Kaylee's 1st Game of Catan

For awhile now one of our favorite games has been Settlers of Catan. It is a pretty complicated strategic game so it is not for the faint of heart. Well Kaylee LOVES games and so we decided to teach her how to play it this weekend. Wouldn't you know she WON her very first time playing. What a milestone in our household!!!!

Trace's 4th Birthday

This much anticipated day has finally come and Trace can now proudly hold up FOUR fingers when asked his age. We celebrated this momentous occasion by opening presents first thing this morning, eating toast dipped in hot cocoa for breakfast, having chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert, AND making a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese. For this four year old little boy, it doesn't get much better than that!

Some of the things that Trace enjoys are:

• Superheroes and Star Wars- His favorite superheroes are Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Spiderman, and Batman.  He can often be found dressed as one of them since he has quite the collection of dress-up clothes. Trace has a great imagination. He plays great by himself. I love listening to him talk to his little action figures.
• Cartoons- His favorites are "Avenger", "Super Hero Squad" cartoons, "The Clone Wars" DVDs, "The Justice League", and "Scooby Doo". 
• Sports- Trace enjoys playing football, soccer, t-ball, basketball, and swimming. 
• School- He goes to and from school with a smile on his face. Trace can count to 11. He can write and recognize the letter "T". He can write an "E" and a "C", but can't quite identify them yet. He can recognize his name when spelled out. Trace LOVES school. 
• Coloring- Trace is beginning to enjoy coloring. He will now color an entire picture and stay mostly inside the lines. He likes to use just one color per picture. 
• Playdates- Trace's best friends are Abram, Braeden, his sisters, and his cousin, Bryker. 
• Legos- Trace enjoys playing with little lego sets. He doesn't know how to put them together but enjoys playing with them regardless. He especially enjoys playing with the Star Wars characters. 
• Playing Outside- He especially enjoys jumping on the trampoline, riding his bike and playing sports with Daddy. 
• Talking- Trace loves to talk and has quite the vocabulary. One of our favorites is when he says "inappropriate". He is such a little sponge. Trace has a bit of trouble saying his "f", "k", and "sn" sounds. We was recently evaluated by a speech therapist who told us not to worry because he is within normal ranges for his age. She also said that he is able to pronounce a few sounds that he shouldn't be able to yet. It was a relief hearing this. 
• Games- He enjoys charades, matching games, look-and-find, Angry Birds Star Wars, The Bee Game, Hungry Hippos, and "I Spy" games to name a few. Trace also really likes his new Leap Pad that he got for Christmas. Trace also likes playing on the Wii, although we don't do that much. 
• Tickle Time- Trace LOVES being tickled, especially by Daddy.

Trace is such a fun little guy. We all think the world of him and are so blessed to have him in our lives. We love you buddy!

Trace's Super Hero Cave & Playdate

Instead of having a friend party for Trace's birthday, we decided to let him invite his buddy, Abram over for a playdate. In preparation for his playdate, we surprised him with an early present.  We transformed the once "Barbie Room" into a "Super Hero Cave". Trace was thrilled and so were the girls since they no longer used the room.

Abram brought Trace the perfect gift, an airplane filled with Wolverine and Iron man. The boys had a blast playing together, neither of them wanted the playdate to end. What a fun morning and so much less stressful than a full fledged party! I think we're on to something...

New and Improved Sunroom

Before- Complete with slumber party

Now

I have been staring at the trim and carpet in this room for nearly 3 years wondering what it would look like "if" we changed this or that and now I no longer have to wonder. Our new carpet and tile were installed on Monday and we LOVE them. The room feels so much homier and "us". I love checking things off our "to do" list.

More Projects...

Trevor had this week off work and he got motivated to work on the sunroom. His motivation was inspired by us ordering new carpet for the sunroom and wanting to tackle some projects while the old carpet was still in place. We decided to paint the trim white in the sunroom and man was that a BIG job. It took two long days of painting around 10 windows, the baseboard, the window casing, and the crown moulding. We are happy to announce its completion and LOVE how it looks. It really makes the paint color "pop".

Trevor has been watching a lot of HGTV lately and decided that a stone wall would look nice on the wall our TV is mounted on. After two more days of working on the wall, it is complete and we are loving it!!! It feels so good to cross things off our "to do" list. We will post more pictures once the tile and carpet are installed.

New Year's Eve Party

We had a blast bringing in the new year as a family. I volunteered to pick up a few extra days  at work this week since Trevor has the week off work. As a result, Trevor told me not to worry about the party, as he would take care of everything. I must admit he did a fabulous job! He did the grocery shopping, made dinner and planned the party events. For dinner, we had a relish tray, nachos, Trevor's homemade chili, brownie bites, and peanut butter cookies. After a delicious dinner, the fun continued with an Angry Birds Star Wars Tournament. A point system was developed:

• Darth Vader = 15 points
• Other Guys = 10 points
• Storm Troopers = 5 points
• Blocks and Building Materials =  1 point. 

The game automatically ended when all three Darth Vaders had been shot down. The winner of the tournament was Trace Curtis Cook!!!! It is hard to find a game that all kids enjoy and with this game we have finally succeeded.

The evening ended with the viewing of "Star Wars: Episode IV". It was the kids' first time watching this movie and they loved it!!!! Although none of us actually stayed up until midnight, I must admit it was one of the best New Year's Eve parties we have ever hosted!!!

