A Lifetime Of Love

I have been very blessed to have many good examples in my life...especially when it comes to marriage and commitment. 2008 marks a very big year for my grandparents, for my whole family really. On December 29, 2008 my grandparents will have been married for 70 years! Saturday they had a vow renewal ceremony at their retirement center. I love the second picture above...it has my grandparents being interviewed by a newspaper reporter but it also shows a picture of them when they first were married. They have had such an amazing life together and I am sure they are so proud when they look at the family that started all because of them. Although they are older now it is still obvious how much in love they are and how much they value one another. It is my prayer that Rhonald and I will know that kind of love when we have been married for 70 years...that we would see each other then as we do now. I pray that Cole grows up seeing parents who are devoted to one another and that we are a living example to him and his future wife. What an awesome responsibility it is to be a parent!!!!

Fun With Baby Food

Last night we had our first adventure with baby food! Cole has been eating rice cereal for a few weeks and really likes it so we decided to try something with a little more flavor. We started with sweet potatoes...we were so excited to get him in to his highchair and see how he would like it. He loved the highchair but was not too excited about the sweet potatoes. He would be so excited to get a new bite and once it hit his tongue he would make the funniest faces! I am planning on making most of Cole's baby food but we went with the store bought food last night because of time. Hopefully things will go better tonight and he will get more and more used to it as the days go on! I think the funniest thing about this new adventure was how we reacted to his reaction....Cole would take a bite, make a horrible face and we would cheer and clap and talk about how good sweet potatoes are (I hate sweet potatoes!) and how fun eating is. It really goes to show that once you become a parent you will do anything for your kids!

Cute Cole

Our friend, Rachel, is so good at taking pictures and loves to do so! It was such a great treat to check my email this morning and see that she sent me these cute pictures of Cole from last night. He did very well with all of the people and the music. He stayed in the sling the whole time and even took a little nap! Thanks for the pictures Rachel - you know we love them!!!!

A Bittersweet Goodbye

the 2008 graduating class of the AHEC NW

Rhonald receiving his diploma from Dr. Thomas

The blue grass band at the graduation party

Rhonald enjoying his dinner (he hates this picture by the way!)

Today marks a very special day for our family...after 11 years of education Rhonald has finished his residency in family medicine! In a way I feel like we both graduated. Rhonald and I met the summer before his senior year of college so I have been with him each step of this journey. I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished and all that he has learned. Every sleepless night, every ounce of worry for a sick patient, each opportunity to teach someone about how to better their health all came together today - graduation day! It was so neat to see Rhonald receive his diploma and know that all of that hard work has paid off.

Today was a long day of partying beginning with a lunch at the AHEC. We had a nice time saying goodbye to friends and co-workers. It was both a happy occasion as well as a sad one. We feel like these people have been part of our family over the past 3 years and it will be so strange not to see them every day. We ended the day with a great party at the Whole Hog Cafe. After we got home and put Cole to bed Rhonald took some time to share stories about his 3 years here. It was so much fun to listen to him remember this time with good memories since going through it was not easy. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us over the years. We have felt each and every one of them and we know we were only able to make it here because of prayer and hard work. Please continue to think of us as we continue our journey together.

Poor Mason!!!

Mason at 8 weeks

Mason at 2 1/4 years

Mason had his 2 year shots today and boy did we get a lecture! Mason is a very active pug but as you can see from the pictures above he has gained A LOT of weight. Mason was the runt of his litter and now holds the record for the largest (both tallest and biggest) pug our breeder has ever bred. At the vet today Mason weighed 34.6 lbs!!!! The healthy/average weight for a pug is 20 lbs - and the vet said that was being generous because he is a large pug. So, needless to say, Mason is on a diet - no more people food, no more treats of any kind and special diet food. I have to take him in once a month to be weighed until he shows he is making progress. Basically it is weight watchers for dogs! The tricky thing is that exercise is out of the question until fall because pugs cannot handle the heat well (they have no room to breathe since they don't have much of a nose). The vet was nice but stern and now it is up to us to help Mason slim down and live a long, healthy life!

In other Mason news....at about 7:00 pm last night Mason started running around our house like a mad man which, if you know Mason, is very strange (he is more of a sleeper). We thought he was just being playful until he then started rubbing his face on anything and everything. So, his nurse mommy and doctor daddy thought "hmm...something might be wrong." Actually we just wanted him to stop so we called him over to where we were and noticed that his whole face was swollen! He could barely open his eyes, his muzzle was so swollen he could not close his mouth, and his neck was swollen too! We called to vet because he had just been there for shots and he thought it sounded like a reaction to a bug bite. So, what did we do ... we drugged him!!!! 100 mgs of Benadryl later (50 mg at first and then 50 mg more a couple hours later) and Mason is back to normal! That much Benadryl never even put him to sleep - he just wandered around the house like he was so tired but did not know what to do! I think it was the worst day of Mason's life - thank goodness it is over!!!

