3 years old!

Oh, my little pumpkin....already three years old! These past three years have been so amazing, fun, challenging, exciting and by far better than I could have ever imagined.

There is no baby left in my 3 year old at all...he's officially a big boy. And ALL boy. Rocks, dirt, running. Sports, cars, trucks.

He's an awesome big brother. He talks to Cole (sometimes in baby talk....so cute) and wants to know why he's not talking back and asks to hold him a lot, but lets you know when he's finished.  He tries to help by putting his pacifier in his mouth when he's crying.

He's a sports fan. He loves playing all sports and is honestly good at all of them. He likes watching them on TV with Daddy as well.  Check out his golf swing here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSQv-9wyfnw&list=UUcX1LN-1rwjtP1u9_jkJTRg&index=1&feature=plcp

He's super smart (in my opinion!!) and has a great memory. He knows how to spell his name (verbally), but sometimes he leaves out the "e" at the end. He knows how to make an "H" and "U". He knows numbers like 36 and 78 are thirty-six and seventy-seven. He knows right and left. He knows his birthday, my birthday, and AJ's birthday.  He remembers everything, so you have to make sure that if you tell him something you plan on following through. :)

He's a good eater and will try anything. He even tried quinoa the other night, but wasn't a fan. He loves milk and water. He snacks on (and requests) things like bananas, apples, blueberries, celery and carrots. Although, he still could eat his weight in crackers and would eat only bread for dinner if I'd let him. He has a sweet tooth and candy is a big treat for him. (He would get an m&m as a reward while potty training)

He's social. He says hi to everyone....at the park, in the grocery store....and wants to know why they aren't saying hi back if they don't respond.  Sometimes it makes me sad when people ignore him!

He's independent. He loves to help and wants to do everything himself. He can dress himself pretty well, although sometimes some things end up backwards or shoes end up on the wrong feet.  He does a pretty good job brushing his teeth but still needs a good once over by mommy or daddy.

He's potty trained during the day but still wears a pull-up at night.

He loves books and playing outside.  He's also in to Toy Story, dinosaurs, shapes and is interested in constellations, thanks to his Twilight Turtle.

He's sweet and has great manners. He thanks me for making dinner at night.  He likes being rocked at night and would sleep with us if we would let him.

I love this little guy so much.  I can't wait to see him grow and see the student and friend that he turns in to in the coming year!

2 months

Cole is 2 months old! Time is already flying by.....we're pretty much at the point when you start referring to their age in months instead of weeks. It definitely makes me a little sad that he's getting so big already, but he's becoming more fun as well!

He's very alert his big, round eyes do a lot of exploring. There's usually a lot of action around here to keep him entertained! :) He still prefers to be held which kind of makes it a little difficult to get things done around here at times, but I enjoy having him close so I'm not complaining. In the sleep department, he usually goes down for about a 4 hour stretch initially and then is up every 2-ish hours after that, which is pretty much what I remember Hunter doing around this age. The sleep deprivation has been a bit easier this time around since I already knew what I was getting myself into. :) He likes to play under his Baby Einstein gym and doesn't mind tummy time very much at all. He's a babbler and a cooer....quite the little talker so far. He's even starting to not mind a little baby massage after his bath.

He had his well-check yesterday with Dr. Terwelp and is 22 inches long (25th %) and 10 lbs, 9 oz (25th %). He had to get five shots and one oral vaccine. I hate that. :( He checked out great and doesn't have to go back until 4 months!

Easter

Hunter was born on Easter 3 years ago, so while it isn't his actual birthday, it's still extra special in our house. We had a lot of fun this year as I still try to get the hang of this holiday planning/traditions/special ideas that mommies (especially mine!) do so well! Hunter "gets" the Easter Bunny for the most part. We didn't talk him up as much as Santa, but we did happen to unexpectedly run into him at the Domain the other day, so we took a picture and that helped.

We were only there to get Hunter new shoes, so I was totally unprepared and normally would have dressed them in cuter outfits, but it is what it is. Cole was actually still in his sleeper. Oops.

Yesterday, Hunter colored Easter eggs for the first time. He was very interested in watching them boil and couldn't stand to wait to dip them in the colored water. He was so excited and liked mixing colors and applying Cars stickers.

We had a nice day today. The kids got up to see what the Easter Bunny left, we made it to church almost on time, went out to eat, came home for naps and then smashed some cascarones in the back yard.

Side note: For all of you Yankees like me.....here is a quick explanation of cascarones. I had no idea what they were until last year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascarones

Here is what they look like.... (Well, at least the kind that you buy at the grocery store. I suppose you could make your own, which would be cute and potentially fun, but also a LOT of work and would require way more time that I have right now!)


I thought everyone looked so handsome. I swear, one of the reasons I was excited that Cole ended up being a boy was so I could dress them in matching outfits. :) Here are some other pictures from our weekend!

Coloring eggs --

Maggie got a little cascarone action too. Yes, that's a cone on her head and yes, she's a mess. If it is good luck that they bring, hopefully they bring a little to her because poor little girl could use some right now!
Happy Easter!

Bluebonnets

Spring is here!

Smile!

Cole is 6 weeks old now! He's started giving us a few smiles over the past week and I know I'm biased, but it is SO CUTE. He has a great big smile that just takes up his whole face. Just when you start to get sad that they're getting so big so fast, they start to do the fun stuff! I haven't been able to catch him smiling with a camera close by yet, but here are a some pics of him since my last post.


He's also crying real tears now, which I hate. :(

Hunter's sweet smile has turned in to a silly smile lately. Here is the face I get more often than not as he is saying "cheese" for the camera....

Silly, but I LOVE IT! He is so fun these days!

One month old!

Cole is one month old! He had his well-check yesterday and weighed in at 8 lbs, 5.5 oz (25th %) and 20.5 inches (25th %). It was a pretty boring check-up and we like those....nothing major to report other than he's doing great!

It's a little crazy to think that he's been here for a month already. He's still sleeping for longer periods of time during the day and waking about every 2-3 hours at night, so we'll try to get his days switched around to where they need to be. Easier said than done....

He likes: being held, swaddled, sucking, and is really starting to watch us and things that are going on around him. He seems to prefer sleeping more upright in something like his swing or bouncy seat. He's had a couple of bottles and is taking them well so far.

He doesn't like: having his clothes or diaper changed. He's starting to realize that baths aren't so bad after all, although he prefers to be dressed as soon as humanly possible afterward. :)

Here are a couple of pictures from his one month birthday today. He didn't really feel like having his picture taken at the time, so I didn't get very many good ones.


In Hunter news, he is now registered preschooler! He'll start in the fall 2 days as week. I can't believe it's time for him to start school. I'm sad that he's growing up so fast but, at the same time, am excited for all of the new things he'll learn. He's such a big boy and great big brother.

Pottying and Putt-Putt

We officially have a potty trained toddler in the house! Hunter has been doing so well pottying, in fact, that he only wants to go alone now. He doesn't even need to be told to go....he just runs in to the bathroom and goes by himself, and prefers not to have any help (which can get a little messy on occasion, but hey, at least he's got the idea!).

He got to pick another fun day last weekend as a reward for doing such a great job and he decided he wanted to play putt-putt. My boy has a pretty good little golf swing for a 2 year old, if I don't say so myself, and his putting isn't too shabby either! He was a lot of fun to watch.