Christmas Letter 2010

Incase you didn't receive one in the mail! Merry Christmas everyone! 4 sleeps!! :)

Merry Christmas! Again it’s hard to believe it’s been a year, but it seems that that’s the case every Christmas! We have had an exciting year as our family grows and changes.

Mason Arthur Cook was born on February 17^th of this year, and we are so happy to have him as part of our family. He has been a great blessing in our life and brings smiles and laughter to our home much of the time. He has not always been an easy baby as his sleeping habits are poor to say the least, but he makes up for it by being so dang cute and smiley during the day! He is already handsome like his daddy, and when we go out we usually get at least one comment about his beautiful blue eyes. Perhaps that’s because blonde hair and blue eyes aren’t the “norm” around here! He does have pretty eyes though!

Brenna is now 2½ and has fully assumed the roll of big sister, and “terrible two” year-old. She has been learning so much this year, and it’s been really fun to watch her develop. She knows most of her letters and the sounds they make (she knows all of them, but she doesn’t always want to say them for you). She is very social and very talkative, but mostly just to people she’s comfortable with. She has recently gained a shyness around people she’s unfamiliar with that is nearly paralyzing to her! She can have quite the attitude, but is very cute and loving as well!

I have been keeping busy being a mom and doing my callings as the Primary pianist and a member of the Relief Society board. I have enjoyed the opportunity to try some new things and get out of my comfort zone a bit, and have seen the growth that results. I have tried to learn some new skills this year as well, trying some new recipes, and some new crafts. I learned to makes ties for Mason to wear, and am starting my first quilt with my mom’s help. I have also tried my hand at recycling some of Jeremy’s and my old clothes into clothes for the kids to wear. It’s been fun to create some interesting things, though not always as functional and cute as they were meant to be!

Jeremy has had a busy year with work. He continues to work as a financial planner at MetLife and, after a slow start to the year, has been working very hard to meet his goals and have a good finish to the year. He is also furthering his education taking advantage of the full reimbursement program MetLife offers. He was called to be our ward’s Scout Master this year, which has given him the opportunity to put some of his Eagle Scout training to work! He takes the Deacons camping once a month and usually needs a break from his “camping break” when he gets home. He also plays stake sports Thursdays, and pick up ball with some friends Tuesdays each week in hopes to keep his “Manly Figure”.

This year we went to Canada to visit family during the summer. The kids and I had fun being there for Canada Day and some family get-togethers. Jeremy was able to come for the last week of our trip so we enjoyed a nice vacation together. We took a day to ourselves while we were there and drove to the dinosaur museum with the kids. It was really neat to see and Brenna’s love for dinosaurs grew tremendously! I’m thinking of making her 3^rd birthday cake a dinosaur!

We hope this Christmas season finds you all well and full of the Christmas spirit. We are excited to read your letters and see your pictures and look forward to the year ahead and all it will bring!

With Love,

Jeremy, Lana, Brenna, and Mason Cook

**As a side note... we went to get our first professional family photos done... this was the ONLY one with Brenna even sort of smiling... it was not a good experience! At least we got one semi-worthwhile photo! This was also one of the very LAST pictures taken, and the photographer wanted to give up, I'm the one that said we should try one more time.

Potty Trained!!

I have an announcement to make! Brenna is POTTY TRAINED!!! Oh man, does that feel good to say! We are on day 4 of no accidents, and I am confident enough to announce it without fear of jinxing anything! She now tells me when she needs to go every time and never has more than a drop or two in her undies, if even that! I loosely followed this method, and am proud to announce that I will no longer (at least not on a regular basis) be cleaning up pee and poo messes for a particular little girl!

These are pictures of her in her undies, and lots of us doing happy dances to celebrate potty accomplishments. Brenna thought my victory dances were entertaining enough to photograph, so all the pictures of me are courtesy of Brenna.

So, we have gone back to pull-ups at night only because night time habits weren't forming fast enough, and I was tired of washing two sets of bedding every day, but other than nights, we are good. It took Brenna 4 days to catch on, but it was so neat to see. Once she figured it out once, that's the last time we had any problems. It was 4 days of nothing but accidents, then she told me once that she needed to go potty (the first time she'd ever told me that) and that was that! She's finally got it! I'm so happy I could announce it to the world... so I am doing just that! Potty training has been one of the hardest, yuckiest things I've had to do thus far as a mother, and I'm looking forward to the year or so I have until that opportunity comes knocking on my door again! Good luck to all who are lucky enough to try it in the next little while! I didn't love everything this girl said in the "3 Day Method" but obviously a lot of things I liked and used, and they worked, so what can I say!?

