Down the street are these black signs with red circles. Since we moved here Cole and I have always played a game with them. I'll hold him up high so he can touch them and then we'll run to the next to touch it and so on. It's strangely one of his favorite things to do. This was him sort of playing the game without mommy...and I tried to get him to talk on camera. It worked...sort of.

Cole talking more...sort of...

I put Lyla in the playpen probably at least once a day. This is for my own sanity. When they get really mobile it's nice to have a place to play where I don't have to worry about what they are going to get into. Cole loves to join her in it but sometimes annoys her to pieces. She usually recovers quickly from his shenanigans and overall secretly loves that he is there trying to play with her.

Cole watches the way we play with Lyla and tries to mimic us. He tries to tickle her neck but ends up clawing at her face, he plays "peekaboo" but ends up smashing his hand against her face and he tries to play "little piggy" or tickle her toes too. He means well so I try not to be too hard on him and he isn't really hurting her, just annoying. She better get used to it I suppose.

Yesterday I was getting ready in the bathroom and Cole was with me like usual. He grabbed my contact case, handed it to me and said "Wa-wa" - meaning, "Please put water in here." So I did. Then I continued putting on my make-up. When I looked at him again he had water streaming from his eye down his cheek and he was dipping his finger in the water in the contact case and putting it in the other eye. I cracked up laughing. Seriously, so cute to see him copying me. Even to the extent of poking himself in the eye to put in his "contacts".


We've been having so much fun outside these past couple of days. The mornings are mid-60s so Cole has taken off running each morning as it seems his energy is never-ending when it isn't scorching outside. I love it. Cole loves it. Lyla loves it. We are once again outdoors all day except to eat and sleep. I have lots of video from the past few days too. It seems cooler weather has made us all happy and excited, hence making great video memories. I'll be posting some soon!

(Oh yes, and apparently the kiddos got a hold of my camera touched the lens. So I've got fingerprinty photos and video. Hmm...)

Yesterday I was reading to Cole after his nap. He asked to read "Pat the Bunny" and when we got to the mini-bunny book inside he started crying. I mean REALLY crying and pointing to the bunny. Then he blurted out "buuunnny"!

Kristina: "You want the bunny?"
Cole: Nods head and points to bunny. "buu-y"
Kristina: "Okay, well, we can get you a bunny."
Cole: Crying harder, REAL tears. "BUU-Y"
Kristina: "Oh, well, we have a little green bunny in Lyla's toys. Do you want that one?"
Cole: Nods head yes.

So I trek downstairs and find the little green bunny only to find when I bring it to Cole he crumbles to a lump of tears. "NO! no!" (More crying.) I am wracking my brain trying to think what he could possibly want. Then I remembered this bunny from Grandma Solotes for his first Easter.

We pulled it out this past Easter and he played with it making him dance but nothing too spectacular. I put him on top of his closet shelf because his stitching started ripping out. Cole never asked about him when I put him away. Could it be this was what he wanted? No way. Well, lets see.

I pull it down and boy do I wish I had the reaction on video. Running to the bunny and holding out both arms "Buuunny!!!!" He hugs him and plays with him for about an hour afterward. Bunny joins us for dinner, for brushing teeth, for sleeping, for breakfast, he wore a tie this morning like Cole in getting ready for church (and almost came to church). Cole put a bib on him to eat. He gives him kisses and tells him "Nigh-nigh" at nap time and bed time.

Cole has a new best friend. Bunny. And mom and dad think it is utterly adorable.

Lyla was my little princess today. I couldn't stop taking pictures of her because she POSES for them. It cracks me up. She LOVES the camera. Plus she had on a pretty dress. :-)


Oh yes, and Lyla crawls. She usually lunges with her feet and plops her head into the carpet and pushes back up with her arms, but today was different. Today she army crawled to get to the Woody doll on the floor. (Cole would normally NOT have that, but he was sleeping.) She can pretty much get to where ever she wants except back into a sitting position which frustrates her but she is getting really close to doing that too so I'm sure it won't be too long. Before I know it she is going to be running around this place - and Cole is DYING for that day to come. He can't wait. I can.


And up next is my first complex photoshopping - took out all the background. I was going to clear up her complexion and add a different background, but hey, it's getting late. Learning how to take out the background was lesson enough for today.

For the past few weeks I have been preoccupied with other things instead of updating the blog. My apologies. We had Rick's mom and step-dad over for a week and then my computer crashed and my cellphone was momentarily out of commission due to an overload of Lyla slober. Then I was figuring out how to fix my computer, phone shopping (just in case), computer shopping (just in case), creating a brochure for my mom's store and then putting the house back in order. Phew! Now I have some pics and videos for all the Cole and Lyla lovers out there.

So let's see, here's a brief summary of Grandma and Grandpa Solotes' visit. I didn't take many pictures so these are from the grandparents camera.

