ahem...announcement!

Adam is going to be a big brother!
we are excited and pleased to tell you that in about 7.5 months we will be adding another little Cook to the family!  Adam is already preparing for the baby (he pokes his belly when we ask him where the baby is, what a sweetheart) but we are still trying to help him understand why mama has even less energy than usual.  Other than morning sickness that lasts all day long, things are going great.  we are going through grad school applications and finals week and pretty soon we will have Christmas break to look forward too.

Pictures, pictures

our sister is the one who always remembers her camera.  So here are a lot of pictures from the last couple months that she has had on her camera.

 in great grandpas chair

 At the home coming parade

Halloween

Introducing the Cook Family Circus!

 Adam the Monkey

 The Mime

 The fortune teller gypsy

third from the left our tiger (he won the pumpkin contest! :)

And the clown with all of us.

and just because the monkey was so cute

we tied a balloon to his tail so we could see where he was, that monkey is quick!

Best Two Years

No I am not referring to our missions... although that was the best two years of Nathaniel's life (18 months for me) up to that point. no, the best two years of our lives now have been the two we have been married.  I wont go into how awesome it has been and how much I love and adore my husband, though I could and feel perfectly great in doing so, but I will spare you.  It will suffice to say that Nathaniel has made me happier than I thought was possible.  Our anniversary was wonderful and it was so nice to spend a couple days with my sweetheart and not worrying about our little one (thanks Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Milla!)  The drive to and from Manti was gorgeous this time of year and Manti is such a cute place to go.

 The happy couple :)

 us again, in our awesome suite

 It was huge! Complete with large Jacuzzi, private balcony and sparkling cider each night.

The bed and breakfast even had a nice library to relax and read in

The whole trip was a little extravagant, but a much needed break.  I fully expect not having an anniversary that fancy for a long time.  It was so nice being able to share this time together and to celebrate our best two years... so far! 

caged monkey

Adams ability to climb up on chairs has enabled him to get into EVERYTHING!

Unless, that is,  we put the chairs in the center of the room :)

France

This Post will be from Nathaniel, who went to France in October... more to come!

Marathon

This may be a tad out of order, oh well.  This year Nathaniel and I decided to run a marathon. Things were going pretty well with training too. We had run 15 miles together and I was feeling pretty good.  Until my back had some problems.  So Nathaniel ran it without me.  The weather was horrible. rainy, haily and cold for the first 14 miles so all the runners were running on very soggy feet.  the next 8 miles was off and on rain and windy storminess  and only the last five or so miles was nice weather.  That being said, Nathaniel's goal was to survive.  That he did and we are pleased with his efforts to stick with it even when a nice warm car ride sounded much nicer.

 The canyon

 My sister Debra who also ran

 here he comes!

 happy fans (Adam has remnants of his first black eye he got from falling into the playground)

 around mile 19, he even has a smile on his face

this is after he wiped off the blood... see the blister on the side of his toe?

Slippery fish

Not too far from where we live, there is a shopping place called the Riverwoods.  In the past few years they have made a lot of improvements to the areas that are mainly used as walkways.  In essence they have made it super fun for kids and equally fun for the adults watching them... let me demonstrate.

 Water shooting out of the walkway? Yes please!

 I love this, he just got hit in the face and was a little shocked

Oh so happy to be a fish

Adam really is our water baby and is always looking for a chance to make a splash!

one year older and wiser too :)

