Colorful Fun

Today marked the first official gathering of the play group the girls I used to work with and I started. It was crazy!!! We made tie dye t-shirts at our house and also had lunch. Almost everyone was there and it was great to see the girls and their kids. As you can see from the pictures above the babies chilled out and watched the bigger kids who were able to dye their own shirts (with a little help). Only time will tell if the shirts actually turn out (you have to let them rest for 12-24 hours) but like we said today...the kids are too young to care at this point! I have really grown to love our Tuesday get-togethers...and I love these girls. I feel like God really blessed our lives with the friends we have made here. Now that I am a mom it is so wonderful to have other moms to share time with and get advice from. I am so excited to watch our kids grow up together and I look forward to many more Tuesdays to come!!!!

5 Months Old...Can You Believe It?

Our little guy turned 5 months old on June 11th....can you believe that? Cole weighs 16.8 lbs. He is truly amazing and shocks us with all he can do each and every day. Last night before we went to bed, Rhonald and I agreed that watching a child grow up and learn is the most incredible thing in the world! To think that 5 months ago Cole could not do much of anything and now he can do so many things is too cool to explain. He is getting 2 teeth as we speak and has handled that very well. He can sit up for a few seconds unsupported. He plays with his hands and feet. He can put his pacifier in his mouth by himself. He pats on our faces whenever he can and will grab anything that is close to him. Cole is eating rice cereal and loves that so much! He loves being outside and watching new things. Cole enjoys riding in his stroller when we go for walks. Mason continues to be one of Cole's favorite things to grab on to and watch (poor Mason!). Stranger anxiety has set in and he has become a real mommy's boy. He adores his daddy and laughs more with Rhonald than he ever does with anyone else. He is sleeping well....he is only eating one time a night. He goes to bed around 8:30-9:00 pm and wakes up around 7:00-7:30 am. Oh! He has learned to blow bubbles with his mouth and does so almost all day long...he just reminded me of that -- ha ha! Well, those are just a few of the new things going on at our house. We are so blessed to have Cole and all of you to share him with. Thanks for listening to me brag about my boy a little bit this morning!!!!

Summer Lovin'

Rachel, Emily and I have been able to start up our "mom's lunch" again since school is out and Ben is here. It is so much fun to hang out with these girls and talk about life and our babies (I guess that is life isn't it?). Little Ben slept most of the time which was so sweet. This is the first time that Audrie and Cole seemed to notice each other - it was so cute! They would babble to each other and smile back and forth. The cutest was when they seemed to be trying to hold hands! I wonder if that is a preview of what is to come?!

Bathing Boy

My mom and dad brought Cole a baby pool this week. Today was the first day that we used it and boy was it fun!!! Cole did not know what to think of it at first but the longer he was in the pool the more he liked it. It was so cute to see him discover something new and know that it is something he will love forever. My mom and I laughed and laughed watching him splash his arms around. I can't wait to see him in a big pool!

Just To Make You Laugh

Rhonald and I decided to take a nap while Cole was taking his morning nap today. After Cole woke up I brought him in to our room so that I could feed him and when he was finished he had a lot of fun playing with his Daddy. Enjoy!

Mom's New Toy

Ok, first thing's first...I know I need a haircut and some highlights - thank goodness my parents will be here next week to watch Cole while I take care of that!!!

Now, on to my new love....the sling! My friend, Rachel, has had a sling like this for awhile now and I have loved it and secretly wanted one but was not willing to pay for it. You know, the stay-at-home mom thing. Recently though two things have happened. One - Cole does not like to stay in his car seat when we are out and about and wants to be held so he can see things better and be closer to us. Two - Cole is getting too heavy for me to carry with him in the car seat but sometimes I really need to have two hands free to do things. So, after those 2 things happened I thought I could justify buying the sling...and we love it!!! Cole loves it - he can be close to me and be up so he can see everything that he wants to see and I love it because he seems lighter when he is in it and I can still use 2 hands. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone with a baby --- and you can use it until they are 40 lbs. Hopefully he will be walking next to me, holding my hand by that point though! Thanks Rachel - I owe you one!!!

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!