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.