Cooks Love Kisses

Tis the Season

2011-12-27T16:00:00.013-06:00

Merry, Merry Christmas (a little late) from our family to yours!

This Christmas season has been fun-filled, jam-packed, and is sadly coming to a close. I am so grateful for this season with family to celebrate the Son of God coming into our world as a tiny baby. This year has been especially fun as our little girl is beginning to "get it". LOTS of celebrating has gone on these past few weeks. The following is a summary in pictures...

Christmas Eve service at Legacy Church! I love getting to hear my daddy and see all that is happening with this amazing group of people.

Christmas Eve Tex-Mex feast! Grayer quite enjoyed the black beans...

leading to the inevitable post-dinner bath.

One of my favorite Wilkes clan traditions includes opening presents to/from each other on Christmas Eve. Sadly, Grayer guy was partied out and missed the rest of the evening festivities. Thank you to Aunt Summ for the TOMS! I have to convince Cambell Grace nightly we can't sleep in them because our bed would turn into a mess of pink sparkles. She is quite reluctant to take them off or wear other shoes.

Lolli MADE this beautiful Rapunzel dress for Cambell Grace. Pictures do not do this masterpiece justice. Dress-up is a part of our daily routine, and Cambell Grace has already put this beautiful gift to good use.

Cambell Grace LOVES her Aunt Summer and Uncle Ryan! They are superheroes in our book!

Carrying out the tradition my Poppy started when my dad was a little boy of reading The Night Before Christmas before bed on Christmas Eve.

Checking out what Santa brought...

Grayer enjoying his new chair...

Mommy and Daddy's presents :) So cheesy, but so true!

Cambell Grace and Sally Grace all ready for church. Legacy had a neat little service gathered around the Christmas tree in the foyer.

At Legacy Church with Pop... Cambell Grace loved getting to hear him speak in front of everyone. She did have some sad moments, though...

but Grayer guy was happy as can be!

Grayer's turn to open gifts after Christmas dinner (or late lunch, as was the case)...

Gingerbread house factory!

Graham took the entire week off in between Christmas and New Years, making for a relaxing end to 2011. We look forward to all 2012 has in store for our family of four!

Grayer is ONE!

2011-12-12T13:07:00.005-06:00

My precious baby boy is one year old. What a year! Life with Grayer is sweet, constant, and definitely entertaining. This year has been so fun, so hard, and so good. Looking back on this year brings a flood of differing emotions. This year has been hard. Grayer has already seen two different medical specialists, had surgery to get tubes put in his ears at 7 months old, and survived a trip to the ER. He has required breathing treatments and a great deal of worry from this mommy. (I realize that he is still a very healthy boy, and for that I am thankful, but all of this has been a new experience for our family.) I struggled with the routine of having 2 little ones more than I thought I would. BUT--this boy has brought a joy to my life that I cannot even put into words. I melt every.time I look at him. His sweet grin and sloppy kisses send me over the moon. I am IN LOVE with our contemplative, yet silly; mischievous as can be, yet sweet to the core little boy. He is so serious, especially with new faces. Grayer is a miniature Graham and I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though it means a struggle with smiling at new faces, I know he is like his daddy, which will result in an incredible man.Grayer Moments/Mannerisms:

Grayer loves to wear his angry bird eyes and keep his arms out to the side 90% of the time.

He is quite used to his breathing treatments by now...

Grayer is MESSY. If I let him feed himself, he goes immediately to the bath afterward. He devours anything placed in front of him with great speed and special technique. By grabbing fistfuls of food in each hand and bringing them to his mouth, he works the food through his fist, out through the hole made by his thumb and pointer finger and into his mouth. It sure does sound nasty when he is eating bananas. Ew. Grayer can make ANYTHING messy. You may think that a plain cracker or tortilla would be safe, but no. Bibs are always required.

Grayer takes off his right shoe EVERY time we are in the car. No matter the pair of shoes. No matter the weather. Only the right shoe.

Little man cruises everything, including the wall. He will crawl to his walker, stand up, and proceed to push it wherever he wants to go. He stands up with great stability, but just will.not.walk. by himself. We don't get it. He even holds our hand and walks beside us with ease. I am quite alright with prolonging the whole walking thing because this boy is into everything as it stands. He gets into the toilet almost daily--even when the lid is down. He can open every cabinet and has some sort of magical power where he can find any electrical outlet. Anywhere. We obviously have covers on ours at home... but everywhere else... he finds them... within a few seconds. Will he share his daddy's affinity for electricity?

My sweet little guy is prone to mischief. Disciplining is quite a task because it requires a straight face, which is not easy to keep because the dude is so funny. When I am able to keep it together, a stern, "NO" is all it takes and the little boy falls apart. It is so sad... so sweet... so funny. Everything about this boy makes my heart happy.

I am so thankful for Grayer's little life and look forward to what this second year will hold. I do wish the first year could last longer, but having a front seat to watching this boy grow is such a gift! Happy Birthday, sweet Grayer Guy! You are our precious budsy!

THAT kind of morning...

2011-10-25T10:57:00.004-05:00

This morning has been THAT kind of morning. You know... the one where you are running just late enough to miss the carpool lane, so you have to take your daughter and sick son inside without shoes on because you wore leather flats with bows on them with your old school, hideous work out shorts and massive t-shirt because you didn't think you were going to have to get out of the car. The kind of morning where your daughter throws a horrendous fit over something one shouldn't even bat an eyelash over, throwing herself on the ground, making us just late enough to have endure previous said experience. The kind of morning that proves I do not have it together. Not that I really believed otherwise, but this definitely sealed the deal. When I got home, Grayer threw up all over me. I guess I deserved that.

I completely lost it on Cambell Grace. I wouldn't even walk her down the hall to her room, I was so mad at her for her behavior this morning. I feel terrible about the way I left her. Thankfully, 3 year old girls are quite forgiving. I will pick her up from preschool today with a hug, an apology, and maybe even some sort of treat. I am so thankful that even at their/my worst, I have been entrusted with these two little lives. These little people depend on me, so I will pull myself together, apply some mascara, and fake it till I make it!

After all the anger and throw up, I sat on the couch with my sweet, sick son and cuddled him while he chewed on a rubber ducky and I sipped my well deserved pumpkin spice latte, just thankful for grace. Thankful for my little sweeties who ADORE each other and their parents. Thankful for the reminder that I CANNOT do this by myself. Hopeful that I am a work in progress.

Grayer Guy- 9 months

2011-09-14T11:29:00.009-05:00

My sweet little boy is 9 months big. He still seems so little to me. Grayer guy is our sweet, squirmy, smiley budsy. This little boy adds so much joy to our family. From his mischievous looks and curious spirit, to his pouty lip and head hanging cry, he keeps us constantly laughing. I have horribly neglected to document his little life so far. We are definitely not lacking in pictures, or videos for that matter, but I have not written much down on paper, and there is so much about this stage with this little guy I do not want to forget...

...like how he sleeps with his little bottom in the air, cuddling his cow lovey...

...and how he's not quite sure how he feels about being one in the line-up of his sister's dolls, even though Cambell Grace makes him light up and giggle faster than anyone.

I want to remember how he pouts with his entire face...

...smiles with his entire face... and LOVES playing with his tools.

I do not want to forget that he either has his hands or whatever else he can get his hands on in his mouth...

... or has his arms out to the side as if he were going to take off in flight. Seriously, everyone who has been around him any length of time has commented on how his arms are ALWAYS perpendicular to the rest of his little body, especially when he is being held.

I need to remember his capacity for focusing in on whatever it is he is looking at...

... and how he wears his emotions on his eyebrows rather than on his sleeve...

...and how serious he can be... especially when he is eating or around new faces. For Grayer, the eyebrows say it all.

Grayer guy, I love the way you wave with your whole arm when someone you love comes into view, the way you look back at me and then take off quickly when you are going somewhere you are not supposed to go, how curious you are about EVERYTHING, and how when you meet an unfamiliar face, you survey them closely with your eyebrows furrowed before giving them your sweet Grayer smile. I love the way you started pulling up even before you could crawl, because you just HAD to see what was going on above you. I love how you look at your sister, giggle hysterically when she plays peek-a-boo with you, and wait until she has put the final touches on her block towers to hurry over and demolish them. I absolutely love the way you rush over to shoes and try to eat them before anyone discovers our failure to put our shoes out of your reach. I love how you bounce while holding on to the coffee table when you hear music, and are quite vocal with your feelings- whether happy or sad. You are so curious and do not miss a thing. I foresee very tiring toddler years ahead, but you are more than worth it. I am beyond thankful that you have seemed to grow out of most of your health "issues". You got tubes in your ears at 7 months, after basically one long ear infection your entire life, and it has made a HUGE difference. You do not have to have daily breathing treatments anymore, which is wonderful for your mommy. You are just pure joy to me. I would never put you down if I didn't have to, or if you would let me :) You are your father trapped in a baby's body... and I LOVE it.

Our little family of four at Grayer's dedication at Harris Creek Baptist Church.

Grayer's first day of Parents' Day Out... He loves his teachers, riding in the buggy, and consoling his little friends when they are sad. I love hearing about these things :).

I could not be more thankful for these nine months with our budsy!

All About Our THREE YEAR OLD!

2011-06-13T13:04:00.000-05:00

Cambell Grace Cook turned THREE YEARS OLD on May 7th. I cannot believe my baby girl is three. She seems so grown up these days. Still a drama queen and a super sass, but the sweet outweighs the stink :).

To celebrate 3 years of Cambell, we had a party at our house with the theme, Monkeys Jumping On the Bed.

I believe the party to be a success because Cambell Grace LOVED it! Her little friends came over in their jammies to jump like monkeys and eat breakfast... my 3 year old's favorite things :).

Pink doughnuts galore!

The grown-up food...

My big girl with her "3" shaped doughnut!

Sweet child could not for the life of her blow out those candles.

We finally enlisted Ainsley's help :)

Little brother partied a little too hard...

So thankful for such sweet friends already!

Outdoor activities... The bounce house... or as Cambell calls it, the "Jumping Party"!

Sandbox fun!

Little artists at work...Sweet siblings enjoying the bounce house at the after-party...

Sweet Aunt Summer!

The team that made it happen! They were such troopers and people are still talking about Mimi's sausage balls!

Three sweet years with Cambell Grace! So thankful she made me a Momma! Some of Cambell Grace's adventures as a 3 year old...
My big girl in her cute outfit made by Lolli!

We've played beauty shop a couple of days and straightened Cambell's hair out of curiosity. She looks SO grown up and like a different child!

We said good-bye to Ms. Jackie's class at FUMC Waco. Cambell already misses Ms. Jackie, but is so excited for what PRESCHOOL will bring! Upon my explanation that she will no longer be in Ms. Jackie's class, Cambell Grace responded in her most dramatic tone, "It's not sad... it's so SO SO sad!" She also reached out to the side as if she was pattimg Ms. Jackie and said, "It's ok, Ms. Jackie".

The most exciting of her adventures as a three year old has been her ballet recital. Cambell was in the Tiny Tots class at Jenni Holley Dance Studio and LOVED it. I have been so pleased this year with all that my ballerina has learned and it has been a great experience. She loves Ms. Jenni and Ms. Tressie, along with her fellow teeney ballerinas. The little mice did a fabulous job, and by fabulous, I mean no one cried, tripped, or ran off the stage :). No really, they were adorable. I was backstage with them until the moment they went on stage and the other backstage mom leaned over and said, "This is my favorite part... The curtains will open and the crowd will say, 'awwwww'". Sure enough, she was exactly right.

I mean, how could anyone resist these little cuties?!?!

The girls enjoyed hanging out backstage. One of the moms came equip with ballerina coloring sheets, crayons, a DVD player, and ballerina books. After intermission, we brought Cambell in the auditorium to watch the performance and she was in heaven. It was so sweet to watch her watch the older girls and try to mimic them in front of her seat :) Grayer decided he was finished watching before the show ended, so we called it quits early and didn't take part in the finale. That was ok, because Cambell was the only Tiny Tot at the dress rehearsal who had no interest in sitting down with her class. She got up in front of everyone and walked to the side of the stage holding her crotch. Then she put her finger in her nose. Classy girl, that one.

I just LOVE these sweet girls. They are all going to be in the same class in the fall. And they will be starting TAP! So exciting.

Lolli and the supportive brother. I'm so glad Lolli and Aunt Summer got to come watch Cambi. It brought a flood of sweet memories.

So proud of my BIG GIRL! She's worth all of her drama :)

Grayer's 1st Easter and a Potty Princess!

2011-04-25T15:04:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Grayer's first Easter! It was a beautiful, WINDY day, celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior. This year was special as it was Grayer's first, but also because Cambell seemed to "get it" a little more this year. We beat it into her head that Jesus IS the reason for Easter. We felt like we had done our job when asked on the way to church what Easter is about, Cambell responded- "Easter is all about God's Son". Mission accomplished :). She sure enjoyed hunting for eggs and a basket full of candy-filled eggs, but I didn't want Jesus to get lost in all of the sugar.

We went to the worship service at our church, Harris Creek, then played with the babies in the nursery. Thankfully we were overstaffed second service in the baby room, so I got to rock and hold my precious son while he napped, which is a rare treat. If it were up to me, I would never put down the little guy :)

After church, we headed over to GranSara and Grandado's house for Easter lunch. They invited several young professionals without family in town to join us, as well as a wonderful new friend and her daughter whose husband was out of town. Lindsay has a two year old who has become Cambell's friend, which was a bonus for the day. We enjoyed the time there, but tuckered out quickly after a crazy weekend filled with power outages, birthday parties, and potty training. Every member of our family took a LONG nap that afternoon followed by an excellent brinner courtesy of Daddy. Every Easter with Cambell, we have spent the evening outside. Both years, we took video of Cambell in her swing. I wanted to carry out this tradition by filming Grayer in the swing and Cambell doing whatever she wanted outside, but as I was cleaning the swing for my sweet boy, a wasp stung me on top of my head, confirming what I already knew- all bugs are out to get me. I understand why God created bees... pollination, honey, and what-not... but wasps? They're just mean. Now Graham has taken care of our apparent wasp problem and all is well in Cookville. I'm just glad it was me and not one of my babies! It did bring an abrupt halt to our fun evening. We opted for a safe evening on the couch watching The Backyardigans. All in all, it was a very happy 1st Easter for Grayer Wilkes!

In other news, my Cambell Grace is OFFICIALLY potty trained! Last Monday Cambell decided she wanted to wear her big girl panties. I have been waiting for this to be HER idea. She has been going on the potty off and on for a LONG time- like 18 months! Last week she finally decided it was time to go full time. She only had ONE accident last week, and it was on the first day. There were two days that were TOUGH emotionally and spent almost solely in the bathroom (too bad one of those days coincided with the aforementioned power outage), but we have made it over the hump and she is doing great! This morning we celebrated her pull-up being dry all night with a promised donut! She went for the purple with sprinkles... she is, after all, quite fancy.

A girl after my own heart... she knows the good stuff! We are SO PROUD of our big girl! Big weekend at the Cook house!

I know I am SO behind on blogging, so I just decided to start at the present and move backward. Hopefully there is more to come soon!

C&G

2011-03-10T15:48:00.004-06:00

What are my sweet littles up to these days???

