Sunday, March 21, 2010

Borrowed Pics

Jefra got some great pictures of Cole and Cannon together as well as some of Lyla. See her blog for details but here are the pics borrowed from her blog - thanks again Jefra!










Saturday, March 20, 2010

Peanut Butter and Bubbles

So I went to get little sleeping beauty out of the car while Cole was in the kitchen...


Little did I know that Cole can turn a half-screwed-on lid and within one minute I came back to this...


My first instinct was to tell him "NO!" but instead I said, "Stay there!" and ran for the camera. He thought it was hilarious too...as you can tell.


Cole loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but loves to eat peanut butter straight from the jar even more (thanks to Daddy for teaching him that).

Cole is just so much fun every day. I want to squeeze him every minute of the day and smother him with kisses. Some days he feels the same for me because he'll give me hugs and kisses all day. His new favorite way to give me hugs is from behind while I sit on the floor. I just love that he thinks he is surprising me.

Cole's new favorite toy is bubbles. "Auntie B" was kind enough to introduce him to bubbles and even bought the most amazing bubbles I've ever seen. Seriously, if you've never used Gymboree bubbles, you are missing out. They float around forever and you can catch them without popping. I think they have silicone in them or something like that. He squeals with delight trying to catch them or just running in them.


Cole is communicating more and more everyday. He saves his words for only the important things like "Mama" (which is for Mom or for Dad), "Papa" (Grandpa or sometimes Dad too), "B" (for Auntie B), and "Beebee" for baby. And he is just now starting to use "Dada" for Dad - Phew! But he nods his head yes and no with the "yes" being so pronounced and in slow motion it cracks us up every time. He signs A LOT and therefore tells us most things he wants. He understands an incredible amount. For example, if I'm feeding Lyla and he wants something that I can't get for him while feeding her, I ask him to wait until she is finished. "Can you wait?" and then he nods yes and politely waits a minute or two and then asks again nicely, unless of course, he is tired and then everything is dramatic and a crisis. I'm going to add a list to the right of the ideas or words he can communicate either through sign or words so the grandparents can keep up.

We had Jefra and Cannon and Beverly, Ally, Jade and Jeremiah visit for a bit this week. We had so much fun. Cole loves visitors and we loved getting together with the babies and visiting. Jefra had planned to stay the entire week but Cannon got a really high fever and since he was recovering from a recent bout of croup, the doctor thought it best he go get checked out. Cannon is such a calm and happy baby it was so sad to see him so sick! We are going to Austin this Sunday and Monday since Rick was asked by his boss to go to a conference in San Antonio. We are excited to see everyone again!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Growing Pleasures

So finally I have a moment to give an update on Lyla and Cole. First I need to catch up from Jefra and Cannon's visit last week. Cole really enjoyed having a playmate. We had the cutest video of Cole "talking" to Cannon on the stairs but alas, I accidentally deleted it so this one will have to suffice. It's cute just not as funny as the other.



Hopefully, they are coming again next week. Cannon had a scary bout with croup last week so if he is all better then they will be here. So hopefully I'll have more fun videos of the two playing. In this picture Cole was showing Cannon this book but I failed to capture the moment exactly. Oh well, they are still cute together!


Cole really, REALLY wants to play with Lyla. He offers her his food, he tries to run cars on her belly and head, he tries to give her his golf club, etc. Sometimes by the end of the day Lyla has been so bugged by her brother she cries when he comes close. But mostly he just loves to kiss her. He is just like his daddy and does it over and over and over again. It is the most adorable thing ever.

She actually slept a lot during the day yesterday so he hadn't seen much of her. In the evening he kept asking where she was. (He didn't know where she was because we moved her bassinet into the downstairs bathroom so we can't hear her when she lets out little yelps or is settling down at night. Is that weird? Yes. But it works.) I kept telling him she was sleeping but he wanted to see so I brought him to her. He then insisted on kissing her and touching her. So sweet!

We tried going for a walk outside with Cole in the stroller and Lyla in my Beco baby carrier. Well, Lyla didn't like that one bit. She wanted to be free. So we headed home and while Cole played in the front yard I put Lyla in the stroller just to sit, and WOW she loved that.


