One Step Closer To Being A Grown Up

What would a new room be without a new big boy bed??? Cole has been talking about getting a big boy bed for a little while - he has seen his friends move from cribs to big beds and been a little curious as to why he had not made the move. We have promised him that he would get one once we moved. Let me just say he was totally thrilled when he woke up from his nap to find he had a big boy bed and a whole big boy room waiting for him! Cole has a beautiful room filled with firetrucks and, my favorite part, a book case filled with books. He loves his bed so much. Cole has never been the best sleeper but he has really been doing much better since moving out of his crib. He enjoys being in his room so much. I cannot wait to see him grow up in there!!! And the sweetest part is that he is so proud of his room. Whenever someone stops by he wants to show them his room and he points out every little aspect of it. Rhonald and I are so happy for him and are just as excited as he is with this new "step" in life.

Moving Day

Pardon me for not being around....things have been crazy around here to say the least! Last Monday we said good bye to our first house...the house we spent 5 years in and brought Cole home to, the house we made so many memories in....and said a big "hello" to our new home! Although leaving our old home was hard we are so excited to be here. I have not had my camera with me very much lately so I don't have any new pictures of our new home but I will share them soon. Rhonald was not able to take any time off for the move so my parents were nice enough to come here for a week to help us get settled. After a week of unpacking, painting, picture hanging and a million odd jobs we are almost settled. We are thrilled to call this place home and to make new memories here. I promise to share pictures very soon!

Boys Will Be Boys

A week or so ago Cole and I got to have Ben spend the day with us as Emily and Jim were busy moving back into their home (they had to redo the entire house after pipes burst during an ice storm this winter). We were so happy to have him with us all day but boy...by the end of the day I was so tired! God knew what he was doing when he gave us one baby at a time! We did have so much fun playing in the dirt, playing in the water, and playing with Play Doh. As the day continued the boys learned new ways to get into things while I was not looking. For example, I took a 30 second bathroom break and when I was gone I heard banging and laughing. I quickly finished up and came out to see what was so funny. Well, those 2 had figured out how to open our freezer and get out the Popsicles! When they saw me they burst out laughing and hid the Popsicles behind their backs. Another time, right in front of me but too quickly for me to stop them, they jumped into the water table with their clothes on. Not a big deal until they quickly jumped out, ran to the dirt and rolled around in it...laughing so hard the entire time! I was proud to get them both to take a nap at the same time - I never thought that would happen. I will admit, as exhausting as it was I loved watching them play all day together and enjoy each other so much.

Summer Fun of All Kinds

We have really been enjoying our summer and this hot, hot weather! Cole and I have been blessed with many different play dates which has helped us both cope with the hot weather (90's in May/June). Some of our recent favorites include going to Miss Keisha's house to play in her backyard-splash pool, roller coaster, sand table and lots of new children to become friends with. We have both loved getting to know Keisha and Jackson and are so thankful for their friendship. Another outing that started out scary and horrible for Cole but turned fun was going to the Splash Park with Ben, Audrie and Annie. Cole hated the Splash Park last year simply because he does not like getting in sprinklers. Lately he has been playing in a sprinkler in our back yard so I thought...hey! We'll give it another try. Well, guess what? He hated it once again. Luckily Audrie did too so I took the 2 of them to a nearby playground where they played their hearts out while Ben thoroughly enjoyed every second of the Splash Park. We already have several swimming dates scheduled for next week (thank goodness - it is all you can do in this heat) and are looking so forward to this summer. It is so hard to believe that this is our last summer with just 1 little one to chase after. Rhonald, Cole and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest!

Life Lesson #101

As I walked out on the deck on this fine Memorial Day evening this is what I saw. And this is what I heard, "Cole, Daddy is going to start teaching you how to grill so when you are big you can make hot dogs for your little kids!" Ugh-I just love them so much!!!!

21 weeks

Disclaimer - we worked hard to get a picture Sunday morning before church after a weekend of cleaning, sorting and little sleep and this was the best we could do :)

We are over half way done with this pregnancy! Wow! I don't know if I have officially told everyone that our sweet little girl's name is Lily Kate Searcy. I think we will call her Lily and Lily Kate...it is so cute don't you think? Things are still going so very well and we are so thankful for that. As it gets hotter I do notice that I get tired a little easier and carrying Cole is getting harder by the second. He is getting much better about understanding that there are times when Mommy simply needs a break. Lily is becoming more predictable with her awake times. She is very active first thing in the morning, around 3 pm and before bed. I am busy getting this house ready to move and planning her room is all apart of that process! It is going to be so cute!!! There is something about pink that makes a girl want to shop!!!! We say all of the time that we just can't wait to meet her and look at her sweet face! Just a few more months....

We Made It!!!

The 3 amigos - Cole, Jackson and Ben

Cole with his teachers - Miss Sadeta and Miss Tasha

Well, we made it through an entire year of Mother's Day Out and let me tell you - it has been a huge blessing both to Cole and to myself. When we started out the year I had Cole signed up to go one day a week and I was anxious about us being apart that much. Soon after he started and I saw how much he was learning and how much he liked it I increased him to 2 days a week. I quickly began to enjoy my time too. Being able to get a haircut or run errands by myself was great and also gave me more quality time to spend with Cole (no errands means much more fun). I cannot tell you how much he has changed this year. When he started he was so shy around new kids and new surroundings. While he still finds comfort in his family and close buddies he is much more willing to try new things. He is so much more social and has learned more than I ever thought he would (he even counts to 10 in Spanish now). I feel like we have been so very blessed by his school. Not only is he spending his time there learning about letters and numbers and colors but he is also learning about Jesus from women who love him. Tears came to my eyes when I hugged his teachers good bye. They will never know how much we appreciate them and the time and love they shared with Cole. I am so excited to have a whole summer with Cole...our last one before Lily Kate arrives...but I am also so excited to start school in the fall and see what is in store for us there too!