hang out with family and old friends. I'm SO endeared to Utah and would love to live there again.

So this could all get really long and complicated...in the end we moved back to Texas when I was 37 weeks pregnant (about two weeks before my baby was born). We came back to a job, but still not a place to live. I had been misguided by medicaid about getting our baby covered in Utah and it turned out to be way more expensive than we realized. We could have stayed but felt like we had better get back to Houston. It was the hardest decision I have ever made and I'm not even joking. I hated leaving! I love Utah! I had medicaid in Texas already established so we returned.

Brian and I did some house hunting hoping to find something fast. That is when we were introduced to the house we are in now. The renter before us promised to get out ASAP but in the end, August 1 was the soonest he could leave. We knew we could fall back on Brian's parents again and stay there if necessary. At the time Brian's sister was staying there for an extended period with her kids, because they too were moving and needed a place for a few weeks before there move-in date. Luckily, a lady in our old ward offered us her house, as she would be gone on vacation all summer. So we stayed there, had the baby, and moved in to our place on Aug. 1.

Now if that isn't the WORST timing you have ever heard of, I would like to know. Sheesh. Brian and I were pushed to our max this summer. We felt like we were definitely put through the refiners fire. But in the end, we came out on top and once again, have grown because of our trials. I did feel like one crazy woman though. I love the home we are in now. I love the peace that surrounds me. I love how we are literally away from the stress of daily life. I couldn't be happier...well except maybe if I could drag my family down here with me.

And now for the car. Are you dying to see this beauty?

Wait for it....

Almost....

TA-DA!!!!

This puppy was five hundred bucks. It has a small crack in the radiator, so it leaks water. That is the ONLY thing wrong with it. AC great. Engine great. Mileage great. Tires splendid. So Brian fills the radiator with water every few days and we are set.

I have to mention here that Brian has a new found love of car detailing. I know we are weird. But he just loves cleaning. This car was quite an experiment for him. Because he has summers off, he had plenty of time on his hands. He can't stand lounging around so he put himself to work. You should have seem how much he improved the interior of this thing! The car was purchased as is, so it was in need of some serious cleaning.

Brian took the seats out of the car, shampooed them, and wiped down every inch of that thing. He found four or five pairs of reading glasses, a set of dominoes, an old McDonald's egg mcmuffin, about 11 bucks of change, a rubber ducky, and the list goes on. It was so funny...every time he came in the house he was holding another treasure.

So now he is serious about opening a car detailing business. Who wants to clean other people's cars? Let alone their own? Well my husband does. And I'm proud of him. Even more so because he wants to use his gift money from his birthday and graduation to buy the supplies. He is one of a kind.

Brian, I know that this is a clunker car, but I would rather have a car that makes you giddy because we paid with it out of our pocket, then a car that would cause stress because of a monthly payment. I admire what a knack you have for finances and your drive to be smart with our money.

And I can't believe I married a man that would rather use his "play" money on starting a business to help us earn money than he would on a newer, better phone, or an updated laptop or fashionable clothes. You are one in a million I think.

House, Cockroach, and My Kiddos

2011-08-31T12:12:00.001-07:00

The picture below is our new house! We really, really love it. To understand just how much I love this house, you have to know a few things about it. It is on about ten acres of land. It is a grandmother house so there is a much larger house on the property. Another young couple lives in the other house, and they are also members of the church. They are really a great couple. They are house sitting for her parents, who are currently in California. Anyway, I love being able to look across the once green pasture (the drought is really making a mess of things here in Texas).

One of my beefs with Texas is that I feel extremely closed in. I'm used to wide open spaces and being able to look across the valley and soak in the view for miles and miles. Here there are towering, swampy trees that block most of your vision on both sides of the road. There really are no hills in the Houston area so you can only see what is right in front of your face. So the fact that we live on so much wide open land really is splendid for me. I can post a picture of the view outside of our bedroom window later. I'll try and add some photos of the interior as well.

Of course living out in the country requires a price. Bugs. And boy are there bugs in Texas! The drought doesn't help either, as many bugs are being driven in to homes to find water. When we first moved in, we noticed there was a bit of a cockroach problem. We set up 24 roach motels and (carefully) put boric acid in the cracks and crevices around the house. It must have been pretty successful because we haven't seen any since. I learned an interesting lesson in my battle with the roaches. It really forced me to buck up and take charge. I wasn't about to let those things ruin my peace in our home. Aside from this house we have only lived in an apartment in Rexburg for about a year. When we were living with Brian's parents we didn't really have to deal with this kind of thing. Anyway, it made me realize that I am fully capable of tackling a problem like this and facing those beastly pests head on. It probably helps that I've been feeling mother bearish lately...Kayla the protector of children from nasty insects. Plus, it forces me to have a constantly clean kitchen, which has turned out to be one of life's hidden secrets to maintaining peace in the home.

Okay on to the story of the picture below:

One morning I woke up to do some laundry. I heard buzzing and clicking and...well it was a horrible noise that evoked great fear within as you can imagine. I quickly glanced in the sink and saw the 747 cockroach trying to escape. We bought some Raid just for this reason. Problem was, the raid was currently being stored right above the sink in a cupboard. Well this species of cockroach has wings and I didn't want it to get scared and fly out. But I'm a busy mother and had to act fast, as both of my boys were crying and in need of attention. I gathered my courage and raced to the cupboard, grabbed the Raid and started spraying like mad. It started twitching and running around and eventually flipped on to its back. It was at this point that I started feeling really sorry for it (the reason why I'm not the best person to kill bugs). It was totally being burned to death by poison. I thought the more I sprayed the faster it would die. But the more I sprayed the more it twitched in pain. It finally died. I grabbed my camera and captured this photo (notice the pools of Raid at his neck):

Don't those legs just make you squeamish? It does me. Oh and I forgot to mention that right before I shot the bugger with the spray, he pointed one little antenna at in my direction, trying to sense his predator. I found this oddly cute but decided he had to die anyway. Poor little fella.

Well I'll leave this post on a good note by showing off my little Nathan's smile. I meant to show a picture of David too but I forgot to upload one. Just know that he is alive and well and just as loved. He has a crooked haircut and chipped front teeth which makes for a perfectly cute little boy.

Cute isn't he?

Cute Nate

2011-08-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Okay it is midnight and I'm blogging. How crazy! I should be sleeping. Or cleaning. Or killing bugs with Raid. What am I thinking? This is the only time I find for myself, and usually I don't go to bed this late, but I found the camera and got this cute shot of Nathan:

Which reminds me a lot of this little guy:

Only Nathan is chubbier. Not too chubby though, my babies seem to want to be long and skinny, especially their legs. Just like daddy! I think my photography skills are gradually improving. I really caught the natural light in our bedroom for that picture of Nathan. It turned out pretty well I think.

Happy day!

Life Right Now

2011-08-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Life right now is fascinating to me.

I have two kids...more like two babies...that require a lot of attention.

I have a husband that is about to start a job as a middle school assistant choir director. Sixth graders, watch out!

I have an awesome little house that I love.

I wake up to feed Nathan and before I know it I have David standing at the side of my bed. I sleep furthest from the door to avoid this, but he still comes to my side. Yes our toddler is now in a toddler bed. I'm still getting used to this, and get really freaked out when he comes in unawares. The other night I was brushing my teeth when I caught a glimpse of something moving. It was David. I tried to hide how startled I was by acting cool. It came out in a high pitched, much too loud and relieved "Oh hey David!". Brian teases me. David is funny because we say "find your bed David" and he points to the door and runs as fast as he can to it and goes back to sleep. I sometimes think he might be sleep walking.

I have dead cockroaches in my garbage disposal that have been pushed out of the drain pipe that connects to the dishwasher. They smell like poop. I have Brian fish them out with a gloved hand. The first time we discovered one was when I fished one out. And my hand was not gloved. I did a freaky bug dance big time. I don't think I've jumped that high in years. I hate cockroaches and didn't know much about them until I moved to Texas. Do you know that they love electronics? The dishwasher repair man said so. I would like someone to explain that to me.

Truly we have been blessed. Brian is excited about his job. I'm just trying to keep my head above water for now.

We can't find our camera. I'm a bit devastated because the only pictures I have of Nathan are of him as a newborn in the hospital and he is five weeks old. But when I find it, I'll share his cuteness with you.

Nathan's Birth Story

2011-07-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, the blogging world must be mostly for women, because I can't imagine a man seeing the title of this post and wanting to read it. But some of us girls out there like to read about birthing...like myself. So here is the story of my little Nathan's birth.

I was completely planning on having Nathan the way I had David--no medication, quick labor, quick delivery. In fact, a lot of people say that the second time you give birth the labor goes faster. I labored for roughly 12 hours with David and pushed him out in a couple of contractions. So my mindset was that this time round it would be the same only faster and maybe more intense pain because things wouldn't take as long. I was SO wrong!

So a few days before I started feeling contractions Brian and I had been practicing deep, relaxed breathing. We felt confident that things would work out well for our natural birth. We called the hospital and discovered they had a nice big spa tub that you could get in to control the pain. We made sure our doctor was on board and that she knew of our plans.

Nathan was born Monday morning. The Friday before that day, early in the morning I started feeling labor pains. The contractions were deep and intense and I knew they were more than Braxton Hicks. I timed them while I lay in bed. They were coming every ten minutes apart. I woke Brian up and told him that we would probably have the baby that day. I started feeling contractions early in the morning with David and had him by 8:00 that night. So I thought I would have my baby by nightfall that day!

So Brian and I got up and packed our bags. As we got moving I noticed my contractions were getting further apart. They were still very painful when they hit, but they were very infrequent. I knew I needed to labor at home as long as possible because I wanted to avoid medication at the hospital. Our plan was to wait until the contractions got closer together to go to the hospital. We went on with our day, and to my surprise the contractions kept getting further apart, until they were happening maybe once an hour.

Fast forward to Friday evening. My contractions picked up again. It seemed that especially when I laid down on my side they would get more intense and frequent. I had been experiencing really deep back pain with every contraction which made me think he must have been posterior (facing the wrong way). All through the night I labored, but contractions were still a good ten minutes apart. Early Saturday morning, after a hard night of not sleeping and contracting, I called the doctor's office. Sadly, my doctor was not on call that weekend. The doctor that was on call told us to wait until the contractions were five minutes apart and lasted 30-45 seconds. Well I already knew that and wasn't about to go to the hospital to be sent home. The doctor did say that if we were worried we could go to the hospital and they could see how dilated I was.

Saturday was pretty miserable because my contractions weren't very frequent but persisted all day. Finally that night we called Brian's mom to come stay with David. We decided we needed to go to the hospital. At this point I was totally exhausted and hoping that they would strip my membranes or break my water to get things going. It was about midnight when we got to the hospital. They let us know that I was dilated 4 cm. That was about how far I was when they admitted me with David so I thought I would be admitted. They watched the monitor for about an hour. Before going in my contractions were a steady 8 minutes apart and of course the one hour they monitored me I had maybe three contractions. The doctor on call said to send us home. They didn't even tell us to walk around! I asked why they couldn't break my water or something (I was so miserable!) and they said that the doctor on call would not do anything to put me in to aggressive labor because she wasn't my actual doctor. Grrr. So, even though I thought I would never be the person that gets sent home from the hospital, we were sent home! At this point it was early morning. That made for our second sleepless night. Sunday morning we had David go to church with Brian's parents and we tried to get some much needed rest. Again I felt horrible during the day but managed the pain fairly well (thanks to some coaching on Brian's part). At this point I was sure the baby was posterior because of how much back pain I had, and because labor was going so slowly. Every time I laid down on my side I could feel him moving and my contractions got closer together.

