Christmas 2013....Cole's First Christmas!

I am so far behind in the blogging world. I just can't find the time! So this will be another short and to the point.

Christmas with my family! Gracyn and Myla loved playing with each other!

 

Christmas Eve...Gracyn was just trying to love on Cole. He as not thrilled with that. They both got to open two present...their Christmas PJ's and their ornament for that year.

Santa brought Gracyn a big girl bike!!!! She was thrilled!

Santa brought Cole a basketball goal!

 

 

Christmas at Ma and Pepaw's was a success!

 

The next weekend we spent with the Bunzels. Cole looks like such a big boy here!

Pretty soon, the boys will be bigger than the girls!

Pretty Girls!

Best Buddies!

Cole is 6 Months Old!



Cole is already half a year old!!!! Where has the time gone?!!! His birthday is going to be here before we know it! Cole weighs 16 lbs and 15 ounces. Cole has been sitting up for several weeks now. He LOVES to sit in his bug mat and play with all his toys. A lot of times at night, I will just feed him his cereal while he is sitting in the floor in his mat. Otherwise, if he is sitting on the table in the bumbo he tries to lean out and grab anything he can. The other day, he leaned over and grabbed a handful of Gracyn's spaghetti!!! I think he is trying to tell me that he is ready to eat big people food! I bought some peas yesterday and will be attempting making my own baby food! I know he will enjoy....I can't really mess up steamed and purees peas, right?! Well, we made 6 months exclusively breastfeeding! I am so proud of both of us!!!! Now, to make it 6 more months! Although, I think I'm going to have to start supplementing 1 bottle a day with formula. I just can't keep up with this growing boy! I have a little anxiety towards it, but I'm sure once he gets that first formula bottle then I will be ok. I can't wait to see all of Cole's upcoming milestone's in the next 6 months. Next up...crawling!!!

Thanksgiving and the Water Park

This post is going to be short, but picture heavy. This was Cole's 1st Thanksgiving! We went to Bristow to visit Clint's parent's on Wednesday. We had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch then headed home Friday.

My little turkey!

Making some yummy dressing!

Gracyn had been going on and on the past few weeks about going to the water park. Clint actually drove her out to the water park in Prairie Grove to prove to her that it was closed. We decided we would make a trip to Branson to take her to the indoor water park there....after some shopping, of course! We left early Saturday morning and met Heather and Bubba for lunch at Fudruckers. After lunch, we headed to Tanger for some great sales! We bought lots of clothes for the kiddos for Christmas. Halfway through my shopping spree, Clint and the kids went to the car for a nap! They just couldn't hang! Later that afternoon we finally headed to the indoor water park! We didn't tell Gracyn what we were doing. I secretly packed her and our bathing suits. She was so excited when we walked in! She couldn't believe it! She loved the lazy river and the hot tub the most. Cole even got to swim! I had some Lil'Swimmers saved from when Gracyn was little. He hung out in a baby swing for a little bit then decided he would rather eat and snuggle! After swimming, we headed to Springfield to eat dinner at Lamberts! I love Lamberts!!! Gracyn was super excited about her daddy catching her rolls for her! Overall, we had a great weekend. I think I would like to make the trip to Branson again next year after Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time!

Gracyn had to ride every ride we passed by at the mall.

Little Fish!

Swimming is exhausting!

Gracyn was so proud to be doing it by herself!

Having a blast!

She was upset that she didn't get to take her mug with her.

Cole is 5 Months Old!

Cole is 5 months old! He is getting to be such a big boy!!! He weighs 16.1 lbs and has the meatiest little thighs! He started cereal just a few days before he turned 5 months old. He is enjoying it and is actually somewhat of a clean eater! We'll see how long that lasts. He is rolling all over the place and is so close to sitting up! He will stay put for a few seconds if you prop him up just right. It's just a matter of time! Cole attended his first birthday party this month....his big sister's! He had a blast watching her from the observation deck. He has got to be the happiest baby I've ever met! He literally wakes up with a big grin on his face and will go to bed with a big grin! When you walk into a room his little face just lights up! I love this little guy and am so glad we have him!!!





