Let the Christmas Festivities Begin!

The Dickens Festival always has the best Santa Claus.  I was very excited to get Kyle's Photo taken with him this year.  After one unsuccessful attempt and some bribery we were able to capture this beauty!  Poor Kyle was quite tuckered out by the time she actually got to Santa's lap. 

Dylan and Kyle were a hit while we walked around the different shops that were set up.  We were stopped by multiple people that commented on how cute our babies were.  The most popular questions people asked us were, "Are they twins?" and "How old are they?"  I was surprised that so many people thought they were twins, in the photo below you can tell that they are very different in size.  Kyle was asleep most of the time but Dylan showed off her cute gummy smile to everyone!  Someone even asked asked if she could take a picture of Kyle with her "really old mom."  As I was holding Kyle next to the "really old mom" I realized how very strange this was.  People are wacky and don't believe that babies have personal space issues.  Maybe they don't but, I sure do!  All around it was a good experience!

Merry Christmas!!

Water Baby?

Cameron had to work on Thanksgiving this year so, Kyle and I took a little road trip.  We went up to Utah County to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  I was amazed at how well Kyle did, she really didn't cry until we got to Orem (after about 5 hours of driving).  I have gotten very talented at reaching back and putting the binky in her mouth while driving! haha  Don't worry I only did it if we were stopped or there were no other cars around for miles. 

We stayed at a hotel in Sandy to have our Thanksgiving festivities and of course, I didn't take any photos of the actual holiday.  I did take Kyle swimming!  Cameron and I are huge water people so, we obviously need to have children that also love the water.  The pool at the hotel was a tad on the colder side so I was worried that Kyle wouldn't like it. 

Before

After

Kyle didn't seem to notice the large body of water around her.  She was still just hanging out.  That's one thing we have noticed about Kyle, for the most part she is a pretty chill baby.  She lets us drag her every where and doesn't seem to mind unless she's extremely tired or hungry.  We sure do love this little girl!

Here are some other photos, just for fun!

The Big Cheese

So, once Kyle started smiling I have had this plan, I would film the smile as well as get a picture of it and post it on our blog/ scrapbook.  Good idea right?  Yeah, I thought so too!

I'm having so much fun!

I see you got the camera out...

 At least I tried right?

Apple Cider and Caramel Apples

Last week we decided that the adults of our family needed to have some fun.  We went over to Braeden and Alisha's house for some good old fashioned fun'!  Once Kyle and Dylan finally fell asleep we started cooking!  We had hot apple cider and caramel apples.  We had been trying to get together prior to Halloween so that we could carve pumpkins too but, we didn't quite make it in time (mine and Cameron's un-carved pumpkins are still sitting on our porch).  So we just scratched pumpkin carving off of our list and stuck with food stuff!  We tried a caramel recipe Alisha found on pinterest, the caramel and chocolate kept falling off the apples but, in the end they still tasted great!

The finished product, as you can see the toppings are falling off...

Obviously, I can't write a post without a photo of Kyle.  She's getting so big it's crazy, I can't believe she's been with us for a little over 2 months, 10 weeks to be exact!

  

Kyle smiles all the time now, except when there's a camera around.

Surprise, surprise, Kyle was ready for her nap!

 

Kyle's new favorite seat in the house, her Bumbo!

Happy Halloween!!

     Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays!  I love having creative costumes, getting dressed up and obviously, the chocolate!  This year was a little different because we had little Kyle here to celebrate with us.  I wanted to do a costume that included all 3 of us and after much debate we were able to come up with me as Peter Pan, Kyle as Tinkerbell, and Cameron as Rufio (from Hook).  We had a lot of fun making these costumes together and hopefully this will continue to be a tradition for many years to come.

Luckily for us, my parent came into town the weekend before Halloween and they were able to watch Kyle while Cameron and I went to the ICU Halloween party.  Cameron, even won the award for "Most Original Costume".

A Very Scary Voldemort

Cameron and the Walmart Lady

Cameron, Dr. Lewis Taub, Cassidy

 Kyle also had her 2 month check up on Halloween and she is getting so big!!  She weighs 8lbs 6oz and is 21 inches long.  This puts her in the 4th percentile for weight and the 7th percentile for height.  Even though she is still quite small her doctor is pleased with her growth.  Kyle also had to get her first set of shots at this appointment.  It was so sad to see her go from playing and kicking the MA's to screaming in pain.  She only cried for about 3 minutes and then she sort of collapsed in my arms and made the saddest little whimper I've ever heard.

Kyle has been such a sweet little girl and we feel so lucky to have her with us!  She is starting to smile at us and it is so fun.  I haven't been able to capture a photo of it yet but, hopefully I can soon.  She is a little spoiled and she really likes to be held and cuddled all the time.  I always said I wouldn't be one of those moms that holds their baby all the time but, I find it very hard to put her down.  So, Kyle may turn into a spoiled turd and I only have myself to blame but, how can I say no to that cute face??

Growing Gal

     A lot has happened the past few weeks, visit from Nana and Papa, first road trip, first cold, first sick trip to the doctor, and first real smile.  We were worried for a little bit that Kyle was deaf because she never flinched at sounds.  We even took her to see the fireworks for the opening ceremonies of the World Senior Games and she didn't seem to care at all about the loud booming.  We were so freaked out by this that we even banged a pot and pan together right by her face, but still we got no reaction from her.  But, today while Kyle was sleeping I closed the drier door (probably louder than necessary) she flinched!  YAY! Kyle is not deaf! 

     Kyle seems like she is getting bigger.  Photos make it look like she is really filling out but, it's really just her cheeks.  The rest of her body is still very skinny.  Kyle has her own little personality and I have a feeling she is going to be stubborn like her Dad.  She loves to dance with Mom, it usually calms her down.  Tummy time is not her favorite.  Kyle loves her baths, as long as the water is a little warmer than you would expect.

