My graduate

During the whirl wind month of April, Something that our whole family has been anxiously waiting for (for a long time) happened!  we have our own washer and dryer! ...(okay, maybe I was the only one really waiting for that)  further more, Nathaniel Graduated from BYU!  YAY!  I really couldn't be more proud of all his hard works and efforts that resulted in his Bachelors of science in physics.  he also received two minors in computer science and mathematics... what a smarty pants I have on my hands.  This degree represents so much more than just completing all the required courses, and I am so thankful that Nathaniel has been so great during it all. For the last three years he has been going to school full time and working part time so he could support our family, what a stud.

 waiting for his name to be called

 First thing Adam did was take dads funny hat

 Life is good

 It was all worth it!

 I love you Schatzie!

With Nathaniel's friend Jake who was able to fly out from San Diego and spend a few days with us for the occasion.

Thanks so much for everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us. We couldn't have done it without all of you.  Up next for the Cook household, we will be taking a year of of school for work and will apply for grad school in the fall! I am happy to have a little break (for Nathaniel) before we move off to who knows where. In the mean time I am working on finishing my bachelors degree via independent study and hope to be done with that by the end of the summer. 

Living Planet Aquarium

Did you know that even though Utah is about 1000 miles away from the nearest ocean it has pretty nice aquarium?  As a reward for doing well for family scripture study (a goal we set in January) we took a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. We had a lot of fun.

 The beavers were sleeping in a pile right in front of them

 Petting a manta ray

 Big friendly turtle

 Hi Adam!

Dad by the penguins.

If you haven't been it is worth a trip.  Adams most favorite part was the Jelly fish... he kept going back to check them out. I really liked the blue poison dart frogs and I think Nathaniel's favorite was the seahorses.  All in all a fun little trip.

Our new Place

We were having some camera\computer connection problems there for a little while, but now that I finally got that worked out I can show you all our new place. We moved on the 14th of April and we really feel like this is home. I love it, a lot. so with our further ado, here is the grand tour!

 dining room, yes Adam is mopping, no I didn't make him ;) he loves helping out

 Kitchen, it has a dish washer, yay! though I still tend to wash a lot of things by hand

 Living room

 front door, stairs, rest of living room

 My garden boxes! I now have at least two kinds of plants growing in each box, I have loved this part

 Shed, side yard, sand box (Adam loves this part)

 side yard, back door

 back yard

 boys room

 boys closet, I love the shelves!

 boys bathroom, Adam wanted to be in every shot

 Laundry room! no more bimonthly trips to the laundromat!

Master Bathroom

not pictured: guest bath, tons of storage, spare room, walk in closet, master bed room and Garage, if you are ever in the area and need a place to stay, don't hesitate to call us up!

Easter

All this in one fun busy morning! Happy Easter Saturday!

Rugby day

BYU probably has the best rugby team in the nation.  We were excited to watch a game against #2, Adam liked cheering on the players so much that he fell off his seat... might end up having a scar above his eye for a while :( but he is a trooper.  Nathaniel also presented his research to for BYU that morning. It was a pretty good day.

We won this game too! luckily we had a guy who used to play rugby explain the rules to us as the game progressed.

Ultrasound

It seems like this pregnancy has gone by pretty quickly... except for the last month while we were waiting for my ultrasound appointment.  Finding out if Adam was going to have a little brother or a little sister has been a moment of anticipation, to say the least.  I love being able to break up the pregnancy with finding out in the middle what sex the baby is, because no matter when you find out, it is always a surprise!  This time we took Adam along with us. He was riveted to the tv screen and would giggle and point anytime we showed him the baby moving. He almost seemed to understand exactly what was going on. I love watching my baby inside of me, heat pumping, arms and legs moving. It is a miracle. We were hoping this little one wouldn't be shy and we could tell without much trouble.  Just like Adam, this little one was not afraid to make it known..

. He's A BOY!!!

We couldn't be more thrilled that Adam will have a little Brother, buddy, wrestling partner, co-conspirator, and friend.  When we asked Adam if he and his little brother were going to be a handful for mom, he laughed, deviously. :) My love for my second little boy is growing so much daily. He already wiggles and kicks a lot, most often when I am very relaxed and he seems to respond to his older brothers voice.  At this point Nathaniel and I think his name will be Kyle.  Little Kyle, I love you.  Keep growing and getting bigger and know that you are being anxiously waited for.

