A Letter To Cole

Dear Cole,

I usually only write a letter to you on a special occasion but tonight I just couldn't help myself. You really have started to amaze us lately. Cole, you are one of the most tender hearted and pure people that I know. You love so deeply that it brings tears to my eyes and I pray that you always have that trait. God has blessed you with the most amazing laugh and the best imagination. You are always full of new games to play and new characters to pretend to be. You find such joy out of learning new things. Right now you are obsessed with Dinos and want us to tell you every fact that we can find. You are curious about everything! Cole you love to help everyone - especially Daddy and myself. You are an excellent big brother. No one can make Lily Kate smile like you can. You care for her so deeply and I am so very thankful that you have one another. Daddy and I say all of the time that we wish we were more like you. You love God and pray and sing all day long. You actually remind us to pray about things when we forget. You are so honest in your beliefs. There have been several nights before bed that you pray for your friends without being reminded and every time it blows my mind - you are only 3 years old! Cole, I feel so blessed to have been chosen to be your mom. Watching you grow up has been such a joy and such an honor. I love that I am able to stay home with you guys and share in everything that you do. That has been the best gift your daddy has ever given to me (to all of us really). I cannot believe how fast you are growing up and changing. I pray that you always know how much I adore you Cole Bug!

Thomas and Friends Live!

Cole doing his "peep peep"

Saying "Hi" to our church buddies, Connor and Dylan

We have been looking forward to tonight for several months now. Tonight was Cole's night - a special night we have planned to spend with just him. I ordered tickets to Thomas Live a long time ago and decided to leave Lily Kate at home (not a fun place for a 6 month old). Our babysitter arrived right after nap time so Rhonald, Cole and I could head out on the town. We had a yummy pizza dinner before the show (Cole's choice) and after the show we enjoyed some even yummier frozen yogurt with some friends from church who just happened to be sitting right by us. The actual Thomas show was very fun. Cole had a total blast singing along and getting involved with the story. He was a little worried at intermission that the show was over and he did not know what happened to the engines. Once he got over that it was all fun again! It was really crazy how many people we knew there...church friends, school friends....I guess everyone we know has a 2-5 year old little boy. Cole has never been to anything like this before (he hasn't even been to a movie yet) so we were not sure how he would do but it was great - he loved every second of it. And he really loved having some one on one time with mom and dad. When we got home he asked Sara, our babysitter, how Lily had done without him and then told her the entire Thomas story! We all had such a great time, although it did feel strange to not have our Lily Kate with us. I hope we continue to have these one on one night with each of our our kiddos as they grow up - it was a night none of us will forget for a long time!

Random Cuteness

This is what I saw when I got out of the shower one morning last week. Cole was reading Lily Kate a Thomas book. We have read it so many times that he basically knew it by heart!

Our first trip to the park for this spring/summer. Both kids (and their mommy) had a blast being out and about! There is something about being outside that is just plain good for the soul.

Touch A Truck 2011

Touch A Truck-an event that screams little boy! Last year was our first experience with Touch A Truck Day, a day where a local convention center fills the parking lot with every kind of truck and emergency vehicle and kids get to climb in them and play in them. This year it was FREEZING on Touch A Truck day so I stayed home with Lily and Rhonald headed out to see some trucks with Cole. Cole and Rhonald had so much fun and even got to meet up with Cole's buddy, Jackson, and his daddy, Ryan. From what I have heard both boys had a fabulous time despite the weather. Cole said his favorite trucks were the concrete mixer and the mail truck. There were bouncy houses and cotton candy and he even got to sit in a race care! Cole has been talking about his experience ever since Saturday. I am so glad that he was able to go and spend some great time with his daddy and his friend. Whoever thought of doing this is a total rock star in my book - Cole will be thinking about his day for months!

Silly Willy

Cole looks forward to Tuesday mornings every week because, since he was born basically, that is the morning we have set aside to play with the Thompsons and the Seusys. I love the morning too because I get to catch up with their mommy's! Kellie, Marla and I used to work together at Mercy and have known each other for about 6 years now. These kiddos have grown up together and have loved each other from the start! I can't wait for Lily to be big enough to join in on the fun. We are so blessed to have so many good friends with kids the same age as ours. I love, love, love watching all of them grow up!

Morning Giggles...From Lily Kate

It is so funny how our children tend to be like us in so many ways without ever being taught. Cole is so much like Rhonald but there are times when I see myself in him too. Like in the morning...Cole and I both need some time to wake up...to be quiet and wake up slowly. Lily Kate is showing signs of being just like Rhonald...able to wake up right away and be ready to go and get the day started. I love these pictures because you can totally see the differences in their sweet personalities!

Swingin' With Paw Paw

"There is no grandfather who does not adore his grandson."

