Christmas Letter 2010

We’ve moved! Yes we have finally moved. At first we were building a house in Castle Rock, but changed our minds and decided to stay north. It was all very silly and we are finally done. We have moved to a neighborhood that we have been fond of for a long time. The neighbors have been great and there is a cozy sense of community, which we hope will be nice for raising the kids. We are all very happy; even if Tony didn't get his little farmhouse. Maybe when the kids are old enough to start working around the farm we'll let Tony run with his crazy farm idea!
Tony – Tony is still working from home and we still feel very fortunate. He was very busy when we first moved in updating the kids and our bedrooms. Although in hindsight maybe we should have waited to do the kids rooms; since they STILL sleep in our room on the floor with their crib mattresses. Well not all of them, yet, King Louis still has his own bed chambers. Tony still has to travel a few times a year and yes, I still cry every time he goes and not because I’ll be home alone with three kids, but because I still love him so much after 18 years! He is a wonderful and present husband and father, I am very grateful to be part of his team.
Rita – I took another year off and love spending time with the kiddos. They grow so quickly and I feel like time goes by too fast. I hope to return to work in the next couple of years. I miss teaching and hope that masters degree doesn’t crumble into dust, but I would not trade all the time I’m spending with the kids for anything in the world. (Even if it gets super crazy around here!)
Anthony 7-23-05- Anthony is doing well and enjoys leisurely reading. He is a fantastic big brother and is the neat one of the bunch. He likes to put his animals in order and makes sure his shoes are all lined up. He usually is very well mannered and never denies mom her 10 hugs a day. He loves riding his bike and hitting baseballs. Oh yeah and he loves watching baseball; his favorite team is the Cubs (he really started enjoying baseball from watching it with Grandmother and Papo this summer). We took him to a Rockies vs. Cubs game and he thought it was pretty cool, but not as cool as all the vendors with snocones, hot dogs, and peanuts.
Avabelle 5-10-07- Ava is three and enjoys preschool and being around her friends. She loves every one of her friends and treats them all like a best friend. She has so much love in her heart and a great personality! Dad says she is the little girl he always dreamed of having. I like to cuddle and read books with her in the afternoon while big brother is at school, and little brother is sleeping. She is so imaginative and has a mind of her own, she says she will start using the potty when she is 16, but Dad is hoping to cut that in half and maybe we'll have her potty trained by her 8th birthday.
Louie 7-23-09– Louie is one and has a very charismatic personality, he often makes us smile, laugh, awestruck, pull our hair out and exhausted all within 2 minutes. When he is awake he is non-stop busy, busy, busy. His mind and his body are constantly going. He enjoys his older siblings and tries to mimic everything they do, and sometimes he teaches them a thing or two. He loves to play house, kitchen, cars, and sports; he is amazing for being such a little guy. He hits off the T in T-ball, kicks the soccer ball and loves to play catch with tennis balls or footballs. He is also a rock climber at heart; he is constantly finding new and interesting things to climb up. And he loves to be silly and dance with sister and brother when we watch Dancing with the Stars; his dance stage name is "Louie Go Go"
Jasmine 3-16-98– Jasmine is getting old she is 12 ½ years old which is getting up there in dog years. Her health is still ailing, but with the glucosamine she is able to get up and down the stairs without appearing to be in pain. She still has that happy dog at heart smile and loves cleaning the kitchen floors every time the kids spill something. She is still the best kid dog ever, she barks and snaps at Dad when the Kids and Dad wrestle on the floor, she is very protective of her kiddos.
We look forward to seeing all of you in the upcoming year. We wish you a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours. Our mottos around here are, “Life is good, and health is wealth!” We wish the same for all of you in the upcoming year and always!
All our love, The Cobb Family

January

This was a fantastic month for learning in the Cobb house.
Anthony - I explained to Anthony's teacher that we are working on his comprehension. She said, "It doesn't matter because he's a stud." He received an award for Academic achievement, and he did amazing on his mid-term he’s such a smart guy. Lately, I let him earn video game time by reading books we set the timer and how long he reads books is how long he gets to play. This get’s him excited to read to me, and I love hearing him read.
Avabelle – “Who rocks the house, Ava rocks the house.” This is something that has been said again and again this past month. Avabelle knows all her letter and sounds and is beginning to read, but best of all SHE POOPS IN THE POTTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It all started January 15th and has continued throughout the month. She has had a few pee accidents but no poop accidents. I LOVE IT!!!! This was her month to shine shine shine! Writing about it still gets me so excited!!!! I am so happy for her and us!
Louie – We have been working on Louie’s speech he says words but he doesn’t use them to communicate. His new favorite word is cocoa; he says it plain as can be. His 18 month check up went well she was happy with his weight and his motor skills. He was up down 40 times in a minute. She was talking to me and he pushed her stool over to the light and turned it off, it scared her because he is so quick. She asked how I keep up with him. I told her you just don’t rest.

Tony and I – This month was interesting, I am starting to clean out closets and drawers and it feels good. Living the quote, “Less stuff, more love to give.” The less time I spend cleaning the house with all the clutter the better I feel and the more time I spend with my kiddos. Tony is getting excited to start his gardening stuff, and me too. I love how dedicated he’s been. I want to help and encourage him any way I can. I was really thinking about how much our personalities have changed I believe I am more like he used to be and he is more like me. He’s such an amazing human bean who really cares for all of us. I couldn’t have found a more loyal person. I love him!!! I can't think of a time in my life when I've been more happy with everything than right now!

December

We had a wonderful Christmas! I was so excited for Christmas this year. Something about having a 5 year old, 3 year old, and 1 year old makes Christmas magical. The kids were very excited about it and seeing Christmas through their eyes was the best. I never remember Christmas being greater than it is now. A group of people in the neighborhood puts their name in a raffle and who ever gets choosen they get to pick up to 10 kids. Our neighborhood behind us got picked and Santa comes on a firetruck and brings the kids candy and asks what they want and leaves on the firetruck. The kids thought this was amazing. Also, we had a mini lighting ceremony with 5 of the neighbors, we all turned on the lights and the same time and had hot chocolate together.

Anthony - Anthony was so excited about Christmas this year he wanted to decorate the tree early, so we put our tree up a week before Thanksgiving. We all watched the movie Home Alone while we decorated the tree. He asked Santa for a nerf gun.

Avabelle - Avabelle was excited and asked Santa for a camera. Santa spent a lot of money on her camera and told her when she wasn't using it to put in Dad's office.

Louie - Louie asked santa for a doll because he loves to kiss babies so santa brought him a laughing baby. He was at Toys R Us and would laugh every time the doll would laugh and then he would hug her. Aunt Trish started to call him the little politician, she said he's the next Mayor of Westminster. She said she says hello to everyone and kisses the babies on their heads.

Tony and I - We had a wonderful Christmas and Tony decorated the outside so cute. Avabelle said dad did a great job! I don't know who is his bigger fan her or I. Tony always has a lot of admirers. He reminds me of an old heroic cowboy.