6 months old

Who can believe that Cole turned 6 months old last Monday?! (I started this blog weeks ago now and just had to fix that to "last" Monday, good intentions and all that) In some ways it seems like ages ago that we brought the tiny bundle home and had no clue what to do with him. In other ways I can't remember a time before he was part of our lives. He grows and changes week to week in ways I can't believe. Here are some random things about our 6 month old.

Cole weighs 18 lbs and 4 oz - a far cry from his 4 lbs and 14oz when we brought him home!

Cole's daily menu looks something like this:
7:15 (on the dot) he gets an 8 oz bottle
8:30-9:00ish - his baby bowl full of cereal (different kinds) and a container of fruit (different kinds) mixed in
10:00ish - 8oz bottle
12ish - a container of fruit & a container of veggies (he doesn't always eat all the veggies)
1:00ish - 8oz bottle
4:00ish - 8oz bottle
6:00ish - container of fruit & about half a jar of a baby food "meal" (tonight it was turkey & rice) he doesn't love it yet, so only eats about half
7:00ish - 8oz bottle



Cole's favorite foods are bananas and sweet taters. He loves all fruit OTHER than peaches, he will not eat those! He refuses to swallow them, ever. Not a bite. I love peaches, so I will keep trying. He doesn't like green beans, but you can sneak a bite down him here and there. Carrots & peas he will eat, as long as he gets a fruit bite in between. Squash he likes pretty well and sweet taters he loves, loves, loves. He loves apple flavored cereal best, he isn't fond of oatmeal at all. We went to the stage 2 foods this week and he is loving the fruit mix choices. There were so many!

He has 2 naps usually. We did well with the first nap being about an hour and the second being 2 hours for quite awhile a few weeks ago. Then somehow over Thanksgiving he decided he wouldn't take long naps any longer, ever. He's been taking only 2 naps that are about 45 minutes each and that's making him super tired and in bed a little earlier. He's a very good sleeper and typically sleeps from 7-7:15, regardless..... I said typically note. There are nights that he wakes up, usually b/c he's flipped on his tummy and it scares him, either late night or early morning. He usually goes back to sleep with a snack 2oz bottle though. (I know we shouldn't get him back to sleep with a bottle, but it works and who can argue with that?!) That happens very rarely now though.

Cole's favorite toys are his giraffe, thank you to a student's family from last year. You can get them at Baby Gap or online and he loves it to pieces. They're pricey $19.99, but worth it. He has been able to hold it on his own since he was very little b/c it's light, a soft rubber material that obviously feels good on his gums b/c he knaws on it to death!

He is currently loving rattles now that he shakes the devil out of them. A big favorite are links and we have them everywhere in our house. Every room, chair, nook & cranny, all bags (including my purse) have links in them. He loves his taggie blanket (so glad Layla & Tanner didn't like it and it was passed on to him) and plays with it a ton. Then again, he likes most of his colorful spit clothes too....but he loves tags on anything. If he finds a tag on a stuffed animal, he will chew and suck on it until it's drippy wet.

He loves bowls, his little plastic bowls he eats out of are tons of fun. He likes any toy that "crinkles", that's his favorite noise I think. We recently bought some of those mesh bag feeders where he can chew on "big people" food, ice chips, fruit, frozen fruit, cookies, whatever... through the bag. He goes back and forth between loving it and having no interest. (as I type he's gnawing on it with ice chips and loving it) We've also started giving him those messy "biter biscuit" cookies in the mesh chewie and just earlier today, on it's own. (OK, no more on his own b/c he choked on it and took a few years off my life earlier this week!)



He loves being in his entertainers. He loves, loves the giant jumpy Baby Einstein one that we bought him. We debated on the big ole contraption that jumps and are so glad we chose it. It's big and bulky, you can't really move it from room to room. But....one of his favorite thing is jumping (you'll know if you hold him) so this was perfect!! He also loves the exersaucer we borrowed from Macy Kate. It's light and easy to move from room to room. It typically "lives" in the bathroom where he stays when I am getting ready in the mornings, I think b/c he's not in it very much it stays new to him. I highly recommend everyone with a little guy or gall, borrow one from a friend to have in the bathroom or kitchen as something new and different to do.

