Back in November, after Cars 2 came out on video, Rick thought up an ingenious family activity night.  He borrowed the projector and screen from church and blew up the air mattress in the living room. I made popcorn, the old fashioned way - stove top, and we enjoyed it even better than if we were in the theater.  We learned Lyla can eat almost an entire large bowl of popcorn all by herself and that Cole prefers to sit in front of the laptop screen rather than see it large.  Seriously, he ended up sitting in front of the ottoman where the laptop was playing the movie. haha!  But we knew he loved it because he requested the movie everyday pretty much until Christmas when his Aunts gave him his very own copy of Cars 2.

Lockport, New York

So we again took separate flights to New York. This time it was because originally Rick was going by himself. Then he was going to bring Lyla, but when the cheapest tickets he could get meant staying 5 days, that was just too long without daddy and Lyla, so Cole and I got tickets too. It was another long day of flying with already tired children but overall it was pleasant.

The very first thing Cole and Lyla did was ride on Great Papa Solotes' tractor. Cole asked to ride it every day and got very adept at it. Lyla even loved to ride it too. So Skip and Papa Solotes would take turns taking the kids for rides.

I was a little concerned with the tight sleeping conditions in George & Yvette's two bedroom home, but it all worked out wonderfully. The kids shared a room with Rick's parents. Cole slept on a twin air mattress on the floor. Lyla had a pack n play. Rick slept on the couch or floor and I slept on another air mattress or couch in the living room. Kaitlyn and Jillian either slept on the air mattress, at a friend's house or Natalie's apartment.

While Rick and I were at the wedding, Cole and Lyla went with the family to a party celebrating a cousin's graduation. They loved it and now Cole gets very excited at the mention of a party. After all, there was a lot to do in their backyard! We later joined them at the festivities.

We went to Darien Lake (an amusement park) one day thanks to Natalie who got free tickets for us from her work. Cole had a terrible allergy attack the night prior and was up until midnight, but we decided to go anyway. He was pretty good considering the circumstances. He rode many rides and enjoyed them but was also very scared in many too...notice the grip he has on Rick's shirt.

He got to ride his very own train! It was man powered so when it would run out of oomph from the initial push they would have to go push him again, but I thought he did great for never having "pedaled" with his hands (wait, or feet for that matter).

There was a mighty breakdown at one point that was finally resolved with daddy beating out little seven or eight year olds to win a cookie monster. Cole went on to ride the bumper carswith Cookie Monster. He did really well for never having driven by himself or pushed a pedal to drive!

All I have to say is "Thank Goodness for Cookie Monster!" I think he just needed a lovey and we hadn't brought his blanket. Since coming home he hasn't been all that thrilled with him other than to sing "C is for Cookie" and push a magnet shaped "C" into his mouth. Lyla finds him adorable and cuddles and lays with him, but calls him "Elmo" no matter how many times I correct her.

Cole got to see a Thomas & Friends show while Rick and I went on a roller coaster. He even participated which was rather shocking to me. (He is behind the "INA" sign.)

And even as tired as he was he wanted to ride motorcycles. I could tell he was afraid, but he held on and didn't get upset. That was a huge leap for him.

Little Princess was such a trooper too. She loved all the things to see and enjoyed the rides right along with Cole. 

It was so great to spend time with the family and enjoy some cooler weather. Although it was unusually hot for Western NY, it was cooler than Texas. We'll take 85 - 90 degrees any day! Cole and Lyla really enjoyed playing in the shaded yard, going for walks with Grandma, playing in the water or going to the playground.

I would often find Cole talking with Great Grandma Solotes in the kitchen. He would go on and on and on. It was sooo sweet. There is a little TV in the kitchen and they would watch it together and talk about it. Or she would ask him lots of questions and he would give her the most detailed answers. Lyla captured Great Papa Solotes' heart right away. Of course he also bribed her with M&M's to sit with him. After that she would always want to sit with him in hopes of getting some chocolate.

We also visited Lake Ontario and went swimming at a friend's home where the girls surprised Cole with some Thomas toys and swimming trunks. You can see from his face he was delighted.

We were able to do so much, but at the same time have such a relaxed and lazy vacation.Okay, at least I was lazy. With so much help around I totally chilled. It was awesome.

