Something Small

Not much to share today but a recipe! Today my friend, Kellie, and I took our boys to the park and had so much fun! We were talking about how hard it is to make sure the boys are getting the things they need to eat each day and also making sure they are eating different things every day. Who knew parenting could be so challenging sometimes?! One thing I have given Cole lately as an afternoon snack is a smoothie. He loves them! So, I thought I would share the recipe with you all in case you were also needing something "new" to give your kiddos.

in a blender combine:
blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 banana
ice

blend it well so they can suck it through their sippy/straw cup and off you go! And it is a great way to get them to eat fruit (if that is an issue...that is all Cole would eat if we let him).

Learning To Eat With Chopsticks

Rhonald and I had Sushi and fried rice for dinner tonight...not homemade by the way! Cole loves ethnic food...Mexican, Chinese...anything goes. Tonight as he was enjoying his dinner he kept looking at us very strangely as we used our chopsticks. He would laugh and stare and he could hardly eat because he was so interested in what we were doing. When he finished his dinner I sat him in my lap and let him play with a pair of chopsticks. Oh my - he LOVED them! He never managed to pick anything up but he sure made quite a mess trying.

Gardening 101

This weekend the weather was so AWESOME that we had to get our hands dirty and plant some flowers! We are in the process of having our backyard landscaped but we thought we would brighten up the deck with some beautiful flowers. This is something that we love doing and look forward to doing every spring. Let me tell you though....this year it took twice as long but was twice as fun! Cole loves to be dirty so he loved helping us fill the pots. He did not like when we would put the flowers in the pots though - he would fuss like crazy until we filled a new pot with dirt for him to dig in. He had his sand toys out and dug all over the yard. Rhonald found a bunch of worms and had fun showing them to Cole and then showing them to me...which I did not appreciate! Overall, we had a wonderful time and I can't wait to get out there and add more flowers to our collection.

Good Buddies

The other day Cole and I met Kellie and Ben at the park to play! It was Cole's first time to play in the sand since our trip to Florida last summer and he loved it! I wasn't sure what he would think but he had so much fun picking up the sand and feeling it on his toes. It is so much fun to watch him play with Ben now because they can interact so much more than before. I still remember when Kellie and I were pregnant with these boys - looking at clothes and bedding and talking about how they would be friends one day...and they are! They shared many hugs and had so much fun! I am so thankful to have such great friends and I am so thankful that Cole does too!

Goin' For A Wagon Ride

I don't think that you can get any more relaxed than Cole! He loves going for wagon rides so we took advantage of this beautiful day and went for a walk around the neighborhood. He had so much fun and laughed the entire time! We took Mason with us because he was whining to get out but at one point I thought I might have to put little Mason in the wagon too! I did realize today that there is one major problem with this wonderful wagon. Today Cole packed the wagon full...sippy cups, water, toys and all through our walk he would quickly throw things over the edge and I would have to go get them. By the end of our walk I was carrying all of Cole's toys, drink, etc in a bucket, holding the wagon handle and holding Mason's leash! WOW! But it was so much fun....we all loved each and every minute of it!

15 Months

Our little man turned 15 months old on April 11, 2009. We went to the doctor today for his check up. Cole weighs 26 lbs and is 31 inches long. Today is the first time he was able to stand on the "big boy" scale instead of lay on the baby one. It was so darn cute! Dr. Thomas said that Cole looked perfect and was very pleased with his development. Even though we believe that everything is going as it should with Cole it is so nice to hear her say that. Cole can say ball, duck. dog, car and baby. He also says "wha dat?" Cole can point to his belly button, nose, hair and close his eyes when asked. He can also point to his "man parts." He loves to eat anything - especially fruit. Man, that is all he would eat if we allowed it. He also loves cheese. He no longer uses a bottle (we gave that up about 1 1/2 months ago). Cole has 13 teeth. Cole is consistently sleeping throught the night from 7:30 pm - 7:30 (or even 8:00) am. He takes one nap for about 2-3 hours. Cole LOVES to be outside. He loves his wagon and playing with Mason. Cole loves to play ring around the rosie. Cole still loves reading and looking at books and he is really enjoying his Baby Einstein DVD's finally. Cole is so much fun and keeps us laughing all day long! Not a day goes by that we don't thank God for him and the joy he has brought to our lives!!!!

