Cole Carlson: One Year, Five Months

Cole buddy is growing so fast! It has been so much fun to watch him grow into a little boy.  He has quite the personality and doesn't let anyone push him around! Here's what new:

* he is a tiny little guy weighing in at 18 lbs 10 oz. In fact, he is wearing his 6 month and 6-9 month shorts and short sleeve shirts right now! I need to do some summer shopping, but really his little shorts fit him perfectly for now.
* he loves to eat! He will eat anything and everything we put in front of him. He loves yogurt, oranges, oatmeal, marshmallows, popcorn, hot dogs, and peas. When he's done he throws everything on the floor.
* he insists on eating with a fork or spoon and does really well.
* he still loves his sleep sack and hates diaper/clothes changes. He will insist on wearing his sleep sack if it isn't out of sight.
* he loves to be outside.
* he developed a cough and runny nose a couple weeks ago. After a trip to see Dr Fred it was determined that he most likely has asthma/allergies. Poor kid. Now we have more regular breathing treatments when he has the cough.
* he is constantly teething. He has 9 and is working on a couple more.
* he hates getting his nails trimmed. It sometimes takes an entire week to get all of his nails trimmed.
* he runs everywhere, climbs on everything, and never sits down.
* he loves the furby and kisses it over and over. He now gives full kisses, noise and all.
* he loves his mommy and hardly leaves my side.
* he is a lover and a cuddler. Such a sweet little boy!

Easter 2014

We had a fun Easter this year.  Of course the Easter Bunny visited our house again and the kids had fun running around the house hunting for the eggs. We went to my brother's house for Easter lunch and another egg hunt. It was such a beautiful day to spend with family!

Saying Goodbye To Grandpa Denny

The first few months of 2014 were some of the most trying for our family. Grandpa Denny became ill mid February and by the end of March he was moved to hospice. On April 3, 2014 Denny went up to heaven. Losing a father and grandfather is one of the hardest things we have ever dealt with. Brett spent time running from work, to the hospital, to home nonstop. I'm thankful that he had a job that allowed him to spend so much time with his dad during the last months of his life and to be by his mom's side through it all. I will never forget what it was like explaining to Riley that Grandpa Denny was sick and that he was going to go to heaven. She completely understood and to see grief in my five year old's face was so hard. Telling her that Grandpa was in heaven was by far the hardest thing Brett and I have ever done. She understands that he is in Heaven with God. In the time since his passing she will point to the sky and say hi to Grandpa and talks about him quite often. Harper, on the other hand, doesn't really understand. Although, just the other day, out of the blue, she became very exited and said "Grandpa Denny is coming back from heaven!!" With Cole, we've begun to notice just how similar he is to his Grandpa Denny. He looks so much like Denny it is unbelievable. He has his Grandpa Denny's hands and mouth. He's a constant reminder of the man we lost. As time has moved on we've planted five rose bushes in his honor and try to keep his presence alive in our kids. I can honestly say that I feel him around quite often. I'm a true believer that he is present in our lives and that he has a hand in where our family is going!

Cole Carlson: 1 Year, 4 Months

I am almost a month late with this, but here is what Cole was up to at the beginning of the month:
* He's wearing size 12 months clothes still. Some 18 months he wears, but swims in.
* He is climbing up and down the stairs now.
* we tried switching him back to whole milk, but it made him constipated again.
* He loves to be outside.
* He had a really bad ear infection that brought high temps. Poor little guy had to have a shot and was still sick for several days.
* he loves shoes and will put every pair he finds on his feet. Its normal to not find a matching pair of shoes for a couple days of he gets his hands on them.
* he loves balls and to chase his sisters around the house.
* he learned to walk backward and we often see Jim just walking backward across a room.
* He is working on another tooth.

Adventureland Inn

Over spring break we decided to take the kids to Adventureland Inn to swim and spend the night. It wasn't much compared to our original plans of traveling down to Texas to see Aunt Libby, but the kids had so much fun. There were several pools with a swim up bar. The kids loved the shallow pool where they could run around pretty independently.  Cole took a little while to decide that he liked the water, but did eventually play some. We only had one mishap while there. As we were walking to the van to leave poor Riley walked right into a pole.

Cole's First Haircut!

Brett took Cole to get his first haircut a few weeks back. He looks like such a handsome little boy now. It was sad to see his little curls go, but he sure does look cute!

March Madness

It has been such a crazy month around here. The weather has been both freezing and sunny and 50. We be made it out of the house a few times, but really we spent a lot of time at home. The girls have begun to play really well together and Cole just stomps around to make himself known. Here's what went down:

* Harper colored her nails and face in green marker...on several different occasions.
* Harper stuck pears up her nose and blamed Grandma Sheryl for teaching her how to do it. Grandma Sheryl denies the accusation.
* Cole tried to eat a black marker.
* Riley has worn her swimsuit around the house many times...pretending to swim, scuba dive, and hunt for sharks. Harp took her own take on wearing a swimsuit.
* Riley had Fifths Disease. Poor thing had a rash for over a week.
* Harper began drawing smiley faces. They are very detailed with sweet mohawks.
* Riley and I went to the play house with her preschool. It was a bunch of fun and something we may try to do more regularly.
* We hung a bird feeder and the kids love to watch the birds and squirrels. We even had a squirrel walk on the back deck right up to our window.