Mr. Grayer is TWELVE weeks old!
Likes:
His mobile. Grayer is captivated for long periods of time by Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger circling above him. He frantically kicks his legs and punches the air while cooing at his friends from the Hundred Acre Woods. It is one of my favorite forms of entertainment these days :)
Fish-related toys. Well, really just his aquarium bouncy seat and crib toy. He loves staring at the bubbles, resulting in energetic kicking. The boy can focus. He furrows his brow and could win any staring contest. He definitely is his Daddy's boy in that regard.
Dislikes:
Napping in his crib. The boy sleeps 8-9 hours in his crib at night, but will at most sleep 30-45 minutes in said crib during the waking hours. I don't get it. He will nap for 3-4 hours in his car seat while we are out and about without a hitch, but the baby will.not.nap long in his crib. Every now and then I give in and let him nap in his swing, which he will also sleep in for hours on end. Silly boy.
Being alone: Grayer is usually happy as long as another human is in his line of sight... especially his sister. Grayer loves watching and studying Cambell. Thankfully, the feeling is mutual. Our little man loves giving smiles and coos to those who will listen. He doesn't necessarily have to be held... just knowing someone is near will suffice. Must be a second child thing :)Miss Cambell has 2 months left being a 2 year old!

Likes:

Being a big sister. Cambell has embraced this role beautifully. She loves her little brother with a precious little passion that sometimes needs taming. When she is not kissing him, bringing him burp cloths and blankets, or standing over his crib watching him, she is bossing him around. She's got the job down to an art :).Her babies. Cambell's mothering instinct is strong, to say the least. When she is not taking care of Mommy and Grayer, she is taking care of her babies. Her main baby is Sally Grace, named by Cambell herself. Sally Grace is probably better taken care of than Grayer. She goes to the doctor to get ear infections (yes, you read that right), her temperature is taken many times a day, and she mainly eats cupcakes and cookies in her highchair. Sally Grace sleeps on top of a giant pig covered up with a blankie because she is WAY too good for the crib in which all of the other babies share. Don't worry about the others, though. They get plenty of attention. For instance, below you will find two Dr. Seuss characters and a baby from her Mimi on pillows by her bed. She shared her lovies with the Dr. Seuss characters, one for each, and covered them all up with her special blankie. That is love, my friends... especially for the baby who gets to sleep with the mallet with a cookie by her head.

Angelina Ballerina. This has actually turned into a borderline obsession. We found a new (2009) Angelina Ballerina movie through Netflix instant streaming and Cambell is HOOKED. She dances with Angelina throughout the show and HAS to wear her ballet shoes while watching. Multiple times a day I get asked to watch "Angelina Ballerina with all the little girls". I love how much this girl loves all things related to dance. A distant second in the TV department is the Wonder Pets, but Angelina holds her heart and attention at the moment.

I'm not going to talk about Cambell's dislikes at the moment. I chalk it up to being two years old with a strong will. You can use your imagination :)

2 Months of Grayer!

2011-02-14T10:01:00.006-06:00

Two Months of Grayer. Where to begin. After a very low key, sweet first month with our little man, the second month was... shall we say.... eventful. At 6 weeks of age, little man had his first ear infection. I took him to our pediatrician because he was terribly congested, fussy, and not eating. It turned out that his poor ears were infected and not only were we going to start antibiotics, but also breathing treatments for the congestion. Thankfully, he did not have RSV and his lungs were clear. We have had too many friends in and out of the hospital this season. The lack of appetite was also not a problem, seeing as he was TWELVE pounds at 6 weeks! After a week of breathing treatments every four hours, antibiotics, and looooong nights, little guy was not feeling any better. After taking him in again, his ears and breathing were both WORSE :(. We switched antibiotics and added an additional medicine to his nebulizer treatments. The antibiotics twice a day, nursing every 3 hours, and breathing treatments every 4 hours had me feeling like I could not take care of anything else in my life... and I have a two year old, husband, business, and house that require and deserve my time. Sweet Cambell has been such a trooper. She still adores her brother as much as she did when we brought him home and has been understanding when I can't do everything I want for her. She has handled the cabin fever related to the COLD and need to keep Grayer in MUCH better than me. I was not made to be away from people and kept indoors. Thankfully, as of this weekend, we are only giving breathing treatment in the morning with any others only as needed. We are FINISHED with the antibiotics and he is giving me a little more time in between feedings. I feel a lot more freedom and have made every effort to be around friends every moment we can. Grayer even went to his playgroup for the first time on Thursday morning! There have definitely been moments where my hormones have gotten the best of me, but my love for this little guy is overflowing. He is our buddy :)

Grayer is such a smiley little guy. In the past week, he has started giving me that precious, toothless grin every time I look at him :). His smiles and coos keep me in a constant state of melting.

I cannot believe we have a son. I was so worried I would not be as excited about "boy" things, but I LOVE having a boy! I feel so blessed that I get to experience both. I'm not going to lie... I would be really upset--ok, devastated if I had not had my girl... but now I know that a boy is just as fun :) I love these two. Grayer adores Cambell and is mesmerized by her presence. He carefully watches her every move. I love the face Grayer is making below. He has crazy eyes. He makes this face ALL the time and it never ceases to make me laugh :)

Our family feels so complete with Grayer in it. He is our precious little man, and totally worth the fuss and work :) Here is a video of some of our favorite moments from our first two months with buddy...

4 Weeks Ago...

2011-01-09T21:25:00.003-06:00

Four weeks ago...

We woke up as a family of three on a beautiful, cold Sunday morning... Went to church... Shared frustrations with friends we had seen Friday night before we went to the hospital for my 2nd false alarm... Went to lunch with dear friends at Rosati's-- Whoa! I think my water is breaking-- Yep, that's it all right.

2:30 pm: Arrive at Providence Hospital... ask the sweet nurse to cut the small talk and check me so I can get my epidural ASAP...

3:45 pm: Receive the blessed epidural and a popsicle... on the road to euphoria :)

4:50 pm: Dr. B comes in to say he is going home for the day--I mention it has been a while since I have been checked--He checks me and finds I am fully dilated! That was fast--but to be fair, I had been 5 cm for over a week... This baby is coming now... Nurses start scurrying about like mad because no one expected me to progress so quickly... A knock at the door-- my sweet family just missed the chance to see us before the big moment... 3 contractions worth of pushing...

5:06 pm: I get to meet my beautiful son! He is huge and looks EXACTLY like Cambell! I am in love.

The abbreviated version of Grayer's birth :) I cannot believe it has been 4 weeks already! Grayer's life has been as much of a whirlwind as his birth! Too fast. He is already losing his newborn look! I cannot get enough of the little guy. His cuddles and coos have this Mommy captivated. He has even given us a couple of REAL smiles! It's going by too fast!

Grayer Wilkes Cook

2010-12-29T12:01:00.002-06:00

Introducing Grayer Wilkes Cook
Sunday, December 12, 2010
5:06 p.m. 8 lbs 10 oz. 20 inches

Two and a half weeks ago, sweet Grayer entered the world and made the perfect addition to our little family. To say that we are in love would be a complete understatement. This little guy is worth the sleep deprivation. I am finding it difficult to come up with one word to describe our transition to a family of four. In so many ways it has been completely natural and filled with sweet moments I want to etch in my brain and keep forever. Other moments have left me feeling completely spent. Two days after coming home from the hospital with our little guy, Cambell came down with a vicious stomach bug. She has only had one other bug in her life that affected her as badly as this one. It was horrible for all parties involved, but the worst part was the emotional toll it took on all of us. Before the dreaded bug, the transition was perfectly smooth. During the dreaded bug, Graham handled most of Cambell duties to ensure that I did not get sick and Grayer barely left his room to ensure his safety. This really hurt Cambell's feelings and I regret ever letting it happen. Long story short, I took a lot of time reconciling myself with Cambell and within 48 hours, her stomach and heart were healed. I could do without that little glitch in our family history. Cambell is back to her over zealous love for her baby brother, and her mommy.

My sweet babies.

Little Grayer at the hospital...

We are so in love with this little guy. His little temperament is sweet and content so far. I love this cuddly boy. He is an exact replica of his big sister! I'm sure they will not always look exactly alike, but at this point they are identical.

Every day he is more alert and expressive. I forgot how much I love this newborn stage.

Two and a half weeks... and we can't imagine a world without Grayer!

I am so grateful for these precious little lives that have been entrusted to us. We feel so undeserving of such a gift.

Now we are enjoying a week with Daddy at home with us. I am loving life with my family of four... even though I have never been this tired :)

Our First Sunshine...

2010-12-01T15:34:00.007-06:00

To say that I am a sentimental person would be a complete understatement. In fact, my sentimentality often drives my husband and family members crazy. Papers and pictures are stored and overflow in our closets, traditions must be kept in the exact manner they were formed, and most mention of change is met with great amounts of grumbling. For a Mommy, this can be VERY distressing. These little ones do not stay the same long, and it is impossible to capture every movement on tape or record every anecdote worthy moment. As I said at the end of my last post, I am growing increasingly sentimental about these last days/weeks as a family of three. Cambell taught me how to be a Mommy. She is the light and joy of our home. Graham and I have only grown closer learning to be parents to her. I must say, she has made it pretty easy. We have of course had our tough moments... but for the most part, she is a compliant, sweet natured little girl and we are so grateful for who she is already at 2 and a half years of age.

This post is dedicated to making sure our first sunshine does not get overlooked during this exciting time and expansion of our family. I am going to be "that mom" and tell you all of the wonderful things I love about Cambell Grace Cook.

Cambell is SO loving and has a sweet, sensitive heart. Graham and I mention this often as something we appreciate and are grateful to see in our child. She is constantly telling us she loves us and asking if we are ok. I cannot even count the number of times she has told me today how much she loves me. Not only is she generous with affirmation of love, but also her appreciation of Mommy and Daddy. Little bit has a diaper rash at the moment. This morning after doctoring her little bottom she tells me, "Thank you, Mommy. Thank you for putting medicine on my bottom. It makes me feel much better. Thank you, Mommy. I love you, Mommy." This of course is followed by a big ol' Cambell hug. Her gratitude for the simplest of things blesses my socks off.

I also appreciate Cambell's sensitive nature, even though it can mean extra tears at times. She gets her feelings hurt easily, but with this comes a natural sensitivity towards others that melts my heart because it innate and not taught. Upon noticing a friend in tears, she will offer a hug, pat on the back, and "wha's wrong, (insert name-Cambell is VERY big on saying names, often more times than necessary)?" Her concern for others is one of the things Graham and I appreciate most about her. She especially hates to see Mommy upset. With pregnancy, comes unwanted tears at times, and Cambell has been the sweetest encourager.

I am so excited to watch Cambell become a big sister. Hopefully her obsession with babies will work to our advantage. I know that there will be jealousy, but right now she LOVES the idea of a baby brother. She loves being in Grayer's room and making sure his toys and things are in just the right place. Cambell sings to Baby Gway'r every night and loves to rub and kiss my tummy. The other day, completely unprompted, Cambell looked and my belly and told her brother, "Come on out, Baby Gway'r. Daddy's got a special room for ya." I put this on facebook, but needed to say it on the blog too to make sure it is adequately documented :). That moment completely melted my heart. When Cambell colors, she loves to have Mommy write out her name along with Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Grayer. It makes me so happy to have her already include her brother in our family without my having to remind her or push the issue.

I love this little girl. Not only does she melt our heart, she also keeps us laughing. Her facial expressions, squeaky voice, and wit are the perfect combination for comic relief. Here are some silly Cambellisms as of late (a few of which were on facebook, so please excuse the repetition :)):
- Cambell to Daddy after letting one loose: "Did you burp in your diaper? Are you poopy?"
-On running errands: No Mommy, I want to walk to errands... pllllllease, I can walk to errands, not running errands!"
-We're driving as a family and Cambell is looking really sleepy. I turn around and ask how she is doing, and get a very enthusiastic "Gig Em, Gaggies", with pointer finger extended out of absolutely nowhere.
-Cambell changes her shoes no less than 10 times a day. She comes in and shows us, "Look at my (pedipeds/sandals/crocs/boots/ballets/whatever other brand shoe she happens to be sporting)".
-She says, "OK" as much as I do... which I consider a flaw :)... "Ok, Mommy... You want a carrot? Okaaaaaaay? Ok. I get you a carrot. Ok? Ok."
-Cambell is very big on knowing what is coming in a given day. "Where're we going today? Am I going to school to see Ms. Jackie and Ms. Donielle and my friends? Are we going to eat cereal? Are we going to dance to see Ms. Jenni and Ms. Tressie and my friends and do the choo choo train? Are we going to church to see my friends? Are we going to run errands? Are we going to see some friends? Where is ev'ybodee (arms out to the side in shrugged shoulder position)?" Notice a pattern? :)
-Cambell's versions of songs: Come Thou Fount-"Let thy goodness, like you better, bind my wandering heart to thee"
Dynamite (Taio Cruz)- "We gonna light it up, like it's time to Mike"

This chair is one of Cambell's favorite places. The child will read for an hour at a time in this chair, as content as can be. Another characteristic especially appreciated by her mother :). She memorizes her books, and sometimes makes up stories as she goes along. Her inflection is what tickles us. Up and down it goes, usually with corresponding facial expressions.

One night, I had Graham type out Cambell's rendition of Noah's Ark as she read aloud. A classic example of how she mixes memorization with her own little twist:

"Noah makes a big boat. Make a biiiiiig boat, God said. Yes, I will, said Noah. Noah loved God. It took a looooooong time. It rained, and rained and rained some more. The water went over the houses and over the trees. It went higher and higher and higher until there were no more people. And it’s time to say thank you. There are many animals on the boat. He took his family on the big boat. The water was all gone. God took it away. He made a rainbow. A rainbow is about God’s promise."

Lately, one of Cambell's favorite past times is pulling ALLLLL of the food out of her kitchen on the ground and calling it Party Time. "Come eat Pardee Time, Mommy and Daddy... PARDEE TIIIIIIME (with hands in the air as loud as she can)". Party Time basically means we all sit on the floor around her kitchen and pretend to eat what is handed to us. Today, I had the pleasure of getting a cupcake, a cookie, and a whole onion on my plate. Party Time happens a good 4 to 5 times a day in the Cook house :)

I am so grateful for these two and a half years as a family of three, and know we are only going to grow stronger as a family of four. Our family is not complete without little Grayer and we are so excited to meet him. I just wanted to share my overflowing love for our first baby before our second arrives. I'm not hormonal or anything ;) Today, I took Cambell for a lunch date just the two of us. I will miss our days of going as we please as I can take her pretty much anywhere. She is a sweet companion for this Mommy and I look forward to my heart only growing in love for my TWO little miracles.

A Thanksgiving Adventure

2010-11-28T19:31:00.007-06:00

So... this Thanksgiving will not soon be forgotten. My.goodness. It all started on Wednesday. I was feeling uneasy about heading to East Texas later that afternoon for reasons I could not put into words. I was nervous about the imminent temperature plunge and just felt like I needed to stay close to home an extra night. My understanding, flexible family decided to push back their trip to the farm an extra night and make a detour to Waco so we could be together. It was my sweet Mommy's idea. I was SO grateful to not be left out of the fun.