And of course Rick had to eat at all the old stomping grounds. We even stopped at a the classic "Reids" for lunch and ice cream with the kids.

Overall, it was fabulous and it felt like leaving home again when it came time to actually go home. The only regret was we didn't make it to Rochester or Palmyra. Just not enough time in five days for all that we would want to do there. Hopefully it isn't another three years before we are able to return and see the Solotes clan!

And THANK YOU to Jillian for the majority of these pictures. Once again, I was a total slacker with the camera.

Lake Hamlin, Michigan

Okay, time to catch up on the fun month we have had starting with our trip to Michigan.  Rick and Cole flew together and Lyla and I took a separate flight. It was the only way we could use our frequent flier miles to go.  Lyla was a nightmare on the first flight but an angel after that. I have to say that the Chicago Children's Museum inside the airport really, REALLY helped to make the trip pleasant and keep Lyla very entertained.  Overall, the kids were pretty good travelers and Lyla was even better on the way back.

I have to say that I was very poor at taking any pictures at all while we were there.  I took a few but I should have taken so many more. It was a beautiful week on the Lake with family.  I was just too busy relaxing and enjoying the grandparents around to realize that I would want these pictures!  Oh well.  Here are some highlights though...

Cole played on this tractor multiple times.  You can see it was definitely a thrill.

Cole and Lyla adored playing in the sand and in the water. Lyla is a little daredevil and kept trying to get you to let go of her. She would just step right in. That's fine on the beach area but by the cabins it is the dock. They would both lay in the sand, grab water in their buckets and pour it on the sand, dig it up and start all over again.

Grandpa Poling brought a fishing pole and a tractor for Cole to play with and boy did he love them both. At any given time you could see Cole outside driving the tractor through the dirt. He loved to roll it down the sidewalk until it hit the grass too.

We took a trip to the sand dunes on the side of the lake one day with the kids. Shockingly Cole wasn't afraid to climb it with Grandma Poling. (He usually is afraid of heights.) Even better was rolling down it again, and again, and again with daddy!

Cole can't even open his eyes when asked to smile for the camera. The combination of uncontrollable laughter, sand and sun didn't make it easy! Playing in the sand and in the dirt with his tractor might be some of the rare occasions that Cole didn't mind being dirty. I love this picture because the dirt is so out of character for him. However, the cupcake mouth is totally Cole. He loves cake!

Lyla on the other hand thinks dirt is her best friend. She bathes in the stuff. In fact, she thought she would try eating it too.

Hmmm...yeah, that didn't work out like she thought.

Although we were there for July 4th, we didn't play with them for days later. Cole really loves sparklers as we play with them at home, but the "Pop-its" were new and boy did he love throwing those at our feet! I totally lost track of time and he was up until almost 11:30pm! I had forgotten that dark doesn't even come until about 10pm there. That was hard for him the first night to get used to going to bed before the sun went down.

Ludington is a great place for young families to vacation. The beach off Lake Michigan is so clean - no rocks or dirt or anything. I think they comb through it every night. There is a beautiful lighthouse to walk to and a fun park right on the beach. We went there a couple of times and played on the swings, slides and in the sand.

Oh, and doesn't Rick look like a movie star or something here. Have to say I enjoy having the casual and scruffy Rick on our vacations! (Um, even though I think those were Yvonne's sunglasses. Hahah!)

We also went to a park on another end of Lake Michigan where most of the boat docks are and the steamboat to cross the Lake. This was an amazing playground - the largest and coolest I have ever seen. Rick and I loved playing on it. Lyla thought she was so cool running around on it with the big kids. Cole somehow forgot his fear of heights and tall slides in the chaos and enjoyed every second. The "bumpy" slide was definitely his favorite.

We also enjoyed the soft, green grass to play in. I miss soft grass. :-(

There was a little kiddie playground too. I took Lyla there and behold, she decided that steps were for sliding down (which I quickly put an end too) and slides were for climbing. Frankly, it shocked me. The girl is crazy.

It was a lovely trip and we can't wait to do it all again. We were home maybe four days when Rick up and found cheap tickets for us to go to Buffalo, New York to attend a friend's wedding, see his grandparents and spend time with his family that was visiting there too. We had not been there with the kids ever so we were very excited but details of that adventure to come in the next post.

