The Great Pumpkin

On Saturday we decided to take Cole to meet his buddy, Eli Hopping, at Carmichael's in Bixby. Carmichael's is known for pumpkins, in fact I went there a lot with Mom and Dad while I was growing up...brings back good memories!

The wind had a little bite to it, but all and all the weather was perfect - really fall like. Perfect for family, fun, and pictures! Cole seemed to enjoy himself and we did, too. Take a look...

Look at my little jack-o-lantern!


Not quite sure about the pumpkins with all the bumps!

Reclining on the pumpkins!

"Where's my buddy, Eli??"

"I'm over here, dude. Just tryin' to figure out which gourd to take home!"

"Hey Mom, I either wet my pants or this straw is damp!!"

"Eli, man, check out that chick with the pink bow and the nice stroller!"

Mom, Lucky, Me, and Cole-man!

Dad, Cole, and Mom

Worn out from all the playin'!

Oh, and by the way, Cole went to see Dr. Sood on Tuesday, the 13th (his 6 month birthday), where he weighed in at a whoppin' 20.4 lbs and was 29 inches long!! He's the size I was when I was 9 months old!

LOTS of pictures!

Well, I have a few excuses as to why I've been such a terrible blogger. Here's the best one, AND I don't think anyone can fault me for it...I would rather spend my time playing with Cole than posting! By the time I get home from work in the evenings I'd rather just snuggle with my baby boy, who, by the way, weighs over 19 lbs and is at least 26 inches long...that probably doesn't technically count as "little"!!

Since my little hiatus from the blogging world, we've experienced LOTS of firsts. Here's just a few of them:

• Lost most of his precious, brown, baby hair, and is growing a really light brown in its place! His hair practically looks blond! We don't know where he is getting the blond hair...hmmm, maybe I should have taken a better look at the mailman ;)
  
• Cole consistently sleeps through the night. He has since about 3 months, but now we go to bed at 9 and sleep until Mom and Dad have to leave for work!
  
• Cole started rolling over at about 4 months.


• He had his first solids. Man oh Man, does he LOVE his sweet potatoes and peas!


• He "talks" all the time. He really uses that little voice and constantly puts vowel and consonant sounds together.


• He had his first KISS! He's got good taste, too! His first kiss was from Riley Woody, my friend Melanie's precious little girl.


• Cole also took his first road trip. We traveled to Dallas for a weekend to meet up with friends. While in Dallas, Cole visited Del Frisco's - a white linen tablecloth type of restaurant, and he did fantastic!


• Cole is getting really great at sitting up. He is doing the "tripod" stance with his arms out in front, but for the most part he's got really good balance. It'll only be a matter of time before he's sitting up without support.


• He also really loves his bouncy seats. We've got one at home, but he REALLY likes the one Gee Gee and Poppa have at their house!

Well, without further adieu, here are some (a lot) of pictures of Cole. I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do!!

Sweet Potatoes (notice his thinning hair in this picture)

Here's Riley moving in for the kiss!


Contact!!

Hanging out with Memaw!

If you all could only see my Dad's baby pictures...

First road trip! He seems to enjoy the luxuries

of the Hilton!

Dallas - right before dinner at Del Frisco's

First time on the swings at Maple Park...he fell

asleep!

Country Livin'!

I love where we live - it's peaceful and quiet, we have wonderful neighbors, great wildlife, and it will be a great place for Cole to grow up and roam, BUT...we have snakes! Luckily, I hadn't really had to deal with the creatures....until today. (YUK...gives me goose bumps just thinking about it!)

It all started because I thought I needed to do some yard work. I decided I would weed the flowerbeds; it seemed like a great idea at the time - a little sun, some exercise! Anyways, I made it through one of the beds with no problems. Keep in mind though, I'm keenly aware of where we live so the entire time I was weeding I'm also keeping my eyes open for one of the cold-blooded-hole-livin'-nightmare-given-belly-crawlin' suckers. I'd even gone so far as to pick up the "Claw" and rattle the bushes before sticking my hand in the beds. I really was taking precautions.