Lolli and Pop were first to arrive in time for a nice dinner. Soon after, Summer and Ryan appeared on the scene to complete our crew. We let Cambell entertain us and started getting desserts prepared to take with us the next day. My Mom required a few more items at 10:30pm, and being the nice, smart daughter I am, I joined her so she did not have to go alone. This is where things got interesting... The entire trip was laden with contractions. They were non-painful Braxton-Hicks contractions, but pretty close together. I thought they would dissipate with a shower and sleep, but instead only increased in intensity and grew closer together. I got in a few hours of sleep before they really picked up. By morning, the contractions were less than 5 minutes apart, lasting a minute each, really intense, and had been so for several hours. This is when they tell you to get on over to the hospital. We had my bags packed, got set to go to the hospital, filled in the family, and then... of course... the contractions slowed down. Since it is so darn expensive to go in to Labor and Delivery just to get checked and have them tell me that I am in fact, not in labor, we decided to stay home. Of course, conditions were not exactly ripe for riding in the car for several hours, and my precious family once again did not want me to be left alone on Thanksgiving day, SO we made our own last minute Thanksgiving in Waco.

Between the Wilkes, Cooks, and Duffies, we were only responsible for green beans, rolls, and desserts at the meal at the farm, which does not exactly make for a Thanksgiving feast. Thankfully, I remembered a sign from the night before that HEB was staying open until 2pm. Off we headed to pick up pre-cooked turkey breast, ingredients for stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I must say, the meal could not have turned out better if we had planned it weeks in advance. The team effort in our little kitchen totally paid off.An hour after coming home from the store, our Thanksgiving feast was served!

I am beyond grateful that my family stuck around and helped create one of the most memorable Thanksgivings ever. The rest of the day was filled with football watching...

turkey cookie decorating...consumption...

and wii playing...

By the end of the night, my contractions had come to a complete stop. After an uneventful night's sleep, we headed on over to our original destination in East Texas for 24 hours of family and serenity. It was cold and beautiful... my favorite combination out there. I was so grateful to be with my Grammy and Poppy and felt like we still got to have the full Thanksgiving experience. We spent as much time outside as possible enjoying the beauty of East Texas in the fall.Cambell enjoyed her little playmate, Maddie.
Poppy even had a hayride for us!
Little bit LOVED it, of course :)On the tour de farm, we made a little stop to feed the cows. The highlight was when the cows came up to the back of trailer and started eating the hay as we were moving. My ever observant daughter exclaimed, "The cows are eating the hayride!" I was proud of her bravery as the cows were mere inches away as they ate her chair.When the sun went down, we still found fun indoors.

I am so grateful we got to go to the farm. We are back in town and back in full force baby preparation mode. The nursery is now fully functional... not finished by any means, but I am grateful we have a place for little guy to sleep and have his diapers changed :). We are soaking up this time as a family of three. Not that we aren't SO excited to meet Grayer, because our family is NOT complete without him, but we have found this sweet groove in the past 2 and a half years with our daughter and I am clinging to it tightly in these final weeks. I am cherishing every little moment and conversation with my sweet Cambell. I have such a mix of feelings... readiness for our son to arrive and our next chapter as a family to begin... and overwhelming sentimentality about the chapter that is ending, hoping Cambell feels just as loved and cherished as ever with our new arrival. I so look forward to watching her become a big sister... if only I knew when it was going to happen :) We'll keep you posted!

Waiting for Grayer

2010-11-18T17:25:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe I am already THIRTY-FIVE WEEKS! Cambell came at 35 weeks and 4 days. Even though I do not believe this little guy is going to be as early (or early at all necessarily), the fact that we are approaching the time Cambell arrived is enough to stress this Momma out! I wish I could show you a fully furnished and decorated nursery, but alas I cannot yet. Daily progress is being made which gives me hope, though! Whether or not the room is finished in time, we are so thrilled about meeting our precious son and embarking on our family's next chapter as a family of four. I think Cambell is the most excited. She looooves talking about "Baby Gway'r", giving him kisses, singing to him, and rubbing my belly. It makes my heart so happy. Every night (and often other times during the day) Cambell rubs my tummy while singing, "I love you, Grayer. Oh, yes I do. I love you, Grayer, and yes it's true. When you're not with me, I'm blue. Oh, Grayer, I love you." I hope little guy recognizes his sissy's voice when he gets here.

On October 3, these sweet friends below had a shower for me at Spice Village. Their efforts in celebrating Grayer meant so much to me.

My sweet Mommy and Sissssster.

I won't overdo it on the pics of the decor, but the girls did a wonderful job. I feel the cupcakes are worthy of note. One of Summer's former roomies from Baylor, Christie McCabe, has a little baking business in Dallas and is incredibly talented. Everyone commented on how wonderful they were. Christie featured these cupcakes on her blog. That girl can bake!

Ok, so just two more decor pics... The sign in table...

Adorable party favors...

The shower helped mobilize "boy mode" for me. I'm not going to lie... it has been such a change in mindset from girl world. I am excited (and terrified) to experience life as a boy mom :) Below are a few pics throughout the pregnancy. I have not been diligent in my documentation, but this is what I have :)

23 Weeks

27 Weeks

29 Weeks

33 Weeks

I feel it would be impossible to grow any larger, but it seems to be happening! My nesting urges are in full force, so hopefully I will have a nursery update soon!

Pumpkin Partyin!

2010-11-11T20:51:00.000-06:00

Our October was filled with lots of fun... and LOTS of pumpkins :) It all started in the middle of October with a playgroup trip to the pumpkin patch. Mommy was not on top of the social calendar, and scheduled family pictures at the same time. Total bummer. No time to change, we hightailed it to the pumpkin patch just in time to say bye to our friends. Thankfully, I was able to twist Deanna's arm to stay for a bit :)

Our little pumpkin princesses!I could just eat little Makenzie right up with a spoon!

Next, we celebrated with Cambell's dance class in costume. I love how much Cambell adores this little class. Adding to the fun, three of the other teeny ballerinas are in Cambell's class at school. Getting away from the Mommy and Me gig has been perfect. She is actually learning to dance and enjoying being a tiny ballerina!Cambell and Karlie, playgroup and school buddies, were both Minnie Mouse! Karlie is such a sweetheart and always good for a hug :)

Allow me to introduce you to "nother Campbell". 'Nother Campbell, as she is lovingly referred to in the Cook house, and Cambell Grace are in the same class at school and dance. These two Cam(p)bells LOOOVE each other. Our Cambell is now "Cambell Grace" at school and dance, which is not far off from her home life, so it works out well. Cambell Grace canNOT leave school until she has given 'nother Campbell a hug and a kiss. 'Nother Campbell is also a popular topic of conversation in the Cook house, including, but not limited to inquiries about where 'Nother Campbell is and what she might be doing.

We LOVE Ms. Jenni and Ms. Tressie! They take WONDERFUL care of my girl and make her feel so special.

We headed straight from dance back to the Pumpkin Patch with Cambell's other playgroup. Sadly, we did not get a picture of the group. It was HOT and Cambell (and Mommy) were quite cranky, making this trip short lived.

The next day, Cambell and Mommy had a super special Pumpkin Pajama Party. The party entailed baking pumpkin muffins, painting our family pumpkin, all while watching a pumpkin movie in our pajamas :). We do not have enough down time in our life right now. Thursdays are our only real morning at home and I have been guarding that time carefully. This particular week had been especially rough and ridden with sickness, so this was our reward for making it to Thursday!

My little helper...

Learning the joys of licking the spoon at the end while sneaking a peek at the movie.

While the muffins were in the oven and then cooling, Cambell painted our pumpkin. I would have loved to carve one, but knives, slime, and a 2 years old didn't seem to make the best combination in my mind. Painting seemed a little more on the safe side... plus, it happens to be Cambell's favorite activity these days.

I'm loving her left hand in this picture. She is a truly inspired artist :)

The final product!

After the completion of the pumpkin, we moved on back to the muffins to add the final touches. Normally icing does not accompany muffins, but this was our special pumpkin party, and Cambell pointed this icing out at the store, so we went with it.

Enjoying the fruit of her labor...

The next celebration was not so much about pumpkins as it was about birthdays, but it was very fall-esque and happened to be the Friday of Halloween weekend. Cambell's buddy Justin and his brother Cody shared a birthday party complete with hot dogs, cake, hay rides, a dirt pile, and a petting zoo. Cambell was especially excited about the animals.

Cambell, Piper, and Katherine checking out the ducks. I wish I had a better picture of all of the animals represented in the petting zoo. Cambell was extremely timid at first, but when she warmed up, the petting could not be stopped!

Cambell on her second bag of chips. After finishing her own, she moved on to a friend's. That, my friends, makes a party successful in the eyes of Cambell Grace Cook.

The next evening brought back our pumpkin theme. Cambell's friend Ella hosted a pumpkin party at her grandparents' house with pumpkins she helped plant! Cambell had a rough start at this party. I think she was all celebrated out by this point.

Everyone picked a pumpkin from the patch and the kiddos decorated them with stickers.
Cook family pumpkin #2.

Cute little friends decorating their pumpkins.

Hay ride!

Ella's sister, Lila. I am seriously OBSESSED with this baby. Cambell is too :)

The final activity of the night... Smores!

Cambell's first taste of the gooey goodness :)

That brings us to Halloween! We once again participated in "Trunk or Treat" at Harris Creek with our beloved lifegroup. Graham and I went as Juno and Paulie Bleeker complete with orange tic-tacs and a 44oz.

Once again, our little Mouse-ka-Cambell :)

Precious little friends! Cambell and Ainsley

Halloween 2010 was a success. Cambell loved going to all the cars saying, "Trick or Treat", and conning more candy than the owners were originally intending to give. Last year I was able to get away with Cambell not really realizing what candy was about, so this was her first taste of the true Halloween :) Her favorites were suckers, candy corn, and m&ms. Thankfully she forgot about the bag of candy after the second day, so her teeth are no worse for the wear :)As much as I LOOOOVE pumpkins and costumes, I was pretty ready to see this Halloween season come to a close. It flat wore me out. Now we are all about the turkey and giving thanks :)

BIG GIRL BED!

2010-10-21T16:44:00.001-05:00

Our little Cambell Grace has been sleeping in her BIG GIRL BED since Friday, September 24! This was a big step for our big girl... and a necessary one, since little brother will be needing the crib soon :).
It all happened so fast. Aunt Summer was with us for the weekend and helping with the bedtime routine for the toddler. Cambell mentioned she would be sleeping in her big girl bed. Mommy knows that translates to eventually sleeping in her big girl bed, as we often talk about to get her geared up for the big switch. But Aunt Summer saw a golden opportunity, pulled back the sheets, and off we plunged into the great adventure of sleeping in the big girl bed! I really did not feel ready at the time to take this jump at the time, but now I am so glad it is over and a SUCCESS! Cambell LOVED her crib and would ask for it by name since I started talking up the big girl bed. It is best that we made the switch when it was HER idea, because she would probably still be in her crib, otherwise.
To celebrate a successful first night, we rewarded our official big girl with a pink doughnut! I am happy to report that Cambell stays in her big girl bed from the time we put her down until we come in to get her. She even talks and sings to herself in the mornings upon waking up, patiently waiting for Mommy to come get her. This was my main concern in moving to the big girl bed. Selfishly, I did NOT want to give up that luxury. It is so nice to be able to be completely ready for the day before going in to get Cambell. ONE morning she came out of her room, but I calmly told her that she needs to wait for Mommy to come and get her when she wakes up, and she has obliged my request... and is SO proud of herself for obeying. I am so proud of my BIG GIRL (and thankful to my sister for ripping off the band-aid :))!

Gig 'Em Gaggies!

2010-10-10T19:36:00.012-05:00

(It has been over a month since I have posted! I hate how behind I am on documenting our little life because so much has happened that I want to remember! I am going to start at the present and move backwards)

Friday afternoon, after picking Cambell up from school and getting her down for a nap, I settled down on the couch with the computer and a snack only to find I had a Facebook message waiting for me from a friend I have lost touch with for some time. Imagine my surprise when the message held an offer for free tickets to the A&M v. Arkansas game at Cowboy Stadium the next day! We had blocked off Saturday to work on Grayer's room, but this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up! I am SO glad we went! I am indebted to the beautiful Kelley Wolfe! Kelley and I cheered together in high school and then she became my Little Sis in Tri Delt at A&M. She now works for Cowboy Stadium, and boy did we reap the benefits this weekend :).

Everything went better than expected. Parking was a breeze. A shuttle took us right up to will call where I literally walked up and got our tickets! It was especially exciting to go up the escalator into the club section where our seats were priced at $225 a pop. Upon finding our seats, I discovered another long lost family friend waiting in the seats next to ours. I LOVED getting to catch up with precious Abby Burleson (now Reyes). I am actually in contact with her mom often, as she is our family photographer (we actually have a session with her tomorrow), but I had not seen Abby in a LONG time!
Cambell did well considering the game was smack dab in the middle of nap time. Mommy came prepared with books, coloring books and crayons, and most importantly, stickers. We laughed at the differences ANYTHING with a two year old brings, but especially football games. A little less about the game and beer, a little more about the halftime show and, well, stickers. Cambell LOVES stickers. After growing bored of sticking them together in one pile, as she usually does, Abby helped her come up with a new game, placing stickers on her face. Gotta love anything that keeps a girl occupied for more than 10 minutes!
Trying SO hard to Gig 'Em with her little thumb. She had it down by the end of the day. I felt like a terrible Aggie, just now teaching my daughter how to gig em! It is especially important for us to instill a love for A&M early because our other school of choice may not be feasible financially :). "Gig Em, Aggies" started out as, "Gig Em, Daddy", graduated to "Gig Em, Gaggies", and was eventually perfected. Abby is a fellow half blooded Aggie Bear, so she sympathized and we practiced Cambell's Sic Em as well.
This is going to sound terrible, but I forgot how much I love my Alma Mater. I am inundated with all things Baylor on a daily basis-which I absolutely love- but this was a good reminder that I am in fact, an Aggie!
One of the best parts of the day was getting to explore the stadium. We were in a club section, so our amenities were above average, to say the least. Baylor was still playing when we first arrived and Graham threatened to hang out in the lounge to watch until their game ended. Thankfully, he assumed the role of the dutiful Aggie hubby, although I would not have minded because the lounge was so nice.
We are so grateful to Kelley for allowing our little family this experience! We know spontaneous trips like this will not be possible for a while in a few short months, making this day especially memorable and precious. We took full advantage of this special family time. After leaving the game a little early, we stopped in downtown Burleson for dinner at a spot we LOVE and had been to once before. You should definitely try Fresco's Cocina Mexicana if you are ever in the area. We had been there once before with my aunt and uncle who used to live in Burleson. Had we not been with a 2 year old, we would have sat on the deck and enjoyed some live music- but I wouldn't trade her and the food tasted just as good inside :).

Even though the Aggies were not victorious in the end, we had a PERFECT Saturday, thanks to the wonderful Kelley Wolfe!

Back to School...