Squished in one car for a shopping adventure!

Our first family photo since Kyle was born... Kyle is 3 weeks old

All the Cook girls

Trying to make help Kyle and Dylan hold hands.

Success!

Swimming!  Kyle still seemed too small to go swimming but, hopefully we can take her soon!

Matching dresses!  Kyle was mid-nap when we took these photos, she was not a happy camper.

Papa and Nana

Uncle Clayton.

4 weeks old

Lincoln (almost 2) loved Kyle, he always wanted to hold her.

Grandpa, Kyle, and Tulo

Kyle was so sick, fevers and coughing all day.  She scooted her way from my stomach to that position. 

5 weeks

6 weeks, she loves her pacifier, it's getting hard to take photos without it in her mouth.

Cuddle time with Dad

First day at church!

3 Weeks already!

I can't believe that only 3 weeks ago little Kyle came into our lives.  She came earlier than planned, we still haven't even made it to her due date, but we love her and find ourselves just staring at her all the time!  We might be creepy parents...

Kyle has been a pretty good baby so far, she doesn't cry too much, she mostly just grunts and squirms when she gets hungry.  It's a good thing I am a light sleeper or else I would never hear her at night and she would probably starve to death!  Kyle likes to sleep on her side, it doesn't matter if we lay her on her back she will roll herself to her side every time.  When she gets really tired she can't fall asleep until we swaddle her but, both of her arms are usually out of the swaddle before she is fully asleep.  Kyle makes a funny whine-like noise while she sleeps, it sounds like a puppy whimpering on its first night sleeping without its siblings.  We love her and are so grateful that she is in our life!!

Kyle is starting to fit in her car seat!

Cameron and Kyle after the Kokopelli Triathlon

3 weeks!

Kyle Jessie Cook

Wow!  Has it really been almost a year since out last blog post?  A lot has changed in our lives since then.  We found out in January of this year that we would be expecting a little baby come September.  She surprised us all when she came 3 1/2 weeks early.  As far as the pregnancy goes I really can't complain too much.  I only threw up one time and that was after smelling a pair of Cameron's soccer socks that had been in his soccer bag for who knows how long.  Near the end I wasn't sleeping well and I was always super hot, I believe that is to be expected.  I'm not a super big fan of pregnancy photos so here are just a couple that were randomly taken over the past few months.

At the top of Observation Point, 5 months (20 weeks)

                      At the Hogle Zoo with Brittnie,               7 months (28 weeks)      

That's about all the pictures I am willing to share at this point... haha

     So for the big day, or should I say night?  It was around 7pm on August 30 when I first started feeling contractions.  Cameron had gone to work and I was just hanging out at home with his little brother Spencer who has been visiting for the past few days.  The contractions were more of just a nuisance at this point so I wasn't really paying much attention to them.  That morning I had been checked by my doctor and he said I was dilated to a 2+ and was "very thin", I have heard of many women who are dilated to a 3 for weeks so I figured nothing was going to happen for a while.  As Spencer and I continued to watch our movie I noticed that the contractions were getting closer together and stronger.  By 10pm they were about 8-10 minutes apart, I started to get a little nervous so I packed a bag to take to the hospital, just in case.  At about 11pm I tried to go to sleep because I was supposed to work in the morning.  I called my mom to confirm that the pain I was feeling was actually a contraction, I am pretty sure I freaked her out because she told my little brother he needed to drive down from Cedar City to take me to the hospital.  After laying in bed/ pacing around my room for about an hour I finally decided that this might be the real thing.  At this point the contractions were about ever 5-6 minutes.  I came out of my room and asked Spencer if he would go on a walk with me.  Spencer was so sweet, he just popped right out of his bed and put his shoes on.  Meanwhile, Cameron was having the craziest night of his life while at work with 2 dying patients and no one to cover him so he could go to the hospital.  Spencer and I walked around for about an hour.  When we got home I told him the contractions were coming about every 3-4 minutes and that I probably needed to go in and get checked.

    We arrived at the hospital at about 2:15am, they helped me get settled in my room.  At this point I was dilated to a 5.  When the nurse told me I remember saying, "A five?  Wow, I wasn't expecting that."  She responded saying, "Yeah, neither did I."  At 3am they checked me again to make sure I was progressing,  I was dilated to a 6 and they said they were going to admit me.  I was starting to get really stressed out because our baby was coming and Cameron wasn't here.  Luckily, Spencer was in town so he went to Alisha and Braeden's house to stay with Dylan so that Alisha could come sit with me and help me through the labor stuff until Cameron got there.  They finally found someone to come and take over Cameron's patients and Cameron got the the hospital around 3:45am.  At this point the pain was really bad and I was ready to back out of my original plan and get an epidural.  My nurse came in and checked me and told me I was a 9+ and that the epidural might not work fast enough but that I could still get one if I wanted.  I told her that I might as well just keep on going.  She asked if I wanted to try to lay on my side to see if they helped with the pain.  I was willing to try anything.  As I started to roll over my water broke, I had a contraction, and I felt this incredibly strong urge to push.  I remember saying/ yelling, "I think my water broke, and I really feel the need to push!"  Luckily, my doctor walked in at that moment and we were ready!  About 6 or 7 contractions later I heard my baby cry.  It was probably the most amazing moment in my life!

Kyle Jessie Cook
Born on August 31, 2012 at 4:41am
Weight 5 pounds 1ounce
Height 18 inches

Here are some photos of our beautiful little girl!!

Kyle and Spencer

Kyle and Dylan, 9 weeks apart

Kyle did not like the car seat

Enjoying some skin to skin time with Dad