3 Hot Dates

Remember when date night could happen anytime you felt like it? Not any more!!! Last night marked the 2nd date night without kiddos that we have had with the Burrows and the Cornetts. It was so nice and relaxing to sit on the patio at Jose's, eat good food and talk. A lot. Of course we talked a lot about babies and things but we also caught up with one another and had a great time! I can't wait until next month to do it all again!

Cole at 17 Months

Wow - is it ever hard to get a picture of a toddler when they are constantly on the go?! I remember the days of sitting Cole wherever I wanted and taking 1,000 pictures. Now I chase after him making funny sounds just to get 1 or 2 shots that are decent! I guess that is part of the fun though!!!!

Cole is now 17 months old and is doing so much. He can say almost all of his animal sounds. He also says many other words - our favorite being "please." He loves to be outside. So much so that after he wakes up and has his milk in the morning he runs to the back door to go out. We love it too but it can be tiring at times! He is obsessed with fish and trains. He will walk around the house pumping his arm yelling "choo choo." He has a favorite cartoon....Miss Spider and The Sunny Patch Friends. He loves it and would watch it 24/7 if we would let him. Cole really likes to hold hands when he walks now (unless we are somewhere where we want him to hold hands...then he hates to do it). He loves playing ring around the rosie and still loves to sing Old McDonald. He can do the motions to The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels On The Bus. Cole has 16 teeth. He is eating everything and anything. He loves Mexican and Chinese food the best! I know that does not sounds healthy at all but I promise, on most days, he eats very balanced meals including lots of fruit and veggies. Cole still would eat fruit over anything else in the house. He is taking about a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and sleeping 11 hours at night. He is finally starting to like holding his blanket - something I have wanted him to do. I feel like then he will have another comfort thing when the pacie goes "bye bye." Cole can walk up and down stairs well and always says "bye bye" and waves to Mason whenever we leave the house. Cole can point to every one of his body parts and then points to ours. He loves to climb up on the furniture and sit and look at books like a big boy. When it is time to eat Cole goes and gets his own bib and cup out of his drawer. He uses a plate very well but we are still working on silverware. I feel like he learns something new everyday and that he picks up on things so quickly right now. We love to sit back and just watch him figure things out on his own. He gets so proud of himself!

I think that is about it! We go to the doctor next month to be weighed and have a check up so that will be fun. I always love to see how much he has grown. We are having so much fun with Cole. We are totally exhausted at the end of the day but it is a good feeling. He is so much fun to be with!

A Relaxing Weekend Every Way You Look At It

Oh my goodness! Rhonald, Cole and I could not have asked for a more relaxing and wonderful weekend! We kicked it off Friday by playing in the baby pool...well, one of us played while the other 2 watched! Cole loved taking the water out of the pool and pouring it on the plastic thing under the gutter. I think he managed to do that for about an hour! And don't you love his attire - a hat and a little swimmer - can't beat that!

On Saturday we were able to meet Miss Nadia, the lovely new daughter of our friends Carli and Jeremy. She was so sweet but, of course, we forgot the camera! Cole loved looking at all of the babies in the nursery while we were at the hospital. It was so funny to hear him say "baby" as he pointed to them. That evening we joined the Burrow family and the Cornetts at the park for a cook out. We wore the babies out (or they wore us out...I am not quite sure) with lots of playing and eating. I don't think they sat still for more than 5 minutes. Cole loved chasing Audrie around the playground and throwing rocks in to the creek. He would have stayed there all night if we would have let him. And I will say, it is so nice to be able to go somewhere and have him eat what we eat. He has done that for months now and I love it. He dined on smoked sausage, watermelon, pasta salad, potato salad and a roll. It is really amazing to watch Cole, Ben and Audrie grow up - they are so different and so wonderful in every possible way!

Sunday we decided at the last minute to drive to Eureka Springs and walk around. We went to a beautiful garden and ate a yummy lunch. Cole was great and LOVED the garden. He acted like he owned the place...running and walking everywhere...smelling flowers and chasing birds. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect! He slept all of the way home so Rhonald and I had lots of time to talk and sing along with the radio. And now, Sunday evening, Cole is sound asleep...the laundry is done...the weekly grocery shopping is done and I am going to relax on the couch with my hubby and a good book! You have to love weekends like this one!!!!!