12 Weeks: Videos and More Pictures

Friday Night: "Mo Pro Joe"

Friday, Brent and I attended "Mo Pro Joe" which was a fund raiser for the non-profit Aid Sudan. Our friend Jess Ray is the event planner for this organization that helps train Sudanese people living here in the states to go back to their villages and spread the Gospel of Christ. It was a wonderful turnout of people and great to hear stories from two of the men returning to there country the following day (Saturday). The name of the event was so great because this event was for raising funds for the Moses Project and there was all the "joe" or coffee you wanted to drink. Creative! Find out more at www.aidsudan.org.

Me and Cole chillin' at "Mo Pro Joe"
He fell asleep like that but I see that he woke up for the picture.
I know it does not look so comfy but he likes it.

Saturday Morning: Photo Shoot

Cole is really getting more into toys. He just looks and studies them so intently.
Also, today was his first time in his Bumbo seat. He seemed to like it. He has pretty
good head support but he still does better when propped up against something.

Smiling at daddy. Cole was happy he made it home from work. He is not
used to him working on Saturdays...me either.

Sweet baby.

For those of you who are able to see Cole as much as you would like...this is for you. :)

Cole talking to me...I love all the sweet sounds he makes. These are only a few and not even his best ones, but as soon as I get the camera he usually stops. I will get them and share at some point.



Playing with his Papaw...I know this is the same toy again...but it is a different video I promise.

A Much Needed Update

Week 10

Week 10 started out with Cole receiving his first round of vaccines. He did so great. Yes, he did get mad with the first stick but he did not have any fever and quickly was back to his content little self. Below is his daddy giving him some encouragement before the nurse came in.



Such a sweet boy!



Tulsa Trip

For the weekend, my dad flew us to Tulsa to surprise my mom for her birthday! Way to go dad! It was a great surprise to mom and she had no idea we were coming. Her friends and I were able to keep a secret. She loved it! My dad picked us put from the airport and walked in the house holding Cole saying "Beverly, I have your birthday present." Priceless.

This is Cole on his very first flight. He did great and he usually does with new things. He was awake for the most part going but slept the entire way home until the pilot came over the loud speaker. It startled him a bit but it just made him jump, not cry. No tears were shed on the flights, so that was wonderful. He had a bottle or pacifier the whole time to help with his ears popping so I will assume it helped. Mine were popping so I would think his were but he did not complain.





Happy Birthday, Bebe! (Oct. 5th)
This is right after we walked in...oh the joy on her face!

Bebe and Papaw at the mall with Cole



Cole and Daddy right before Cole's first movie.
We saw "The Express" on sneakpeek. It was really good and I would recommend it. Cole did great again. Brent and I are really blessed to have such a wonderful and content baby.



Bebe and Papaw at the movies

Our son loves his tongue!

Modeling all the hats at BabyGap

Week 11

My parents came to Houston this week. My dad had some business meetings and they had not seen my brother's family in a few months.

Here is a picture of Conner and Nathan at dinner Saturday night. They are 19 months now. Cole was taking a nap at their house earlier that afternoon and they were so cute how they wanted to see him and make sure he was okay. Adorable.

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Papaw and Cole playing together.

Friday night, we celebrated Uncle Gayle's 75th birthday.
Happy birthday, Uncle Gayle! (Oct 6th)

Uncle Gayle, Bebe, and Nathan

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Week 12

Sorry, these aren't the most exciting photos, but I think he makes the most funny faces.
That could just be the mom in me through, thinking my son is the cutest thing ever. haha.

Being a wife and mom brings me great joy!

Cole is not doing too many new things, but I am noticing him responding more to me talking and singing to him and his toys. He just stares at things so intently, just studying them. I always am wondering what he is thinking about and look forward to the day of hearing his thoughts and ideas, but DEFINITELY can wait. I do not want him growing up too fast and missing the small moments. It already seems like it is going too fast when I put him in "big boy" clothes.

Well, sorry it has taken me so long to get an update up here. We no longer had internet access at our house, so I have to come to Panera Bread. I love it here but I have to plan to come and some days it just doesn't work out. This is the first time I have left my house since Monday. I will get back with you soon and for those of you wanting pictures on Shutterfly I will update that soon too, but it is prime lunchtime here and I have now been here for 3.5 hours! I am surprised they haven't kicked me to the curb yet.

