A Redneck Summer

If I were to pick a word that described the weather this summer it would have to be HOT! And I mean very hot...like 100 degrees hot. We have been swimming (in a real pool) 2-3 times a week for several weeks now. Last weekend was just like every other weekend...HOT. Rhonald had been joking all day about getting in Cole's baby pool but I never thought he would do it. When Cole woke up from his nap the pool was ready...I got Cole ready (yes, he is only wearing a swim diaper and not a swim suit but hey - we were home) and took him outside. I told Rhonald I would be right back - that I was going to get popsicles and when I came back I found both of them "swimming" in the pool! Cole adored having Rhonald join him and I think Rhonald enjoyed it too. We decided this was the true meaning of a redneck summer!

Has It Really Been 18 Months?????

WOW! It is crazy how fast 18 months can fly by! Cole turned 18 months old on July 11th. I have to admit that I was more sad about this day than when he turned 1 year old. He is a boy...not a baby boy but a real and true messy and dirty and fun little boy! He amazes us each and every day with all that he can do and say. Cole is starting to say so many things and he is becoming more independent all of the time. He follows directions very well. He is great about cleaning up his toys and putting things in the trash (he also loves pulling things out of the trash which is something that we are constantly working on). One thing that I love is that he no longer dumps his plate on to the floor when he is done eating but he hands it to us and says "all done." When he is ready to get out of the bath tub he puts his toys in his bath bucket and stands up and says "all done." He has learned to say "no" and to say "yes." Those are 2 key words in communication ... you don't realize it but they are. It is so helpful to be able to narrow down what he wants. We say all of the time that we have more fun with him every day. He really is funny and is learning how to use his sense of humor to get what he wants. Cole loves swimming...and has way too much confidence in the water. He loves to jump in and have us catch him and he loves to kick his legs in the water. The frustrating thing is that he does not want us to hold him in the pool and he only wants to be in a float part of the time. This is an area where we are all trying to learn patience...especially Cole. I took Cole to the doctor last week for his 18 month check up and everything looked great! He weighs 27 lbs and is 32 inches tall. I love taking him in because he is so good that everyone makes a big deal about him. Ok, it does help that we take Cole to the clinic where Rhonald was a resident so they love us and have known us well for 4 years. Cole walked from the waiting room to the scale and jumped on it. Then he ran to the exam room when Carla, the nurse, said Dr. Thomas was waiting for him...which she wasn't but it worked. Then he sat so super still and was so quiet while Dr. Thomas and a medical student examined him. The student was impressed and said Cole was the first child he had gotten to examine because the rest of them cried so much. I was beaming with pride at my big boy! Needless to say we love our big boy so much and we are so blessed. I know I say that a lot but it is so true. There are not words that will ever describe how much we love him, each other and the life that we have been blessed with.

Best Buddies

Isn't this the sweetest? This is what I saw when I looked over at my boys during the 4th of July parade. They really are the best of friends and I love it.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

First of all, I apologize for the random order of these photos. I am not sure what happened there. Anyway, we had a wonderful time on the 4th of July! We actually started celebrating on the 3rd at a cookout with some friends from church. We had great food and enjoyed a small fireworks display. Cole really liked the fireworks and we were so excited about that that we went out and bought some to have at our house on the 4th. That was the first time he had seen anything like that before so we weren't sure what his reaction would be. The 4th started out great...it was cloudy and a little cool (and I mean about 85 degrees instead of 95 degrees). We packed up the car with snacks and chairs and headed to the local parade. Rhonald and I had so much fun watching Cole take everything in. He was amazed at the trucks, tractors and horses. Cole would point to each and every thing and tell us what it was. Rhonald even got him to wave at the people going by and he loved when they would wave back. We met up with the Burrow family there and Emily treated Cole to his first taste of cotton candy (which he loved)! It made us feel so patriotic to be there. After nap time we had a small cook out at our house with the Burrows and the Cornetts. We ate and ate and ate and the kids played and played and played. It was so fun! Right before bedtime we took them outside to watch the few fireworks that we had and we also let them enjoy a popsicle. After that it was obvious that a bath was needed so we piled them all in our tub and cleaned them up. The babies were truly worn out after that! I know Cole had so much fun yesterday...you could just see the joy of the day all over his face. Overall it was a wonderful, wonderful day...I am already looking forward to next year!

Fun In The Sun

We have had such a blast playing outside this summer. Cole is addicted to the outdoors. Seriously, he would be out there 24/7 if we would let him. Since it has been so hot we have spent a lot of time swimming and playing in his baby pool. He loves to splash around and play with his water toys. Cole also loves to help us water the flowers. He quickly learned to fill up his watering can with water from his pool. Cole will drag the watering can over to the plants and try to water them...he usually ends up watering himself in the process! He also loves to eat Popsicles! This is something I never imagined I would give to him until he was older but a few weeks ago Cole was very sick and the only thing we could get him to eat or drink was a Popsicle. Now he loves to eat them...outside and only as a special treat of course. This summer is so different than last summer. He is able to do so much more and it is really cool to watch his interests develop as he gets older. I can't even imagine the fun to come!!!!

A New Obsession

Cole has a new (and super fun) obsession these days! He is in love with cars, trucks and trains!!! From the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep at night he has a car with him. It is so cute to watch him push his cars around and hear him say "vroom, vroom" or "go, go." When we are in the car and he sees a truck of any kind he yells "truck beep, beep!" When he is playing with his trains he pumps his arm and says "choo choo." It amazes me that he has developed this love of cars because it really happened over night. We have had these toys for so long and he would hardly acknowledge them and then one day he picked one up and he hasn't stopped playing with them since. It is just one more example to us that he is now a little boy and no longer a baby.