Roller Coasters

I have always loved roller coasters. I love the nervous feeling before going on, the inescapability of being so scared and almost wanting off, but realizing it's too late! The shaky feeling when you try walking after a really good one. It's been YEARS since I have gone on a decent roller coaster, but every time I think about them, I remember The Desperado. I was about 10 years old, and we were on a family road trip. I don't know how we ended up here exactly, but I remember we were driving (I may remember some things wrong... I was young. My dad can correct me if I'm off) and we saw this gigantic roller coaster. I'm pretty sure this is the right one:

My dad asked who wanted to go with him. I was the only volunteer. I felt pretty good about it too since my younger brother who was 8 or 9 at the time was too scared and I wasn't, and I'm not even a man! haha of coarse, neither was he at the time, but I still felt pretty proud. I was being so brave too. I believe that the reason we were going is because the sign said it was the biggest roller coaster in the world. It is now number 7 or 8 on the top 10 list, but at the time, it was the biggest I believe. So, waiting in line, I don't even remember being too scared... until we got strapped in, and started moving. Too late to get out now. That's when my dad decides to show me that he's actually pretty nervous about this when he says something to the effect of "What were we thinking?" right as the first car disappears over the drop. I don't know if I had ever been more scared than that half second between him saying that, and when the drop was over. BUT it was totally worth it! Nobody else in the family needed to know how scared I had been, just that I had done it! I don't know if I was crying when we got off or not, but I was definitely excited to say that I had done it. And what made it better, is that I had done it with my dad! It is a sort of vague memory, but one I like, and the probably the strongest emotion connected with it is not one of fear, but of love and faith in my dad! I love you dad! And I trust you with my life... even when you take me on rides of death with that faith! haha

Crafts and Coughing Children

This is going to be a lot of pictures, and a rather random reading of ramblings, but here it goes!

Lately I have made a couple of things, and there are oh so many more things to make! I need to get my butt in gear to get all the Christmas/baby packages in the mail in time for the holidays! Here are a few of the things I've made that aren't for gifts.

I made Mason a tie. It was supposed to be a thanksgiving tie, but it's just sort of a normal tie! I am planning to make him a Christmas tie too, but time will tell if that happens!

I made these ornaments. I got the idea from my friend Jaimie who showed me where she got the tutorial from here. I made this for the ornament swap I was in. I first made the one with white background, but thought it was too embarrassing to give away, so I made the second one, which was an improvement, but I still need some practice!

I made this headband for Brenna. I just came across this while I was cruising a new crafting tutorial site I'm in love with (well it's not new, but my sister-in-law Aly posted it on her blog, so I checked it out, and I'm so excited about it now too!) called Ucreate. It's great, I would encourage you to check it out if you want tons of cute do-it-yourself ideas! Anyway, this was fast, and cute!

I told her to strike a pose... not bad! haha too bad she won't keep it on her head for more than a minute or two... maybe I'll wear it!

In other news, here's a few things that we've been doing lately. We straightened Brenna's hair one day to see how long it was, and do escape the straggly look for a day. She is a little afraid of my straightener since she grabbed it once and burned herself, but she was brave and let me do it.

Jeremy wrestling with the kids. They love it when they get daddy's attention and both were clamoring around his legs for their turn to be thrown around, so they both got to do it together! It is so nice for me to watch them play and here the giggles! They love their daddy!

We had Devin and Stacey visit for a week at Thanksgiving and had a really fun time with them. They may have even beat us in Rook, so we are going to have to have a rematch sometime. We had a good time staying up way too late with these crazy college students!

This is our new morning routine. Us poor arizonans freezing our buns off in this extreme weather! haha Brenna wakes up every morning wanting to be wrapped up in a blanket and cuddle for a little while. It's my favorite part of the day too!

In other Mason news, he can now stand for short periods of time unassisted! Such a big boy hitting milestones right and left! Jeremy thinks he'll be walking by Christmas... I don't want to think about how quickly he's growing! Love kissing this boy though!