Sunday night was difficult. I took a few hot baths and tried to relax. We went on a walk at a very, very slow pace. We put David to bed. I decided to call the doctor again. I told her I was in so much pain and was so exhausted. Again she asked how far apart the contractions were. I told her sometimes six minutes, sometimes 15 minutes. She pretty much said the same thing as last time. I just couldn't convince her to let them break my water! I knew my doctor would be back on shift at 7:00 Monday morning. At this point it was about midnight so I told myself just to wait a few more hours and I could get my doctor to help my labor progress more rapidly. I was so sure if I could just get my water broke my body would have the baby quickly.

Well I didn't get far in to the night on Sunday before I told Brian that enough was enough. We were going back to the hospital and I didn't care how far apart my contractions were. I was in so much pain I was beginning to shake really bad. Again we phoned Brian's mom and had her come over. We got to the hospital at about 1:00 in the morning. They checked me and I was dilated 6 cm. It didn't matter how far apart my contractions were, at this far dilated they had to admit me. I was so relieved. My contractions were still not very consistent. I wanted to make sure the baby's heart rate was looking normal just because of how long I had been in labor. The monitor read that he was handling them very well.

So we were going in to our third night of no sleep. I was so exhausted and was shaking really badly at this point. I asked if the epidural always included pitocin. They said no not at all, only if labor stops. I asked if they use a shot of local anesthesia before putting the epidural catheter in. They said that they do. Then they asked if I wanted one. It was a hard decision for about half a second. I knew I needed help. My labor had been way to long. I was too exhausted to finish it out on my own will power. So I went for it!

The anesthesiologist came in at about 2 in the morning. I stayed calm. They told Brian to leave. They instructed me on what to do. I listened closely and did what they told me. It was a breeze. It really was. Not that painful. I thought it would hurt worse then it did. I remember before the epidural I was feeling very cold and was shaking pretty violently. About ten minutes of having it put in, I felt warm and stopped shaking completely. I also thought I wouldn't be able to move at all with the epidural in. Turns out you can move quite well, or at least enough to move on to your side, etc. I laid down on my side and shut my eyes. Brian also tried to get some sleep. And sure enough, after that epidural got put in, my contractions started coming regularly.

They gave me the button to push during my labor to keep my bottom half numb. I knew right away that I wouldn't be pushing the button. I wasn't feeling anything and I thought that even if all the epidural did was take the edge of I was fine with it. So I disregarded the button and was actually hoping that when it came time to push I would feel some pain to help with the whole process.

By about 5:00 in the morning I was completely dilated. I felt like I was ready to push and was feeling a little pressure. Again I didn't push the button and was glad the epidural seemed to be losing its strength.

Remember my doctor would be on shift at 7:00. The nurse made a comment that went something like "I wish we could get your doctor here for you but I don't think you'll wait that long." I agreed. I didn't think I could wait that long. So the nurse said she would call the doctor on call and let her know I was ready. Well after the nurse left we waited. And waited. And waited. I was getting pretty frustrated. She came back in at about 5:30 to announce that they were going to try and get my doctor there after all. Okay. So more waiting. My guess is the doctor on call didn't want to deliver me when she was in the final hour of her on-call shift. My doctor agreed to try and get there ASAP to deliver me. Again we were left alone. I turned to Brian and told him that I could have had the baby out already! We tried to stay and calm and relax. I thought that if I had chosen to go naturally there would be no stopping my pushing. But I guess when you get an epidural the nurses feel more comfortable just letting you lay there ready to push. I was pretty peeved. Oh and I was also right in the middle of the nurse shift change too which contributed to the delay.

Finally my doctor arrived. I can't remember when she got there but boy was I glad to see her! I remember another thing that bothered me is before my doctor arrived I asked the nurse if I could move on to my back or my other side. She laughed and said "I don't want you having a baby on me. Hold still until your doctor comes." So the whole staff knew that I had pushed David out in a few contractions so they thought it would be really easy to get this little guy out.

Nobody had yet to break my water even though I was about to push the baby out. My doctor was well aware of this and broke my water just before telling me to push. When I had David they broke it around 5 or 6 cm so this was a whole different experience. They put me in to a sitting/squat position and told me to start pushing. I'll quickly add that the baby had pooped in the womb just like David did. Small price to pay for having babies that are jaundice free. This meant that there were several nurses and doctors in the room. The docs had to make sure that Nathan didn't inhale his poop. They were all waiting for the baby to come. I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. Nothing was happening! I was scared and started to think that I was in big trouble. In fact, my contractions had gone back to about 8 minutes apart. So everyone cleared out of the room except for one nurse who would notify them when she could actually feel the baby descending.

I felt like it would help to lay on my side again. I even asked if I could try pushing on my side. The nurse consented and my contractions became regular again. I was starting to tell when I had each contraction. I also was really feeling the urge to push, which was weird because I thought you couldn't feel that with the epidural. Brian helped stabilize my legs and I asked the one nurse in the room if I could push. She said "Go ahead and push if you feel like you need to." Okay. So I pushed some more. Well it didn't take long before that baby was crowing! And of course there were no doctors in the room! The nurse told me to wait (sound familiar?) while she got the doctor. Then the doctor had to get the other doctor because of the baby poop. By the time everyone got situated for the birth of my baby I was screaming. I was in so much pain holding that baby in. I remember yelling "THE EPIDURAL IS NOT WORKING!!!" Hahaha. Funny that with David I hardly felt any pain pushing him out. Anyway I couldn't hold him in any longer and the doctor knew it. There was no time for any other preparations. I remember the doctor asking if there were any towels. They didn't even have towels ready for when the baby came out! After all that time waiting! Sheesh. But I was just happy to have the baby out.

Long story short (or not short...is anyone actually reading this?) baby Nathan finally was born, after much pain and laboring.

Now this is what is weird. I didn't tear even though I was in so much pain pushing him. I was up and walking around within three hours of giving birth...another thing that surprised me because I had the epidural. With David I was in bed much longer than I was with this one. With David I had stitches. After having David I was EXTREMELY sore from head to toe. I wasn't sore at all with this one. Essentially, my recovery has been much easier with Nathan (aside from a bad case of mastitis) than it was with David. That surprises me because again I thought the epidural would make things harder around the board.

One more thing I forgot to add about my experience. I was tested for Group B Strep and the results came back negative. I had the test done a little late in my pregnancy so the results weren't in my initial paperwork. Because of this the nurses said they would have to treat me for it anyway. I tried to give them my word that I tested negative but they said they needed it in writing from a doctor. They gave me antibiotics and I was pretty upset about that because I didn't need them. But in the end that was a pretty minor part of the whole process and really wasn't that big of a deal.

So do I have an epidural or do I go naturally with my next one? A lot of it will depend on the labor! If I have a fast labor like David, I would love to go without medication, but it is more work than I can handle doing it naturally after laboring for three days. Phew. I'm glad this baby is here!

Baby Nathan

2011-07-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Meet our little Nathan! He was born on 7/11/11 at 8:20 in the morning (we were trying to get him out at 7:11 just for fun but I couldn't quite push him out in time). He weighs 7 pounds 4 ounces and is 19 and 1/2 inches long! Our birth experience was very positive. I'll find time to post the details later, but until then, enjoy the pictures!

I felt great after his birth. Luckily for me there was no tearing this time round which means no stitches! Yay! Notice how I'm trying to keep David contained with my other arm. The madness is already beginning!

David holding the baby. Isn't David's facial expression a crack up? He actually has been very sweet with his little brother so far.

This is a very fresh picture of Nathan out of the womb. Pre-bath and all.

We feel so blessed! Welcome to the world little man!

The Aquarium and France

2011-07-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of what we did in May. Brian was invited to be a tour manager/assistant conductor on a tour to France. I really should have him post about it because he could explain the competition that the University of Houston Concert Chorale was invited to, but things are a little crazy for us at the moment so if I don't blog about it now we'll never get to it. The bottom line is that it was an international competition that was pretty prestigious. The chorale won a few prizes and had a great time.

Here is Brian outside a French bakery! Yum!

Beautiful shops in France. I love the alleyway appeal.

An LDS church that Brian went to while in France. It was a very small branch.

The choir that Brian has worked with throughout his time at the U of H. Some of these people were also members of his recital choir. He really loved the opportunity that he had with them and learned so much. Each one of them had to audition for the France tour and not all of the Concert Chorale got to go because space was limited.

And on to the Aquarium...we went for my birthday and it was really fun (and hot!). We had a buy one get one free pass so we decided to go for it. Otherwise it may not have been worth the money. Of all details to share about our Aquarium trip I can't believe I just included the financial aspect of it...you can tell what is on our minds lately! We are frugal I admit it!

While we were there we encountered some creepy looking deep sea divers.

We had fun on the Ferris Wheel. David was a little apprehensive.

I didn't get a lot of shots of myself...wonder why ;o) so I'll stick this one in of me with my piano kids. Our recital was also in May and it went great! I'm really going to miss these kids. The two on the far right are the kids I helped take care of last school year.

And hopefully our next post will bring news of a baby boy!

Update on some great events!

2011-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Brian graduated! The two year program flew by and we are so grateful we made the decision to go ahead with his graduate degree. It wasn't always easy, but every sacrifice we made was so worth it in the end. We are so grateful to have been able to live with Brian's parents during this time to save extra money and pay down our student loans. Brian did really well and worked so hard. He graduated with a masters degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Houston.

This is just because he is so darn cute.

Funny story: we didn't realize that cords were really only for baccalaureate degrees so we went ahead and bought Brian's "honor" cords. Luckily we realized before Brian walked at graduation that it is a bit taboo to wear the cords as a graduate student. Unluckily it was too late to return them so the only time he ended up wearing them was for this picture...but we're thinking it might help make a good wise man or shepherd costume in the future :o).

David turned 18 months old on May 1st. This picture shows how he feels about nursery. We actually took it before church that day but it cracks me up because his attitude didn't prove much as the day went on. He actually does great in nursery if we stay with him but literally seconds after we "sneak out" he really puts on a show. Poor kid.

Stay tuned for pictures of the Aquarium in downtown Houston and shots of Brian's trip to France!

7-Up Biscuits

2011-05-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

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Here is the absolute best biscuit recipe I have ever made. And ironically it is also the easiest biscuit recipe I have made. Don't let the ingredients scare you away. These biscuits are equivalent to KFC or Popeyes (depending on which chicken place you buy from, if you are in the south, you probably choose Popeyes :o). They really turn out pretty too, just like the picture. I would have used my own picture but they got snarfed before I had the chance. I don't think I'll go back to Pillsbury tube biscuits. These aren't "healthy" but the ingredients are more natural than that of tube biscuits.

2 c. bisquick
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. 7-up
1/4 c. butter

Cut the sour cream in to the bisquick mix with a fork (like shortening in pie crust if you've ever made your own crust). Add the 7-up. This should form a really soft dough. NOTE: It still should be doughy though. It will stick to your hands a bit but if it is too wet it will totally stick to your hands big time. I ended up using more mix than the recipe called for to get the right consistency. Use a little flour or extra bisquick on a board or counter top to help pat your dough into about a 1/2 to 1 inch thick large circle. Cut biscuits in circles using the edge of a glass or a biscuit cutter. Melt butter in a 9x9 (square) baking dish. Put dough circles in dish on top of melted butter. The biscuits will be nice and cozy in the pan sort of squeezed next to each other. Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown. Do not bake these biscuits spread far apart in a large dish.

