Rest of the house pics and some Colten ones too

Playing at GG and Pappy's:

Colten and Cayden at lunch:


Watching the planes at the airport:


Master bedroom:

Colten's room:

We are truly Okies now!

Our first week in Oklahoma has been a whirlwind. I had an interview on Monday (that I think went really well, but we'll see this coming week). We spent Tuesday and Wednesday finishing setting up our new bank accounts, registering our vehicles, and getting our new driver's licenses. Then, we spent yesterday and GG and Pappy's for Thanksgiving. Ate too much, let the boys play together. All in all, it was a great day. Unfortunately, Kevin's grandfather passed away yesterday, and he is now in Tennessee for the funeral.

So, like I said, busy, busy, busy. That's all I have the energy for now. I'll include some pics of the inside of our adorable rent house below. :) (and in another post because I couldn't insert anymore pics).

Bathroom:

Living Room looking towards the front door:

Living room looking towards the kitchen:

Kitchen:

Dining room/office looking towards the deck out back:

The time draws near

Well, I was saddened to have a cold (or something of that nature) put me "under the weather" this weekend, as I had hoped that Colten and I could go to church in Grapevine one last time before the move. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out and so my chance to say goodbye to so many in person has passed. To each of you, thank you so much for the love and friendship you have shown us in the five years we have lived here. It has been great to meet you, enjoy good times together, grow together. We will miss you dearly. Hopefully, we will have a chance to come back and visit now and again. If any of you are ever in Tulsa, look us up. We'd love to see you then too.

As for the move itself, I can't believe it is already here. This will be my last week working for Southwest as no opportunities are available for me to continue my employment with them in Tulsa. I am on the prowl for a new job, and I have an interview lined up for the Monday right after we move (nothing like cramming it all in right). I am flying Colten to Tulsa on Thursday as my sister and GG have volunteered to watch him Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That is great for us because it will mean we don't have to worry about what he needs while we finish packing, load the truck, and make a five hour drive. That's the plan basically. Kevin is flying home on Friday afternoon. We will go pick up the Uhaul and the neighbors are helping us load. Then, as soon as the apartment people walk through with us on Saturday morning (when they open at 10), we will hit the road.

It's been a wild ride, but we are both looking forward to starting our new chapter in Tulsa. Please stay in touch friends. I will try to keep the blog updated as Colten grows and once we finally start building our house. Until next time, know that we love you and miss you already.

The time is drawing near...

So, we've been kinda out of touch, but big things are looming in Cook-land. Kevin has been blessed with a job that will take us to our planned destination....Tulsa. He is finishing up some training here in Dallas, but his first day on the job in Tulsa is November 2nd. He will move up there on Halloween. Colten and I will follow on November 21st at the end of our current lease. I still don't know for sure what my job situation holds. Our Department is nearing the ability to work from home, but as some details aren't ironed out yet, I haven't been given a 100% yea or nay yet. So, my future with Southwest is all that hangs in the balance for our move.

Fortunately, after a weekend of searching, we found an adorable little rent house. It will serve our needs while we build the house out on our land (which I promise to blog about for posterity).

Anyway, the news has been slowly circulating, and since we have been on the go, go, go since this all started we haven't been at church in Grapevine to share with all those folks. Promise we will make it back at least once before we move.

On a side note, any help we can get loading the rental truck late on November 20th would be great. More to come. Stay tuned....

9 months and growing!

Well, my baby boy is getting bigger by the day. He had his 9 month well visit on Wednesday and measured out at 29.75 inches and 21 lbs 10 oz. He crawls faster than I can keep up with and is a professional "cruiser." He is starting to cruise with one hand and is braving the occasional standing with no hands. He eats more than I can keep up with -- some nights between dinner and his last bottle, he'll consume 12-19 oz of food--and that's ONE meal! I was really worried he was being overfed but the doctor said he is growing perfectly and could even use a few more calories, etc. if I can pack it in somewhere. My real question was, "You mean if I can afford it?" :)

Kevin is still on the job hunt. He is looking here and in Tulsa. Of course, while the Tulsa idea is nice as it would put us one step closer to the land, it means I would probably have to look for a new job so I have mixed emotions. Anyway, if anyone hears of any sales positions open out there, let him know!

