Time With the Stewarts

After we left Rhonald's parents house we headed East to my parents house in Tennessee. We were a little nervous about our big trip but Cole did great. He slept a lot in the car and when he was awake I sat in the backseat with him to keep him entertained.

Once at my parents' house Cole was able to spend time with his cousins, Luke, Tyler and Kylie, as well as his Uncle Mark and Aunt Laura. They had never met Cole before and they seemed very fond of him...especially Kylie who loves babies of all kinds. She always wanted Cole to have his pacifier and was great to bring it to me whenever he did not have it. Luke and Tyler were a big help too and knew just what to do to make Cole laugh! He loved being with the big boys and watching everything they did.

Cole also had a chance to meet my grandparents. This was something that was very important to me since they are both in their 90's. They loved meeting Cole and holding him. They both smiled the whole time they were with Cole and I think seeing him made their day. They don't remember much about the present time but they do remember a lot about the past so it was nice to talk with them about how they met and the things they used to do when they were our age.

My parents had fun with Cole too of course. They babysat for us one night so we could have a date night...something we used to take for granted. I think they loved the time alone with Cole as much as we loved having time together. They had a lot of fun making him laugh and smile and really could see a big change in him since they last saw him. Overall, we had a great trip and look forward to seeing all of our family again soon.

Time With Grandma and Grandpa Searcy

Last week we were blessed to be able to spend time with each of our families. We spent the weekend with Rhonald's parents and grandma. Cole had never met his great grandma Searcy so that was such a treat for all of us. I think she loved meeting him and thinking about when Rhonald was this age. It is fun for me to hear all of the stories about Rhonald and compare them to Cole. Cole had a lot of fun with them...he laughed and laughed. They were all impressed with how big he was and how strong he was. It is so nice to have so many people that love our little guy - I know he will enjoy being with them even more as he gets older!!!

Rhonald M. Searcy, MD at Your Service

Today marks a very big day in our family! This morning Rhonald signed a contract for a job here in Northwest Arkansas! Since the day we moved here we knew we wanted to stay and we have been hoping and praying that a great job would come our way and allow us to do so. Rhonald seems to have found his dream job. I have not seen him this happy about being a doctor in a long, long time. He will be working in a clinic here with several other doctors. He will be working Monday-Thursday and the best part is that he will not have to be on call or work weekends. He will be able to serve the community and spend lots of time with Cole and I. It is so hard to believe that Rhonald will be finished with his residency in June. It seems like he has been working toward this day for years...well, I guess he has! Rhonald and I started dating the week he took his MCAT before his senior year of college...we have been through college, medical school and now residency together. Nothing could make me more proud than to see him graduate from the AHEC and move on to something that he is so excited about. I am so proud of him and so happy for all of us!

Cole's Laughing Part 2

Ok, so we are very proud parents and love to hear our son laugh! Plus we are trying to figure out this video thing. This is a video of Cole laughing again but this time you get to enjoy watching his sweet smile too! Another funny thing about this video is Mason. It is so obvious that Mason wants in on the action. As you will see he sneeks into the video as if to say, "hey-I was here way before him and no one ever took a video of me!" Enjoy!!!

The Sweetest Sound

We are finally trying our hand at putting video on our blog so please bear with me. This is a video of Cole doing one of his favorite things...being tossed above my head. In the video I promise he is laughing...there is a point on here where it kindof sounds like crying but I swear it is not! Cole has just learned how fun it is to squeal while he is laughing which is so darn cute! I hope you enjoy our little guy's laugh and our attempt at being film makers (ha ha)!!!!

Spring is finally here!!!

Many of you may not know it but ever since we bought our house 2 1/2 years ago I have wanted a new front door. Almost every house in our subdivision had the same front door and it was so ugly. Well, this is the year I got my wish! As you can see it is so pretty and allows a lot of light to come into the front of our home. We both love it and are so thankful that we finally bought it. I am sure Rhonald is so glad that he does not have to hear about our ugly front door any longer!

I love this picture. Pugs do not have the luxury of enjoying the hot summer very easily so spring is a great time of year for Mason. The sun is out and it is warm but not hot so he has no trouble breathing while he is outside. It is so much fun to watch Mason enjoy the change in season too. He loves sunning on the deck and running around the backyard after birds and bunnies.

Rhonald and I have always enjoyed working in our yard once Spring arrives. We love planting flowers and laying mulch in our flower beds. We simply love getting our hands dirty and watching our yard come alive again! Above is an example of some of the flowers we planted in our flower beds. They are so pretty and add a lot to our backyard. There is also a picture of our newest addition...a cute little Jap. Maple tree that Rhonald has wanted for some time (kindof like me and the front door). It is so pretty and adds a lot to our front yard. We love it!!!

I just realized that this is the first post since Cole has been born that I have not mentioned him. For those of you that are interested...he is doing well. He seems to like Spring a lot too. We have been going on walks and spending time on the back deck playing. He does not, however, like when the sun gets in his eyes. I have invested in a few sun hats for the summer to keep those sweet eyes covered. He is learning about his hands these days. He watches them and talks to them...he can even clasp them tightly but then gets frustrated because he cannot always remember how to get them apart. He still sleeps better when he is swaddled. This makes me anxious for 2 reasons: what do we do when he gets to big to swaddle and how do we keep him from getting too hot this summer when he is swaddled. I am sure it will work itself out just like everything else has!

A Big Thanks To Miss Kellie

One day last May, soon after we found out we were expecting a baby, I had a funny conversation with my friend, Kellie. Kellie was about 12 weeks pregnant with her son, Ben. For months all we could talk about was how badly we wanted to get pregnant and have babies!!! That day when I saw Kellie she said, "I had a dream about you last night! You were pregnant!" Of course I was torn. We had not really told many people about our little one yet but I had to say something. So I said, "Don't tell anyone but I am!" We quietly celebrated and went about our business. The next time I saw her she brought us a gift for our baby. A sweet little blanket. I loved it and dreamed of seeing our little one falling asleep holding it. I have had this blanket in Cole's bed since he was born (don't worry - it was off in a corner no where near him) and wondered when he would seem to like it. Yesterday was the day! We have noticed that lately he loves to grab things...anything, so I brought out his blanket and he loved it! When we rub it across his face he laughs so loud and he loves chewing on the bear's ears!!!! What a sweet sight...so, thank you Miss Kellie. We love our blanket!

In other Cole news....he rolled over today and he did it right in front of the "bug man" that was doing our quarterly treatment!!!! We both cheered for him. What a nice "bug man" we have (who also has 2 boys). It was the most exciting thing I have seen in a long time. It almost seemed like it was happening in slow motion! I can't wait for Rhonald to get home from work to see him do it!!!!