A Visit With Paw Paw

We were really thankful to be able to have Rhonald's dad come and visit us a couple of weekends ago.  Cole was beyond excited and actually sat by the front door for almost an hour waiting for his Paw Paw to drive up.  Poor Paw Paw...Cole kept him quite busy over the weekend.  They played Spider man and Lego's and played outside (even in the super hot weather).  Rhonald had a few projects he wanted his dad to help him with, which Cole wanted to help with too.  Paw Paw was so patient and allowed Cole to help with everything...even using the power drill (I think he loved having a little side kick around).  For almost 2 years now Cole has been in love with building and construction and everything to do with it.  When he was 2 years old he could name each and every work truck we saw and tell us what they did...amazing.  So, you can imagine how much fun he had using a power drill (with much help from his Paw Paw).  On Saturday, Rhonald, his dad and Cole went to see the Imagination Movers at the Walton Arts Center.  It was basically a rock concert for kids that lasted about an hour.  I have heard that Cole danced the entire time-he came home looking exhausted but was thrilled to have had some "guy time."  The weekend went off without a hitch and it was so nice to make more memories with Rhonald's dad.  Hopefully, after he has some time to recover, he will come back soon!

Ah! The Swings!

My children LOVE the swings...LOVE!  It has been so hot here this summer (over 100 degrees almost every day for the past 3 weeks) that we have not had much time outside...even in the pool.  The other day we met some friends at the library and it happened to be overcast and 90 degrees.  We thought it felt awesome so we left the indoors and headed for a nearby park.  Cole was in heaven to be outside with his buddies (they played hide and seek and dug for buried treasure for the longest time---oh my, I remember when they were all born and now they are sooooo big!) and Lily was in heaven swinging.  She was too little to swing at the park in the spring so this was really her first experience with it.  The amount of laughing and squealing she did was amazing and so contagious!  I could not stop laughing with her.  She was loving it!  And so was Cole...he has swings at home but hadn't used them in so long I think he forgot how much fun it is.  It was a blessing....good friends and a little break in the heat.  Even if it was just for one day it was awesome!

Lily Kate at 10 Months

Time is really flying by and, even though we are having such a fun time with our sweet baby girl, I wish it would slow down a bit.  Lily Kate turned 10 months old today....so hard to believe.  Pictures are getting harder to take of her because she crawls at lightning speed toward anyone with a camera.  She is so super cute and funny it is unreal!  Like I said, she is crawling so fast and she is also cruising around the furniture like a mad woman.  She can crawl up our entire flight of stairs (with someone right behind her of course).  She is IN TO EVERYTHING!  Right now her favorite spots to get in to that she knows she is not allowed are the toilet and the kitchen trash can.  Ugh-that girl wears me out!  Lily Kate still loves to read and look at books.  It is the only time in the day where she will snuggle up with us and as soon as the book is done she is on the go once more.  She loves Cole and laughs the hardest when he is around.  He is still such an amazing big brother to her!  She is babbling "dada" and "mama" but not to us exactly.  She definitely talks a lot and lets us know when she is unhappy about something!  She is sleeping so well (12 hours at night with 2 naps during the day).  This past month Lily had her first tummy bug...yuck!  She is eating mostly table foods with some baby foods mixed in.  She loves everything except pasta...just like Cole at this age.  She makes the worst face and spits out anything resembling a noodle.  She loves banana bread, applesauce, all fruits and sweet potatoes the best.  But she really will eat mostly anything.  So far the dairy foods have been ok.  She does not eat as much dairy as Cole but she can handle some which is such a blessing.  She takes her sippy cup well with water or juice but the second she senses formula in there she throws it on the ground.  She is a stubborn little thing!  Lily can wave and is beginning to clap her hands.  I would have to say her favorite part of the day is bath time.  She and Cole take a bath together and she loves playing with him so much.  She cries when she has to get out of the tub!  Lily Kate has 8 teeth - 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom.  She has been known to bite every now and then and we are working with her one that.  She adores music of all kinds and dances like a crazy person when a song comes on that she likes.  She loves to hear Rhonald play his guitar and will bounce all over the room while he plays.  The song, "If You Are Happy And You Know It..." is by far her favorite and even Cole knows to sing it when she is upset.  She settles down right away and smiles.  She is such a joy - and such a free spirit already.  She is so loving and has brought so much life to our home.  We cannot believe it has already been 10 months...but really, we cannot imagine life without her.

My Daughter

"A daughter is a miracle that never ceases to be miraculous...full of beauty and forever beautiful...loving and caring and truly amazing."

                                                                                                                                       --Deanna Beisser

Self Feeding - A Baby's Bliss

Lily Kate's 9 Month Check Up

No pictures to share for now...I just got back from taking Lily Kate to her 9 month check up.  Wow!  She looked awesome and did great.  That girl steals hearts everywhere she goes.  Lily weighs 20 lbs and 4 oz (75%) and is 28 1/4 inches long (60%).  Dr. F thought she looked perfect - even though she is still recovering from her cold.  She is getting 3 new teeth, which gives her a total of 7!  She enouraged me to start giving her formula in her sippy cup and moving her to finger foods.  She will love that.  She has wanted to feed herself for awhile but I have still been giving her baby food with some finger foods.  Dr. F said to move on :)!  She also said she predicts Lily Kate will be walking before a year...yikes!  And something I am so thrilled with...she gave me the green light to try dairy with Lily.  Not milk yet but yogurt and cheese, etc.  Then at a year I can try whole milk and if she seems to have any trouble at all with her tummy she told me a brand without lactose.  I am so excited!  Dr. F said a lot of babies grow out of their intolerance by 6 months to a year.  Yeah!  It would make life so much easier...and so much more enjoyable for Lils!  Cole was a trooper - he went with me.  He basically helped Dr. F with the exam on Lily....doing everything after she did it (even looking in her ears).  And during shot time he sat next to us and held her hand.  What a good brother!  Just for my records...he weighs 38 lbs (they were nice enough to weigh him too).  He was a bit disappointed that he did not have an appointment too.  Crazy Dr's kids!  I know the kids are healthy and growing and thriving but it is so nice to have someone else confirm it for me!

The Fayetteville Farmer's Market

One of our favorite ways to begin a Saturday morning has always been at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market.  It is so much fun to people watch there - there is a wide variety of people hanging out and enjoying the day.  It has been so super hot for the past month that we decided if we were ever going to go it had to be super early.  That was fine with us since we get up super early with the kiddos anyway.  On this trip we did not even buy anything but we had a great time being together.  There was a cute puppet show put on by a local jr highschool and a million dogs from the Humane Society that Cole just had to pet.  Rhonald and I shared the biggest cinnamon roll ever and sipped on coffee while Cole and Lily watched everyone walking by.  I think they both enjoyed the live music the best.  Both of them would dance at every street corner with a different musician.  I love the weaving woman...she is there every year, every time we go and she makes the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen.  The funniest thing this time we went was that every time we passed a booth with herbs or onions (so, several booths) Cole would hold his nose and (loudly) talk about how stinky the place was.  I swear, he has no filter and we are really trying to work on that.  There is always something new to see and do at the market and I am so glad we have this tradition....it is such a fun one!