Not much else to say for now. I really need to try to be a better blogger but I admit I fall short. If you want to keep up with our day-to-day life, you are better off checking my Facebook page or following me on Twitter! Until next time, here are some recent Colten pics.

Long time, no write

So, yeah, I haven't been the best blogger in the world. Considering it's been about a month since I last communicated with any of you. Sorry! No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just staying busy as we Cook's do. Colten is now 8 months old. We've finally gotten crawling on all fours (instead of just an army crawl) down. We are also pulling up on the furniture and starting to cruise. We have one tooth completely through on the bottom and the one next to it as well as the two on the top are well on their way. We are really starting to babble and "mama" is our favorite sound -- yay for me!

Kevin is back on the prowl for a job after taking a stand with the company he was working for.
We'll just say that they disagreed about how they were doing business, and I'm proud of him for the decision he made.

We are still working on our plans for moving to Tulsa but keep getting stalled out on that. Maybe one day it will all work out.

That's about it for now...until next time, here are a few recent Colten pics. :)

Update on Kevin

Well, things aren't over yet, but Kevin seems to have been feeling better the last couple of days. We saw the neurologist on Wednesday and found out his MRI was clear. They did some other assessments in office and decided it is probably viral as well. He has been put on some additional meds that seem to be helping. Hopefully, we are seeing the end of it, but prayers would still be good. I'll update any changes. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers we have received. They have really meant the world to us.

Prayers for Kevin

How do you make a long story short? We went to Northwest Arkansas to visit my family for my aunt and uncle's big fireworks/BBQ shindig over 4th of July weekend. Things seemed fine. We had a good drive up, did some swimming, dinner at my grandparents, and then to bed at the hotel. Around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, when the baby woke up, I got out of bed. Kevin was going to get up as well but stated that he felt nauseous and very dizzy. I got him a bottle of water and told him to just lay there for a little bit. A bit later, I heard banging in the back of the hotel room. Kevin had stumbled his way to the bathroom, banging into walls, and was now vomiting violently. He proceeded to lay on the tile bathroom floor for the next 8 hours. About 2 o'clock, we made an attempt to get him back to bed. When he moved (crawling on the floor), he again became violently ill and, after witnessing him vomit up more than he had put down all day, I called 911. They took him to the local emergency room where he was diagnosed with severe vertigo. They ran a CT scan that came back clear. They did a chest xray that came back clear. He ended up being admitted for 2 days until he was somewhat stable enough to handle the almost 6 hour trip back home.

Tuesday evening, we followed up with our local doctor's office. That day, he had also developed double vision when he would lay on his side. As a result, they did bloodwork that we are waiting to hear back about. Additionally, he has an MRI scheduled for Monday with a followup with a neurologist on Wednesday. He has been unable to leave the apartment all week because if he moves, he gets dizzy. As long as he pretty much sits or lays around, he is somewhat ok.

Please pray for us as we go through these tests and find out what the results may be. We are both tired, worried, and frustrated. They originally thought it was a viral issue, but since it does not seem to be getting any better, they are no longer sure. I keep hoping that, since it came on so quickly, it will go away just as suddenly, but who knows. We appreciate your thoughts and prayer.

Water Baby

So, I should have blogged about this a while back since he is now a pro, but our baby boy LOVES swimming in the pool. The very first time we took him, it took him a few minutes to figure it out. Once he realized he could splash though, he was ready. Now, we've also gotten him a cool floaty with a sunshade so that we can stay out longer. Summer fun is here! Enjoy the pics!

