Cole's Thanksgiving Play

Last week we were invited to Cole's school to watch their Thanksgiving play and enjoy a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.  It was so sweet!  All of the kids sang a song about the Sonshine School, as well as "You Are My Sunshine."  Then the 3 and 4 yer olds helped tell the story of the first Thanksgiving.  Cole's class dressed as Indians and sang this song (to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot.")...

"I'm a little Indian on the go,

Here is my arrow, Here is my bow.

When I go hunting here me shout,

Bears and Buffalo better watch out!"

It had to be the cutest thing ever!  Lily Kate did very well during the play and sat on the floor and played with another little sister from Cole's class.  Toward the end of the show she was getting a little more brave and twice she took off toward Cole, laughing like crazy!  He thought it was funny that I had to chase her around.  Luckily there were lots and lots of babies/toddlers around so we fit right in.  Once that was over we headed back to Cole's class for Thanksgiving dinner.  They had made place mats and cards for their families.  The kids enjoyed their lunch and then played together a little before we left.  Lily Kate wanted to join in the eating of course but did not want her own plate...she just wanted to steal off of everyone else's plates.  The big kids did not take well to that so I took her over to the play area while Cole finished up.  She loved that!  She has wanted to get down and explore his class since she could crawl.  The girls loved playing house with her and Lily fell madly in love with a shopping cart she could push around and fill up with anything and everything.  Cole loved having us there and loved showing off his class and letting us get to know his friends better.  You could just sense the pride coming from him!  It was a super fun and super cute way to kick off our Thanksgiving holiday for sure!

A Day With Lily Kate

 Our dear Lily Kate is such a hoot that I thought I would share a little bit about what a day with her is like.  Oh my...get your running shoes on!  She turned 13 months old on November 7.  That day was huge for her because it is the day we threw away the bottles.  Ugh.  She did well...she refused to drink anything for the first few hours, even juice which she has been drinking from a cup for months, but gave in and sipped a little milk here and there in the afternoon.  She has gotten better every day since and Sunday made a real turn around.  Rhonald suggested warming the milk up and seeing if she liked it better.  We had not warmed her milk up in ages but we tried it anyway and guess what...it worked.  That little stinker drank like a champ!  While she is still not where I would like her to be with it she is doing very well.  And she has become very good at finding Cole's cups and testing them out to see if they have juice in them :)









 Sweet Lily Kate loves her books and will look at them, quietly, all day.  She does this every night after her bath for about 20 minutes.  We just watch her.  She takes every single book out of her book basket and flips threw it.  It is one of the sweetest things she does all day.  One thing about Lily...she loves her Mama but she really loves her Daddy and Brother.  She clings to Rhonald every morning and loves getting snuggles in with him before work.  I swear she flirts with him all day long!  And Cole...no one on earth can make her laugh like Cole.  They play very well together now....they are even starting to get on each other's nerves some which is funny to watch.  She wants to do absolutely everything that Cole does.  Lily follows him all over and looks for him when he is not around.  He loves her too and adores the attention.

 Lily Kate is a walker.  She began walking some around her first birthday but is now walking over half of the time...some days all of the time.  Her walk is so darn cute and, at times, looks like a dance move.  Arms and legs are every where and we love it.  She is gaining more and more confidence with it and loves to show off.  Of course we cheer when she walks and she typically laughs so hard she falls down.  Cole is her biggest cheer leader by far.  He will shout to the roof tops, "Hey!  Look at her walking Mama!"  She is slimming down and beginning to really look like a toddler.  It is sad and exciting all at the same time.

 Lily is still such a great eater...when she likes what you serve her.  She really does well with most foods but she is picky about the meat she will eat and she still will not eat veggies.  She throws them on the floor about as fast as I put them on her tray.  She will eat fruit, cheese, breads and yogurt all day long though.  Oh - and pasta....she loves pasta!  She is a fast eater too.  She is done before we sit down which can be tough because when she is done she wants to get down and play.  I am telling you - she keeps us on our toes.

 Lily is in to EVERYTHING!  And I mean everything...all day long.  I swear I pick up after her 1,000 times a day.  She knows what she is allowed to do and not do and most days she obeys the rules.  She does have her testy moments when she knowingly smiles at me or Rhonald and does something she knows is so not allowed.  We try not to laugh but what can you do?! 

 Lily Kate is now forward facing in the car.  I know some of you are freaking out right now but I will say - we know the recommendations, we are well educated and we even talked to our pediatrician before turning her around.  And we are so happy that we did!  While she was still rear facing Lily had started throwing huge fits to get in the car and they continued until we got her out of the car.  It was so crazy because she is so happy but she hated that for sure.  We would become so distracted trying to calm her down that it was becoming unsafe so....we turned her.  And we haven't heard a peep out of her since then.  :)  We feel like she is safe and we are all safer now that the person driving can actually concentrate on the road.

 Her favorite game right now is peek a boo.  She wants to play it 24/7.  If she even thinks you say, "Where is Lily?" she throws her hands in front of her face and giggles.  Then she peeks out through her cute little fingers to see if you are still playing.  We play this all day and no one ever gets sick of it.  It is so stinkin' adorable!!!

Lily has such a fun spirit and a wonderful personality.  She is very easy going and loves to be with her family.  She could not be any more fun if she tried.  She is still a wonderful sleeper.  She is working on teeth #11 and #12 as we speak.  She is so different from Cole yet so much the same.  It has been a blast watching her personality develop and shine.  She lights up a room for sure and we are so thankful to have her in our lives.  There are not words to describe the love we have for this little girl.

