Settling Down, Hopefully!

From the blogs of yester-year when I was so distrought over moving away from family, I have finally become confident enough in myself and my family to realize that home is wherever we make it. Though it's been a difficult decision, Matt and I have decided to try and sell our townhouse to buy a Single Family home in Morgantown. We have Nolan in elementary school making friends, a great pre-school program in which Natalie is currently enrolled and Nathan is in for the Fall, and so many fun things to do within the area. So, I guess I'm trying to say, that the Cooks will officially be Morgantown residents for many years to come, if things go as planned.

I will continue to miss the days of Sunday gatherings at the homes of our families, but Matt and I have to do what we feel is right for our family. The kids have no concrete memories of living close to "home," and actually when I presented the idea of living in Morgantown for good to Nolan, he was fine with it. He has made so many friends, as I'm sure he would anywhere, and is only concerned about being with me and Matt....which is the great wisdom that my own dad has instilled in me since I became a parent. Home is truly where the heart is, and I'm looking forward to planting our own roots and moving forward with our blessed lives. Please wish us luck as we make yet another transition and be looking soon for updates of our new home.....hopefully!

Natlie's Ear Piercing

Last Sunday, Matt took the kids to the mall to play (all except Nicholas) so I could stay at the house and clean. Much to my surprise, when they came back home, Natalie had a BIG story to tell/show me. She had her ears pierced. She was so proud of being a brave girl and it was her idea to get them pierced. Natalie also picked out her pretty purple heart earrings!

I'm so proud of my little girl. She's the daughter I always dreamed of....sporty, yet prissy :)

Nolan's Basketball Game

Nolan's last basketball game was today. Here are a couple videos from the big game!

A Small Break from Cabin Fever

This wonderful Winter weather has had the kids and I have suffering a bit from cabin fever. Matt talked me into going to Valley Worlds of Fun over the weekend. I wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere that day, but I'm glad I did. The kids love this place! They have bowling, rides, and an arcade. We bowled one and a half games, ate some pizza, let the kids ride a ride or two, and ended with a couple of arcade games. We made the mistake of going around 6:00 pm, which was entirely too late for the kids to really get to spend a lot of time playing. I didn't get many pics, but I'll share the two I got :)



Nolan watching his ball roll down the lane. This kid actually got a strike and a couple of spares (with bumper pads)!




Natalie's choice of arcade game was shooting basketball. She actually scored an 18 on her own! She's definitely an athlete :)

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

Last Friday into Saturday, we got about 14 inches of snow. It's been 11 days since the initial snowfall, and we've had an additional 6-10 inches of additional snowfall since then. The kids were all pretty excited about the first foot that fell, and enjoyed a few hours playing in it. However, since we've had cold and snowy days basically every day since, the kids are finally getting fed up with all the snow. Nolan and Natalie have only had school 5 days this month....(7 days so far have been cancelled.) We're all anxiously awaiting Spring and the big melt!

Natalie's gigantic snowball!














Nolan's HUGE snowball!

















Natalie on top of the shovelled snow getting ready to go down the "snow slide."













After 9 days, this is what my neighbor's deck furniture looks like!

Here are a couple samples of the icicles hanging from our gutters. This was a couple days ago, and they now hang even lower. I would estimate many icicles now exceed 10 feet in length as they hang as low as the bottom of the windows!

Nolan's 6th Birthday

Yesterday, on Nolan's birthday, we went to the Mexican restaurant that's minutes away from our house. Nolan loves tacos, so this was a great birthday treat for him. We ended the dinner with a serenade, sombreros and fried ice cream. It was a nice family outing for us all.

WVU Basketball Game

For Chistmas, I got Matt tickets for the WVU basketball game against Marquette. Our neighbor is one of the assistant coaches, so I asked his wife if there was any chance I could get tickets in such short notice. She offered me a set of spare tickets she had. The tickets were in the upper level, but I didn't care as long as we got to attend the game.

Game day morning, my neighbors' wife, Brandi, called. She had been looking for better tickets for us, and better they were. The tickets we ended up with were for the VIP section. We had floor seats! I couldn't believe it, and couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the entire game. Matt and I had a great time at the game. We had awesome seats and the game was very exciting. The Mountaineers pulled out a win with less than 3 seconds remaining......a wonderful date for just Matt and me.

