Saturday, February 28, 2009

Random fun with Kate and Brower

Kate is such a great big sis and she loves to play with her brother. As you can see, they both love to dress up. Brower in a princess dress with butterfly wings is Kate's doing. After this picture they both ran around the house "flying and flapping their wings".
Princess Kate doing an arabesque

Princess Kate and Cowboy Brower. Not sure how the purple boa fits in to the cowboy costume. According to Kate it is an accessory.
This baby is taking up too much room in this bed! Bella, Max, Brower, Kate and Anna Marie heading to the play with Nonna and Papa.


Hugs...

...and Kisses from Kate and Brower!

Happy Birthday Brower!

I woke up this morning to hear Brower calling "Mommy, Mommy". What a sweet sound. Chad, Papa, Kate and I greeted Brower with singing Happy Birthday to him in his bed.
We decorated the table and Brower's chair and made him a Happy Birthday pancake, bacon and strawberries. He loved it.

We enjoyed a whole day of celebrating Brower. We had a party for him at the Fun Zone at church. Nonna, Papa, Mimi, Aunt Heather, Uncle Scott, Anna Marie, John Thomas, Eliza and Jack all came to Cary to celebrate with us. Laura, Holden, Jill, Steve, Kaylee, Zach, Aunt Linda, Uncle Rob, Emma, Aunt Jane, Derek, Juli, Lilee, Ausley Claire, Grandma and Grandpa all came to the party too. Brower loves "neigh neighs" so we had a farm theme for his party. I think everyone had a lot of fun!

Farm cake

How old is Brower? "Do"
Kids table-everyone loves pizza
Cute cousins- Brower, Kate, Emma and Eliza

Brower blowing out his candlesKate and Brower enjoying the cupcakes

Brower opening his presents

Brower climbing up to the slide. He isn't quite big enough to just climb up each platform. Big sister Kate used to push him up each level and then she taught him how to stick his feet in the net and climb up himself. He's like Spiderman!

The kids were exhasted from an exciting morning. We all rested and took naps. After dinner we ate popcorn and watched Charlotte's Web. It was a great day! My little boy is two!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Bringing up boys...

Well, today was a good reminder to me of what is to come of my life raising a little boy. Brower is getting ready to turn two. If you ask him how old he is, he'll hold up his hand in an attempt to show two fingers and say "do". He has such a fun personality. He has just started to try to hide what he is doing if he knows he shouldn't do it. Today we were having a muffin at Panera with some friends and Brower got Lilee's juice box without me seeing. He turned his back to me so he was facing the back of the booth and was hiding the juice box from me. When he realized I was looking at him, he refused to look at me. He'll either do that or give me a huge cheesy grin that says "It's okay mom, I'm really cute!" He knows he's cute and his smile will get him out of anything.
The child is so full of energy and runs everywhere he goes. He is finally pretty stable on his feet, but he still runs a little out of control, usually with his head down and his fists clenched! He was playing in the car with Kate while we were waiting for a store to open and he hit his eye on something. He cried for a minute and then moved on. He now has a black eye. Tonight we were in a store after dinner and he fell and hit Kate's leg. Again, he cried for a minute, asked for a kiss and moved on. A few minutes later he had blood dripping out of his mouth and covering his hand. He had busted his lip and was bleeding but didn't care a bit. He fell at least three more times while we were in the store. I saw at least one couple gasp when he fell and of course Chad and I are so used to it, we barely even blink. He is all boy! The child looks like he got in a fight.
I can't believe my baby will be two in a few days. He is just so full of joy! He loves to perform and to be the center of attention. He loves to talk and will say (or make an attempt to say) whatever you tell him. He loves to sing. His favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me and Hallelujah. We were at the fun zone the other day and he was up in the maze singing Hallelujah! So cute! Chad always says he is like me because he doesn't like to be cold and he loves to sleep...sounds a bit like me :) What a joy it is to have a little boy! He likes to get all of his animals and line them up in the play roo. He loves "teats" (treats) and "nacks" (snacks). His favorite foods are bananas, craisins, pancakes, oatmeal and any kind of bread or crackers. He could live off of fruit and crackers. I just love learning what he likes and what makes him happy. I am so thankful to have such a precious little boy. He is such a joy!
He went to the doctor for his 2 year well check up. He talked to Dr. Adams and played with him. He weighed 25 lbs. (only 7 less than his sister) and was 32" tall. Whoo hoo Brower...he finally got out of the 10th percentile! He only had to get one shot and he did great. He was happy after getting a Mickey Mouse sticker and a "kucker" (sucker).

