Twins and 1 week to go!

Mark and Ally welcomed their twins to this new, bright world on March 21.  And guess what, they were BOYS!  New additions to the Slobotski, Crossman and Cook families and we are so blessed and lucky to have them with us.  Leo Walter and Parker Raymond joined us a little early, at 29 weeks, but they are doing great and we are all so proud of them.  Liz and I are officially an aunt and uncle and Evan will soon get to meet his new cousins.  If you are interested, Mark and Ally have sent up a Caring Bridge blog/website and I can send you the information if you are interested in receiving updates.  The boys are in the NICU right now but we anticipate to see them home on or around May 15.  Liz is with Ally tonight giving Leo his first bath.  Ally said that Parker had his earlier today and he didn't cry once.

Evan will also be meeting very soon his new brother/sister no later than next Thursday.  We are patiently waiting for our new arrival and trying to get a few last minute things wrapped up.  We will keep you updated if anything changes between now and then.  If Kenny Chesney cannot make the baby come early at a really loud concert, I doubt anything is going to interrupt he/she where they are at right now.  The twitter feed is in the upper right corner and the easiest way to get information out quickly.  Pictures will then quickly follow.

When we came home today, it was lightly raining and for the first time this spring, there were buds on the maple tree in our front yard.  The lawn mower is all tuned up and we cannot wait to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather and our new additions to our families.

Evan's 2nd Birthday

Is he 2 already?  It just doesn't seem possible and really like yesterday that Evan was born.  This year we were able to fully celebrate without any major illness or problems.  Evan was so excited to see everyone at once which threw him off a little, but he quickly figured out there were more at once to pay attention to him. 

Evan also celebrated at school with his friends.  We provided cupcakes for the kids at snack time which is always a favorite from the normal routine.  The kids and teachers sang Happy Birthday which was quickly followed by Evan's own verison "birthday to you". 

The transition begins for Evan this week to his new room.  His new teacher Becca has been prepping him to make sure it goes more smoothly this time around.  We are confident he will do fine but not really sure what he will do now that his new room will not face the parking lot of the Center because when he arrives every morning he insists on seeing "big trucks".  It is a good distraction while mom and dad slip out the door unnoticed. 



One month to go

It is hard to believe, but we have exactly a month until our newest Cook joins the family.  I know Liz is ready, is anyone else?  Everything is ready to go and we are anxiously awaiting as we are prepared for our April 8th due date.

A busy time around here with birthdays, including Evan's on the 15th.  It really is hard to believe he will be 2 already.  Grandpa Rusty celebrated his at the end of February (the 29th to be exact).  Uncle Mark celebrated his birthday on the 4th at the Home and Garden Show working on potential new clients for Executive Lawn and Landscaping.   The word is that business was much better this year.  And Shawn's birthday is on the 10th.  Inquiring minds will have to figure out how many birthday's for each there have been so far.
Evan is growing like crazy and his vocab continues to expand.  Shapes and items of interest have captured his little mind lately.  Tractor (for Uncle Jeff), me-mycle (motorcycle for Uncle Greg and Aunt Patty), airplane, ranch (as in salad dressing), catch-e-tup (ketchup), apple juice (he doesn't even drink it but loves saying it) and lotion (thanks Grandma Sandy, which he spreads on his hands and face).  We were told today by his teachers that he is really doing well with speaking and his the social butterfly of the room; greeting all the other moms and dads as they enter his room.  He will be transitioning at the end of this month to his new room which we hope will be right before the new arrival.

These pictures are from the last few weeks.  We had a string of nice days in February so we spent some time outside.  Evan needed a haircut badly so luckily Grandma Sandy was here for Ally's baby shower.  Evan's birthday pictures will be coming next week.  Side note, for those that want updates on the new arrival, I have added my Twitter account (@shawncook01) feed to the top of the blog in case things happen before our scheduled date.

Happy Valentine's Day

Evan wishes everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  We did an art and craft project at the house and he created this amazing piece of art.  He actually wrote out all the letters in perfect penmanship.

Evan continues to be very excited for his new brother or sister arriving in early April.  Every time he is asked what he would like, he states "sister".  Liz is not holding her breathe though as she knows it is a boy.  We shall see as we are keeping things under wraps this time around.  However, we do have a little card in an envelope in an "undisclosed location" in the house just in case we freak out and have to know.

