And the walls came tumbling down...

At the end of August, Jeff had a work trip where he was gone all week. While he was gone myself and my (5 month pregnant) girlfriend decided to take down a wooden privacy fence in our back yard. This fence boarded our patio which was nice for privacy, however, it prevented us from seeing the kids playing in the yard. I had been saying for the last few years that I wanted it down, so I decided (with much encouragement and/or peer pressure?!) : ) to take it down.

Now the last two weekends we have been working on it to get it finished. We are planning on putting some tall grasses on the side and then in the back we are going to put stones and a fire pit. Can't wait to get it finished and enjoy it!

Summer Portraits

You should be able to view all of the kids Summer Portraits by using the link below. Just copy and paste it into a new browser window.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64271&id=1079077550&l=2b00bf5bf4

7 Months

So, little man is now 7 months old! He is getting so big, and he is getting into everything! He is crawling all over the place! I finally put the baby gates up b/c I would turn my back for one minute and he would be across the room. Can't believe it!

He is doing well, he is still a very happy baby! He is giving me big open mouth kisses, they are the best! I was nursing him last week and while I was nursing him I got the hiccups, well... he thought that was the funniest thing EVER! He would nurse, I would hiccup and then he would pull off and laugh hard. He would stop laughing, start to nurse again, and then I would hiccup and the cycle repeated a couple times. So cute to see him laugh because he thought something was actually funny as opposed to tickling him and getting him to laugh.

He is eating like a champ and gets most excited by his "safe feeder" which allows me to put actual fruit in it, and he is able to eat it without a choking hazard.

His 7 month photo shoot was a bit hard. He would not leave the block alone... he wanted it in his mouth! (I think we might be seeing the appearance of his first tooth soon!)

Cole enjoyed the beach, and had his first taste of sand. Again, he was just moving and would not stay on the blanket and would go right for the sand and try to put it in his mouth.

Well, that is about all that is new in the life of Cole!

Fun in the Sun

Hi all, I know it has been awhile... so sorry! Three kids is showing to be a bit time consuming! : )

The kids and I (so wierd, not being able to say "the girls", I still have to catch myself sometime!) went to NJ for a week for a visit. We had a great time and saw a lot of family and friends. We are so thankful for everyone who takes the time to visit with us when we only have a few days in town and our free time is limited! I actually made the drive out to NJ in ONE day... and believe it or not, all three kids did AWESOME! I was seriously amazed at how well they did. Bonus points to the hubby for surprising us with the dvd player for the car!! I really don't think the kids could have been better.. so thankful!!

While we were in NJ we hit Ocean City and had a beautiful day at the beach, at some delish crabs that my brother made, had a fun filled day at Storybook Land and spent sometime with family and friends! Seriously, awesome time!!

The pics are me of my hands from eating crabs and the girls from the sand! Ha Ha!

Roseolla

My poor baby got Roseolla... bad! It was so sad to see him sick. A couple days after he turned 6 months (Wednesday 14th) he woke up and felt a bit warm. I didn't think much of it at first, thought maybe he was starting to teeth. After he woke up from his nap though, he was HOT and I took his temperature and it was 102. I gave him some Tylenol, but it wasn't doing too much. The next day (Thursday) I called the Dr and asked if I should bring him in. They told me to start rotating Tylenol and IB Profin and made an appt for the following morning. That evening his fever had broke at about 11pm and Friday morning it was still gone. I called the Dr's office and canceled the appt, since the fever had broke and Cole was showing no other signs of discomfort. However, after he took his nap he woke up with a fever again. I called the Dr's office and took him in that afternoon. The Dr checked him out and said that there was nothing else wrong, ears looked good, throat looked good, etc. and that it was probably Roseolla and that she had seen a couple cases of it. She told me that he would probably get a rash in the next day or so, however if his fever didn't break by Monday to bring him back. Thankfully his fever broke again that evening and he slept the whole night. By morning he was just a bit warm but was very fussy... not his normal self. By Saturday afternoon... it arrived. The "rose" like rash started on his forehead and just moved down his body. Poor thing was just not himself for a couple days. Thankfully though it passed through him and he is his happy ole self again!

6 Months

Seriously? Seriously? I still can not get over the fact that Cole is already 6 Months old... and he is already crawling! Unbelievable!

Cole is doing very well. Happy as can be. He is just an all around good baby. He is happy and content when he is awake and he is a really good sleeper. He had his 6 month check up and was 16 lbs (and a couple ounces?) He was in the 50th % for his weight and he was in the 75th % for his his length. That being said, he is already into 9 month sleepers and onesies.

He is enjoying food and has had a variety of fruits and vegetables. He really hasn't refused any. At first he made funny faces with Banana's but other than that he is a really good eater too. I have just started giving him some real fruit like banana's and strawberries in his baby safe feeder and he loves it! He actually started crying when I took it away the other night... and remember, he never cries, so he was MAD! : )

Happy Birthday Hayley

Hayley celebrated her 4th birthday!! We celebrated by having friends over on 4th of July. We had a cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone brought a side to share. We had the sprinkler going... which was needed b/c it was like 90 degrees out. Hayley had lots of fun with all her friends over. Then we had cake and Disney Princess cupcakes. She had crowns for all her friends to wear as well.

On the 5th we started her birthday by her receiving a phone call from Cinderella wishing her a Happy Birthday, which she really enjoyed. Then she was able to open her presents. Cole got her a ball, Alyssa got her a little hand held learning game and we gave her a digital camera. Then we did a video call with Mom Mom and Pop Pop and we gave her their gift, a Princess Bike! She loved them all. Alyssa on the other hand was having a heard time dealing with not getting anything. We then went swimming at our neighbors house which both enjoyed. Hayley by the end was fine in just her arm floaters and having a ball! Such a change from last year! Alyssa was even just in her arm floaters and a floating bar thingy. After swimming we changed quickly and went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, which was delish! Hayley finished her birthday with a phone call with Grandma and Grandpa and we gave her their gift, some money, which she is looking forward to spending!!

All in all it was a great two days of celebrating. At special times like this, it is especially hard not being near family, however, I am continually reminded of God's grace, and the awesome gift of "Family" which He has blessed us with, whom love us and our kids like we are.