Long Couple Weeks!

Thank goodness Murray and his co-resident split this Ortho Trauma month up because I don't know that anyone in our family could take another 2 weeks of this! Haha. Murray has been so busy- and by busy I mean, going non-stop from 7am at the latest to about 10pm at the earliest even on Saturdays and Sundays. We have gone to visit him at the hospital a couple times, and he has come home between surgeries as much as possible, but we still miss him a lot! We are SO ready to have our Daddy back!

Cole started out these 2 weeks with an ear infection, then began cutting ALL 4 top teeth at once, and now has had a virus for the last 3 days causing him to run 103.5 fevers. Poor little guy! I don't think I need to tell you what I have been doing, but let's just say it has been a lot of holding, temperature taking, rocking, advil/tylenol giving, comforting, etc!

However... we did have a couple days (Sunday & Monday) where we felt better from the ear infections and hadn't gotten the virus yet. And thankfully we took advantage of the pretty weather those days and had some fun. Here are the pictures...

All dressed up for church Sunday. Thank you Mimi for making such a cute outfit!

Playing outside Sunday afternoon... we had a great time. He could stay outside all day long!



He was so proud of using "no hands" for his juice cup! Haha.



See him clapping for himself?

Again, his fascination with grass, sticks, etc.



He LOVES tunnels and crawling through places!


Playing peek-a-boo...

And, one of his favorite things about our house is that it is right by a private airport so he can always watch planes flying over! He can hear and spot them before Murray and I half the time. See if you can see the plane in this picture...

Here is his latest trick... blowing kisses! He blows them with force!

And this is why I try to always keep my shades pulled up... he will find a way to look outside no matter what!

Monday, we headed to the zoo's waterpark with some of our buddies (Davis, Max, and Slade). I did more playing than picture taking, but here are a couple of Cole and Davis eating lunch in the wagon. So cute in their swimgear!

"Ummm... I think you have my cheese-it."

Here is a video of Cole playing with his new mailbox. Nonny and Aunt Kelsey found this bargain at a garage sale. Isn't it amazing how sometimes kids will lose interest after 1 second and other times they can sit doing the same thing OVER and OVER and OVER for so long? I personally am thankful for those times of repetition! Haha.

And even when he his feeling so bad, my sweet boy can do something so funny... I have been having a really hard time getting him to eat ANYTHING because he feels so badly so last night I pulled out the big guns... pizza! Of course he ate that! He is a Butler boy after all! =) Well, apparently a few pieces had fallen on the ground that I didn't see because after we were done eating, he crawled under his highchair and decided to clean up for me. Haha.
"Oh... found another piece, Mom!"

"Don't worry, I'll get it for you."

"It's all clean under here! Where do you need me next?"

And to end this post, a sweet smile from a sweet boy in a sweet Mickey shirt. Thanks Easton for bringing Cole back such a cool shirt from your trip to Disneyworld!!!

We LOVE Daddy!

Murray is back on Ortho Trauma which means LONG hours... 16/17 hrs- no exaggeration! Cole and I have definitely been missing him a lot! Here is how Cole reacted when Murray got to stop in for about 10 minutes between office hours and a couple of surgeries to change into scrubs.

He couldn't even get a foot in the door before Cole was dying to play. I try to keep him happy and entertained when Murray is gone, but I know that there is a reason why God gives kids a mommy and a daddy... we just play differently! Cole definitely looks forward to his daddy playing with him.

Here is the perfect example of what I was saying... Cole just LOVES playing rough!

It makes me so happy watching my boys together. They truly have such a special relationship. Murray is such a great dad, and Cole and I are so blessed to have him. We treasure all our time with him... even the 10 minute wardrobe changes!

Rough few days...

Here is a special message for Aunt Morgan... We love you and hope you are doing ok! Here are our long distance hugs & kisses!

Cole and I have both had a little cold the past week or so, but Cole seemed to be feeling worse at the beginning of this week so we went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't an ear infection... unfortunately- it was. The worst part of it all was that they had to clear some earwax to get a better view of his eardrum because his ear canals are so small. Talk about torture. He hated it, and, if you don't believe me, check out his face... if you can see the tiny red spots in the picture below- those aren't freckles. They are busted blood vessels from him screaming and straining so hard. Poor baby!

And to make matters worse, I don't know if he is off balance from his ear infection, more dramatic because he feels bad, or if when it rains it pours, but we have had SO many booboos this week. I'm afraid someone is going to call protective services on me when we go to church Sunday, and they see all his new bruises, busted lip, etc. Sometimes it's just no fun being a baby!

What a Personality!

Cole is becoming more and more like his Daddy every day! What do I mean by that? Well, he is getting more and more personality all the time, and, if you know Murray, you know that he has a big personality! He is always doing crazy, goofy, hilarious things, and now his son is beginning to do the same thing. Cole is such a mess, and I find myself laughing out loud at things he does more and more often. It is such a blessing to get to stay home with him and witness all of his quirky little tricks.