Couponing

2011-05-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share two awesome couponing websites with anyone interested! We had a preparedness fair in our stake and Tiffany Ivanosky from TLC's Extreme Couponing show came and talked to us. She lives right here in Spring too. I don't know her personally, but she and her husband seem so nice and have these great websites to help people out.

You may not have an H-E-B in your area, but the websites only mention this store every now and then. All the others you should be familiar with.

mylitter.com

iheartthemart.com

Enjoy all you frugal shoppers!

Congrats to a friend!

2011-04-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

This may seem really odd, but I can't post a comment on my friend's blog and I really want to. So here's to you Vivian! You can read about her birthing experience here.

Vivian had her second baby without an epidural and it reminded a lot of when I had David. I don't know how I will deliver my second child, but I wouldn't mind having an experience like hers!

David's Hunt

2011-04-25T19:19:00.001-07:00

David was really excited for this little Easter egg hunt we had for Playgroup last week. Isn't he cute? Notice the great quality picture...my friend took it with her nice camera. Also you can catch a bit of my baby bump in the second picture for those of you that wanted to see it. By the way, now is a great time to visit Houston! We only have two or three weeks left before we hit horribly hot weather. Right now it is a bit too hot for my taste but would be nice for anyone craving a little sunshine and warm weather...oh and humidity and bugs and pollen. But you can't have it all right? Also, can anyone tell me why I can't post a comment on other blogs? Does anyone else have that problem? I guess if you do I'll never know, seeing as how you couldn't leave a comment about it.

The Forgotten Garden

2011-04-24T20:04:00.001-07:00

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a perfect novel. Full of mystery, some romance, some sorrow, GREAT writing...I loved it! I also haven't read a fat book in a while and I loved how deep this book went in to the lives of the characters. The ending was so satisfying. I can't wait to read another on by Kate Morton. Her writing is so lovely. This book is a great read for sheer enjoyment and entertainment.

View all my reviews

Family Fun

2011-04-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

My last post was a bit of a downer. David is doing much better. We ultimately decided not to get another x-ray. He still limps but we think he'll be fine. We're glad he is at least walking on his leg now. So I thought it would be fun to post about a few things that we have done together in the last little while.

We had spring break about a month ago. Brian was busy with rehearsals pretty much everyday, but we did take a day trip to Galveston to play on the beach and feed the birds on the ferry. The beach in Galveston isn't that great but for someone like me that hasn't really been on a great beach it was just fine! We had such a good time. Here are some pictures of it:

A few of the above pictures are from a trip we took to the Woodlands waterway. One of the videos below shows a live band that they had on the square that day. The waterway is a favorite place of ours because it is nearby and free.

Stress and Relief...and Stress

2011-03-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Normalcy is watching your toddler trip and crash hard to the floor.

Stress is realizing he is really hurt this time.

Relief comes after the wet cheeks and flushed, sweaty body calms down.

Stress is deciding if he needs to be seen during the night or if it can wait until morning.

Relief is making a decision to wait because he's already fallen asleep.

Stress is waiting in the ER for three hours Monday morning to get X-ray results back.

Relief is the ER doctor saying he couldn't see a bone break.

Stress is wanting to see a small degree of improvement and seeing nothing.

Stress is people telling you to get it checked again.

Stress is when your toddler still refuses to use his leg at all and whimpers in pain.

Stress is being discharged with no other treatment...don't ice it, don't wrap it, nothing.

Relief is knowing someone else has been through the exact same thing and it all ends up being fine.

So my question for any of you out there is whether or not you have dealt with a broken bone, especially if it was a child or toddler. Have you ever thought your kid broke a bone and they didn't? Or has your kid broken their bone but you were told it was fine?

A few more details: David's leg has never gotten swollen, except slightly tonight. He has no red mark, no bruise, no cut. He hit his tibia (shin). This has nothing to do with his ankle or femur. His leg looks pretty normal on the outside, he just refuses to use it. When we stand him up his leg buckles beneath him. I thought if it was a bone bruise or tissue damage he would wince in pain but he leg would still be capable of bearing weight. But his leg literally won't work for him and sort of flops around. If it is a strained muscle or bone bruise are these the right symptoms. Is everything matching up?

I'd love to receive some feedback about this...

Help Wanted

2011-03-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

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Today is your lucky day! Another Bump on a Blog is having its first and only giveaway!

Leave a comment if you know where there is a choral conducting job in your area and win a chance to have Brian and Kayla live by you! Yay!

Okay, okay. Let me get a little more detailed here. Brian and I are looking for a job, preferably as a high school choir teacher. We have a few leads, but could certainly use more. We are open-minded about location so if you live in Kentucky and know of a job, still let us know! Job searching has been a huge process. We've found the best thing to do is to bring up school district websites and browse the job postings. If you have a little extra time on your hands, go ahead and see if a district in your area wants a choir teacher and let us know.

Maybe you don't know of a job but your best friend is a high school music teacher and we can become acquainted with them. Or maybe you are Mack Wilberg's neighbor (yes this is a joke, ha. ha.) Perhaps you know of a new high school being built nearby...or even a charter school...

Brian and I have applied for two excellent jobs. We would be happy with either job but reality is dozens of people will be applying for these jobs too. We would love to apply for five or ten more jobs. If we still don't get a job after that, we'll consider another awesome giveaway that may (don't go too wild here folks) include having us actually come live with you! Now wouldn't that be great! (Yes I'm joking. It is sort of not funny because we currently are living with people.)

Email either kayla@jccook.net or brian@jccook.net or leave a comment if you can help us out.

My Conductors

2011-03-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Brian gave his senior conducting recital at the U of H about a week ago. This was a huge achievement and a lot of work! The recital was a success. I'm so grateful for a hard working husband...and he is so talented! We'll be able to show close family/friends a DVD of his performance once it is finished. This little clip is of David "conducting" with Brian when we popped the CD in to listen to. The song in the background is "Untraveled Worlds" and was the last song on the program. The quality isn't great but you get the idea...

Tonight's Big Plans

2011-03-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just put David to bed. The house is still and quiet. My in-laws and husband are gone for the evening. Suddenly I find myself with a delicious array of choices to spend my evening of solitude. Do I fold the laundry? Finish the dinner dishes? Put the sheets on the bed? Clear David's toys from the floor and hang up the disheveled tuxedo from last night's concert?

Choices, choices. Perhaps tonight I'll spoil myself and do them all!

BTW, my blog informs me that I am no longer "following" anyone. This is interesting. I don't know why it decided I'm no longer a follower of any blogs. I promise I still love you. I'll have to start from scratch I guess. This is going on the list of things for tonight! Yahoo!

German Apple Pancake with Homemade Creamy Syrup

2011-02-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

German Apple Pancake Recipe
I found the basis for the recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it just a bit. It is good as a spiced apple pancake or great without the nutmeg and less cinnamon. Adjust the spice to your liking (you can add cloves for example or omit the spices all together). We usually have breakfast for dinner every Tuesday and I love to find fun recipes to try. This is definitely a favorite breakfast recipe of ours.

3 T. butter
2 apples, peeled and cored
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg

6 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt

Melt butter in 9x13 pan in preheated oven of 400 degrees. After butter is melted, add the sliced apples and cook for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Gradually add flour, sugar, and salt. Mix until just blended.

Take cooked apples out of oven and sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the top of them. Pour batter over the apples and return to the oven for 25-30 minutes or until edges of pancake are golden brown. Serve warm with homemade syrup or whatever you like on pancakes. See yummy syrup recipe below.

Homemade Creamy Syrup
This is a great basic recipe for homemade syrup. Use buttermilk for a nice rich taste. I used coconut cream the last time I made this syrup and it was to die for! The syrup turns out thick and creamy, especially after it has cooled. The assembly is really easy so don't let the instructions fool you!

1 1/2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. **creamy liquid
1/2 c. butter
2 T. corn syrup
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla

**creamy liquid = buttermilk, half and half, heavy cream, milk, coconut cream, etc.

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, **creamy liquid, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

Our Soccer Star

2011-02-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Here's some footage of David playing soccer. I don't know where he learned this but he definitely prefers kicking to throwing...which is nice in some ways.

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The Gender of Baby Two

2011-02-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry no fun pictures or anything to go along with this, but in case you are interested, Brian and I found out we are having another BOY.

We are really excited about this. The boys get to go to HS together. Maybe play on the same soccer team...or more likely be in the same orchestra (ha!). Or even more likely they'll have their own interests. But we do hope they'll be good friends.

I really like Nathan or Benjamin for a name. We'll see if one of those sticks.

Matched

2011-02-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Matched by Ally Condie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an entertaining book that falls somewhere in between The Giver and Twilight. I think I would have appreciated the storyline more had I read this before any of the other hit Dystopian books that have come out. The story just seemed too familiar. Two love interests that capture one girl's heart. Desperate situations that call for some kind of rebellion. The pretty girl has bronze hair and green eyes.

I don't doubt this series will be a hit. I never read the last Twilight book or any of The Hunger Games (though I probably will soon--HG not Twilight book). I think this book is fairly mild where violence and sensuality is concerned. However it looks like the rest of the series may follow along those lines (as the other big hit series have done).

One idea that has set this book apart from others is the matching of companions and arranged marriages. Of all the elements in this novel, I thought this was most creative on the author's part.

If I had to choose The Giver, Matched, or 1984 for the best book that deals with heavily socialistic government, Matched would probably be my last pick. But still very interesting and worth reading.

The only other flaw I find with the love interests in this book as I did with Twilight is the immature and shallow view of true love. I basically learn that teenage love progresses only as affection progresses and is heavily dramatic. Show me a book like Mrs. Mike or These Is My Words and I'll show you a good love story of depth and value. I just hope that books like this don't give young teenage girls the wrong idea of what true love is all about. If you don't analyze this too heavily (like I'm doing) you probably will find the love story entertaining as I did.

Me and the Epidural

2011-02-03T19:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't really had the chance to sit down and write about natural childbirth. Now that I'm up for round two it has been on my mind a lot. Especially because I'm frequently asked if I'm going to go natural again with this baby.

I'd like to say that I gave birth without medication because I wanted to experience the power of my body and what birth was actually all about.

Don't get me wrong, that was an amazing (yet horribly painful) part of having my baby without medication, but I'm going to tell you the real reason I did it.

I'm a chicken!

I know this seems ironic, but really I did it without medication because the word "epidural" kind of makes me shudder. There is something whole and satisfying about letting your body do the thing it was made to do. There is something unnatural and freaky about a long skinny needle inserted into your spinal fluid.

But still I am open to the idea of an epidural because I do remember the pain of natural childbirth. My labor was roughly 12 hours. The first 8 hours were totally manageable. I wasn't even making much noise with those contractions. I did laundry, made Sunday dinner, took a shower, etc. It just felt like bad cramps which were no big deal.

The last four hours were harsh. Real harsh. These were the "scream contractions". Yet I knew that it wouldn't last forever. And it didn't. And I only threw-up once. Not bad.

And so I was going back and forth on the decision with this baby. Part of me feels like I can handle those rough four hours again. Part of me gets exhausted at the thought of doing it the same way again. But am I frightened of natural childbirth? Not really. The epidural is what gets me.

Let's cut to the chase. I'll tell you why I'm posting about this. The other night Brian and I had dinner with a couple in our ward that is about our age. We have a lot in common because they went to BYU-Idaho for their undergrad degrees and now they moved here for a grad program. My friend's husband is finishing his schooling to be a anesthesiologist. In fact he is so far along in his degree that now he is an intern and is basically getting real life experience incubating and epiduraling people up. So I took the opportunity to talk his ear off about the epidural.

