Easter Outfit

We got a basket of spring gifts when we went to Katty's for spring break. It was a collaborative effort by Mom and Katty and it was really fun! First, Katty made me a grocery cart cover that is so darling! It even has little loops to hook toys to it so Cole can play w/o risk of dropping his toys on the grocery store floor! Here is Cole using it yesterday! He LOVES it b/c in the car seat he can't see what is going on around him and he is VERY curious and interested.

He hasn't realized I'm taking pictures yet so he's totally into the toy that's hooked to the cover.

Now he sees me, he already knows what to do for the camera!

This is a little better sit up, our favorite isle is the laundry detergent isle b/c is smells so good!

Close up. Little does he know but when he was two weeks old Cole went with Mom and I to purchase the fabric for this cart cover. At the time it was fabric for the stage of Mom's high school musical. Katty obviously got some scraps and thus the cart cover was born! When he gets older I'll tell him he picked it out himself!

She also gave Cole two books. First, a classic and one of my very favorites (actually my whole family loves this book) - Make Way for Ducklings.

And second, Duck in a Truck. It is pretty funny although our soon to be Master of children's literature (Aunt Biz) makes fun of this one!
Last but certainly not least, Mom had a new Easter/Spring dress for me and outfit for Cole! I have not taken pictures of the dress yet but here are pictures of Cole in his new Easter outfit complete with hat! These pictures a just a little bit blurry. And he honestly doesn't look very happy in his new duds but I think we tried them on him right before we put his PJ's on and put him to bed so that is why he has such a concerned look on his face!

Spring Break

It has been many years since Cory and I took a "spring break". Since college really - which is now 6 years ago! So this year we took one! First, Biz and Sarah came to our house on Wednesday night to start off their "spring break in Texas". It was really fun to hang out with them - although we didn't provide much entertainment other than Cole! He really loves his Aunt Biz and although it was a pretty quick visit - she gave him a bath, bottle, plenty of snuggles and I think they had a nice reunion! My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures while they were here! I will post pictures later of Cole in his "I heart NY" onesie that Sarah brought for him, straight from the streets of New York!

Part II of our spring break started on Thursday morning when Cory, Cole and I headed to Tulsa to see Aunt Kathryn, Grammie and Grandad. We had a great time - Kathryn moved into her house last summer but we had never seen it so I really enjoyed that. Cory watched a lot of basketball and enjoyed being off during those first few days of the tournament. Cole played with his Grammie and Grandad and they all three enjoyed that b/c they had not seen each other for 2 months!

All in all we had a great time and, although I still LONG to live closer to my family, these visits at least give me the "family fix" that I need to keep going! So here are a few pics from the weekend - enjoy!

Here's mom giving Cole a bath after a bad blowout! hehehe - can you tell he LOVES baths? This is Katty and Cole post-bath!


Cole gives pretty sweet baby kisses these days!


Dad and Cole had a lot of reading time while Mom, Katty and I took on some house projects! We ended up stripping wallpaper in her dining room, texturing and painting that room and mom hemmed curtains for her living room! So I think Dad and Cole are reading "Make Way for Ducklings" here. The teachers at day care are regularly amazed at how intently he listens to books and how closely he watches the pictures and pages - he is definately going to be an avid reader!

Well that's all for now! I will post more later - I have new pictures from tonight but they will have to wait for tomorrow!

Cole's 5 Months Old!

I can't believe that it has been almost half a year since my baby boy was born! Amazing how time flies! So on the occasion of his 5 month birthday I thought I'd better jot down a few things about him that we can laugh over when he is older! My mother has these types of things written in baby books and we have gotten them out from time to time and laughed over them. So perhaps by his sixth month birthday I will be there - but for now, this format will have to do and hopefully I'll print and add to an amazing baby scrapbook someday - hehehe!

Cole, at five months old you are amazing us with developments each day. You are a very happy baby - always giggling and squealing with delight. You think your dad is the funniest! He holds you upside down by your feet and you roar with laughter. He smooches on you and dances you around and you giggle uncontrollably. Just in the past few days you have gotten really good at sitting up by yourself. We are still a little nervous about it but you are determined and you protest if we lay you on your back at all! You love to play on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror. You still love bathtime but unlike most babies, a warm bath just revs you up as you kick and splash in the water! So you are a late nighter recently and won't go to bed before 11 o'clock. You are just now interested in the dogs and you will watch them very seriously. You are very vocal and well, downright loud! You screech and scream with joy to anyone who will listen and you are starting to pause when we talk back to you - learning conversation. You love to listen to stories and your hands are always busy - grabbing the book, my hair, whatever you can reach so I know that soon you'll be helping me turn pages. Your hands are never still, mostly they play with your pacifier, holding it, throwing it, putting it in your mouth at all kinds of weird angles! All in all you are a joy to behold each day! We love you and can't wait to see what month 6 will bring!

