Goat Herders

For those of you that don't know there are two things I don't like to do: 1. get up on stage. 2 - Dance! I don't know how or why, but Luke and Matt talked me into doing an act in our ward talent show. Back in college Luke did the performance with some roommates at the Ricks College talent night and won the contest. So Luke got the idea to try it with some old guys and do it for the ward. It is a dance to the song, "Lonely Goat Herder," from the movie The Sound of Music. It is a good laugh.

Of Course - Ethan!

What would an update be without an Ethan picture.

These were pictures that Brooke took in the backyard of our beautiful Oregon.

Creative Minds

We have some creative minds in our home. Avery is always doing something - making videos, drawing pictures, and/or making clothes for her animals. Liam is always doing something with trains or having conversations with Thomas and company.

Avery took a grocery store bag and turned it into an hour of fun. They were having a good time together.

Liam decided to make a train track using post-it notes. It went all the way down the hall.

We are Marshall

Last week we (meaning Liam and I) were very inspired. I went to the Red Box, pretty cool deal, to rent a movie. There wasn't much there, so I decided to get the movie, We are Marshall. Brooke was pretty skeptical, but ended up liking it. I felt like I was walking back through memory lane. Every time they would show a football scene and the high impact collisions I would get excited. I could start to feel the adrenaline from when I used to play, way back when I was much bigger than now. After the movie I was showing Liam how to tackle and we were practicing. I was showing him how to get into a three-point stance and the correct way to hit. He would run all the way across the room and tackle me, sending me backwards. Maybe I will have a little football player some day.

Liam and the Thomas Dance

A couple of weeks ago Natalie, Avery's friend, gave Liam a wonderful gift - a Thomas the Tank Engine toothbrush. But the nifty thing about this toothbrush is that it plays the Thomas theme song. Liam loves this toothbrush! Tonight I was getting Liam ready for bed and he got up onto the tub and started doing the Thomas Dance. I got a good kick out of it. Brooke pointed out that his legs stand just like mine. Knocked together at the knees and spread wide and the ankles. It is one of those traits I was glad to pass on. Liam is a pretty cute kid!

Yes, a new Ethan pic!

Brooke was having a feet binge and took lots of pictures of Ethan and Liam's feet.
This is Liam's cute little rump!

What would our blog be without another pic of Ethan. He is just too cute.

Jaunty yellow bathroom

Here is a picture of our jaunty yellow bathroom. It definitely fits Brooke's personality - jaunty! We are going to change the bath mats and towels to white and put different pictures in the frames, but it's a start. This is one more example of Brooke's great ideas.

Snow Day!

Liam enjoyed the snow!
Avery was playing around with the camera the day before and took this picture.
This is the next day, early in the snow storm. There was another 3-4 inches that got dumped on the ground.

I know this doesn't compare to my dad's picture and there 18 inches on the table, but it's Eugene and we take what we can get.

Snow Day! No school - YAH! We have had quite a lot of fun on this rare snow day. Here are some pictures of our fun time out in the snow. Avery and Liam were having a great time snuggled up in their clothes and rolling around in the white stuff. We walked over to the park and had a nice time sledding down the really big hill (sense the sarcasim from a Utahn). Avery took a couple of spills and so did I, but that's what happens when you try to sled down the hill standing up.

Liam and Ethan

What more can I say? Two cute boys.

Tubbies & Thomas

Ethan loves his tubby time. Liam and Ethan are pretty cute together. Liam wanted to make sure to take plenty of pictures of his Thomas movies, of course. The kid is obsessed (sounds familiar in our family). They are two cute boys.

Cute noises

Sorry about the dark! But Ethan is making some cute noises, and that's what matters.

Cute noises

Here are some cute noises from Ethan. I particularly like the sneeze at the end.

The Phone!

Last year we had a casualty of home. Brooke was working in the garage, on some project of course, and left the phone on top of the car. An innocent, unsuspecting husband pulled away not knowing it was left on top. When I got home Brooke told me what she had done. I went out onto the road and 40 yards from our house was our phone, smashed to pieces.

Well, yesterday I came home from doing quite a few errands to find that Brooke had left the phone on top of the car, again. Brooke said that she and Avery had looked all over for it. Avery was even sent out onto the road to look, but couldn't find it anywhere. I went back out to get the rest of the groceries, and guess what was on top of the car? The phone. And it still worked! Even after being out in some rain. Go figure.

Liam-isms

I have a few Liam-isms. There pretty fun.

1. Liam and I are lying on the ground. He says, "Dad, you have some cracks on your face. I need to get the hammer and fix them."

2. While riding in the car to Portland for an overnight stay Liam says, "Stop the wheels! Stop the wheels! I have to go pee-pee."

3. For dinner last night we had Navajo tacos. There was one scone left and I asked Liam if he wanted it. He said, "No, that ones fired!" (Meaning burned).

Ethans' blessing

Today I was able to give Ethan his baby blessing. It was a wonderful experience. Brooke searched all over for the perfect outfit and finally found the right one. My Grandma Saunders gave us a baby blanket that she made, which we used for the blessing. I was very grateful that my dad was able to be here for the occasion. Giving a baby blessing is one of the few times a father has to give a blessing that is similar to a patriarchal blessing. When we held him in the circle I looked down to see little Ethan smiling up at me and I saw how he relies on me, just like I rely on my Heavenly Father. And it helped me get a better understanding of His love for us.

The Oregon Coast

Trip to the Coast

While my dad was here we took a trip over to the Oregon coast. We went to Florence and visited the Haceta lighthouse. It was a very cold and windy day. Fortunately, it wasn't raining and we even got some sun breaks. We hiked up to the lighthouse and were enjoying the view, when we saw some seals out swimming in the water. Every time I go to the coast I am amazed at how big and powerful the ocean is.

Our big boy!

Ethan went to the doctor today and they said he is already in the 55 percentile for his weight. Not bad for my preemie boy and who was in the 5th percent two weeks ago. It must be something he is fed! He still hasn't hit his growth spurt in the height area. He is now as tall as Avery was when she was born.

Christmas

Ethan got some cute reindeer pj's.

I have determined that Liam is a true Cottle. He has the "Cottle blood!" He is obsessive with his Thomas the train set. He eats, sleeps, and breathes Thomas. Sounds like his Dad - It's all or nothing when it comes to being a Cottle.

It was nice to finally get to stay home for Christmas. We really did miss being with our families, but is was nice to establish our own traditions, while continuing the old ones. I even tried to start our own new tradition of drinking chocolate milk before opening presents, but had to go back to the OJ, I just couldn't do it. The kids had a great time opening presents and playing with them. Liam is our Thomas fanatic! He got some more train tracks for his play table and grandma got him some Thomas movies and action figures. Avery really like her mp3 player! And loves to rock out to High School Musical. We were very blessed this year and have much to be thankful for, especially at this time of remembering our Savior.

Christmas Eve

We had a great time on Christmas Eve. We had fondue, which didn't turn out quite right. It was pretty thick in one part, and runny on top. It was fun to use the small forks and dip. Brooke read about a cool tradition that another family did. You put a peanut (we used a gummy bear because of the choking hazard with little kids) in one bowl of chocolate pudding, and whoever eats it gets an early present. Brooke was our official winner and got the game Lucky Duck.

After dinner we read about the birth of our Savior in Luke 2. It was good to talk about why we have Christmas. Then we read Christmas books with the kids. The kids got to open their pj's from mom and dad. Avery left Santa a cute little note, with carrots, cookies, and milk.