Moshi Turns 2!

Our little Mosh man turned 2 on June 17th!  Where did the time go???  Seems like just yesterday he was taking his first steps and now he is wrestling with his older brother (and can hold his own, I might add!)  We had a great party to celebrate the occasion.  On hand were Grandmama and Grandpa Bill, CeCe, Uncle Craig, Auntie Gretchen, and Cousin EJ.  Joshua's favorite part - the cake of course!  Topped off with the Backyardigans.  He is definitely our little sweet tooth. 

Thanks to all for the great presents too!  There is no shortage of toys in our household!

This was the first time we were able to get Cousin EJ and Jamison together for a photo op.  Hard to believe Jamison is 3 weeks younger than EJ.  They bonded instantly by touching hands and staring at each other.  Best buddies already!

Happy birthday little Mosh man.  Just when we think you can't get any cuter, it happens!

Side note: In case you don't know where the name Moshi came from, Jack affectionately nicknamed Joshua "Moshi Pumpkin" when he was just a wee baby.  The pumpkin part eventually fell off but Moshi has stuck. 

Cabin Fever!

Who says having a newborn slows you down? Third babies have to go with the flow and that’s exactly what little Jamison did. He checked into his first hotel in Moose Lake, MN at exactly 10 days old. No time for recovery… we have places to go and things to do. Moose lake is close to Grandma and Grandpa Bill’s lake home where the boys love to splash in the water, run around, play with JJ (Grandma and Grandpa Bill's chow-chow), and just be silly.

 

Home, unpack, laundry, repack.

Off to Moose Lake again when Uncle Adam and Auntie Sara drive up from Texas to visit. Shhhh… they wanted to surprise Mom so when we arrived I walked around with Wiggins and asked “do you like our new dog?” You could almost see her mind turning and then it clicked – Adam is here! And then…the waterworks… We had so much fun with Uncle Adam and Auntie Sara and wish we could see them more.

Home, unpack, laundry, repack.

Next desination is Papa’s house on Lake Wappogasset with Auntie Camille, Uncle EJ and all the cousins who were visiting from Germantown, Tennessee. Aunt Cookie also came to see us from Chicago. We partook in the annual turtle races, a sprinting contest and watched cousin Evan’s baptism in the lake. No trophy this year but it was only kind of us to share the wealth since we took home the trophy for turtle race (large category :) last year! It was so fun to watch all of the cousins together and how quickly they bound in such a short time!

Home, unpack, laundry, repack.

Next in line is a road trip to Wausau, WI with the cousins to have some water fun.  Mom and Dad were nervous wrecks the whole time but the boys didn't have a care in the world.  They played on pink whales, tackled very large waterslides, floated in the lazy river. 

From Wausau, we made the short trip to Green Bay for the Cornelly Family Reunion. We had intended to take a travel break this particular weekend and forego the reunion, but in the end we decided we couldn’t miss it. Much to everyone’s surprise, we just showed up at the hotel. The highlight of the weekend was Mommy and Daddy winning the much coveted balloon tossing contest. The boys were proud little soldiers cheering for us from the sidelines. Let me tell you, these milk filled bosoms definitely come in handy when catching a water balloon ;).

We are feeling a little hairied after our crazy busy summer but we wouldn't trade it for the world - nothing beats spending lots of quality time with our families.  Thank you to Auntie Camille, Uncle EJ, the Memphis cousins, Aunt Cookie, and Grandpa Florida for coming to see us.  We had a blast!

Introducing... Jamison Reece

I want to back track a bit and start with our biggest summer adventure - the birth of Jamison Reece.  We were sent to the hospital the morning of May 20th due to a hint of meconium (poop) in the amniotic fluid.  Docs discovered it during an amniocentisis to check Jamison's lung development for an early induction the next morning.  I arrived in my labor room around 11am with Corey arriving shortly thereafter.  Just before 1pm, the nurses hooked me up to pitocin, popped my water, and determined I was dilated to 2.  I decided to get the epidural right away because - well, why the heck not? 

Looking hot!

The first few centimeters were slow going so the nurse decided to tork me into some crazy position she had affectionately named the corkscrew.  It was not pretty but being the trooper I am, decided to give it a shot.  Low and behold, only 1/2 hour later I was dilated to 10!!!  Boy were we surpised and excited.  Bad news - Doc is on his way but is stuck in traffic.  The INTENSE urge to push will have to wait.  Dr. Hirt (otherwise known as Dr. Hot) finally arrives at 5:45pm and gears up for the big arrival.  35 minutes later, at 6:25pm, Jamison Reece arrives with the cord wrapped tightly around his neck.  The next few minutes are very scary while they frantically work to "wake" him up.  They continuously reassure us that this is a "good" thing since it allowed them to put a tube down into his lungs to grab any meconium that may have lingered but we didn't believe them - all we wanted to hear was that telltale sound.  Finally, the cry we were waiting for!  Phew!!!!  Apgars were 4/9.  He was a beauty weighing in at 9 pounds, 2 ounces and 21.5" long. Our biggest!

Finally, big brothers get to meet their looooong anticipated little brother.  I will never forget the look on their faces when they first walked into the hospital room.  It was as if no one else on the universe existed but the little bundle of newness lying on the bed - and they were on a mission to get there.  Jack could have stayed all night just patting this new creation that had "popped" from Mommy's belly. 

Josh, on the other hand, was over it after 1.5 minutes and moved on to the cupcakes.  In their own ways, they fell in love with him that day, just as we had the day before.  We are so blessed to have three healthy, perfect, beautiful little boys!

Welcome to Our Blog!

Welcome to the Cook Family Blog! I've been meaning to do this for years now and finally decided it was time. Everyday seems to be full of adventure with two - make that THREE - little boys. We can't wait to share our journey with you!