Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Cole!

Happy 8 Month Birthday, Baby Cole!

Oh, you cute little ham!! Your personality seems to shine a little more with each passing day! You love to giggle, laugh and even snort at your brother, sister, and of course Roxy! When you smile, it's done with your whole body...you scrunch up from your head down to your toes and it is absolutely adorable!

You now have 3 teeth and at least 2 more that aren't far behind! You aren't in a full crawl yet, but you can definitely get where you want to go by rolling (very quickly!) across the room. Crawling will come soon enough...lately you've been caught up on all 4's rocking and we've even seen you make a few movements forward. I think it's time to drop the mattress in your crib too because just tonight I saw that you were very close to pulling yourself up on a chair. We were going to put our Christmas tree in the den this year, but thought that would be a little too tempting for you! You got very excited to see all of the pretty lights and decorations on our tree. Every time someone says, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" you start mimicking the sound and bouncing up and down...it's soooo cute! We're really looking forward to our first Christmas with you!

One day I'm going to count the number of times in a day that we say "you're such a sweet boy!" I know we're (a little) biased, but everyone that sees you says the same thing! You are such a sweet blessing in our lives! We ALL love you so much our sweet Coley!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Reid & Louisa!

Wow! 3 years ago tonight my whole world and life changed. That night I was so happy to see your tiny little faces and finally "meet" you. I was excited to see you. But...I was also terrified! You were so little and it was way too early for you to come. We wondered how long you would stay in the hospital, we wondered what your personalities would be like. Would you be alike, would you take after Mommy or Daddy?

Well, 3 years in...you couldn't be more different! Reid you LOVE to talk and you have sooooo much energy. You question everything and always want to know the details. You love to love! You love life, your family, your friends...you love...EVERYTHING! You have such a great energy about you in everything you do. Your smile, your laughter, your joy...all completely contagious! Thank you for sharing your love of life with us!

Louisa - Ms. Penny and Mollie told us that night you were born that you were going to be our strong willed child...a real fighter. Well they could not have been more right about you! You are timid, shy and pretty reserved and hold off until you have evaluated the situation...then once you feel comfortable, you take off and become the leader. You are passionate about pretty much everything and I love that about you. You love to be my helper in the kitchen, always watching everything I do...you're already act so much like me! You will always be my sweet angel!

I had always heard the term "pride and joy," but I never realy knew what it meant until you two were born. You truly are my pride and joy! It is an honor and a priviledge to be the ones that God chose to take care of you. Thank you for blessing my life daily just by being you. I love you more than you will ever know...you make me so proud...I love you with all of my heart.

Happy 7 Month Birthday, Cole!

Oh, my sweet boy! What a big month you had! This month was filled with lots of "firsts" and also lots of fun!!

You learned to sit up all by yourself...

No pictures yet, but just this week your first tooth broke through (Bottom middle - right tooth). It won't be long and you'll be trying to eat all of our food! It's fun to see you growing and reaching all of these milestones like cutting teeth, but I'm a little sad because I know once your teeth come in you won't look like my little baby anymore!

You tried cereal for the first time! It only took a few bites for you to get used to it, then you were asking ("panting") for more!

Your first time in the Exersaucer...you love it! It was fun to see you being independent and having so much fun checking out all of the new toys!Your first time in the Jumparoo...every since we put you in the jumparoo...all you want to do is JUMP!!! You absolutely LOVE it! No more sitting still in our laps :(

It won't be too much longer before you are too big sit in the swing anymore...I wanted at least one more picture of you in it before you outgrow it! You still like the swing when you are relaxing, but you definitely prefer the exersaucer and jumparoo now!

We went to the zoo...(You slept most of the time so I snapped this picture of you with the elephants so we could remember!)

What's a trip to the zoo without a nice cool drink?? Just kidding!!!

We visited a couple of different pumpkin patches. We even found some Cole-sized pumpkins!

Of course I had to get some more pictures of you sitting up with our pumpkins at home!

You were the cutest little pumpkin for Halloween! You loved watching all of the children dressed up in their costumes! And of course you looked so cute with "Tinkerbell Sissy" and "Peter Pan Reid!" You did great for your first time Trick-or-Treating...just sat back in the stroller and relaxed and smiled at everyone!

And...we spent lots of time with our family! Everybody loves to love on Baby Cole!

Cole - you are such a precious addition to our family! You have the sweetest personality and just love to watch what everyone is doing (Especially Reid, Louisa and Roxy!). I love to hear your sweet voice when you get excited...you usually start by "whispering" but before too long you are babbling, "Da, da, da, da!" I love how you are starting to reach out for us to pick you up and no words can describe how I feel when you touch my face or hands with the soft, gentle touch of your hands. Cole, you are such a joy and we love you so much!

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Baby Cole!

My Sweet Baby Cole! How could 6 months already have passed since we met you for the first time? You are always such a pleasant baby! You go right along with the flow and whatever the rest of the family is doing and you don't even skip a beat. You just keep on smiling at us! Your eyes are very engaging and quite your Momma finds them quite impossible to resist!

You have learned a lot of new tricks in the last month...you can now roll over, blow raspberries, and you are learning to play "peek-a-boo" and sit up!! It won't be long at all and you'll be sitting up on your own. It also looks like you'll be cutting your first teeth pretty soon!

You are such a delight and joy in our lives! Thank you for all of your precious, sweet smiles that you give your Momma!

2 and 3/4!!