Happy 4th Birthday My Sweet Girl!

Gracyn is 4 years old now!!!! Where has the time gone?! So when I asked her what kind of party she wanted several months ago she said a rainbow and star party.She LOVED watching Tom and Jerry Wizard of Oz and the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." So, I decided to just go with a rainbow theme. I had a lot of fun planning this party!

These cake pops were delicious!!!

I was pretty proud of my rainbow wands!

 

 

It's always fun watching all the little kids run around and play in the gym. Last year, the majority of the kids stayed in the toddler area, however, this year they all wanted to play in the "Big Blocks" foam pit and on the big trampolines.

 

 I love her sweet face!!!

 

For some reason, Gracyn has been talking about roller skates and skate boards for the last several weeks. So what did she want for her birthday? Skates and a skateboard! We talked her into asking for a scooter instead. I told her it was like a skateboard, only with handles. She accepted that. We got her a hello kitty skates, a hello kitty helmet and pads, and Aunt Janaca got her a Hello Kitty scooter!

 



Super Excited!!!

 

The day after her party was her actually birthday so Clint and I took her to her favorite place for brunch...The Castle (Briar Rose.) After brunch, we stopped by the park so she could try out her skates and scooter. She had a blast!!!! We are so blessed to have such a sweet, little girl. I just love her so much! Oh, and for her 5th birthday party, she informed me that she wanted a STAR party! I guess she realized I took the star part out of her "Rainbow/Star party." OOPS!

 

 

Blowing out her "4" candle in her monkey bread.

She's a Pro!

 Little Cole enjoying his day at the park.

 

 

 



Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

I've heard a lot of parents say how they didn't care much for Halloween until they had kids. It's absolutely true! It is so fun to watch my sweet girl get so excited about her Halloween costume and to have so much fun trick or treating! She loves it! This year, Gracyn was a blue butterfly. The cutest thing about this is her saying she was going to drink out of her flower. I wish I would have gotten it on video! Since Cole is so little, I decided to just put him in a football onesie and have him be a football. I have to admit...he was the cutest football I have ever seen! I told Clint he needed to put his Hog jersey on and hut hut Cole. He didn't think it was a good idea. I'm still going to make him do this!

Clint taught Gracyn "Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet." While we were trick or treating at G-rise's house Gracyn said, "Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care. I'll punch you in the face!" We all got a kick out of this. No idea where she came up with punching someone in the face!

 

 Isn't she such a beautiful butterfly?!

 

 He loves his Mummy toy!

 

Cole is 4 Months Old!

 

 

 

Cole is already 4 months old! He is growing like a champ! He weighs 16lbs 9 oz. He has his four month immunizations coming up next week. Poor, little guy isn't going to like that. Cole can now giggle. It's seriously the cutest sound ever! He loves bathtime! I took the sling out of the tub, which gives him more access to kick and splash. He LOVES to kick and splash. Cole is still not sleeping thru the night, which I'm ok with. I really don't mind getting up in the night to nurse him. I enjoy the bonding time.  I love him more and more each day!

 

 



Weekend with our Best Friends!

Gracyn, Caroline, Brooks, and Cole pretty much spent all weekend together! Friday night we celebrated G-rise's 30th birthday! We left the girls with Aunt Jeffie (bc we are smart!) and took the baby boys with us (they just sleep.) Shannon had Flying Burrito cater for dinner and it was delicious! Who knew Flying Burrito had FRIED BROWNIES?! They were amazing! Not to mention the fudge, cookies, and two cakes that were there! Us girls sat around and visited, while the guys watched the Cardinals and drank a few beers.

 

Clearly, the only way to get a good picture of these boys is to line up their carriers.

 

 

The next day, Katie and I had planned on taking the kids to Farmland Adventures. However, it rained so we were in search of another activity. We wanted to do something crafty with the girls and Jacqueline suggested Crafty Cottage! How perfect! We decided to stop for lunch at Western Sizzlin. Since we had 4 kiddos we decided to sit away from the general population. Probably a good thing, because the girls decided to put on a dance show for us!