Cole and I often go play outside in the late afternoon while Lyla sleeps. We have about 100 yards or so before we are out of range for the baby monitor so we go everywhere in that amount of space. Cole loves to play in the backyard but really loves the front yard (aka: the street). So I am teaching him to hold mommy's hand if he wants to go further than the sidewalk. He is funny because he has no problem holding my hand UNTIL we get to the street then he struggles to break free. My little explorer.


Lyla is such a joy and seems easy compared to what Cole was like at this age. She has a little reflux which is what makes her cry out sometimes in the middle of sleep (hence the move to the bathroom). I got medicine for her yesterday. The doc says cutting out dairy might help too but I really don't want to have to have my second child on soy if I can help it so I'm drinking milk in hopes her system will adjust. We'll see. But she is a good sleeper. She goes 4-5 hours between nighttime feedings. Day feedings are anywhere between 2-4 hours. Her awake periods last anywhere from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours. And she is WIDE awake during those times. I think I've gotten her used to the fact that mommy doesn't play at night so just go back to sleep. Yea! And I think our little girl is keeping those baby blue eyes. The odds of having blue eyed children were against us but I think we may have a winner!


You'll notice a little peeling on her arms and hands. It's actually all over her body. It doesn't make for pretty pictures so hopefully it all comes off soon. I've a horrible habit of trying to peel it off while she's nursing. Our 2 week check up was yesterday and she is a whopping 7lbs 15oz. Usually babies are barely back to birth weight by then. Like I said, she's a BIG eater. Fine by me since it induces lots of sleep. :-) She's also grown 3/4 of an inch and is now 20.75 inches. That puts her about 70th percentile for length and 50th for weight. So she is slender for her length. She definitely has her Grandma Solotes fingers and nails. They are dainty and beautiful and I think of her Grandma every time she holds onto my fingers.


Rick has been so helpful these past weeks. It is easier for him to stay home during the day on account of his work schedule and needs at the country club, so he has been getting up with Cole and feeding him so I can sleep in a little or take care of Lyla. He'll watch Cole until he goes down for his nap at 10 or 10:30. This has been so awesome. I love to watch him with Cole. He is such a fun dad. He adores Lyla and his tenderness for her just oozes out of him. I love my little growing family!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Baby Lyla and Cole

Sorry I didn't get around to updating the blog as soon as I would have liked. My mother has been here until today which meant any free time I had I was forced to take a nap. Although I have been anxious to share my little one with friends and family, I'm glad I napped. But my sisters have done a nice job of posting updates.

So for pictures of Lyla's baby shower go to Kylene's Blog HERE

For pictures of my new niece, Ally Jordan, born 3 days after Lyla, you can go to Kylene's Blog HERE or to Jefra's Blog HERE. I haven't seen Ally yet but we are planning a trip to Cedar Park this weekend to see friends and family and get the two cousins acquainted. My aunt pointed out today that the two girls have the same letters in their first name - how cute!

Well, Cole has been doing so well with Lyla. He obviously likes her and is interested in her but gets a little jealous when he sees her with mom a little too much (like during feedings). He has wanted to be swaddled like her and has often tried to move her and lay where she was lying. I'm assuming this is to get the same attention she got. Here are a couple of videos of Cole checking out this new baby.





We were switching Cole to one nap but he just isn't ready. He was cranky and waking in the middle of the night. So the past three days he has had two naps, or one nap and quiet time in the afternoon, and he is back to my happy baby and sleeping through the night.

Jefra and Cannon arrived this afternoon and we are so excited to have them here. Cannon has grown so much in just the month we have been here. Cole still isn't sure about this other baby playing with his toys. He just watches him cautiously. At least he isn't yanking them from him or hitting him or anything.

And finally here are a few pictures of our precious bundles.

Day 2 of Life:

Learning to play golf:

And already frustrated:

Relaxing

Daddy Time:

Big Brother & Baby Sis:

Lovely Sleep:

With two children I oddly feel like we have a real family, like we were just playing house or something before. Isn't that weird? I love having us all together!