I try my best to catch these funny little things on camera so I can share them, but most of the time, of course, I miss the best things. Like when we were walking outside (he was walking holding my hands) on the sidewalk, and he stopped to try to step on a couple of small ant hills- such a boy! Or when he has been playing hard and pauses to lay his head down and says "ahhh"- so dramatic! Or when I'm hanging up clothes in my closet (with him on my hip of course because heaven forbid he sit on the ground for a minute), and he sees my necklaces hanging on the door, gently grabs them, and says "mmmm" like they are the prettiest things he has ever seen- so silly!

But occasionally, I get lucky, and he will do things twice or I am just already videoing when they happen. So here are a few things I have captured lately...

He loves to eat table food now, and he loves to feed himself. I was so proud of him yesterday because I thought he was eating the potato skins until I went to clean him up and realized that he was just sucking the cheese off of them and then spitting the potato out into his bib and highchair. Here he is trying spaghetti for the first time. Think he liked it!

If you make this one bigger, you will see a noodle stuck to his forehead. Haha.

I walked in the other room for one minute and when I came back, he had pulled out ALL of his musical books and had them ALL playing at once. He was just smiling and dancing to the "beautiful" music. =)

Here is what he started doing while I was folding laundry earlier today. He thought that baby in the mirror was acting so funny!

And here are a couple new tricks that Daddy has taught him. "Hip, Hip, Hooray!" & High-Five!

The "Hip, Hip, Hooray" trick has come in very handy because, now that we are more mobile and still clumsy, this is a fun way to avoid tears.

And finally, here is proof that playing rough is just in little boy genes. I don't know how he learned these things, but if he isn't throwing his animals, he is crashing his train, beating up on Daddy, or something... and he thinks it's hilarious!

***Make sure to check out our fun weekend with Nonny & Poppy below this if you haven't already seen it!!!***

Weekend of Spoiling!

Kelsey was speaking at a girls' purity retreat in Indiana this past weekend, and, of course, my parents really need no reason to make the trip to see their sweet grandbaby so Kelsey coming was more than enough to get them on the road too. It was supposed to rain most all the weekend, but we got lucky and got some pretty weather. We spent some of the day at an outlet mall finding great bargains and then enjoyed a nice walk around the neighborhood before eating a yummy meal at our favorite Japanese restaurant here. I did better about taking pictures... well, I'll be honest, my mom did better about taking pictures. Haha. SO... enjoy the photos courtesy of my momma!

Cole is such a boy... he always wants a to have a stick, a leaf, or something when he is outside. You can see one in his hand in the wagon.

See...

Don't get too excited... It's not Duke. Just his twin. It's a long story how we have ended up with him, and I will share that in another post soon. We are currently trying him out to see how he fits into our family and is with Cole. So far he has been super sweet and so well-behaved. I must say he did enjoy riding in the wagon more than walking on the leash. Haha.

Flying through the air!

So fun!

Chasing ducks!!!

"Oh- Hey Mom! Me & Nonny are having so much fun!"

Checking out the fish at the restaurant.

So intrigued by these huge fish!

Playing rough with Poppy! He is SO fun!

Gonna walk to Nonny...

So proud that he made it! Glad we had our own room at the restaurant because we were having a party!

Cole loved watching the cooking... he sat so still and just stared.

However, when it came to the fire...

He took a lot of cheering from us to feel like it was an ok and good thing, but no tears!

And finally, a video capturing how hilarious Poppy is... and how much he loves Cole to do something so crazy!

10 Months Old!

My sweet baby is getting so big! We just had to buy him new tennis shoes today because he LOVES being outside, and all his soft-soled shoes get so muddy and wet. He looks like such a little boy in them. I guess he is becoming a little boy because he was 10 months old yesterday. Not that he knows he is only 10 months old... he started walking today! He took 3-4 steps twice already today. Once between chairs and once from a chair to the open front door! As exciting as it is, I know that we are in for some pretty good bangs and bruises because he just lets go now and goes for it. Here are a couple videos of him pushing his toy wagon around. He does not hold back at all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiDfV-5C55g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFgvj3Vf3UU

He is a happy, happy boy. Everyone loves his waves and his smiles. He is an absolute joy to watch play, interact with others, and learn. He has always been a talker, but he has REALLY started jabbering now- especially when he gets excited or is trying to talk to little girls (he prefers the blondes- haha!). As far as real words, he pretty much says "da" for everything. Although he definitely says it deliberately for "dada" and "dog." He tries really hard to say "ball," and he occasionally gets that right. He has also said "mama" twice, but only when crying.

He is such a sweetheart and loves to give kisses... just get ready for an open mouth one! He also loves to play rough. He is always making his cars crash into each other, banging his head against his Daddy's, and being thrown in the air or tickled on the bed. He has totally gotten into playing ball and cannot get enough of it. He gets so excited when he sees one of his balls and begins throwing/rolling it toward us.

This is how I find him so often... either here looking out the door or pulled up at the window in our dining room. He is so good at spotting squirrels in the yard, birds hopping through the grass, cars going by, and his favorite- someone walking a dog.