Since Cole was little he's enjoyed "kicky" time. That's what we say when he lays down on a blanket in the middle of the floor. He likes to "kicky kicky kick" and boy does he. He's always liked his back best, much to his doctors dismay. . Now that he's a rolly polly baby though, he doesn't stay in one place long! He rolls from one end of the living room to the other in minutes. He is playing with the Wii, eating Christmas presents and getting too close to comfort for Gizmo. (Who wants to be close and watch him, but has no desire to be grabbed and nibbled on) He can scoot super fast on his back, like an inch worm. He can't figure creeping or crawling out for anything though. He lays on his tummy and kicks - arms straight out by his side - face into the ground - looking very much like a fish out of water. Both his Daddy & Grumpy has suggested he might be a fantastic swimmer.

Cole rolling away- he can get away so fast by rolling.....









Cole likes his bed and will play there with a toy if I need to run throw clothes in the washer or dryer. He lays there in the morning talking to himself and rolling around for about 15 minutes before I go get him. It's fun to watch him on the video monitor. (one of the BEST baby products we own) He has been sleeping there since he was 2 months old and it couldn't have been easier or a better choice.

Cole had outgrown the swing we had, so it's now retired to the basement - soon to be stored at my parents house. He is loving the one we bought for his Grandparents house though. They never used it (he's rarely put down there, imagine that) so we brought it home. He likes to spend a few minutes watching cartoons in it or taking one of his naps there. He's always liked to swing, since he was just 1 weeks old.





















Cole loves lights! He loves ceiling lights, lamps, Christmas tree lights and Disney World (and the mall) fascinate him! He loves music and anything on TV with music catches his eye. Ceiling fans are amazing to him, he notices them everywhere we go. If they aren't on, he looks at us with a "are they broke?" look on his face. He is crazy friendly and doesn't meet a stranger. One our mall outing to see Santa a few weeks ago the boy schmoozed women left and right. Younger women, older women, didn't matter to him. He laughs, smiles, bats those eyelashes and coos like crazy!!

He's a talker and makes noises from the second he wakes up, until he's out for the night. He grunts, growls, coos, babbles, squeals like crazy and we keep thinking (5 times now) that he has said "Hey".... seriously? Could that be his first word or does it just sound like that? I'm thinking he is going to be quite the little talker, I don't know WHERE he would get that from??!!!

Cole absolutely loves Sesame Street. We've been watching for quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't sit still and watch from beginning to end. It is his favorite thing on TV though and we have about 30 episodes on DVR that we watch over and over and over. NO ONE was more thrilled they started their new season in November than me!! I forgot how much I loved the show and how very educational it is, I've become a huge PBS fan..but that's another blog. Cole's favorite by far is Elmo. The voice, the red, the eyes...loves him! And when we play with Elmo Live in the store....oh my stars! Christmas is coming.... Other things he will stop from time to time to watch are "Super Why", "Dinosaur Train", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Praise Baby" or "Baby Einstein" DVDs... Oh and "Price is Right" with his Granny!

This picture was in September, but it shows him totally involved in Sesame Street!!
He doesn't fit in his little Bumbo anymore, he throws himself wildly out of it.

Cole's favorite color is red, it really holds his attention. He wants to go all the time and will go to anyone that is standing up! He loves outside, trees are so very interesting. He likes to ride in his stroller now that he sits like a big boy, just be sure you keep moving. He likes to be read too and sits with big eyes listening. He loves doggies and likes to watch Gizmo & Millie to see what they are up too. He likes bath time now and is beginning to really splash in the tub!

He's now grabbing anything and everything within reach. He latches onto anyone's glasses with a death grip. He will grab for your neck and leaves wounds, he's all boy. He will put your finger in his mouth to test out his new tooth if you aren't careful. Yeah and he has a tooth now! We say a "first tooth", but since he was born with one....I guess that's not technically accurate. His Daddy tells him that he can keep this one for a little while. Thankfully so far, teething hasn't been a huge issue. He chomps on things more and more, pulls his ears a little more, but generally speaking it hasn't been too bad.

(you're suppose to see his tooth inside the little heart, may be hard to see here)

So there you have it. We sit in marvel daily at how much he's changed from the itty bitty baby we brought home in June. We hold our grea nephew, baby Jack, and are certain "Cole was never this small". (though Cole was 2 lbs smaller) It's crazy to think about, a miracle every day! God has blessed us with loaning us HIS precious gift, we are grateful and blessed!!

