What Is Missing????

Can you tell what is missing from these pictures? I will give you a hint...this is mommy and daddy's bed however, mommy and daddy are no where to be found! The little boys have taken over our bed (well, just for one nap)! We are trying really hard to transition Cole from sleeping in his swing to sleeping in his crib. A while back we decided that as long as he was sleeping we did not care if it was in his swing or his crib but he is getting close to being too big for his swing....something we have been dreading! So, here we are. He will sleep in his crib but he is waking up more often - all we have to do is give him his pacifier and pat him a few times and he is right back to sleep but it is still tiring. I know it will be worth it though. On this day, Tim our lawn guy (yes, we pay for a lawn guy because we don't want to mow the lawn), starting weed eating half way through Cole's nap, right under his window. So, I put him in our bed with Mason to finish his nap. Needless to say they both loved it!

A Day In The Life

My mom and dad are always interested in what Cole does each day so I thought I would create a post about what we did today. Some of you may find it kind of boring but I know they will enjoy it! Cole always wakes up in the best mood - talking and babbling in his crib until we come and get him. He wakes up between 6:30-7:30 every morning. This is a very typical face for us to see when we get him - he has a big smile and he is always ready to eat!

Cole always spends some time each day on his tummy. He used to hate it but now that he can turn over and do more he really seems to like it. In this picture he was actually watching Mason who was chewing on a bone in front of Cole's blanket. He seems to like getting a different perspective on things while on his tummy. He is getting very strong and can lift himself up all the way with his arms.

Cole absolutely loves his exersaucer (thank you Aunt Laura and Uncle Mark). I have been putting it in the bathroom while I take a shower and get ready, or in the kitchen when I am making dinner and he has the best time.! He is getting really good at putting all of the many toys in his mouth! Cole plays in this a lot these days. He used to love his activity mat so much and although he still likes it at times, I think he really enjoys being able to sit up and look around. We have so much fun watching him enjoy his day!

Every day when Rhonald comes home from work he greets Mason, Cole and myself, changes clothes and then checks the computer. He has done this routine every day since we moved here and now that we have Cole he likes to include him in the routine. Cole used to just sit in Rhonald's lap quietly but now he loves to reach for the computer and slap his hands on the table. It is so cute to watch them have some time - Rhonald always teaches Cole about what he is doing. I am sure there will come a time when Cole is teaching Rhonald about the computer.

Cole has been dying to sit up on his own for awhile now. He has been trying and trying but almost always topples over when we try to sit him up. Tonight while Rhonald was on the floor playing with Cole he tried to sit him up again and this is what happened! HE STAYED!!! Now, I will be honest and let you know that he only stayed that way for about 20 seconds but hey...a guy has to start somewhere. He actually did this a few times. We were so proud of our little guy and I think he was pretty proud of himself too.

In other news, we planned on starting Cole on rice cereal tonight but he fell asleep after his 7 pm feeding so we ran out of time. Tomorrow shall be the day! We have always said that we would wait until his was 6 months to feed him food but he is very, very interested in eating! He tries to grab our food when we are eating all of the time. He is also still having some problems with constipation and he refuses to drink any water or Prune juice (who can blame him for that?) so we are hoping that some of the baby food will help him out with that too. So, stay tuned to find out how Cole likes his food!!!!

Family

You know how there are people in your life that are your family even though there is not a biological relationship there at all? Well, Sue, David and Shannon are that family to us. They have been in my life for as long as I can remember and have always been there for me in any way they could be. We have been through more than our share of good and bad times together. Unfortunately, since my parents moved away from my hometown a few years ago we don't get the chance to see each other as often as we would like. David was about 2 1/2 when I met him for the first time. That is David in the picture above (with his mom, Sue) on his way to his Senior Prom! Ok, yes, I feel so old seeing him getting ready for prom and college and all of those fun things! I am so proud of him for all that he has done and all that he has ahead of him! Seeing this reminded me how much I really do miss them and how much the 3 of them have impacted my life. His mom has always been the one I could talk to about anything and she would never judge - just listen and sometimes, but not always, give advice. I wish I could hug all 3 of them right now and laugh over memories...like the time I was packing for my Freshman year of college and David said to my mom, "Why would anyone want to leave their mom and go to school?" Now, here he is packing up for college and getting excited to leave home!!!! I remember playing ring around the rosie with his sister, Shannon, for hours on end because she loved to "fall down" so much! And then there was our wedding...I could go on and on but I won't. I do want to thank you for all of the memories though and tell you that I love you all!!!!