---Victor Hugo

Rhonald had an amazing grandpa. He was the most loving "tough guy" I have ever known. When Rhonald lived in Searcy they saw each other every day. Grandpa Searcy adored Rhonald. I feel so blessed to have gotten to know him and to have been loved by him for several years before he passed away. I know, although it has never been discussed, that Rhonald was very excited to see the relationship that his dad would have with Cole. Having such a great relationship with his grandpa was so important in his life and I know Rhonald wanted that for Cole too. Cole has been blessed with 2 wonderful grandpas. One of them, Paw Paw (Rhonald's dad), was able to sneak away this weekend and come to visit us. Although we don't get to see Paw Paw as often as we would like, Cole adores him...and he adores Cole. Cole has been on Cloud 9 with Paw Paw here...playing and talking his ear off! I think Paw Paw is always in need of a vacation day when he gets home from our house because Cole keeps him so busy. It is wonderful to see Cole with his grandparents and to see him learn from them and be loved by them. I am so happy that Cole and Lily Kate will have them in their lives as they grow up!

Dislike!

Our sweet, happy girl finally found something she is not very fond of...peas! Poor thing, I felt bad feeding them to her because I don't care for them either. She did, however, finish the entire bowl! It was so funny because she made the face that is shown in the first picture after every bite. I think I will let her have apples next...a reward for enduring such a yucky veggie!

A Prayer

Some things in life are worth remembering forever and Cole's prayer tonight was one of those things... "Dear God, please let Daddy come home safely. Let Daddy sleep good and dream about dinosaurs. Let Mommy sleep good and dream about animals. Let Lily sleep good too. Thank you for all of the things we have especially my ceiling fan. Thank you for blankie. Thank you for Mommy playing with me and reading to me and hugging me and letting me watch Wonder Pets. I like being a big brother. Jesus loves me. Amen."

Deja Vu

This was Cole last summer at our old house playing with his trucks in the mulch. It was something that he did, with joy, every single day.

These pictures are of Cole today, playing with his trucks in the mulch at our new house and loving every minute of it. First of all...holy cow has he grown up over the past year! WOW! Anyway, back to today...I think today he found about 4 worms which made his day! He gets so excited about that. Cole always says he is going to save them to use when he goes fishing but then he always puts them back in the dirt a few minutes later. He spent Lily Kate's entire nap time (2 1/2 hours) filling up his dump trucks with mulch and pouring it out ... over and over. It is the cutest and most innocent thing to watch. I swear, that boy steals my heart in one way or another every day!

Too Cool For School

Lily Kate at 6 Months

I cannot believe she is 6 months old! Holy Cow! This month is starting out with a bang! Lily had her 6 month check up yesterday and she now weighs 17 lbs 3 oz and is 26 1/4 inches tall. We took her to a new doctor and I am in love with her! Lily was too. Dr. F was so sweet with her and said she is right on track. She was impressed that Lily can sit by herself so well and was in awe of her beautiful smile. So many firsts for our sweet girl already...she can sit up by herself pretty well, she had her first ride in the stroller without her car seat and she totally loved that! She is using her high chair now which is so funny. I did not think she would care about sitting in it but now when she eats she squeals and laughs like she is so happy to be with us at the table! She has started using a sippy cup...just practicing but she can actually get it in her mouth and she gums it too death. Lily Kate has been after Cole's cups for weeks now so he it beyond thrilled that she has her own. She almost has 2 teeth. I say almost because her gums are so swollen and Dr. F said it should be any day. She could feel one of them right under the skin. Cole was a great teether and so far Lily does not seem too bothered by them either. Lily is basically mobile by rolling around everywhere. Dr. F even said she has seen babies as rolly polly as Lily never learn to crawl because there was not a need. Lily already lays on her tummy and kicks her legs like she is trying to crawl so badly that I think she will do it...and maybe soon. Better get baby proofing! Rhonald and I were talking the other night about how Lily Kate is seriously the happiest baby we have ever seen in our lives. She is so full of love and smiles every day that you can't help but be happy around her. I am so excited to see what else she learns this month. It seems like every day brings something new.

Oh Lily Kate...we adore you and cherish you and love you so much. Your sweet spirit is the most amazing thing in this world and I thank God, that out of all of the little girls in this world, he chose me to be your mama.

Baby Food...The Homemade Kind

For some reason I love making baby food! I made all of Cole's food when he was a baby and I plan to make most of Lily's as well. I say most because one problem we ran in to with Cole was that he refused to eat store bought baby food and that made traveling tough. We had to take a cooler full of ice with us to Kansas City one weekend and it was a huge hassle. Anyway...I love it. It is so easy, and cheap and most importantly healthy. I was going to start Lily Kate on sweet potatoes but Cole really wanted her to try carrots first so I went with that. If you have a baby and you have never done this I suggest you try it. As she gets older and the meals become more complex it does take some time but these stage 1 foods are so simple! Needless to say she loved the carrots! She made a few funny faces right at first but soon caught on that they were yummy and ate them up! Cole still loves to help us feed her and loves that she sits next to him to eat. She is now eating 3 meals a day. Oatmeal for breakfast, carrots for lunch and carrots and oatmeal for dinner. Along with that she is drinking about 24-26 oz of formula a day. I'd say she is doing great!!! This is such a fun stage and I am so excited to try every new food with her. Thursday = sweet potatoes and then so on. Cole has a list made up in his head so if you are ever curious what Lily will be eating next just ask him :).