Easter, Zoo, and Boxcars

I wish some of you could be a fly on the wall in my house throughout our day as we are living life with three kids two and under. You'd probably get a kick out of Mclean yelling 'Haaaaaaaappppppppy to you. Happpppppppppppppppyyyyyy to you.', and Nelson using any and everything as a sword. You'd enjoy the moments when Seth and I have to turn our backs to our children to prevent them seeing us bust out laughing during the middle of disciplining.

Mclean loves to discipline Nelson and Cullen with his 'No, No Bubba!' and shaking his finger at them. Nelson loves to put his entire body on Cullen and kiss his face. Nelson enjoys taking things from Mclean and antagonizing him with said item while Mclean throws huge crying fits about that said item. Mclean loves to pop Nelson on the head for no reason at all.

The boys had a great Easter. We enjoyed spending the weekend with my family. The competitive hunting skills need to be honed in as Mclean enjoyed wearing his basket on his head and Nelson dumped all his eggs out.

I have to be honest with you though.....

The Easter bunny almost didn't show up at our home.

All the candy that Mclean and Nelson got was eaten by mom and dad.

Are you judging me?

Mckenna and Cullen watching the egg hunting.

The twins hunting eggs that Mackay hid.

Dyeing Easter eggs.

In high school I was apart of a little clan and we called ourselves the DS. They are my girls. We are brutally honest, encouraging, reproducing like mad, and talk on the daily. They listen to me (along with ol Vic) on my hard days and our friendship is one of my simple JOYS in life. We get together as often as our busy schedules allow. During our Easter visit I was able to get away with the twins for a play date with two of the girls.

Mclean, Drake, Nelson, and Syd driving around.

There are six of us, seven kids, and you know more are coming!

Pop and Cullen

Visiting great Grandmother

Last weekend we took the boys to the zoo and met Seth's family there. I absolutely love the zoo and was so excited to take our crew. It was a fun time with family; however, Seth and I left there completed whooped. Taking care of so many little people and their emotions is intense.

I would consider myself a planner, but darn it I still have a lot to learn in that area. I forgot a hat for our youngest, so he used the twins and our nephews hats.

This dude is always smiling (during the day that is).

All the dudes

Can't wait to add a little girl to this mix of five dudes this year :)!

This looks pretty intense.

Aunt Em with Mclean.

Uncle Zach and Nelson.

Nelson absolutely loves animals. Dogs especially. He loves to get in their face. Grab tails. Pet and slap them. So, he had a ball with the goats and giraffe feeding.

Mclean being grossed out by the goat's tongue.

The Cook clan - minus Trevor.

Riding the tram to the Gardens!

What a cutie.

Julian and Mclean digging for dinosaurs.

Mclean and Nelson are both receiving speech therapy and I'm all for it. I've noticed a huge difference in Mclean since he's started it. I'm sure Nelson will soon follow. I think a lot of Nelson's speech is 1. I'm a clueless mother and 2. He's a man of few words like his daddy. 

The boys daycare held a 'boxcar movie day' last week. I was dreading this as the parents basically make the boxcar for 2 year olds. So, I called Seth freaking out like what the world we gone do about this. Seth was rather excited at the idea of making boxcars, so I calmed my roll. We spent four nights making and decorating their boxcars into Ford F150's so they could be like Dad. The night before the event Seth and I were dusting our shoulders off if you catch my drift. Seth was rather thrilled and wanted to go with us to drop the boxes off at daycare the next day (typically I drop off the dudes and he picks them up). 

We thought we were killing the parenting gig. 

Legit. 

Ain't nobody got us. 

Then we walked into school.

We immediately saw we did not kill the parenting gig. We saw helicopters, tanks, diggers, bull dozers, fire trucks, go-carts, and the list continues. We walked in with our small F150's and were like Sorry dudes. This is what we got. Ahhhh haha. Now we know and next year. We will legit kill this parenting gig for creating the boxcars. Stay tuned.  

The boys in their boxcars. I think the biggest problem was they were a little small for them. 

The only kids in the room that didn't sit in their cars. And to make it even better they were at the front of the room and standing in front of everyone!

Just a few sweet sweet pictures of my crew.

Picture day.

Dad did side comb overs for both of the boys. Oh my word. Side comb overs are terrible. But when said side comb over is on your own kids...TO DIE FOR. I melted in a puddle.

And then to see them holding hands in their studly attire. I melted again.

I'm a terrible mother and didn't buy the school pictures. None of my kids smiled. In a single photo. Three kids. Multiple shots. No smiles.

Life Story.

Mclean is my eater. 'Nack please'. 'More eat'. 'Rai Rai'. Food is on the kids mind all the time. Mclean is also my kid that gets crazy crazy when he's hungry. I mean he screams and cries and pitches tantrums. Give him a snack. Different kid. 

Nelson is obsessed with milk. The kid gets all giddy when he sees you pouring his milk. We have to bribe him with milk to eat his meals. If you take a few bites of that I'll give you more milk. I've never seen an addiction like this. One of our favorite persons gave him milk for his birthday gift. The kid was stoked.

Cullen...you are the cutest.