Christmas 2012

The Wenzel's House

Babysitter in Training

Uncle Trevor and Bruxen

New Cameras 

Bryker's Batman Jail

Captain America Shields-This is all Trace really wanted for Christmas

New Calendar

Man Cave

Mommy and Kianna

Trace and Mommy

Christmas Morning

Kaylee's loot

Kianna's loot

Trace's loot

Kaylee's gift she made us

Lunch at Shannon's House

Aliyah

Kianna all giddy

Daddy and Trace

Grandma GG and Grandma Jacque with their grandkids

Stacie and Andrew

Grandma Sue with kids

Trace's nap spot when he was sick

Angry Bird Star Wars Tournament with Daddy

Build-a-Bears

It is hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. Each year we try hard to make Jesus the focus of our Christmas celebration. I have to say this is easier to do before the kids begin receiving their gifts. This year to keep the focus on Christ, besides doing devotions and having conversations with the kids, we watched the movie "The Nativity Story". We started this tradition last year and really enjoyed it. The kids still get a little freaked out in a couple of spots, but otherwise think it is a great movie. We also try to help out those in need around us. Kianna's Kindergarten class did a great job with this. Instead of doing a class gift exchange they were asked to fill a bag with nonperishable food items. The kids then delivered the bags to a local food pantry. Kianna really enjoyed this experience. I love seeing our kids being the hands and feet of Jesus!

We continued our Christmas celebration by making a trip to Iowa to visit our friends and family. We left Michigan on the 22nd and headed to The Wenzel's house in Illinois. We spent the afternoon and evening with them. It happened to be their oldest daughter, Brooke's 7th birthday, so we were able to celebrate with them. The kids always enjoy playing together while we visit with Sally and Ryan. We continued our trip to Iowa the following morning with the goal of making it to our church for worship. We made it in time and had a great time seeing our friends and worshipping. The rest of the trip went by in somewhat of a blur. The highlights are as follows:

• Small Group Party- It is always fun catching up with our friends. The kids have fun reuniting with their old friends too. We have to remind Trace who his "friends" are since he had only just turned one when we moved. 
• Christmas Eve Celebration- We spent Christmas Eve with Trevor's family. This year Sam and Mike hosted the festivities in their new home, which is quite beautiful! We ate a variety of yummy foods. I think the highlight for the kids was the hot cocoa station Aunt Sam had setup. They were able to choose whether to add M&M's or candy canes to their hot cocoa in addition to marshmallows. The girls each received a new camera from Grandma Becki and Grandpa Bob, which they were pretty thrilled about. Trace received a Captain America Shield and mask, which he couldn't have been more thrilled to have received. He was so demonstrative opening his gifts, which made it extra fun this year!
• Christmas Morning- We spent our morning opening gifts from just the five of us. The kids each received a stocking filled with gifts from Santa and three gifts from us, to simulate how the wise men brought Jesus three gifts on his birthday. We ate Monkey Bread and played with our new gifts. This year Kaylee's three gifts were: Caroline, a new American Girl, who happens to have blond hair and blue eyes just like her. She also received the game Battleship and Caroline's accessories. Kianna's gifts included a CD player for her room, some Adventures in Odyssey CDs, and a pair of black boots. Trace's gifts included the new Leap Pad II, headphones, and a game. Trevor got a new wedding ring since his was lost in Lake Michigan this summer and I received a gift certificate for a massage. Each year in art class, Kaylee makes us a new figure out of clay for a nativity set. Last year she made Baby Jesus and this year we received Mary. It is very special. She also wrote us a note from all the kids saying: 
• "Dear Mom and dad, Sorry we only gave you one Christmas present. We thot that one of are pesents to you geys could be being on are best behaveyour & not conplaneing. Merry Christmas. Love, the Cook kids. Lets be a joyfull family." I love this girl!!!
• Christmas Day- We spent at Stacie and Patrick's house with the rest of my family. Stacie made a fabulous meal, which she served on my Grandma Carie's special china and real silverware. It was fun to use these special items. Trace received a batcave, which he was thrilled about. Kaylee received a new alarm clock that changes colors while charging her ipod. She loves it! Kianna got some Webkinz. She loves stuffed animals, so was thrilled.
• Game Night with Sam and Mike- We had a great time playing a new game, Pandemic. The bad news is that Sam started her own pandemic when she broke out with the stomach flu just two hours after we left their house...
•  Playstation: We met up with Grandma Sue, Scott and Emily and their three kids and Melissa and her three kids. Together the cousins had a fun time playing together while us adults visited.
• Christmas with Grandma Sue- The kids received some Angry Birds Star Wars sets from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne. We have since enjoyed playing in some Angry Bird tournaments as a family. Fun times!
• Les Miserables- What a great movie!! I enjoyed watching this with my three moms (Becki, Sue and my mom). It isn't often a person can say that. I'm thankful they all get along!
• Date Night with The Issa's- It was fun hanging out with our good friends, Anthony and Julie. We had a nice dinner out and then watched "The Hobbit". Fun times!!!
• Stomach Flu- Trace came down with the stomach flu. Thankfully it was short lived and no one else got it!!!
• Lunch with my Mom- I had a quiet lunch out with my mom. We had a nice visit.
• Russell Christmas Party- Spent an evening visiting with family we don't get to see too often.
• Breakfast at Shannon's- Before heading back to Michigan we had one last family gathering where we enjoyed a pancake breakfast. It was a nice way to spend the morning!
• Build-a-Bear- The kids all received gift cards from Aunt Shelli to Build-a-Bear. We decided to stop and let the kids use their gift cards on our way out of town. The kids had a blast! Trace ended up with a white teddy bear named Captain, a Captain America outfit and a Spiderman outfit for his bear. Kianna got a husky dog with beautiful blue eyes, which she named Snowflake. She also got an ice skating outfit for her dog. Kaylee picked out a rainbow colored bear, which she named Colorful. She also got a fun outfit for her bear. The kids had a great time thanks to Aunt Shelli.

We had a great week in Iowa, but as always it is good to be back home in Michigan. Christmas decorations are put away until next year and we are ready to bring in the new year...