We had an absolutely fun Christmas. Cole and Lyla loved all the Christmas lights and went to see Santa so many times I lost count.  We watched a couple of Christmas movies on Netflix and they still ask to see them and question me as to where Santa went now.  We have a couple of Christ centered videos as well. We watched one for FHE the last Monday in November and another for FHE the first Monday in December.  The remainder of the month they repeatedly asked to watch them. Their favorite, of course, was the animated Nativity.  In fact, they asked to watch it again just yesterday. Lyla especially loved playing with the various baby Jesus figurines on the tree and in Nativity sets.

Some fun things we did closer to Christmas was to make gingerbread houses at Daddy's work:
(kids not pictured here but you get the idea)

A visit to Santa Town where you can enter a cowboy town to see Santa and Mrs. Claus in a log cabin, with one of the reindeer out front (a REAL reindeer mind you), have snow in TX fall on your head (from a machine of course), listen to live music, roast marshmallows, see TONS of lights, ride a pony and see sheep, bunnies, and llamas at the petting zoo as well as see other exotic animals and of course, chat with Sheriff Frostbite (aka Frosty).  There are some really cute shops there too.

My parents came to town for Christmas Eve.  We enjoyed a nice turkey dinner - my first attempt which thanks to a fabulous recipe and guidelines, turned out great.  Rick had made it before so I knew it was good.  We opened presents in the morning and then went to church.  Lyla was excited about everything in the stocking but fizzled out when it came to actually opening a present. I'm not sure she was feeling well.  Cole didn't mind that at all though - more presents for him to open!  He definitely enjoyed the unwrapping almost more than what was inside!

I was glad that our kids had fun especially glad that they remembered that it was Jesus' birthday.

A video of the kiddies enjoying the music at the mall...

Spring is here! But it feels like summer.  Either way, it is beautiful here and we are enjoying it.  We actually went swimming at my Uncle's home here in College Station last week and both Cole and Lyla LOVED it.  Neither really wanted to get out of the water except they got cold. Once they got warm they wanted right back in.

I didn't get a picture of the swim but here are some recent pics of playing outside (before they got dirty).  They were just too cute not to share.

We had a multi-day Easter Celebration. Easter morning the kids awoke to a trail of jelly beans leading to their Easter baskets. Once Lyla realized she could eat the beans she followed that track stuffing her face with all she could keep in there. It was a lot of fun to do a real holiday tradition now that the children are getting older and can enjoy it. Later than evening we went to my Aunt and Uncle's for dinner. We got some pictures of the family - well, we TRIED to get a picture of the family together. This is about as good as it gets.

Lyla was already tired by this point. But we did get some cute ones of her playing with the flowers. She loves flowers. It's one of the words she says often.

Cole wasn't quite as cooperative but we managed with what he gave us.

Rick has Mondays off work so we invited some friends over and we had an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard. The kids loved it. And we had a visitor! (Too bad Lyla didn't know who that really was.)

(Her blue lips are from a ring pop. She is a lollipop fanatic!  Just loves 'em! 

Oh, and Thanks Aunt Natalie for my dress!)

Easter always makes me feel so much gratitude.  I love the green coming back,the flowers and the sun (though the sun doesn't really leave in Texas).  This year, I felt especially blessed to have these healthy and beautiful children as part of our family.

We may have our moments of freakish health scares. For example, we found out a couple of weeks ago that Cole is allergic to the sunscreen I used on him all last year. (weird) He broke out in red bumps all over. His skin looked a little swollen for the first day or so. It has been nearly two weeks and he still has bumps on his arms and legs. Poor guy. Why is he allergic to everything?

Yesterday, Lyla woke from her nap with a red mark on the side of her face. I thought it was from sleeping on her hand, but after 45 minutes it had not even slightly faded and was hot to the touch.

I sent this picture to my mother and Rick and asked their opinion. Well, I called the doctor and the nurse said it sounded like heat rash, but if it got worse to go to the doctor. About an hour later it had filled in and was really red - turning purplish.  When she started crying a lot, wanting me to hold her and asking for milk, I knew something was wrong. We took her to urgent care (because the docs where then closed).  They said it was a good thing we brought her in because it was an infection in the soft tissue of her skin. They couldn't say for sure what kind, but that she just needed some antibiotics.  We searched all over for a bite, scratch or other opening where the infection could have started but found nothing - except for what appeared to be dried food by her ear.  The doctor said it could have been an inner ear infection that spread but that was just a guess too.  Odd thing is after waiting for her prescription the redness had faded again and she was getting back to her playful self.  We are giving her the meds all the same. 