Brenna's been sick since Saturday night, and has been having very rough night times. At first it was a cough, and she would just cough a lot at night but stay sleeping. Then She started getting a fever and the last few nights have been horrible. She's up constantly crying, and now I think it's almost more of a habbit than anything, although she does still have a fever when the medicine wears off. Anyway, on Monday night she had been up a lot and I'd been taking her back to bed, but she eventually came in and fell asleep by my side of the bed on the floor. So the next night I made a little bed there just incase, and now every night she comes and sleeps there. We have a little argument about her wanting in mommy's bed, but when I start taking her back to her room, she says she wants the floor. So we do medicine and milk and cuddle up on the floor by mommy. It's now 10:16 and she is STILL sleeping in this exact position on my floor. Poor sick girl. I'd wake her, but.... that's crazy talk! I hope she feels better today! Mason is sick too, but he mostly has a runny nose and slight cough. He has had a very low fever twice now, but not constant and they don't seem to bother him.

So, there's my long, random post. Hope you're all having a wonderful December so far, and Merry Christmas!

Mason has Two Teeth!

Well, Mason's second tooth poked through today (or maybe yesterday, but I noticed it today). He's getting to be such a big boy already! He is 9 1/2 months now. These pictures aren't great quality, but my camera was out of batteries, so I had to use Photobooth on the computer instead. You can't see any teeth in the pictures I don't think, but these are some pajamas we got on black friday sales, and I got them because my brother Devin saw them and said "Mason would look so cute in these, like crazy cute". haha so I had to buy them and try it out. Of coarse I had no doubt he would, and here's the proof! haha I love it when guys pick out clothes. It always makes me smile. I think my dad picked out an outfit for Brenna once, and Jeremy once too (I mean picking out outfits to buy because I don't always love it when boys actually dress kids... haha that usually involves far less though and consideration for matching colors). Anyway, Here's my big boy!

You can sort of get a feel of the amount of drool that working on these teeth has produced, but trust me, it's more than you think! He is drooling like crazy!!

Ornament Swap

I participated in an ornament swap this Christmas hosted by my friend Evelyn Perkins. I did it for two reasons:

1. How fun is a swap? I wanted to try it and look forward to getting some fun mail for a change! And...

2. To support Evelyn in her first swap! How exciting is that?

So I felt pretty silly sending my homemade ornament, which I was a little embarrassed of since I made it and can see all the flaws and am extra critical since it was meant to be a gift. My partner, Haley, said she loved it though, and I sincerely hope she does and she wasn't just lying to make me feel better!

I got mine in the mail, and I loved it! She got a blown glass ornament custom made for me, and it's great! It's hanging in my tree now! I wasn'table to get a good picture of it in the tree though, but here it is! Thanks Haley! I had a fun swapping experience!

Mason is 9 Months!

It's hard to believe, but Mason is 9 months now! We had a doctors appointment today and he is perfectly healthy and chunky! The doctor said he is DEFINITELY not missing any calories in his diet! haha we love our chunky Mace Face and I can't really remember our family without him now! I love watching him grow and laugh. I have to admit, I was almost hoping that he would have an earache or something at the doctor's today to help explain some of his incessant night time crying, but I guess he is just a stubborn baby and we will have to continue breaking the cycle the hard way! I love him so much, it's hard to listen to him cry! Anyway, He weighs in at a healthy 21.4 lbs (only the 63% but Brenna was only 17 lbs when she was 9 months and only 19 when she was 1! So Mason's got a few lbs on her) and 28 3/4 inches tall (which, oddly enough, is exactly the same as Brenna at 9 months! For Mason that's the 69%). He has one tooth, and you can just see it in one of the pictures. Actually I want to tell you about some of the pictures... if you really are interested, you'll have to look at the collage bigger to see the details!

So in the bottom left corner is the tooth shot. It's just barely poking through so it's hard to see.

The middle, it looks like he's like "Speak up!"

On the far right in the middle line... check out those baby blues!

Overall, CUTE boy! Love him!

Momma Bear Syndrome

Ok, I am wondering how many other mothers suffer from the "Momma Bear Syndrome" in their life. I have to say, it doesn't happen too often for me, but when it rears it's head, I may not want to be held accountable for my actions! Let me explain...