2010-09-03T14:25:00.001-05:00

Cambellina went back to school today! It is especially exciting because she has a teacher who had the kids I was a nanny for, and I ADORE her. Ms. Jackie has been at FUMC Kids' Kastle and Preschool for THIRTY years! Not only is she wonderful with the kids, but she has the most soothing voice and English accent... I wish she could come read to us at night to put the whole family to sleep :). I love, love, love the program Cambell is in. I am on the Council for the school, and seeing everything behind the scenes has made me love and respect the program even more. I look forward to seeing all that Cambell learns this year!

Cambell had a great first day. I asked her about it on the way home and our conversation went like this:

S: What did you do at school today, Cambell?
C: I go outside and slide and walked and then LOTS of slides (said with her eyes as wide as they go)
S: Oh wow! What else?
C: I play inside with the kitchen because I sha-re. (little bit loves to draw out those words... That would be learned from her mother... oops).
S: How sweet of you.
C: Yea. And I play wif blocks. I love blocks. I love colors. I paint, Mommy! (VERY enthusiastic about this)
My favorite part of the end to Cambell's day is her summary of what happened. It's usually accurate, but always humorous and overly enthusiastic :). Lately, Cambell just seems so OLD! I love watching her grow, but I would really like it to slow down a little! Sunday night, Daddy had a meeting, so Cambell and I had a special girl night... which, I guess every day is special girl time, but Sunday nights we are usually all together, so I felt like we needed to have some intentional extra fun :). Cambell noticed that Mommy's toe nail paint was beginning to chip (I wish I was kidding) and suggested we paint our nails together. We sprawled out on the kitchen floor and went to work. The toes were a piece of cake, but this was my first attempt at painting her finger nails. NEVER AGAIN. Well, maybe just not until she is seven! It was hard to explain that the polish has to dry and so we have to keep our hands still. We survived, and it was worth the effort for the following picture.
You also may notice she is wearing pigtails. I have been trying for SO long to get the child to let me put pig tails in her hair, but she would never sit still long enough to finish. Finally, it was HER idea to put "pony-ta-als" like Mommy in her hair, providing the patience needed to complete the job. The child is just so stinkin' prissy. Everything these days is "so cute". We will be reading a book, and she point to something and say, "Isn't that SO cute, Mommy?". Other things that tend to be "cute" in the eyes of Cambell: babies, Cambell's dresses, Mommy's dresses, Cambell's shoes and bows, and other friends.

Below, I had asked Cambell to smile, to which she replied, "How about I make a silly face, Mommy?" This is what I got. She cracks me up.

Some of my favorite conversations as of late:

C (with a very somber expression): Baby Elephant needs a time out.
S: Really? What did he do wrong?
C: He spilled.
(I walk over and notice her ABC puzzle pieces all over the floor)
S: Oh no. I bet he needs to pick up the pieces.
C: No. He needs a time out.
(Places baby elephant in time out)
5 minutes later...
S: I think Baby Elephant has spent enough time in time out. Do you want to get him out?
C: No. He needs a spanking.
S: Uh oh. Why is that?
C: Because he got mad.
So random. For the record, she does not get spankings for getting mad. Maybe for some of the things she does as a result of being mad... but never for getting mad. It was interesting to see what she thought deserved a spanking. She runs a tight ship!

Last night Cambell was having a moment where she was really frustrated and Daddy and I were working through it with her VERY patiently, I might add. In the end while she was still crying, she was giving Daddy a hug and telling him she was sorry, Daddy asked her to give Mommy a hug as well. Still weeping, she comes over and says, "No hug, Mommy. I need a kiss", and proceeded to give Mommy many tear filled kisses with "I need a kiss, Mommy" before each one. It is so sweet to see the remorse she feels when she does not obey. We have been reading a lot about obedience in her little Bible, so she repeats, "I need to obey Mommy and Daddy" over and over throughout the day, especially BEFORE she disobeys, which is quite comical on this side of things.
Right now one of her favorite books is Fancy Nancy. I have mentioned her affinity for memorizing books before. Well, this one is especially cute coming from her little mouth with her high, squeaky voice. Her favorite parts that she will randomly say around the house or while talking herself to sleep are, "Nobody in my family is fancy at all. They never even ask for sprinkles"."I make an ad and stick it on the fridge. (Note: she usually says this one BY our refrigerator) 'Learn to be Fancy with Lessons from Nancy. Easy. Fun. Free.'" "After dinner, let's have parfaits. That's French for ice cream sundaes. Amazing! My Mother knows French!". "Oops. I trip. I slip. The tray does a double flip. (whining) I don't feel fancy any more. I want to go home"... to which she always adds some fake crying and adds, "I cwy-ing".

Cambell has an obsession with pointing out glasses. One day, out of the blue while walking through the mall, she says, "I do not wear glasses, but Daddy wears glasses. Grandado wears glasses, too." True enough, Cambell. :) I need her to say the word "glasses" on camera at some point. It is one of my favorite words she says. Annunciation is very important to Cambell, so she makes sure to draw out every little sound.
Another common occurrence is to refute a compliment by saying, I'm not cute, I'm two!" I have tried to explain on many occasions that it is possible to be both. :)

Every night when putting her to bed, we sing some songs in her chair and then I lay her in the bed and sing one more song while I cover her up and scratch her back. When it is over, she usually asks, "Can I please keep singing, Mommy?" She has caught on that the answer is always yes and every now and will say, "Ok, Mommy. I love you. I am going to keep singing, Ok?" She is also known for saying "Mommy, that is a GREAT song" when we are finished singing. She is quite the encourager.

Cambell loves performing and making sure Mommy and Daddy notice what she is doing. It always starts with, "look-a-my" followed by the verb. "Look-a-my running". "Look-a-my jumping". "Look-a-my dancing". "Look-a-my stacking (blocks)".
One thing we are working on right now is fear. She says she is scared A LOT. We talk about praying for God to help us to feel brave, knowing he is with us, etc. We can usually work through it and face whatever it is... a dog, a bug, a dark room, a loud noise... but it has caused for a few embarrassing moments in public. Once, in line at McAlister's, a little boy was dancing all around in a really goofy manner, and Cambell pointed at him and said, "I'm scared of you". Thankfully, THAT time no one heard her but us. The other time was at the grocery store. I was pushing Cambell in her cart and a disheveled looking woman looked and waved at us, and Cambell pointed and said, "I'm scared of her". The woman heard and I was HORRIFIED. I just made up an excuse that we are learning about strangers talking to us, and the sweet woman said she understood and it was smart to start learning that early on. EEEEEK.

So, that is what our big girl is up to starting her second year of school. Wordy, I know... but I want to remember these little things at this small speck of time in Cambell's life. Next year she will start year one out of two of PRESCHOOL! Yikes! It's going by too fast!

Because You Only Have a Third, First Day of Dance in One Year Once...

2010-09-02T11:30:00.007-05:00

My little ballerina had her third, first day of dance yesterday! Graham has been making fun of me for my tour of the Waco dance studio circuit. I promise I have a good reason for Cambell trying 3 studios in one year... not to mention before the age of 2 and a half :)

We started out at Central Texas Dance Academy in McGregor last fall in the Mommy-and-Me Boogie Babies class. I know and adore the owner and it was wonderful first experience with dance. Unfortunately, they changed the day of the week for this fall, which conflicted with Life Group, and it is further away than I would like. I am so grateful for our time there, and who knows... we may be back at some point!

First day of dance last year... she has grown up so much!

Then, this summer we did a 6 week Mommy-and-Me dance camp at Joy's with a group of our friends. I really like Joy's, but I confirmed again that Cambell needs to be in a class without Mommy. It was fun, but total chaos! The only class Cambell was eligible to take in the fall was an HOUR long Mommy-and-Me class, and I just was not up for it. Plus, with Grayer on the way, we could not do it in the Spring if I had to participate.
But now we have found the PERFECT match for this year (I still don't know where she will end up in the coming years). A thirty minute class at Jenni Holley WITHOUT Mommy that I can still watch through a tinted window so she cannot see me. Besides getting confused driving there, therefore arriving late, and realizing that when they said the UNIFORM was pink leotard and pink tights, they meant uniform, as in, you buy it from us... it was perfect! I was teary eyed watching her follow her teacher and seeing how much she LOVED every second (besides the first few seconds after dropping her in the room without me). It was the first time we left a dance class where I felt that she ACTUALLY danced the WHOLE time and I didn't have to be stressed out about her running all over the place. She really listened and followed directions. Another plus is that she has two little friends from her Parents' Day Out class (one who is in playgroup, too) with her! I am so excited about our perfect fit!

I love my teeny ballerina!

LoveStorey Creations 2.0

2010-08-27T15:54:00.007-05:00

My little business just got an upgrade :) I am so beyond thrilled! For a week now my new spot at Spice, shared with 2 other Mommas, has been open for business. My sweet friends and I share over 500 square feet together in our shop. The majority of the space is 40 Weeks, a maternity boutique owned by the amazing Deanna Starling. Kim Gooch has custom nurseries set up with Goochie Goochie Custom Nurseries. She offers custom nursery bedding and the most comfortable chairs you have ever put your toosh in. Seriously. And then, of course, is LoveStorey Creations! I have an area displaying examples of my custom work, as well as examples complementing Kim's bedding examples. Throughout the store I have Baby Sleeping signs, Bow Holders, smaller canvases with verses and quotes on them, and wooden frames. They are scattered all around. I am hoping to branch out with some new items soon, but had to start somewhere :)

It feels so good to take this step. Deanna, Kim, and I have put so much into the store and its look. It is a great representation of the three of us. I am so grateful to work with such amazing friends. Our oldest girls are within 3 months of each other and are such sweet little friends. Being at Spice is important to me. It all started 5 years ago when I moved to Waco. My friend, Allison Sadler (now Allison Thompson), had a space in Spice and was looking for some way to sell verses on canvases. It just so happened that I was willing and had the time! It all went down in Red River. Ahhh... Red River. Ok, I'm back... So it started out SMALL. A few canvases here and there when I had the time. When I became a newlywed, grad student, while still working full time, I was unable to keep it going. After I found out I was pregnant with Cambell, LoveStorey was revived, but not back at Spice because Allison had since given up her space. I considered going on my own, but was too chicken and full of excuses why not at the time. UNTIL... I met Kim at playgroup. She still had the baby boutique at Spice at the time and was willing to sell my canvases and leftover stock from when I was at Canton on consignment. I started with her in May of 2009. A little over a year later, and I am on my own- still working with Kim, just officially have my own lease, etc. This has been a five year journey, and I am so excited! The custom part of my business is still the largest, and I expect that to continue. I am still taking orders apart from the store as well. Basically, it is business as usual, with the added space in the store :). I am up for the challenge. Maybe a little crazy, but that is to be expected :) So that was more than you EVER cared to know about the history of LoveStorey at Spice... now onto pictures...

Last Wednesday morning... the first moving day... much work to be done!

More beginnings...

Thursday afternoon... we are in business :) The grand entrance...

Graham built this for me! It started out as a door, formerly our headboard in our old apartment. He set it on a stand, cased it in beaded board, added pegs, built on a table, and there you have it :) Seriously, there is NO way I could do this business without him. He took off work last Wednesday and did manual labor for TWELVE HOURS at the shop. Nice day off, huh? Not only is he always making everything I do more efficient, building fixtures, building boxes to mail odd shaped canvases, covering baby sleeping signs and bow holders, and stapling bows... but he also helps take over Cambell duties and helps keep our life in order when I get in over my head. I would like to think we are a pretty darn good team. He is ALWAYS thinking about my business and has much bigger dreams for me than I do. I seriously could not do this without him.

Another angle... what you would see if you come up the main stairs into Spice on your right...

That is the end of my little preview of the next stage of LoveStorey Creations!

I do want to mention one more thing for those who are still hanging on :) Our family has been a HUGE help in all of this. My sweet Mimi spent last week with us so that we could all but sleep at the store. She cooked for us each night and even found the bottom of the laundry hamper. I didn't know it existed. I just assumed there was a never ending tunnel into the depths of the earth. But alas, Mimi found it! She even helped me price merchandise! I REALLY hope I can do half of what she does at 83! She is amazing. My mom also deserves props. She kept Cambell in Plano for a weekend so that Graham and I could work, and then after much pleading, came to Waco two days later because I needed her. When she wasn't playing with Cambell, she was tying a bajillion bows. I am SO thankful! I even had a precious friend, Lee Ann, offer to come over on a sacred parents' day out day and help me with some backgrounds on canvases. I tried to pay her and she didn't let me! I am so grateful for all of the help family and friends have freely and graciously given, because this could not have happened without them! Ok... The End. :)

What's in a Name?

2010-08-20T16:21:00.003-05:00

A lot has been happening in this household. My little LoveStorey Creations has expanded and moved into its new, much bigger home in Spice this week, but I cannot post about that until my parents come and see it tomorrow. I want them to get the full effect... I'm weird like that :)

For now, I wanted to share about this pregnancy because I haven't yet! This picture, the only belly pic I have taken this pregnancy, was taken a week ago today. My sweet little guy (who is practicing karate as we speak) is really showing himself. I am 22 weeks and over halfway there! These days I have been feeling a little more like myself in that I do not feel like puking from the moment I wake up until going to bed at night. That was a real downer, if you can imagine. My sweet hubby has been so amazing and helpful, and I am grateful he is still married to me through all of the hormones :)

We are so excited about little Grayer. We are weirdos when it comes to our chosen baby names, so I thought I would provide a little explanation. Having an uncommon name is very important to us. Growing up with the name Storey, I know a thing or two about having an uncommon name. While there were times as a kid where I resented my name, I have grown to love its uniqueness. I honestly believe my name has distinguished me from others in certain situations where I may have otherwise been one of crowd and as ordinary as I felt. Examples that come to mind include being chosen for certain clubs from elementary school until now, and awards given by the student body in high school. I honestly believe that my name was a large part of that... not because it is a great name, but because it is unique and automatically associated with me. No one ever has to ask, "Which Cher?" (NOT that I am comparing my self to an Cher... just that people know who you are talking about with no last name required). That is the superficial aspect... Now onto, why Grayer Wilkes?

The Wilkes part was obvious enough. My dad was one of five children... and the only boy. By having two daughters, the Wilkes name was over. I wanted to keep it as alive as I could without being the hyphenating types.

But, "why Grayer?", you ask? We wanted something a lot like Graham, without making him a junior. My dad is Carl Gene. His dad is Carl, his mom is Jean... this makes for a confusing time when the three are in the same vicinity. I think it is neat when families pass on the exact name, but we thought we could maybe still honor the name without using it in its exact form. So we went for something with "Gra" at the beginning. Grayson was a natural choice, but we know a lot of them and didn't want to "steal". I have always loved the name Grayer... well, ever since I saw The Nanny Diaries. I do not want to say that is where the name came from, but it is definitely where I heard it first. I have thought about it as a viable option for a boys name for so long now, that I forgot that is where I initially heard it. So there you have it. I know that by naming our kids weird names with weird spellings that we catch flack, but I LOVE the names and do not apologize for them. I hope our choice makes a little more sense now.

We are so excited to meet our little man. I don't quite know what to do with a boy... but I sure am excited to figure it out! All we need are some plaid shorts, a few polos, some baby Sperrys and we will be set ;). Cambell is so sweet about her little brother. I love how she calls him, "Baby Gre-er" She will pull up my shirt, followed by her shirt, then will press her tummy against mine and say, "he is coming to get you". I don't get it, but it sure it cute :) She also sticks her finger in my belly button and says, "he is coming out!"Ah, the mind of a two year old. We look forward to meeting our newest family member! December, here we come... but not too fast, because we haven't even started on the room!

