White Christmas

Christmas morning we woke to 6 inches of snow on the ground. By the end of the day, we had at least 12 inches with more on the way. This was more snow than Fred, Margaret and Scott had ever seen having lived in Texas all their lives. Fortunately, the snow stopped with just enough daylight for us to get out and enjoy it. Everyone participated in snow removal, but Brent, bless his heart, spent a lot of the day outside shoveling. A snowman and a snow throne were built. Snowball fights ensued and Brent and Brenna were both buried in the snow. It was a very enjoyable White Christmas indeed.
Click here to see more winter wonderland photos.

Cookies for Santa

Brenna and Uncle Scott baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. There was a competition afoot. Brenna put the chocolate chips on top of the cookies and Scott put the chocolate chips inside the cookies. We let Santa be the judge and Brenna's cookies won! Click here for more photos of this great project.

1st Skiing Lesson

On Christmas Eve, we went up to Alta and Brenna took her very first ski lesson. She really enjoyed being on skis and drinking the hot chocolate during their breaks.

Ice Skating

Today, we went to the Utah Olympic Oval to ice skate, and while it boasts the "fastest ice on earth", Brenna took it slow her first time on skates. Thankfully, Daddy, Grandad and Scott were on hand to keep her upright and escort her around the rink. Mommy and Nana had to sit on the sidelines and watch...sigh.

The video quality isn't great, but you get the idea.

Snow Angel

We got a dusting of snow at our house this weeked, but it was enough to make a snow angel!

Winter Wonderland

Brenna's school held a Winter Wonderland festival last week. She enjoyed going from room to room with her tickets to participate in the various activities. Santa made a special appearance and she told him she would like blocks, a fire truck and race cars. Not sure where those requests came from, but I'm sure Santa won't dissappoint. Click here for more photos of the evening's activities.

Hook 'em Ho Ho Ho

This year we have put a Longhorn twist on our Christmas decorating. The tree is decked out in orange and silver and a UT tree skirt. There's even a barbed-wire Bevo at the top of the tree. You can think of it as a celebration of a pretty good football season or a memorial to championship opportunities lost. Either way it's a nice change from the traditional ornaments.

Gingerbread House

It seems to becoming a tradition that we create a Gingerbread House every year. Brenna was very excited to decorate one this year. We bought the kit a couple of weeks ago (our bad), and it was torture for her to wait until after Thanksgiving to put it together. We sort of modeled it after one of the designs in the instructions, but deviations soon take place. We can truly call it a Brenna original! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends, the Wilkens. There was plenty of great food and wine. All of the recipes given to my by family and friends turned out great...thanks so much for your help! Brent had another successful frying of a bird in the backyard...the turkey was so tasty and juicy. Thanks for braving the elements and getting 'er done, honey. Brenna, Lilly and Brady had a wonderful time playing together. A few of the activities were Hide N Seek, Sandbox and Swingset play, Wii Bowling (yes, it's a blast with a 3 and a 4 year old), Dress Up and Movies. It was a day full of activities and everyone was worn out by day's end. The piece de resistance was the Longhorn win over the Aggies...couldn't have been a more perfect day! Well, except maybe if the location had been in Texas or Arkansas...we certainly missed being with our families.

From Grill Master to Fry Master

This year we are staying in Utah for Thanksgiving, so we are having our friends, Meredith, Andy and their children, over for the traditional feast. Brent purchased a turkey fryer for the occasion, and this weekend he did a test run with a chicken. Instructions were read and followed to a tee (notice the safety goggles and protective hand wear). The end result was a mighty tasty chicken. I can't wait for the turkey!

Know Your Colors

Recently Brenna has become very interested in color combinations. Every morning on the way to school I get quizzed on what color and what color makes what color. I thought I would share a little cheat sheet with you in case you find yourself being tested by teacher Brenna.

Red and blue = purple
Red and white = pink
Red and yellow = orange
Red and red = red (duh, really. this formula applies to all colors)
Pink and purple = gray (by her standards anyway)
Blue and green = teal
Red and green = yucky brown

Please commit these things to memory or else you will incur the ridicule of a 4-year-old.

Modes of Transportation

Brenna learned about different modes of transportation in school and here is a sampling of some of the art projects that came out of that series.