Colorful Fun

Today marked the first official gathering of the play group the girls I used to work with and I started. It was crazy!!! We made tie dye t-shirts at our house and also had lunch. Almost everyone was there and it was great to see the girls and their kids. As you can see from the pictures above the babies chilled out and watched the bigger kids who were able to dye their own shirts (with a little help). Only time will tell if the shirts actually turn out (you have to let them rest for 12-24 hours) but like we said today...the kids are too young to care at this point! I have really grown to love our Tuesday get-togethers...and I love these girls. I feel like God really blessed our lives with the friends we have made here. Now that I am a mom it is so wonderful to have other moms to share time with and get advice from. I am so excited to watch our kids grow up together and I look forward to many more Tuesdays to come!!!!

5 Months Old...Can You Believe It?

Our little guy turned 5 months old on June 11th....can you believe that? Cole weighs 16.8 lbs. He is truly amazing and shocks us with all he can do each and every day. Last night before we went to bed, Rhonald and I agreed that watching a child grow up and learn is the most incredible thing in the world! To think that 5 months ago Cole could not do much of anything and now he can do so many things is too cool to explain. He is getting 2 teeth as we speak and has handled that very well. He can sit up for a few seconds unsupported. He plays with his hands and feet. He can put his pacifier in his mouth by himself. He pats on our faces whenever he can and will grab anything that is close to him. Cole is eating rice cereal and loves that so much! He loves being outside and watching new things. Cole enjoys riding in his stroller when we go for walks. Mason continues to be one of Cole's favorite things to grab on to and watch (poor Mason!). Stranger anxiety has set in and he has become a real mommy's boy. He adores his daddy and laughs more with Rhonald than he ever does with anyone else. He is sleeping well....he is only eating one time a night. He goes to bed around 8:30-9:00 pm and wakes up around 7:00-7:30 am. Oh! He has learned to blow bubbles with his mouth and does so almost all day long...he just reminded me of that -- ha ha! Well, those are just a few of the new things going on at our house. We are so blessed to have Cole and all of you to share him with. Thanks for listening to me brag about my boy a little bit this morning!!!!

Summer Lovin'

Rachel, Emily and I have been able to start up our "mom's lunch" again since school is out and Ben is here. It is so much fun to hang out with these girls and talk about life and our babies (I guess that is life isn't it?). Little Ben slept most of the time which was so sweet. This is the first time that Audrie and Cole seemed to notice each other - it was so cute! They would babble to each other and smile back and forth. The cutest was when they seemed to be trying to hold hands! I wonder if that is a preview of what is to come?!

Bathing Boy

My mom and dad brought Cole a baby pool this week. Today was the first day that we used it and boy was it fun!!! Cole did not know what to think of it at first but the longer he was in the pool the more he liked it. It was so cute to see him discover something new and know that it is something he will love forever. My mom and I laughed and laughed watching him splash his arms around. I can't wait to see him in a big pool!

Just To Make You Laugh

Rhonald and I decided to take a nap while Cole was taking his morning nap today. After Cole woke up I brought him in to our room so that I could feed him and when he was finished he had a lot of fun playing with his Daddy. Enjoy!

Mom's New Toy

Ok, first thing's first...I know I need a haircut and some highlights - thank goodness my parents will be here next week to watch Cole while I take care of that!!!

Now, on to my new love....the sling! My friend, Rachel, has had a sling like this for awhile now and I have loved it and secretly wanted one but was not willing to pay for it. You know, the stay-at-home mom thing. Recently though two things have happened. One - Cole does not like to stay in his car seat when we are out and about and wants to be held so he can see things better and be closer to us. Two - Cole is getting too heavy for me to carry with him in the car seat but sometimes I really need to have two hands free to do things. So, after those 2 things happened I thought I could justify buying the sling...and we love it!!! Cole loves it - he can be close to me and be up so he can see everything that he wants to see and I love it because he seems lighter when he is in it and I can still use 2 hands. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone with a baby --- and you can use it until they are 40 lbs. Hopefully he will be walking next to me, holding my hand by that point though! Thanks Rachel - I owe you one!!!

What Is Missing????

