Epcot

We were able to spend two wonderful days exploring Epcot center.  While there were a few rides at this park I think the favorite part of our days was exploring all the different lands.  We didn't get pictures of all the countries but in addition to what you see here we tried chocolate in England, bought chopsticks in Japan, watched O Canada  and saw a belly dance in Morocco... by accident :)

 Italy 

 Mexico

 China

Germany

In Germany I got to talk with some of the workers there and introduced the family to German Chocolates... yum. Nathaniel spoke with some Spanish and ordered for us in Mexico, and Dad had fun remembering his mission in England.  If I could go back to only one park we visited, it would be the epcot center.

Sunday in Orlando

While in Orlando we stayed at the frontier land camp grounds at Disney worlds fort wilderness.  On Sunday we were able to take a nice break from everything and attend a very large ward right across the street from the temple. That was a very nice experience.  Because Nathaniel had already returned the rental car we had to travel in shifts.  It was a very reflective day for me. June 12.  It marked the passing of ten years from when my brother Mark passed away. while I was missing family back home I was also reminded and filled with love for my new family too and how they love and take care of me. Thanks Cooks, you made my trip wonderful.

Someone got hold of our camera... I wonder who that could have been?

 Getting ready

 Adam seemed to do a lot of this

 Nathaniel and ... Jared... I think

 Camilla

 Emma

 Jared again, sleeping, a good Sunday activity

 Brianne

Mom... where is Dad I wonder?

Hollywood to Animal Kingdom

These two parks were cool and worth the one day we spent at each, though I don't have pics of Hollywood studios, highlights include rockin roller coaster (probably my favorite ride of all the parks) the tower of terror and  fantasmic the light and water show. We got to see this in the dark as the park was closing and it was awesome! Adam was asleep from the first cannon boom and didn't even wake up for all the fireworks.  Animal Kingdom was also fantastic and here I did get a lot of pictures

 We went on the safari ride and the whole day felt like an African safari. Disney sure knows how to exhibit animals in fun environments! 

 We took turns going on rides that Adam couldn't go on. he fell asleep waiting for us to finish the mount Everest ride.

 closer view, yes following after his mom, sometimes he does sleep with his eyes open :)

On this day we forgot his sun blanket so Mom and Dad bought a towel that worked great.

 Hippo and cranes

 Giraffe

 Rhino

And a very tired little monkey
while waiting in line for the river rapids ride, we watched a family of monkeys. there were at least a mom and dad and a little baby boy. the little one was so silly and crazy and totally reminded me of Adam. To remember, we got Adam stuffed monkeys big and small.

Magic Kingdom

The whole of Tuesday the 7th was spent driving up to Orlando. we stopped to eat Key lime pie (before it melted) and kept on going.  Adam was a trooper but by the end he sure wanted to get out of the car!

On Wednesday the 8th we took a boat to Magic Kingdom in Disney World.

Adam was having a difficult day so he wanted to be held most of the time, this was okay until he insisted on being held only by me. My back got sore quickly and then it went out! (at least I think that is what happened) any way it hurt a lot.  By around eight o'clock I wimped out for the rest of the evening and went home with Adam and Nathaniel. We got a rootbeer float on the way out and got to see a great view of the Castle... what a magical place!

Florida Keys

We flew into Miami late Friday Afternoon, rented a car, and then drove to Key Largo. I was a bit motion sick from an access of turbulence and from the new car smell of our rental car but we made it to the camp site before the family. The rest of the Cooks didn't show up until late so in the mean time we went to dinner at "the Marlin" a little sea food joint not far away. the clam chowder was super yummy and we all enjoyed Adam's fresh Mango shake!

the next day, the 4th, was a little too windy for our scheduled snorkeling trip so we stayed by shore and explored old ship ruins via snorkeling.

On Sunday we visited a Tiny branch on the Island Marathon.  I was asked to play the Piano and I also gave the Relief Society lesson. the rest of the family offered prayers and bore testimony seeing as though we literally tripled the congregation. They provided a delicious break the fast (amazing pecan rolls).

We spent the rest of the Sabbath on a little nature walk around our camp site on Bahia Honda key

Monday, the sixth of June we got on a boat and headed out to Looe Key (under water) there we went snorkeling for an hour and a half, it wasn't enough time!  seeing the reef and all the fishes and creatures was an indescribable experience and I would love to go back some day. It was so beautiful. We spent the rest of the day driving to Key west, seeing the Southernmost point of the continental US, relaxing on the beach, and driving back to our last key camp site.

 Our last camp site at long Key was right on the beach and had beautiful white sand (this picture is at low tide)

 Packing up the pop up camper (a very comfy way to camp) each site had water, electricity, and warm showers. we saw a huge crab on the way to the showers this morning (sorry no pics)

Adam and Aunt Milla

All packed up and ready to go!

Pudding!

I think we found a creative outlet for Adam. it is even on the wall!

the day before we left to go join Nathaniel's Family in Florida.