How cute are they in their Best Friend dresses?!



 

Dance Party!

 

 

After lunch, we headed to Crafty Cottage!!! The girls picked out their clay pieces they wanted to paint.  Gracyn picked a lady bug and Caroline picked a horse. They had so much fun picking out their paint colors! Halfway thru their painting project, the lady did a nice job of up selling. She convinced Katie and I to do a Christmas platter with our kiddos footprints. Of course the girls wanted to help us do our painting so we had to convince them to pick out another piece of clay to paint! Gracyn picked a lizard and Caroline picked a pony! Meanwhile....the baby boys slept. We had planned on taking the girls to a new Mommy and Me Salon to get pedicures, but after several hours at Crafty Cottage we decided to do that another day! These Mommies were exhausted!

 





 





Fall Carnival

The other night we decided we wanted to get out of the house. We were going to try to go to the Apple Festival in Lincoln, but by the time we finished dinner I thought it was too late. So, we decided to go to the Fall Carnival at the rodeo grounds in Springdale. Gracyn had so much fun and Cole LOVED facing out in the moby. He couldn't get enough of the bright lights!

Here are just a couple of random pictures. This first picture is after gymnastics. Gracyn wanted me to take a picture of her and said, "This is how cool girls stand." I have NO IDEA where she got that! The two right picture are of Cole and me watching Gracyn at gymnastics. He loves to watch her perform! Then the bottom left picture is just too cute!!!!



Cole is 3 Months Old!

 

 

 

 

Cole is already 3 months old! How did this happen?!!! He is weighing in at a whopping 15.6 pounds! He can now roll over from his back to belly! I lay him on his back for bedtime and will come in to him laying on his belly. I can now hold him on my lap and he sits up looking all around. He LOVES to watch Gracyn play around him!!!!

 

This picture cracks me up....it's like he is just got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be!



Fun Time at the Fair

My parents used to take us to the fair every year when it came around. We would go to the Crawford County Fair and the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair. I haven't been since high school....which was a long time ago! We have had plans to go the last few years, but something always came up. So this year I made a point to go! Gracyn was so excited! She had a hair appointment to get her hair cute then we headed to dinner then the fair!

I'm pretty sure I had more fun at this fair then I have ever had in all my childhood. The reason is not because this fair was that great....because really it wasn't. It's because Gracyn had so much fun! I loved the look on her face as we went to each ride. I loved how excited she got when Clint won her a teddy bear. I loved how she couldn't wait to get cotton candy, just to end up trading me for my candy apple!

Catch up Post

Wow...I'm so far behind!!! All of these events happened in August....we had a busy month! Hopefully now that I'm back at work I can stay on top of blogging and not get so far behind! This is pretty much going to be a picture post with a brief description...so brace yourselves!

Look at these sweet kiddos!!! Sarah, Katie, and I met up with kids for lunch and some quality time. Lunch was a little chaotic, but we loved getting to see all the kids together! We are in for some fun times as these kids grow up together!

First Family Date Night....as a family of 4! We decided to go to the drive in movie. Apparently the flash on my camera was very bright. This is the best picture I got!

Cole rolled over!!!! I have a video of it as well, but haven't uploaded it yet. Look at that sweet face!

Nonna came up and watched Cole while I took Gracyn and Aunt KK to eat snow cones!

After snow cones we went bowling! Gracyn had a blast!

Poor Baby Cole! He had another bout of fever so had to have another spinal tap and spend another 48 hours in the hospital! Luckily, we didn't need to go to Children's Hospital this time. Same as the time before...all tests came back negative. He was just unlucky and had 2 different viral infections. Isn't this baby hospital gown just too cute?!

Gracyn came to visit Cole. She looks so grown up here!

Caroline and Brooks came to visit! Eric and Clint had their Fantasy Football draft to go to, so Katie, the kids, and I just hung out at the house! We had a blast!!!

Gracyn and Dixon had a date! We got together with Anthony and Brittney so the kids could bowl. We had so much fun with them all!