Me: "So what exactly happens when you give an epidural?"
Him: "Well you inject a small (but long) needle into the dura mater that is under the epidermis in the lower back to insert anesthesia in to the spinal fluid."
Me: "So my sister got a bad headache after getting an epidural and she had to lay flat on her back. What is that all about?"
Him: "Well the headache is fairly common. Hardly a complication. It just means that part of the spinal fluid leaked out. This caused the fluid that holds her brain in place to lessen so her brain shifted. If that happens you just takes some blood from the arm and inject it into the spine. The blood will help clot wherever the spinal fluid is leaking."
Me: "Oh"
Him: "The needle has a bit of air in it and when you inject the needle you have to wait for a small pop feeling before you know it is in the right place. If the needle is inserted too far than there can be complications. If you get a good anesthesiologist you shouldn't have any spinal fluid leak out."
Me: "What is the biggest reason you wouldn't give a patient an epidural?"
Him: "Patient consent." (I guess the real bad stuff happens when the patient is freaked out and won't hold still)
Me: "What is the worst case scenario?"
Him: "Paralysis."
Me: "Okay, so if you were a woman and were experiencing labor, would you get the epidural."
Him: (After a surprisingly long pause) "To me paralysis is worse than death so I guess I wouldn't risk it even if the chances are small."

Seriously? The anesthesiologist wouldn't get the epidural? That sort of sealed the deal for me. If the smaller side effect is headache, and the worse side effect is paralysis, I think I'll opt out. I know that not everyone experiences a side effect either. I also know that if I need an emergency C-section I'll be sorry I didn't get the epidural because it makes it a lot easier. But the headache and paralysis are only part of a list of other negatives. A catheter to urinate? Dizziness? Prolonged labor? Infection?

Yeah, I'll stick to those horrible four hours of pain. Even if the chances of side effects are small, I'm not going to risk it. I'm with the anesthesiologist.

New Look

2011-02-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much to Emily from the Harestad Herald for helping me turn my blog in to something great! I look forward to doing more posts on cooking, reading, and all the other good stuff! Emily is Brian's cousin...I guess that makes her mine too!

Here is a fun recipe to try:

Witch Finger Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 egg

1 t. almond extract

1 t. vanilla extract (can use 2 t. of vanilla if you don't have almond extract on hand)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

whole or sliced almonds for the nails

1 small tube of red decorating gel (or strawberry jam)

Combine first five ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat together. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt. Refrigerate dough for 20-30 minutes (this is important).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.

Remove dough from fridge in small amounts. Roll the dough in to a thin finger-shaped cookie. You can use wax paper to help you roll the fingers to prevent sticking (although I didn't find this necessary). Press an almond into the end of the finger to make the appearance of a nail. Gently squeeze the finger near the top middle and bottom middle to make a knuckle. You can also use a knife to make lines at the knuckle before cooking as well. Arrange the fingers on a baking sheet.

Bake the cookies until golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the almond from the end of each cookie. Dab a small amount of the red gel on the imprint and replace the almond.

A few personal notes: I added green food coloring to the dough to enhance the spookiness of my fingers. I also added mini chocolate chips to a few of the fingers to make warts. These are fun to bring to any party, even if it isn't Halloween. To my enjoyment, the cookie didn't turn out like a sugar cookie but rather like a shortbread cookie with more of a crunch (how fitting). Also make sure you roll the fingers really thin. The cookies do enlarge a bit in the oven. Unless of course, your witch has fat fingers.

The PW Bible

2011-01-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great read! A few people mentioned the story should have ended sooner but I didn't agree (and that is something since I almost always follow my mom's taste in books). Plow through the first third of the book and in no time you'll be fascinated with the author and her style. I can't wrap my mind around the author's ability to write so well. Mom says the author took about ten years to write the thing so of course it is very well thought out. Although the book is fiction one can really learn a lot about Africa and her history. Don't know why I label Africa as a "her" but maybe it is because I read "The Poisonwood Bible". My favorite voice in the novel was Orleanna. I liked Adah the most at first but grew to like Leah toward the end out of the four daughters. Actually one of my favorite things about the book was how it ended. Each character is fully developed by the end and I liked knowing how their lives somewhat "concluded". Read the book. You won't be sorry!

View all my reviews

Here we GROW again!

2011-01-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Surprised? We were too!

QUICK FACTS:

-I'm 14 weeks along.
-I had a great first trimester.
-Baby's due date is July 13th (David's was Nov. 13th thus Brian thinks my body clock fascinating...I think funny coincidence).
-I think it is going to be a boy. I thought David was going to be a girl.
-Our plan is to move before baby arrives. Where? Wherever Brian gets a job.
-If our baby is born on July 11, we would have something to celebrate on the same day of every week of July: Independence Day, baby birthday, Brian birthday, anniversary. Therefore, July will be a busy month for the Cooks. (This stat brought to you by Brian).
-If it is a girl we're naming her Katherine.

We are thrilled and thought the blog was a great way to share our news with family and friends!

Vacation in Austin/Randomness

2010-12-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

I've been lazy with my camera lately and have no current pics of what we have been up to. However, we did some great things in October and November that I haven't gotten around to posting about so buckle up because here comes a long one!

We vacationed in Austin and San Antonio a while back. We figured we had better take advantage of Texas highlights while they were so accessible. We saw the bigger-than-White-House state capitol, we remembered the Alamo, we had fun swimming in the Hotel pool, we visited the San Antonio temple grounds, and we stayed with relatives.

THE ALAMO

TEMPLE GROUNDS--David in bare feet and short sleeves Oct. 30 (for the record the average temp tomorrow, Dec. 21st, is 82 degrees. Madness I say.)

HOTEL POOL

FUN WITH DETMERS

Now we have a few pics of pure randomness. One day I decided that I needed to have photo shoot with David. I have bad luck taking pictures and admit I don't know much about photography at all. No matter, David thought the photo shoot was lame anyway so my creative work turned to shambles.

The last straw--"I hate your photo shoot ideas mom!"

Random picture #2. Yard/Garage sales are THE BOMB in Houston. This is David and I shamoozing it up out there. Do you see how lame our sale was? I barely put anything out there and I made 27 bucks. And the kid wasn't even included in the sale!

Random pic #3--New Testament photo submission. That's right. I heard all about the New Testament Project that the church was doing. Now I typically feel weird putting pics of just myself on here, and you can see how the photo isn't that great, but I'd pass for a Israelite woman right? This is my big break. I've been told forever that I look "exotic" or "Egyptian" or "Persian" or (my favorite) like a Bratz doll. Now I can put my features to good use and blend in to the background of a scene in Jerusalem. Ah the life. Oh and I haven't heard back from them and my photo has been submitted for months so I probably didn't make the cut...but still.

Random #4---Witch Finger Cookies! Brian told me to make him a treat to take Home Teaching. He was given new assignments (all incactive or brand new converts) so I made them jokingly at first but he ended up using them. And hey, they tasted good. This was obviously back in October. These are a spooky treat and super fun and easy to make. If I remember I'll do a tutorial next October.

And just because this is cute...he has such a cute face with his big blue eyes and rosy red lips.

Santa's Cookies

2010-12-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

This was on our friend's blog so we're paying the laughs forward...this is seriously hilarious (at least to me and Brian). Enjoy!

Puppy Anyone?

2010-12-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the best picture? I love puppies. And these pups are going to be awesome. They are a Labrador/German Short hair mix. The lab is my sister's dog. So if you happen to be looking for a great family pet this is a nice breed. If you think they're cute now just wait...

A Texan Christmas

2010-12-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

This year I'll have my first (and maybe only?) Texan Christmas.

I don't think any of my blog readers are from Texas so I'll tell you a little about it.

A few days ago it was 80 degrees outside. There is never snow on the ground so something that is really popular around here are the yard decorations. I'm not talking about your typical string of Christmas lights either (though there is plenty of that too). What I'm talking about is giant Snoopy snow globes, reindeer, life-size Santa Clauses, "North Pole this Way" signs, and mini ski-lifts with goofy snowmen waving hello as you drive by. Perhaps if only one or two houses in the neighborhood had this stuff I wouldn't find it so darn funny. But everyone has the yard decor! It is so hilarious. The only thing I can figure is that the decorations are popular because snow-less yards are empty and sad looking during the holiday season.

Brian and I were driving around a bit and came to a really decked-out house. And out on the front lawn was a card table surrounded with 4 or 5 adults in Santa hats (probably a little drunk) watching the people drive by.

So as many of you sit cozily by the warm fire watching the snowfall outside, just remember what dear ol' Kayla is up against.

It may not be a white Christmas but even a Texan Christmas is bound to be good. I love the holidays.

David Moves and Grooves

2010-11-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist...

This first one really gets me because he has never heard this song yet he knows just what to do. Funny guy.

My Wife

2010-11-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

I know that most of the people who read this Blog are already aware of my amazing wife, but I wanted to take a minute to let you know some of the things she's been up to lately.

There are, of course, all of the normal, day-to-day tasks my wife accomplishes: doing the laundry, cleaning the house, picking up again and again after David, going on walks, joining playgroup kids at the park, cooking FABULOUS meals with seemingly little effort, and I could go on and on.

She takes care of three kids after school everyday. I don't care who you are; anyone who takes care of three kids, helps them with their homework, taxis them across town to practices and rehearsals, AND finds time to teach them piano (all the while taking care of her own child!)... that's amazing. And we are so grateful for that job and the opportunity it has given us. Kayla does a good job.

Some of the things Kayla has done recently are listed below:

Taught 10 half hour piano lessons
Saved our family $20 by cutting my hair all by herself
Saved even more money by cutting David's hair
Was one of the few women in the ward who supported the R.S. Fun Friday; stained blocks of wood and stuck a vinyl nativity scene to them
Started (and finished) writing this year's Christmas cards
Searched for jobs online for me
Set up an appointment for family pictures; woke up at 7:00am Sat. morning to get herself and her baby boy ready for the pictures; endured the attempts of numerous picture people doing all sorts of weird things to try to get her baby boy to laugh (and all he wanted was to be held by his mommy!)
Prepared and delivered an excellent, heart-felt sermon on Gratitude in church
Directed a Ward Choir rehearsal that made me proud to be her husband
Volunteered to help a Nursery worker find a suitable substitute for her class, even though Kayla couldn't fill in

I am sure there are many more things Kayla did this week that kept her going going going. She just never quits. I love that about her. I'm very grateful for all the support she is to me. She's getting to bed extra early tonight because the nanny kids need rides TO school every day this week- so she'll be up and at 'em early all week.

At this great Thanksgiving season, there is absolutely no other earthly thing for which I could be more grateful than my sweet, eternal companion. I love you.

Frankenstein

2010-11-04T11:35:00.001-07:00

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book just about got five stars. It was the perfect season to read it and I only got freaked out a couple of times. Frankenstein is so much more than a ghost story. The reading does require perseverance because it is set in the later 1700s. The ultimate question for me to ponder is whether or not the daemon is really evil. Read the book and decide for yourself! Remember Frankenstein is actually the creator, not the monster. The telling of three points of view was really clever and made me think that Mary Shelley must have been quite a talented writer. Her life story by the way, is very interesting. You may be surprised with the book because it isn't very similar to any Hollywood portrayal of Frankenstein.

View all my reviews

Go David! Go, Go, Go David!