How is this one 6 months? I can't deal. He's the happiest. He mostly entertains himself with toys. The twins NEVER did that. During the day I tell Seth we need to have a fourth. Then night time comes. And I'm like okay no - three is good. No more. Cullen is a terrible sleeper. Terrible. Most nights he's up around 4 times. At 5am home boy is up and ready to go. With a HUGE SWEET smile on his face and Seth and I melt and are ticked off all in one moment.

Mclean with 'ears'.

Cullen post bath time.

Nelson loved playing in the mud and splashing water everywhere.

 These three are such sweet blessings!

The Cook's :).

Getting back at it!

Y'all. It's April. I haven't blogged in ages. We now have twin TWO year olds and an almost 6 month old.

Our life is hectic and wild and beautiful and messy and perfect. The twins are hilariously entertaining, dramatic, and busy. Cullen is laid back and so sweet. He tends to have a few moments of cray cray here and there, but typically smiles majority of the time. And hates to sleep. 

Every time we enter a new season it automatically becomes my favorite. So, currently spring is bringing it for me! I love hearing the birds chirp, seeing the flowers bud, and dreaming of a bountiful garden. I enjoy the sun staying out later and seeing my little dudes legs in shorts.

This year I'm thinking I'll finally get that amazing garden! The dudes are finally at an age where they can entertain themselves a little when we play outside. The last two years they've needed LOTS of constant attention. This year they still need attention, but they generally stay in the yard without eating gross things or running to the road :)! Cullen loves to watch them run around and will hang out on a blanket pretty well. So, I'm planning to go to town with the tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers!

Look how much these babies have grown! This was in April of 2017.

My plants with Mclean digging around (2017). He still loves to play in all the dirt!

Look at Nelson's chunky little face! May of 2017.

This summer I'm dreaming of the fun we will have strawberry picking, eating watermelon on the porch, vacationing with the Cook's, vacationing with my family at the beach, and watching my dudes continue to grow!

Nelson loved eating all the Strawberries last year while Mclean ate the dirt :).

Mclean working hard and so cute in a camo hat.

Watermelon was a staple at our house this past summer. I was pregnant with Cullen and wanted it all the time. They would go to town on it after naptime on the weekends.

Nelson

Mclean

In October we welcomed Cullen into the Cook clan. His birth weight was documented incorrectly, so we are going with a 7lbs 14 oz (which is what he weighed that first night). Nelson immediately loved him. Six months in and Mclean may be beginning to warm up to him :).

Nelson is always trying to sneak in a bear hug or a big sloppy kiss to 'Cu-Cu'.

Mclean crying b/c he didn't want Cullen to touch his leg. Nelson loving having Cullen in his lap.

The twins are absolute complete and t-total opposites.  Mclean looks and acts like me. Nelson looks and acts like Seth. It is so amazing their differences.

Mclean needs lots of attention and loving. He is very emotional and wants things to go his way all the time. If it doesn't - the world is falling apart. He has such a big personality and adores books. He is sweet, tender, super cautious, and has such a big heart. He loves dirt and to sleep upside down in his bed. He likes to let us know when mom, dad, bubba, or cu-cu have to poop. He is timid in new environments but will warm up relatively quick. His hair grows ridiculously fast and he is so so so obsessed with rain boots. He is a little more attached to mom, but LOVES wrestling with Dad. He loves to be a helper and I absolutely love his big cheesy grins. 

A situation such as this may occur like 4 or 5 times in one day.

The kid loves dirt. And I love that smile.

He is absolutely a handsome dude.

Photo by Aron Smith

Nelson is our adventurer. He is intelligently sneaky beyond his years. He is clumsy and can hardly ever walk without falling. He has the cutest little run where he hikes up his shoulders and swings his hands super fast. The dude is quick. He enjoys anything that has to do with technology. He will snatch a phone or a remote in a quick minute. He is uber loving and one of his favorite things to do is nestle his face in your neck. He loves wrestling with dad and giving hugs and kisses. Seth and I joke about his future career being in the military b/c the kid can function without sleep and can take a HUGE hit, jump up, and keep going like nothing happened. He is sensitive when his feelings get hurt, but could care less about a spanking. He is obsessed with milk and I absolutely love to hear him say 'cook---ee'. Seth and I love his excited squeal when we are getting him something he wants. 

This kid can give you some looks.

That face :). 

What a stud.

Photo by Aron Smith.

A few pictures of the twins.

Got my shades on.

Trying on hats from their cousin. You can see the difference in their head size :).

They both LOVE the sandbox.

Typical. Dump everything out. Everywhere.

Cullen. He loves Mom. Plays well with all of his toys. Loves a good bath. Enjoys watching his brothers play. The boys love to 'tickle' Cullen and blow on his belly. I love it when Mclean and Nelson get him to laugh. He's rolling everywhere but doesn't seem to be trying to crawl yet. He is eating about 4-5 oz of solids a day and hasn't decreased on his milk intake as of yet. He's getting a little chunk to his cheeks and legs and I absolutely love his sweet grin.

Such a good grinner.

He's loved every food we've offered to him thus far!

Sweet little dude.

Photo by Aron Smith.

This is how we look at the end of our days!

Hope you all have a great rest of your week!!

The Cook's :).