Good Morning Sunshine

Going in to get Lily Kate every morning is actually so sweet and fun!  Most mornings she wakes up between 6:30-7:30 talking and playing in her bed.  She gets so excited when she sees me open her door!  One little thing she always does (and has done) is that right before I pick her up she spits out her paci, smiles and grabs a new paci to start her day.  I don't know why but she does this little "ritual" every single day.  Cole is up at 7:00 on the dot every day so when Lily Kate sleeps a little later than him he gets to help me get her up.  He loves it and she does too!  There is nothing like a few sweet kisses from you big brother to help your day start off right.

Movie Date

A few weeks ago Emily invited us over to watch a new Thomas movie in their amazing theater room.  Boy was Cole excited!  Miss Em even popped popcorn and had special drinks for these sweet boys who are so in love with Thomas!  It was such a fun experience for the big boys....and, as you can see, the little ones had fun too!  We managed to get a couple of pictures of all of the kids before the movie began.  The big boys got down to business enjoying their snacks and the littles got down to business cuddling and playing in the back of the room.  I think in these pictures sweet Lily Kate was trying to steal Ethan's goldfish (a snack she has learned to love).  It was such a fun afternoon - thank you Miss Em (and Mr. Jim)!!!

Snack Time

Typically when Rhonald works it is a 12 hour shift...it is long but we are used to that.  The other day, however, he only worked an 8 hour shift and came home just as Cole was waking up from his nap.  Oh the joy (from both kiddos)!!!  Cole could not wait to hug on his Daddy and share an afternoon snack.  I am not a mom who normally buys things like Jello to snack on but Cole saw Jello at Walmart and had to try it.  Well, when he saw Rhonald that afternoon he was thrilled to be able to share his new snack with his best buddy!  I am so thankful for the Daddy that Rhonald is....he truly is a blessing to our family.

Pretty Little Lady

I fall more and more in love with this sweet face every single day!  Lily Kate, you light up every day with your sweet and beautiful smile!

On Remembering

I remember growing up and being so taken aback by the fact that my mom and dad both remembered the exact thing they were doing when JFK was shot.  I remember listening to them talk about it...they did not know one another, did not live anywhere near one another yet they were bonded by that moment.  That moment in time when the country grieved together and grew together.  The thought crossed my mind a few times, "I wonder if there will ever be anything like that in my lifetime?"  Little did I know....

I remember 10 years ago today I was rushing.  Rushing to get to a meeting that I felt, at the time, was so important.  I was showering, getting dressed and literally running out the door of my small, yet comfy, apartment.  It wasn't until I was on the interstate that I turned on my radio.  The first tower had just been hit and I thought "I wonder what happened to that pilot?"  And then the second tower was hit and cars started parking on the side of the interstate during morning rush hour...I pulled over too - a young 23 year old girl not knowing what was happening but knowing in my heart that life was never going to be the same.  It was silent....the busiest area of our capital city was silent.  We all sat there, listening, for who knows how long and then, slowly, we all made our way back on to the road and almost everyone turned around.  I headed back to my apartment...suddenly knowing the world was different...meetings and things did not seem so important.  Rhonald came over soon after that...school was cancelled for the day.  "Go home and be with your families.  Be safe."  they had said.  And so we sat, all day, watching the news and eating chocolate chip cookies.  It was all I knew to make - it was familiar and comforting.  I remember I called home and talked to my mom but, of course, no one had answers.

And still, no one has answers.  I am still brought to tears when I think about the horrible acts of hated on the day.  I look at Cole and Lily and wonder, what will I tell them...will they ever truly understand how that day changed us?  I pray about their future and the country that they will raise their children in and I beg God to save it...may it be so much better than this.  And I am proud - proud of the way we all became one that day.  How there were no strangers...how the flags were flown high for all to see - that we were going to be ok.  Even today, people were friendlier...people were bonded by that one horrible day 10 years ago and today, you could feel it.  I am thankful to be an American.  I am thankful for all of those people who are fighting for my freedom today and who have for years before this.  It was life changing and I know that I, like so many others in this country, will always be able to say that I remember. 

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that I get to be a mommy!

