Aubrey's Distracted, Grab the Toaster Strudels!

4 days old

Almost 3 months old

I laugh that I use to put socks on her hands...haha...I was too scared to cut her fingernails so to prevent her from scratching her face I just put socks on her hands. I just did it in the second picture so that she had the exact same outfit on. When I put them on she looked like "what the heck are you doing, mom?!" I can't believe how much she's grown!

I LOVE that I get to hang out with my beautiful snuggle bug all day! She brings me more joy than I could ever put in words!

She's not sitting up on her own yet, but I don't have to support her head very much anymore!

We love nap time! Sometimes I use this time to clean and do other various things around the house. Other times I snuggle up with her and take a nap too.

Movie night at the Cooks. We watched Wreck it Ralph. :)

We went grocery shopping last night and Sam was wide awake most of the time, and boy did she have a blast. She was so smiley (like usual) and would make her mouth in the "o" shape and say "ooohhhh" and then smile. And would laugh when I did it back to her. I think I take so many pictures because I want so badly to capture forever the joy she brings me, but I've concluded that cameras will never be able to capture that. So just know that behind the not-the-best-phone-camera is a baby that brings insurmountable joy into our lives.

Josh pulled a sneaky move. While I was distracted by Sam making funny faces, he used that as prime time to sneak toaster strudels into the buggy. I didn't notice until we got home. He smiled a mischievous I-tricked-my-mom kind of smile.

Who wouldn't be distracted by a cute face like that?!

Love, Aubrey

A Blast from the Past

I was on the Cooks old family computer (which we inherited) and was skimming through old pictures. I feel like I know the Cooks on a whole new level, like I was a fly on the wall in the Cook residence all those many years ago. What a great family! I picked some of my favorites. Enjoy!(they aren't in chronological order, ps)

Josh on graduation day with both of his grandfathers, Grandpa Hymas and Grandpa Johnson.

Josh at graduation with his folks. Kathy and Rulan are such amazing people and an adorable couple. With a mighty handsome son! And I think James is attempting to photo bomb. :)

Kids love Josh!

In most of the pictures that had kids in it, they were in Josh's arms. :) I just love that about him, he's so good with kids! That's Kaitlyn in his arms...who is 8 years old now, and Cali and James just welcomed their 4th child into the world....holy cow, time flies! They aren't kidding when they say, "enjoy every second, because it goes so fast!"

Kathy and Rulan went to Peru and it looks like they had a blast!

I'm pretty sure Josh is in heaven. I'm assuming they are getting ready to fish? He's in heaven because he's outside, with his dad, Baden is there, and the weather is nice.

Josh always talks about Baden. He was THE.BEST.DOG.EVER. Isn't Josh such a handsome boy!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Which isn't a bad thing. :)

He likes soccer too! See, we were meant to be.

This picture cracks me up! Josh and Andy Shank back in the day! They were best friends growing up. Now they are both married and all four of us are really good friends! Cierra is such a blessing in my life. I'm thankful for their friendship!

Bow hunting must have been a success that day. :) Where's Josh?!! Good thing he didn't paint his face in camouflage or we'd never find him! ;)

THE.BEST.DOG.EVER. If we ever have a dog (when we have a yard) this is what he will look like, though I don't think we'll ever find one as great as Baden.

I just LOVE this picture. Grandpa and Grandma Johnson. How adorable!!! Doesn't it just make you smile?!

I love Josh! He was such a cute boy and has grown into one of the most giving, selfless, happy, funny, and friendly people I know. And I'm lucky enough to call him mine. One day we'll get a picture of us in our glasses, wrinkles (of wisdom, of course), and possibly false teeth- kissing like we're madly in love. Because we will be.

Love, Aubrey

Sprawling

This is how she loves to sleep. I bundle her up nice and cozy and five minutes later this is what she looks like. Sprawled out nap time.

Love, Aubrey

Cupcake Towers, Old Roomates, and Summer Jogs

Here's an update on the Cook life via pictures so I don't bore you. :)

Last week I was joking with Rulan that I wanted a triple layer birthday cake. He spent probably as much time as it would have taken to make a triple layer cake trying to get my very own personal triple layer cupcake tower to stand up. It took lots of toothpicks and frosting. But it sure looks amazing!

Sam and I went and saw Taylin at BYU-Idaho! She loves her Aunt Taylin.

Dave and Rochelle and are always preparing amazing dinners and desserts (desserts are most important in the Golda Wray family) for lots of family get togethers. :) We sure love them!

We love puzzles. :)

Good times at the Greenhalgh home.

It was SO GOOD to be home with Josh. He's such a good dad and an amazing husband! Sam sure missed her dad, but not as much as me! They are both such happy people. And they are mine.

Just 4 short years ago we were roommates in a house on College Avenue in Rexburg. We had lots of fun adventures. Now we are moms and couldn't be any happier.