Y mount

instead of going for a long run the last Saturday in May we decided to go for a long hike. We recreated Nathaniel and my third date and made some new memories.

 eating a rock as we stopped for lunch

 headed back down

 Adam and Daddy, it was a bit chilly, especially for the end of May

Happy family at the Y

note to self

if Adam looks like he is about to sneeze, do not shove a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth

 but still oh so cute :)

Tech savvy baby

in an effort to get Adam to stop trying to play with our computers, we gave him one of his own :)

Running

In September Nathaniel and I will be running a marathon in Logan Utah.  I used to be a big time runner, then I got out of High School, and running became a once in a while thing. Then I met Nathaniel, he had just run a marathon and was in shape... smokin hot! Then we got married and pregnant, and well, needless to say I was not in shape and one again I had a desire to run. So we are going to do it. Earnest training began this last week and already we have run up to six miles together. we even bring Adam along for the ride in his awesome jogging stroller.  Because Utah has been experiencing a large amount of unusual rainfall, it has been so hard to get motivated to get out and go but once the decision is made it is so rewarding! Now that I feel that I am getting back into shape (I guess running six miles without dying in somewhat in shape) running and being out in this beautiful world to start out my days is becoming one of my favorite parts of my day ( not to mention that I get to spend time with my hot hubby who is also getting back into his smoking hot shape)!

Spring, just in time for summer!

One moment I wish I could relive I already play over and over in my mind as if I could relive it.  My first kiss with Nathaniel.  It was perfect and I felt so in love. That was really the beginning and ever since then there has been and will be no turning back.

On to other business.  I promised pictures and now that blogspot is working again, here we go!

 This drawer is filled with his toys, I love the way he is kneeling and playing with the phone charger (not a toy)

 love that little face

his new trick, walking!

 he somehow pulled down the cocoa puffs from the table and started eating them

what a mess!

scrunch 

 one of his favorite spots

Playing piano

Easter

We had great fun with Easter this year. The day before Easter  we went yard selling and got some great little toys for Adam that he was in great need of :) Blocks, doughnut pyramid, and a walking/ riding toy.  We were able to color eggs at Great Grandma and Grandpa Bassett's house and had an Easter egg hunt with most of the cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Gleason's. Adam had fun dying his fingers colors, but unfortunately we didn't have a camera there.  Sunday was a sweet day filled with the spirit and it was a very nice reminder of the Atonement our Savior suffered for us

. 

blew right past the first egg, and all the others for that matter

 He loves his new toy!

 Knocking down his new blocks

Nine Months

That's right. Adam is now nine months old. I have now had him outside the womb for more time than inside.  I feel so blessed to have this sweet little boy in my life. Here is some information about how our little monkey is progressing
~he now weighs sixteen pounds and is 27 inches long (very shrimpy as expected :)
~army crawling gets him everywhere he wants to go (unless he is on the grass or bare bellied, than it's regular hands and knees crawling)
~he likes to explore and will leave the room I am in to check things out, but if I leave the room he cries :p
~we have conversations back and forth and his favorite words are da-da-da
~ he waves when you tell him to or when you wave to him
~mama's boy, all the way
~ claps his hands when excited
~little mountain climber, especially likes climbing over mom or dad to get to any kind of electronics.
~he can pull himself up on just about anything (including moms legs while I am doing dishes)
~Adam likes to cruise on furniture and walk while holding at least one older person's hand he has even let go a few times, resulting in a stand for up to three seconds!
~he likes to "walk" (fall) between mom and dad
~he loves being outside (just wish it were a touch warmer here)

Because he is so small the doctor told me I should feed him a lot more calories (specifically ice cream, butter, and coconut oil with all his food) and no more drinking water, just juice. So we are working on that.  Adam is just a super active little boy, who has a super sweet and cute personality.

At the temple in march when my little sister got married:

More pictures to come!

The marvelous gift of HEALTH!

When I titled the last post I was not expecting it to be prophetic.  Adam was on the mend from his ear ache when all of  sudden he got sick, gross sick with a fever and hives.  I took him into urgent care again and they told me he is probably allergic to amoxicillin. bummer.  on top of that Nathaniel and I got sick with a stomach flu.  Now after about two weeks of sickness we are all starting to feel a lot better.
Adam learned a new trick.  He can pull himself up to standing on just about every thing, most especially his crib. This posses a very different but real problem.  He doesn't get himself down.  I have been working with him to teach him how to bend his knees and land on his bum, but even ever since his birth, this child does not bend!  Nap time, which used to go so smoothly and was enjoyed by all is now the biggest battle of the day.  What a stubborn boy I have!  I hope it is getting better but currently he can stand and cry in his crib during nap time for more than and hour and a half. This morning he made an improvement of fifteen minutes less then his yesterdays record of one hour fifty-five minutes.  Adam is not a happy camper when he is so tired (a lot like his mom) so I really hope he learns quickly how to get down and stay lying down soon!
When he is awake, Adam is exploring everything.  He can get into just about anything that is lower than our hips and it is so much fun to see him learn from every thing around him.

Today I would like to share one of my favorite quotes.

"life is too short to be decidedly anything other than happy"

it has meant a lot to me as I have not been the happiest while sick and dealing with Adams stubbornness, and in retrospect I am sorry that I let my bad attitude get me down.  Even when the situation has not changed, an attitude adjustment can make a world of a difference.  A big part of this is remembering that my savior didn't die so I can make myself and others around me miserable by my bad moods, but so that I may find joy in obedience, learn and grow from trials and to gain experience.  I owe so much to him, I owe it to him to be happy. so today I decide to be happy.  I choose my love and love my choice because life is much to short to waste it being a grump.

And here are some more reasons to smile!

 Looking out the window

 climbing up to play with dad

 working with dad

 working on his funny faces, monkey

 fish

 scrunch nose

standing in the diaper box

he fell asleep in the car holding onto the Frisbee, we had to pry it from his fingers, so sweet :)