Still with all these minor ailments I feel very fortunate. A friend of ours just found out their 3 year old has leukemia and will spend the next six months in Houston at the children's hospital there. I can't imagine.  Upon hearing this I became extremely grateful for temporary skin rashes and little fevers.  We are truly a blessed family.

Well, it appears I should be playing catch up as I have so much to report on and I'm positive I will miss something.  I have been slacking on taking pictures which usually means I'm not prompted to blog. So sorry. So most of these pictures posted are actually from the worst camera known to man on the market today - my 2.0mpx cellphone.  It's a nifty tiny thing but, man, does it take awful pictures.  I just have forgotten to put my camera or ipod in my purse. Well, also because the camera seems to be having lighting issues too.  I'm hoping a new battery will help that out.  Anyway...

Christmas was so fun for the kids.  Cole & Lyla love absolutely everything they received and play with all of it.  This has been so great because they have started to play together and without Mom!  We spent Christmas in Austin.  And sadly, I only have one picture.  Lyla doesn't really like to use walkers anymore or even hold your hands and walk. She is determined to stay a crawler because she is TOO AFRAID of getting hurt.  She won't even go up the stairs at all - not even one step - because she got hurt once.  So seeing this event was big.

She definitely is strong willed this girl.  Many times she refuses to eat unless I give her something she can feed herself.  She loves to make a mess with food. Even if I'm feeding her she will put her fingers in her mouth (I guess to feel it) and then get it all over her face and everywhere else.  Yes, feeding a child is such joy.  She has even refused to eat in her highchair because Cole and I were not sitting down.  (i.e. I was making waffles and feeding them to Cole while I cooked more.  She wouldn't eat anything and sat in her chair making sad faces, sucking her fingers and moaning.  I picked her up and she signed "eat" and then proceeded to eat an entire waffle while being held.  Silly girl!)  But she is such a delight.  Truly there could be no better temperament on any child.  Just a little determined, which isn't a bad thing at all.  I know she isn't the happiest in this picture but she was just dang cute being all demanding!

Here is one picture from my phone after Christmas. Actually this was taken the same day as the above highchair pic. Don't ask me why I didn't grab the camera instead. 

What have we been doing with all of our time you ask?  Well, on the nice days (which have been many until this week) we go to the park down the street.  Cole does his usual digging in the rocks but has backed off the slide.  He seems to have developed an odd fear of heights.  Nothing has happened to him (that we know of), but he just is afraid now. I don't know if this is a phase he will grow out of or not.

Lyla would love it if she stayed all day in the swings.

Sometimes we go see the ducks at the community park. We discovered these ducks as we went to see the lights at the park.  Cole loves them and they are not afraid of you.  I don't usually bring food for them because Cole is usually hesitant for them to get really close so I don't want to give them any reason to come closer.

Last week was bedding and towels wash day. The kids were in such good moods which made it so much easier for me to be busy doing chores.  But they were so dang cute I quit working and just started playing and taking pics.

Like I said, we were washing bedding. They love the guest bed the most to play on. Maybe because that room is so sunny. Who knows. But they were stinkin fun to watch! They were just moving around too quick for my dying batteries in the camera to get any really great shots.

Lyla will pose for pictures or depending on her mood, lunge at the camera. Example:

But Cole almost never looks at the camera.  He always moves right before you take it and they end up like this.  You can see that he is just thrilled with himself for tricking me once again. I'm glad he gets such joy out of the little moments in life.

But Daddy can hold him still for a minute so I can at least get a pic of those precious eyes.

And here they are being so, so, so cute. Oh, and one more thing...Cole often doesn't like to get fully changed. If it's bedtime, he will want to keep his shirt on usually. If it's morning, sometimes he will only let you put a new shirt on and keep his PJ pants on. This was one of those mornings.