Pink or Blue???

2010-07-29T17:06:00.004-05:00

Today Cambell found out what her new little sibling is going to be...

We'll let let the cake ball do the talking...Pink or Blue???

BLUE :) We can't wait to meet little Grayer Wilkes Cook!

Full story to follow...

Stay-Cay '10

2010-07-26T11:12:00.011-05:00

***First of all... Thursday is the day we find out the gender of Cook Baby #2... Please place your guess on our poll to the right! Full pregnancy update to come late Thursday, along with gender revelation (if the baby cooperates, of course) :)***What started out as a possible trip to the beach, turned into a possible trip to San Antonio and Sea World, which ended up as a relaxing week at the Casa Wilkes for Staycation 2010! While my parents were off celebrating 35 years of marriage, we three Cooks, along with our dear friends the Liechtys invaded their house for a week of fun. It was the easiest, perfect break from routine for this summer. While we did a lot of hanging out and playing with our girls, we also arranged for some out of the ordinary activities.

The first was a visit to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was amazing and worth the trip. I will say, it was less aquarium, more rainforest... but we loved it nonetheless. My personal favorite animal we saw was the manatee. It swam its big ol' self up to the glass, smooshed its it cute little nose and stayed there for about 5 minutes, blinking at its onlookers. I don't know if he was trying to move forward to no avail, but he was so cute floating there in place.

Cambell and Mary Kate checking out the penguins...

Walking under the sharks, watching them during feeding time was pretty darn cool, too.
Mommy/daughter pic... I had to include it because Cambell's face cracks me up.

After lunch at Cafe Express, naps, burger consumption with our sweet friends the Scurrys, and staying up way too late, we started a new day with new adventures. This day started out with relaxation in the pool, followed by more naps, and then a Frisco Roughriders game, complete with Lemon Chills and Dippin' Dots.

We knew that fixed seats in cement were not an option with our wiggle worms, so we opted for blankets in general admission in the grass. It was perfect for our crew.

The Scurrys came, too! So glad they live in the same town as our Staycation site :)

Cambell loved the freedom the grass had to offer.

It's all fun and games until somebody's bow gets stuck in the chain-link fence!

Sweet Mary Kate had a leaky diaper that rendered her clothes useless, but thankfully her dad ruined a bunch of kids' day in his fight and victory obtaining this shirt for his nakey baby :)

The next day called for a trip to a splash park. This adventure was way more complicated than we intended, but it turned out to be worth the headache in getting there. P.S. Just because most of the Frisco that I know is only 10 minutes from my parents' house, does not not mean that everything in Frisco is so close. Did you know that Frisco is really deep and wide? I know this now.

Except for the part where Cambell scraped her knee (which she is still talking about), the kids had a blast.

These two are such sweet friends.

When we weren't out discovering uncharted territory in Frisco, Texas, or sweating it out at the ballpark, the girls could be found here...

and here...

Between the mini-bounce circle of fun inside and the Liechty's bounce house outside, the girls met a lifetime jumping quota. We did not complain, as this made for successful naps and bedtimes.

On Friday night, my FABULOUS sister and brother-in-law came over so that we adults could get away for a real date night. It was so NEEDED. We met the Scurrys (did I mention it is so great they live in Dallas?!?) at Taco Diner at the Shops at Legacy and walked down the street to see a movie at the Angelika. My love for Taco Diner runs deep. It was wonderful to share it with these friends.

We wrapped up our trip with more jumping, laundry, toddler pedicures, and Letter Factory.

It was so sweet to spend this week with such a precious family. We wanted to capitalize on this summer where we had no infants between the two families. It was so easy, so FUN, and way exceeded all expectations. Hooray for Stay-Cay 2010!

4 Years Ago...

2010-07-08T16:28:00.007-05:00

Four years ago today, Graham and I were asked this...

Graham/Storey, do you take this woman/man who now holds your hand to be your true and wedded wife/husband and do you solemnly promise before God and these witnesses to love, cherish, honor, and protect her/him, to forsake all others for her/his sake, and to cleave unto her/him and her/him only, and her/him forever until death shall part you?

We both agreed with an "I do".

We said these things to each other...

I, Graham/Storey, take you Storey/Graham to be my lawfully wedded wife/husband. To have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till to death do us part and pledge my faithfulness.

... and have tried to honor these promises for four years. Some days we have to try harder at it than others, but we always try. I love my husband and enjoy him even more now than I did 4 years ago. Graham told me the same thing last night (unprompted :)). I think that makes for a pretty good 4 year report card :)

Happy Anniversary to my favorite person in the world.

Another Month Older and Wiser...

2010-07-07T14:47:00.003-05:00

So my Mom keeps getting on to me for not posting... and I totally agree with her that it has been too long because I have missed out on documenting many moments from our little family... BUT I have not felt up to typing/thinking/or anything else requiring much productivity for that matter. My babies like to keep me feeling yucky into the second trimester- but I forgave Cambell, and will most likely forgive this one too :)

We have been busy with summer fun, but I really want to keep track of what Cambell is learning these days more than anything else. I haven't really done this since before she turned two, so most of this is old news. But today she is another month older. Twenty-six months old and wise. For 26 months, I have been in awe of this little girl. I am LOVING this stage, watching Cambell soak in everything in her little world. Getting to have real conversations with my daughter and learning more about who she is brings me SO much joy... except when I continually discover that she is exactly like me, which can be frightening.
Favorites these days...
Book: The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis... SO random that it is the middle of summer and my child refuses to put away this little Halloween book. This book is precious and Cambell gets REALLY into it. She repeats her favorite part, which shows up multiple times throughout the book and gets progressively louder and high pitched, until all of the dogs in Waco are crying for mercy.

Round and Round Across the ground
Making a thumpin' bumpin' sound
Came that thumpety bumpety
thumpin' bumpin' round and roll-y
RUNAWAY PUMPKIN

So entertaining. I am constantly amazed by Cambell's capacity for memorization of books and songs. Her sweet little cartoon character voice sweetly singing is my favorite sound. I try to memorize it in my head because I know she will one day lose the cartoon-y voice and say her l's correctly. I want to freeze her!
Playtime: Dress up, reading, puzzles (especially her alphabet and identifying her letters), her Babushka Doll (my dad brought it to me from Russia a long time ago, and Cambell can spend an hour at a time entertaining herself with that thing- when she randomly yells, "ABUSHKA", I know what she has found). But her FAVORITE thing of all is pretend play with her dolls and kitchen. This makes Momma's heart so happy. Cambell will line up her babies, each with a plate, and then make sure they have plenty of cookies and veggies to eat. Tea for everyone is also a must. She takes such good care of her babies. She is self training for sisterhood. I am also impressed by her willingness and even initiation of cleaning up her toys. It makes me proud :)
Speaking of sisterhood, Cambell loves talking about the baby in Mommy's tummy. She gives it kisses, tries to pull up Mommy's dresses in public, and loves to randomly spout out, "Mommy have a baby in the tummy". Sometimes, when you ask her how old she is, you will receive the response, "I'm a big sister". Lately, we have seen a lot of her friends' new siblings, and she LOVES patting and kissing them. I think she likes the idea, but like I've said before... we'll see how she feels when she realizes this little one is moving in to stay :)Foods: "Ice Ceam", "Ce-eal","Macaroni and Chenese", spaghetti (which she can say perfectly- go figure), "TACOOOOOS" (always stated with great enthusiasm), Spanish rice, "wate-melon", "eggies", green beans, chicken, and sometimes cucumber. EVERYTHING else is hit or miss. It is quite frustrating.Mommy's Favorite Phrases/Moments:
-Her "I love you Mommy/Daddy. Kiss you!" never gets old. Ever.
-"Oh.My.Gosh." in context :)
-When ordering a cherry limeade at Sonic to calm my tummy, Cambell starts yelling out her window, "I NEED A ICE CEAM AND CHICKEN NUGGETS AND WAFFLES. That's all".
-I love it when she starts sentences with, "Mommy, did you know.... or "Mommy, guess what?..."
-Cambell comes up to me with a pack of gum... I ask her where she got it... she responds, "Target". A girl after my own heart.
-When waking Cambell up in the mornings or afternoons, the following can be expected... "Good morning, sugar" "You seep good, Mommy?" "I want ce-eal and waffles" I go see Daddy?"
-When getting ready for a baby shower, Cambell looks over at me and in the prissiest fashion says, "Cute dress, Mommy". I have to say, it made me feel cute all day knowing that my daughter approved of my dress :)
-One night upon putting Cambell to bed, she was fighting me on something and I told her that she if she did not stop, she would get a spanking... she did not stop and Daddy came in the room because he sensed my frustration through the monitor. He walked in and gave her the stern Daddy look and she looked back at him with her sweetest face and said, "I need a spanking". He obliged her request, and without tears, she leaned forward and gave him a big ol' Cambell kiss. It was REALLY hard not to laugh. Weirdo.
-When listing anything, especially events of the day, she will continually pause, followed by, "wha else? ummm....", followed by her response. I love it.
-When she asks for something, Graham or I tend to repeat the request back to her in a rhetorical manner. She always responds with a resounding and enthusiastic, "OK!" as if it were the first time she has been presented with an idea.
-She starts out with "How about...." all the time.
-We have a family game, "Daddy/Mommy runnin/crawlin dis way?" (said in a high pitched squeal) where we run/crawl in the direction Cambell directs all over the house. It is more exciting than it sounds and always ends in big hugs and kisses.
The things that come out of Cambell's mouth are cute because of her little voice and annunciation. Reading this does not do her justice, because that squeaky little voice makes just about anything funny. I love my little mouse-ka-Cambell :)

A Christmas Gift for Cambell...

2010-06-10T14:46:00.004-05:00

I have already started working on Cambell's Christmas present for this year... Cambell Grace is getting a sibling for Christmas! That's right! We are pregnant again and due Christmas Day! I am 12 weeks along and everything looks great so far. I had the pleasure of listening to that precious little heartbeat this morning. That sound always makes me cry.

On the pregnancy front, I have been battling nausea and crazy emotions as expected, just like I did with Cambell. I have been craving all things salty, unlike I did with Cambell. There was a week I had stove popped popcorn for lunch every day. This pregnancy is flying by... which I am so grateful for.

I can't believe my baby is going to be a big sister! She loves saying "Cambell is big sister", and asks for her sister shirt by name. While Cambell takes very good care of her babies, I am interested to see how she takes to a live one as a permanent fixture in our home :)

I do have to tell one little story on Cambell... This morning my little terrible two was truly terrible. Thankfully, Lolli came in town so I could go to my appointment and several meetings Cambell-free. But my short moments with Cambell this morning were filled with frustration and fits. At one point, I was holding the little one on my hip on the way out to the car to go to lunch when she began to flail her arms and hit me in the process. I grabbed her arm and had a little come to Jesus meeting, in which she interrupted by yelling across the house, "LOLLI, NEED SOME HELP!" I have to give her credit for knowing who will come to her rescue. I could help but burst out in laughter. I tried to turn my head to the side, but my convulsions were not hidden from Cambell and she started giggling, knowing her genius was not lost on me. Good thinking, Cambell... but you're still in trouble :)

Cambell's 1st Recital!

2010-06-06T17:20:00.008-05:00

This is horrifyingly belated, but could not be glossed over. On May 22, Cambell Grace Cook performed in her first dance recital (and I, Mommy, (hopefully) performed in my last). I knew that we were in for trouble when Cambell "peaked" during dress rehearsal, performing her dance perfectly with no mistakes. Of course it helped having Mommy beside her, holding her hand, and therefore reducing the chance of her running off the front of the stage and crowd surfing. Then there was the whole nap debacle. As in, she didn't take one that afternoon. All of these factors rightfully terrified me, and my foresight was correct. It all started backstage. When we were "on deck", my super squirmy Cambell kept wriggling out of my arms, dramatically throwing herself on the floor. She got really dirty. I got really annoyed. When it was our turn, there was a moment as the curtain was pulled back that I found some cooperation from my terrible two, and thought she may be able to pull off another performance unscathed, but I would be wrong. Her dance was to "Lollipop" by the Chordettes. She didn't feel like bouncing, but that wasn't a big deal. I thought there was a chance we were home free when she did her jumps and kicks in their appropriate places... but then... when we were supposed to step together, jump, step together, jump... she slowly inched her way behind me, escaped Mommy's grip, and at first tested out her freedom by hugging her lollipop, which actually was a part of the dance. Then she tasted true freedom and took off. In the video she goes out of frame. Circle back into frame. Mommy gets regains control... but only for a second. Terrible two throws herself on the floor, turns away from the audience... and there it is. Straightening her legs, head still on the floor, bottom in the air, and face shining through the legs for all the auditorium to see. Regaining a little bit of dignity, she stands up, walks around, instead of galloping in the circle with her fellow teeny ballerinas. After finding and reluctantly rejoining Mommy for the freestyle portion, she finishes perfectly with a bow as if the whole thing were planned. She put the icing on the cake by clapping with the audience as the curtain closed on her first experience with the stage.

And now some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Practicing the finale during Rehearsal (we opted out for the real thing)...

Her bow during rehearsal...

The Boogie Babies...

In the dressing room (or, gym rather)

She loved getting to wear make-up and trying to hang with the big girls. Notice the big red bite above her eye. It was bound to happen... black eye as a flower girl... big bright bug bite for her recital.
She believes she is one of the big girls with all of her heart...

A little warm up at the bar :)

After the performance

We need a prettier "smelling the roses" face

This girl LOVES her Daddy! What a memorable first recital experience :)

I love how much Cambell loves dance. Her experience this year has been a beneficial for memorization, learning to follow directions, learning to jump, etc. We even have a camp lined up to continue this summer. Cambell still does her dance all over the house and requests "the Lollipop song" on the computer almost every time I check my email. She even narrates as she goes along. "Bounce, Ok... Jump! BeBumBumBum... Shake ye head... Ok, kicks... Jump!... HUUUUUG, Jump!... and BOW". I'm so proud of my tiny dancer!

So Long, Spring!

2010-05-20T16:12:00.009-05:00

It feels like Summer... and not just because of the weather. This was the last week of our full Spring "schedule". Today I picked Cambell up from Parents' Day Out for the last time in her Toddler I class. Break my heart. She LOVED that class. We have come a LONG way from this (her first day)...
The teachers were incredibly loving toward her and I appreciate them so much. Before I know it Cambell will be in Kindergarten! I am cherishing these little days with her home with me.

I am going to miss our little Spring schedule. Mondays held playgroup 1 and Ballet in the afternoon. Tuesdays are still low key and usually include dinner at Rosa's for Taco Tuesdays. Wednesdays included playgroup 2 and LifeGroup in the evening. Thursdays were "school". Fridays are still whatever we fancy :)

Thankfully, playgroup remains, but the rest of the activities are on vacation for a while. Our LifeGroup... whom we ADORE, love, and can't get enough of, got together Wednesday night with our little ones and busted out the kiddie pool and sprinklers! Another reason Summertime is on the brain. Cambi's first swimming experience of 2010! There is going to be a lot of that happening this summer, and I am ready :) I bought a watermelon today to get in the spirit! I am sad to see Spring go, but am thankful for the fun that Summer always seems to bring!

