Mimi and Papa visit, the Pumpkin Patch and a 3 1/2 year old!

We had a great time with Mimi and Papa last week.  They flew in for a visit and so Brad could go to the Texas/OU game in Dallas with AJ.  AJ has really been wanting to take him....it is quite the experience!

While the guys were in Dallas, Mom and I took the boys to the Sweetberry Farm pumpkin patch on Hunter's half birthday!  This is the 3rd year we have been to this patch and Hunter definitely was able to do the most this year.  He painted a pumpkin, fed the goats, picked flowers and rode the barrel train.  We went on a Friday afternoon which was the perfect time to go....no long lines, crowds, easy parking.  Perfect!

Hunter is about 36 lbs and 39.5 inches tall.  He loves school and always comes home with new songs, tidbits of information and stories about his day.  He's lost some of the cute names he used to have for things ("My" for "I") and has a better memory than I could ever hope to have myself!  He's in to Jake and the Neverland Pirates at the moment as well as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins.  He still loves the PBS morning shows such as Sesame Street, Super Why, and Dinosaur Train.  He's becoming very independent and loves to help or try to do things by himself like pouring milk, making his own sandwich, helping cooking, etc.  While we have our moments as any 3 year old does, he's a great friend, is very social and just a sweet little boy.

8 months

At 8 months, Cole is about 18 lbs and 29".  This seems a bit off compared to what I estimated him to be at last month so I'll be anxious to see what his official stats are at his 9 month well check next month!

He's become a master sitter and just got a 3rd tooth last week.  All 4 of his top teeth are looking like they are going to break through at any moment.  Teething has been a little rough on him!  He's rolling everywhere.  He's really fast and sometimes lodges himself under the coffee table and needs to be rescued. :)  He still loves his big brother, his Baby Einstein jumper, and the activity table which he just sits at at this point.  He's eating puffs now and is doing a good job at picking them up.  We're still trying to get the hang of the sippy cup though.  He prefers to chew on it rather than drink out of it.

He's so chunky and squishy and I just love snuggling with him!  Such a fun age!

Vacation

Last week we celebrated our 5th anniversary by going on a family vacation to Florida.  We actually went to the same place that we used to vacation when I was a child so it was really nostalgic for me.  It looks the exact same!

It is steps off of the beach so Hunter and I enjoyed walking on the beach in the morning and finding seashells.  We had to stop and inspect nearly every one so sometimes it took a while. :)  It is sea turtle season so there were several "do not disturb the nests" signs around so we had plenty of discussions about sea turtles.   The weather was pretty nice....a little rainy and cloudy on some days but we still had plenty of sunshine and enough good weather to enjoy being outside.

Hunter had fun building sand castles and "fighting" the waves with daddy, swimming and playing putt-putt.  One night we went out to dinner at a restaurant that had catfish swimming below.  Kids would feed them any random piece of food they could find.  Hunter contributed his french fries and pickles.  He really got a kick out of it.  Those fish had quite an appetite!  Cole napped on the beach and decided he wanted to be an official unassisted sitter while we were there!

Travel was relatively easy other than the fact that we didn't have enough arms to carry all of the stuff we had.  The flight was direct and the boys were well-behaved.  A success!