Probably a year ago now I was at the park with Brenna... actually it may have been a little more than a year ago. I was with a friend (Evelyn) and her kids, and it was the evening and the park was PACKED! I was nervous letting Brenna just go play since it was so busy and she was one of the smallest on the playground. We went to this park often, but it had never been busy like this before. Anyway, she wanted to play, so Evelyn and I sat as close as we could (lots of the seats were taken already) and kept an eager eye on our little ones. I glanced up a few minutes later and saw a boy push Brenna down. He was quite a bit older than her (she was 1 1/2 and he was probably 3 at least) and so I got up to go move her to a different toy. While I was walking over he pushed her again... I walked a little faster. Then every time she tried to get up, he pushed her down again and they were getting closer and closer to the stairs. When I saw this happening, I became someone else! Just for a few seconds, but I was more than embarrassed when it was over. I started running across the playground, and when I got there I was yelling... I didn't realize I was until after. I was yelling at the little boy, telling him not to push and didn't he see the stairs and didn't he know she was small? I scooped Brenna off the playground, and started walking away while realizing very quickly what had just happened. I ducked my head down and looked around quickly to see if the little boy's parents had seen me yell at their son. They had of coarse, actually it was just his dad, and he didn't look happy. I hurried away embarrassed by my outburst. Evelyn was surprised at what she had seen as well, but assured me it was good to stick up for Brenna.

Anyway, that was my very first Momma Bear moment. I have had a couple of others since then, and each time I feel a bit embarrassed after, especially if it turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought. I once raised my voice to my niece when she threw Brenna on the ground especially hard, but then as soon as I did it I realized her parents and my mother-in-law were both right there and obviously thought I overreacted. I had, of coarse, but was too proud to admit it to them... just to myself as I walked away blushing slightly (and maybe a little bit steamed).

So, does this happen to everyone, or should I seek counseling? As a disclaimer, I am under no delusions that my children are angel's or defenseless victims, in fact, now that Brenna is older she is often the aggressor and I have to keep a close eye to make sure I'm not the recipient of some Momma Bear Syndrome... but that doesn't stop me from occasionally losing my cool! If it's just me, then I will have to delete this and try and work on keeping that under control!

Day 29

Something I Will Never Tire of Doing

Oops! My sister pointed out to me that it looks like I forgot number 29! Since I think all of you were losing sleep over this, I decided to throw it in... better late than never! Although, I can't think of something I will never tire of doing... eating? Nearly true, but probably not entirely. I love being a wife and mother, but even that is occasionally something I tire of. Ummm shopping? No, shopping can be tiring and stressful. Laughing? That's a good one, I can never tire of laughing. There's nothing better than a good, heartfelt laugh at something genuinely funny and happy and good.

As a side note to this post, I would like to wish my mom a very happy birthday and make sure she knows how much I love her! You are amazing mom! Have a happy day and pretend we're there to give you a hug!

Day 30

WHEW! That was a lot of blogging! This last day's topic is a photo of me today and 3 good things that have happened in the last 30 days. Here are the latest pictures I have... I would have taken one today, but it was one of those "wet hair pony tail, sweat pant" kind of days, so I'll just use our Halloween ones!

Haha I just noticed this now, check out the piggy's belly! I guess she really wanted to play the part! haha

Me and my silly chicken

So, three good things that have happened in the last 30 days... hmmm...

1. I got my parents consistently reading my blog, and have had some good experiences with that... love you mom and dad! Thanks for not asking to be taken off my e-mail reminder thing, even though they were every day! And thanks for your continued love and support of me!

2. I have been being a better mom and having the TV on less the last 30 days.

3. I get to read my sister's 30 days of blogging every day now, which is fun since I don't get to talk to her often.

This has been fun, I'm glad it's done though. I'd be impressed if anyone is still reading on day 30... but I promise it will be only every so often now. I had fun! More than anything it's a good habit to write daily in some sort of journal. The bad thing is, that with doing this, I sort of stopped writing in my regular journal, but I will start that again this Sunday too. So, Goodbye! Talk to you again soon, but not tomorrow!

Day 28

Well, day 28 says your favorite movie, but that was one of the first days as well, so I guess it's make up your own day! I have been thinking about something a lot lately, and debating if I could write about it in an appropriate way, and so I will try and see how it works.

