Best Buddies

Isn't this the sweetest? This is what I saw when I looked over at my boys during the 4th of July parade. They really are the best of friends and I love it.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

First of all, I apologize for the random order of these photos. I am not sure what happened there. Anyway, we had a wonderful time on the 4th of July! We actually started celebrating on the 3rd at a cookout with some friends from church. We had great food and enjoyed a small fireworks display. Cole really liked the fireworks and we were so excited about that that we went out and bought some to have at our house on the 4th. That was the first time he had seen anything like that before so we weren't sure what his reaction would be. The 4th started out great...it was cloudy and a little cool (and I mean about 85 degrees instead of 95 degrees). We packed up the car with snacks and chairs and headed to the local parade. Rhonald and I had so much fun watching Cole take everything in. He was amazed at the trucks, tractors and horses. Cole would point to each and every thing and tell us what it was. Rhonald even got him to wave at the people going by and he loved when they would wave back. We met up with the Burrow family there and Emily treated Cole to his first taste of cotton candy (which he loved)! It made us feel so patriotic to be there. After nap time we had a small cook out at our house with the Burrows and the Cornetts. We ate and ate and ate and the kids played and played and played. It was so fun! Right before bedtime we took them outside to watch the few fireworks that we had and we also let them enjoy a popsicle. After that it was obvious that a bath was needed so we piled them all in our tub and cleaned them up. The babies were truly worn out after that! I know Cole had so much fun yesterday...you could just see the joy of the day all over his face. Overall it was a wonderful, wonderful day...I am already looking forward to next year!

Fun In The Sun

We have had such a blast playing outside this summer. Cole is addicted to the outdoors. Seriously, he would be out there 24/7 if we would let him. Since it has been so hot we have spent a lot of time swimming and playing in his baby pool. He loves to splash around and play with his water toys. Cole also loves to help us water the flowers. He quickly learned to fill up his watering can with water from his pool. Cole will drag the watering can over to the plants and try to water them...he usually ends up watering himself in the process! He also loves to eat Popsicles! This is something I never imagined I would give to him until he was older but a few weeks ago Cole was very sick and the only thing we could get him to eat or drink was a Popsicle. Now he loves to eat them...outside and only as a special treat of course. This summer is so different than last summer. He is able to do so much more and it is really cool to watch his interests develop as he gets older. I can't even imagine the fun to come!!!!

A New Obsession

Cole has a new (and super fun) obsession these days! He is in love with cars, trucks and trains!!! From the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep at night he has a car with him. It is so cute to watch him push his cars around and hear him say "vroom, vroom" or "go, go." When we are in the car and he sees a truck of any kind he yells "truck beep, beep!" When he is playing with his trains he pumps his arm and says "choo choo." It amazes me that he has developed this love of cars because it really happened over night. We have had these toys for so long and he would hardly acknowledge them and then one day he picked one up and he hasn't stopped playing with them since. It is just one more example to us that he is now a little boy and no longer a baby.

3 Hot Dates

Remember when date night could happen anytime you felt like it? Not any more!!! Last night marked the 2nd date night without kiddos that we have had with the Burrows and the Cornetts. It was so nice and relaxing to sit on the patio at Jose's, eat good food and talk. A lot. Of course we talked a lot about babies and things but we also caught up with one another and had a great time! I can't wait until next month to do it all again!

Cole at 17 Months

Wow - is it ever hard to get a picture of a toddler when they are constantly on the go?! I remember the days of sitting Cole wherever I wanted and taking 1,000 pictures. Now I chase after him making funny sounds just to get 1 or 2 shots that are decent! I guess that is part of the fun though!!!!

Cole is now 17 months old and is doing so much. He can say almost all of his animal sounds. He also says many other words - our favorite being "please." He loves to be outside. So much so that after he wakes up and has his milk in the morning he runs to the back door to go out. We love it too but it can be tiring at times! He is obsessed with fish and trains. He will walk around the house pumping his arm yelling "choo choo." He has a favorite cartoon....Miss Spider and The Sunny Patch Friends. He loves it and would watch it 24/7 if we would let him. Cole really likes to hold hands when he walks now (unless we are somewhere where we want him to hold hands...then he hates to do it). He loves playing ring around the rosie and still loves to sing Old McDonald. He can do the motions to The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels On The Bus. Cole has 16 teeth. He is eating everything and anything. He loves Mexican and Chinese food the best! I know that does not sounds healthy at all but I promise, on most days, he eats very balanced meals including lots of fruit and veggies. Cole still would eat fruit over anything else in the house. He is taking about a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon and sleeping 11 hours at night. He is finally starting to like holding his blanket - something I have wanted him to do. I feel like then he will have another comfort thing when the pacie goes "bye bye." Cole can walk up and down stairs well and always says "bye bye" and waves to Mason whenever we leave the house. Cole can point to every one of his body parts and then points to ours. He loves to climb up on the furniture and sit and look at books like a big boy. When it is time to eat Cole goes and gets his own bib and cup out of his drawer. He uses a plate very well but we are still working on silverware. I feel like he learns something new everyday and that he picks up on things so quickly right now. We love to sit back and just watch him figure things out on his own. He gets so proud of himself!

I think that is about it! We go to the doctor next month to be weighed and have a check up so that will be fun. I always love to see how much he has grown. We are having so much fun with Cole. We are totally exhausted at the end of the day but it is a good feeling. He is so much fun to be with!

A Relaxing Weekend Every Way You Look At It

Oh my goodness! Rhonald, Cole and I could not have asked for a more relaxing and wonderful weekend! We kicked it off Friday by playing in the baby pool...well, one of us played while the other 2 watched! Cole loved taking the water out of the pool and pouring it on the plastic thing under the gutter. I think he managed to do that for about an hour! And don't you love his attire - a hat and a little swimmer - can't beat that!

On Saturday we were able to meet Miss Nadia, the lovely new daughter of our friends Carli and Jeremy. She was so sweet but, of course, we forgot the camera! Cole loved looking at all of the babies in the nursery while we were at the hospital. It was so funny to hear him say "baby" as he pointed to them. That evening we joined the Burrow family and the Cornetts at the park for a cook out. We wore the babies out (or they wore us out...I am not quite sure) with lots of playing and eating. I don't think they sat still for more than 5 minutes. Cole loved chasing Audrie around the playground and throwing rocks in to the creek. He would have stayed there all night if we would have let him. And I will say, it is so nice to be able to go somewhere and have him eat what we eat. He has done that for months now and I love it. He dined on smoked sausage, watermelon, pasta salad, potato salad and a roll. It is really amazing to watch Cole, Ben and Audrie grow up - they are so different and so wonderful in every possible way!

Sunday we decided at the last minute to drive to Eureka Springs and walk around. We went to a beautiful garden and ate a yummy lunch. Cole was great and LOVED the garden. He acted like he owned the place...running and walking everywhere...smelling flowers and chasing birds. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect! He slept all of the way home so Rhonald and I had lots of time to talk and sing along with the radio. And now, Sunday evening, Cole is sound asleep...the laundry is done...the weekly grocery shopping is done and I am going to relax on the couch with my hubby and a good book! You have to love weekends like this one!!!!!