2010-11-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

It looks like David's steady diet of piano music is starting to rub off on him.

Do you think he likes music?

Happy Birthday David!

2010-11-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

A year ago I was experiencing major pain because I was in labor with this hooligan. I can't believe it has been a whole year! Because Brian has a late class tonight (which he couldn't miss unfortunately) we gave him a gift early this morning. We'll celebrate with cake a little later.

Does that look like a happy birthday boy or what? He is adorable! And coincidentally he has decided to walk around a bit today. For the last few weeks he has been walking around furniture and stuff, but today he is totally walking! How crazy! We'll see if it lasts or if it is just especially for his birthday. I'll post some footage of his baby steps soon because babies are so cute when they are first learning to walk.

It has been a "David and Mommy" day with lots of fun stuff...like taking walks and going to the park and eating mac n cheese for lunch.

David only knows a few words but he is very clear on their meaning. He says "yeah" and "uh-oh". He is such a positive fellow and nods his head vigorously when I ask him a question. I'm glad he doesn't know "no" yet but I'm sure that will come.

Happy Birthday David!

Two From Galilee

2010-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Goodreads has this cool feature that lets you blog your review. I love reading. I love expressing my feelings about what I read. I probably get if from my mom who just posted on a fun book blog. You can read about it at: http://bookpatch.blogspot.com/2010/10/read-reading-entertainment-and.html

So I may do this from time to time. The timing is almost perfect for this book to be added to your year's list of reads!

Two From Galilee: The Story Of Mary And Joseph by Marjorie Holmes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just finished the last pages of this beautiful love story. I'm impressed. Though it should not be taken literally, it helps bring the nativity story and all of its splendor to life. I like to imagine that Mary and Joseph were absolutely in love as the book suggests. I didn't necessarily agree with a few speculations that the author made. If you don't take the doctrine part too seriously then it is a delightful story. I truly loved it.

View all my reviews

My First Babysitter

2010-10-14T18:53:00.001-07:00

I just made the strangest phone call.

It actually was perfectly normal, just strange to me.

"I know it is Homecoming weekend but if you don't have plans could you babysit David?" And then I got all nervous and added that we would pay her and that she could even invite a friend and that it would be extra easy because David would be asleep. And don't worry if you have something going on cause I can find someone else.

And the cute Laurel in our ward said yes.

I was that Laurel five years ago.

When did I grow up and become a mom that calls for a babysitter?

Strange!

Philmont

2010-10-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

This past summer I got the chance to go to Philmont Scout Camp in Northern New Mexico. After two days driving driving driving, we finally got there, strapped on our packs, and headed out for the trail. Only now, some three or four months later, I am actually posting the pictures because Kayla uploaded them for me and is only making me type.

Before I go into each picture, I first wanted to mention how hard Philmont was, not because of the hiking- that part was fun- but it was hard to be away from Kayla and David with not even cell phone reception to keep in touch FOR TWO WEEKS!

This picture was actually taken at the camp we stayed at the night before we finished our 10-day trek. Off to the left is a building, a small Cantina, where they offered Root Beer for about 75 cents. Believe me, after spending 9 or 10 days drinking only water and gatorade, Root Beer of any brand tastes great.

This is an actual toilet that I had to use... I won't go into all the details, but as you can see, there are actually two seats available. This particular type of latrine is called a pilot to bombardier. The other available type of toilet at Philmont is the pilot to co-pilot, a side by side version of this fixture. Despite the two holes, I never had to use it with someone else... thank heaven.

This is a picture of plane wreakage of a military accident that occured years ago. You can hike to the peak of the mountain where the plane crashed and see the wings (which I'm sitting by in the picture), propellers, wheels, etc.

The only reason I took this picture is because I thought it was hard to tell which one's the human and which one's the mule. Some of the staff camps have staff who take on historical roles about people who stayed at Philmont before it was a scout ranch.

This is me milking a goat on Father's Day. I guess it made me happy.

This is a picture of my shadow while I'm on a horse. The reason I took this picture was mainly because my horse had a funny habit of sticking its tounge out. He kept his tounge out the whole ride- about 45 minutes! It was very gross when I touched it. He was a good horse- very obedient, and it always came when I called its name.

This is a picture of me (finally showered up and clean!) at the Villa Philmonte, the former home of the man who donated the land of Philmont.

I was happy I could go to Philmont. What really would have made the scout experience better would have been to have David there with me. Maybe we'll have to go again in a few more years!

A little more David footage

2010-09-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this for my parents. It is a little long but captures a lot of David's funny quirks right now...such as loud sniffing (toward the end), funny expressions, baby teeth, and new "words". I took this footage during his bath time today.

David has 8 teeth now, although two of the bottom ones are just poking through.

Good day!

Holy Moly is that Justin Bieber!?

2010-09-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Made you look!

I bet you're all jealous you're not married to Justin's twin. I mean, hello? What a hottie!

I thought it was "Justin Beaver" for a long time. If I misspelled his real name it is because I don't know anything about him...other than a short clip I saw of him getting hit with a water bottle on stage. But I do know that he has that brown swoosh hair that is so alike my hubby's new hairstyle.

Okay, okay. It isn't really his new hairstyle. Brian will never part from the part.

And I don't really think they look alike.

Have a great day!

David's Sense of Humor

2010-08-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

A while ago Brian caught me and David playing a game. I'm so glad we have this footage! My mom said when I was a baby I would find the humor in things and laugh and she would be surprised that I got the joke. That is how I feel about this clip. I can't believe David is getting old enough to pretend! He cracked me up so much I'm almost embarrassed to post this. I had tears in my eyes! Isn't his little laugh funny? Don't forget to check out David's kisses on the previous post.

Baby Kisses

2010-08-26T09:36:00.001-07:00

Okay I couldn't resist getting some footage of David's kisses. They're just too good! So a week or so ago I grabbed my camera and got it! The last minute is a little boring but shows off his get-in-to-everything skills.

The Rambling Rexburger

2010-08-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

There are so many reasons why I just adore this couple. They are totally awesome and have taken the "Burg" by storm. Anyway, if you want to follow an awesome blog I suggest the Rambling Rexburger.
My brother is just getting this blog up and running. This is not a family blog but more of a place for Ty to share his opinions, thoughts, and ideas about life. Check it out. You won't be sorry.

http://ramblingrexburger.blogspot.com/

Adapting to Motherhood

2010-08-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Motherhood is tricky business.

David is getting into everything. I mean it. Everything. I suppose this is no news to veteran mothers but I seriously didn't know that they would get into like...everything.

For example, David is pulling an old piece of floss out of the office garbage. Yuck.

I almost took pictures of the messes he has made but decided against it. They aren't flattering and make me look like a slob. He can take down my whole apartment in about 5 minutes.

The funny thing is I have gotten to the point where I clean up just so he can do it all over again.

Why would I do that? Because he is at an age where he needs something to do or else he'll hold on to my leg and cry until I hold him.

David climbs. The only thing weird about this to me is that he is only 9 months old. He doesn't walk but he can climb up the stairs on his own. He climbs on top of boxes, books, toys, etc. I'm totally freaked out for his future.

Motherhood is not easy and not for the faint of heart. The other day I actually watched a baby poop sideshow. Disgusting. But I was worried that David was not quite normal in that area. I'll tell you one thing right now...never submit yourself to watching picture after picture of abnormal baby poop. Yep. I'm scarred for life.

But motherhood has its perks. There is a lot to laugh at. You know how babies do that thing where they tense up their little bodies and it looks like their head are about to pop off? David loves doing that. I think it makes him feel powerful. He forces out these little baby words in a stream of grunts and his face turns bright red. He makes his hand into little fists like he really means business. Well the other day he was in the bathtub...standing up of course...and he did the grunt thing so hard that a little wet fart came out. I don't know what hit me but I thought that was SOOO funny. Probably because he put in a whole lot of effort for such a tiny noise.

HAHAHAHA.

Wow I have a lot to learn about this mommy thing still. But it is fun. Especially when I get those open mouth kisses that babies are so good at. It is such a joy to realize how incredibly important you are to a child.

Donald, Where's yer Troosers?

2010-08-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Brian came downstairs singing a catchy little tune and doing a silly little dance.
He showed me this clip that my mom sent us and I could have died laughing. The more I watch it the more I realize that this little guy, Stuart Anderson, was just like my husband as a child. They even look alike! Brian sang and danced throughout his childhood and I couldn't appreciate this clip more. Hahaha.

Kudos kilt boy! You did your job well!

The Joys of Utah

2010-07-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Temple Square in Spring

Hiking Stewart Falls

Family History Projects

Spending Time with Family

We miss you Utah. Thanks for the great time.

Naughty and Nice

2010-07-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Crawling out of pool without clothes = Naughty

Staying in pool and having fun = Nice

Finding printer and ink = Naughty

This hairdo = Nice

This hairdo = Naughty

Preslee Sullenger

2010-07-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Brian and I read a sad story about a young family just like ours in the Rexburg area that lost their little girl in a drowning accident.

I met Ashley Sullenger when I lived in the Nauvoo House at BYU-Idaho. I recognized her picture when we visited their blog. I believe she is from Rigby which is just south of Rexburg.

Their example of faith is one that inspires me so much. I can't imgaine going through such a trial without the hope of the resurrection and the knowledge of eternal families.

I'm not sure what the financial situation of this young couple is but you can donate money to help with Preslee's medical costs at: http://helpsullengers.blogspot.com/

There is a link to their family blog on the above website as well if you want to learn more about Preslee.

Rollerblading at Warp Speed

2010-07-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

What happens when you put Brian in roller blades and give him charge of the jogger stroller?

This happens...

I could barely keep up with them on a bike! Brian was going so fast I could have killed him. Notice David's hair and toes. He didn't know what hit him but he sure liked it.

Toads, Beetles, Bats!

2010-07-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hello all. The title comes from Wednesday Wars. Have you read it?

The line "Toads, Beetles, Bats" is quoted only when the stinkiest of problems occur.

My problem occurred early yesterday morning...like 4:30 AM early. My eardrum ruptured.

The pain was second only to giving birth to David. I cried like a baby. I didn't hold back at all. You can only imagine what I sounded like during labor.

I'm on antibiotics and feeling much better and feeling a little sorry for myself. I seem to get the worst case scenario of every cold. My immune system could use a boost.

I'm trying to get used to being temporarily deaf in one ear. It is absolutely annoying.

We have been so busy, busy, busy. I recently got back from a three week trip to Utah/Yellowstone. It was glorious. Brian got back from Philmont not long ago and he says that he'll post a little about it soon.

We also finished up Youth Conference in the Houston North Stake. Brian and I helped with the YC music. Brian wrote a great theme song that the kids all liked. We also were adult leaders so we got to be in charge of about 10 youth during the conference.

So there will be pictures to come of everything...but our camera is currently only taking blurry photos and nothing will upload from the memory card. Toads, beetles, bats.

Peanut Butter Factory

2010-05-22T19:22:00.001-07:00

Today Brian and I had the awesome opportunity to can peanut butter for the LDS Church Welfare Services. Wow! We enjoyed it so much! We learned that the cannery in North Houston is the only PB factory the church owns. That means that the peanut butter the Church distributes to the Bishop Storehouses, Food banks, Humanitarian aid, etc. comes from this factory.

Our shift was a little over 4 hours. Brian was the Foreman. His wife volunteered him :o). So he oversaw the workers on our shift. There was about ten of us. My jobs were peanut picker (you get to sort through the roasted peanuts and pick out the burnt ones), jar stabilizer, and lid distributor. Brian walked around and made sure everything was running smoothly and that everyone was doing their jobs correctly.