A Birthday Party and A Trip to the Farm

2010-05-13T13:11:00.013-05:00

Cambell Grace's birthday party was held at Jumping Party this year. I wanted to do a big to-do at my house, but we had a lot going on with Daddy turning 30 and leaving for my grandparents' the following morning. Plus, Cambell LOVES this place. She is normally pretty cautious... but totally lets her guard down at Jumping Party! She had a wonderful time, and I hope her friends did, too :)

Sweet, little friends :)

Up they go

A lovely dinner of Chick-fil-a nuggets, goldfish, and grapes. Jealous?

Cambell thoroughly enjoyed being the subject of the birthday song :) I am so upset at myself for forgetting the video camera! As the song progressed, Cambell excitedly looked around the room. At one point, she noticed and pointed to her friend, enthusiastically stating, "IT'S KY-EE", followed by rapid applause at the end of the song. I hope I never forget that moment. It is etched in my brain. So precious.

It took several tries, but Cambell finally blew out the candle :)

After opening presents at home with the fam, the festivities ceased and Cambell got a much needed bath and rest while the grown-ups enjoyed a late night feast, thanks to our in house chef, Mimi :)

The next morning the fun continued. We packed up and headed to my grandparents' to celebrate my wonderful Grammy for Mother's Day. We have a BIG family. My dad has four sisters. Four out of the five children have procreated and now said offspring have started having children, most of them more than once. It makes for fun gatherings :) Most everyone made it for the celebration of Grammy... aka Jean Cleaver (get it, cause she's like June Cleaver, but her name is Jean?!?!? Overly proud of that one :))

Aunt Summer introduced Cambi to the art of fishing! Cambell caught a little perch! How precious :)

Cambell trying to keep up with the big kids...

Playing around the barn... makes for some precious pics...

Cambell especially enjoyed visiting the cows. The moment we pulled onto the property, "Where cows go?" Thankfully, she waited patiently.
Renegade two year old riding in the back of the truck...

We had a special family celebration, honoring my wonderful Grammy in all that she has given of herself for everyone in her life, all of her life. I have been blessed by two, beautiful, selfless Grandmothers, who have played such a large role in shaping me.

After our family invaded First Baptist Grapeland on Sunday, we all got ready to head back... but first grabbed a little sustenance. We caught Cambell red handed surrounded by multiple Pringles' cans...And that is all from our celebrations. We are taking it EASY this week, trying to recover from all of the gallivanting we have been doing. I love our family adventures... but secretly have enjoyed this lazy week at home with my favorite thirty year old and two year old.

We Have a TWO YEAR OLD

2010-05-10T16:12:00.007-05:00

How on earth did this happen? Two years of Cambell Grace Cook. I can't imagine my world without this precious little life in it. Two years ago my life changed in the biggest and best way possible and I will love this little girl as long as I live.

May 7, 2008May 7, 2009

May 7, 2010

Our family LOVES birthdays. Cambell slept in on Friday (her actual birthday) and I was giddy for her to wake up. Her big gift this year was her big girl kitchen, with food and accessories.

She LOVES it!

Her favorite part is the Melissa and Doug Cookie set. It is too cute.

Our girly girl is growing up... we moved her changing table out of her room to make room for her ktichen!

My girl is not so little anymore. Overnight she became a little friend who tells me about her day and her friends. She loves fried rice and chicken taco roll-ups. She brings her plate to the sink when she is finished eating and picks up her toys when she is finished playing. She poo poos on the potty when she feels like it and memorizes books. She is independent in so many ways. She is not a baby. I am so proud of who this girl is becoming. I love her so much it hurts. I have a two year old!

More on her party and our weekend to come...

Birthday Week 2010

2010-05-06T16:08:00.008-05:00

Birthday week is here once again! Graham and Cambell's birthdays are 3 days apart... making for a CRAZY opening to May. Cambell has been sweetly wanting to include Mommy...
C: Daddy's birfday, and Cambell's birfday, and my Mommy's birfday?
Me: No, sweetie. Daddy's birthday and Cambell's birthday.
C: And my Mommy's birfday?
...and on, and on, and on...
I appreciate her concern.

Graham is finally warming up to the idea of 30. We had a wonderful time ringing in the new decade. The first celebration occurred last weekend when 2 of our favorite Baylor families came for a surprise visit for the weekend. The Homeyers came from Marble Falls with Brooks, and the Blundells from Houston with Caris. Graham knew something was going on, but I effectively threw him off just enough to cause confusion. We were finishing our date night at Uncorked, when in walks the Blundells and Homeyers! They had put their little ones to sleep at our house before joining us. It was perfect. After staying up way too late and eating way too many Butterfingers, we discovered we are not as young as we used to be. We pressed through on Saturday, though, and had fun with our little families. We spent a lot of time outside, made an appearance at the zoo, had much needed Ninfa's, said farewell to the Homeyers, instituted group rest time, watched a lot of Arrested Development, played outside some more, and finished off our time with the Blundells at Panera. It was a perfect weekend! The sweet Nader family was going to join the fun, too, but little Lydia got sick :(.

Here is a glimpse into the weekend:

On Graham's actual birthday on Tuesday, we had a dinner at Carino's with family and a few friends.We both feel honored by how our friends have gone out of their way to celebrate Graham.

Cambell was a bit of a rascal, but thankful Jonah was there to keep her under control :)

And now it's Cambell's turn! She is ready, too... Everywhere we go, she sings, "I'm two years old, I'm two years old", informing everyone of her birthday and new age. I can't believe my once little baby is going to be TWO tomorrow! I am handling it better than I did when she turned one, but I'm just not ready to let go of my baby! There is much celebration in store...

Thirty Years of GRAHAM!

2010-05-04T15:21:00.002-05:00

"Happy Birsday Cake, Datty" has been repeated many times so far on this beautiful Tuesday. Today marks thirty years of Graham Cook. Thirty has been a hard pill for Graham to swallow. I keep telling him it's an honor, that most everyone we love is in their thirties and now he is on par with them. I am actually jealous, because I feel like 30 is associated with maturity. But I've always wanted to be older than I am. ALWAYS. It's weird. Graham says my arms will not be so open three years from now. We'll see :)

We are in full celebration mode, ringing in this new decade for Graham. I love this man so much and can't imagine anyone smarter, sweeter, hard working, or thoughtful person to spend my life with. Cambell can't get enough of him, and talks about Daddy ALL day long. We are two very blessed girls!

Details of our celebrations of Graham to come...

Gotta Love Those Bluebonnets...

2010-04-29T19:11:00.006-05:00

Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons. If it weren't for the pollen, Spring would totally win... but pollen evens the score for Fall and Spring in my book, or rather, my nose. One of my favorite things about Spring is bluebonnets! I love how we Texans throw our kids in the middle of these blue beauties every year for pictures. Graham and I are happy to partake in this tradition.

You can see Cambell took to the wildflowers a little better than she did last year...

Life with Cambell Grace These Days

2010-04-26T14:40:00.011-05:00

A lot has been going on in our little Cook household. Cambell has been in and out of stomach bugs, colds, and tantrums. It sometimes feels as though the tantrums have taken over our life. I have been talking to many a parent making sure my child is not a deviant. Turns out, she's normal... but that still doesn't make it easy. I will say this for my strong willed crazy girl- her teachers at church who have her Sunday and Wednesday nights think she is perfect. I am so grateful that even though she loses it for me, she is an angel for everyone else. We are working on ways to control our emotions step by step! When I look at these sweet little pictures, it is hard to imagine the colossal fits she is capable of!

No worries- my sweet girl is still in there, she just likes to take vacations every now and then. Here are some moments from the past few weeks with some sweet friends.

The third Cole baby I had the opportunity to meet in the hospital... Baby Asha Lily Cole

Sweet Starling girls at our surprise shower for Ashley Capellini!

Lunch with sweet Ella, the new big sister to Little Lila Cooney!

Zoo date with Carter!

Meeting the second Red River baby, Sadie at the Knighton wedding.

Sharing raisins with Little Miss Karlie at playgroup...And of course, spending the last two weekends with Lolli!

Summer and Ryan got to join in the fun this weekend, but sweet Lolli spent her weekends with us cleaning up toddler puke, making curtains, and tearing down wallpaper. We are SO thankful for Lolli!We have a lot coming up in Cookland. This is Graham's last week of his twenties and Cambell's last week before officially becoming a terrible two. I can't imagine what we're in for!

Last Monthly Post Before TWO YEARS!

2010-04-07T16:45:00.005-05:00

AH! How did this happen??? The realization of nearing another year mark is making this Mommy sentimental. For right now, we will think about this little 23 month old, growing before my eyes.

My favorite phrases lately:
-"Uh Oh, Wha Happened?"-following dropping something on the ground
-"Where Cambell go?"-when she wants ME to ask this same question because she is hiding
-C:"Bye Bye! Kiss. Hug. Hurry back!" Me: "Where are you going, Cambell?" C:"Church". EVERY time she is going to church. I love that it is a place she loves to go.
-"Mommy, I u-set"- We are working on telling Mommy when we are upset instead of shrieking at a decibel causing dogs to go deaf. It works about 25% of the time, but I appreciate her effort.
-Cambell loves taking roll of everyone in the room... or just who she knows in general. She keeps each family/group together. For instance- "Jesa love Lolli and Pop and Summoor and Rynan and Sea (GranSara) and Dado and Tia (Aunt Claire) and Marshaw (Uncle Marshall) and Piper and Ky-ee and Ainsee (Ainsley) and Peyt'n (Payton)" and on and on and on and on...
-"Whas dat?"- when pointing at pictures that are unfamiliar in books.
-She loves counting, but also telling us when she wants two of something. One night I was calling out to Graham to please bring Cambell's blankets that had just finished drying. Cambell yelled out after in a very serious, bossy tone, "GAM! LOVIES, TWO BLANKET!" I can't even do this moment justice. It was SO hilarious.
-"Thank you, Welcome"- upon handing YOU something.
-"I'm sorry. It's no big deal"- after dropping something, bumping into something, or falling down. We owe the "no big deal" thing to Hannah Liechty. I loved when she said that when she was Cambell's age, and I apparently said it enough to Cambell for it to have rubbed off on her.
-"I yike dat"- in reference to food, dresses (when worn by Mommy or herself), and whatever else she likes :)

Listening to Cambell discover and improve language use has been my favorite development to observe. I LOVE listening to her talk and sing to herself in her crib before she falls asleep. I love that she tells me which book she wants to read and what song she wants to sing. In the car, she even tells me what song she wants to listen to, and at the end says, "againnnnnnn". I am loving this stage... except for the whole not knowing how to control our emotions, throw ourselves on the ground, shrieking, tantrum throwing thing. Yea, it would be nice if I could hit the fast forward button on that one...

Here is our girl counting and singing a few of her favorite songs. We felt an urge to continue the Easter swing video tradition. I cannot believe how much that munchkin has grown!

Bunnies and Birthdays

2010-04-06T15:11:00.010-05:00

I LOVE spring! I love it for MANY reasons... one being the many birthdays the season brings for our family. We will start with TIA! Cambell's Aunt Claire was in town for a whole week, allowing us to celebrate her birthday, which happens to be today! Her birthday venue of choice was El Siete Mares, which Graham and I supported 100% :). We had a great dinner with family, and Cambell loved pointing at all the fish displayed throughout the restaurant.

After dinner, we headed to GranSara and GranDado's house for a celebration of the 20 year anniversary of Claire's 8th Birthday. Sara revisited a bunny cake pan from Claire's 8th birthday, and we reaped the benefits. Everyone decorated their own bunny. The 8 year old in me LOVED it (the 27 year old in me loved it, too, let's be honest :))

This is what Graham and I came up with :)

After eating our bunnies, Cambell provided the entertainment. Uncle Marshall was kind enough to share his boots with Cambell.

We also celebrated Cambell's precious friend Piper this weekend! Pipes turned two on Easter, but her sweet little Minnie Mouse party was on Saturday.

Minnie and Mickey made an appearance... but Cambell just likes talking and singing about Minnie Mouse- not seeing her life-size.

Cambi getting hugs from the birthday girl... we just looooove sweet Piper.

Our bouncing beauty... She loves jumping...

annnnd sometimes just taking it easy.

Cambi and Kylee

"Co-cake"

That is just the beginning of Spring birthdays for this family... stay tuned :)

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

2010-04-04T20:20:00.007-05:00

How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measureThat He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One, bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that kept Him there until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything

No gifts, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom.

Written by Stuart Townend, Our favorite version of the song by Nichole Nordeman

Where We Have Been...

2010-03-26T17:12:00.026-05:00

Where have we three Cooks been? Welllll.... Let's start at the present and move backwards...

1. Aunt Claire is in town! Tia, as we lovingly call her, had a playdate with Cambi at the Mayborn Museum this morning, followed by lunch with our little Cook clan at Rosa's for Taco Tuesday! I could not get Cambell to get cooperate for a picture, but at least she is not showing off half eaten fruit loops in this one!

2. We cheered on the Baylor Bears to the Elite Eight! We did not make to Houston (like the rest of Waco), but we cheered nonetheless. We watched the men's final game at a Crawfish Boil we helped host, but did not cheer them to victory. Sad. We are, however, so excited that the Lady Bears are still in it to win it!

Cambell Grace says, "Si Bears!"3. Last week, Graham went out of town for business, and so did I! Cambell and I spent the week with my family and my precious Daddy spent Thursday with me at a Spring Market for a school in Dallas. This was my little display. I did well and learned A LOT from the experience. I used to be at Canton in someone else's booth, and am currently featured at the Shops at River Square (a.k.a. Spice)(my baby sleeping signs made their commercial :)) in 40 Weeks Maternity Boutique, but this was my first time to fly solo.

4. Cambell has been toted all over Texas and does not leave home without her Baby. Her Bitty Baby might as well be another appendage, but we also have great love for 1 more baby, 2 "dolls", and a bear. They all sleep in a real pile, like in Where the Wild Things Are, the movie.

When at home, Cambell moves all of her babies back and forth from their crib to her chair. They are "seepin, shhhhhh" when in the crib, covered by their "banket", and are read to and fed when in the chair.

Bitty Baby was the chosen one to come to Plano with us. Cambell takes very good care of her. Below, she has her baby all snuggled up with her blanket to be read to. I love sneaking in and listening to her talk to her babies. Here, she was saying "You want me to read you? OK", followed by a description of each page.

5. Rewind three weeks. Cambell and I spent the week with my parents for my sister's last week as an official Wilkes girl! One of my favorite activities of the week included a trip to my high school alma mater, which happens to be my mother's place of employment. I love that she put when Cambell was coming to visit on the board. Some of her students stopped by to meet Cambell and it was really sweet.

We brought Lolli lunch and Cambell got to experience the big girl desk. At the rate her life is moving, she'll actually be in one of those next week :(

Cheeeeeeese!

We had the sweetest week full of our little Wilkes family. Now there is only one official Wilkes girl left! One of the nights we went to a family favorite, Pei Wei, followed by a new love, Yogurtville.

