Weekend in Memphis

This past weekend, Murray, Cole, and I headed to Memphis to see my family, throw a good friend of mine a baby shower, and celebrate Easter (a week early). It was a busy weekend, but we all had a great time. We definitely missed Logan who is having a blast in Chile, but we did get to talk to him while we were home so that was nice. As always, here are some pictures...

Adrienne and I have known each other our whole lives... literally. Her parents brought her (at 1 1/2 months old) to visit me in the hospital when I was born. We grew up no more than a minute from each other basically all the way through elementary, jr. high, and highschool, played tennis together, went to church together, etc. So needless to say I was really excited to find out that she was going to have a baby close in age to Cole. And, much to our disappointment and definitely not for lack of us trying, Kelsey and Michael (her brother) didn't get married to make us sorta family so we are also very excited that she is having a girl... maybe this will be the generation that combines the Nickleson & Daniel families. =)

Our fun GIRL decorations!

Opening a gift from her grandma... it was several dresses that her mom had worn as a baby. Definitely an emotional moment for them... and all of us! So sweet.

Some of her loot!

Some of the highschool/church friends. A couple had to leave before the picture was taken. It was so fun to see some of our friends we hadn't seen in a while.

Easter is still a big deal in our family. Of course, we could never grow too old for the real meaning behind Easter, but we may never grow too old for the Easter egg hunt either. When we started losing interest and Neesha was still little, my parents spiced it up for us by including multiple prize eggs. It has become VERY competitive! Murray and I lost to Kelsey and Smith this year by 1 dollar. =( Neesh actually ended up the big winner as an individual because she took Dad up on his deal of swapping her cash for the secret amount in his pocket... always a risk, but this year she was definitely rewarded! You should have seen her face! Haha. And you know that Cole had to have at least a couple of outfits for Easter... here he is in his Easter pjs.

He was cracking up at my dad! He loves his Poppy!

Excited about the Easter Egg hunt too!

Such a sweet little outfit! Look at that bunny tail!

Not sure what he thinks about the chick coming to get him...

And the hunt begins... Sorry Kels- this one had to be included! It just truly captures the intensity we all hunt with. Haha.

Our prize!

"Did someone say there were eggs?"

Fun in the Sun

We had such a good day today. It was beautiful outside, and Murray got to come home a little early. We went on a walk, played in the backyard, and mostly just enjoyed some great quality time together. Cole absolutely LOVES being outside. If he is ever fussy, just take that boy outside! Haha. Here are some pictures and videos from our fun.

Looking good!

Chasing after Duke!

Blowing bubbles with Mommy!

Daddy put up his swing, and he was so happy about it!

Look at that smile!

So happy!

Here is a video of him in his swing...

After playing so hard outside, he was a stinky boy! He definitely needed a bath, but he wasn't done playing at all!

Also... this past weekend I ran a 10K race. I was really kind of nervous to run by myself in it because I have always run with either my dad or Murray, but it went really well. I beat the time I set for myself by a good bit so I was pretty proud. Murray captured the start...

And here was my prize at the finish line!

Lions & Tigers & Col-e-Bear... Oh my!

Today has been a GORGEOUS day! Luckily we got a phone call from our fun friends Liz & Davis who wanted us to meet them at the zoo! So after our nap (still working on naps... after 15 min of crying I went to check on him to find his pants off and his sock thrown across the room to his rocking chair... slight temper maybe?), we headed to the zoo! It was so fun!
Liz and I made a trip to the zoo last summer, but Davis was still too little to know what was going on, and Cole hadn't even made his arrival yet! Even at about 8.5 months pregnant, I enjoyed the trip then, but I have to say this one was much more fun! The boys were so cute in the wagon together, and they really did like looking at the animals. I'm super excited about the many trips we will be making there this summer! And we are ready for a trip with Daddy too! Maybe then we might even brave the petting zoo...

Too bad we forgot Cole's sweet shades... next time I guess!

Checking out the pretty peacock before lunch!

Ready to see the gorillas...

Monkeys looking at monkeys! There was a new baby gorilla that we got to see too hanging onto its momma! So sweet.

Wild Animals! Beware!

"Ok guys... very funny!" I know it looks like they aren't having fun, but they really did!