2 weeks & 6 mths























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Disney Day 4
EPCOT

We decided for a first on the Tanner Disney trip and we made it to EPCOT before it opened, matter of fact about 45 minutes before it opened. We sat outside on a bench wondering why the other people were in standing in like, needing to be first? When they opened the turnstile we were able to get inside and then wait for the official "rope cutting" by the characters near the water fountain. It wasn't a big deal at all. What was neat, was that there were no lines in the character connection. Cole had slept the entire time we were waiting to get in, so we were anxious to see what kind of mood he would be in when we woke him up for something so different.

We decided to head straight to meet the characters and see what Cole would think. We only waited behind about 4 people and it took only a few minutes. I had waited a long time for my own little one to meet them and was so very excited. Would he laugh? Would he cry? Would he care??



It turned out he loved them! First up was the big guy himself, Mickey Mouse. Cole was a little shy at first and just starred and starred. He smiled and reached out for him after a minute.

The second one was Minnie and Cole absolutely loved her. He reached for her nose and tried to give her a kiss. (Ok, more like he was probably trying to take a bite out of her nose...but what's that minor detail worth?)

Donald was our least favorite and took up the least amount of time being interactive. We looked back at the pictures and all the other characters were so involved in playing with Cole and the pictures were of them hugging us or something. Donald was all about, here I am and it was kind of strange.



Pluto was fun and Cole loved the big ole doggie. It reminded him of his Millie & Gizmo at home.



Goofy was last and played Peek a Boo as we walked up, it was so fun. Cole really liked him. As we walked off when we were done Cole kept looking back over our shoulder for them.




We gave Cole a bottle and Daddy went to get fast passes for Soarin'. Then it was time for riding the Imagination ride and seeing Figment. He is one of my all time favorite characters and rides. I was one of the people who had a fit in 1999 when we went on our honeymoon and saw they tried for a brief moment to take Figment out of the Imagination ride, what were they thinking?! Thankfully, they fixed that pretty quickly. There have been periods on and off where you could meet him and I loved that. Currently though, he's not out.

Then we went to the Land where we rode the boat ride. (My friends girls call it the vegetable ride, so funny and I like that) It's also my Dad's favorite, Andy & Dad rode it one year over and over while Mom & I did other stuff one year. Anyway.... Cole found it....relaxing...





Then Andy & I took turns on Soarin' and holding a sleeping Cole. We had lunch in there too. Soarin' is one of our favorite things in 'all the world' these days. Then we ventured over to let Daddy ride as a single rider on Test Track while Cole & I shopped a little.

Daddy & Cole checking out the jumping water!

After that we decided to call it a day and head back for a nap time.

We had dinner reservations at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's a very neat place to visit, with the animals just outside the doors. It was dark early though and we didn't get to see them this time. They have night vision goggles, but we've never been able to see animals through them. While it's a neat resort, it isn't on my list of places I want to stay.

Boma is very good though and we had a super awesome waiter. When I learned that my favorite, butternut squash soup, wasn't on the buffet that night ... I was sad and the waiter ended up coming back bringing us both a bowl. How sweet was that? I have tried every brand of butternut squash in the stores, ordered it several places and there is the only place I like it. It tastes like a piece of pumpkin pie, that's melted. It was so sweet this time I almost couldn't eat all of mine and couldn't touch Andy's. (Which had been my plan ;) Anyway, it was super sweet of our waiter. We were always a little nervous about trying it and it's "African theme cuisine", but there is a huge variety to choose from and it's very good. I do recommend it to people often.

Cole ended up sleeping all the way there, through dinner and all the way back. Poor baby probably thought we'd never left.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Tanner family!
Andy, Monica & our own little turkey - Cole
Granny & Grumpy Rakestraw too....

Disney Day 3

Swimming

Sunday was going to be our hottest day there, 90 degrees again. We couldn't wait to spend the day doing nothing and going swimming. It would be Cole's first time in the water other than dipping his toes this summer at my parents pool, he wasn't amused as a newborn.




(Shout out to the Howells. We'd planned to meet Jason, Jill and the kids for lunch. It takes so long to get Cole ready, load up and get somewhere...then return... We decided we'd just have to skip this time. I wanted it to be a nothing kind of day and getting ready to head out with a little one is anything less than an easy run out to lunch. We love yall and hope we can get together next time. I wanted Cole & Davis to meet each other.)




