Blankie, Books & a Belly Button!

Cole has lots of favorite things in his little world. He loves climbing: furniture, stairs, pantry shelves, etc... He loves technology: talking on the phone, playing with the ipad, getting a hold of a remote control or laptop. He loves his family: mama, dada, bubba, the list goes on...He's always quick to give a cuddle or a kiss.

But this kid ADORES his blankie. It's near him at all times! Either in his mouth, around his shoulders, in a cape-like fashion, on the ground, within arms reach. When he's hurt or sad, it makes him feel better. Life is good as long as we have blankie. Parker is the same way. His blankies are blue, where Cole's are white. I thought I'd get ahead of the game and buy several of the "same" satin trimmed thermal baby blankets in both colors. That way, heaven forbid!!, we loose one, we'd have a back up. Well...both boys have identified one blanket as their favorite. I can't tell a difference, but they can! In the dark, Parker will touch it & declare "It's not favorite blankie, try again, Mommy!" Cole just makes a funny "Awwww" noise when he has the right one, otherwise he throws it out of his bed. Oy!

Also, like Parker, Cole LOVES to read books! One of my favorite times of the day is reading to my boys. Cole finds a book (or 15), backs it up into your lap and then has you read it 5 to 10 times. He's so sweet during story time. Smiles & hugs abound. Being such a busy bee, this calm, quiet time is precious & adored by mommy!

Please note the growing pile of books by his feet. We had to read ALL of them! :)

And Cole has discovered his belly button! He loves to look for his (and yours!!) and is so joyful when he finds it! Depending on his outfit & how much he's had to eat, it can be a challenge to locate. He was loving being only in his diaper! Belly Button, Win!

Love him so much!!

Da' Bears

Parker just started playing outdoor soccer. His team is called the Bears. He's played indoor soccer twice but this is his first time to feel the wind in his hair. And let me tell you, it was WINDY! He played pretty well. A bump on the head took him out of the game for a few minutes, but after a "pep talk" from Daddy, he was back in action. After the game he said his favorite part was running in the grass, but he liked playing inside where it was warmer. Not to worry little man, living in Texas, it'll be hot enough for you very soon!!

Here's my cutie in his new uniform.

The Parkerman in action.

His biggest fan, Cole.

And, just for fun, my new favorite picture of Cole & his baby blues :)

New Family Pics

Hello World!! It's been a long time! One of my many resolutions is to blog more frequently. Our boys are now 4 & 1. I can hardly believe it! They are so fun, sweet, wild & crazy! I wanted to capture their personalities in film, so we met with Laura at Watermelon Photography in late November. I LOVE every picture she takes! If you were to visit right now, you might find our house wallpapered with these. So, here are our most recent family photos! Hope you like!

Cole's squishy face grin!

So proud to be 4!

Wishing you MUCH LOVE & all the best in 2012!!

Back to School!

Today was Parker's first day of school! Can you tell he was super excited about his new back pack??

Parker wanted Cole to be a part of his pictures. He kept asking if Cole could come to his classroom, too. He's such a sweet big brother...most of the time, haha!

Walking into school...

Outside his new class, the blue room. Blue is Parker's favorite color, so this went over well!

While I was a little nervous about how he would settle in, it was all for not. Parker did great! He found his seat and got to work on his puzzle. I was a little sad on my way to the car. Summer went by way too fast and before I know it this guy will be FOUR years old!

Luckily, I had this guy to hang out with & cheer me right up!

Oh, how I love my boys!!

Beach Pics 2011

No trip to Destin would be complete with out some pictures on the beach! We ended up with over 500 pictures, so it was pretty hard to narrow down! It's always fun to compare and see how the kids have grown from year to year. Here are just a few of my favorites from this year!!

Beach Boys

First of all, to my handful of readers, I'm sooo sorry for my lack of posts! We were on vacation in Destin, been fightin' some ear, eye & tonsil infections, been getting new teeth, not taking many naps, making stuff for JoJa Q and trying to get caught up on all the house/laundry fun that never ends! :)

We had a great trip to Destin. Lots & Lots of fun in the sand & surf!

I Love the beach! If I could pick up Dallas and set it seaside, I totally would. I think Andy feels the same way, so it's no surprise we're raising a couple o' beach loving boys. No matter what was going on, both boys were always up for some fun in the sand. I can't wait to take them back next year! Here's a few pics of my beach boys!

Sunscreen? check. Hat? check. Fake smile? check. Now can I go to the beach??

Right after Cole realized he was wearing a sun hat, but before he tried valiantly to remove it...

Parker LOVED seeing his name in the sand!

Cole LOVED sitting in his lil' pool.

Silly skinny boy!!

Cute chunky monkey!!

I think we've entered the Superhero phase. You'll be happy to hear Spiderman also enjoyed the beach, ocean & pool. Parker also did lots of "saving the day."

I have about 600 more picture to go thru. Am I a little shutter happy? Perhaps.

But until then, hopefully this will tide you over ;)

Cole is 5, er...ahem, 6 months old!

So again, let me aplogize for being so behind on blogging!!

This little cutie is 5, er..ahem, 6 months old!

As always, time is flying and I want to push pause!! He's growing and changing so fast!!

Cole has started eating babyfood, been promoted to the big tub with Parker, is sitting up, is "crawling" and has his 2 middle bottom teeth. He's been baptized, gone swimming, celebrated his first Easter, been to the aqaurium, the arboretum and slept thru his first movie.

He's now in 6-12 month clothes and a size 2 or 3 shoe. He wears size 3 diapers. He eats 5 to 6 times a day and has solid food 2 or 3 times. He's sleeping thru the night from around 9pm to 7am. He's napping 2 to 3 times a day and ususally (fingers crossed!) one nap is around 2 hours.

He's still a very big boy!! At his 6 month appointment he weighed 21 lbs (93%), was 28 inches long (91%) and had a head circumference of 18 inches (92%).

He discovered that he could stick his tongue out and does it all the time!

He's found his thumb and loves to suck on it, his 2 middle fingers or his whole hand! He's given up most pacifiers, but occasionally likes to chew on his wub-a-nubbs.

These days, he's all about tummy time! It's darn near impossible to change his diaper! As soon as I lay him on his back, he's trying flip back onto his stomach. We now have a basket of toys on the changing table to distract him long enough to get him dressed.

Although he can sit, again, he prefers to be on his tummy. He's far too busy trying to chew on something he's not supposed to have (Parker's toys, cords, lent, shoes.....) than to sit still and play.

He continues to be the sweetest, happiest baby ever! Whenever I see his big blue eyes & precious smile, my heart just melts. He smiles all the time. And he loves to smile & scream! He found his voice and uses it all the time. I love hearing all his cute baby babbles. We have lots of "conversations!" Andy's concerned that Cole may talk just as much as Parker. I don't know where they get it....Poor Andy!!

He's also discovered his toes! He loves to grab and chew on them. From a sitting position, he folds his body in half to chew on his feet...it's a pretty funny sight. I'll try to snap a picture.

And he's officially mobile!! He "crawls" with an army crawl, bear walk, belly flop, roll combination. It seems to get him where he wants to go. He does get up on all fours, but hasn't put it all together. A few times this week, he pushed himself from a crawl position up into an almost sitting pose, but he tends to tip over before he sits up all the way. He also LOVES to jump....in his saucer, jumparoo or in your lap, this kid can jump! He even tries to jump when he's laying on the floor. We're building some serious leg muscles here. He's such a busy bee!!

We continue to love him sooooo much!

Being his mama is such a joy & blessing. I thank God for him every day! & his brother! More on what that little dude has been up to soon!