What I have been thinking about is, in a way, how much of a copy-cat I can be, or actually that I want to be. Lately especially I have found myself watching people and noticing the qualities they have that I wish I had, and then trying to copy them. For instance, there is a lady at church who is always there before us, and always sitting on the back row so that everyone passes her as they come in. Every Sunday that I walk past her she has a kind word for me. I want to be like that, always having something positive and complimentary to say to people when I see them! So I've been trying, and I try and have something ready especially for her every Sunday so that I can lift her like she does me. It really does give my Sunday a good start! My mom cleans up after every meal and then a little bit here and there so that there is never any mess... I want to be like that

So, I started a list with names of people before each point, but then I started getting stressed about leaving people out and hurting feelings, so I will leave names off, but please believe me, you are one of these things. I wanted to put names because I know if I read this on someone else's I'd be thinking "I wish I thought one of those things was about me, but I know it's not". I don't know how to stop that from happening, but, you are on here, trust me.

- always willing to have company over, and her house is always presentable enough to do so on a moment's notice... something I admire

- is always willing to help any way she can, and never acts like it's an inconvenience

- doesn't make excuses and just tackles projects big or small

- speaks her mind, but finds ways to do it that make it easy to laugh about rather than get offended

- keeps going when others would want to give up

- offers things all the time without worrying about the bottom line

- always smiling

- avoids gossip

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I guess the point is that I am glad that I am around people so often who I can watch and try and be like. Even if a person isn't someone I always agree with, there is at least one thing that I would like to learn from them... even though I might not admit it! So thank you for reading, and thank you for being good examples! Oh, and sorry if I'm not always as aware of other's needs around me, that's the main thing I'm trying to work on and that I admire in so many others is the ability to ... I guess just be hospitable. I sometimes forget to offer things or help until somebody else does, and then I realize I could have offered too, I just hadn't thought of it yet!

Day 27

A Picture of You Last Year and How You've Changed Since Then

Whew, day 27, almost done! That will be nice! This has been fun, but I'm starting to feel a little self involved writing every day, usually about myself.

Well, this is me last year. This is actually in December of last year, but I tell ya, as a mom it can be very hard to find pictures of yourself! They are almost completely either of just the kids, or the kids and dad because who else is going to take the pictures but you! Anyway, as you can see, I was large and in charge. I'm proud to say that in the last year I have lost a significant amount of weight.... after gaining a significant amount with pregnancy, but still. Most of the ways I've changed are obvious. Not pregnant anymore, mother to two instead of one, short hair... but I'm sure I've changed in other ways too. I wish I could say that there were things I wanted to change about myself and that I manned up and changed them, but for the most part I think I am still working at changing things, and probably always will be! Such is life! I have put in place things to help me become more organized, and at times I am good at staying that way. One way I have changed is that I no longer wait for the mail to come each day and then go out to get it each afternoon. I am not sure exactly why this changed or even when, but sometime since Mason has been born, that stopped. I used to know what time the mail came and every day around 3 I'd take Brenna for a walk to the box and pick up the mail. I loved getting the mail! I don't think the contents of the mail has changed in the last year, but I sometimes go days now without getting it and usually I only get it when I drive by. Interesting. I will probably get more excited about it again though as the holidays draw near because soon the Christmas letters will begin to arrive! Yay!

Day 26

A Photo of Somewhere You've Been to

Not long after Jeremy and I got married, we had the awesome opportunity to go to Paris!

It was an incredible trip. This is, unfortunately, the only picture we have as proof. Still, you believe me, right?

Ok, ok, you caught me. We didn't go to Paris, but we did go to Vegas and then pretend we had gone to paris! haha it was really fun to go to Vegas. I had never been, and that is the only time I ever have gone too. I would love to go back sometime soon, especially now that the bridge over Hoover Dam is done and it is probably an awesome adventure to drive over it. We went there to meet my family just after our first Christmas together. I got to go to my dear friend Fallon's wedding, which was so exciting, and then we saw the sights with the fam! Vegas is a raunchy place in a lot of ways, and I hesitate to say I'd be anxious to go back. I would love to visit again, and we had a really good time, but I was feeling the need to constantly re-direct the attention of the males in our entourage to less risque things when we were walking outside at night. Anyway, fun times, hopefully we can go back to visit sometime and maybe do some things away from the strip for a break from the influence of the adversary that can be so constant there.