Our pre-game dinner was at Taco Bell. The restaurant we tried first had too long of a wait.

Ready for the game to start.

TV timeout. The coaches pull out chairs for these breaks.

The final score!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nathan!

Nathan is at Mom-o and Pops' house for his birthday this year. They came up Sunday and took all the kids back to their house and left Matt and me at our house for a few days alone. Nathan is having a birthday party and will be just fine without us there too.....presents and a choo choo cake will keep him entertained.

Mom-o and Pops brought their Christmas presents on Sunday so the kids got to celebrate another Christmas.

Nolan and Nathan playing some air hockey!

As happy as can be!

Christmas 2009

I didn't get many pictures Christmas morning.....it was a bit chaotic with 4 kids opening presents :) The kids woke up at about 7 o'clock, except Nicholas who we woke up at 8:00. The were all excited to see their presents under the tree. Nolan got his Nintendo DSi, Natalie got a little computer and Dora doll, Nathan got his train with tracks and a computer too, and Nicholas got some neat baby toys. Santa also brought the kids some Playdoh and Playdoh kits....ice cream shop and burger maker. The Playdoh was actually the biggest hit of all. Natalie sat at the table for a good 4 hours creating lots of ice cream treats with her Playdoh. We had a wonderful Christmas.



Nolan's DSi matched his shirt!













Daddy helping Natalie put her Playdoh ice cream shop together.













Nathan hard at play with his train.

Happy 4th Birthday Natalie!

We were supposed to go to Hurricane to visit and celebrate Natalie's birthday this year, but Mother Nature decided to dump nearly a foot of snow on us on Saturday. Our trip was cancelled, but my dad and Shirley were able to make the drive up to Morgantown to celebrate with us.

Natalie was anxious for all the guests to arrive, but I had to keep explaining to her that only Pop-paw and Shirley were coming. She was disappointed thinking that she wouldn't be getting enough presents. But, when "all the guests" arrived (dad & Shirley), she was ready for the party!

I dressed her in her super cute Christmas dress and had to pose her for a couple cute pictures. We didn't get a cake, but we made cupcakes instead. The kids got to help put the sprinkles on as a finishing touch. Luckily, I had done Granny & Poppy's shopping for them, so I had another present here at the house for her to open. She ripped through all of her packages in record time, but she truly loved everything she received.

Another pretty picture of a beautiful little girl. Yes, she's wearing lipstick....she's very high maintenance.

Getting the cupcakes ready.

A new necklace and bracelet from Pop-paw and Shirley.

All dressed up in her new princess outfit and high heels.

Awana Christmas Program

Nolan and Natalie performed in the AWANA Christmas Program. Natalie's class sang a couple songs, but Natalie mostly giggled on stage with Morghan. Nolan's class did a small reciting piece and then sang a song. Nolan was the first to recite his line, and did a fabulous job. The lighting for pictures wasn't very good, but I got some good pictures of them at home.

We ended up leaving the program early, as Natalie ended up with a stomach bug that passed on to me the following day.

Getting ready to go :)

Natalie looked so beautiful, I had to take a few pictures of her by herself.....she's my only daughter, ya know :)

Butter Head & Black Eye

Nicholas is the typical baby of mine that likes to play with his food. He had fun with his buttered bread the other evening at dinnertime.

Yesterday, he had a little misstep. I'm not sure if he tripped on his pants, a toy, or just plain had a clumsy moment, but he fell right onto the edge of our toy box bench. Today, his shiner is looking pretty nasty, but as always, that's not gonna keep him from smiling ;)

Natalie's Preschool Christams Party

Natalie's last day of school was yesterday. The class had a surprise visitor come visit.....yes, it was Santa Claus. The kids in class all wrote letters to Santa that morning to give him. Natalie is staying true to what she wants for Christmas, as her letter said...."Dear Santa. I want all the girl stuff."

Natalie and Nathan both got to sit on Santa's lap.....I thought I would be pushing my luck if I put Nicholas up there too. The preschool director then handed a gift to Natalie (wrapped in wrapping paper) and gave a small bag to Nathan. Nathan looked at the bag then looked at the remaining presents on the cart that were wrapped. He shook his head, and handed the bag back to the director, and said, "I don't want this one. I want that one!" He was pointing of course at the wrapped presents that all the boys had been receiving. All the parents giggled, and I was blushing from my child's honesty.....the director was kind enough to meet Nathan's demands!

