Christmas Number 2

Well, little Lila made it difficult for me to travel this Christmas -- by my doctor's appointment on the 23rd, I had made enough progression for us to feel that it was best to stick close to Opelika. So...for the first time in all of my 26 years, I was not in Madison for Christmas. :( I was very sad, but Josh did a great job making it up to me. We spent a very quiet Christmas day together. And even though it was a very different holiday, I enjoyed my day. Friday though, my parents and sister came and brought Santa, Christmas goodies, and wonderful food too. It was so good to see them, and I really enjoyed the visit. Josh and I both got some really nice things, and Lila racked up as well. :) We go to the doctor again tomorrow, so we'll see if there's any more change. I have to say ... I'm pretty ready to meet this little girl. I don't know how much bigger I can get!!

Josh opening his presents Christmas morning ... we will NOT be posting any pictures of me for the duration of this pregnancy :)

The dogs enjoying their Christmas treats!

More presents above and below!!

Let the Festivities Begin!

We kicked Christmas off this year with Josh's family on Saturday. Lemme tell you -- there was a WHOLE lot of family moving around that house!! It was a really fun day with great food and wonderful fellowship. It was particularly fun to watch all the kids with their new toys and things ... and Granny -- you know you fit in this category too! :) We stayed on that night and also did Christmas with Josh's parents and his brother's family. It was definitely a FULL day of Christmas! :) If I could figure out a slideshow, I tell you I'd do one, but for now here are the pictures one by one.

Say 'Hi' Granny!

My permanent spot for the day -- the recliner :)

Little Karlee's 1st Family Christmas

Singing Christmas Carols

Hamilton with his cowboy stuff

Cute Clete :)

Jackson and his new guitar -- He waited ALL day for this thing!

Clete, "The Rock Star!"

Britt, opening his presents

Josh, Cheesin' for the Camera

Blessings, Blessings, Blessings

Josh and I traveled to my parent's home in Madison for Thanksgiving, and enjoyed a really great couple of days. It had been awhile since I'd made it home -- and it was needed. I missed everyone!! We got to visit and totally stuff our faces with some terrific food. It was truly a great Thanksgiving!!

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we have been truly blessed this year and are so thankful for those blessings in our lives. We both have wonderful families (immediate and extended) who are extremely supportive and loving. Plus we have a beautiful little girl on the way that we absolutely can't wait to meet.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Below are some pictures of our weekend in Madison. :)

Josh and I (32 weeks and counting!)

Me and my Rudy-Roo

Casey and Tucker

Casey, Me and Mama

These two precious kids are my cousin Sarah's. They are full of personality and absolutely adorable. Josh and I enjoyed playing and watching them -- we just kept imagining what our holidays to come would be like!!

Thomas, totally enchanted with a dog leash

Emma, taking a 5 second break

Happy Halloween!!

Our jack-o-lantern -- My class and I carved it this afternoon.
Very stressful with 15 2nd graders breathing down your neck!!

Since Lila's obviously not here yet to celebrate Halloween, Josh and I headed over to his brother's to see our nephew Clete all dressed up as a knight. He's quite the cutie with quite the personality to match! :)

Baby's Room

Lila's room is definitely a work in progress, but we got one step closer today with the delivery of her baby furniture! We were very excited to see the empty room be officially transformed into her room. Now we just wait three months for her to use it! :)

Lila's First Shower

We had our first shower this afternoon for little Lila, and it was quite amazing to see how blessed Josh and I are! It was a wonderful afternoon surrounded by family and friends, and I truly enjoyed being able to visit with everyone. It was very apparent that Lila will be just a little spoiled ... this child got some of the most precious outfits! We got some really great things -- her highchair, her stroller, bathtubs, washcloths, towels, and the list goes on! Josh and I were overwhelmed going through it all tonight. We are just so excited to put it all to use!

I don't know how to do a slideshow yet, so here are just a few of the great pictures that we got.

The sweet hostesses

The clothesline with all the onesies

My mom and sister

My family made it down for the shower, and it was wonderful to be able to visit and hang out with them. They also brought something special with them. Lila will use the bassinet that was bought for the very first grandchild (42 years ago), and the same bassinet that all of my cousins used (plus more!). We dressed it up with the skirts that my grandmother made for the bassinet when I was born. I am so excited that Lila gets to be a part of such a sweet tradition!

The things kids say ...

When you teach school, you often hear funny things throughout a school year. Well this year, I am fortunate enough to hear funny things daily. I have some of the funniest kids -- the things that they think of just crack me up. This happened yesterday, and even though it was a jab (an unintentional jab, but one nonetheless) at me, I had to smile.
I bought a small office chair with wheels on it so that I can scoot myself around the room. My feet have been unbelievably swollen, and buying the chair was an attempt to stay off of them. I was having trouble scooting, and one of my little boys got behind me and was kind of pushing me along. Well another child, Za'Jaelon, the king of funny comments in Mrs. Cook's room, said, "Oh, Mrs. Cook! Let ME push you -- I'm REALLY good at pushing heavy things around." I gave him the eye, and asked him who he was calling heavy. He simply said, "You, Mrs. Cook!"
Ahh...the joys of teaching! :)

Our Dogs

Josh and I have two great dogs, and at times they can be two great pains as well! Gibson is a Weimaraner and a little over a year old. Rudy is a Westie and is two years old. They have wonderful personalities and are very lovable, but we are constantly struggling with them tearing something, somewhere up. When we moved into our new house, we made a deal that they would stay outside in the wonderfully large fenced-in backyard that we have. Well on Saturday, I noticed that they had finally destroyed part of our screened porch -- specifically one of the screen panels. Then, the two boys proceeded to use it as a doggie door for the next two days.

Josh worked hard this morning, and I think we have finally fixed this problem. But between watching Gibson going in and out of the make-shift doggie door, and then Rudy's terribly dirty self dig around the yard ... well it all just made me laugh!

New to the Blog World

Well ... at the absolute incessant insistance of my dear friend Erin, I have finally joined the world of blogging. What we will talk about ... I'm not so sure, but as the days come and go, life gets a little more interesting around the Cook household. Between crazy dogs (see next post) and a sweet little girl on the way, things have been pretty eventful lately. Hope you enjoy!