Disclaimer ** I don't think Vegas is evil, we had a good time and there are lots of fun, not evil things to do there too! It's just getting from point A to point B that can be tricky.

Day 25

What's in Your Purse?

I just have a diaper bag these days, and it's got tons of stuff! Diapers, wipes, nursing cover and wallet are things that are constants. Other than that, there are some pens, toys and snacks usually. Also usually my cell phone and camera. I used to try and have gum or lip stuff in there, but Brenna found out about both of those, so I no longer bother with them. Also, usually a water bottle or two. Maybe one day in the distant future I can go back to having just a small purse! I bet that will feel nice, not leaving the house with nearly everything but the kitchen sink! I like to be prepared though, and I get really stressed if I don't feel like I have everything I might need when I'm out. That doesn't stop the forgetfulness though, and I still find myself digging for things that are forgotten at home quite often!

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Day 24

A Photo of Something That Means a Lot to Me

I have always been a member of the LDS church, and it really does mean a lot in my life. It has made me who I am, and I am grateful to have the church in my life! I know that I can always do better at emulating the teachings of the church, and in doing the little things in my daily life, but the good news is that I can always continue to try harder to be better!

On a sort of related side note, Jeremy has decided that his new personal motto, and possibly our family motto (he wants me to create an art piece of some sort for the wall, so I'm excited to try that project) is "More Faith, Less Fear". I like it, and so that is what we will try and do in our family!

Day 23

15 Facts About Me

Ooo I should have looked ahead so I could be thinking of things!!

1. I LOVE the color Yellow

2. I lived on our family farm for the first year or two of my life

3. I have over 100 first cousins (including aunts and uncles). Having a Smith, Peterson, Fairbanks and Paxman in your name in southern Alberta will do that do a person!

4. I would rather be cold than hot

5. I don't like cheese or chocolate, except for very specific exceptions

6. I love roller coasters and thrill rides

7. I sang in my highschool choir for all three years

8. I love eating out

9. I love being a mom, and hope I can do a good job

10. I am not a very neat person, and am constantly trying to change that about myself!

11. I had to take my drivers test 4 times before I passed

12. I always wanted to be 5'11" tall

13. I am proud of where my life has taken me and where I'm at generally

14. I am always trying to be better and stay happier

15. I am frustrated with how insecure I feel a lot of the time, but I am occasionally impressed by the headway I make in being more confident. I hate how much of the insecurity I feel is based on physical things as well.

That is boring and a little heavy towards the end I guess, but I'm sort of in a hurry, so it'll have to do!

Day 22

This is supposed to be a letter to someone who has hurt me recently, but since I can't think of someone to write it about, and even if I could I probably wouldn't write it anyway, I am instead going to show you what we did while my parents were here! We had a lot of fun and I especially enjoyed seeing my parents every day (like it should be)! We also had some time with Jeremy's family with a family wedding and a day at the fair, and it was a good time all around! I have so many pictures to share! I will have to put a lot of them on facebook, but there will still be a lot here too!

I made this letter M after lots of staring and help and input from my mom. I swear I can't do crafts without moral support! haha I think it turned out nice though!

My parents took us to the fair, and we had fun. Brenna LOVED the pony ride that Grandma and Grandpa put her on. I was sure she would freak out once she figured out she had to sit, but she didn't. Then I thought once it started moving for sure, but she had so much fun! As a matter of fact, it might have been the only time that day at the fair that she smiled! haha
I got to touch Steve Nash, so you can't beat that! We look good, don't you think? He's the same height as Jeremy too, so it just felt natural ;) haha
This is a good example of Brenna's lack of smiles this day. She loves dinosaurs, but she was tired and not in a good mood most of the time at the fair. She eventually fell asleep right in grandpa's arms, so we cut our day short and headed home.
I tried to dress Mason cowboy-ish for the fair... I guess that's not really a thing here. For the Calgary Stampede everybody gets all cowboyed up! Just for fun when we went back yesterday I dressed to the nines in my cowboy outfit and everyone thought I was weird. Hey, you gotta get what use you can out of a sweet cowboy hat!
Jeremy's cousin got married an we went to the wedding! Then we went out for lunch with Jared and Sylvia at the Rainforest Cafe. Fun experience, but not a huge desire to go back.