There were a few men in the factory that are actually called to work there. They walked around in dark blue jumpsuits and had big forearms and crinkly smiles. They reminded me of my dad.

When the factory is open, it runs for 24 hours. Every time the machines are shut down, they have to be washed, sterilized, etc. and the cost to do this every time is significant enough that they only open the factory 8-10 times every year for about 4 or 5 days. And like I said, during this 4-5 day period the PB is being manufactured around the clock to cut down on costs. What is so amazing about this is that they need volunteers to work shifts during the night. So church and community members come to the cannery in the early hours of the morning and sacrifice their time, sleep, and comfy beds to pick peanuts and screw on lids!

Brian and I again felt a confirmation about how true The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is. What a blessing it is that our Church can count on ward members to sacrifice so much time and energy to run factories like this. I encourage everyone that can to serve their community through organizations like this cannery. If you belong to the LDS church, you can clean church buildings, volunteer at the temple, work in canneries, serve in your Church calling, visit the sick and those that are lonely, and be a Home or Visiting Teacher. It is so important that we remember how solemn our individual role is in serving in our church and community. The LDS church could not function without willing volunteers who sacrifice countless hours of time.

To learn more about the North Houston Peanut Butter Factory watch this short clip. Have a nice day!

How we celebrated 22

2010-05-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

For my birthday I simply wanted to spend time with my busy husband and with little David. We had so much fun. Brian kicked the day off with a pancake breakfast then we headed to watch the early show of "Babies". Have you seen it? It was definitely entertaining and worth seeing. It isn't very long and has no talking other than the mothers or fathers to their children. It was great.

Then we went to the Woodlands Waterway and had a picnic. Here are some pictures :o)

Every 15 minutes there was a small fountain show set to music. Brian was totally in to that as you can see in the picture.

We tried to get David to warm up to the splash pad. He was a little unsure but he didn't necessarily hate it. You gotta start somewhere right? I think the more we come here the more he'll get used to it.

We really wore David right out. I'm finally realizing that the key to get David to sleep well is to play and play and play until he is pooped. By the way, he is sleeping through the night now and has been for the last few weeks. Let's hope it lasts. Of course I have been so used to getting up at night that I tend to still wake up but hopefully that we change soon.

After our picnic we went home and got cleaned up. Then we went shopping and I got new shoes from DSW (Thanks Brian!) , and a couple nice skirts and shirts at Khols with a gift card from my mother-in-law. If you have just had a baby, even if you lose the weight, a few nice outfits make all the difference. I swear since I have had David all of my old clothes just don't fit quite like they used to. But I guess that is part of the deal. (By the way Old Navy flip flops are one dollar on Saturday...at least they are in TX...all sizes.)

Then we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant for veggie enchiladas!

I will also mention this. I didn't pick out all of my gifts. Brian did have one gift to give me at the end of the night with my birthday card.

The gift was a box of Q-tips.

Brian had noticed that we were out and asked if I didn't think he was just so thoughtful.

Then he realized they weren't even Q-tips...they were a cotton swab knock-off brand. He seemed disappointed.

I would like to know if any husband in history has ever given his wife cotton swabs as a birthday gift.

......

Click on the picture below to see footage of our day! Thanks for stopping by!

Picnic at the Woodlands Waterway

2010-05-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

For more fun with the Cook family, click here: Christmas 09 - Spring 2010

King's Orchard

2010-05-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I headed to King's Orchard with some friends to pick strawberries! Fun!

David squinting in the sunshine. He has such a cute little face.

This is Liam, my friend's little boy. The farm had wagons to pull your strawberries around in. Perfect for the little kiddos. Liam liked looking at his shadow on the path in front of him.

Lyza and Liam picking strawberries. I want to go back when the figs are in season. I think I've only ever eaten them as a dried fruit so I want to satisfy my curiosity.

Dear Mother, I love you

2010-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Mother of 7

What an example you are!

You are intelligent, full of wisdom

I adore you, and wish to be like you.

You've always loved each of us with such depth!

A love I have not understood until my own baby arrived.

Oh Mother! Thank you for all that you are. Thank you for your heart full of love.

If I turn out to be something like you, I will be so happy. I love you dear Mother.

I love you.

For Dad

2010-05-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

I told you there were frogs here. This little guy was on the porch when I went out for a walk. I also saw two nude female lizards. Really. They were totally skin-colored and not bright at all. That's how I knew they were girls. I told Brian and he could have died laughing. I guess he heard "I saw two naked girl lizards" instead of "nude colored lizards". Anyway. I thought maybe if you were here you would have caught the toad and the lizards and maybe even the baby garden snake I stepped on later that night.

David Jumps!

2010-05-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

Click on Davey to watch him jump.

Piano Playing...a favorite around here

2010-05-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Click on David to watch him play.

Ward Campout

2010-04-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there is no better way to get to know your ward members than by going camping with them. We had such a blast at this campout! We took a really funny video of David waking up in the tent but it isn't uploading. So here are just the pictures for now.

He looks like baby Moses. This was his bed. He loved it.

A lot of ward members are in love with David. Here is is looking at the fire with Paula.

David slept like this most of the night. And I'm faking sleep in case you couldn't tell. We actually had to wake David up he slept so good! Good boy!

We had some yummy tin-foil dinners (pre-cooked at home :o). Brian played capture the flag with the boys. The ward provided the smores. One guy was making them with peanut butter cups. Now that is indulgent! We put David to bed in the tent at about 8:00 didn't wake up until 1 or 2 in the morning (which is good for David believe it or not).

David has one of those cloth binkies that you can put food in. He loves it! So for dinner at the campout he had canned mandrain oranges and pineapple. Until one of my friends that is expecting her third baby mentioned that infants shouldn't have citrus. Oops.

Cousins

2010-04-12T19:36:00.001-07:00

David has lots of cousins. Here are a few candid photos of Davey with his little friends.

Ah Camille. She has four older brothers and is quite a tough cookie. Poor David got bullied a bit. She is about 10 months older than David.

More with the Cook cousins.

Salisbury cousins!

David and Kaitlyn are good friends. Kate has a little brother a year older than David so it was easy to have her keep an eye on him when I needed to get something done.

David got to visit his newest cousin Julia a little while ago. More to come on our Utah trip a little later.

Mom and David Dates...and a little about Brian too.

2010-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

David is growing so fast. I love every moment we have together...well not every moment I guess ;) One thing that we like to do is trek around the neighborhood in this backpack. We do get a lot of stares but we have fun! If there were mountains around I'm sure we'd hike together. Today David fell asleep while we walked.

Tomorrow we are going to take David camping for the first time. I'm stoked and Brian is skeptical. I'll be sure to report how it goes. I remember going camping often as a young girl and I don't recall a new baby ever stopping my family from hitting the great outdoors. That reminds me, Brian has been quite outdoorsy lately. His excellent mulch sales has enabled us to buy some really great, high quality gear from REI. A few days ago Brian went to Scout camp with the Young Men that he advises. He got to hike, camp, and rock climb! Cool!

In June Brian will head to Philmont for a few weeks. I'm going to go to Utah and do a little of my own hiking :o)

My Darling Little Princess

2010-03-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Fingers and Toes

2010-03-17T20:02:00.001-07:00

Hillbilly Hoedown

2010-03-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Meet Billy. Billy one the kontest fur the best kostum at the ward partee.

Dis is Billees wife (ur cousin if yude ruther) and little pup kald David.

I think Billy is jist da handsumest man I no. Don't chu?

My Best Attempt at Vegan Cooking

2010-02-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

The average American dinner consists of a hunk of meat, some kind of starchy food, and a simple side of vegetables...perhaps canned or frozen peas, green beans, broccoli, etc. (I'm making a lot of assumptions in this post so sorry if my stereotypes don't apply to you.) I'm good at making these dinners. No big deal right? But lately I have realized that my diet has been a little lackluster. Everyone wants to be healthy and vibrant and I have come to realize that the true key to health success is a proper diet and consistent aerobic exercise. This is what it will always boil down to folks. So to revamp my efforts to remain fit and healthy, I studied up on Veganism. My goal was to learn how to cook with vegetables because honestly, how many of us know how to use lentils, chickpeas, kale, and the like? So here are a few candid shots of my efforts. By the way, I'm a huge ice-cream monster so I could never be vegan. And I'm not against eating meat either.

My lovely Sweet Potato and Leek Gratin. Looks yummy right? Wrong. It was a failure. I couldn't afford fresh Rosemary so I used dried. And I forgot if you double the dried herb or cut it in half if you don't have the fresh stuff. I figured bold flavor isn't always bad so I doubled it. Ick. Every mouthful was full of dried, pine-needly rosemary leaves. Someday I hope to have my own bounteous herb garden which would have come in handy the night I made this.

Me making Couscous and Vegetables.

Success! This main dish was so lovely! I only wish I would have trusted that a meager cup of couscous would do the job. I think I settled for a cup and half. In the end, I felt the couscous slightly overwhelmed the yummy veggies. When will I learn to trust the recipe? This recipe featured spinach, green peppers, green onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, and kidney beans.

I made this Coconut Cream Cake for my Mother-in-Law's birthday about a week ago. Definitely not a vegan recipe but still really tasty. I topped it with toasted coconut and heart-shaped strawberries for a little flare. I owe my love for cooking sweets to my mother, who as Brian claims, is the best treat maker there ever was. I also admit that I am quite proud of the last-minute strawberry idea. I had never thought of cutting a notch at the top to make them look like hearts until I made this cake.

Current Pics. of Baby David

2010-02-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

Baseball boy! The hat didn't stay on for very long...

Look at those dark blue eyes! I love snuggling him in my bed in the morning before I get him dressed for the day.

And this folks, perfectly represents my inability to format well on my blog. I guess I need lessons. But it is a cute picture. I love this yellow outfit.

Daddy and David singing songs at the piano. David really likes when Brian does this with him.

I think this pic. really shows off his little personality. Can't you just tell how much he is like Brian? He pulls these faces and screams at me all of the time. He is really a vocal baby.

David will be four months old on March 1. I have just loved being his mommy. He really adds so much happiness to our lives.

No, not a Boy Scout

2010-02-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is a MAN SCOUT!

This is the guy that can be seen wandering the neighborhoods in Spring, TX selling mulch to help earn money for a crazy two-week backpacking trip in Philmont. This is the Varsity Coach of the Klein Oak ward that will be responsible for a handful of teenage boys in the middle of some mountain range in New Mexico this summer. This is the guy that can literally do anything he puts his mind to, even sewing on his own scout badges...and you can tell that he did a good job! And he hasn't ever even used a sewing machine before! This is the man that can make his wife roar with laughter as he recounts the story of using a Bulgarian woman's bathroom while trying to sell her mulch. This is the substitute teacher that writes referrals and takes away cell phones. This is the guy that is known as "Mrs. Cook" when he teaches kindergarten! This is the guy that makes the Freshman girl choir giggle when he admits that he was a Soprano in his first year of High School. This guy has some good jokes up his sleeve, even in his sleep when he tells me to put the baby on his "bach". This guy can even sing the Batman theme song in his sleep without realizing it...now that is talent! This is the guy that will do the 20-minute shred workout with his wife because she wants him to see how hard it is. This is a family man, and a dedicated, motivated, hard-working student. This man is worth knowing!

Happy Valentines Day to you Sweetheart!

Who Likes to Hold Baby?

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Santa does!

Aunt Heather and cousin Ethan do!

