A Poem To Live By

Song for a 5th child - Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,

Pat-a-cake, Darling, and peek peekaboo.

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

There Are No Words...

to describe how much we love this adorable and precious little boy!

Double Trouble

I can only imagine the amount of trouble these two boys will get into together throughout their lives! Cole and I spent Saturday night with Emily and Ben while our hubbies were out of town. The boys loved "playing" on the piano! Cole was a little timid at first...he had never even seen a piano up close before. He quickly warmed up to it once he saw how much fun Ben was having! Emily and I could not stop laughing at how much fun they were having...and how proud they both were of the "music" they were making!

"I Big!"

Cole turned 21 months old on October 11th...can you believe it? We cannot...not at all. It seems like he is changing and growing up so fast. One day when I was getting him ready for lunch and trying to put him in his highchair he looked at me and said "I big." and patted a chair at the big table. I laughed and tried again to put him in his highchair and, once again, he said "I big." and patted a big chair. So, I brought out his booster seat and he was thrilled. He never sat in his highchair again...which has made me a little sad. I am so excited to see these changes and watch him grow up but it also makes me realize how fast time is flying by! Cole is doing so much these days. He is becoming more and more verbal every day. While he still is not putting many words together he is saying things very well. He is going to a Mother's Day Out at a church in town and he loves it. It took a few weeks to get used to his new "school" but now he really enjoys his time there. I can already tell that he is gaining more confidence in himself and is much more outgoing than he was even a month ago. Cole is doing great on all of his milestones...he can throw a ball overhand and kick one, he can build a tower, identify pictures by pointing, follow commands without gestures, etc. One thing he loves to do is march. He marches all around the house and makes us march with him. He even tries to get mason to march - we'll hear him say "May May March!" and poor Mason ends up walking behind him every time. He still loves to read. Cole is really starting to enjoy coloring with crayons and playing play-doh. He loves to share and is kind to others. Cole loves to help clean up after playtime or meals. He is getting a little bit more patient with things. If he starts to get upset when he is playing I can usually say "let's be patient and slow down" and he will say "yeah" (his favorite answer) and calm down. Cole uses his manners well and most of the time does not have to be reminded. It made me so happy when his teacher at school told me he said "please" and "thank you" there. He loves to sing and he will sing anything and everything. Right now 2 favorites are "You Are My Sunshine" and "The Wheels On The Bus." Cole is still in love with trucks, cars and trains. Basically, he is amazing and we adore him! He keeps life interesting and everything is so much more fun when he is around!

Trains, Trains and More Trains

If you have been around Cole at all lately you know that the only thing on his mind is a train (or a "choo choo" as he calls them). I swear it is his first word in the morning and we hear him talking about them as he is falling asleep at night. He looks for them all around town and on TV. We read books about them...over and over again. One of his favorite things to do is go to a local toy store or Barnes and Noble and play with the Thomas the Train set. It has gotten so bad that he yells "choo choo" when we drive past one of those stores. It is so much fun to watch him push the trains along the track and say "choo choo!" He is starting to be able to say "All Aboard" too which is super cute!! It is a joy to watch him love something so much at such a young age. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing his sweet little smile as he pushes those train cars along the track.

Introducing The Future Mrs. Searcy

My dear friend, Kellie, gave birth to sweet Claire Elizabeth today around 1:30 pm. Cole and I went up to meet Claire this afternoon and all I can say is that she is amazing! It felt so strange to hold someone that small again and it brought up so many memories from when Cole was born. Kellie had her first son, Ben, 2 1/2 months before Cole was born so we were able to talk all about the boys and how this was different for her. Cole loved visiting because he was able to play with Kellie's mom. He was not too sure of me holding Claire. Cole would look at me and say "mommy?!" And then he cuddled up to Kellie's mom for some "grandma love." We are so happy for Kellie, Joe and Ben and I am so excited to get to know Claire. And who knows....maybe she will be the future Mrs. Searcy!!!!

A Morning At The Pumpkin Patch

I don't think there is anything cuter than little kids running through a huge pumpkin patch! This morning we met up with some of our good friends to enjoy some time at the local pumpkin patch! We had a great time walking through the field to pick our pumpkins (we bought 3 - one for each of us) --- we even got to cut them off of the vine. Cole wanted to pick up and carry every pumpkin we saw. It was so funny because he would grunt and laugh and then give up and move on to the next one. This year we also got to go on a hay ride which all of the kids loved! They loved seeing the tractor and Cole kept saying "yeah" as we were riding along. After picking our pumpkins, playing in the hay and riding around we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and some rest. The kids spent most of our lunch time running around and playing. It is so sweet to watch them all together. I think there is a real connection with them already and it is so cool that we have all been friends since before Owen, the oldest, was born. The funniest part of the whole day was trying to get pictures of them together. We would get them all set and then one of them would run off or turn around...we finally gave up! I remember the days when we could prop them up anywhere and they would stay until we moved them...well, those days are long gone! We did have some fun taking pictures using the "cut outs" they had there. The kids did not understand that at all but they thought it was really funny to see their moms with piggy bodies! It was an absolutely wonderful way to spend our morning - I am already excited to go again next year!