Here's a video of Cole and Daddy on the dunes.

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!

Christmas in North Carolina

Here are a few more pictures of our Christmas in North Carolina.

Well, this isn't Christmas but we did put in Cole's new car seat in our car so we could put his infant car seat in the carseat bag already packed for the airport. Cole enjoyed riding in his new car seat but I didn't like it so much because I couldn't readily see him or get to him as easy as I can in his infant car seat. It will be easier when we switch it forward facing. But this picture is of Cole after we opened his new car seat and had it sitting in our living room. He loved to sit and play in it for days until we finally put it in the garage.


Even though Cole, Rick and I all came down with colds while visiting it still was a very relaxing trip. Grandma and Grandpa Solotes totally took over the care of Cole so really Rick and I chilled most of the time and I was able to get some much needed rest with some long naps. We loved seeing North Carolina and enjoying some quality time together. As always, our time together is always cut way too short. However, we were even able to see Rick's dad and brother Jim as they were traveling on their way to Ohio after the holidays. This was the first time Jim and Cole met. Here are the Poling Men!


Cole wasn't in the spirit to open up gifts Christmas morning (a little cranky and tired) but he did open a couple up Christmas Eve - his red Christmas sweater and black pea coat from Grandma and Grandpa. He wore them both to the Christmas devotional that evening. At the devotional they had a real manger scene as well as animals, music, fake snow, and roasted marshmallows. Cole had his first marshmallow and loved it!


Cole warmed up to Grandma, Grandpa and his aunts really quickly even though he didn't feel well most of the time. It was a combination of teething and a cold. Poor guy! Here he is with his runny nose right after a bath.


And on our last evening there eating Daddy's spaghetti and making a mess. Doesn't he look proud of himself?


With Grandma Solotes


With Grandpa Solotes in his racing pj's (which I love).


And finally with Rick and his Aunts Natalie, Kaitlyn and Jillian


Hope everyone had a Christmas as enjoyable as we did!

Busy Time of Year

Sorry! I know it's been over a month since my last post. Things have been crazy here with selling the house, searching for a house, Christmas, etc. Rick has got the cutest pictures and video on his iphone that I need to get and post because I have not taken any pictures of late. I will try to do that over the Christmas break because you will LOVE them. :-) In the meantime, my sister-in-law Jefra posted about Cole and Cannon with pictures when she babysat for us so I could spend the day in College Station home shopping. You can see it here: Rees Family. One pic is of Cole with Santa...it makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Well, our home is sold and it only took about a month! Yea! We don't close until January 27th though. So we scurried to go home shopping in College Station before we left for North Carolina to visit Rick's family for Christmas the 23rd. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to shop until January. It's been an exhausting few days but we found a house we love and hopefully the seller accepts our offer. We'll know tomorrow hopefully. It will be so nice to have that done so we can just enjoy the holiday without that worry.

One cute anecdote...last night we stayed in College Station with Rick. Well, Rick had forgotten to ask housekeeping to bring the Pack N'Play up for Cole and he couldn't find it so he was just going to have him sleep in our bed. He was actually a little excited because he has wanted to snuggle and sleep with Cole for a little while now and I wouldn't let him because I can't sleep with Cole next to me. So Rick kept him on his side and I'm sure he dozed off dreamily snuggling with his son (which I'm sure he loved - I get to do it so much with Cole for his naps - I'm so lucky!) Anyway, Cole started fussing about 4:30AM and it was on and off until about 6:45AM when I got up and fed him. So it was unsteady sleeping for me from 4:30 on but Rick was SO TIRED and said how very little sleep he got all night because Cole would continually roll right next to him and snuggle into his side which pushed Rick right up to the edge of the bed. I just chuckled and said "I told you so! I tried to tell you that you would not enjoy sleeping all night with the little snuggler!" When I nap with Cole, if I move away from him, he will roll to find me and snuggle in. This is totally fine for a nap in my opinion but not so great all night long! Guess dad won't be trying that move again. However, after waking up Cole was in GREAT spirits. I'm sure he was thrilled to have been with mommy and daddy all night.