Can you tell what is missing from these pictures? I will give you a hint...this is mommy and daddy's bed however, mommy and daddy are no where to be found! The little boys have taken over our bed (well, just for one nap)! We are trying really hard to transition Cole from sleeping in his swing to sleeping in his crib. A while back we decided that as long as he was sleeping we did not care if it was in his swing or his crib but he is getting close to being too big for his swing....something we have been dreading! So, here we are. He will sleep in his crib but he is waking up more often - all we have to do is give him his pacifier and pat him a few times and he is right back to sleep but it is still tiring. I know it will be worth it though. On this day, Tim our lawn guy (yes, we pay for a lawn guy because we don't want to mow the lawn), starting weed eating half way through Cole's nap, right under his window. So, I put him in our bed with Mason to finish his nap. Needless to say they both loved it!

A Day In The Life

My mom and dad are always interested in what Cole does each day so I thought I would create a post about what we did today. Some of you may find it kind of boring but I know they will enjoy it! Cole always wakes up in the best mood - talking and babbling in his crib until we come and get him. He wakes up between 6:30-7:30 every morning. This is a very typical face for us to see when we get him - he has a big smile and he is always ready to eat!

Cole always spends some time each day on his tummy. He used to hate it but now that he can turn over and do more he really seems to like it. In this picture he was actually watching Mason who was chewing on a bone in front of Cole's blanket. He seems to like getting a different perspective on things while on his tummy. He is getting very strong and can lift himself up all the way with his arms.

Cole absolutely loves his exersaucer (thank you Aunt Laura and Uncle Mark). I have been putting it in the bathroom while I take a shower and get ready, or in the kitchen when I am making dinner and he has the best time.! He is getting really good at putting all of the many toys in his mouth! Cole plays in this a lot these days. He used to love his activity mat so much and although he still likes it at times, I think he really enjoys being able to sit up and look around. We have so much fun watching him enjoy his day!

Every day when Rhonald comes home from work he greets Mason, Cole and myself, changes clothes and then checks the computer. He has done this routine every day since we moved here and now that we have Cole he likes to include him in the routine. Cole used to just sit in Rhonald's lap quietly but now he loves to reach for the computer and slap his hands on the table. It is so cute to watch them have some time - Rhonald always teaches Cole about what he is doing. I am sure there will come a time when Cole is teaching Rhonald about the computer.

Cole has been dying to sit up on his own for awhile now. He has been trying and trying but almost always topples over when we try to sit him up. Tonight while Rhonald was on the floor playing with Cole he tried to sit him up again and this is what happened! HE STAYED!!! Now, I will be honest and let you know that he only stayed that way for about 20 seconds but hey...a guy has to start somewhere. He actually did this a few times. We were so proud of our little guy and I think he was pretty proud of himself too.

In other news, we planned on starting Cole on rice cereal tonight but he fell asleep after his 7 pm feeding so we ran out of time. Tomorrow shall be the day! We have always said that we would wait until his was 6 months to feed him food but he is very, very interested in eating! He tries to grab our food when we are eating all of the time. He is also still having some problems with constipation and he refuses to drink any water or Prune juice (who can blame him for that?) so we are hoping that some of the baby food will help him out with that too. So, stay tuned to find out how Cole likes his food!!!!

Family

You know how there are people in your life that are your family even though there is not a biological relationship there at all? Well, Sue, David and Shannon are that family to us. They have been in my life for as long as I can remember and have always been there for me in any way they could be. We have been through more than our share of good and bad times together. Unfortunately, since my parents moved away from my hometown a few years ago we don't get the chance to see each other as often as we would like. David was about 2 1/2 when I met him for the first time. That is David in the picture above (with his mom, Sue) on his way to his Senior Prom! Ok, yes, I feel so old seeing him getting ready for prom and college and all of those fun things! I am so proud of him for all that he has done and all that he has ahead of him! Seeing this reminded me how much I really do miss them and how much the 3 of them have impacted my life. His mom has always been the one I could talk to about anything and she would never judge - just listen and sometimes, but not always, give advice. I wish I could hug all 3 of them right now and laugh over memories...like the time I was packing for my Freshman year of college and David said to my mom, "Why would anyone want to leave their mom and go to school?" Now, here he is packing up for college and getting excited to leave home!!!! I remember playing ring around the rosie with his sister, Shannon, for hours on end because she loved to "fall down" so much! And then there was our wedding...I could go on and on but I won't. I do want to thank you for all of the memories though and tell you that I love you all!!!!

This may seem kindof corny but I hope that after reading this you all take some time to remember the people you love from your life and laugh at old memories. I think it is good for your soul to do that every now and then!