Our Halloween Princess

If you're thinking the costume looks familiar, it is. Brenna is so dedicated "going green", she decided to recycle last year's costume! She woke up early on Halloween morning and couldn't wait to put on her costume and get to school for all the festivities. After school, we went over to Stephanie and Preston's house for pizza and trick or treating. Brenna had a blast going through their neighborhood with cohorts in crime, Connor, Lilly, Joey, and Isabelle. Lots of candy was collected and she truly enjoyed herself. Earlier in the week, she got to wear her costume to gymnastics and had fun doing "costume appropriate" activities with her gymnastics buddies. Click here to see more photos.

Last Ride of the Summer

We went up to the Snowbird Resort for Oktoberfest this year. The day started out kind of cloudy and cool, but there were pockets of sunshine. Brent and Brenna enjoyed riding the Alpine Slide together. I'm pretty sure I heard her yelling "Faster, Daddy, faster!"

It's a Boy!

Most of you already know, but for those of you who haven't heard, we're having a baby boy in February! We've pretty much decided on Austin for his name. Click here for more photos of the ultrasound done at 20 weeks.

Car conversation with Brenna

On the way to school this morning, I told Brenna that Chelsea, our dog, was going to the vet today to have her teeth cleaned. This is how the conversation went:

Mommy: The vet is going to make Chelsea go to sleep, so he can clean her teeth. She doesn't know how to open her mouth and keep it open.

Brenna: Is the doctor going to rock her to sleep?

So sweet that image, but can you imagine the vet rocking our ball-crazed Border Collie to sleep? Not even when she was a puppy!

Sweets from our Sweetheart

Last weekend we were meandering through Target (yes, Brenna believes that Target is the place we go to every Saturday...it's kind of like church to her) and we passed by the Halloween section. She spotted all of the Halloween cake decorating supplies and said "I'na do that", so we grabbed a cookie mix, orange frosting and gobblinee sprinkles. Brenna had a blast cracking eggs, mixing and decorating. They were quite tasty!

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But what will I wear?

It started out as a typical Saturday. Wake up, eat breakfast, watch Noggin, get dressed and head out for morning activities. The activities for this Saturday were pedicure for Mommy and Brenna, lunch and haircut for Brenna. We had to endure a bit of a wait to get in for the pedicure, so a special frozen treat from Starbucks was acquired. Brenna sat very patiently while her toe nails were painted what I can only describe as Dallas Cowboy's blue with an overlay of sparkles. Adorable on her, but would have been hideous on anyone over the age of 10. With our toes looking fantastic, we headed to Chick-fil-a for lunch and a bit of playground playing. Brenna ate well and didn't argue when it was time to leave. Clearly the day was going well. Next we were off to get her haircut. She did really well getting her haircut. She even let the stylist wash it which is always an iffy thing.

After the haircut, I thought things are going so well let's go shopping for some fall/winter clothes, so we headed over to JC Penney. Upon entering the store Brenna said she wanted to get a cart which translates into she was tired and didn't care to walk. I told her no that she was a big girl and could walk. We got about 20 feet into the shopping area and the request for a cart came again. I held my ground and once again told her she could walk. We made it back to the children's clothing section where I began perusing options for the new wardrobe. I picked up a pair of pants and said "How about these?" My simple question was met with an ugly "No, I don't like those." I tried other options and got the same response. I then decided that shopping wasn't in the cards for us that day and told Brenna that we were leaving and going home. This caused her much stress and she begged to stay and shop vowing she'd be good. I held my ground and when she wouldn't walk on her own to the front of the store, I picked her up and hauled her to the front door.

She did manage to walk to the car, climb in and buckle her own seat belt all the while saying that she would be good if we went back in. As we pulled out of the parking lot, she began sobbing, saying she was sorry and could we please go back to the store. I told her no and that we would go another day. The next thing I heard from her mouth was "But what will I wear when it gets cold outside?" It was hard not to laugh out loud at the drama going on in the backseat. I should have said something like "Well, hopefully one of your grandparents will send you some clothes, since you blew your one opportunity for shopping." Sigh, opportunity lost to further scar my child for life...

A Bedtime Chat with Brenna

Last night Brenna and I were chatting as she wound down for the night. She knows that this Friday is the day we find out if the new baby in our family will be a boy or a girl. We've never explained how this will be done and apparently she's been mulling it over in her 4-year-old mind. This is how the conversation went:

Brenna: "Mommy?"
Me: "Yes sweetheart."
Brenna: "Is the doctor going to pull the baby's pants down to see if it has a wiener or girly parts?"
Me: "Are you talking about this Friday when we find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
Brenna: "Yes"
Me: "The baby in my tummy is not wearing clothes right now. The doctor will use a special camera to look inside my tummy to see if the baby has a wiener or girly parts."
Brenna: "Oh, okay."