We went to breakfast in our hats and play clothes, then came back for long naps and nothing-ness. Then we put on bathing suits and were off. We went to the big pool (the themed one) first for about two hours. Andy grabbed lunch from the quickie place and we ate at the picnic tables by the pool, it was perfect. We sat by and watched everyone while Cole slept. Then it was time to take him in the kiddie pool and it was so funny. He didn't know what to think. He splashed a little, watched everyone and tried to decide if he liked swimming or not. He had a little girlfriend who kept coming over to tickle him and he really liked her a lot. He loves other kids, he wants them to talk to him. If they don't talk and smile, he doesn't understand and looks so hurt. We saw that happen a few times, he'd watch kids and wait...then look at us like "why aren't they talking to ME?"

After spending some time in the kiddie pool we went back to "our" pool in "our" section of Riverside. There are about 6 pools in the entire resort. "Ours" was right beside our room, we sat out there a few times every day and evening. We played in that pool too! Then it was nap time again for everyone!!

We had reservations for Biergarten @ EPCOT that night, but decided to cancel those and eat right there at Riverside. We've eaten at Boat Wrights there in the past and really liked it!! It was one of our favorite meals this trip too, so much we went back and ate the exact same meal another night. Prime Rib for me and Voo Doo Chicken for Andy, we had pecan pie with ice cream for dessert- yummy~

Disney Day 2

Magic Kingdom, Halloween and O'hana

We decided that we'd spend our first day at the Magic Kingdom, of course! We had bought matching shirts back in January on our trip, just days after finding out Cole was a boy. It was very exciting to put on our cheesy matching shirts, love it!!

Cole was amazed from the get go with things to look out, a speedy tram and a monorail....all before we got in the park! We stopped at the ticket do hickey to get Andy's free 5 day hopper through the military appreciation and mine was $132 (would have been 99, but I added hopping....then we didn't hop....no biggie though) We could have got them at Shades or a base and saved on paying tax, but with buying just my ticket so cheap...we didn't bother.

-you'll notice Cole is using my burp clothes that I made and blanket just for the trip, I'm such a geek...had his name and a mickey embroidered on one so we can keep it and know where we were his first halloween-



We arrived and walked down Main Street with our very own little boy.....amazing!! We had our picture made, imagine that and headed off towards Fantasy Land. We got fast passes for Peter Pan although the line wasn't too long. Then we headed towards Small World which we are pretty sure was Cole's favorite. He sat wide eyed and mouth open through the whole thing. His head was going back and forth, back and forth!! Then we gave him a bottle while watching the Small World boats go through. It was time for Peter Pan which he also seemed to enjoy, though it was dark so he wasn't as comfortable in there.

for the record...i stick my big toes up like this and Cole does too.....

We walked through Liberty Square and then to Adventure Land where we saw one of my all time favorites, The Country Bear Jamboree. I love, love that show!!! We both know the entire thing pretty much by heart. Then we headed to the Tiki Room, but little man just couldn't hold his eyes open a minute longer. He slept right through. He slept in the stroller while his Momma and Daddy ate ice cream. (Dole Whip for Andy & then....well most of my Coke float for Andy too) Cole woke up and we went to Tomorrow Land and got on the People Mover (TTA, whatever they call it these days) It's always a favorite. They are working on refurbishing Space Mountain so it was all covered up in there. We thought Cole might have had enough for one day and decided to head back to rest.

Cole and Mommy on the people mover

After resting we had reservations at our all time favorite place in all "the world", O'hana at the Polynesian. Oh my stars! If you haven't eaten there, you MUST! They bring out all sorts of starters to share family style at your table. (Asian noodles, steamed veggies, BBQ chicken wings, the best salad ever (honey, lime dressing of some sort...could be my favorite part) and coconut bread..seems like I'm leaving something out)Then they come around to your table with meat on skewers right off the grill: pork, turkey, steak and then...grill shrimp. They are wonderful!! They brought us shrimp and more shrimp, finally giving a whole HUGE enormous skewer full to just us. It was crazy and yummy. Then for dessert they bring hot bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream....banana foster caramel like sauce to pour over. Oh oh oh...it is so very yummy!!