Cambell was instantly a fan...

Bonding with Aunt Summ...

I love these girls and I will cherish this night for many years to come.

Then the wedding events went into full force, starting with the Bridal Brunch at Chocolate Angel in Richardson. I would HIGHLY recommend it! My precious Mimi hosted and it was a memorable beginning of the wedding weekend extravaganza!

Bridesmaids and House Party

Next on the agenda... rehearsal and rehearsal dinner!

Cambell and her little black eye got a little practice walking down the aisle.

Cambell loved the other flower girl, Sarah... the ONLY reason Cambell made it down the aisle on Saturday...

Because most of the rehearsal was spent like this...

Thankfully, we had a WONDERFUL babysitter lined up and were able to enjoy the rehearsal dinner sans fit throwing toddler.

The couple of the evening...

Me with my man.

Besides being absolutely precious, Ryan's mom is unbelievably creative. Here was our place setting at the dinner at La Duni in North Park. The dinner and following toasts were the perfect celebration of my sweet sister and her new hubby.

And then WEDDING DAY. Summer was a beautiful bride. It was surreal to see my baby sister as THE bride! She even got bridezilla on me for a few seconds! I was so proud! I had the privilege of taking her to get her hair done, which was quality time on her big day.

Second only to the bride in beauty was my Momma. She handled the title of Mother of the Bride with grace...

...until...(Spoiler Alert) after the ceremony when all of the guests had gone their separate ways. The hostess of the evening started eating the cake without utensils right off the stand AND instigated a food fight!

Ok, so that may be a LITTLE exaggerated... but the proof is on her face... just sayin' :)

Ok... back to wedding day. The Wilkes girls. Now we all have different last names :(

Sissssssters

Airing out the bride.

Little Cambell playing in the closet in the bride's room... Bitty Baby came, too... sans clothes. I couldn't believe Cambell made it after her performance at the rehearsal, or lack there of, walking down the aisle. But she really did it. I was planning on holding her hand or carrying her down, but as the bridesmaids started moving down the aisle, Cambell and Sarah held hands and moved up in the line with them. They were just holding hands for fun, but it worked out and she made it down holding Sarah's hand! Who cares that they went before the last bridesmaid?THE DUFFIES after their beautiful, meaningful ceremony making them husband and wife! Ryan is already carrying Summer's womanly bag... what a fast learner!

Off to the reception...

The Duffies official introduction at their reception at 333 in Dallas.

Their reception was such a blast. Summer even smashed cake in her hubby's face... you don't see that enough, you know?

As the MOH, I gave a toast... and what is a toast, or anything at the Duffie wedding for that matter, without Cambell? She even joined a portion of the father/daughter dance.

She tore up the dance floor... and even horrified the videographer with the way she was dropping it like its hot :) I honestly have no idea where she picked up these moves.

She looooves Aunt Summer!

And the photo booth! Everyone had their picture taken four times simultaneously in true photo booth fashion. Half of the strip was placed in a book for Summer and Ryan to keep with a note from those in the picture. The other half was a party favor. I would highly recommend this service. We had to go in twice... our first try was disastrous. Being the sister of the bride has its advantages!

The night ended with the bride and groom leaving through a mass of bubbles. Cambell, of course enjoyed this portion of the evening.

Off to Mexico... Now they are back at their little apartment, cooking dinner together each night and enjoying their married life! Listening to Summer talk about how much fun she is having serves as a sweet reminder to how much I looked forward to marriage... the cooking together, watching tv on your own couch, and not having to leave each other at night. I still love it and am so grateful that I get to live with my bestest friend. I know Summey will feel the same way in four years :)

I commend you if you made to the end of this post... Hi, Mom and Dad! :)

Summer (Not the Season) Showers

2010-03-09T14:35:00.005-06:00

Tis the Season for Summer Showers! I cannot believe my baby sister is getting MARRIED! I could not be more happy for this beautiful girl, who has grown into a woman of depth and even more beauty. She deserves the fairy tale of a lifetime and I believe she is living it. I am so proud of who Summer has grown to be. Her selflessness and willingness to give of herself is a beautiful example to me and I appreciate the love she permeates to everyone she knows. I love, love, love her so much and am enjoying watching her be the BRIDE! All of a sudden, she is a mature adult! I still want to see her as the pesky sister knocking down my blocks, begging to play Barbies and school, building tents, and asking about boys. This time of celebrating Summer has been especially sweet because she has always been so gracious when celebrating everyone else. I love my precious Sissssssster!

We have enjoyed the past few months spending our weekends in Plano for showers, including our Valentines' Day! Summer and Ryan's Grapevine shower was beautiful. I enjoyed dragging Graham with me. This was the last shower for Cambell to show herself. As much entertainment as she brings, her desire to explore makes conversation impossible.

I regret not getting more pictures from this shower, but I was busy chasing Cambell all over their house (which was gigantic, complicating matters even more).

The next weekend was a double whammy for showers. This first was given by our dear family the friends, the Michels. Debbie and Emily did a beautiful job hosting this "Around the Clock" shower.

I loved seeing people we grew up with who we no longer see on a regular basis, such as... the lovely Amy Ellis! Amy and I have shared many an embarrassing moment together... and unfortunately, some are documented on tape. Such as... a music video made to "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base. Be jealous. Best.Cake.Ever.Cutie girl opening her loot...

And finally (not counting the bachelorette party), the Legacy shower! The ladies of Legacy put together a wonderful party and honored Summer with a White Bible ceremony. It is a Southern tradition and very meaningful. I felt blessed to be a part of it.

The foyer/atrium of our church all dressed up...

Fulfilling my role writing down gifts! That girl's wedding book is or.gan.ized.

The hostesses with the Wilkes girls, the mother of the groom, and my beautiful Mimi

I hope I'm this much fun at age eighty-two :)

Now the bride-to-be is all showered and equip to dry off with fancy towels, cook gourmet meals every night, and sleep on sheets with her initials on them... If only there were showers for people who have been married almost 4 years. I could get into that idea.

2 till 2 and a Black Eyed Sweet Pea

2010-03-07T14:58:00.008-06:00

Cambell is 2 little months away from being 2 years old! She is still our little sunshine... which, by the way, is one of her favorite songs. As we sing songs together, I will let her fill in the blanks with some the words. We do this with books, too. I love how much these little ones can store in their tiny minds. Her favorites are, You Are My Sunshine, Jesus Loves Me, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, etc. She also has this random short phrase she sings at the end of naps, meals, etc... "I'm all dooooooooone". You can hear it in the video below. It cracks me up. When she first made up this jewel of a song, we thought it was something about Elmo, but as time went on, we realized she was saying she was all done. I love it.

Lately I have been taking the words, "Oh, be careful little mouth what you say", from the beloved childrens' song to heart. I have always known her to be sponge, soaking up everything, but there is one thing she has soaked that makes me a little sad. I have always been over-apologetic. It is a flaw and I know it. I have noticed Cambell saying, "I sowwy" if she runs into something, drops anything, and other random times that do now warrant an apology. Eek. There are so many things I do not want to pass to my daughter, and that is one of them. Another one is, "no ma'am"... and unfortunately not as a polite way to decline. She uses it as a way to protest something Mommy is doing, such as something awful like changing her diaper. It is hard to keep a straight face when correcting her.

My favorite little development this month is her desire for a "huck", and "kiss" whenever someone is leaving, or just because she wants to show some love. I also appreciate her obsession with possessives. "Mommy's shirt, Daddy's coat, Cambell's cup, Mommy's doan, Daddy's nose" can be heard numerous times an hour. She points out everything belonging to everyone she knows. She also is very concerned about peoples' whereabouts. The first words out of Cambell's mouth every day last week was, "Where is Datty go? Datty workin". Last Sunday, Graham had the pleasure of waking her up with her first words being, "Mommy paintin". I guess she gets what we "do".

Cambell being adventurous with her Pop. He used to do this with me :)

We have enjoyed the few warm days in the middle of our wild winter. Cambell loooves her wagon!

She is still dancing and preparing for her first recital in May. Should be interesting...

We do have one sad development in the past few days. On Friday night, Cambell was playing at her GranSara and Grandado's house and took a spill right into the corner of a window ledge. It was heart wrenching. Daddy was right there to scoop her up and she could only kick her legs as she had a nearly hyperventilating cry. It was really terrifying once we discovered how close she was to puncturing her eye. I am so grateful that she hit where she did and can only thank God for that.

Here is her eye yesterday upon waking up. Cambell's first shiner...

Below you can see it is even darker today... Poor little Cambell. She calls it her "hurt". It breaks my heart, but it is just one of those things that is bound to happen and you cannot prevent.

This little video gives a picture of her burgeoning personality... and counting skills(?)

Note: At one point she could count to ten with no problem... but has recently decided that the only important numbers between one and ten are 1, 2, 7, and 8. I know it must be that 7/8 is her Mommy and Daddy's anniversary :)

Also, please don't make fun of our bathing arrangement... or you can. Old tub... 'nuff said.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Snowmen

2010-02-23T19:12:00.014-06:00

We made the most of the snowy goodness today. I was so giddy all afternoon waiting for Cambell to wake up and Daddy to get home so we could enjoy all that snow in Texas has to offer. When Cambell woke up from her nap we made SNOW ICE CREAM! We had read about it on Facebook and various blogs and decided to try it for ourselves.
Just in case you have not heard about it... You take 2 quarts of CLEAN snow, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 1 tsp of vanilla, and mix it together for yummy, snowy ice cream! Cambell thoroughly enjoyed it!
When Graham got home from work, we all got bundled up and went outside to make a snowman. Cambell brought her book from Aunt Claire as a reference.

My hubby usually is able to master everything he sets out to do... but today I found a weakness... snowmen. In his defense, we had a limited time (like 10 minutes) to work because Cambell did not need to be outside long with strep throat, but our little snowman was kind of sad. After several attempts to make a big, strong, man's man snowman.... we ended up with Murphy. Poor, little 10-minute-made Murphy. We appreciate him even though he is the smallest in the neighborhood and kind of deformed. I know we could have come up with something better with more time (and patience).
Just after finishing Murphy, a couple drove by and asked to take a picture. Cambell posed beside Murphy and even said, "cheeeeese", unprompted. They were actually driving around the neighborhood taking pictures of all the snowmen. Graham had mentioned the idea earlier, and we were relieved that we would not be the only snowman paparazzi in the neighborhood. Here are some of the more impressive favorites. I enjoyed watching some of them in the making out our window this afternoon...

Who knew such a thing could occur in Texas... in February! Here's hoping for more white winters like this one :)

Global Warming at its Finest

2010-02-23T13:50:00.007-06:00

It's a good thing we were destined to be pent up today, because Waco is covered in a blanket of SNOW... in February! What the heck?? I went outside and measured 4 inches... and that was two hours ago and the flutters haven't stopped!
Poor little Cambell is adding to our family resume of illnesses for the month of February with a case of strep throat :(. Poor sad, little, coughing munchie. She is breaking my heart. I will say, her spirits have remained high considering her condition. We have snuggled at night in order for her to stay upright. I hate that Cambell is sick, but I can't complain about any part of the job that requires cuddling with Cambi. Thankfully, the doctor said we can return to life as usual tomorrow. Until then, we will enjoy our winter wonderland!
On another note, we had the pleasure of attending Legacy Church yesterday where my dad has served as pastor since I was three years old. I've always been amazed by the wisdom of my daddy, but yesterday I was especially effected by his sermon. If you have a little time, I would HIGHLY recommend this message. I can't believe I get to call this man my dad!

Lost in Translation

2010-02-18T10:43:00.004-06:00

Several important events were lost in the shuffle through the holidays and post-holiday busyness. Since I am on my second stomach bug in a week, I have plenty of couch time and thought I should probably take this opportunity to catch up.

First up... Uncle Marshall's graduation from Baylor University! This makes 9 Baylor degrees between our two immediate families. We are so proud of Marshall and look forward to seeing where life takes this man!

The ceremony was made even more special because Graham's dad, Ron, led the invocation.Ron's position awarded us reserved seating, which came in handy with a squirmy one-and-a-half year old. She entertained those lucky enough to be seated close to us, and even got to see Uncle Markle up close after getting his picture taken with the American flag. She handled the ceremony with as much grace as a toddler can, until the last thirty minutes where we went up and got our wiggles out. Due to previous commitments as a groomsman, Marshall had to leave the ceremony early, leaving us without official pictures with him.

Here is our solution... just imagine he's in the middle :)

And we had a doctoral graduate stand over us and bless our family... orrrr we had no idea of his presence, making for a memorable family photograph.

Next in line... Cambell meets Caris! The Blundells are dear friends we do not see enough because they live in Houston. We have been wanting to get these girls together for since Caris arrived, but this was our first chance... when Caris was 8 months! Truth be told, I got Caris a few outfits to give to her but never sent them thinking I would give them in person soon... and they are size 3-6 months... oops! They are still sitting Cambell's closet.

Here are the girls with their Daddies. Graham is not exactly a giant, but few people make him look short... Garrett is one of those people.

During our dinner at Chuy's, Graham and I put a plug in for Waco as the future Blundell family hometown after Garrett finishes his residency. I know these little girlies would have have fun growing up together!

Cambell meets another little C... her cousin Carmen! Cambell and Carmen are second cousins, born one month apart. Carmen's family lives in DC and we have been with the other side of our family the few times Carmen has come to Dallas. Graham's extended family met the day after Christmas to visit Mama A. We were able to catch up with some of Graham's cousins we rarely see. But the best part was meeting Carmen!
The little cousins with their respective daddies and Mama A.

That evening, we met some of my friends from high school at Chuy's in Dallas. I did not get any pics from the dinner, but below is our family before we left. It was great to see these people I grew up with and hear about the fabulous things they are doing in the fabulous places they live. At moments, I felt a little silly that my life consists of going to various playgroups and painting. But... I love my sweet family and would take the same path if I had the chance to do it all over again.

Another first meeting... Cambell with her second cousins Maddie and Aubrey. Cambell loves Maddie, but this was our first encounter with sweet little Aubrey! The Madls now attend Legacy, so we get to see them when we are in town on Sundays!

Cambell also got to play with her namesake! They love each other... two cute little Cambells :)

Here are a few more highlights from the rest of our mega-stay in Plano...

Family dinner at PF Changs...

A visit to a bounce house place called Boomerangs that has since closed down :(. Cambell had a blast and Aunt Summer is the reason!

I think I have FINALLY wrapped up our Christmas vacation!

My Sunshine

2010-02-16T14:26:00.005-06:00

Little Miss Sunshine has been giving Mommy and Daddy a run for our money lately. It is hard sometimes not to view her strong desire for independence as a little inconvenient. She is stubborn and knows exactly what she wants. I know that my DNA is much to blame for these endearing qualities, but sometimes it just flat wears me out. BUT, the past two days have given me so much sweetness to hang onto. With the exception of the first clingy 30 minutes of playgroup at Jumping Party, she has been a Mommy's best friend. I just wanted to share and hang on to some of my favorite things about life with Cambell today...

-Cambell understands everything in terms of "turns". Every time she just HAS to do something herself, we have turns. Mommy gets a turn, and then Cambell says, "I turn" or "turns" and gets, well, a turn... as long as Mommy is finished. We have turns for brushing teeth, using the cup for rinsing off in the bath, remote controls, phones, and pretty much anything else. "Turns" have helped the mother/daughter dynamic immensely.