Pi day

3.14, that is. Yes I married a nerd but if it means that we eat pie on the 14th of march every year I don't mind!  To validate our geekiness we measured pi with our pie on pi day :)

 Adam was a little embarrassed that he likes the pie so much.  While we weren't looking... 

toddler fingerprints. warms my heart

that's love

I sprained my ankle last Monday and consequently I was off my feet for the next couple of days.  Among other reasons, I know my husband loves me because with out being asked, he whipped up dinner for us.  Anyone could expect ramen or mac and cheese, but this is what Nathaniel made for us.

And it was delicious! Now that's love :)

Hair cut

I know that most would advise not to get a hair cut while one is pregnant, but I have given this one a whole lot of thought.  My hair was simply too long and I have been plagued with the lack of motivation to do anything with it. So, when Nathaniel suggested that our date night should be to the salon, who was I to argue?

Yes yes, my hair was long and pretty...  but especially with a super active toddler who likes to climb over and on top of me,  the change was just needed.

 Said toddler, being cheesy at the hair cutting place.

 And the final results... so great that this wasn't even styled, it was just dried :)  I like it... a lot.

 My hubby loves it too!

 The next day Nathaniel decided to make me breakfast in bed... again, who was I to complain? I love my hubby so much and he is so sweet... and creative

He surprised me with a pancake in the shape of my head... what a silly and adorable guy, I think I will keep him :)

Hide and Seek

I've started my spring cleaning...even though it is still winter, and Adam is excited to help.

See how he makes sure it's shut?  That brings me to something else Adam has a tendency to do.  He loves to shut things. doors, drawers, lids, cupboards, you name it.  If it is open he will shut it. He must get it from his Grandpa Gleason ;)

Ipad

We got this fun toy from Nathaniel's' work and Adam loves it.  Just by watching us he learned how to turn it on and go right to his favorite apps.  I just barely put a couple apps on that will help him play with numbers shapes and colors.  Crazy that touch screens were only introduced a few years ago and already my one year old knows how to work it.

My Boys

Seriously love these two boys I have been blessed with.  They fill my life with joy and I thank my Father in Heaven for giving them to me.

What could be sweeter than giving my love to them and receiving their love in return.  They have both changed my life for the better and because I have them in my life I will never, ever be the same. And that is a very good thing.

   These two are definitely leaving footprints on my heart! 

sword play

Must be a boy thing but lately anything that is long and skinny is a sword.  It ranges from serving spoons to straws, from pencils to his toy sword. No matter where he gets it, his sword it automatically wielded with sound effects. Super cute but also scary, though he does really well at not hitting anyone, dad found some creative ways to play together.  Don't mind the no pants, that also seems to be a common thing for Adam around here!

RC

Adam loves his dads remote control car, At first he would freak out and try to protect anything it ran over by handing that object to mom.  Now I think he is getting pretty competent at driving :)

creating

Each week the moms in my neighborhood get together and make crafts while our kids play.  I have never considered myself a crafty person and the very sparse decorations in my house will attest to that.  But yesterday I started a craft that I was able to finish and then today, when I thought it needed a little something extra, I used the awesome crafty Christmas gifts I got from my family and turned it into something I like.  I really enjoyed making it too.

I sewed (with a machine) all those paper dots together with paper from my scrap book kit and then, using the back cover of a book we gave to Adam to do as he would with it and a little paint, I made the love sign.  my first ever legit Valentines decorations!

First snow!

We finally had enough snow here in Utah to get Adam in his new snow clothes.  He took a little time to warm up to the cold stuff, but after he got the hang of walking in his new boots it was a very fun time.

 Cutie, I love how his hands are stuffed in his sleeves, he did not like the idea of gloves.

not too much snow, but enough to go exploring! 

walking was a little awkward at first but he is getting the hang of it

he sees the camera and says  "cheese" he has turned into such a little ham and we love it. Once Adam is comfortable in a situation his main objective is to get people laughing and he will do it anyway he can imagine. I love his happy friendly personality!

Merry Little Christmas

We had a great Christmas in California with the Cooks and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Bassett.  Adam got spoiled with all kinds of toys and noise makers and clothes and we got spoiled too! Nathaniel got tools and I got craft stuff.  We had such a fun time with great weather, good food, and fantastic company.  I was able to talk to my family and baby brother who is in Paraguay serving his mission.  Not only did we get to heat him we also got to see everyone because of Skype this year.  Technology is grand!
All of our Christmas pictures are from Utah, but I am sure Adams aunts and Grandparents took a bunch for us in California.

 Putting on the first ornaments with daddy 

 the bottom of the tree has hardly anything on it out of necessity ;) 

 Super excited and no clue why!

Little wreath boy

Musically Inclined

This was back in October, see what he is standing on? yeah he is a creative little one :)