People that hear me talk about our Disney eating obsession...but my kids wont like it, wont sit still, whatever. It's Disney folks!! They are there for entertaining your kiddos, never fear!! While Mom & Dad are chowing down, there is entertainment at O'Hana. There is a lady who teaches hula and you get a lei, she sings a song and kids slow dance with their parents, there's a kid parade and limbo and then coconut racing. The kids hit a coconut with a broom around the restraunt. Your kids will not be bored! The room overlooks Bay Lake, the other resorts on the monorail line and there is the castle in the background. Can you go wrong?? I told one family about it who ate there at night as Wishes (fireworks program) started at the Magic Kingdom and there little boy was asked to turn off the lights in the restaurant for the show, they pipe in the music and everything!

I had big plans of taking Cole somewhere for Halloween all dressed up. It was 90 degrees Halloween Day in Disney World...there was no way that he was wearing a fleece like Mickey outfit. People were dressed up all day though and we saw some fantastic costumes. People are So creative!! They were trick or treating at the resorts and everywhere else it seemed, pretty neat. We ended up going back and taking a few pictures of Toot dressed as Mickey and then pretty much called it a night.

Cole's First Disney Trip
Officially Day 1
We arrive

I've dreamed for so long of taking our own little one to our favorite place on Earth, Walt Disney World. Finally last week, that dream came true! I had a lot of people say to me "He's too young, he wont remember it, what can you DO with a baby?" We've been going and doing for 10 years now and taking Cole was something we couldn't wait a day longer to do! So off we went....

We decided to leave Thursday evening about 7:30 after a day of work for both of us. Andy gets up about 5AM and I knew he wouldn't be able to drive as far as we both wished. Still, we knew any further down the road we could go, would make life easier on Friday. Cole had his last bottle, was in his jammies and we were off.

We made it to Valdosta around midnight and found a room at a Comfort Inn & Suites. I have to say it was one of the most comfortable beds ever. It had a feather topper and was queen size, the softest sheets. Ooo La La.... They didn't have cribs or pack n plays, so Daddy was lucky enough to spend the night in the bed with Wild Man! I hear it was quite the night of wild kicking and flinging himself around. When I woke up Andy was on the opposite side of the bed from where he started. Seems a little bitty guy takes up a big ton of room.

Cole in Valdosta in his jammies

We woke up about 7, had our free breakfast and were off again by about 8:30. Cole went back to sleep and woke up a few hours into our journey, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel to give him a bottle and change his diaper. (Just like our mountains trip that I didn't blog about) You can't beat a Cracker Barrell for their comfy rocking chairs and clean restrooms. We got a cheese & cracker plate, extra pickles and sweet teas to go. Cole had to have a little entertainment for about an hour so Mommy crawled between the seats and wedged herself between the mountain of stuff to entertain the doodle bug. Crawling through was quite the sight I'm sure....



We arrived, checked in within a few minutes (people, pre-check in online for Disney...takes you one minute to grab your resort room keys while everyone else waits in line) and unpacked. Our room was fantastic. It was right beside the parking lot, a pool (there are a bunch at Port Orleans Riverside) and laundry area. (Which we used every other day!) Perfect, perfect location!! It was our second time there and it has become our favorite I think.

Cole finds a "not so" hidden Mickey in our room!

----Side note here to say Riverside is awesome! Check out the January blog for pictures around the resort. It is located along the river and very pretty. You can rent boats, ride the "river cruise" to Downtown Disney or just enjoy the boat traffic. The table service restaurant "Boatwrights" is very good and the quickie service place has a ton of selections. The bar area, which is entirely family friendly and not your typical "bar area" at all, is so much fun. More about the wonderful night with Mr. Piano man later. There is a store, of course. There's an acrade and a big ole lobby. You can take a carriage ride from right there or just visit the pretty big ole horses. The walkway to Port Orleans French Quarter is a wonderful easy walk. You can use the pool and all over there as well. The "main" pool at Riverside is cute with the slide and all, a kiddie pool and the area is really neat. There's a fishing hole where you can cane pole fish, a huge play ground and they have story telling by a camp fire at night. There are 5 or 6 pools located between the other buildings and they are pretty big as well, with laundry facilities at each of those areas. There is the "mansions" section, where we've stayed both times. "Think Gone with the Wind and Tara" Then there is "alligator bayou" which is more... cabin like. It's the only resort that "techincally" holds 5 people, there's a trundle slide out bed. It's a beautiful resort with tons to do right there"------





Anyway.... we had supper at the quickie resort location. I had yummy turkey, mashed taters and veggies. Chocolate cake for dessert, gotta love the dining plan. Andy had a chicken caesar salad and oatmeal raisin cookie. Yummy~

Then we hopped on the boat (another reason Riverside is so neat) and headed downtown. It was the first time we've been by the Tree House Villas since they have reopened, sure would be fun to stay there. Our friends, Amber & Jonathan, stayed and said they are super neat. The 10ish minute boat ride is a nice way to get from place to place for sure!!