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Snow Tubing

We headed up to Hickory for a fun weekend with Papa and Nonna. Everyone made it in for the weekend except for Bradley. Kate and Brower were so excited to have a sleepover with their cousins. Kate and Bella were thrilled to be allowed to sleep in the top bunk together. They were so cute cuddled up there together. Saturday morning we got up early to drive to Banner Elk to go tubing. The kids had a blast. Kate and Brower were so cute all bundled up. They absoulutely loved it. Kate even went down a few times by herself. She was so proud of herself!
Cruising down the hill on her own!
Kate riding the "magic carpet" with Nonna and Papa

Brower holding his tube


Mommy and Brower

Maxwell ready to go!

We were all really hungry after tubing. The kiddos eating peanut butter crackers.
We tubed for two hours and then headed to the original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. The kids were exhausted and crashed within about 5 minutes of being in the car. We headed back to the house for a yummy dinner.

The next morning the kids and dads bundled up and ventured into the woods for a nature hike. Papa discovered a beaver dam and brought the kids down to see it. They even saw a "beaver tail"! Kate told me that beavers slap their tails on the water to warn the other beavers that people are coming. Papa threw a rock in the lake and the kids got really excited that it was a beavers' tail! They also found a tree that the beavers had cut down but not taken to their dam yet. The kids were pretending to be beavers eating the tree.


We had a fun weekend with Nonna and Papaa...as always!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

What a fun family day! Kate, Brower and Chad woke up to find the table decorated with confetti, hearts, gifts and cards. I made heart shaped pancakes, heart shaped strawberries and we had strawberry smoothies for breakfast...all very festive. Kate came into the dining room and said "Mommy, what did you do? Even my strawberries are hearts!!!" She was very excited. Brower didn't care so much about the hearts, he was just happy to eat pancakes. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing as a family. We watched Mary Poppins (Kate's V-day gift), went out to eat pizza for lunch and relaxed the rest of the day. The kids weren't as excited as Chad and I were for our pork tenderoin dinner. They were being extremely fussy during dinner, so we just gave them a bath, put them to bed and then Chad and I enjoyed a nice, peaceful dinner. It was great. We should try that more often! Happy Valentine's Day! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family!

Circus Fun

Who doesn't love the circus...elephants, tigers, people flying through the air?!! Juley, Laura and I took Greta Banks, Sawyer and Kate to the circus. It was a fun night out for the big kids. The daddies took the little ones out to dinner and then back to our house to play. We went to Bear Rock (Kate's favorite- she always gets Macaroni and Cheese) and then headed to the circus. We were able to get there early so the kids could go down to the floor for the pre-show. They had an elephant painting a picture and the kids got to try on the costumes. It was a really fun night! Kate trying on a costume
Sawyer, Greta Banks and Kate during the intermission
Mommy and Kate
Who wants popcorn? Kate trying to do "tricks like the girls in the circus"

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Shy with a little stubborn streak

Today was parent-teacher conference day at Kate's school. After spending some time playing with Kate, Brower and one of Kate's classmates, I went in to meet with Kate's teacher (Mrs. Keeter). Her teachers did a whole evaluation sheet on Kate's social/emotional development, cognitive development and motor skills. For most of the items such as being independent, participating in singing and movement activities and being proud of her accomplishments, Kate "passed" with flying colors. However, when we got to "cooperates with adult requests", her teachers wrote "most of the time, but has a stubborn streak"! I guess they are finally seeing the real Kate! They also said she understands sharing, but doesn't like to. Really though, who likes to share unless they have to! Her teachers said she is very shy and will talk if she is asked something directly. We are working on how shy she is and she is doing much better, but she is still very quiet with other people. We know how she really is at home though! :)
When asked her name she said "Kate Kathryn Cole". One of the first things they showed me when I first got there were some of the crafts Kate had done at school. She loves crafts! I think she asks me at least 8 times a day to do a craft. They said she follows directions really well and can copy an example for a craft. She can complete a 6/7 piece puzzle (way too easy, she did a 100 piece puzzle by herself during nap time-I'm a proud mom!) and she can cut with scissors really well (again, another craft we do on a regular basis). Overall, she is doing great at pre-school and she loves it. Both Chad and I agree that the most important thing about pre-school is having fun! We are both so proud of our little girl.
I just registered her for her last year of pre-school. Wow...where has time gone? I can't believe she only has one more year before she goes to kindergarten. Only one more year to have her at home with me and Brower doing crafts all day. She is growing up so fast. She was really funny today while we were working on a puzzle. I was trying to fit a piece in the wrong spot and she said "Actually that piece goes here Mommy"...."actually", where did she learn "actually"!! She is still a little munchkin, but full of personality. At her doctor's visit a few weeks ago, the doctor told me she would probably b 5'2" and 110 pounds. She weighed 32 pounds and was 38" tall. I am so thankful God has blessed me with such a special little girl. I love when she looks at me with her big blue eyes, cute blond curls and her big smile and says "I love you Mommy!". She is truly a blessing and a miracle. I learn so much about the Fruits of the Spirit by being a mom everyday...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness....it is truly a joy!