Swinging away! Can't wait to get the swing up in our back yard!

Checking out the other kids on the playground.

Not too sure about the slide this time... might be because Momma had just almost let him go down on his own accidentally trying to get this picture.

Worked up a thirst with all that playing!

He really liked the lions. They were the most active animals we saw today.

Our fun zoo group!

Pulling Up!

For all of you wanting to see Cole pulling up... here ya go! Not many places he can't pull-up. Definitely having to keep an eye on him now!


I love how he gets back down too! He just plops right down. Haha.

DaDa!

Murray was out of town from last Wednesday to Sunday for a continuing education course. We missed him A LOT! When you have a husband and daddy as great as Murray, you don't want him gone even for the workday- much less the equivalent of a work week! All day Sunday I kept saying,"Cole, who's coming home today? Dada!" By the end of the day, he was answering me! I don't know if he knew what he was saying or not, but Murray was super excited to hear him say it! What a fun welcome home present! Here is the recording from my cell phone... there is only sound- no picture.

Any Advice???

So 2 new challenges...

1) As cute as it is to walk in and see Cole standing up in his crib, it is making laying down for naps and going back to sleep on his own at night difficult. He hasn't figured out how to get back down at all, and I promise could stand there and cry for hours. I have been going in to lay him back down, but thought I would see if any of my faithful readers had a good solution. ;)

2) Cole is finally cutting his 2 bottom teeth. He has been pretty happy considering, but what have you used beside Orajel? Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!

8 Months Old!

It is so hard to believe that we are 2/3s of the way through Cole's first year! I feel like a broken record, but the time has gone by SO quickly! I went to a consignment sale this past weekend (great deals & lots of fun), and I was buying 12 month clothes! I just can't believe it! He really is changing more and more all the time. Twice today at his nap I had to walk in and make him lay back down because he kept pulling up in his crib.

The main differences that have happened in this past month are :
He is crawling everywhere with ease!
He is pulling up on things.
He is really getting some fine motor skills in his hands... picking up small items, turning off light switches, etc.
He is definitely starting to get more attached to momma and daddy & a little more shy around new people.
He is LOVING being outside.
He really enjoys spending time with other little babies.
He has really gotten into the touch and feel books. He knows all the places to touch.
He really likes to eat (we have to work a little harder on the green stuff), and we have even started giving him a few solids like saltines and small pieces of bread.
He is getting better with his juice cup... some days we have it figured out and others it is just a fun toy.
He has realized that the loud noise outside sometimes is an airplane flying over and looks up whenever he hears one.

These are the main things I can think of right now, but everyday he is figuring out something else about his world. I promise you can just see his little mind working!

Here are a couple videos of his latest new noise...

This one cracks me up because he gets distracted and is amazed at Murray's leg hair! So funny!

How did this happen?

I couldn't believe it when I walked in and saw him standing up in his crib Saturday! I know a lot of my pregnant friends look at this, and I know you have all heard it before, but enjoy EVERY minute because it truly does fly by. I know there were times that I thought the sleepless nights, bad naps, crying, etc. would never end (and sometimes we still have bad days/nights), but it will be over before you know it! Murray's mom sent me a book this week... warning to new moms (or moms in general)- it will make you cry! It's called "Let Me Hold You Longer," and it goes along with this post so here are a few lines:

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts:
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away and leave me to your past,
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts...
The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips.
The last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip.
The last night when you woke up crying and needing to be walked,
When last you crawled up with your blanket wanting to be rocked.
The last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold.
The last time that you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from your past-
Would I have held on longer if I'd known they were your last?"


On a less serious note... I think Spring may actually be here! Cole and I have been loving the nice weather lately and the chance to be outside.

And of course we love our Daddy time!

This was our 2nd day of Mommy & Me, and Cole was happy about it!

He just pulls up to his knees to play all the time now... so big! Stuff like this makes him seem like a little boy now. I can't believe it.

We played outside on the church playground. The sun was a little bright! =)

I love this picture! We are so blessed to have other little ones Cole's age for him to get to play with.

Cole's turn to slide!

Group shot... amazing that we got them to all stay in one spot for long enough AND to actually look!