Yes, Lyla sometimes gives kisses open mouthed. You never know what you are going to get! But that's why Cole wouldn't kiss her back. Haha!

Each Christmas season we say we are going to get out Christmas cards. Yes, it is a dying tradition, but I love getting them and so I should be sending them. But, alas, another season will pass and I will NOT get them out. Life is pretty busy and hectic but so delightful too. I love this time of year. 

Christmas and Easter are my favorite times.  I love the slight chill in the Texas air (nope, not a fan of cold). I love the newness of life around Easter. Truly the two are linked for we would have no Christmas, no rejoicing, no giving if there was no Easter. We celebrate Jesus' birth because of the life he lived and the sacrifice he gave.  We celebrate Christmas and show our love for others because He loved us. 

No matter what you may believe, it can be an occasion to give and to love.  It need not be founded in a faith in Christ, but I am grateful for the faith that I have.  This is a video reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas set to a beautiful song.  I rarely share personal insights like this or even topics at all related to religion, but I felt it important to share a little of the joy that is taking place in our home at this time of year and this video and song represented it perfectly. I hope you take it as a little "Christmas Card" from the Polings.  Maybe next year we will finally get the real thing out. Merry Christmas!

So many things going on!! First, Thanksgiving was fabulous at my Uncle and Aunt's home here in College Station. My brother Robert and his family came into town and stayed at our house afterward as well. Cole loves their kids and Ally is the same age as Lyla. It was so fun to see them interact. Ally is afraid of everyone really but she adores Cole, and vice versa. She would let him kiss her and hug her. He was so gentle about it too. Jade is 8 and Jeremiah (aka "T") is 7 so Cole enjoyed hanging with the big kids. I guess T slept a little bit in the rocking chair in Cole's room and Cole still talks about it. He loves re-living past events. As a matter of fact, he still tells stories of when Grandpa Poling was here and when playing with a toy one of his grandparents gave him he will tell me which one as he picks it up to play with it. I love it. I love hearing what is on his mind.

Speaking of what is on his mind, it seems to be going POTTY! A few days ago he pulled off his shorts and tried to take his diaper off. I asked him what he was doing and then wondered if he wanted to go potty. He said "Yes" (which he pronounces "hh-es"). And, well, HE DID. And he goes at least twice a day if not more now. I ask occasionally and sometimes he wants to and others he doesn't. Sometimes he comes to me and asks. My little baby is growing up!

Lyla is back to her bubbly self. She is still hesitant to walk. I think it is because she is always so dramatic when she falls or bumps her head, etc. She wants to do it without falls I think. However, she has popped a second tooth and I noticed the top two are coming in as well so perhaps her head is elsewhere and less focused on walking. She laughs so much. She thinks it is hilarious to put her finger in your mouth. Oh yes, and mommy is trying to wean her completely. She nurses 1-2 times a day now and takes formula for the remainder. She has been wanting to nurse more with this new tooth though. I'm just ready to be done though. Odd, I know but I have my reasons which are probably TMI for the blog. Anyway, I'm glad to have my little personality back after her ear infections and virus. It took a bit to recoup from all that. Oh yes! And she sleeps through the night!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! And here she is just being Lyla.

While Robert and Beverly and family were here we went to Santa's Village here in town. It was a very magical place with little shops, petting zoo, bullrides, smores, firepits, etc. Like stepping into a winter cowboy town. Here are some pics from the event.

The family in front of the TX Flag of Lights

Ally and Lyla. It was COLD that night (well, for TX). Of course it was 70's a day later.

Cole, Jeremiah and Jade in the fake snow.

The family with Frosty (they call him Frostbite).

My kids are just growing up so quickly!


Lyla is starting to crawl in a more traditional manner, though she still plops to her belly and army crawls. Her preference is standing mostly. She can hold a stand using pure balance and determination for up to about 5 or 6 seconds. She is speedy at getting away from me during diaper and clothing changes. But she is so cute and proud of herself for her accomplishment it just makes it funny.


She enjoys eating baby food now but prefers whatever we are eating. You can tell when she really likes something because she'll make "yummy" sounds. I love finding things she loves to eat!

Cole gets jealous of Lyla at times but mostly adores his sister and enjoys playing with her. He is looking forward to her being stronger and able to take his wrestling easier.