The next question was "How does the doctor get the baby out?" I'll save that for another post. :)

Pool Party

Checking for the all clear...safety first!

Splash down!

Awww...she got me!

Brenna recently attended her first swimming birthday party at a local indoor pool. The depth in the kiddie play area is about 2 feet. This was good news as I didn't have to "suit up" for the occasion! She had a great time crawling through tunnels, climbing stairs while being pummeled by torrents of water and sliding down a corkscrew slide. The little girl in the pictures is Brenna's friend, Merrin, from school. Merrin calls Brenna her "four twin" since they turned four around the same time.

Summer Swimming Lessons

Watch out Aaron Piersol!
I'm getting this back stroke thing down!

Playing with dive sticks

Face fully submerged!
Big doin's!

This summer we've had Brenna in swimming lessons at the South County outdoor pool. She has really enjoyed taking lessons, and I think it has made her more comfortable in the water. Is she ready to go out and win 8 gold medals in 2012? Not so much, but at least she is getting better at putting her face in the water and can relax when lying on her back. You may want to click on the first picture for a bigger image to get the full impact of her relaxation and dazzling technique!

I want to ride my bicycle!

If you know me or my father well, you know that reading the title of this blog instantly puts the Queen song "Bicycle" into our heads. Okay, back to the point of this particular blog. Brenna decided this Spring that riding bikes is a glorious thing that should be done weekly, if not daily, no matter what the weather. What does this mean for us, her parents? We get to spend lots of quality time in our Texas Longhorn chairs in the driveway while she goes up and down the sidewalk. Occasionally, we will trek over to the park, which includes a harried crossing of a busy street, and ride around the bike path with periodic stops to do flips on the bar at the playground. We're very proud of her leap into bicycle coordination and hope to remove the training wheels next Spring!

Our Little Gymnast

Last October, we enrolled Brenna in gymnastics. It's a once-a-week, 45 minute class, so don't go thinking we're THOSE parents. Plus she was hanging on and bouncing off all the furniture in the house and local playgrounds...we HAD to do SOMETHING to give her an outlet for her need to be upside down. She absolutely loves it. Every Monday morning she wakes up and we say, "What day is today?" to which she replies "Gymnastics Day!" She either truly loves the "sport" (at this level there's not much sporting to it) or she loves getting to eat in the car on the way. The class is structured around different elements such as the bar, the beam, the floor, the vault (a very watered down vault mind you) and even a ladder or two. Am I hoping for an Olympic bid in 2020? Not really, but if that's what she wants to pursue, who am I to tell her "No"?

Bouncing Out of Year Four!

Here's a catch up blog: I can hardly believe our little girl is 4 already. Where has the time gone? We celebrated at The Kid Barn, a bouncing, sliding mecca. She had a great time running from one bouncer to another with her friends. Some of the adults even took a turn or two on the bouncers...brave souls. All of them will attest that the ladders and foot holds were designed for little feet. If you would like to see more pictures, click here.

Don't Wake the Princess

We recently received this sign from Grandad "Fred" and Nana "Margaret". We currently have it hanging on Brenna's door. As soon as she is able to make her own breakfast and turn on the TV, we're changing "Princess" to "Parents" and hanging it on our door!

Camping: The Great Indoors

A couple of weekends ago, Brent asked Brenna if she would like to sleep in her tent. She thought this was a great idea, since they had talked about camping and tents at school recently. The tent started out on the floor with her sleeping bag, pillows and blanket. She couldn't quite get comfortable, so there was much calling out of "Mommy!" After 3 tries, Mommy suggested putting the tent on the bed; maybe that would be more comfortable. We're two weekends into tent sleeping and going strong.

Hoppy Lily Pad

I thought it might be fun to share some of the artwork Brenna brings home from time to time. What frog wouldn't be happy on this lily pad?

No Crying in Timeout

Tonight a dinner Brenna was telling us about being put in timeout at school with her friends, Tristen and Lexie. Apparently they were not being good listeners on the playground. I made the comment that the Three Musketeers got in trouble and she said, "Mommy, we weren't crying in timeout!" I guess we haven't done a very good job teaching her the classics.

Welcome to the Cook Family Blog

Hi family and friends! This is our attempt to keep you all posted on the goings on in our lives. Feel free to check back here periodically for pictures, stories and updates.