Lily Kate at 11 Months

We have made it 11 months with 2 kids!!!!  Ha!  As I have said over and over, Lily Kate is such a true joy.  She has the sweetest personality and is so much fun to be with!  She has been keeping us very busy this past month...oh my word!  That girl is in to everything!  Her favorite thing to do right now is to go around our house and close all of the doors.  She does that a hundred times a day.  She is waving bye bye, giving kisses, clapping and now she is even standing up for several seconds by herself.  She can get all around the house by cruising around furniture and scaling the walls.  Lily Kate loves to be outside and is figuring out new ways to play out there each and every day.  She loves playing with balls - she bounces them and rolls them and totally loves them!  She is still taking 2 naps and sleeping very well at night.  Her favorite foods are still all fruits, banana bread and mac and cheese.  Rhonald gave her her first hot dog the other day and she was a pretty big fan of that as well!  Lily has 8 teeth.  She wears a size 4 wide shoe.  Lily loves to sing and play patty cake and peek-a-boo.  She loves taking a bath and could really be in the tub all evening if we let her.  She especially loves it when her big brother takes one with her!  She is becoming rough and tough and loves to wrestle with us.  She charges us if we lay on the ground for any length of time!  My all time favorite thing that Lily Kate is doing right now is that she crawls into my lap any chance she gets.  She has even started pushing Cole to the side if he happened to get there first.  Lily has never been one to cuddle...she is on the go all of the time so when she sits in my lap I feel like I finally get to snuggle her.  Lily loves her books and will spend time each day looking through them and wanting to be read to.  She loves her daddy - she gets so excited to see him every morning and basically throws herself at him to be held.  Then she follows him all over the house - precious!  We adore her!!!  It is as simple as that and we thank God for her every day.  What a wonderful addition Lily Kate is to this world!

First Day of School 2011

Oh my word people - look at how grown up my first born has become!  I could not believe my eyes when I went back and looked at this picture...he is all boy and no baby.  He even picked out his own outfit for school today (being sure to wear the undies that say Wednesday on them).  I cannot believe how much I love this little guy.  Anyway-today was Cole's first day of school this year and we are all very excited!  We went last night to his open house and met his new teacher, Mrs. B, who is super sweet.  His classroom is so much more grown up this year than the past 2 years (of course, I forgot my camera).  There are different stations for art, reading, toys, learning, etc.  This year each child has a different job each week - this week Cole is the prayer leader and, from what he says, he did a wonderful job leading a prayer at both snack time and lunch time.  He did admit that he is very excited about the week that he gets to be the line leader (so funny!).  I have been both praying and struggling with school this year because he is now going 3 mornings a week instead of two.  Is that too many - we shall see.  Luckily, we can drop a day if need be.  I am thrilled and comforted by the fact that he had an absolute blast today and is still talking about how much fun it was and everything he got to do.  One of the sweetest things today was to see how excited Lily was to pick Cole up.  She was elated when we walked in to his class and he came running over to us.  I did not realize she would miss him so much but she has been all over him since they woke up from their naps.  I pray this is a blessed year for all of us and I am so excited to see what God has in store for Cole this year! 

Such A Total Goof!

The amount of joy and laughter and love Lily Kate has brought to our family is unreal!  She is such a total goof ball and we love every second of it!  She finds the greatest joy in the smallest and simplest things...like the pillows from our bed.  Lily is constantly moving, getting in to everything and always smiling.  That girl wears us out but we would not have it any other way.  She never meets a stranger and she loves everyone.  One this particular day she woke up early from her nap.  Cole was still snoozing so we went to play in my room to be more quiet...or so I thought.  She was laughing the deepest belly laugh I've ever heard and then I got to laughing and needless to say Cole was not asleep for very much longer.  It was so much fun to simply laugh with her....to watch her and take her in.  Rhonald and I are really making a point to focus on our family - to be together, really be together and it is times like this that remind me of how important that really is.  I hope I never forget the fun and the laughter from that simple 30 minutes with my sweet daughter.  This time is going by so quickly and while I am excited for what our future brings I am trying to remember every single second of this time together.  I know she will grow up in the blink of an eye and no longer be "my baby"...kind of like another little goof ball that I know...

A Goal

Out of the blue the other day Cole told me he wanted to learn how to write his name...before school starts (Sept 7).  I was so excited that he would want to learn that but then I panicked because I have no idea how to teach something like writing...there is a reason I became a nurse and not a teacher.  We went to Walmart and bought him a notebook and some pencils (his "school supplies") and went for it!  I have been making my own letters for him to trace and he is getting very good at that.  We have not attempted to write them on his own yet.  Our sweet baby sitter's mom is very committed to homeschooling her 7 children so she has actually given me several websites and ideas to help him.  I mean, could I be any more lucky?!  It is really fun to see him progress and I love that I have a part in his learning. 

Two of a Kind

 Lily Kate 10 1/2 months

Cole 11 months

I guess they are more alike than I realized!

