Summer Thus Far

So our summer fun started early this year because of the lack of snow days. Our last day of school was May 24th. Six weeks in and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Cole and I go to the Fayetteville Farmer's Market every week, along with Baby Bookworms at the Library. We have spent the majority of our time playing out back in our miniature pool, having play dates, reading, watching Sesame Street, doing puzzles, coloring, and playing with MegaBloks. I have been good about going to the gym ever other day, but not so good about eating out. I will have to work on that more in July. So to catch you all up, here are some pics from the end of May and June.

 

Papaw came to visit for a month. It was truly a great visit. It was so fun to see Larry and Cole interact.Cole loves his Papaw. While Larry was in town, we took Cole to get his first haircut.

 

 

I can't believe Cole is such a little man now. At his 15 month checkup, he weighed 27lbs 4oz (70%) and was 30.5 inches (50%). He truly is growing up.

Fun with daddy!

 

 

 

 

This boy loves the water!

 

 

 

I have been working with Cole on blowing bubbles, putting his face in the water, holding our breath, and kicking. He does a pretty good job if I do say so. He loves the water just like his Mama. My goal next summer is for him to really be swimming. Cole has become an expert climber. He can climb up onto the couch, along with shutting our doors. He knows how to put up his dirty clothes and throw away trash. He loves to help me load the wet laundry into the dryer and sweep. He has become a great little helper.

Cole's new favorite toy is a stuffed animal that Papaw Larry gave him. It belonged to Luke's mother, Carol. It makes me tear up how just one day he picked it up and immediately fell in love with the teddy bear. We call it "CarolBear."

 

Time with Mama!

We are looking forward to an amazing July. We are taking our first flight with Cole to Chicago to see friends and then off to Virginia Beach to see family. I can't wait!

Turning 30!

  Wow, am I really in my 30s. Time has certainly gone by faster than I would have thought. It seems like just yesterday I was hanging out out with my high school friends, skipping class to go to Cafe D, going to Bell Bowl, and filling out college applications. Just yesterday I was getting up at 5:40 every morning so I wouldn't be late jumping into the HPER pool for another Ladyback workout. Just yesterday Luke and I met at a Halloween Party. Just yesterday I graduated from the U of A with my masters in teaching and started my first year teaching as a Kindergarten teacher. Just yesterday I bought my first house and married my best friend in Naples, Fl. Just yesterday I found out that I was pregnant and expecting a baby boy. Just yesterday I had a house full of people over celebrating my son's 1st birthday. Wow, all I can say is just yesterday I wasn't in my 30s. Hopefully the next 30 years will be just as fun and full as the past 30.
  To celebrate my 30th Birthday, I decided I wanted to be young again.  Sixteen of my friends joined me in an afternoon full of paintball. It was a blast! We all left tired, bruised, and happy.

 

 

 

After we had our full of shooting each other, we headed to pick up Cole and met the group at Mojitos Mexican grill for drinks and some grub. I enjoyed an extra large Pina Coloda, fresh guacamole, some steaming hot beef fajitas, and the company of my friends. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The night ended with drinking and a little more celebrating back at our house. Overall turning 30 was a lot of fun. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful Birthday wishes!

Birthday Boy Bash

So the past 2 weeks have been full of celebrations. We celebrated Cole's first birthday with friends and family on Saturday February 25th and my 30th Birthday on Saturday March 3rd. For Cole we had everyone over at the house for fun, food, drinks, and cupcakes of course. I was happily surprised with how many of our friends were able to help us celebrate. Cole is a truly loved little baby.

 

 

 

The colors of the party were blue, orange, and green. You can't get any more boy than that. I had a special shirt made for the birthday boy, along with cupcake toppers and two banners. Besides that, we kept it pretty simple. My mom and and I prepped all the food the night before; which made it much easier. We served  meatballs, pinwheels, spinach cheese dip, buffalo chicken dip, vegetable tray, fruit tray, heath fruit dip with apples, wine, beer, and cupcakes. 

 

Luke did a great job making Cole's 1st birthday cake. We were both pleased with how it turned out. My husband is pretty crafty if I do say so myself. It even tasted better than it looked.

 

 

Cole had a great time playing with some of his buddies at the party.

The more the merrier...Like I said before, so many of Cole's buddies and our friend were there to help us celebrate. Cole's great grandmother and grandparents on my side were able to come up from Little Rock as well as my best friend Melanie, her son Logan, and Melanie's mother Mrs.Wood. We are so lucky to have so much support and love for one little boy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cole had a great 1st Birthday. Thank you all!