Our land

also thought I would throw together a little post with some pictures of our land in Oklahoma. The road out to the back side of the land (where the house will be -- approx 700 feet back) has been started although not completed. Everytime they get ready to go out and finish, it rains again. We wait for it to dry out and the situation just repeats. :) Still, it means we are one step closer to living our dream.

I

It's been too long...

again since I've written anything. Colten is 6 months old now, and every day is something new. We've gotten very good at sitting up on our own. We've been a power roller for a while and are right on the verge of crawling. We can get up on hands and knees, even rock, but no forward motion yet. We've even started learning how to use a sippy cup. I can't believe how big he's getting. We had a doctor's appointment last week and measured out at 28 inches and 18.5 lbs. My big boy!

Life is never dull

And boy does it keep you busy sometimes. Life has been rolling along for us. Colten is now eating any baby food we put in front of him (nothing gets rejected) and is sleeping through the night regular. Boy is that nice! I wish I had more to add, but nothing much else exciting is going on. We are just taking it all in and watching our boy grow every day. Enjoy some recent pics!

He got food on his hands then decided to rub his eyes.

What a ham!

With Aunt Megan and Cousin Cayden before graduation

It's been a while...

since I posted anything here. Life has been crazy for us with the usual...lots of traveling, child keeping us busy. Nothing in particular. Just busy. Colten continues to practice his rolling over. He seems to really want to crawl as, once on his stomach, he tries to bend his legs under him and push off. We've tried some cereal from a spoon. He's not really sure about that, so we have been trying some in a bottle to get him used to the taste and thicker consistency. Teething has definitely begun with all of the drooling and everything in the mouth and being chewed on. Also, we have started blowing bubbles at him, and he thinks that is the funniest thing. Busy, busy, busy. No way to post all of the recent pics here without totally wearing you (and Blogger) out so here are links to a few of my Facebook albums with current ones.

Colten at 4 months: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105406&id=501437993&l=3c1caa54e1

Easter weekend trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103850&id=501437993&l=0fd42edb32

During Easter, Kevin and some of the family helped my grandparents clean up around their place from the horrible ice storm they had earlier in the year: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103856&id=501437993&l=6797df7fba

I'll try to be better about posting sooner in the future.

Houston...we have rollover!

Colten had a big weekend. On Sunday, we discovered real laughing and rolled over (back to stomach) for the first time. The pic of him on his stomach is right after it happened. I don't think he really knew what to think and so far hasn't repeated, but I'm hopeful.

We are headed to Tulsa and NW Arkansas for Easter weekend. We hope everyone has a great Easter.

Just some recent pics

Since last week, we haven't been up to much. Just hanging around the house. We are actually getting to enjoy a weekend at home before we run off and start traveling again. Never a dull moment in the Cook household. Meanwhile, here's some random pics from this week.

Overnight with the grandparents

So, Colten and I ventured to Austin this weekend to meet up with daddy and the grandparents. On my way into town, I dropped Colten off with Pops and Granny Annie (my husband's parents) to spend the night. Yes, it was my first overnight away from the baby. While it was hard to drive away, Kevin and I ended up having a very nice evening and the world did not come to an end. In fact, the grandparents are thinking we should do it once a month. We'll see about that. For now, here are some random photos from the weekend.

First flight

Well, we did it! Colten took his first flight on Friday from here to Tulsa to see the family for the weekend. He did GREAT! Following great advice, I fed him a bottle during takeoff. He fell asleep shortly thereafter and didn't even wake up when we landed. He is such a good baby! Here are a few pics of the trip including one with his first boarding pass aboard the LUV airline.

Tummy time and travel

Well, as usual, the Cooks are staying busy. Colten is getting ready for his first airplane ride this weekend as we head to Tulsa to see family and start working on the land in preparation of building. I'm really excited about it but kinda nervous too. If anyone has flown with babies this small, I'd love advice.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of my darling boy working on his tummy time today.