This may seem kindof corny but I hope that after reading this you all take some time to remember the people you love from your life and laugh at old memories. I think it is good for your soul to do that every now and then!

Welcome To The Daddy Club

We had such a great time getting to know baby Ben this past weekend. He is such a sweet baby! Here is a picture of all the dads...finally! There is Jim and Ben --- Jamie and Audrie --- Rhonald and Cole. I think these dads will have lots of fun doing "man things" with their kiddos! Poor Audrie, she is going to have to put up with a lot I am afraid!!!

Playing With Daddy

Rhonald had some vacation days left that he needed to use before June so we have been blessed to have him home with us this week. Cole has really loved all of the attention and the time he has gotten to spend with his Daddy. It is amazing to me that even at such a young age Cole gets super excited whenever Rhonald is around. He has even gotten so bad lately that Rhonald is unable to put Cole to bed. Whenever he tries Cole stares up at him and laughs. Although it is the sweetest thing it makes for a long night! Also, when I am feeding Cole and Rhonald is sitting next to us Cole is able to twist around so that he is eating and watching Rhonald at the same time. It is very obvious that he loves his Daddy and I know he will miss Rhonald when he has to go back to work on Tuesday.

A Weekend At The Cabin

We took Cole down on the dock in his carrier. He really liked watching the boats and the trees. It was so sweet to see Rhonald share something he loves so much with our son. On our way home Rhonald kept talking about how much fun it will be to teach Cole how to fly fish and all of the places on the river that he wants to show him one day. I imagine there will be many weekends on the river when Cole gets older.

Rhonald's mom is known for finding random plants at Lowe's and trying to get them to grow. She planted these roses a couple of years ago and this year they have really taken off! She has many different colors and types and they are truly beautiful.

For some reason Mason loves the balcony! As soon as we get to the cabin he runs upstairs to look over everyone and he basically stays up there unless he is outside roaming around in the woods. He walks all along the balcony sticking his head out of each space. It is the strangest thing you have ever seen!!!

Rhonald spends the majority of our time at the cabin trout fishing. Seriously, from sunup to sundown he is on the river and he loves every minute of it. It was so awesome for him to have some time off to enjoy the weather and some good fly fishing with his dad.

The air conditioner broke the night we got there which would have been okay except it was about 90 degrees every day!!!! Since it was a holiday weekend there was no way of getting it fixed. Needless to say we were all very toasty all weekend. We tried to keep Cole cool by leaving him in just a diaper every day. He loved every minute of it since that meant that we had easy access to kiss on his tummy which he loves! We were all very thankful for the AC in the car on the way home.

Welcome To The World Sweet Ben

Our good friends, Jim and Emily welcomed their baby boy, Ben, into the world last night at 9:46 pm. Ben weighs 7 lbs 4 oz. It was awesome to hold him this morning and remember when Cole was that small. Ben is the last of the 3 babies to be born to our "group." Everyone has been waiting patiently to meet him and love on him. It is wonderful to know that Cole already has so many friends to grow up with. Emily and I began talking about these babies even before we were pregnant so it was even more amazing to see Ben and Cole together today and know that they will be friends forever! We are so excited for Jim and Em and all of the many adventures that lie ahead of all of us!!! I must be honest and admit that I am both anxious and excited to see the trouble these 2 boys get in to together as they get older.