Watch Cole Grow - Month 4

UPDATE: Cole went to a pediatric opthamalogist this week and will not require surgery or any other immediate action for his eyes. He is farsighted but not severe enough where it would be worth the trouble of glasses at his age. We'll go back around his 2nd birthday to re-evaulate. Praise God!

Can't believe we've had our peanut home for four months now! He is 16 months old today and continues to change quite a bit (for the better, mostly!). Still not quite 18 pounds and still unable to wear any kind of pants due to zero waist or behind. :) We love the one-piece outfits and overalls!

2 teeth now: one on the bottom and an upper molar. Our pediatrician said that was definitely the most interesting order of teeth to appear she has seen! Two more are on their way in. Eye doctor appointment next week - praying for an easy solution! Says Mama and Dada to us and can be rather L-O-U-D. Waves bye-bye but quickly stops to clap for himself. So thankful that he is eating so much now (working on learning the sign language for "please" instead of screaming impatiently in the high chair).

Can't believe we're coming up on a whole year when we first saw his little face!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We ventured over to the local Pumpkin Patch this weekend even though it was chilly out and super muddy. Everyone had a fun time and it turned out to be a gorgeous, fall day!

Nate loved the tractors everywhere but not the signs that said Keep Off Tractors. Very disappointing for him.


Nate & Lucy got to ride the ponies


Nate says pumpkin "putt-in" :)


My new favorite picture of my almost 6 year old girl


These pumpkins are bigger than Cole!

Fall Dress

I made this dress for Lucy in literally less than 30 minutes using the tutorial over at a craft blog here. Probably would have gone even faster except 1)I couldn't find a safety pin and 2)two little boys were way too fascinated with my sewing machine.



It is made out of dishtowels, found in the Target dollar spot ($2.50 for both)! I hope they'll have Christmas ones next!

The One in the Middle

Poor Nate hasn't been featured on here in a while - must be that middle child syndrome. He is very noticable in our home though, constantly having us laughing or shaking our heads in wonder.

His latest adorableness comes out in the way he addresses his sister. He no longer calls her "C", which used to be his best version of "Lucy", but she is now just "Sweetie". 100% of the time. "Sweetie's at school" "Sweetie's school bus" "No, Sweetie, No!" He also stands in the driveway with arms outstretched when the bus comes after school. And with a mama's pride I watch as she faithfully runs off the bus into his arms for the first hug.

He is also completely obsessed with friends from church: Sam, 4, and Paige, 6. I hear him listing all the time, "Mama, Daddy, Nate, Sweetie, Tole (Cole),Sammy, Paige." He was talking on the phone to my parents recently and was telling them that Daddy was at work and Paige was at school. I don't blame him for his obsession - they are great kids who are so kind to him!

We are well into the supposed terrible two's, yet he continues to be a laidback, mostly obedient sweetheart of a boy. We have had zero issues with any jealousy since Cole arrived and we thank God every day for this blessing of a child! (Me especially since I prayed and prayed he would be a girl. Isn't God good to give us what we need and not what we think we want? One of the many ways God shows me that, just as in the beginning of creation, He alone knows what is good.)

Watch Cole Grow - Month 3

Things are finally settling in around here and I have two words for that: Praise God! Mark likes to quote Pinocchio and say about Cole, "He's a real boy!" as he now seems to exhibit much more characterics of a child his age - contentment, joy, patience to go along with the screaming, whining and crying.

We had Mark's parents in for Labor Day weekend and Cole did so great with them. They even babysat, took the kids to McD's and survived! It was a true turning point as he continues to show more patience and acceptance of others. Being out for weekly soccer practice has helped as well as continual stays in the church nursery.

We went for his 15 month checkup today and here are his current stats:

17 lbs 9 oz
28 1/4 inches

We are going to the pediatric opthamologist next to see about his eyes - they don't always stay together as you can see in the picture (he is wearing Nate's halloween costume in an attempt to make Nate want to try it on)...

Soccer!

Lucy is playing soccer this year for the first time and she loves it! She has had practice for several weeks and her first game was this past Saturday. I was so impressed with the attitude and effort of the girls - it was a lot of running and endurance for these 5 & 6 year olds!

The best part was watching both teams and coaches gather in the middle of the field to pray before the game. I just know this is going to be a great experience for our girlie and am excited to watch her grow!

She started out in defense near the goal. Here she is viewing the action at the other end of the field:



Watching & waiting:



Still waiting...



Hooray! Finally some action!

Month 2

So I'm a month behind already! Anyways, here is a picture and update of Cole back around August 8 (our two month anniversary of receiving him). We have a doc appointment on Wednesday so I'll add the month 3 update after that...



Cole started walking, grew his first tooth (one loner on the bottom) and babbles "mama" and "dada" but not necessarily at his parents. :) He weighed around 17 pounds & had his first visit to the zoo.