This is round two at the fair. Above, Brenna loved the big slide, and below, Jeremy won Mason and Brenna stuffed animals, here's Mason and his monkey!

One night while my parents were here Brenna kept getting out of bed, opening her door, and the sleeping right here. She did it two or three times! Crazy girl. Never cried or anything!

My mom also helped (ok, she mostly did it!) cut out a quilt! I really needed her to show me how, and so I guess now I'm on my own with it! I have never quilted before, so I am excited, and nervous! We also made some kleenex ghosts with Brenna and hung them in the house.

I loved having my parents visit. It is so nice to see them, but always a tough when we have to part ways again. I hope that I can sneak up there to see them sometime this winter. Flights are way too expensive these days, especially now that Brenna costs the same as me, but hopefully we can figure something out! The weather was pretty nice here though, so I can't complain about that this time of year. I'm excited for it to cool down just a bit more so that I can lounge in hoodies and pants... for me, nothing can beat that!

Day 21

A Photo of Something That Makes me Happy

I have just had a very wonderful week with my mom and dad visiting. I was initially planning to write this about that week and how much my parents and family make me happy. But then I saw my husband sitting there on the couch and smiled. We just had a very nice day at the fair, and I enjoyed going on some scary rides with him, and watching him win some stuffed animals for the kids. I love him very much, and he makes me very happy. He makes me laugh, and he works hard to give us the life we want to have one day. He is very handsome, and he can be very sweet when he wants to be. :) Love you babe!

**And I have to throw in these two goof balls, who also make me very happy.... a little crazy, but at least I'll be a happy crazy person!**

**One more note, my parents and siblings also make me very happy, and I am so grateful for the fun week we had. I can't wait to see family again, and you make me very happy too! Thank you for everything! Love you!**

Day 20

The Meaning of My Blog Name

My blog is named "Kiss the Cook's" because ... when we got married, someone gave us a hot pad that said "Kiss the Cook's", and I thought that they had got it custom made for us and that it was so thoughtful and funny, and I proudly displayed it as a decoration in our kitchen for over a year. Then when we moved into our home, we drove by a restaurant one day called Kiss the Cook, and I was baffled! Jeremy explained to me that it's actually sort of a common saying or phrase or whatever, and it just so happens to make funny sense with the last name Cook... Who knew! Anyway, so I guess that's why my blog is called that... it makes me smile!

Day 19

A Photo of Your Family

Wow, this is the latest picture I have of us as a family! Mason is less than 3 months in the picture, and he is now almost 9 months old. That is sad! Well, at least now we know what we need to get done soon! Any tips on convincing Jeremy that family photos is worth the expense? I think we need some and I know just the girl! Anyway, instead, I will just post some pictures from the last couple of weeks! We've been busy with Grandma and Grandpa here, and having some fun! Here are some highlights!

Day 18

Most Embarrassing Moment

Wow, tough question. There are SOOOO many to choose from. I am trying to recall details of a more recent one, but I will have to ask someone who was ther

e to refresh my memory. I'll have to stick with an older one for now.

I was probably like 15 or maybe even younger. I was a bit of an awkward kid...

I know, it's hard to believe with how smooth and accomplished I've turned out, but you'll have to trust me (Ok, in the picture I'm probably 13, but you get the idea). Anyway, I was in Costco in the states with my family and another family, and I was sort of trying to make a good impression on a boy in the other family. We were all eating hot dogs in the food court area, and the kids were sort of off away from the adults. Anyway, long story short, we were all finally talking and joking and that was exciting for me, but then I jumped up to sit on what I was leaning against, only it turned out it was a trash can. A huge Costco trash can. It fell over, and so did I. It was a long time ago, but it was embarrassing, and I'm glad it was a long time ago. And I'm glad I'm not an awkward teenager anymore! I'd much rather be an awkward adult!

Day 17

Something You Crave A Lot

I am doing this one before 18 because I want to upload some pictures from the other day for the actual day 17, but I don't have time right now! So, lately, actually not so much anymore, but for the past like 3 weeks I have been really craving salad! It has been awesome! How about having a craving something guilt-free!! I was going through lettuce at a mad pace for a few weeks, and I loved it. NOW unfortunately I'm slipping back into craving loads of junk, so I hope the salad fairy comes here again! I liked that. It's better than the chips and sugar fairies that frequent my thoughts at other times! At least I only very rarely hear from the chocolate fairy... she doesn't bother me unless I'm pregnant.