The Gingerbread House

The kids made a Gingerbread House with Mom-o. They had a great time making it and eating the decorations, but the house just wouldn't stand!

I caught Nolan red-handed eating the goodies!

This poor house never had a chance!

SNOW!!!

We had our first accumulating snow of the season, and the kids were sooooo anxious to play outside. The made snowballs, snow angles, and a snowman of course. I unfortunately didn't nab a picture of the snowman, but I got some pics of the excited kids.



Bring on the snow!










She wanted to wear her new princess gloves outside, but I convinced her that they would not keep her hands warm in the snow :)

FUN in the SNOW!

Early Christmas & Fun at the Mall

Aunt Pam sent her Christmas gifts again this year to arrive the day after Thanksgiving. I am sooooo appreciative of this more and more. By Friday, we are all stir crazy and in need of something exciting.....these gifts do just the trick! The kids were so excited and screamed with joy each time they pulled out another item from their boxes. All the kids were very pleased with what they got.

On Saturday, we took the kids to the mall to visit Santa.....which was their reward for being "good" during the week (as posted on their charts). I thought for sure at least one of them would be weary of Jolly Old Saint Nick, but to my surprise, they were each excited (with the exception of Nicholas). Nolan got right up on Santa's lap and told him he wanted a Nintendo DS. Natalie stood in front of Santa and told him she wanted "all the girl stuff," and Nathan told Santa something about Thomas the Train (he spoke in an unusually quiet tone). They all hopped up on Santa's lap and had their picture taken. Check your mail for the result of the picture, as we ordered greeting cards of this!

Here are a few pics :)


Natalie and Nathan being "good" kids and sharing the computer.










Nicholas grasping the Curious George toy......he's getting over his pink eye in this picture :)









Natalie squeezing her pink stuffed animal :) It now follows her to and from bed as do about 6 other stuffed toys.











Nathan was shouting "ready, set, go!" as he ran across the foam pond at the mall play area!







Nolan, Natalie, and Nathan "hangin' out" on the benches around the play area. Nolan was busy reading something about the rent-a-strollers, and the other two came to join him.

Thanksgiving 2009

So we spent Thanksgiving at home this year.....just me, Matt, and the 4N's. Matt had to go to the grocery store this morning, and Natalie & Nathan tagged along, of course. Nolan and I stayed home (with Nicholas napping) and made some desserts. I just used some of the box desserts I had at the house. We made chocolate chip cookies and a pound cake. I let Nolan do most of the steps by himself....pour in the mix, crack the eggs, add the butter, etc.....we had a really good time, just Mommy and Nolan.

We ate our dinner around 4:00pm. It was earlier than we usually eat, so the kids really didn't eat as much as they should have....but they certainly saved room for dessert! I fixed my mom's broccoli casserole and Teresa's sweet potato casserole. Matt fixed the turkey and some dinner roles. All in all, the dinner turned out quite well, considering it was our first Thanksgiving dinner.

I tried to get the kids to say some things they were thankful for, but it ended up as a typical silly fest. They were thankful for juice, bears, blankets, and what not. But, oh well, I can't expect too much. After Matt and I said that we were thankful for our whole family, the kids followed suit. It was a long day for sure, but enjoyable nonetheless to do it on our own :)

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

I was right! Nolan will be wishing for his two front teeth for Christmas! He got off the bus this afternoon, and he ran smiling toward me, I said, "OH! You lost your other tooth today!" Nolan then got a look of shock on his face, flicked his tongue into the empty spot, and started crying. I was totally confused. I asked Nolan if he knew he had lost it, and he didn't even know. He said he fell at recess today and maybe it fell out then or he may have swalled it! Either way, it's out and the Tooth Fairy will be understanding about the missing tooth from under his pillow.





Say, "Sister Susie sittin' on a thistle..."




After Natalie saw me taking Nolan's picture, she wanted a little photo session of her own; practicing her silly faces!




You talkin' to me?
















Super silly!











I detect a little bit of "priss" in this one :)

The kids got extra points for dressing as either a Pilgrim or an Indian at Awana tonight. I did the best I could do with limited resources!