Bubble Baths in Jetted Tubs

Cole and I went up to College Station and stayed at the Miramont with Rick this weekend. It was fun meeting Rick's co-workers and touring the facilities. It was like walking through the most expensive place I could imagine. This guy spared no expense in building this country club - blown marble walls, marble inlays in the wood floors, fancy fancy furniture, lighting exactly designed to accentuate every wall hanging and pillar. Amazing. Rick has been staying in one of the 15 rooms they have available there (yea, tough life). Sunday night Rick and Cole jumped in the jetted tub for a bubble bath. With the jets, it created quite the bubble experience! Cole loved it. They both looked like Santa Claus with bubble beards. Cole kept eating the bubbles too. I think they stayed in for a half hour and even then Cole didn't want to get out. You can see just how happy he is. They even took a second on Monday morning. Silly boys. Cole just laid back and relaxed during the second one. He is definitely like his daddy. I get bored sitting in a tub after about 5 minutes.


We also took the opportunity to look at neighborhoods around the club and further south in College Station near my aunt and uncle. Rick, my dad and Uncle Lynn went golfing at the club on Monday as well since it's closed to members on Mondays.

Cole doesn't really do well sleeping anywhere but his own room so that wasn't the funnest. He does better if I lay with him on the bed, but I can't move him else he wakes up and won't calm back down. So we ended up just leaving him on the bed and rushing in to get him when he wakes so he doesn't crawl or fall off the bed. He will go in the pack n'play for nighttime sleep with struggles, but I think if I want him to nap at all it will always have to be on a bed with me beside him until I can sneak off. He was so happy to be home Monday night. All day Tuesday he was giddy and silly playing with his toys and roaming around the house - like he had been gone for SO long. Oh how I love my silly boy!

Halloween and More

Halloween was a busy day for the Poling family. The Friday before was Rick's last day working for the Austin Country Club. He turned in his resignation a week prior and offered them up to 3 weeks to stay on but in the end they decided to promote from within and just did it quickly. Good think that was the same day he got a final offer from the Miramont Club in Bryan, TX. We already had prayed about this change of jobs and cities and knew that it was going to happen and was the right thing to do for our family. Yes, we are sad to leave friends and family so close in Austin but thankfully we aren't going that far away.

So for the past few weeks (really since Rick's interview there the first week in October) I have been getting the house sell ready. I felt this rush that I needed to get it done quickly. I am so glad I did. So I've been painting and repairing and getting glares from the neighbors seeing me up on a ladder. They've scolded but they also chipped in to help when they realized I wanted to chop down a tree growing in between our fence and the school's fence behind us all by myself. I was grateful for their help there. I have to say I'm proud of myself for fixing the fence, painting the gutters and wood trim on the house, cleaning and organizing all the closets, etc. etc.

Okay, back to Halloween...Rick painted the chimney as I wasn't about to go on the roof. I'm not crazy you know. We also planted flowers, weeded the garden beds, laid mulch, mowed and trimmed the lawn. Then dad came over, who is our realtor, and took pictures. The entire family took a nap after all that and we woke up so late we already missed the chili cook-off at church! Whoops! We came in time to get a little and to see everyone at the trunk or treat. Well, in my rush to get the house done, I failed to try on Cole's costume to make sure it would fit. When I first put it on him he kind of grimmaced - especially since his feet were pushing, pushing, pushing against the length of the little pea pod! Silly mom! But I showed him what he looked like in the mirror and then he was all smiles and laughs. He didn't mind keeping it on even though he was crunched and a bit warm. He even complained when we finally took it off for the night. I thought he would have been relieved!



Cousin Cannon wasn't thrilled with his costume but he managed to crack a little smile for me...


After the trunk or treat we went to my mom's house. There Cole saw trick or treaters and had his first lollipop! He LOVED it!

So our house was officially listed on Monday and we had a couple look at it on Tuesday. Their realtor called my dad last night and said they want to make an offer but are waiting on an approval letter from their bank. Wow! Let's hope it is a good offer so we can just move on to the next stage. I'll keep you posted.


So ever since planting flowers, Cole has been dying to pull off the mums. So the other day I just let him. He LOVED that. I didn't let him pull them all off though...

Oooh, flowers!

How many more can I pull off before she stops me...

It's okay this time??

So happy to have gotten what he wanted...