My Birthday in September was very nice.  In the middle of Nathaniel's crazy busy schedule he found time to take me out to Tucanos (yummy) and we had angle food cake and ice cream which we had a fun time sharing with the little one.  I am now twenty six years old... how did that ever happen? Looking back, it seems that all my goals for the future, as good as they might have been, have paled to my reality.  I have been allowed to do so many things that I had never even planned or dreamed of.  If you would have asked me ten or even twenty years ago what I wanted to be when I grew up I would have told you that I wanted to be a Mom.  It is all I have really ever wanted and I never thought I was selling myself short by having that as my goal, and honestly I wasn't.  Being a mom and a wife is all that I dreamed it would be and much much more. Yes more difficult and painful but also more wondrous and fascinating. But I wouldn't be where I am today if my goals for marriage and motherhood were not fulfilled much later than I had planned.
Let me explain ... no that takes too much time, let me sum up.  Finishing four years of college and going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were never, ever part of the plan.  And yet, without those experiences I feel that I would be missing a vital and essential part of who I am as a wife and a mother.  Because of the trials and joys I have experienced while waiting for my hero, I have learned much more about the kind of wife and mom that I have dreamed to be.  Moral of the tangent?  I guess it would have to be something like this.  Having and working towards righteous goals should never blind us to the refinement our Father in Heaven plans for us while leading us, in his own way and time, to that destination.  Just something to think about.
Back to the birthday.  I know I don't post many pictures of myself, but in case you are wondering what I look like now ( hasn't changed too much) here is one, followed by my favorite photo subject... Adam :) this time having fun with the whipped cream from my cake!

wand wielder

Way back in June we went to Harry Potter world and I was given a wand.  Adam has since made good use of it and had been in a few duels with his Dad.

Ready 

Set

Go!

And that is how it's done.

are we still alive, you ask?

I lost my camera battery charger.  It happened a couple months ago, but it is still lost. So other than not wanting to post without any new pictures and not feeling my life is interesting enough to post about, I don't have any more excuses ;)  hmm what to write... updates you say? okay! After Adams birthday he started not only walking every where, but also running and climbing onto EVERYTHING. He goes off all the big slides alone and has shown his desire to be independent by "running away". after about 50 or so feet he will turn around until he is sure I know what he is trying to get away with and then he takes off again.  He got his first black eye a few weeks ago by running around with one shoe on and falling into the playground... silly monkey.  He has increased his vocabulary by adding "da" (dance) "doh" (down) "uh" (look) "mo" more and he claps when we say happy (if your happy and you know it...), shakes his fists when we say shake, and depending on the music he will bounce (he loves techno for this) or spin in circles (usually softer music). He is learning new things everyday. turning on and off light switches and scooting his car to where ever he want to climb up.

Nathaniel is in France right now and though I do fine during the day, in the evening I miss him tons. He has been working for the past several months on his research and now he has the opportunity to present it in a large conference in Nantes.  I am super excited for him and proud of all his hard work.  He will be graduating in Apil so he is finishing up his classes and taking the GRE hoping to get into a great Grad program.
As for myself, I am learning to enjoy being a mother of a very busy toddler. Adam makes sure we get outside at least once daily, if only to check the mail. We have also been more involved in a mom craft day that the sisters in my ward put together.  while our kids play I have made paper flowers, Autumn magnets and even a necklace made out of an old tie.  I am loving learning to be more creative.

Happy Birthday #1 Monkey!

July 16th started bright and early, anticipation was in the air, there was a lot to get done. Adam and Dad got hair cuts and took baths (Adam put his towel over his head like a ghost and started walking between Mom and Dad blind, he thought it was hilarious!)then Mom started working on the treats for the day.

 Adam helped by testing the frosting

And he said it was good enough.

 He even watched to make sure everything was baked all the way through.

As Mom was decorating, Dad and Adam helped get the house clean and tidy. Before the festivities started we at dinner and Mom wrapped the presents.

 The theme was monkeys... because honestly Adam has lived up to his nic name very well.  Mom made a personal cake for Adam and cupcakes for everyone else, as well as a white cake for those who didn't like chocolate.

so much work but so much fun.

when 6:00 rolled around we brought everything up to the park and got things ready for all the guests! There was Mom and Dad, Jonas and Sophie and their parents, Grandma and Grandpa Gleason, Great Grandma and Grandpa Basset and Great Grandma and Grandpa Cook!  Before we knew it, it was time for presents!

 what could it be?

 Awesome!

Books and toys and clothes, and a box of tissues of his very own!

The crowning moment was the cake, while everyone else were enjoying their own, Adam was quite busy!

We finished the evening with a bath to play with his new bath toys and a video chat with Grandma and Grandpa Cook and Family! What a wonderful birthday!