Fun With Easter Grass

Ok, so after spending a couple of hours picking out the perfect things to put in Cole's Easter basket (a new ball, a new Baby Einstein movie, some bubbles, 2 books about Easter and a bag of yogurt melts) I was a bit disappointed to learn that the thing he loved the most was the Easter grass! I mean he loved it! Cole had an Easter basket from us at my mom's and he carried the grass all over her living room and kitchen until we finally picked it up so we could go to church. On our way home we stopped at Rhonald's parents' house and they had a basket for him too. Well, that little stinker pulled out all of the goodies, set them aside and then played with the grass until he was so tired that he had to go to sleep! It really was fun to watch him throw the grass around. When he got tired of that he started putting the grass in every container he could find. I am sure Rhonald's mom will be finding Easter grass throughout her house for the next year!

An Easter Trip To Grammy's House

Our family on Easter morning.

Cole and Pops at the Science Center. Cole loved this exhibit because there were so many balls to play with.

"Look what was in my Easter egg!"

Tyler, Luke, Cole and Kylie after their Easter egg hunt.

Cole loved putting the eggs into his basket.

Playing chase and getting tickled by Tyler.

Learning how to play Ring Around The Rosie with Luke and Kylie.

Getting to be one of the big boys!

We traveled to Hendersonville, TN this Easter to be with my side of the family and boy, did we have a lot of fun! It was so nice to see everyone and get to spend time with them. Cole had so much fun with his cousins. I love seeing him with them as he gets older because he can interact with them so much more. He was in love with his cousin, Luke, and wanted to be with him all of the time! For the most part the weather was great and we had a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. That was a big hit with all 4 of them. My mom made a HUGE and very tummy Easter dinner which we all enjoyed ... too much! We also went to a neat science center for kids. While we were there a tornado came through the area which made the experience even more exciting! Cole actually fell asleep on our way there and somehow slept through about half of our visit. He did however wake up in time to enjoy an exhibit about gravity that used many balls (which he loved) and an exhibit about the planets, which he also really liked. Rhonald took Monday off of work too so we were able to go to church with my parents and meet some of their friends. I think they really just wanted to show Cole off! I cannot believe that I only got 1 picture of Cole in his Easter outfit. Don't worry - once I have some extra time I am going to dress him up in it again and take lots of pictures to share! Overall we had an excellent time and we feel so blessed that we were able to see everyone! Although we are tired we wish we could be back with them already!

Man In The Moon

"I see the moon and the moon sees me.

God bless the moon and God bless me."

I think that it is true...kids do say the darnedest things. One thing that still blows me away is how many things Cole takes in, even when I am not aware of it. Friday afternoon Cole and I were using his new wagon to take a walk around the block. He was laughing and talking away and having a blast putting his sippy cup in the various cup holders. Then I heard it..."ball! ball! ball!" I looked around but I could not find a ball anywhere so I gently explained to him that no, he did not see a ball. He was so sweet and smiled up at me and then pointed toward the clear blue sky and yelled "ball!" When I looked up I felt so silly and so proud all at the same time. There was my sweet baby pointing at the moon and yelling "ball!" I quickly realized that I need to pay more attention and understand that he may have his big brown eyes open to something I cannot see right away.

Kindermusik

Today was our last day of Kindermusik until the fall. For the past 8 weeks we have spent our Thursday mornings learning about music and playing together. It has been a lot of fun and very different for us. I am not musical in any way but I do my best by playing CDs and singing with Cole during the day. Kindermusik has given me a lot of ideas of new things to do with him and he really seems to enjoy it. And as you can see, there is a lot of playtime too which he loves! I will have to admit, although this is a "mommy and me" class Cole spends most of the class in the lap of his teacher, Miss Ruth. As soon as we walk in the door he is off and running..trying to get into things and sneak into her lap to sing and dance. His friendliness is an amazing and wonderful trait that I hope he never outgrows. I love to watch him enjoy the class and interact with others. We have gotten to know some really sweet babies and mommies and we will really miss seeing them each week!