Until next time...

2 Month Check-Up

Today, Cole had his 2 month check-up and first round of vaccines. The doctor said he looks great and is doing all the things developmentally he should be right now or even more. He was given 6 vaccines, but only 3 sticks (they combine them) and one liquid one in the month. He did not like the taste of that at all. The first stick was definitely the worst one. He got so red in the face and angry, but after that he calmed down fairly quickly. Brent was impressed with how fast the nurses gave the shots, but the have to be with little ones and I am glad. The sooner it is over the better. He cried then but it is really all for his good and protection.

We have a big boy on our hands. He weighed in at 13lbs, 4 oz, grew 4.5 inches since birth making him 24.5 inches long. He is in the 92% for height and 85% for weight. All is well!

Toledo Bend Lake and My Wake Up Call

Toledo Bend Lake:

We spent last Thursday through Sunday at South Toledo Bend State Park. Larra's sister Shelley celebrated her wedding on the lake. It was a beautiful weekend and wedding. Brent, Cole and I stayed in a cabin with Brent's parents at the state park. I would really recommend these cabins if you ever want to get away. They were really nice. I didn't have a lot of time to explore the park but from what I saw it was great.

This is the view from the back of our cabin.

The beautiful bride with her dad.

Brent and Cole lovin' the outdoors.

Cole was a little upset so Brody was so sweet trying to comfort him.

Mimi and Papa with Cole.

Just the three of us.

My Wake Up Call:

Lately, I have been waking up to the sweet sounds of my baby boy. He is talking and cooing so much more these days. When he wakes up, he is in such a good mood and all smiles. It just makes me feel good to know he is sleeping well to see that sweet smile.

Tomorrow at 9am, Cole will get his first round of shots. Please pray that he will not react in a bad way and that he will not endure too much pain. I have baby tylenol that I am going to take and ask how much to give him to help with any discomfort or pain.

2 months old

The Astros: Round Two

Two months old and Cole has already been to 2 Astros games! Brent had his second set of Costello Astro tickets the Wednesday night before Ike hit. It was a great game and the Astros won again! They hit a grand slam in the 6th inning and one lucky fan won $25,000 bucks from SONIC!

This time we went with our friends Cliff and Teresa. It was Cliff's birthday the following night. Thanks for joining us you guys, it was fun!

All the Changes

Cole is changing each and every day. He is a wonderful and content baby. He is very flexible with us and allows us to go out a socialize. He is smiling more and talking. I love hearing him in the mornings. I usually know when he is awake by all the chatter coming from his crib. It is so cute!

We went to Bryan for Ike and Aunt Larra gave us this toy for Cole to borrow. He LOVES it! Here is a video of him playing with it. So cute! He is growing up so fast! Thanks Larra, Matt, and Brody! You are already a very good sharer! His face just lights up every time he gets to play with this.

Life after Ike

Today is my first opportunity to be online and on my computer since Monday! I didn't know that I like being connected online so much. I missed it! We do not have internet access available at home right now so I am sitting at Panera, one of my favorite chill places.

We evacuated to Bryan/College Station last Thursday to get away from Hurricane Ike. All is well for us now. We returned to Houston on Monday since Brent had to be back at work on Tuesday, but we still did not have power or water at our house. So our friends Dave and Jess Ray were so kind and allowed us to stay with them. Thank you Dave and Jess! I played the Wii for the very first time while I was there and had a surprisingly good time! I don't know why I had it in my head I wouldn't like it, but it was GREAT!

Our house made it through the storm fine. We had a few small limbs down and alot to sweep up but other then that the house was okay. Brent's truck on the other hand was dented by the very old and rusted basketball goal in our driveway. It is not terrible compared to what could have been and it gives the truck a bit more character.

I have some pictures and video of Cole to post, but I forgot my cord at home to upload them. Sorry. I will do that as soon as I can get online again. Cole's Aunt Larra let us borrow one of Brody's toys he is no longer playing with and Cole LOVES it! He just smiles and talks so much when he plays with it. Thank you Larra!

Soon to come...more photos and video...promise...time for Cole-man to eat again.

Yay! I got it!

Here is our boy smiling! It is not the first time, but the first time I was able to capture him on camera. He woke up this morning about 8:45 just a talking. *He did wake at 4:30am too. I don't want you to get the impression he slept almost 12 hours.* He was a happy boy this morning, so I was able to take a few pictures before feeding him. So sweet!

