Our Birthday Boy

Oh my goodness - my baby boy turned 2 years old!!!! I think this birthday was harder for me than his first birthday was. I guess it is because he is such a boy now. Despite the tears we had a great weekend celebrating Cole's big day. My parents came to visit a few days before which was great. The weather has been so crazy cold that we stayed inside most of the time. Because of that we let Cole open his birthday gifts from us and my parents early...a little cabin fever was setting in! We had his birthday party at Gymboree Play and Music on Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun. I will be honest...I could hardly sleep the night before because I was so excited for him. So many of our friends were there to help us celebrate the life of our sweet little one and for that we are so thankful. Cole had the time of his life - I don't think he stopped laughing the entire time! It was so neat to see how he actually seemed to know it was his big day. The party could not have been more fun. My parents loved seeing Cole with all of his buddies since they never get to see him with any other kids except his cousins who are older. Of course the cake was a hit (or shall I say the frosting was a hit). When it was time to open gifts the teacher at Gymboree was trying to be so organized but Cole just ran in there and started opening. It was funny to watch the kids all huddle around to see what was in each package. I was proud that Cole managed to say "thank you" after each gift. We were all exhausted after the party...mom and dad headed back to Tennessee and we headed home to have dinner and play! It was a really wonderful weekend. We had such a great time and we are so thankful for those who were able to share it with us. As this year continues we ask that you remember Cole in your prayers...that as he grows up he continues to be the little boy that God has called for him to be.

Building With Daddy

We ran out to Target last night to buy a shelving unit to store toys. We have been wanting to do this for so long but just never got around to it. With the help of some birthday money we were able to get the exact shelf that we wanted. Cole had such a blast helping his daddy build this thing! Rhonald was trying to put it together in secret so he could get it done faster but Cole quickly found him and ran (and I do mean ran) to get his tools! He loved using his hammer and screwdriver. Rhonald let him "help" hammer in some nails and Cole handed Rhonald everything he needed. I think Rhonald was really glad Cole came to help him - it was nice Father/Son time! And the finished product is wonderful! We love it. Not only does it look like adults live in our house when you walk in to the living room but Cole has his own area where he can play and get whatever he wants whenever he wants! It is fabulous!!!!

Beautiful Beginnings

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland! We were so excited to see the snow falling this morning. Cole was out in the snow during the infamous ice storm last winter but he was too little to really play. As soon as breakfast was over we bundled up and headed out to play (church was cancelled today so we had some time on our hands). Cole LOVED it! Of course he had to bring his trucks with him. He filled those trucks with snow and ran them all over the yard. Rhonald taught him how to make snow balls and the 2 of them enjoyed throwing them at me over and over. Mason hated every minute of it and kept running to the door. Mason hates to be cold so this was horrible for him but we made him stay and play with us anyway. At one point Cole decided that instead of throwing the snow balls he would like to eat them so he sat down and did just that. He was so funny - he kept saying "yummy, yummy Mommy!" and then "taste snow Mommy!" I hated to inform him that Mommy's snow eating days were over! There were a few tears when we told Cole that he had to come in to warm up but he quickly got over it once he realized we could go back out later. We all had so much fun! There is something about snow that brings out the child in every person...especially when you only get to see it once in a great while!

Happy New Year!!!!

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
---Philippians 3:13-14

May you have a blessed 2010!!!!

Christmas 2009

Christmas was a a big success this year and so much fun! Rhonald's parents set up a Christmas train under their tree which Cole was obsessed with . We finally had to tell him that the train had to go night night so that we could all get a little break from it. We continued a tradition that Rhonald and I both had growing up and we let Cole open 1 gift on Christmas eve. He got a doctor's kit and kept saying he was a "doctor like gaggy" (yes, he still calls Rhonald "gaggy"). It even came with a pager that worked and Rhonald taught Cole how to say "No Pages!"

On Christmas morning we woke up at our normal time and opened gifts. Cole was really funny. He loved opening his stocking but after a couple of gifts he made me unwrap them and then he would hand them to Rhonald for him to take it out of the box. After that he would play with that gift while I opened another one of his. It made me glad that we didn't go overboard this year. Maybe next year he will be more in to it.

We had a yummy dinner and ate way too much! Cole finally got to meet his Great, Great Grandma Katie and his second cousins on Rhonald's mom's side of the family. He really enjoyed having other kids around the play with. It was a whirlwind of a day but it was so nice to sit back and relax and be with family. But, I must say, as much as I love Christmas...I am glad that it only comes once a year!

Cookies and A Gingerbread House....Oh My!

Baking cookies has quickly become one of Cole's favorite things to do. Luckily we got to Searcy just in time to help back Christmas cookies with Grandma and Paw Paw. Cole had a blast digging through cookie dough. By the end of the day he was covered in flour, sugar and sprinkles! Rhonald's mom showed Cole how to roll to dough in to balls. At first I did not think he would be able to do it but with a little bit of help he did great. In fact I think he made more cookies than anyone that day!

I brought a gingerbread house kit with us to make on Christmas Eve. None of us had ever made one before so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. Let me just say...it did not disappoint and it will be a tradition from now on. It was super easy and really fun to show Cole how to follow the directions and be patient. He loved decorating the house with candy (and sampling some too). Even Rhonald enjoyed it - he was the master of the roof! It was a really fun and easy activity to do together. I realize our house is not the prettiest in the world but hey - it was good for a first try! Now that we know how to do it we are looking forward to next year. I even mentioned trying to make one from scratch - we shall see!

Another tradition that I love (and that I stole from our friends, AJ and Matt) is what we call our prayer jar. We wrote down the names of all of the people that sent us a Christmas card and put them in a jar. Each night at dinner we pull out a name and pray for that family. It has been so much fun...something I think we will actually continue year round. I love praying with Cole. We do it before bed and before dinner and it is so sweet to see him start to "get it." He holds our hands and closes his eyes and yells a great big "AMEN!" when we are done. He evens reminds us to pray when we get busy and forget - he will say "Stop! Prayer!" What a precious spirit that boy has!

Fireman Cole To The Rescue

We traveled to Searcy for the last time this Christmas and one of the fun things that Rhonald's parents had planned was to take Cole to the fire station where Rhonald's dad used to work. Cole loved it! The guys let him climb all over the trucks and even gave him his own fireman hat. He got to pretend to drive the truck and turn on the lights with a little helps from his Paw Paw. Cole was not afraid at all and had so much fun running all over the station and giving high 5's to all of the firemen! He was able to point out the hose, the ladder, the bucket on the ladder and the lights all without being prompted. I think his favorite part was when they turned on all of the lights - he really enjoyed watching them and pointing them out to Rhonald and I. The guys really enjoyed seeing him and all of his excitement. And I think they really appreciated it when I asked him what firemen do and he said "they help." You could just see the pride in their eyes....thank goodness for men and women like that!