I can't believe in just 3 short months my Reid and Louisa will be 3 years old! It seems like just yesterday they were cooing and babbling like Cole! Now here they are acting like real people...not babies! While I definitely miss the time when they were babies and I could (easily) hold both of them in my arms...I wouldn't trade where they are today for anything. Each personality is so different...so precious!

My prissy little Louisa Claire! Like your brother, you have a way of melting your Mommy's heart! The way your bright blue eyes sparkle when you laugh and your sweet voice when we sing "You are my Sunshine" every night...you are so precious to me! I find myself laughing quite often at how much you are like me...picking out little details, evaluating every situation before you engage, pulling on clothes if they don't fit JUST right...there is no doubt that you are your mother's child! You love to sing and dance...you've got some sassy little moves! You love to sit and make a list (again...just like Mommy!), or just sit on the counter and "help" me cook. I love how much you always want to help!

My sweet Reid...oh, my buddy! You LOVE to talk! From the time your sister wakes you up, until the time your eyes close at night...you talk all day! Everyone comments on how well you talk because your words are so clear and the things you say definitely don't sound like a 2 year old! You are so bright and so inquisitive we are definitely in the "why?" stage! Maybe some people would say the picture above isn't the best of you, but to me...it captures you and what you love to do right now...talk!! If there is anything that you like to do more than talk, it's touch! You are my sweet little lover boy and you LOVE to LOVE! You often say, "Mommy, I just want to touch you" or "Mommy, I just want to kiss you!" What a sweet, sweet boy! You sure know how to melt your Mommy's heart!

There are so many things about you that are different, yet the bond that you share is so evident in all that you do. Always concerned about the other, proud of the other, and just LOVE the other so much. I pray that you will always remain this close to each other! I love you my sweet babies!

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Cole!

End of July...

I'm not sure why, but I can't seem to find time to catch up on my blogging lately! Needless to say with 2 - 2 1/2 yr olds, an almost 4 month old, a puppy (that's 5 days younger than the baby), and a full time job...we're a little busy around our house! Not too busy to be loving life and enjoying time with our precious children. They are all growing up way too fast...everyone is saying or doing something new everyday.

I realized the other day that Reid and Louisa are on the downhill slide to being 3 years old! It makes me so happy because this is such a fun time right now with them...having "real" conversations with them, teaching them new things, watching as they each become their own little person...but...it also makes me sad because as I hold Baby Cole, it makes me miss Reid and Louisa being that little. I couldn't be more proud of all the new things they are learning and doing...and all of the new things they are anxious to teach their baby brother! They love Cole so much and have been wonderful with him. The first words I hear EVERY morning before they even come down the stairs, "Hi Mommy, is Cole awake?...Oh, GREAT!!"

People ask me almost daily how "the baby" is doing...and my response is always, "He's doing GREAT! He is SUCH a good baby!" Cole hardly ever fusses or cries, and when he does, he's very easy to console. It usually only takes talking to him and he quickly calms down and flashes his sweet smile...which I'm convinced could make anyone melt! If only we could keep him this little forever!! But we can't, so...we'll just enjoy each little stage as he grows. It looks like it won't be long at all before he's rolling over!

Hopefully the picture above will hold you over until I can find the time to upload more pictures. I love the picture of the 3 of them together...Reid & Louisa were so excited for Cole to come upstairs to help tuck them in bed...they loved him being in the bed with them...one more example of how much they love their little brother. The best part is, the feeling is mutual...the look of excitement on Cole's face every time he sees Reid & Louisa makes this Momma so happy! We are so blessed every day with our 3 precious babies!

Look who's Smiling!!

Oh what a sweet, sweet smile our Baby Cole has! Cole is pretty mild mannered most of the time, he just kind of goes with the flow. His smile is gentle and sweet, just like him! He's usually pretty happy after he eats and will make noises to get our attention if we're not looking at him. As soon as we look at him he flashes a big smile that could melt your heart. Here are a few of the precious faces that we love!

Reid & Louisa Lately...

We've been trying to keep Reid & Louisa busy with lots of different things lately...baby strollers, cars, shaving, bubbles, a trip to Grammy and Poppy's and time with their cousins. Here are some pictures from our recent fun times...

This free picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

Happy 30 Month Birthday, Reid & Louisa!

Lots of summer fun going on at our house lately! Bubbles are definitely a favorite!! You get bigger, smarter, etc. with each passing day. It's always something new! It's so hard to believe you are now 2 1/2 years old! It has flown by so quickly. We love you more and more every day!

Happy 1 Month Birthday, Baby Cole!

It's been one month since you were born...what a precious month it has been! You are such a sweet, pleasant baby. Quite easy going, hardly making any noise at all. At the doctor last week (you were 23 days old), you weighed 7 lb 11 oz...which was your birth weight. This only confirmed to the doctor what we already knew, which was that you are suffering quite a bit from reflux and haven't gained much weight. We got some medicine for you and hope that we will soon see results. It is awful to see you so uncomfortable!

Your umbilical cord finally came off today, so you got your first real bath. You really seemed to enjoy it and were so calm and relaxed afterwards. It feels like you have already changed so much in only a month. You are staying awake longer and turning your head to look and listen when you hear voices. Today you enjoyed laying on your jungle play mat for the first time. Reid and Louisa still like to lay "in the jungle" and listen to the animal sounds...I'm sure you will enjoy it just as much as them.

What a precious Easter gift you were to us! You complete our family of 5 and have fit perfectly into our lives. We are so blessed that God chose us to be your parents and that he has trusted us with the huge responsibility of raising you. We love you Cole and can't wait to see the many ways that you will bless our lives in the months and years to come!