Like Brother, Like Sister

 Lily Kate 10 1/2 months

Cole 9 months

Friday Phone Dump

There is a blog I read...that I love (the kind of blog that makes you think and warms your heart...the kind where you think "I wish I knew her in person")...that features a "phone dump" every Friday of pictures from their week. I thought it was a cute idea and thought I would take a stab at it.

 Cole singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to Lily Kate's baby doll

 Cole teaching Lily Kate how to properly go down the slide one beautiful evening this week

 Lily Kate loves to roll the ball around....luckily we have 2 soccer balls so they could play together.  They warmed my heart laughing and laughing over this simple game.

 "On guard!" Cole was playing pirates in the backyard one night after his bath...climbing up and down the playground to "spy" on people and search for treasure.  Always with a drink in his hand...always.

 Having a tea party together one afternoon after naps.  This game of pretend lasted much longer than I ever imagined...I can't wait for more sweet tea parties in our future.

 We met Jacob and Harper at the park to play.  The girls LOVED swinging and loved watching one another on the swings.  It was so sweet.  They laughed and giggled as only girls can do, even baby girls.  I see many more secrets and fun mornings of play time shared together!

 The evening we got home from Destin we played in the backyard forever!  It was almost as if the swing set was brand new.  Both kids played on the swings for about an hour...it was so nice to be outside and out of the car!

 Lily Kate woke up from a nap a little earlier than her big brother so we spent some time playing in her room...a rare but very fun thing to do.  She managed to mess up the entire room in about 5 minutes!  And she never stopped moving or smiling.  It was the cutest mess I have ever seen. 

With both of our hubbies working late one night, Kellie and I met up at Chick Fil A for dinner and some play time.  The kids had a blast...even little Lily.  And they loved their ice cream treat after dinner - thank you Miss Kellie!

The Perfect Vacation

We just got home from a week in Destin, FL and let me tell you it was by far the very best vacation we have ever taken.  It was our 4th time to go there and we finally feel like we have things "figured" out.  I have so many pictures from this trip and so much to tell but I promised myself I would keep it to one post and then move on.  This was first time that we have gone to Florida during "off season" and let me tell you - that is the way to go!  Other than a few couples who appeared to be "empty nesters" we had the section of beach by our house to ourselves.  It was quiet and beautiful!  Another great thing was there the traffic was light and we did not have to wait for seating at restaurants....2 things that are important when you have little ones.  This year we made the trip with my parents which was really nice.  They got to spend a ton of quality time with the kids and we got to have a little more freedom to come and go.  We actually had 3 date nights!!!!  It was really nice because in the morning my mom would stay home and keep Lily while she napped and we were able to take Cole to the beach.  That was priceless one on one time with him and I am so thankful to have those memories.  We would spend most mornings on the beach and then head back for lunch/naps and then swim in the pool at our house in the afternoon.  Lily was not a huge fan of the beach this year...she liked the water but the sand drove her crazy so she stayed home most of the time.  She adored the pool so she was happy with that!  It was really cute to watch Cole try to teach her how to play in the sand....something that he loves with all of his heart.  She just wasn't into it this year.  Cole was so brave in the ocean and was swimming like a champ-even putting his head under the water.  He was not a fan of the waves crashing him down but even that seemed more fun as the days went on.  This year we did something we had never done and ate all of our dinners out.  It was so much fun to try so many different places to eat and not have to cook and clean.  It definitely left more time for fun!  Cole was super excited to hunt for sand crabs at night when we were there.  We talked about it so much beforehand and as soon as it was dark on our first night we headed to the beach.  That night we caught 4 but each night we got better and better.  It really was fun!  Another thing Cole loved was chasing the seagulls.  Since there was basically no one else on the beach we let him go for it.  He would run at them and yell, "Charge!" It was so funny and so darn cute!!!  The biggest blessing to me was that both kiddos slept and napped perfectly so I felt like I really got to enjoy myself since I was not super tired all day long.  We actually had several friends that were in Destin at the same time so the guys all got up one morning to fish together.  That has been a tradition each year and I know they loved it.  They caught Amberjack this year which was different and sounded exciting!  I think they averaged 40 lbs a piece!  It was so incredible to have Rhonald with us for 11 straight days...to read and relax....to play and spend time with family.  We did not follow a schedule (too much) and we just focused one each other and having fun!  All the way home Cole talked about what a fun vacation he had and we both had to agree!  It is so nice to be home but man, I already miss the beach, and more than the beach I miss that uninterrupted time with family.  I guess we'll just have to start saving and planning for next summer!