Lisa is on the couch with her 3 month old Jae Young. Ariel is sitting on the floor holding her 5 month old Tucker. Tucker is trying to get Sam who is laying on the floor. And that's me in the corner and up close. :) We had a good time doing what girls do...talking about motherhood and our babies.

It's practically summer outside here in Ogden so we celebrated by going on a run!

Sam LOVES her stroller! I found a good area in North Ogden where I can run outside. AND, there are hills! It was a refreshing workout for sure! Sam slept the whole time, probably dreamed of when she was in the womb and I'd run.

The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ!

Watch this news conference released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Until next time...

Love, Aubrey

23

Guess how many kids I have. 1.
Guess how parents I have. 2.
Guess how many helpings of spaghetti I can eat in one sitting. 3. (at least)
Guess what grade I was in when I had my appendix removed. 4.
Guess how old I was when I started kindergarten. 5.
Guess how many sisters I have. 6.
Guess how many days of the week there are. 7.
Guess how I old I was when I was baptized. 8.
Guess what my ideal bed time is. 9.
Guess what year I graduated high school. 2010.
Guess what 9+2 equals. 11.
Guess how many apostles there are. 12.
Guess how old I was when I became a teenager. 13.
Guess how many times I've read The Book of Mormon. 14.
Guess how many times I walked up the stairs in our home yesterday. 15.
Guess approximately how many times a day I kiss Sammie's chubby cheeks. 16 (billion)
Guess how old I was when I ran my first marathon. 17.
Guess hold old I was when I moved to Idaho. 18.
Guess how many pushups I did today. 19. (I just did it so I could write this, haha)
Guess how old I was when I had my first kiss. 20
Guess how many miles I ran on my 21st birthday, just for fun. 21.
Guess how old Taylor Swift feels. 22.
Guess how old I turned today. ??

Binky, Brussel Sprouts, and a Beautiful Sister

Josh made me my birthday dinner on Tuesday since I wouldn't be with him on my actual birthday. He made one of my favorites...brussel sprouts. I LOVE brussel sprouts. Josh does not like them, but "stunk" up the house with their delicious fragrance, for me. Now, that's love. :)

While he was cooking I decided to give the binky another try. And Sam acutally kept it in her mouth for more than 2 seconds. I decided I should snap a picture of it in case she decides that she wants nothing to do with it again. Which I decided I'd actually be ok with.

Larisa flew to Utah! Sam and I picked her up at the airport and then drove up to Idaho Falls to surprise Nana. She was pleasantly surprised. Nana's always been the middle man for previous surprise visits...like when I flew home after my first semester in college and nana personally delivered me (in a box) to my family and grandad and dad carried the surprise gift inside the house and Anneka grabs a knife to open it....luckily Nana persuaded them to just peel the tape off instead of using the knife. And out pops Aubrey. :) Or when mom and Skyler flew here to Idaho Falls for Time Out For Women and surprised me. Nana picked them up from the airport. So it was fun to have Larisa fly out here and make it a surprise for Nana.

I am lucky to have Larisa as a sister. She is a hard worker and very talented individual. We are sad that Jazz wasn't able to come too...he's at home going to school and doing homework and working. Right, Jazz?! (Get that homework done! :) )

I really really really really really really really really really really miss Josh. Wish he could be here. He is the best. Here's the note he left me since I was half asleep when he left for work the morning we left for Idaho:

Love notes from Josh make me very happy. :)

Love, Aubrey

Tuesday Adventures

Adventures of the day, thus far...Les Schwab to get tires changed and aligned. Sam was enthralled with all the rows of tires.

Oh yeah, must show off her adorable outfit for the day. Thanks for the fun "Wild About Mommy" outfit, Skyler!

After a few other errands (library, grocery store...all that Jazz) we made a stop at one of the most beautiful places on earth.

And here's my selfie skills (or lack thereof)

Love, Aubrey

Battleship

Don't let the smile fool you. Even though we just had a Family Home Evening lesson on UNITY through family prayer when we pull out the battleships it means w.a.r. Just kidding. It means fun. Mixed with a little bit of competitiveness. Josh wants me to let everyone know that he won. It's true. He usually wins unless I cheat. Which I can't do right after a family home evening lesson. ;)

Families are the best.

Love, Aubrey

My Successful Monday

Successful day = Cleaning + Happy baby. My cleaning gloves came via UPS (thanks, Amazon!) so I got to work on the window blinds and bathrooms.

 Clean water bucket. Before I tackled the window blinds.

 I should have gotten a picture of the window blinds before...D.I.S.G.U.S.T.I.N.G just about sums it up. But the picture below is testament enough of how bad they were.

Ew. 

BUT, now they are gloriously clean. :) I was only going to do the one in the dining area because it was visibly dirty but ended up doing the living room and upstairs too! And then also cleaned the bathroom spic-n-span. Plus the usual daily tidy up. So I am welcoming any and all visitors because I've got one sparkly clean house! We may not answer the door because after all that work this is what we're doing now:

zzzzzz

Love, Aubrey