So, let me set the stage for you...the particular bed I'm in is at the base of the yard - about 50 yards from the house. I've managed to pull one side of the bed and I'm moving on to the other. I get around and rattle the bushes and nothing creepy crawly comes out, so in goes my hand. I hear something rustling, but I kinda just thought it might be some of the leaves falling from the bushes I'd rattled. About that time, I look down and there was Mr. Copperhead....yeah, you heard me, MR. COPPERHEAD!! I drop the little shovel I have, scream "$%^t" a few times, and take off toward the house in the fastest sprint a flip-flop wearing, shivering woman can do. I run in the front door, completely forgetting that Cole is sound asleep in the living room on JT's stomach, and yell "Snake...big....BIG....oh gross...SNAKE," all the while whithering around and totally freaking out! JT of course, being the Great Outdoorsman, immediately goes to get his shotgun. He's totally not concerned about whether I might have gotten bitten or if I'm going to have a heart attack...no sir, he's got something he can shoot!

JT takes off up stairs to get his gun, then out to the barn to get his ammo (keep in mind, I haven't seen him move this fast since the day I called to tell him I was in labor). He gets out there and looks around and, of course, the thing is gone. I know I should have stayed put and watched where the sucker slithered off to, but I don't generally make it a habit to stay too near snakes.

So, long story short, this thing, which was larger around than a garden hose, is somewhere in my yard. I hope our creepy owl (I'll save that story for another post) gets this thing for dinner.

I bet I have nightmares tonight...

P.S. I'll post some pics of the house and the wildlife soon! On the up-side, we have a doe and a baby deer!!

3 Months Old!

Our little guy (and I use "little" loosely :) turned 3 months old today! It feels like just yesterday we were nervously loading Cole into the truck to bring him home from the hospital. He looked so little and delicate - I was afraid that we'd break him. Today, he isn't quite as fragile...in fact, he's a little bruiser! Just get a look at those cheeks! Instead of a baseball player like Daddy, I'm thinking linebacker (or, if he keeps up this appetite, lineman).

All kidding aside, Cole, you are the love of our lives. We are so blessed to be your parents, and we look forward to every new day and all the wonderful and amazing things you are discovering!

"I caught a fish and it was this big..."

"See ya later!"

Buddha Belly!

Excuse the fact that my child is only wearing a diaper (this is when I lovingly refer to him as my white-trash baby), but I just have to know, is it me or does this kiddo have a BIG 'ol belly??!! I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of money on groceries in the future!! He's only 12 weeks old, weighs in at almost 14 lbs, and is over 24 inches long...Holy Cow!!

Fantastic Fourth!

Every year my parents have a 4th of July party, and every year we have a GREAT time. Mom and Dad live across the street from the city park, where the local firework display and celebration occur. Their house is a great place to congregate and watch the show. Some years we've had as many as 50 friends on the driveway. Each person brings a side and Mom and Dad always prepare the hamburgers and hot dogs - let me tell you we have A LOT of great food, and this year was no different. I've never seen so many great desserts - pies, fruit salads, cakes, brownies, etc! None of which is on the diet of a woman still trying to lose her last 10 pregnancy pounds!

The evening itself actually turned out decent, too. A breeze rolled in and everyone stayed relatively comfortable, even Mr. Cole! I must say, Cole did really well through the fireworks. The only time he got fussy was right at the end when the displays were progressively getting louder and closer together. I know it will only be a matter of time before fireworks won't bother him at all, and he'll be throwing pops at my feet in hopes to watch me "dance"!

Check out some of the pics from the evening!

Pictures of Cole

Cole looks so grown up!

Wide-eyed! He HAS to wonder what that crazy box

with a blinding, flashing light is, and why his

Mommy is always behind the silly contraption!

The sweetest tootsies I know!

Getting a bath by"Shampoo-Man"

at Gee-Gee and Poppa's!