Day 16

Your Celebrity Crush

I have been avoiding this one because I don't know. I mostly just like actors who seem like good people, not necessarily based on looks. Also if they make good movies that I can watch. I'll just do a quick list of the ones that come to mind. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Ryan Reynolds, Matthew McConaughey, Josh Duhamel, Shia Labeouf... I don' t know, I like a lot of actors, but I don't want to kiss any of them! haha

My parents are visiting, and I couldn't be happier! We have some fun things planned the next few days, and I am having so much fun watching Brenna play with her grandparents and Mason give them big gummy smiles (still no teeth!!). Tomorrow we are going to the state fair, and Saturday we might go swimming or playing in water fountains or something fun like that! Love my family! Miss my siblings.... love you guys! See you soon Devin!

Oh yah, and Happy Half-Birthday to ME! haha

Day 15

Something You Don't Leave Your House Without

This one is easy. My diaper bag! Or, as Jeremy calls it, The Black Hole. It's true, it can be hard to find things in there. I almost never leave the house without the diaper bag. It will be nice when the day comes where I don't have a whole butt load of things to cart around with me, but for now, I love my diaper bag. I got a new one when I had Mason (Thanks Steve and Shannon!) and I love it. It's big enough to hold everything I need, sturdy, and good looking. I try to keep it somewhat organized, but when I'm in a rush and a bunch of stuff gets stuffed in there last minute, it does take me a while to get it back to a decent state!

Day 14

A TV Show I'm Currently Addicted To

Well, I think that I watch a little too much TV because I enjoy quite a few shows that I like to watch every week. Right now The one I especially like is probably Castle. This was a new show last season and we watched it, and I'm so glad it's back! Jeremy and I watch it ever week and we both really like it. I am getting a little tiny bit antsy for the detective and Castle to hook up, but hopefully soon they'll both ditch their current "significant others" and face the facts! Here are some other shows we watch at our house (don't judge me!)

The Event (brand new)

Glee (sort of)

The Apprentice

The Office

Criminal Minds (sort of)

Desperate Housewives

And when they are on

The Bachelor (or any derivative)

Day 13

My Favorite Musician and Why

I really like Carrie Underwood, and also Taylor Swift. They are impressive young ladies. Carrie Underwood because she's gorgeous, and her voice is amazing and I'd sort of like to be her, and Taylor Swift because she writes songs like nothing and is very grounded and down to earth, especially considering how quickly she became famous! Both very talented, and I like almost all of their songs!

So yesterday I heard some tiny kitten meows in our backyard, so I took Brenna out there to find them. I found them way on the side of our house behind a jungle of bushes that I usually would never have trudged through for fear of scorpions landing on my head, but those kittens sounded so cute! So we played with them for a few minutes, then we put them back so their mommy could feed them. A little while later Brenna wanted to go outside, and I was hesitant, but since she wasn't wearing shoes, and the kittens were sooo far back there in the jungle anyway, I figured even if she wanted to go get them she wouldn't be able to. I was wrong. Less than a minute after I let her outside she comes up to the door triumphantly holding the two kittens. Crazy girl! I had to constantly be stopping her from going outside the whole rest of the day, and now I'm just hoping the kittens don't start meowing so that she is reminded! They are so cute though, and I wish I had taken a picture of Brenna back there bringing the two kittens out. It was cute to see how gentle she was being with them, and she really wants to keep them for pets. Too bad kittens turn into cats!

Day 12

A Photograph of the Town You Live In

This is near the new Cardinal's stadium, which is down the street 2 miles from our house. I think this is my favorite part of Glendale. It has the hockey stadium, football stadium, lots of restaurants, a movie theatre, and what we use most is just the water fountains (not the ones in the picture) that Brenna can play in on warm Arizona nights! One of my favorite evening activities is going to the water fountains, getting some Coldstone, which is right beside the fountains, and then sitting out in the warm evening air watching Brenna have fun in the water! Soon Mason will join the fun I guess! That will be fun too! Actually the weather has just turned perfect for an evening like this, and we might just do that with my parents this weekend while they are visiting!