Downtown Disney was PACKED and there were kids in costumes everywhere. It was still the night before Halloween, but they had trick or treating at tons of locations and boy the kids were out in droves. We met my wonderful friend Terry and hung out awhile. We walked around the World of Disney, lines were way too crazy to shop though. We took some pictures, visited a bit and got scared to death by a magician. (He came out of nowhere and talked into a microphone, making poor Cole cry like crazy. The only real time he cried all week and it was because of the surprise factor, the man came out of nowhere)

By then the crowds were crazy, Cole was tired and we called it a night.

Terry, Cole and Me

Andy, Cole & Me

Guess who leaves for Disney Thursday?

Temper

You've seen the pictures, but here they are again... with a few more just for fun. My son, has a temper. It's just a fact. He came into the world screaming.....

Exhibit A


Granted most babies come into the world screaming. I wonder if 3 months later they are all having outbursts randomly just to see what Mommy & Daddy will do?!

He's had these outbursts randomly from time to time since he was about a month old. Typically you know one is coming if he's tired or hungry. That's when babies are supposed (suppose? Supposed? I don't know!) to cry, I completely understand their need to communicate this.

Exhibit B

His first bath. Let's just say it didn't go "swimmingly"!!




Ok, just kidding. I know, I know. He is allowed to scream through his first bath, it's scary!!


Exhibit C




What you don't see here is that he was laying there playing with me, all smiles. 1/2 a second later this is what happened. He gets bored with me and instead of politely saying "Mommy I'm really tired of that toy you are dangling there and that little voice you are using, please let me have alone time" ... He goes nuts!



Speaking of nuts...

His Daddy says he "nuts up" or is "nuttin' up" or he's had a "nut up"...... Daddy's words.....


Exhibit D

This time we have all the photo evidence.....

He's laying with Daddy playing happily, talking, smiling, just enjoying boy time.....





But wait a half second later we have it coming.....
(Yes, I see the bib.... )



And there it is, seriously folks this was all in about 2 seconds.... he goes from smiles to purple in minutes!!!!!!!





You want to ask.... are you sure he's not hurting? Maybe it's a tummy ache? Maybe he's really tired? Maybe he's growing and needs more to eat?

People - HE JUST GETS ANGRY!

A few weeks ago I was sitting on the couch with him, Andy was cutting grass. Cole had eaten a bottle, burped and all was right in the world. Within seconds he went bonkers on me. I thought I'd hurt an arm picking him up wrong. I hugged him, he screamed. I laid him down to be sure his arms & legs moved, he was fine. I tried to lay him on his tummy, his back, rocked, swayed, bounced, talked, sang, jiggled, swaddled, unswaddled, changed his diaper... I was ready to go get Andy and say SOMETHING IS WRONG.....

Instead... I decided to take him to our bathroom and put him in his bouncy seat, turned on the exhaust fan (b/c doesn't every baby like that noise? mine does) And within a second, he went from that face up there.... to a seriously happily smiling, babbling baby .... no joke!

His Daddy holds him and dances around the house like an Indian (feather, not dot ... I know not politically correct, but I needed you to get the picture) and he chants. Cole usually stops crying. Me... nope I go for naked time in the floor (Cole, not me!) , Cole loves being naked. Or I go for the bouncy seat and exhaust fan in the bathroom! Sometimes laying in his big bed with the mobile will do the trick. *sigh* Whatever works right??

*Had to come back and add the little sweetheart also holds his breath when he's angry. Turns pretty shades of purple and you have to blow in his face to get him to breath again, fun huh?! HE HE HE*

.......

And if you don't believe me... Feel free to ask Amy McFarland Houseworth, her sweet sister Cathy, either of their children and wonderful Ms.Dian. THEY didn't believe it either, even said that... until he showed them that wonderful little temper last week. Had to make believers outta them! .... Or his Granny & Grumpy, he doesn't just do these little fits for us...he lets everyone have a shot. Mimi, Pappy and some cousins got a taste yesterday too. Yes, we want everyone to see the little love bug at his finest.