-Today has been a chore day and Cambell has been happy to let Mommy work. I love these days where she just plays and sings to herself, reads books aloud after pulling each one off her shelf. I love listening to her sweet little voice singing and talking. She even helped me put back her books.
-Which brings me to my appreciation of Cambell's love for all things neat and clean. She begs to have her teef brushed multiple times a day, LOVES washing her hands after going potty, blows and wipes her own nose (with a teeny bit of help), and says "baf"(bath) every time I change her clothes. She is very concerned that her nose remain "boooo-ger" free. If there is a speck of lint, a loose thread, or any other kind of speck on her lovey or someone's face or clothing, she insists it must be removed with, "oh, oh, oh, oh" until the problem is resolved. A bib is a must at every meal for Cambell, and sometimes in between meals just for kicks. She knows her lovey stays in the crib, and wants her babies sleeping in their crib covered by a blanket at nighttime. The past week she has had a cough and has reminded me EVERY night to give her "mecine".

I love Cambell Grace Cook, the good, the bad, and the stinky. I cherish these days spent with her... I know they will not be forever...

Worth Mentioning

2010-02-10T16:09:00.004-06:00

We have had a lot happen lately... but not a lot of time for documentation... so I am going back about a week and a half to recover some memories....

The Cooks have served as host to many visitors over the past few weeks. First, it was two sets of Aggie girls, then it was my DADDY! On his way to Austin, he stopped in for Pei Wei and Cambell play. He got to experience first hand, Cambell's love of monkeys and crocodiles together. Cambell has this Five Little Monkeys collection of stories she won at a book exchange from one of her playgroup Christmas parties. It is an OBSESSION. Her FAVORITE section is the one where Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car. Throughout the story, the monkeys face obstacles and say "I KNOW" as they discover solutions. Cambell knows where and when to enthusiastically insert, "I KNOW" into the story. She was proud to show her love of this story to Pop. There are other parts she has memorized as well. I love it.

After Pop went on his way and Cambell had a nice nap, the HOMEYERS came in town! I love when the Homeyers come in town because their presence equates eating at Ninfas :). Well, I also enjoy pinching their son's cheeks and talking to Matt and Kelley. Cambell LOVES Brooks. She tried to make out with him at dinner, but we discouraged them moving too fast at such a young age. But Cambell would have nothing of it. She HAD to sit in his lap upon our arrival home. It was so funny. We tried to get her to let Brooks sit in her lap, but she REALLY wanted to sit in his. So Kelley helped to make her dream come true.

She also snuck in kisses when she thought we weren't looking...

We had a great visit with the Homeyers... even though Brooks was not so keen on sleeping in the same house as the girl who was pressuring him into kissing too early. Poor little man. We all have those nights (and those people)...

Last week Cambell and I traveled to Austin to keep the Liechty girls company while their daddy was away. Maryanne has discovered a new talent in sewing, and made the girls matching dresses! Little miss had so much fun with Hennah and Cake Kate!

Maryanne and I were laughing how Cambell and Mary Kate are only 8 months apart and will probably be better friends in the long run, but right now Hannah and Cambell are BFFE. Mary Kate is an independent woman for now, and Cambell is at a stage where she is in awe of those a little bigger than herself. It just works out. And it is precious how much these girls love each other.

The girls decorated cookies after lunch on Tuesday for a tea party they were planning after nap (we had a pajama day). It was a beautiful mess.

The final product...

The girls played dress up, among other activities, and shared relatively well!

And, after baths and bed times, Maryanne's mom watched the monitors so the grown-ups could go to a movie! It was funny to see a movie at 9:50 on a Tuesday night as two of four people in the theater. Leap Year filled our chick flick void, nonetheless.

We spent the Super Bowl at the Starlings. Cambell enjoyed playing with Piper. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed adult conversation. Three other families were going to come, but all of their kids were sick. It was a bummer to miss them, but we still had a wonderful evening. You can always count on the Starlings for a good party :)

Cambell and Piper helped with the cooking...

They just seemed so big playing in Piper's kitchen.

The fun ended for me a while after coming home. Graham suffered a stomach bug while Cambell and I were playing in Austin. Unfortunately, it was my turn to suffer. I was up most of the night, and Graham was precious to take care of me because I have this awesome habit of passing out with tummy related illness. It was nice to wake up on my hubby's leg as opposed to in between the shower and toilet in my old apartment or on concrete with faces of fellow high school seniors coming in and out of focus above me (two of my favorites). Thankfully, the hubs took off parts of the next day to take care of Cambell so I could recover. I am happy to say the Cooks are back to business as usual.

And last, but certainly not least, Harper and her Mommy hosted a PRECIOUS Valentines' Playgroup this morning. I wish I had captured the decor and the treats, but you can take my word for it... Jenny Peel is the hostess with the mostest. Plus, her daughter has mad levitating skills!

Twenty-One Months...

2010-02-10T15:41:00.000-06:00

Cambell hit the twenty-one month marker Sunday... which is a whopping three months away from TWO YEARS. I don't want to talk about it. For now, I will celebrate the burgeoning personality of one, Cambell Cook, the still one year old.

Our days are still simple... go to playgroup, the grocery store to charm the old ladies, the museum to get our wiggles out, to ballet, church (she starts talking about goldfish upon pulling in the parking lot), etc. Other days are spent in, changing her babies' clothes, building mega blocks towers, reading her favorite book about monkeys and crocodiles (she has parts of it memorized), working on her ABC's (we have up to K so far, with only a few letters out of place) and 123's, and still giving Mommy the gift of a 3 hour nap. Cambell has recently developed an obsession with throwing things away. I can appreciate her Type A personality, but we have come close to losing cups, phones, and important documents due to this new love.

As much as I miss Baby Cambell, this whole growing up thing is fun to watch. I love being able to communicate with Cambell and hear all that her little mind comes up with.

I love this kiddo. Here are more moments from the last month in pictures...

Working for the Weekend(s)

2010-01-25T15:55:00.012-06:00

The past two weekends have been busy and exciting. Last weekend, my dad's sisters threw Summer and Ryan their first wedding shower! It was just as great to see our extended family as it was to celebrate the almost Duffies! Summer is the baby cousin and the last of the girls to get married. Chad is the only cousin left... and he is quite a catch, ladies... if you're in the market ;) My Aunts have thrown a shower for each of the cousins and do such a great job.

This was the first shower to include a slew of children. They "helped" Summer and Ryan open their presents. Thankfully, patience with little ones is the biggest part of Summer's job five days a week.

Speaking of little ones, the tiny cousins had a "tea party" with cupcakes on the kitchen floor.

Here are all of the little ones with their great-grandparents, Grammy and Poppy. Cambell looooves Poppy, especially saying his name.

Here are the bride and groom with their parents. The Duffies are WONDERFUL and a great addition to the clan. Ryan's parents are generous, fun, and very loving. Graham and I always enjoy talking with them. They love Summer and she is so blessed to be marrying into their family!

We are team Wilkes/Cook/Duffie! The team is now complete!

Here we are at our own shower at the same house 4 years ago.

It was a wonderful afternoon of family!

Later on in the week, I found out one of my dearest friends from A&M was going to be coming through town. It wasn't exactly the weekend, but it sure felt like it. Tara and little Avadelle joined us for lunch at Chuy's and then we were able to have Mommy time while our little ones napped.

Cambell enjoyed getting to be the "big girl".

She especially loved getting to hold Avadelle in her lap. It was a totally impromptu trip and I love any chance to catch up with Tara and squeeze Avadelle's cheeks.

After my spontaneous visit with Tara, I got a text message calling for another spontaneous reunion of friends from A&M. It started with the Leichty girls coming just in time for lunch. After our little ones were fed and rested, Cambell and Hannah played together with a new found appreciation for one another. Cambell has never reacted to anyone with such affection before. She HAD to be hugging Hannah or sitting in her lap, all while wearing the most serious of faces. If Hannah moved across the room, Cambell would follow frantically wanting "Hennah hug" or "Hennah lap". I began to cry from laughing so hard, watching my daughter love her friend so much with such enthusiasm. Cambell's love translated a little violent at moments, but Hannah was a trooper and enjoyed the attention.

Sweet little Mary Kate "Cake Kate" was an independent woman and wanted no part of the love fest. She is one precious little thing, though. Plus, she is my birthday buddy :)

Lauren (McCurry) Scurry and Stephanie (Higgins) Cole, along with her little munchkins joined us and we all went to dinner. It was a little crazy with the kiddos outnumbering the adults, but so fun. We separated to go home, bathed the little ones, put them to bed, and then met back up after.When I think of my time at A&M, I think of these girls (and Tara, of course). Lauren and I lived together three years, one year in a room the size of a large closet in the TriDelt house. Maryanne may as well have lived with us. We finally got to live with her our senior year. Steph got married early, otherwise she would have lived with us, too :). We do not get to be all together enough anymore. It was completely wonderful and random to see them in between each others' baby showers. The trip was planned in 24 hours, and never would have happened if we had tried to pick a weekend months in advance. We sat on couches in the back room of Uncorked for FOUR hours. It was WONDERFUL and soooo needed. I miss them being a part of my daily routine. I can't understand how they still love me after knowing my every flaw. We did not get a picture together on Saturday, but here we are back in the day.

After saying goodbye to her new best friend on Sunday morning, Cambell got to attend a birthday party for some other big kids she loves. Hudson and Avery Anne turned SIX earlier this month, and they were sweet to add little Cambell to their guest list. She enjoyed pretending she was a big kid.

One of the moms took these pictures of Cambell. A mixture of over-stimulation and no sleep made for a difficult muse. Still, these are great pics.

We are already working for what's in store for next weekend :)

Rough Start

2010-01-18T14:19:00.007-06:00

This week has gotten off to a ROUGH start. Cambell woke up in a seemingly happy mood. But after about 10 minutes at playgroup, the melting began. If she wasn't glued to my lap, she was at the gate to the stairs sobbing, "go bye-bye". It was totally bizarre. I still do not know what was wrong. I gave up after 20 minutes and we left. The Starling girls left at the same time, and for 10 minutes I found serenity as Cambell and Piper walked hand in hand, giggling as they toddled. Piper has been out of town since before Christmas, so it was precious to see these little friends reunite. Cambell returned to her sorrow upon our arrival home, but I am trying to hold on to those ten sweet minutes with a little friend...

Christmas, How I Miss Thee

2010-01-17T16:33:00.012-06:00

I cannot believe Christmas has come and gone once again, as it does year after year. This year was a special Christmas as it was my first at my parents' house. They got to play the role of the grandparent this time. I already wrote a little on the latter portion of our Christmas Eve. After we came home from the candlelight service at Legacy, we ate soup and opened presents. The tradition in my family is to open most of the presents from each other on Christmas Eve, leaving a few gifts for Santa to bring the youngest generation Christmas morning. This Christmas was a first on many fronts. Along with this being Cambell's first Christmas at Lolli and Pop's, it was also the Wilkes' first Christmas as a whole. Ryan joined us, to complete our clan. We are so excited about Ryan officially joining our family in March! Summer and Ryan are wonderful complements to each other and I appreciate how this man takes such good care of my little sister.

Present opening time was of course enjoyable. Cambell was the center of the festivities. The ratio of her presents to those received by everyone else was about 10:1.

Dad got a Kindle! It was a surprise and a priceless revelation.

All those presents, and she finds the greatest entertainment from a box.

After all of the presents were opened, stories were read, songs were sung, and the little one put to bed, the grownups (minus Mimi and myself), braved the icy roads and delivered "Santa" to a family who would not have had presents otherwise. My mom had collected money, shopped for, and wrapped over $1,000 worth of presents for a family of 6. I am blessed by my Mom's example. The family was grateful and sent my family away with two huge tubs of the tastiest tamales, which we enjoyed in the following days after Christmas.

As previously mentioned, Graham built Cambell this crib for Christmas. We are clearly not pushing the whole Santa thing, because we up and told Cambell that her Daddy made her the crib in the same breath that Santa brought it to her. We had this laid out for her to find Christmas morning and were eager to introduce Cambell to Bitty Baby.

Unfortunately, Cambell did not handle the hype so well. We brought her in to the living room to find Pop with the video camera, Summer ready to photograph the moment, and everyone else eagerly waiting her reaction. All of the expectation, coupled with Cambell's aversion to mornings led to an overwhelmed little toddler. As I tried to show her the special new baby and crib, which I knew she would love, she bowed her back and threw the fit of the century. It took a while to get her to come down from it.

The crayons in her stocking seemed to be the medicine for her overstimulation. After resolving her feelings, Cambell found appreciation for her Bitty Baby and took on the job of "Mommy".

That is, until she decided it was HER turn to drink the "bobble".

Playing with some of her Christmas Eve loot. (A little out of control, I know-- Giving is Lolli's love language and we reap the benefits :) We are so thankful).

We savored our White Christmas. I can't believe Cambell experienced a White Christmas before turning two... in Texas! While intrigued by the snow at first, the excitement wore off quickly as her fingers did not appreciate the freezing form of precipitation. How cute are we? Since we were not equip with proper snow attire, we put baggies over her shoes and wrapped them with painters tape to keep her feet from soaking. It seemed to do the trick, until it snow got trapped in between the bag and her jeans!
It was a cold, beautiful, relaxing Christmas. We ate a pancake breakfast, played with Cambell, had a wonderful Christmas dinner (late lunch to be precise) prepared by my beautiful Mimi, played games, rested, and celebrated the lovely Kim Wilkes' birthday with red velvet cake. It was the ideal Christmas day.
We had a wonderful 2nd Chritmas with Cambell Grace! I am ready for next year already!

And may all your Christmases be white...

My New Favorite Spot...

2010-01-11T14:00:00.004-06:00

This is my new favorite spot in the house... Mommy's cozy corner. I pooled my birthday money together to buy this chair. We will eventually buy another one and turn half of our dining room into another sitting area. Until then, we have this cozy, quiet corner. We bought it in Plano yesterday, put it in place last night, and I have put it to good use already this morning. In a few minutes, I will read in this chair for a portion of Cambell's nap time, because it's my birthday and I can :). Graham has made this birthday so special. I have never thought of 27 as being a big year of celebration, but Graham has made this one count! He set up a childless weekend in Dallas together while my parents kept the little one. We saw three movies, slept a lot, and shopped and ate at my favorite places. It was amazing. I love when we get to remind ourselves that we are an entity separate from Cambell. Don't get me wrong... our love has only multiplied with her and being parents together has brought a new level of closeness, but our relationship has to outlast Cambell's time with us in our house. I am so glad that Graham is the man I get to spend my hours, weekends, and life with (atleast as long as we both shall live). He made this birthday absolutely perfect! As for today, he woke me to breakfast in bed, had flowers waiting in the bathroom, and a card on the dashboard of the car to stagger the surprises. Cambell and I met friends at the Mayborn Museum, will go to ballet, and then dinner tonight out! I LOVE birthdays! My parents have always made fun of me for milking birthdays to the fullest extent, but I just think they are a great excuse to do the things you love with people you love without guilt :)

Here are a few pics from our adventures this morning...