Yesterday, I needed to clean my car up from our trip. The love bugs were crazy! We had to wash the car when we got to Louisiana and then again when we got home. I am talking covered! So Cole went outside with me in his stroller. He loves it! He was whining/crying right before I took him outside and as soon as I put him in there he was happy. He slept for the most part out there but here he is awake. And don't worry, it was early morning so it was actually breezy and pleasant outside.

He is a growing boy! Below are two pictures of Cole in the very same outfit, only several weeks apart. We haven't been to the doctor since he was a week old, so I do not know how much he has actually grown in numbers. But here you can see how much he has changed by the way his pj's are fitting him.

4 days old

6 weeks old

Is this happening already??!!

I mentioned in the Labor Day post that Cole has been sleeping longer at night this week and a half. Last night, we got home from home group about 10pm, I fed him, and put him to bed about 10:45. He slept without a peep until 7am!!!

Should I not get my hopes up?? Will this last?? I sure hope so, what a blessing!

And Brent and I think we have witness a smile from Cole, but he is so fast with his facial expressions that we have not been able to catch it on film yet. We will keep working on that so you can see our sweet boy smile too. Maybe a video would be better...it would give us more time to capture him.

hiccups video

As promised a few posts back, here is the video of Cole with the hiccups. He gets these just about every day and it totally frustrates him. Any tips on how to help the little guy??

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend, we went to northern Louisiana to see my grandmother (Dad's mom).
It was a great weekend and we were able to introduced Cole to a lot of our
family. We got there on Friday, which was my birthday, so Dad took us out
for pizza. On Saturday, Mamaw cooked us my favorite, a roast dinner
(at lunch), and then we went to see some of my mom's
side of the family. On Sunday, we had lunch with Dad's sisters,
my cousins, and their kids.

Mamaw and Cole.
Cole slept the best he ever has in Jonesboro and he was already
a great sleeper. For about a week before we went, we were putting
him down about 10pm and he would wake up to eat around 3:30am.
The first night in Jonesboro he slept until 4:45am and the second night
until 5:30am! It was awesome. Sunday night he didn't sleep that long,
but he did sleep the whole ride home, but last night he ate at 8:45, went to
sleep about 9:30pm and we didn't hear a peep until 5:45 am!

Mamaw with all the great-grandkids there this Labor Day.
She 9 total and all but 3 live there in Jonesboro. They all
love there Mamaw so much, so we wanted Cole to get to
meet her and know her too.

From left to right: Ryan, Jacob, Jennifer, Ashlyn, Dwight, Austin and Cole.

Papaw and Bebe with Cole.
Mom and Dad came over from Tulsa to meet us in Jonesboro,
so they could see Mamaw and Cole.

"We are all cousins and we are all in green. hahahaha."

Jacob (left), Cole, and Ryan (right)

These two boys are so cute and sweet. I could see Cole
growing up and looking just like either one of them.
Jacob is in first grade and Ryan is three.

Mamaw has a play-dough recipe that I am going to have to get from her.
Brent and I had a lot of fun playing with the Ryan and the
other kids and just making things ourselves. Such cheap entertainment
and a great stress reliever. This is the turtle Brent created for Ryan.

Ryan is a ham and always ready for the camera.

Maci made the trip with us too. She is always a hit in Jonesboro with
all the great-grandkids. They tire her out like crazy and I think
she does them. When Jacob and Ryan left on Saturday, Maci
couldn't jump up on the couch by herself without Brent's help.
Everyone came over on Sunday for lunch, so there were many
more great-grands to play with her. She was so tired that
she slept the entire way home.

My cousin Monica with Cole. We were joint at the hip growing up.
When I was young, I spent a lot of time in Louisiana with
my mom and her family while my grandmother (Mom's mom) was sick.
We had many times of four-wheeling, makeovers,
and watching Mary Poppins and Dirty Dancing.

This is random...
Okay, so I love her hair! And I need a hair cut so bad!
I haven't had one since I just found out I was preggo,
so I would say it is time. Do you think I could
pull something like this off??

Monica's daughter Destiny. She is a firecracker of energy
and just like me and her mom at her age.

I am editing some videos now, so I will post those when I am finished.