This is a funny clip of Cole dancing to the music on Toy Story. He was very excited this day. He was eating cold rigatoni pasta and calling it cheese. He ate it like candy.

See these two large balls? We have these as $2 alternatives to what he wanted at Target. I don't remember what it was he wanted when I got the green one, but I got it because he doesn't really have many soft balls at home to play with and he seems to like the larger ones. I got the red one because he was SO UPSET that I wouldn't buy him a baby doll that crawls. He saw it on the shelf and just went crazy. He put it in the basket and begged for the "Beebee!" Usually he is pretty good at getting distracted and we can leave the store peaceably but not this time. I tried telling him he has a REAL baby at home and doesn't need a fake one. That obviously didn't cut it. The ball didn't take away all his complaining for the baby but I wasn't going to fight two wants at 8 in the evening. I gave in to the ball. He loves them. They're cheap and fun. The only problem? He wants to sit on them but doesn't like falling off.


Saturday before Halloween was full of fun, fun, fun. Cole dressed up like Woody from Toy Story, minus the actual shirt and he refused to put on the boots. His hat looks like a Mexican Sombrero here too. Actually he fought me putting it all on. After all, I had just woken him up early from his nap in order to get them both ready for the Hay Ride at Miramont as well as the Trunk or Treat at church. You can see how excited he was about getting dressed up.


The activity at Miramont was small but very nice. Cole decorated a pumpkin with puffy stickers and sugar cookies with all sorts of candy and icing.

This is Lyla in her pea pod. It was Cole's costume from last year. He wore it (okay, squeezed into it) at 12 months old. Lyla didn't even wear it as well as Cole (aka, squeezing into it even more) at only 8 months!

A few minutes later she was like this...and stayed so pretty much the rest of the evening.

Cole loved the Hay Ride because he is VERY into tractors from "Cars" and from the construction going on in front of our house. Here he is with daddy on the ride while eating candy.


Here are a few more pics from the Miramont event.


Afterward we went to the Trunk or Treat at church. If you have never heard of one before let me sum it up. People open their trunks up in the parking lot and pass out candy. Some decorate them, some don't. And kids go from car to car "trunk or treating" instead of house to house. It's a safer and faster version of the traditional Halloween routine. It is rowdy and so much fun. There were about 50-60 cars there I think so LOTS of candy, though I didn't let Cole take any home actually.

Halloween day was pretty calm. We didn't even get many kids by the house. I think we just live too far back in our neighborhood because there were TONS of people up near the entrance. Cole and Daddy played with some sparklers outside but we didn't go out other than that.

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!

Holidays and Updates

The past few months Rick has been taking pictures and video with his iPhone. I haven't been able to get them easily since Rick is working in College Station. For the holidays, we traveled to North Carolina to visit Rick's family. We've all been a little sick but it hasn't stopped us from having a relaxing visit and it is so fun to watch Cole with his Grandma and Grandpa Solotes and his young Aunts. I thought I would take advantage of the time with Rick's iPhone and update the blog with some fun pics and video.

Here he is in his raccoon hat and his cup of milk.

And on the slide at the park

Grandpa Poling came to visit before Christmas. We were so happy that Cole warmed up to him very quickly.

Cole playing at Daddy's desk

Cole and Grandpa Solotes

Cute pics of Cole and Daddy




Videos:

This is Cole and Cannon "playing" while we were babysitting for Ryan and Jefra. Cole was being pretty possessive with his toys and attempted to push Cannon away twice. What is so funny to us is he is trying to play AND watch his Baby Signing Time Video. He is a man of many talents!


Rick has a new administrative assistant at Miramont, we don't think he will last long though and he may be needing a new keyboard soon.


Cole is starting to push things to walk and he loves pushing this ottoman that is in the room Rick is staying in at one of the suites at Miramont. (And you can see I'm very pregnant.)


Cole loves the playground. He loves the swings - especially if you stand close where his feet will hit you and he likes to go down the slide but also tries to climb up it. He gets very upset if you don't let him crawl around in the wood chips or small rocks depending on which park we go to. He prefers the rocks and throws them up onto the slide and always attempts to put them in his mouth but gives mom a look before doing so, then slowly drops them as I shake my head no. What a character!