Cole and the Oobleck

Last week we had one of the most cold and rainy days we have had in a long, long time.  Perfect day to stay inside and play.  I bought this book a long time ago and put it away for a day just like this.  I copied the idea from my friend, AJ.  While I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and laid Lily Kate down for a nap Cole and Rhonald read the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew And The Oobleck.  Then, when they were finished Cole and I made Oobleck.  It was a total mess and a total success!!!  I think Cole ended up playing with this stuff for about 2 hours and then spent another hour in the bath tub.  He liked playing with the Oobleck with just his hands but when that seemed to be getting a little old we brought out the construction hot wheels and it was on once again!  I would highly recommend this activity for any child.  The best part was that although it made a complete mess it was super simple to clean up.  We will definitely be doing this again!

Oobleck:
1 cup water
2 cups corn starch
food coloring (add before mixing)
mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

Future Soccer Star

Oh Wow!  I will admit that I have kind of been waiting for this day my whole life.  I secretly have always wanted to be a "soccer mom" and today that dream came true.  We signed Cole up for the winter season of Happy Feet soccer.  We wanted to do it in the summer and fall but were so busy we were not able to fit it in.  What a fun morning!  Ok, this was not just my idea....Cole loves to kick the ball around with us in the backyard.  And he is pretty good so we all decided soccer sounded like a super good idea.  Happy Feet was just what Cole needed.  It is a program for kids his age that is totally based on fun and simply teaching the kids about soccer.  They have a 30 minute practice time and then a 30 minute game.  During the practice time the 2 teams worked together and played games using the soccer ball.  They did not stop moving at all.  There were some kids who wanted a parent with them and that was ok which I liked.  I did not want his first experience with a sport to be a competitive one.  Cole shocked us though and, once he met his coach, he ran onto the field to play, only looking back to give a thumbs up and see if we were watching him.  They had a team meeting to learn names and have more fun and then the game started.  I am not sure how it will go every time but this time was very laid back.  Each child had their own ball and each team would line up in front of their goal.  They would count to 3 and yell "Are you ready?" and then charge (each kicking their own ball so 12 balls on the field) toward the other goal and try to score.  Cole scored 3 goals and he was super pumped!  After that both teams got together and charged their coaches.  Cole loved every single second we were there and has talked about it all day since we have been home.  His team is called the Blue Baboons and he already seems so proud of that!  The toughest part was keeping up with Lily.  She was missing a nap and tired and then decided she wanted on the field to play.  Rhonald, Paw Paw and I took turns walking her around and keeping her out of the way.  She has really started to want to do exactly what Cole is doing!  It was seriously the best experience.  I am so happy that we signed up and we are all so excited for next week!

Happy 33rd Birthday, Baby!

November 3rd marked a special day...Rhonald's 33rd birthday.  And, in our house, we love us some birthdays!  Our gift to him this year was a bit different - we sent him on a fishing trip to Colorado with my brother for the weekend.  It was supposed to be this awe inspiring and amazing trip...turned out it was 20 degrees and a blizzard.  But my hard core husband and brother braved the cold and tried to fish as much as they could.  And Rhonald was promised a "re do" trip in the Spring.  Anyway, his birthday was very laid back....just the kind of day he loves.  We kicked it off with a yummy breakfast, balloons, a gift from the kids and homemade cards from all.  We simply hung out all day!  The craziest part for us was that we went to 2 restaurants that day.  Rhonald's favorite Chinese place for lunch and Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  Our kids, who rarely eat out due to little bit's age, did AMAZING!  We could not have been prouder.  They did so well that strangers were talking to them...you know strangers only talk to kids in restaurants when they are well behaved.  After we got home from dinner we enjoyed a wonderful homemade birthday cake (my first layer cake, thank you very much) and ice cream.  It was a great day!  Rhonald and I have both decided that there is something to a "homemade birthday"-in our case cake and cards.  Doesn't it just mean so much to know people spent time on your big day?!  Although the kids and I sent him off to have fun (and we had a fun time too) we are so glad he is back!!!!  Happy Birthday, Baby!

Technology 101

I remember the summer before 3rd grade my parents got a VCR.  We just stared at it not knowing what to do with it.  I remember when my dad bought a brown Buick that had reclining seats and Mark and I played with them for hours (while listening to a Michael Jackson tape I might add).  I remember our first microwave that was as big as a TV.  And our TV that was as big as a house.  And now, as I sit here and remember those oldies but goodies, my almost 13 month old daughter is playing on my Iphone.  Seriously.  Lily Kate has a favorite app.  It is called Peekaboo Barn (Cole loved it too).  Whenever she is able to snatch my phone she does so with delight!  She will quickly realize she can't get the thing on and crawl with it over to me, grab my hand, put the phone in it and grunt.  When I turn it on and select her app she happily crawls away and sits and plays her game like a grown up.  Oh my word - how times have changed!

Go Hogs!

Gettin' ready to watch the game in style!  Woo Pig!  Beat South Carolina!!!

Cole's Fish

A trip to the cabin would not be complete without a little fishing.  Cole and Rhonald and Paw Paw headed into Searcy to fish at a friend's pond (a friend who stocks his pond so it is nice for Cole).  Cole loves that time with his Daddy and his Paw Paw so much and was so proud to come home and tell Lily, Grandma and I all about the "huge" fish he caught.  Rhonald said he was jumping up and down with excitement at the site of it!  Oh sweet Cole....you make us smile everyday!  Way to go big boy!