Mason does!

Mommy REALLY loves to hold baby! Even at the expense of a face-squash.

Grandma Cook does!

Grandma Salisbury does!

VJ loves to hold baby!

Bala and Balaji do!

and Grandpa Cook...

and Uncle Alan

Great Grandmas really do...

Grandpa Salisbury really loves to hold baby

Xenna likes to hold baby on her lap!

Daddy loves to hold baby in his elbow pit.

Uncle Parker loves to hold baby...even when baby poops on him and makes funny noises.

Aunt Rachel likes holding baby too...

Oh and of course Uncle Ty and Aunt Suz did. They liked the practice. Here is a picture of them. As you can see, Suzi is going to have a baby very soon.

And a slew of other aunts, uncles, and cousins like to hold baby...we just don't have pictures.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2010-01-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

HaPpY BirthDaY To YoU!

We LOVE You!

and...we REALLY REALLY REALLY MISS YOU!

We HoPe You HAvE a GReaT DaY!

Sleeping Baby is a Happy Mom

2010-01-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

Help! How do I get him to sleep better at night?

Situation: He still sleeps in my bedroom in his little bassinet. What? I can't help it. I'm anxious about the crib transition. I know, I know. I would sleep better if I couldn't hear every snort and grunt.

So I'm mostly told to let him cry it out. Ouch. But it always seems to work in the end. In fact, the best kid sleepers I know cried like this when they were babies. And he won't remember crying it out anyway. So what am I waiting for?

But I tried it for like ten minutes...and surprisingly daddy was the first to crack.

So any advice would be helpful. And if I could offer advice to new moms it would be this: Spend just as much time preparing for motherhood as you do for labor and pregnancy!

By the way, he had three shots today. He ran a pretty good fever tonight and winced whenever my hands got close to his little thighs. I'm grateful for Tylenol.

Funemories

2010-01-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm looking at some of my mom's pictures and I couldn't resist posting some of them. What fun memories! I've also been looking at our blog that is now plastered with baby pictures. We are living in Spring, TX which is a long distance from family (excluding Brian's parents) and a blog is a great way to keep them all updated on our lives. You may have noticed that Brian and I both blog and we really do enjoy it. But I admit that I'm not always great at formatting, and I think Brian has posted duplicate pictures of our boy. But I do hope that you all enjoy the Cook'sbook. We have had fun.

This is such a great picture of my mom and youngest brother. This was at my brother's wedding a few years ago.

We love hiking!
This picture isn't funny unless you know how Brian feels about fish. Here he is looking at his catch of the day.

hahaha. He didn't want to let her go...even for a nap!

I love this memory. Lazing in the sun together.

Scattering Sunshine

2010-01-07T21:14:00.001-08:00

Let me indtroduce you to a very special boy...

Dawson Joseph Lindstrom is my sweet nephew. He was born Aug. 6, 2005 with his twin, Mallory. Dawson passed away this week. His four and a half years of life will never be forgotten. I encourage you to read about Dawson on my sister's blogs: www.thewondertwins.blogspot.com or www.yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com. The second blog is an inventive website that my sister has to celebrate all of the good things in life and to help individuals become their best self. My sister is easily one of the most optimistic people I know. You won't be sorry if you take time to get to know her story. We love you Dawson!

Mallory takes after her mommy. She is SO fun and a very happy girl. Here are a few pictures of us with the "wonder twins".

Dawson loves music. It was fun for Brian to play the piano for him and to sing to him. Music brought Dawson immense comfort throughout his life.

Mallory calls him "Hunka Brian" instead of "Uncle Brian". We will miss when she grows out of that. She is quite a character. Tonight when I offered her some cooked carrots, she said they were warm and bendy and insisted that she couldn't eat them. I guess she likes them better raw.

We thank the Lindstrom family for being such an inspiration to us all!

New Videos - Baby Talk

2009-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the season of caroling, our little David is starting to find his own little voice! He is spending more time awake each day and so he's got more say. He is obviously happiest after he eats, but you can also hear him chatting away just after a nice warm bath. Check out these videos -- they'll have you going gaa-gaa in no time.

Growing, Growing

2009-12-10T07:45:00.001-08:00

Fun things about David: by Mommy

David is a very sloppy eater. There is nothing dainty about him at all.
David gulps air at random...I think he likes the noise it makes.
David snorts...a lot.
When I lay David on the bed, he stares and occasionally talks to our wedding picture that hangs on the wall.
David loves a nice warm bath.
When he feels especially determined, he grunts and kicks one leg.
David loves to stretch out.
David is a big-time mover. Even when I lay him at the bottom half of the bassinet he finds a way to kick himself to the top until his head is rammed in to the wall. This usually makes him mad.
David loves to snuggle...just like daddy.
If David ever has a cough or sneeze it is very dramatic for him. He puts on quite a show.
David likes the sound of his own voice.
David flares his nostrils until they turn white whenever he goes pee pee...oh the drama.
David has a tenor cry. It only comes out when he is really mad. But it is oh so cute!

Can you tell we love the kid? I think we have set a high picture-taking standard for the rest of our children. This little guy is fun to have around. Here are some of the latest pics of David.

Not from the hood..but definitely in it! (har har)

That's our little man!

Baby Brian

2009-12-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Brian with his mommy

Cute little guy!

Baby Kayla: Just for Fun

2009-12-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Look at how beautiful my parents are!

Newborn Kayla.

Sporting a fashionable turquoise and black bow.

Great-grandma Fenton...We Miss You!

For Grandma

2009-12-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

So he does have a bellybutton! Phew.

He loves laying on his tummy.

Haha. First time stuck in a sweater.

Cute cry face.

Feeling good.

Can't wait until Christmas. Love you.

Two Weeks Old

2009-11-15T17:14:00.001-08:00

Things are still going happily with our sweet David. We just love him so much and can't get enough of him. Kayla is recovering very well and is starting to get back to normal everyday life a little more each day. Thank you to you all for your support and love. We love you too!

This is a picture of David going to his very first concert to see his Daddy perform. This concert was supposed to happen on David's due date, but he wanted to go so badly that he came two weeks early! I wonder how many more concerts like this he'll go to? Any guesses?

As is clearly evident in this picture, David gets his good looks from his mother and his muscles from his daddy. :o)

This is a picture of David's first "bunny ears."
I know... I'm weird.

I love where David decided to rest his little foot!

Anybody who thinks he doesn't get treated like royalty is way off base. This kid gets lovin' from everyone. Check out this sweet massage he got right after one of is baths!

Enjoying our Son!

2009-11-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some great new pictures of our David who turns one week old at 8:28 tonight!! We love him so much, and he is truly precious.

More of Baby David

2009-11-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

Here are the freshest pictures of our baby David. Thank you all for your fun comments. We feel so blessed to have this little guy with us. Things were probably a lot better where he came from, but we're trying to treat him like royalty here.

Mom is doing great. She got some good sleep last night when Grandma Salisbury took care of David for a few hours. Feeding David is getting better and better with each time. Dad is trying to stay focused at school, but how can you when you've got such a cute thing waiting for you at home?

I mean, really, look at him!!

Grandma Salisbury got here on Monday morning and hasn't quit helping ever since!!
Thank you!!

There's more than one baby in our family that likes to be wrapped up
nice and tight when he sleeps!

Grandma Salisbury the librarian gets to read David his first
story, "Little Boy."

Grandma Cook loves to snuggle up too!

Two too pooped to poop!

Everybody's got to start some time! Is he singing along?

One of our nurses said to be sure to give him some belly time when we're watching
him so that he can start to strengthen his shoulder muscles. That's good
because he apparently gets his small muscles from Dad.

Baby Video 1

2009-11-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Baby David is HERE!!!

2009-11-02T03:46:00.001-08:00

A big hearty welcome to our new little baby boy David!! He arrived on Sunday, Nov. 1 at about 8:30pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs. even and was 21 in. long. Mommy was especially glad he didn't wait until his due date on the 13th because he was already getting pretty big!

Speaking of Mommy, she did FABULOUS! Contractions begun at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning. By 10:00 a.m., they became more regular and we began timing them. Sure enough, they were consistent and getting more intense. Because our due date wasn't for another two weeks, we didn't think we could possibly be in labor. But after walking around the neighborhood, not to mention preparing Sunday dinner and getting through last minute hospital laundry, Kayla finally decided she needed to get to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, we learned Kayla was dialated to about 5 cm. By comparison, she was only at 1 cm on Wednesday's doctor appointment. So she had progressed well. We checked into the hospital about 4 o'clock. Her labor progressed steadily. Kayla opted to have no medication and did very well with each contraction. She was focused and composed throughout it all. She couldn't have done better. By about 8:00 p.m., she was ready to push and soon enough, that baby came out in just about three or four contractions. It was absolutely amazing!

Here are some shots of David right after he was born. We hope you enjoy the pictures. They are in no particular order. Of course, as any good parents would do, there will be more pictures of David to come!!

Halloween

2009-10-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

As you might be able to tell from the "Funemories" post, our family is getting into an extremely dangerous tradition of coming up with creative costumes and activities for Halloween. Even this year, we remarked to each other how commercialized this holiday is and how dumb it really is that we go door to door asking people for candy and get all dressed up like people we really aren't.

Despite all that, though, this year was one to remember!

For Kayla, this is her first Fall season outside of the wintery north. She's really been missing the changing leaves (see post below) and the feeling of Fall. But one Fall-ish thing you can do no matter where you are is carve pumpkins. And since we're both used to being around the snow, what better way to pay homage to our home towns than a pumpkin snowman!!

This idea started when we went to the local store to buy pumkins. Last year, we went to a real pumkin patch to buy them cheap!! This year, they cost almost $4 a piece, and you just can buy one! So instead, we checked out the bin called "Pie Pumkins." They were smaller and cheaper. After some humming and hahing and trying to come up with how it could be fun to carve small pumpkins, we had the brilliant idea to buy three pumkins and make a snowman.

Here's Kayla gutting and carving the face on the pumkins!

Because every good artist-gone-pumkin-carver has to have some sort of inspiration, can you guess who Kayla chose to be the model for her pumkin head? That's right - her Pumpkin Head!

After our project got going, one good idea was followed only by another good idea! Pretty soon, there were toothpick, nails and hammers, and what good pumpkin would be complete without fire?!!

Here's our final product- a thing we call Jack Frost.

While we were still on our creativity high, we couldn't help but keep on keepin' on with our next project -- an idea too good to be true, too complicated to be understood, but too timly to pass up.

This year for Halloween, we went as.... drum roll...... The Cooks!!

It started with you ordinary box, custom fit to Kayla's belly. Wrap it up in some white paper and strap some old suspenders to the back, and pretty soon, you've got an oven!

Since there was no ward party or fun outing on Halloween, we decided to make an event for ourselves. In the end, we baked some cookies and wrapped them up individually. Then, we hopped in the car and drove around to the younger couples in our ward and knocked on their doors. Between stops, we would just laugh and laugh at ourselves and all the stupid things we were doing. It was a blast!!

Check out this fun video starring "Lovin' Oven Kayla." Keep in mind she is going to give birth the next day!

In the end, we decided that it was just too much to capture in a few seconds. I mean, if somebody remembered our last name was Cook, they probably forgot that we have "one in the oven." Or, if they thought it was cute we had a "Fresh Baked Cookie" for them, they probably didn't realize we were talking about our baby.

But all in all, it was a great memory. Maybe next year, we'll go it a little easy on the creativity. We obviously over did ourselves this year!

Funemories

2009-10-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

What a fun memory!

