Cruisin'

Twelve Days of Christmas by Owen Derrick

It's been a few weeks since I put any pictures up. We've been steadily decorating for Christmas, listening to Christmas music, baking cookies, and talking about Baby Jesus! It's an exciting time around here! Owen is really understanding the whole Santa/presents thing. He knows all about Baby Jesus being born in a manger, and if you ask him what the wise men brought, he will say "cake!" Well, I can understand why he'd say that. I mean, it was Jesus' birthday, right?

Owen's got a stopped-up nose, so we've been putting Vick's on his chest at night. He wanted Ben to rub some Vick's on his horse, Buttercup, too :)




This little kitty showed up at camp a few weeks ago, so she's kind of become our neighbor's outdoor cat. She's so sweet. The boys (and Owen) have named her "Pounce." Owen just adores her!

Here we are all bundled up, getting some outside-time while the sun peeped out momentarily. It's sooooooo hard being cooped inside!

It snowed two nights ago, and it was BEAUTIFUL! Owen didn't really play in it much, just because of his runny nose and cough, but he did enjoy seeing it.

And here's what happens when you get stuck inside with a two-year-old and a golden retriever...

Friday night we went to see the Christmas parade in Forest. It was so much fun, and it was FREEZING! Then we came home and Ben built a roaring fire, and we sat in front of it and had a "picnic" and listened to Christmas music. Owen loved it!

Here's Owen a few nights ago, enjoying Chicken and Stars. He thought he was so big, eating soup by himself! Kinda made me sad.

Owen's very own tree...all decked out with cowboys, stars, and horses!

Ben and I took Owen on a special trip last night! First we had dinner at McAlister's, which is a real treat for Owen, since we hardly EVER eat out with him! Last time we ate out with him, we decided we'd wait until he was about 5 to do it again! He's just all over the place, and it's just no fun to scarf your food down and chase a toddler all over a restaurant! But anyway, we went to McAlister's last night well-prepared...we took a train, a plane, an excavator, a horse, colors, and a coloring book! And he did GREAT! He seemed to really enjoy eating out!

Next we were off to see Santa!! We had been talking about this event for a few days, so Owen was all ready to give Santa his list! We took him to Bass Pro, where they had the most BEAUTIFUL Christmas scene set up. Owen walked right up to Santa and sat on his lap and told him he wanted "Lofty," a Bob-the-Builder truck. I actually think this was the real Santa Claus. He knew all about Bob-the-Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. He knew all the names and everything! I was so impressed!! Enjoy the pics!

This is Owen's new grumpy face! LOL!

Click here to see last year's Santa pic

A boy is Truth with dirt on its face,
Beauty with a cut on its finger,
Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair,
and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
-- Author Unknown

Fall 09

It's been a while since I've put any pictures up, so here are just a few that I've taken over the last couple of weeks. Check out the video in the next post.


Here's Owen in the dirt! This kid LOVES dirt, sand, rocks...anything he can scoop up with his excavators and dump trucks. He's all boy!

My parents came last weekend to visit. Owen really enjoyed digging in the dirt with them!

Looks like they're having a little fun, too...

Left to right: William, John-Bailey, Nathan, and Owen

We lined them all up so we could take a picture of the bottoms of their feet. The Cooke boys never wear shoes around here, so their feet stay filthy. And now Owen doesn't like to wear shoes outside, either! I wish you could see how nasty their feet are, but the picture doesn't do it justice!

Interview with a 2-yr-old

Like Father Like Son

Like father...

...like son.

Crazy Love

Trick-or-Treat

Owen -- oops, I meant Thomas the Tank Engine really enjoyed trick-or-treating this year. We went to my grandparents' neighborhood and took a little hayride around the neighborhood and then trick-or-treated a little bit. Owen was really more interested in seeing everyone's dogs than he was in the candy! But he really had fun!

We went to Granny's house first to get a little candy...

Mom and I in our matching shirts!

Thomas the Tank Engine and his Great Paw-Paw...too sweet!

Ben and I with Thomas the Tank Engine and Darth Vader (my cousin, Reid) getting ready for the hayride.

My Paw-Paw with Owen and Reid

My aunt, Amy, with Owen and her little boy, Reid. Remember when Owen gave his paci away to Baby Reid back in July? If you don't remember, click here. http://thederrickclan.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-grown-up.html

Curious George!

Here we are in Baton Rouge at Curious George Live! It was so adorable! Owen had a great time!

Dancing Meatballs!

We had GREAT seats! We sat 7 rows from the front, on the inside of the aisle, so Owen could see really well.

Huntley, the dachsund.