My Boys

As most of you probably know - I am back to work. So Cory and I have worked our schedules out so that I can drop Cole off at daycare at about 9am and Cory can pick him up at 5pm. This requires that Cory go to work early in the morning and I stay a little later in the evening. So Cory and Cole usually spend a few hours in the evening just doing boy things and getting ready for mom to come home. Consequently, I usually get home and they are playing or starting supper or changing a diaper or something. But tonight I came in and all was quiet. I looked around, no boys.....called out for them, no boys.....finally I found them in our bedroom!

Poor guys were exhausted from a wild Monday and getting some much needed snuggle time! It was so cute that I debated for a minute about taking a picture and then decided I had too! Unfortunately the flash did wake Dad up. But I had to share the picture b/c I thought it was so darling!

A Sleepy Week

I don't have much to blog about today. Life is moving along as usual. Just working and playing and watching Cole grow! So since things have been slow and quiet around here lately I am just going to include some pictures of Cole sleeping!





He has slept a lot this week, I think b/c he is a little off from daylight savings and also maybe due to a little growth spurt! I weighed him on Monday and he was 15 pounds 1 oz - I cannot believe it! I barely remember the little six-pounder that we worried about in those first weeks!

Very Serious

This picture is Cole on his way to church, being sooo serious!





We have been lucky so far in his life that usually his midmorning nap coincides nicely with the 11 o'clock service. However, the last two weeks he has started to be a little more verbal! And now his 10:30 nap has gone by the wayside so we have to be careful to take plenty of pacifiers and we let him sing out and babble during the hymns! hehehe



This particular day he talked and cooed and then tossed his pacifier about three pews ahead of us - hehehe. Soon I may have to relagate him to the nursery but I don't have the heart to do it yet!

New Play Yard

Well Cole has officially outgrown his cradle! So Grammie and Grandad sent him a Pack and Play so that we would have a place to lay him down for naps or resting downstairs. It is really nice not to have to run up and down the stairs when he takes little power naps in the afternoon. And it will also be really nice when we travel!

We put him right in it the first evening we had it (while we fixed dinner) and he just played and cooed and watched the mobile. He seemed to really enjoy it. And he's a good sleeper anyway, but he seems to fall asleep very easily in it so that is nice too! Here are some pics of him contemplating the new mobile! We noticed that the mobile has an elephant, a zebra, a tiger, a lion and a housecat on it! We think that's pretty funny and that he might be thinking "is a housecat technically a zoo animal?" When he gets older we'll play "which of these things is not like the others" with him! hahaha

Future Habitat Volunteer

For those of you who don't know, Cory has started a new job with Habitat for Humanity this spring. He has been there for about 6 weeks now (I think) and is really enjoying it! He is in charge of procurement and has already been able to save them a lot of money through his contacts and his intimiate knowledge of current pricing. He is really enjoying the family atmosphere, much more flexible schedule and truly meaningful work. I am so proud of him!

So Cole and I went for a tour last week and we got to see the entire complex which was really interesting. They build the walls for each house on site (actually right outside Cory's office as he is partially responsible for overseeing the prisoners who work in the "wall shop"). They also have shipping containers onsite that they load with all of the materials for a house. There is a retail store on site where all donated materials that can't be utilized are sold to the public and profits are used to further Habitat's ongoing projects. So the whole place is very interesting and I really enjoyed seeing it. We also met a lot of people and they were all very nice. The very first person we met was just enamoured with Cole and said "we have got to get him a onesie". So a few days later, Cory came home with this cute onesie that says "Habitat for Humanity, Future Volunteer". Of course I had to take pictures and I hope you can read it! We are excited for Cole to get big enough to go to work with Dad or maybe help with a build over the weekends!

Dad and Cole (note his funny face, this is a teething face and we think it makes him look like a little old man!)

Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity Future Volunteer!

Even more dramatic old man face!




Check out those leg rolls! hehehe