Who needs toys when...

you can play with Mama's jogging shoes,

play with a pasta spoon,
or, play with an empty box.

Today when Cole and I went to Wal-mart I was on a mission to find him some soft plastic Tonka trucks like his friend Lyric has. They didn't have the exact ones that Lyric had but Cole immediately recognized the Tonka toys. (The ones at Wal-mart were smaller and more came to a box.) I'm not kidding when I say that he recognized them. As soon as I started to pick the box off the self he squealed and started kicking his legs and waving his hands with excitement. I just had to get them for him then. (I know, not a great practice to get into but we haven't bought him one toy since he was born. All of his toys thus far have been given to him. I just couldn't resist.)

So I guess he still needs his toys. :)

Okay, so I have to brag on my wonderful husband. Today he surprised me by coming home early and bringing me flowers. He brought my favorites, Daisies. He is so thoughtful. I am so very blessed. Thank you Love.

Flashback

Do you ever wonder if you looked anything like your parents at the same age? People always say that I am a good mix of both my parents (and I would agree) but when I look back to pictures of my Mom at the same age, especially baby pictures, I just can't help but see the resemblance. It's not like looking in the mirror or anything but you can definitely tell that I am her daughter.

Well, Donny's sister (Aunt Nell) came across an old picture of Donny when he was about 7 months old. I remember seeing this picture before but did not have a copy of our own. I remember thinking how cute Donny was in this picture. In fact it was this picture that made me ask God for a baby boy that looks exactly like Donny.

Well they're not spitting images of each other but you can definitely tell that Cole is Donny's son. Look how cute they are:

Cole - July 2008

Donny - August 1978

Grammy & Pa's

Cole and I went to Grammy and Pa's for part of the week this past week. I took my camera with me but never seemed to have it around when I needed it. This is so unlike me. Needless to say, I did not take one picture while we were there. :(

Anyhow, Cole had tons of fun (as always). He got to ride on a large tractor with his Pa, feed the horses, walk in his walker inside the barn, wrestle with Pa, go shopping at Home Depot, get rocked and cuddled by Grammy, visit with Great-Grandmommie and crawl around everywhere. Cole also got to watch Pa feed the pigs. Cole has never seen a pig in real life so it was so neat to watch him watch the pigs snort around.

Grammy and Pa have peach trees that were ready for picking. Pa let Cole hold one of the peaches after he picked it and Cole bit it (like he does everything that he picks up). Well to his surprise, he got a piece of peach and juice squirted into his mouth. This was a first. His puzzled face was priceless.

Cole had another first this week. He is now pulling up on the couch or whatever he can to stand and he even walked a couple of steps while holding onto the couch.

Next time I will have some pictures of Cole's adventures. I just thought you guys might want to know where we've been and what we've been up to the last week.

First Thing I See

The very first thing I do each morning when I wake up is go check on Cole. Most mornings he is still asleep but sometimes he has been awake playing in his crib for a few minutes. He gets so excited to see me and gives me the biggest smiles each day. I think I can't wait to see him as much as he can't wait to see me each morning. His smiles just make my day.

This morning was one of those mornings where he had been playing for a while and when I walked in his room he sat up, crawled to the side rail and stood up waiting for me to come greet him. This is what I saw:

(I lowered his mattress to the lowest rung today so that I won't have to worry about him climbing or falling out just yet.)

Later this morning while I was collecting the laundry from his room he finally discovered the cloth blocks that have been stacked at the end of his "big-boy" bed since he came home for the first time. The blocks were stacked and tied with a red curly ribbon. Needless to say, he went straight for the ribbon. I thought he was so adorable playing by himself.
Oh how I love this boy. Thank you God for this precious wonderful gift. I am thankful for each day I have with Cole and count him and the days as my blessings.

Not so Hidden Treasure

Cole discovered his toy box today. We have a basket in the living room where all of his toys go and usually he shows no real interest in it. He will usually sit in the middle of the living room floor watching me pick up his toys and put them in the basket and get out new ones for him.

Today was a day of adventure for Cole. Today he crawled over to the basket and took a peek inside. At first he was hesitant to touch anything inside the basket but when I gave him the okay he was all in.
My little Indiana Jones found treasure today and I found joy in that.

6 month shots at 7 months

I called to make Cole's six month doctor appointment last month and the first available time slot was at the end of this month. I took it but asked if they would call me when earlier appointments became available (due to cancellations). Well today was our lucky day. Cole got to see the doctor at 2 o'clock this afternoon. He's such a brave little boy. He takes his shots very well. He makes Mama so proud (doesn't take much for him to make me proud, I know). Cole weighed in at 19 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 28 inches tall. His head is 17.5 inches around. According to the doctor's chart this puts Cole in the 90% in height and 75% in weight and head circumference. Doc gave my boy a clean bill of health and says he's right on track physically and developmentally.

Way to go Cole! Mama and Daddy are so proud of you and love you very much! That's our boy!

July 4, 2008

We had a pretty laid back 4th of July this year. We didn't go anywhere and we didn't get together with anyone. We just spent the day together as a family. It was so nice to have Donny home for an extra day. Cole really soaked up the one-on-one attention from his Daddy.

Cole started crawling last weekend and the entire world is at his fingertips; or so he thinks. Anyhow, he keeps me on my toes that's for sure. He's so adventurous and curious. I love that in him.