Yeah you know this post was written in fun. Although he does have a huge temper, the thing is you never know when it's coming, there are no warning signs. He is absolutely the sweetest and happiest baby in the world 99% of the time. I wouldn't even say he's a fussy baby, he just has a few moments. He smiles at everyone, loves to "talk" all the time, laughs out loud and is the sunshine in our lives!! (temper and all)

Fall

I absolutely love fall. Summer is fantastic and I love being home, vacations to the beach, lazy days in the pool with a book, flip flops and a good tan. None of that can top the warm fuzzies that fall gives me though!

I love the smells of fall. I pull out the apple and cinnamon candles, open the windows and smile. I enjoy the last few smells coming from the grill and leaves burning in people’s backyards. Ah, fall….

I love the sights of fall. I love the hay, corn, scarecrow and pumpkin displays in yards. I love the leaves when they turn bright shades of red, orange and yellow. (Shhh, when I say that it sends Andy into a tizzy because he’s the one who ends up raking them and we have soo many! The leaves from our entire cul de sac blow down our driveway and stack themselves waist deep a few times before it’s all said and done. I digress…..)




(Our front yard in 2005 I think? Grand Daddy's last birthday here with us)



I love the tastes of fall. I love to make pumpkin pie and apple tasting at school. I love that the mornings are cool enough for me to enjoy coffee again.

I love the events of fall. I look forward to arts & craft shows, college football season and the weather just right for me to play golf again.

I love school in the fall. I love getting to know my new little friends. I love the smell of a new box of crayons. I love our apple unit with poems, painting, crafts, tasting and graphing. I love when we explore pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, everyone wears orange, we have scarecrow day and visit our pumpkin patch.

I love when we get to camp in the fall. We head to the lake and get that perfect camping spot. We can set up the camper in no time, we have it down to a science. I love sitting in a chair and watching boat traffic, feeding the ducks, watching the sun come and go, taking a walk and saying hello to all the camping neighbors. I love the smell of a fire and roasting marshmallows, make mine just a smidge dark please! I love seeing the deer, watching squirrels and life slowing down for a few days. I love playing board games at night and spending time just us away from it all. I can't wait to take Cole camping. (I guess it wont be so quiet huh?!)


Don’t get me started on how much I love the fair? I have no idea what it is about it that gives me the warm fuzzies. I don’t get on the rides there anymore, but love to see the smiles and hear the squeals of those who do. I love to see all the twinkly lights at night. I love the greasy, fried, fattening food and it’s always such a hard choice on what to get! I love visiting the farm animals and even walking through the handmade trinkets. I like to see who grew the biggest pumpkin and what the winning flowers are. (and some years we make it to the state fair in Perry which is a huge fair on steroids, oh my I’m in hog heaven then!)

The mountains, we absolutely love the Smokey Mountains. Fall is the most wonderful time to get up to Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg, TN. We usually make it sometime around my birthday weekend in September. We ride the chair lift, eat at our favorite places, walk down the main strip, go outlet shopping, maybe take a "short" scenic drive, eat Karmel Korn (yes I spelled it right), get taffy for taking home, visit the nature center for a walk in the woods or watching the movie out there, riding the tram to the Ski Lodge and maybe seeing the bears. Oh and eating at a pancake house or two. The only times I crave pancakes are when we're there and it's sort of "law" that you must consume pancakes while in the mountains. Mmmmm....... Perfection!!

(our annual picture in 2006,we get one made every year :)

I can’t wait to be the one taking pictures of a certain rolly polly baby by a big honkin’ pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. I’ve waited on that a very long time! There are so many firsts that I know Cole will never remember, but they do OUR hearts so much good, I can’t stand it! J

For so many years Halloween broke my heart and cute munchkins ringing our doorbell, dressed in their attire, would break my heart and make me cry. This year we’ll be spending Cole’s first Halloween at the Happiest Place on Earth. We’ll have our own cutie pa tootie dressed up and enjoying the lights of Main Street. We wont be handing out candy at our front door, but will be eating dinner at our very favorite restaurant in all the world, O’Hana! I can’t tell you how excited I am!!

Fall is the beginning of the Holiday season where we gather to give thanks with our family and friends, followed by Christmas and OH How I LOVE Christmas!

So as todays high only reached 71 here in HotLanta, the stores have their scarecrows out…. I smile, take a deep breathe and say “Welcome Fall! Welcome my absolute favorite season, it’s good to see you!”