I smell t.r.o.u.b.l.e.

This little girl is officially in the 'busy/exploring" stage.  She can't get enough of getting into everything... constantly on the counters, and now she's figured out how to push/pull the stools to get where ever she wants. Her plans are well thought out, as evidenced below...

Needless to say, my purse has found a new home...

What we've been up to

It's been a long winter.  And we still have a solid two months of what I consider winter weather.  *sigh*  Here's how we've been trying to keep busy...

Hailee has become quite the budding pianist.  She crawls up on the bench 5 or 6 times a day and plays away- not banging randomly on the keys, but a soft 1 or 2 note at a time plinking.  Everytime Bryson is practicing, she is sure to be at his side, playing along.  He's usually pretty patient with her.

Learning new skilz:

Eli tries to be such a big helper- I think it makes him feel even bigger to be able to help his 'baby' sister. 

A few playdates here and there...

Hailee actually played really well with Kayla- nevermind that she's a year older than her (and that Kayla outweighs her!) 

Movie nights:

and they're not the same without popcorn and pillows.

Gettin' big!

Hailee thinks she so big now that she can crawl up onto the stools at the counter- surely she's big enough to eat lunch there!  Today, she would have nothing to do with sitting in her high chair for lunch- but how could I resist when she's so happy at the counter?

Of course she has to stand on a stool to be tall enough, but she's steady (far more steady than Eli was at 16 months when he quit his highchair!)

(pretty sure Eli has food in his mouth in every single picture here *grin*)

Snow!

Though it's been cold this winter, we really haven't gotten much snow, much to the chagrin of my boys.  We got a nice little snow storm the last few days that they thoroughly enjoyed.

Hailee got out in the snow for the first time on her own... she absolutely loved it- I don't know what she liked more, being free to run outside, or the magic of all the snow.

The boys spent hours playing on the 'bmx track' someone built on one of the empty lots-

 Bryson being such a fun big brother:

 Dallin taught Hailee how to face plant:

  and surprisingly when she came up, she had a big smile on her face-

the cold didn't bother her one bit!  After a while (and a whole lot of snow in her boots and gloves and coat) her bright red hands and cheeks told me it was time for her to go inside... she felt very strongly otherwise and screamed at the door begging to go back out for a solid ten minutes after we came in!  Every time we went out in the snow, she had just as much fun and loathed coming inside just as much.

It's a...

I had a fourteen week ultrasound yesterday "to confirm dates"... yes, I know when the nurse practitioner recommended one at my 8 week appointment in early December, she meant for it to be soon... I however, am very sure of my dates (the quick little scan she did at that same appointment confirmed that I wasn't further along... it showed a kidney bean,... NOT a baby with arms and legs... that's the difference between 8 and 12 weeks) sooo, I scheduled the ultrasound a few extra weeks out... like far enough out for the gender to be determined *wink*wink*

Eli and I made cupcakes earlier in the day... 1/2 with a pink center (as Eli says for 'ghee-uls'), and the other 1/2 with a blue center- the appropriate 1/2 to be eaten when Bryson got home from school.  Nathan stayed home with the younger kids, so even he wouldn't know until the cupcake surprise!  That being said, after my scan, I had an hour and a half to burn before Brysons school got out, and I KNEW I couldn't go home or Nathan would be able to read me...

And, without further ado, here's what we all saw when we ate the cupcakes (they were really tasty, I might add)

Yes, the Cottons are having ANOTHER boy!!  I must admit, I was kinda hoping for another girl, as was Bryson (his reasoning: "so Hailee could have a sister too!"  awwww...), but we are all so excited to have another boy.  During the ultrasound as they were measuring the leg bones, (before they were trying to figure out what we were having), I could totally tell it was a boy... a whole bunch of 'fluff' between those tiny leg bones being measured-

And PS: it's still our last, if Hailee's gonna be spoiled rotten cuz she's the only girl, at least she won't also be the baby!

Bryson-ism...

Sunday night we went with Bryson to a fireside for all the children turning 8 and being baptized this year.  During the course of the evening, the children were asked 'how they could know truth'...  excitedly, Bryson raised his hand and was called on.  His answer?  "mostly the internet,  and sometimes the scriptures."

Done!

Pardon this moment of bragging on my boy...

Bryson was beyond ecstatic tonight... he finished the last Harry Potter book!  He started in May... all 7 books equals over 4,100 pages total!  The completion culminated in no less than five minutes of shrieking, fist pumping and jumping up and down by him... I'm so proud of him!

A good nights sleep

Last night, Nathan was playing basketball...  I put the kids to bed, got in my jammies, and for some crazy reason, I went into the boys room and asked if they wanted to snuggle in bed with me, to which they all emphatically declared YES!!  I was pretty surprised by how quiet and still they were!  I fell asleep relatively fast,  sure that when Nathan got home, he'd move them into their beds... wrong.  I woke up at 12:30, with Bryson open-mouthed breathing in my face and Eli's feet on my tummy...  Now, I love cuddling with my boys, but sleeping with them, not so much.  Every 15 minutes I had someones feet in my back or head bonk into mine ...  it was torture.

In the morning, Nathan had the gall to complain about how uncomfortable Bryson's bed had been...

Someday I hope I can get a good nights sleep again.