Additionally, we were very excited to find out that Ally and Mark are having not one, but two babies, who are scheduled to arrive in May.  This is very exciting news for the family and everyone is thrilled.  The grandkid count will go from 1 of 1 to 1 of 4 in about 2 months.  Liz and Ally are excited that they will be overlapping their maternity leaves this summer.  (Can't you picture it?  R & R and at the pool.)

The weather has finally warmed up here in Omaha and our snow is melting.  I have a feeling that we are in for more snow, as we are technically still in the winter season.  We got outside today and cleaned the cars up and went for a wagon ride that Evan requested.  It was great getting out in the sun and 60 degree weather!

Winter Wonderland

Well, our first big snowfall of 2011.  3 days worth of steady, light, fluffy snow.  It is probably the "prettiest" snow we have seen here.  No wind or commotion, just a nice snowfall fit for a snow globe.  We made it to work/school and back this morning with no major problems.

Evan watched out the window this morning from our bedroom closet and he was absolutely enamored by the snow blowers of our neighbors Mike and Tom.  He enjoyed watching them in hopes of getting out there himself.  After school, Evan wanted to get after it once we got him all bundled up.  He didn't last long, but he really liked moving the snow with his shovel.  All totaled, we got about 8-9 inches of snow. 

Post-Christmas 2010 & Happy 2011!

Finally getting around to getting an update from Christmas and New Year's posted along with pictures.  There have been a lot of things that have happened over the past month so we wanted to make sure we give a quick update.

We were in Colorado for an unexpected trip after getting word that Grandpa Harold Temple passed away on December 7 (obituary: http://bit.ly/faKlhw).  The holidays have been hard this year without Grandpa T around but we know that he and Grandma Joyce Temple are enjoying each others company again and are keeping a close watch on everyone.

Christmas was spent in Colorado this year with the Temple and Cook families.  It was Evan's first actual Christmas in Colorado and of course he loved being with all his great aunts and uncles and cousins.  We were delayed by about 1/2 day in Kearney, Nebraska due to icy roads but we made it safely.  Mike and Sandy were very excited to spend quality time with Evan and spoil him rotten.

We headed back to Omaha in time for the Husker game (no comment on that one) and to celebrate Christmas with Ally and Mark, Rusty and Stephanie, and Joy and Jim.  It was great to be able to be with everyone over the extended break from work and enjoy the holiday's with both our Colorado and Omaha families.

It is now back to work for us and school for Evan.  The other day he showed us his skills by randomly singing the tune "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".  The tune is there, which is impressive, but the words need some work.  We were told today that is a favorite of the kids in his class.  The vocabulary is quickly expanding and we are watching of what we say so it is not repeated.  His memory is amazing as he remembered the cows being just outside the window in Brush and Grandpa Rusty's watch.  Additionally, Liz showed him a pizza place on the way to work on Monday and the last two days have brought us the reminder that "pizza" is right there and that it is "hot".

On a side note, how about those Frogs!  TCU did a great job again this year and sealed the deal with a BIG Rose Bowl win.  And yes, they won that game for the little guys out there (motion fore and middle finger in a bent fashion here). Hopefully moving to the Big East in 2 years will give them more opportunities.  Can we say the same for Nebraska moving to the Big Ten?  After the Big Ten's bowl record this year, the move doesn't look so bad for the Huskers in 2011.

We hope the year 2011 finds you well and that we promise to be more diligent in posting pictures and information.  We are expecting cold temperatures and plenty of opportunities to write since we will be stuck inside.  The pictures below are from the last month.

Busy since Thanksgiving and SNOW?

From Christmas 2009

Ok, does this bring back bad memories?  I thought in honor of the winter solstice, I would remind us of where we were last year.  Yes, this is the snow we had as of Christmas Eve which included Omaha's 88 straight days of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground.  Hard to believe, really.   To put it into perspective, it is 3 feet from the bottom of the tree to the first branch.

We have only had a couple of small snow events this year so I am waiting for the big one.  We are supposed to get snow the day before Christmas Eve (80% chance), but I will believe it when I see it.  This may be wishful thinking because we want to have a normal Christmas without travel headaches this year.

I am working on photos of Evan and have been remiss in getting them posted.  Our late-November and early-December have brought some unexpected changes to our schedule so I will get them posted with plenty of Christmas gifts included.