Cook Family STL

These in-between holiday weeks have been flying by! We had a great Thanksgiving with the family and enjoyed some 4 player Mario Kart with the J’s.

We were proud to have Lily baptized by our good family friend Jack King at the Good News Community Church in Festus.

We also just had our family portrait done, so cards should be going out soon. Until then, please enjoy some outtakes.

I can’t believe our little boy is 2 years old! These past 2 years have really flown by. Owen has a great, fun personality – even though he may be a bit rambunctious around his baby sister. We’re still waiting for him to talk more, but he seems to come up with a new word fairly often these days. His new favorite is “car.” He also got his 3rd haircut, and the curls are still there.

On his actual birthday, August 19… before the haircut.

Cake at his party on Saturday.

His face says it all… he loves his new swing set.

He looks like such a big boy on his tricycle with his helmet!

Lily had a photo session with my friend Nikki on Monday. Here is a sneak peak. You can check out Nikki’s other work at nicolewelchphotography.com.

Here are some additional images from the past couple of days. We’ll be uploading more pictures onto our flickr site, so be sure to check back there!

Our precious baby girl was born July 1 at 12:36 p.m. She weighs 8 lbs. 11 oz. and is 21 inches long. 10 tiny fingers and 10 tiny toes.

We named her Lily Bowman Cook. The name Lily pays tribute to both of Emily's parents. Emily's mom's name is Susan, which means Lily and the L name honors her father Larry. And the middle name is Emily's maiden name, a tradition for the middle name going on 3 generations in her family.

Lily was delivered at the new St. Clare Health Center. We can't say enough about the great nurses, staff and huge private patient rooms in the Family Birthplace. And Emily's doctor, Dr. Lawrence Boveri was very attentive and comforting during some challenging moments with Lily's varying heart rate.

Owen is looking forward to meeting his sister (we think) and we're thrilled with the new addition to our little family!

Shame on us. We have been terrible at blogging. We haven’t even scanned and posted any ultrasound pictures of Baby Cook #2.

Speaking of that, there are just about 2 weeks left until our little girl makes her appearance. Last weekend, Owen had croup… then I got whatever upper respiratory infection caused that for him and have been down for the count since Friday. But, with Mike’s help as well as my mom and my mother-in-law, I seem to be on the road to recovery. I hope the hacking cough goes away before baby time!

The nursery is ready except for some decorative wall decor. I will take some pictures and post them when it is done… no promises that it will be before the baby is here.

Owen still doesn’t talk too much. His most favorite word is “Uh Oh” and he says it quite appropriately – when Sesame Street is over, or when he throws his yogurt on the ground, or when he spills a quart of ceiling white on the carpet. He understands so much, it continues to amaze me. On the episode of Sesame Street we watched this afternoon, the word on the street was “sigh.” I asked him if he could sigh – and he did it! So cute. Then I asked him if he could say sigh… no response. Little stinker.

Well, I guess next time we post will be with the big announcement. Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers for a safe, easy delivery and a happy, healthy baby!

As I start to think about preparing for Baby Cook #2, I am reminded of some of the things I have found indispensable during Owen's first 17 months. Maybe this list will help some new mommies and daddies out there; maybe it won't. But, I wanted to do a post on it anyhow.

If you are a parent and have some items you couldn't live without, PLEASE post a comment and let me know!

Without further ado, in no particular order:

The Sleep Sheep

Includes a velcro strap that allows you to hang it on the crib or carseat, this little lamb has four soothing nature sounds that always helped to calm Owen for naps or nighttime. The whale noise is a little creepy... we always use the waves. Available from Amazon, One Step Ahead and many other online retailers.

The Binker Strap

I found this handy strap at Target, but they don't carry them anymore. The Bella Tunno Binker Strap is far superior to those other pacifier clips with really short straps and big, clumsy plastic clips. You can even find straps similar to the Bella Tunno Binker on eBay that can be personalized with your baby's name. Even if your little one doesn't use a pacifier, this is also helpful to keep teethers or rattles from hitting the ground.

The NoThrow Strap

Along the same lines as the Binker Strap, the NoThrow Strap is unbelievably helpful to keep your kid's bottles or sippy cups from hitting the floor all the time. We use this every single time Owen has a drink when we're out and about. It also works well for toys or other items you don't want them tossing out of their strollers. The NoThrow is available at Walgreens.

Children's Place Stretchie Sleepers

Once I discovered these, they are the only kind I ever buy. No more tiny snaps all down the legs to deal with. The best part is the bit of elastic at the back of the heel that keeps baby's feet where they are supposed to be. A word of caution: they do run a bit small. Since they are a little more expensive, I try to get them gently used... and that brings me to...

Once Upon a Child / ebay / Craig's List

I personally think it is a huge waste to buy brand new for babies all the time. I've saved hundreds shopping at these places/sites. Some of the cutest clothes Owen wears are used. Not only that, but the only piece of furniture in his room that wasn't bought used is his crib.

Huggies Overnites

Once Owen started sleeping through the night, I was terribly frustrated when he would wake up in the middle of the night soaked because his diaper couldn't contain a full night's worth of pee. After some double diapering and pad inserts, I finally discovered these. They can be a bit difficult to find. I usually get mine at Babies R Us, but have seen them at some select Wal-Mart stores. If you can't find them in your area, try Amazon.

Parents As Teachers

I know this isn't a product, but we've found it to be a great resource for helpful hints and guidance. It's free, so take advantage of the program in your area.

The Lid-Lok

I almost forgot to mention this one. We tried every kind of toilet lock available, I think. This one is definitely the best. Available at several online retailers, including Wal-Mart. Just froogle it.

I just love this picture. Mike's getting good at using his fancy camera.

On January 2, we took Owen to get his first haircut at The Hairy Elephant in Ballwin. They sat him in a racecar chair and put on a Sesame Street video and he was just perfect. All the photos are up on Flickr, but here are a few.

At the Zoo, a few days before... when we were sure it was time for a haircut..

Before the cutting started.

During...

After, and styled.

I don't style it, so it normally doesn't look like this. When it air dries, the curls are tighter... sort of like Napoleon Dynamite.

The year really flew by for us. Having Owen in our lives has seemed to speed up time somehow. It's hard to believe that this time last year, he was just starting to laugh - and was pretty stingy with it. Now, he laughs all the time. At the dog, Sesame Street or nothing at all. He's a very laid back and easy going little boy. I guess he must get that from his Uncle Jay - cause he sure didn't get it from me or Mike. It's just amazing how quickly they change at this stage. All the milestones he hit in 2008 - laughing, sitting up, rolling over, army crawling, regular crawling, pulling up, walking, cutting 14 teeth...

Mike left his job at the end of December and started a new one on January 5. He had been with his company for quite some time and decided to step out of his comfort zone... and get a good pay increase at the same time.

I've been extremely lucky to be able to stay at home with Owen. I've kept my foot in the door by doing freelance writing and making a little spending money. I have to say, though, that being a stay-at-home mom is definitely more difficult than I ever imagined.

And the big news, in case you haven't heard yet, is that we are expecting Baby Cook #2. The due date is July 6th. We are really excited and have our fingers crossed for another baby that is as good natured as Owen has been... although, I've been told that is probably not likely.

Happy New Year to all of you!