Halloween

Avery and Liam had a great time trick or treating. Avery was a witch and Liam didn't want to wear his costume, so we told people he was a boxer (sorry Margaret). I met up with the McFarlane's and the Ward's to go trick or treating. It was fun to have a Dad's Halloween out, while the wives passed out candy at home. Liam wanted to eat and eat and eat. I was glad that it wasn't as cold this year. Last year was freezing.

Avery & Ethan

Avery is a proud sister. She is always wanting to hold Ethan and cuddle him.

1st Bath

Here are some pictures from Ethan's first "unofficial" bath. He is still waiting for Grandma Marcheschi.

Liam & Ethan

Liam wasn't very interested in holding Ethan. He wanted to watch Thomas the Tank Engine!

Ethan Douglas Cottle

Yes, we have finally came to an agreement, and his name is Ethan Douglas Cottle!
We are glad Grandma Cottle was able to rearrange her schedule to come visit us early.
Margaret gave Liam a Thomas the Train Engine and he won't put it down. He was more excited about that than his brother.
This was as we were heading home out the door. Yes, Brooke was really smiling!

Our cute little family.

Suprise - 4 weeks early!

This is after his second helping of "nursey" and he looks pretty content.
Happy dad!

On Saturday night Brooke started feeling some contractions, nothing major, about 10-15 minutes apart. They continued throughout Sunday. Brooke was running around Sunday trying to get the primary program to run well, which it did. That night when we were putting the kids to bed she noticed that she was bleeding. We quickly called our friend Margaret who came over to watch the kids while we went to the hospital. I was able to give her a quick priesthood blessing before we left. Luckily, our doctor, Dr. Cooper, was on call that night. He examined her and found that she was dilated to a 6! Because of the bleeding, dilation, and the the baby was breech they quickly prepared to do an emergency c-section. Everything with the operation went well. When they pulled it out I got to have the first look at its gender - a boy. The little guy, no name yet, was having to work really hard to breath, so they took him to the NICU to give him a series of antibiotics and to monitor him closely. Dr. Cooper said that if we would have been 15 minutes later we might have lost our precious little guy. We are very humble and lucky to have him with us. Mom and baby are doing well. He is feeding like a horse and is pretty well behaved. If he continues to eat like he does he won't stay at his 5 lbs 10 oz and 19 in. frame for long. Brooke is sore, but smiling as always.

Thank you for all the support of family and friends. We couldn't have done it without you! Thanks for the phone calls, emails, and especially prayers.

Love,

Brady, Brooke, Avery, Liam, and (unknown first name?) Douglas (known middle name) Cottle

Trunk or Treat

We got to go to our ward trunk or treat. We went with the whole Oz theme, can you tell?

Our grown up girl

Avery is definitely getting older. We were looking at pictures of when Liam was born two years ago and were amazed at how much Avery has changed. She is turning into a miniature Brooke. I still need to put a picture of her with her new glasses. She walks, talks, and acts a lot like Brooke. I am starting to see her personality change from dolls to cd players. I don't think I am ready for a teenager! Atleast I have a few years to go.

Quite the character

Liam is quite the character these days! He is always pulling face and making us laugh. Lately, we can't get him to take a normal picture. There is also a picture of Liam and Bennett having fun and pulling faces.

Brooke's New Obsession!

This is the "Be Safe" note that I left Brooke in the car. You will have to read the book to find the pun!

Brooke has a new obsession - Twilight. Brooke and her friends are completely obsessed with this book. They have read all three books (Brooke read them all in a week). Brooke is constantly checking the author, Stephanie Meyers, website to see upcoming books and check new comments. Brooke even invited some friends over for a Twilight party. Here are the pic's that Margaret took.

Belly Up

I wanted to give you a "Belly Up"date as we get closer to the due date. The due date is November 26, less than two months away. With tradition in our family we always guess the gender, name, and birthday. So we are opening it to anyone for a guess.

Avery's First Day of 5th Grade

It is hard to believe that Avery is growing up so fast. She will be going to the 5th grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Cain. Avery still loves to read, and fight with Dad about who gets to read a book first (we both wanted to read Pretties, which is the sequal to Uglies, both of which are good books). We are lucky to have her.

What's new with Liam? aka Spencer's Butte hike

Who would have known our little Liam has already found his true love! Our family went with the McFarlane's to hike Spencer's Butte. It is a 2.5 mile hike to the top of a beautiful peak. On the way up Liam and Whitney were holding hands. Oh, true love! According to Avery they are already betrothed. The kids would walk by and "cut the pickle" and give them a tickle. All the kids got pretty dirty, but that was part of the fun. Brooke was a real trooper. For being 7 months pregnant she did well. At the end of the hike it gets pretty steep and difficult to climb, but she hung in there. She was pretty tired afterwords. Here are some pic's from our fun hike.

Lotoja 2007

Yes, I finished my fourth Lotoja race! This year had many unforgettable experience. What would a 206 mile bike race be like without some challenges? It is always fun to see the family and ride with them. I can't wait until next year.

Summer pic's

This summer Brooke had us picking every type of fruit in the area. In Eugene they have u-pick fruit farms, where we got to pick blueberry's, strawberry's, and raspberry's. We have a freezer full of freezer jam and have vowed to never buy jam from the store again. Brooke will also be picking peaches and apples soon.

When you gotta-go you gotta-go, even if you are picking blueberry's.

Liam and Avery have loved picking fruit and vegetables from our little garden in the backyard. Liam especially likes the strawberry's and peas.

Avery and Liam enjoyed running through the sprinklers.

The family got to go to the Oakway Center to listen to a local jazz band play in the court yard.

We have had a great summer hanging at the house, going to the library, running through sprinklers, playing in the club house, and going to the park. Brooke has been taking the kids to the park for the different activities, such as the local artist that came to teach the kids how to paint. Brooke takes the kids to the library where they hear stories and sing songs. They always come back with stacks of books, and of course, Thomas the Train movies.

One of "those" parents

I never thought I would be one of "those" parents. You know, the parent that lets their child wear the rain boots with shorts to such places as the grocery store or the mall. Yes, I have to admit I am now one of "those" parents. Liam got some owl rain boots for his birthday in March and he can't go anywhere without them. He loves them! It is funny all the things you promised your kids would never do, but they do.