"Camp Out"

Tonight, Brian made a fire in the chiminea outside by Cole's playground. Brian, Cole, and I piled up some sleeping bags, popped some popcorn, and snuggled up with a big blanket up on the first level of the playground. It was pretty chilly, but we had such a wonderful time. Cole was in heaven doing something different and exciting by himself with Mommy and Daddy. He put on his snow hat since it was chilly and looked adorable. After we came inside, he didn't want to take it off and insisted on wearing it to brush his teeth, read books, and go to bed. I did convince him not to sleep in it. What a wonderful night! Great memories!

The Sick House

The last couple of months we have all been pretty sick in our house. Nothing too serious but unpleasant nonetheless . . . RSV, sinus infections, ear infections, and alot of coughing. After 5 courses of antibiotics amongst the four of us, we are all on the mend. While I am so thankful to have everyone healthy again, we did get to spend alot of intense family time together and got to see my parents more than usual too (since they were the only ones not scared to be around us). After staying at my parents' house for two nights, Cole told me that he thinks we should live there. He has so much fun over there, as is evident in the picture above of him flying into the pillow pile :)

Noah is 1!

Noah turned one just a few weeks ago, and I really can't believe how fast the time has gone! It seems like we were just bringing him home from the hospital, and now he is this happy, healthy, walking and talking little boy. He is such a joy! He is also quite a challenge. Noah is much less cautious than Cole was as a baby, and he loves to climb, jump, and get into everything :) He also likes to eat everything. On a daily basis, I can often be heard saying things like, "Noah, don't eat (fill in the blank . . . that block, that sock, your crib, your brother, that fuzz, that grass, that leaf, that rock, that dirt, me). He really is a pleasant boy nonetheless. He smiles and laughs all of the time. He thinks Cole is the funniest person alive, much to Cole's delight. He is extremely affectionate and showers me with hugs every day. I could go on and on about Noah, but suffice it to say, I love him dearly and though he keeps me on my toes, he is a precious gift from God and blesses me daily.

Bye to Preschool

I started Cole in preschool 2 mornings a week thinking he would really enjoy it. I was wrong. After 5 weeks of them having to pry him out of my car, I decided that was enough. He kept begging me to let him stay home with Noah and me. He was starting to have nightmares and calling out for me in the night. He was tired all of the time. The staff and his teacher, who are wonderful people, really seemed to think I just needed to give him some more time. After stressing over what to do, I just started to pray for wisdom to make the right decision for him. During a quiet time, I came across the verse Psalm 94:19 . . . "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." I talked to Cole and decided to take him out of school. Looking back now, I probably should have done it sooner, as it was such the right decision. I am so thankful to have my sweet, happy, energetic little boy back. A three year old should certainly not be stressed out about school. Noah and I are quite happy to have him home with us every morning again too :)

Playing Around

My Little Walker

For the last couple of weeks, Noah has really started to walk a lot while pushing various things. His legs are getting strong, and he can really cover some ground. I am in awe of how quickly he is developing! He just wants to be right there with Cole, in the middle of whatever is going on; though, I think he enjoyed some extra one on one attention with me today while Cole was in school. He is really social too. Wherever we go, I catch him smiling or laughing at someone walking by who takes notice of him. He sure is a sweet baby!

Cole's 1st Day of School

Today was Cole's first day of preschool! I still can't believe he is three years old! He is only going two mornings a week, but it still was a big milestone for both of us. I tried to get a decent picture of him, but he didn't want to cooperate with a picture on top of everything else (understandably so), so I had to settle for some non-posed pictures. He did really well up until when I had to leave him in the classroom. Then, he started to cry. He does the same thing at church every week, and he always has a good time in his church class, so it didn't bother me all that much. His teacher just picked him up, and Noah and I left. I was doing pretty well until after we left Publix, and them I got a little choked up, especially when I came home and saw all of his tinker toy fans spread out all over the couch. The morning flew by, though, and I enjoyed some quality time with Noah. I picked him up in the line, and he looked so little waiting for me with his big red bag. He was most excited about the Hershey's kiss his teacher gave him for "being good." He said he liked it, but his biggest focus was the fact that I was taking him to Dan's Fan City and Panera. He brought his tinker toy fan to show Mark. We looked at a lot of fans and had a really nice lunch at Panera. I was so happy that he seemed to have a good day at school. I learned more throughout the day about how his day went . . . he went on the potty and pulled up his own pants, they played on the playground but it was wet, they listened to some music and ate crackers, Mrs. Spence read them a book called "The Kissing Hand," he got to pass out the napkins for the snack, and they all walked in a line. I think he is going to like school :)

Cole took a 3 hour nap this afternoon after we got home. We had a nice family evening. After Noah went to bed and Cole got out of the bath, I told him I had a surprise for him. I had set up a blanket on the floor in the living room with pillows and his blankets and my blanket, snacks, and drinks, and then I told him we could watch a little something together. His whole body shook he was so excited and his little face just lit up! He picked Baby Einstein to watch. I think it is so cute how he still likes to watch the movies he's had since he was a baby. He makes all kinds of funny commentary about what's on them. Brian sat on the palette with us too, and Cole was in hog heaven with all the attention. After about 15 minutes, he stood up and said, "That's enough TV; now we can play." Cole commented, "We are having SO much fun!" I couldn't have agreed more. It was a precious time.