This is my husband on the "Tree Tour" for the BYU-Idaho 2007 Oratorio. As you can see he is in deep thought while riding on the bus. Little did he know the girl a few seats behind him was going to be his wife...or did he? Maybe he is in such deep thought because he is so enraptured by me. This was the first time I ever met Brian. Wasn't he so cute? I landed in his ward months later and the rest is history! Our little meeting on this bus was just enough to get me to remember his name.

And what about this one? Shots from past Halloweens...

Here we are again in 2007. I dressed as the ugliest hillbilly I could. I had a huge crush on Brian and I knew he would be at this party. He dressed up as an Olive. Oliver the Olive to be exact. You can tell our personalities fit quite well. We weren't about to use a costume party as an excuse to get all dolled up for each other. This was quite a fun time for us though because my roommate was the one throwing the party and she had Brian and I decorate for it. She must have been on to us. Anyway, I made this card for him last Halloween when we were married.

Last Halloween was a hoot. Brian made the best nerd. We attended the Symphony which was a blast and then we had our friends over for a little party. I remember my jaw killing me that night. I remember Brian kept calling Suzi "Sooosan". I remember Brian's geeky voice and the Men's choir cracking up at him after the concert. I remember the way he counted to three very slowly at ever stop sign that night. I remember his paper clip neckalace and his odd fitting retainer. I remember the dozen pens and highlighters that he crammed in to his pocket. I remember laughing hysterically together in our apartment when it was just the two of us before we left. I remember his white socks. I remember getting to the Symphony in our nerd costumes just before the concert started and watching as Brian awkwardly made his way through the crowded concert hall, capturing everyone's attention, hearing laughter from the waiting audience, trying my best not to abandon him. I wish I had footage. It is fun to be married to Brian Cook let me tell you.

Our great friends Pamela and Jared. They made perfect robbers. We miss them.

We can't forget about our award-winning pumpkins...well okay we didn't get an actual award for them but we had a lot of fun! This year's pumpkins will be carved sometime this weekend.

As for this year's costume? You'll have to wait and see!

One final funemory...

My sweetheart friends from the married student ward in Rexburg! This is a picture of our old Relief Society Presidency. Bethany Sines is on the left, Cailin Bruce is on the bench next to Abby Fokken, and...well you know where I am. We had such a fun time together. Abby moved in to a cute little basement apartment and is expecting a little boy (child number two), Bethany is in Iowa living with parents just like me! And Cailin is now a momma. How fun!

Stay tuned for more funemories!

Pregnancy Update (not a birth announcement)

2009-10-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

No pictures today. Just wanted to let those who have been wondering know that baby David flipped head-down. We are rearing to go and can't wait until those painful contractions start. I think baby and mommy are ready to get him out of there! Brian and I are really excited and boy do I feel fatigued and stretched. We can't wait until my Mom arrives! Another bonus of having a baby is that you get to have your mother take care of you again! Yay! Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze a post or two in before baby comes.

Any words of advice before labor starts?

Witches, Brothers, a Shower, and a Fall

2009-10-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

These are my brothers. They are so cool. Really. Oh, but don't forget one brother isn't in the picture. He is a great brother too. His name is Clint. But this is Tyrel and Parker and they are just the best. So fun. Really. Except Tyrel teases me a lot. But I might secretly kind of like that. Don't tell him.

Park was recently baptized and my husband and I flew out for the occasion. Of course we just had to have a baby shower while we were there. And we just had to enjoy the fall season since it was 97 degrees in Spring, TX last week. I'm happy to say that me and my big tummy did just fine. I tried to wear a slimming black sweater so the airport officials didn't think I was too pregnant to fly. It worked! The only crummy part is I didn't get to hold Bri's hand during the flight in to Utah and back home. We weren't able to fly together because he could only come for two days before he had to fly back for school. I stayed for a whole week.

Gentlemen please, you're simply too handsome for the camera.

While I'm showing off family pics I might as well add a few more--

A newly one-year-old pumpkin nephew-- A pretty little sister--

Adorable princess nieces--

Goofy blondes--

A neat dad--
And a sweetheart little brother--

And now...the WITCHES! WAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (imagine an evil witch laugh)

These witches are from Gardner's Village in Utah. Brian and I had a fun time checking this out while we were there. We have our classic witch-flying-in-sky-on-bike-routine, and don't forget about handcart witch...busy with today's chores.

Witches playing baseball...don't they have something better to do? Like cast spells and create potions? It was a relief to see that even witches need a break from everyday life. And don't forget to notice one of my favorites, "witchy poo".

The Baby Shower: given by Abby Salisbury. (I wish I had better pictures..boo. Oh well.) Please try and imagine the cookie display complete with peanut butter kiss cookies, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cookie bars, etc. etc. right down to good old fashioned pizelles. We celebrated the coming of our "cookie boy" which is funny if you remember that our last name is Cook. Abby is really creative. If you look closely, you might see the baby clothes display by my fireplace. I wish you could see the cookie set-up too, and the blue balloons. Here are a few pictures. First, the little boys pouting that they can't come inside because they are stinky boys and the party is only for smelly girls. Sorry boys. They wanted to play nintendo or legos or something. Clint took them for a hike up G mountain instead. My hubby went too. And here is a pic of a few baby shower guests. Two of my sisters are back there on the couch. I'm glad I got to see Amy, who drove down from Idaho for the festivities.

My Fall: I will never forget the sweet memories of my fall. Thank you, Mom and Dad for the pretty drive and the easy hikes. I was craving that! I got a good fill of cool weather and open spaces. Just what I needed. These are beautiful pictures of the day. I convinced M&D to check Rachel and Parker out of school so they could come too. We had a lot of fun collecting leaves. I wanted to bring some back to Spring with me.

It was such a beautiful day. Sigh. I can't wait until we are able to visit Utah again. We'll hopefully return for the Christmas season. In other news, our baby will be here next month. He's folded up a little funny in there right now. We are hoping he'll get that head down so we can have a good delivery. Otherwise, we may need a C-section which certainly is not the end of the world but is not necessarily desirable either. The doc says some babies go breech for good reasons too so whatever happens will be the best for the babe we think. One thing is for sure, no matter how he comes we'll be excited to meet our cookie boy.

Ode to a Perfect Diaper

2009-09-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

I love my husband. But sometimes men just don't get it--especially when they have a pregnant woman on their hands.

I was given a large bag full of free baby samples. I had as many baby magazines and prenatal vitamins my heart could ever desire. Because this complimentary gift bag was given to me late in my pregnancy I didn't need much of it and because I try to keep our place clean I thought I could sort through it and get rid of some of clutter. Really, this was a BIG bag of stuff. In the midst of all the junk I came across a small Huggies box. I opened it and gasped at the cute newborn diaper that had been placed delicately inside. I removed the diaper and held it in my hands.

This was a great diaper! It had Tigger! It had Pooh Bear! It was beautiful! I could only begin to imagine our small infant son in this fabulous diaper. I admired the organic cotton that Huggies assured it was made out of. Yes, it would only last a few short hours before it would be thrown away but it was worth saving. As I rested my eyes on the diaper I realized that it had, in many ways, become a symbol of our baby. It was small, fragile, delicate, precious, and adorable. As you approach the end of your pregnancy you think a lot about that baby that is moving and kicking around inside of you. You wonder how the baby is doing and if it will come out healthy, and you wonder how in the world you will learn to take care of such a small innocent thing. I took the diaper and cradled in my hands and thought about all of this. This diaper was a keeper. I could toss out much of what was in the gift bag but not this. I placed it gently in the "keep pile".

Then Brian walked in. I was sitting in a large pile of baby stuff on the floor. He flopped on to the couch--right next to the keep pile. I looked up. I smiled tenderly at him, still full of baby diaper thoughts. The diaper had given me an excited feeling...yes the baby was coming soon. I watched as Brian picked up and examined my diaper. "Good" I thought. "He is getting excited and having the same baby thoughts that I have just had. Look at what a good father he will be." For surely Brian was as emotionally tied to the diaper as I was. Surely he saw how it represented our firstborn child. I got back to work sorting through the pile. When I looked back up at Brian something had gone terribly wrong. To my horror, my husband was spitting in my newborn Pooh Bear-delicate-organic cotton-diaper! AHHHHH! What was he thinking? What was he doing? I let out a cry. I snatched the diaper from his hands. I felt the inside to see how corrupted it was. I realized that a little spit could dry and it was still usable. I was still boggled at what odd infatuation Brian had with spitting in it. I looked at him. I was brooding and I felt hostile. He could see the tears in my eyes. "I was testing the wetness indicator" he said innocently. Hmph. Apparently he wasn't thinking at all about our precious baby boy when he was examining the diaper. Of course, he was just seeing how it all worked. That seems to be what men like to do. I tossed the diaper back in to the keep pile and continued to sniffle. Then, as if it dawned on him, Brian saw the Pooh Bear characters on the diaper. He knows how much I like Pooh. So he proceeded to rip the organic cotton Pooh characters front off of the diaper to save for me and threw the rest of it away. Oh my gosh. He was insane! This time I sobbed and sobbed. The diaper had been destroyed. Tortured. Mutilated. By my own husband at that! How could I ever trust him with my child?

Poor Brian. Poor, poor Brian. He had no idea what had just happened. He thought he had done such a good thing. I looked at the ruined diaper and back at Brian's concerned face and I couldn't help but laugh. I was hysterical. I was roaring with laughter and trying to mourn my diaper all at once. It dawned on me that perhaps Brian was not the insane one in the room.

And finally, before we went to bed that night, Brian tossed something at me. It was a whole pack of Huggies newborn-Pooh Bear-organic cotton-diapers.

First Week of School!

2009-08-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Every kid needs an awkward-face, first-day-of-school picture, right? Too bad my face is awkward no matter what day of school it is!

The first week of school at University of Houston has come to an end! It's been interesting to make the switch from BYU-Idaho to UH because first of all, UH is about three times larger! Besides that, all sorts of religions, nationalities, and other walks of life are represented in their full beauty! It's a great experience to get to know other people and learn about them.

Classes are going well. I have an Introduction to Musicology class where we study how to research and write about music. There is a lot of reading and writing for that class, but we have a good teacher and he really knows his stuff. I also was required to enroll in the Music Theory review class because I need a little brush up. The class is really moving quick and there's hardly a moment to breathe! Between the two classes, I can easily fill my day with homework and study.

I also had my first conducting lesson this week with Dr. Hausmann. I really like him a lot. He is an accomplished conductor and has already been so helpful. One non-musical lesson he has already taught me was about humility. I don't think he meant to do that, but about four or five times in our lesson he mentioned how important it is for conductors to have humility when the stand up on the podium. He has a philosophy that conducting is a lot like dancing. I like that idea because as a conductor, you really need to feel the music inside before you can interpret it on the outside - just like a dancer. Dr. Hausmann will also conduct the choir that I will sing in on Monday nights. We found out that our fall concert is going to be November 13 -- the day Kayla is due to give birth!! What do you all think I should do?! I mean I really love my wife and I would sure like to be there when she gives birth, but a concert sounds like a lot of fun!! :o)

The only frustrating thing about this past week has been the bus systems. I ride the public busses into Downtown Houston, then I transfer to my choice of three other bus routes that will get me near the University. The problem is trying to figure out which of the three routes I should take to get me there the quickest. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of time waiting for busses that just barely pulled away right before I got to the bus stop, etc. I think we've got the schedules figured out now, though, so maybe next week will run a little smoother.

Well, that's the update for the first week of school.