We went to the park.


Lyla showed off her mad swinging skills.


Although he was afraid to go on slides by himself for a while, Cole is now a pro. He is wearing his new NC Charlotte jersey (where his Aunt Jillian is attending).


Cole got a Toy Story tent which he adores and loves to play in with Lyla and daddy.


He also has a Mr. Potato Head (which he doesn't share with Lyla) and Toy Story PJs. He has worn these PJs nearly every night since getting them. Mom and Dad love them too so we just keep washing them. :-)


We went to Chucke Cheese (and there learned that Cole knows how to say "mouse"). And Cole has a new favorite place to visit and adores Chucke. He asked to go on the merry-go-round by signing horse and saying "neigh". (He usually got very afraid on these types of rides.)


And we had a awesome date night at Miramont in the Portofino Restaurant.

Lyla and Cole both loved the time with their grandparents. It was so fun to play with them everyday. It felt like vacation for Rick and I too with two more adults around all the time!



Last Monday we made a trip to Brenham, TX to visit the Blue Bell factory. Blue Bell ice cream is only sold in the southeastern US so some of you may never have heard of it. But even though it is only sold in 19 states it is the 3rd highest selling ice cream in the US just behind Breyers and Dryers. FYI: the most popular flavors sold are Vanilla, Cookies and Cream and The Great Divide (which is 1/2 vanilla, 1/2 chocolate). Cole loved the cow statue and both kids were pretty great on the tour. It was a lot of fun to have a family outing even though the kids naps were completely messed up due to them falling asleep on the way home.


Now for the videos...

Lyla gets super giddy when she is tired. This is an example. But the laughing can turn to crying really quickly too.

Lyla got a new swing too. She loves it. Cole loves it too...uh oh.

Lyla will NOT eat baby cereal. I tried rice, wheat and oat with formula, with breast milk, and with fruit. None of the above worked. She would crinkle her nose and spit it out. However, she will eat other baby foods like sweet potatoes, applesauce, pears, etc. She just hates cereal I suppose. It is so fun to feed her. She says "yum" with almost every bite. And now if I'm feeding Cole she thinks she gets some too. She will crane her neck and her whole body trying to dive into the food.

And she eats baby puff cereal. Loves them actually. It's a great way to keep her from getting cranky in church or elsewhere. I realized I had never really tested her fine motor skills so yesterday I put her in the high chair and tested them out. Wow! That girl almost has the pincer grasp down (though I'm not sure it's seen here in this clip). Now just getting the cereal in the mouth. Later she realized if she sucked her fingers sometimes the puffs would stick to them and then she could suck it off the fingers. I watched her eat baby puffs for almost a half hour just in amazement at how well she did. This is only a short clip but still for most viewers there isn't too much exciting here.

Cole got an indoor/outdoor slide as well. This combined with the swing saves Mommy from hiking out to the park on those super hot days (though it is cooling somewhat now).

Now I'm off to see if I can squeeze in a nap. I feel a cold coming on. I think Cole has it too. Yuck.

Lyla had her 6 month well check today. She is doing great! She is now 15 lbs (25th percentile) and 25 inches long (20th percentile). Oddly enough her length at 4 months was 25 inches as well. Hmm... even stranger...Cole's 4 month length was about the same as his 6 month length. Either it was a fluke reading at 4 months for both of them or my babies don't get taller in those two months.

Cole's Length vs. Lyla's:

Anyway, being that she now hovers around the 25th percentile her growth has slowed since she was at 50th or so at the 4 month mark. That seems about right since she is smaller than other babies we know at her age now - including her favorite cousin, Ally. But she is still very healthy as anyone can see from her super chub thighs. (Sorry about that babe!)

Cole's Weight vs. Lyla's:

She still has decided she doesn't want to eat baby food which is okay by me. However she is nicely drinking a little water from a sippy cup. Wow! Definitely not like her brother in that arena. It isn't a lot but she actually seems to enjoy nibbling on it and then drinking a little. Oh, and she sort of eats fruit (see video)...we put apple slices in the netting. She sucks on it for a little bit but just tires of it even if you hold it. I just don't think she likes anything but milk - definitely like her brother there! Cole glady finishes these off for her, as well as any baby food I make for her to try. Jealous much, are we? Yes. He wants anything we are giving her.

Lyla loves to touch faces, looks you in the eye and smiles when you talk to her. The doctor said that babies who love to touch faces are extroverts when they grow up. Again, definitely NOT like her brother. So we'll have our shy guy and our outgoing little girl. They'll make a great pair. :-) They already do.

Oh yes, and Lyla is a pretty good sitter now (even though the videos are from when she first started learning). She even rides in the cart at the grocery stores without a problem. It seems so odd to me because she is so tiny but she holds herself very still and enjoys the ride!