A Visit From Grammy and Pops

It was so nice to have a visit from Grammy and Pops this week! And boy did we get a lot done!!!! My mom helped me redecorate our living room (pictures to come later) which I have wanted to do for a long time, my dad cleaned up our yard, they taught Cole how to drink from a sippy cup and they gave him lots and lots of love! It is so much fun to see him enjoy his time with them and get to know them better. I think they were a little shocked at how big he had gotten and how many things he could do. He loved playing with them and cuddling with them. I know he will miss them so much. Hopefully they will be back to see us soon!

A Wonderful Day...

I have decided that my favorite days are the days we spend together as a family. Saturday was definitely one of those days! After we woke up we decided to head down to the Farmers' Market. We had not been there in awhile and we were shocked at how much bigger it was than when we were there last! We strolled around, listened to live music, had some coffee and, of course, bought a bouquet of beautiful flowers!!!! Cole seemed to enjoy the market just as much as we did. He loved looking at all of the dogs who were there and he liked the music too. There was so much to see but we headed home after about an hour so Cole could take a nap.

The summer weather gave us a bit of a break Saturday and since it was so nice we thought we should spend as much time outside as we could. We ended up going hiking at Devils Den. We used to do things like that a lot but we had not really tried hiking since we had Cole. Rhonald carried him in our baby carrier and off we went! We went for a 2 mile hike, which we thought was pretty good considering Rhonald was carrying about 20 extra lbs! Cole liked looking around at all of the trees and being so close to his dad. He did wonderfully but he eventually fell asleep and snoozed for the remainder of our hike. I am so glad that we decided to get out and enjoy the day! It was a beautiful day and one I will not soon forget!

And So it Begins....

Well, folks...today is the big day! Rhonald began his first day of work at his new clinic at 8:00 this morning. I could not include a picture from this morning on the blog...I did not dare ask him if I could take his picture although he looked very handsome in his new shirt and tie! I am dying to call him but I know that would not go over well today either. This past weekend Rhonald's mom and dad came to our house and helped us paint Rhonald's new office and rearrange furniture. We are going to finish hanging pictures and his diplomas this coming weekend. He was able to go over to the clinic yesterday and get a bit more oriented to where things are and everyone welcomed him with hugs and smiles. I really feel like we were led to this clinic and that it will be somewhere that our whole family will grow to be apart of. I am so very proud of Rhonald and all that he has accomplished. It is so neat to think that when I met Rhonald he was starting his senior year of college and now his career goal has been met! I am also very thankful to him for working so hard to make such a nice life for us...especially one where I can stay home and take care of Cole. I know it has not been fun or easy! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and helped us make it to today....we appreciate you so much!

7 month old and loving life...

It is so hard to believe that it has been 7 months since our little Cole was born! What an awesome 7 months it has been. Looking back it seems like it has flown by. Cole is growing like crazy and doing so many things...including saying "da-da" and "ba-ba." Both are a nice change from the usual "Gee" that he used to say all of the time (although we loved hearing that too). We both freaked out when we heard "da-da" and now Cole says it all of the time! He is getting on his hands and knees and scooting around the house...backwards! As I type this he is scooting under our coffee table of all things. He just got his top 2 front teeth (that makes a total of 4). He loves eating his homemade baby food (which I love making for him). His favorite food at this point is Mangos or Mangos mixed with yogurt. He loves singing songs and going for walks. His favorite song is the VBS song "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man." He loves the hands gestures. We are working on sign language but so far he just laughs at us when we sign to him...maybe one day he will get it! As you can see it has been a very eventful month so far!!!! We say this all of the time, but we are so blessed to have Cole in our lives. Although everything about our life changed when we had him we could not be happier!

30, Flirty and Thriving...

So today marks a big day for me...my 30th birthday!!! I was lucky enough to get to celebrate it in 2 parts. The last night we were in Florida the girls and I watched the movie "13 Going on 30" - one of my favorites! The guys made a yummy lobster and shrimp dinner. Then we ended the night with a strawberry ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery (it was wonderful!). It was so much fun to celebrate a little early with friends. There was a horrible cold that was passed around our house in Florida and I was so thankful that I had not gotten it. Well, yesterday I woke up with it and today I felt horrible! I was bummed about being sick on my big day but we made the best of it. My boys took me to Eureka Springs where we visited Blue Springs Heritage Center...a place that would be beautiful and much appreciated in the Spring, however it was 100 degrees today so we made our stay there very quick. Once we came home we put Cole in the baby pool and played and then had dinner at Logan's Roadhouse...one of my favorite places. It was so nice to have a low key day with Rhonald and Cole. I cannot believe that I am 30 years old!!!! Rhonald and I watched the movie "The Bucket List" after Cole went to bed last night...it made me think about all of the things I have done in my life and all that I hope to do. It was a nice time of reflection and I can honestly say that looking back over the years I am happy with the person I have become. All I can say is...thank you boys for a wonderful day. I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you!

A Few Extras

Our camera broke the day after we got to Destin (of course!). So, as an early birthday gift to me, we bought a new one. These are 2 of my favorite pictures that we took using our new camera! I have always taken lots of pictures but I think I will be taking even more now!

To add to the excitement of our week Cole FINALLY rolled from his back to his tummy once we got home. We decided a while back that he was going to skip this milestone but I guess watching Audrie do it all week inspired him!

So Much Fun...In The Sun

We just got back from our amazing week in Destin, FL. It was so relaxing and fun to hang out with our friends in the sun! We went with 2 other couples and their babies, as well as Gloria and Terryn...2 girls that Cole totally fell in love with!
Our house had a great pool and a nice covered porch so many days were spent outside, however, we did bring the babies in during the heat of the day to play. Cole and Audrie are almost the same age so they had fun sharing toys. Ben is quite a bit younger but Cole had a blast tickling Ben's little feet and watching him play!

Rhonald, Cole and I walked to the beach every morning. That was my favorite time every day. It was so peaceful then - very few people were out and the sand was cool. We loved walking along the beach together. Every day we talked about how much fun it will be to bring Cole to the beach every summer. And I hope that we continue to take our morning walks every summer too!
Jim, Jamie and Rhonald spent one morning deep sea fishing and caught several King Mackerel. They had such a blast fishing and we all had such a blast eating!!! I must give a shout out to Jamie...it was his first time and he ended up catching the biggest fish!
This spider, called a Golden Orb Spider, became quite an obsession of Rhonald's. He checked on him each and every day to make sure he had not moved. I think it was around the 4th day when he and Gloria realized that our house was surrounded by these yucky things so they googled them only to find out that Destin is their main home and July-August is the main time that they can be found! Luckily they also learned that they are harmless.
(thank you Rachel, Rhonald LOVED this picture so much!)
(and I loved this one!)

Cole was not a big fan of the ocean! He loved the sand and enjoyed the ocean a little more every day but did not appreciate it when we stood him in the water. As you can see from the pictures above he never took his eyes off of the water when we were standing in it holding him. It was almost as if he thought the water might jump up and get him. When Rhonald would hold him he would simply stare, however, when I would hold him he would bury his face in my neck and slowly peek out every now and then!
Cole may not have liked the ocean but he LOVED the pool! We spent lots of time in the pool and he would laugh and play the entire time. The poor boy would be so worn out from swimming that he would go to bed by 7:30 pm every night. I am afraid that he will be so bored now that we are home. Rhonald and I had so much fun playing with him and watching him enjoy the trip so much. We were a little worried about taking a trip with 3 babies but they all did so well. They loved every minute of their vacation just as much as we did.