New Home!

We're closed on our new home!  Pictures and video to come soon!  In the meantime, please be praying that our home will  become a place full of visitors and life.

Sarah the Instigator

Would this sweet child ever pick a fight? According to the story I was told when I picked Sarah up from nursery last Sunday, she sure would. It seems that Sarah was quite awake and sharing a nursery worker's lap with another child. Using her newfound dexterity, Sarah was feeling with curiosity the other child's arm. This child was not a fan of being explored and proceeded to give Sarah a bite on the hand. Lesson learned? Probably so. The worker said she knew something was wrong when Sarah let out a sudden cry, which this experienced mother knew to be a cry of pain. With a small red spot as evidence, the story quickly unfolded. By the time I picked her up the spot was almost gone and there wasn't a tear in site. Only a tired girl who loves being doted on in the nursery!

Let it snow!

Sunday night I drove a few girls to our senior girls discipleship group Christmas party. On the way over we encountered a little precipitation. On the way home it was definitely snowing. The girls were looking forward to a snow day (which I understand they did NOT get) and I was looking forward to our first New England snow.

Monday morning we woke up to what we considered a winter wonderland. The snow was about 3 inches deep and covering everything! What we didn't know was that by the end of the day we would have about 8 inches of snow (or even more!). Eventually the plows came through and we took a little drive to see the sites. As expected, the Cape is beautiful when snow covered.

This morning (Tuesday) the snow is still here and has even blown against the porch to a couple of feet high. Sidewalks are now plowed (I saw my first snow blower in action) and some snow is melting. It continues to be overcast, but the current temp is 34 degrees. More snow or rain is expected over the next couple of days. This could be our first white Christmas!

Happy 5 months!

Today, we are excited to celebrate 5 months with Sarah! What a blessing she has been. Here are some of the highlights of the last month.

Weight: our home estimate gave her 20 lbs, though I doubt it is really that much
Height: long! Onesies not snapping are the first sign an outfit is too small, even if her sleeves cover her hands!
Head: ?
Diaper: Size 3- the past couple of nights she has mysteriously leaked on her clothes without getting the diaper wet...
Clothes: 6 month full time and 9 month are most comfortable for the torso
Likes: playing with her fingers, picking with her fingers, standing in the bouncer, smiling!, motorboat (buzzing her lips)

Dislikes: I can't think of any right now! She has grown out of most of last months.

Schedule: We are currently thriving on about a 4 hour schedule. Sarah is sleeping, eating, and pooping well. She is very flexible within this routine, which means that we have the opportunity to get much accomplished.

7:30 Wake, nurse, and cereal

9:00-11:30 Nap

11:30 Wake, nurse, and cereal

1:00 Nap

3:30 Wake, nurse, and cereal

5:00 Nap (only 30-45 and not always)

7:00 Nurse, then down for the night

10:00 Last feeding and back to bed

Hair: This month Sarah's hair fell out, with the exception of a few tufts right on the back of her neck. Every day it seems like more has grown back. It is coming in much fuller and very brown. We are excited to use our bows again!

Rolling: Sarah still only rolls to her right, from back to front. She definitely considers it an old trick and is now just as content to play on her back as her stomach. Standing up is probably her favorite way to play though, and she has big fun playing in the jumper.

Solids: We started feeding Sarah cereal a couple of weeks ago (12/1) when she was exhibiting what we read were classic signs of readiness. Namely, she showed great interest in what we were eating at meal time, opened her mouth, and holds her head up well. At each meal she nurses, eats 1T of rice cereal mixed with 3T pumped milk, then nurses again. "They" say that until 6 months the main source of nutrition still comes from nursing, but it is time to learn to eat from a spoon. Sarah is doing very well with this. We are working hard at not only getting the food in, but doing it in a disciplined and routine fashion.

Next appointment: Sarah has a routine check-up and shots on January 19 at the pediatrician. She also has (hopefully) her final check-up with the pediatric cardiologist in Plymouth with Boston Children's Hospital on January 20.

enjoying some lap time

eating our first bit of cereal

sometimes we have a tummy sleeper!

Life update

Is anyone as shocked that we are within 10 days of Christmas as we are? While we have been celebrating the advent of Christ, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas just seems extra short. Just want to update folks on some exciting things happening for the Cooks in the next few weeks.

1. We hope (prayers appreciated) to be closing on a house next Thursday, December 23. This home would definitely be an answered prayer, as it happened faster than we expected and is far more for our money than we expected.

2. Shortly after Christmas we will be visiting the Cook side of the family in Florida. Thaw out the orange groves before we come, because while we love this MA fall, we are looking forward to some warm weather! This will be a special time for Sarah to meet some of her family for the first time.

3. Howell family (my dad, mom, and little baby brother) are coming north for a visit mid-January. We are excited to have them for some oohing and ahing over how Sarah has grown and a time of exploring the Cape. Do we wish for snow or no snow?!

Our Little Rapper

My name is Sarah Cook

I'm a little girl well loved

my parents like to hug on me

and squeeze me like a glove

I love to eat my cereal

it keeps me full all day

then I take good naps

and don't cry the night away

Pink is my favorite color

'cause I'm a little girl

so bathe me down, dress me up

and take me for a whirl!

(Mom can't figure out how to turn off the underline!)

Date Day

Not long after we arrived in Osterville, Dave received a flier at work advertising a production of Handel's Messiah at Symphony Hall (home of the Boston Pops) in Boston. Knowing that I love a good show and with interest in learning about Messiah, Dave purchased a couple of tickets. That's right, just two! This was an adults only date. He proposed to the idea to some friends on the worship team who he knew would be interested, and one sweet woman said it sounded great, but what if she kept Sarah while we attended? Of course, we gratefully accepted this gracious invitation. Tickets, check! Babysitter, check!

So the night before the date Dave was confirming our schedule, route, and parking arrangements and discovered what became a playful counterpart to our sophisticated outing. The Boston Pops were kicking off their winter season with a carol sing. Not just any carol sing. This was a world record attempting, continuous carol sing. We needed to join with 7,200 other carolers for approximately 15 minutes of singing to beat a record set at Bob Jones University in 2004. So Dave called our babysitter and rearranged our plans so that we could carol. And carol we did! Though a mere 3,200 people showed up, we had a great time singing with the masses.

After singing and before the matinee show time, we enjoyed lunch at Legal Seafood. (Mom, I kept calling it Barely Legal- remember the charter fishing boat?!) It was delicious! Dave enjoyed a nice crab cake and I had the fried seafood platter. Mmmm!

We then headed to the show and were astounded by Symphony Hall. It is beautiful! The production consisted of a chorus, four soloists, and an orchestra of predominately strings. Messiah is wholly taken from King James Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer sung through recitations and arias. It is divided into three parts with the popular Hallelujah chorus concluding Part 2. It is divided as follows:

Part 1: Prophecy and Birth

Part 2: Life, Death, and Resurrection

Part 3: Redemption and Judgement

It was a very moving and powerful work. What a wonderful way to begin the Christmas season!