He still loves to look at books and often goes and gets them out all on his own. He loves to point at the pictures, and he is really into books where he can either lift the flaps to see something underneath or ones where he can run his fingers across different textures. So neat to see him figuring things out and exploring.

We are trying so many new foods now. He still eats baby food but has definitely started rejecting it sometimes forcing me to find something else for him to eat. Our current favorite is ham, but today we also tried a new southwest taquito and chic-fil-a nuggets. Hoping to get more into fruits and veggies, but not much luck with those so far.

Here is a video of Cole signing for more and please... I didn't think I was into baby sign language until it became a choice between signing or grunting/hollering. Haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkY1S7p1R44

He is also developing such a funny little personality. He does stuff all the time just because he can tell we think it is funny. He loves to dance- especially at the table. My dad got him doing this crazy thing where he moves back and forth in his highchair. It is really funny, but it makes it tough to hit his mouth when he is eating. Today he totally pooped out of his diaper while we were walking around the mall. He had to go naked the rest of our time there... and LOVED it! When we walked out the wind was really blowing, and he just kept putting his hands up in the air like he was trying to fly away. It was so funny!

Can you tell he likes to be naked?!?!

Here are a few pictures from my first Mother's Day. It was such a great day. Cole was such a good boy. We went out to lunch with some good friends from church, and Cole took such a good nap that Murray and I even got to take a nap together.

That afternoon we headed to the park by our house to have a cookout with our neighbors. Murray got in on a pretty intense family football game with them. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to end a great day.

And for your viewing pleasure- here is a quick video of Cole riding his ice cream truck through the house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKOQRzlScSE

Lots of Catch Up...

We have been so busy lately. I keep meaning to post things, but it has been hard to find the time. To start, we went home last weekend to see our families. It was supposed to be a weekend full of fun, family, and wedding showers... we did have fun, we did see family, and we did have showers... just not wedding showers. Haha. The weather was CRAZY! We spent most of Friday night in my parents' closet because of tornadoes and barely got to Huntingdon because of all the flooding. Here are some pictures of Huntingdon. Most of the flooding was just a couple hundred yards from Murray's house. His family's church was severely damaged. Please keep all the people affected in your prayers. There was lots of damage, and it will take a while to get back to normal there.

This is the car lot where his grandpa works.

These are the cars from the car lot that washed across the street. His brother's car ended up about 300 yards out in the field you can see through the buildings here.

Carwash right down the street from Murray's parents' house.

Pizza place where Murray worked some growing up. A guy at their church owns it, and he had just had the place remodeled. So sad.

Also, Murray, Cole, & I suffered a big loss this past weekend. While carrying in the bags from the car into my parents' house, we thought Duke had followed us in, but apparently he had not. When we realized he wasn't inside with us (about an hour later), we scoured the neighborhood, put up signs, knocked on neighbors doors, etc., but we still have not heard anything. I don't consider myself much of a dog person generally, and I often kinda thought people were crazy about their pets. Never again will I think that because losing Duke has been harder than I ever thought possible. He has been with me and Murray all but one month of our marriage, kept me company all those months Murray had to be away for school, was crazy excited to greet Murray and play everyday, and couldn't have been better with Cole. We are really missing him.

On a happier note, we did have a really great time with family- especially since Murray was able to take a long weekend. Cole had a great time playing with all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! I always mean to take so many pictures while we are home, but somehow I never end up taking enough. Here are a few fun ones from Memphis...

That boy was killing some pizza! Haha.

Poppy was so funny making those cars wreck!

And some from Huntingdon...

Sweet Easton pulling Cole around for a ride in his toy wagon. They had the best time together.

Easton also wanted to help feed him. He actually did a pretty good job considering how much of a wiggle worm Cole is, but he did end up with quite a few bites on his face!

Cole thinks Easton is hilarious! Here is a picture of the two of them, but you have to watch the video beneath it to really see how hard he laughs at him. Of course, Easton is quite the entertainer.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO... (You will have to hit your back button to get back to the blog... sorry, I'm having trouble with the videos today so this is the only way I could get them on here.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcl6qSE719Y

Once we got back home, we spent a fun day at Louisville Zoo's waterpark. We met several friends there, and Daddy even got to come for the afternoon once he was done working. We had a great time, and definitely plan on spending quite a bit of time there this summer!

The family on the pirate ship!

Walking through the fountains... Look at those abs! =)

Playing with part of his new choo-choo train from Mimi...

Hi Mom!

There aren't many girls in our playgroups or at church... can you tell he was mesmerized? She is a little cutie!

Chillin' with the polar bear!

Look at me! So big!

All that playing is hard work! He was worn out! And can I just point out- Look at those eyelashes! Thank you Daddy for passing that trait on!

Testing out the fountains... not too sure.

Please click on this picture to see a close up of their faces... It's so funny! The water was a little cold. =)

At least Mommy was enjoying the slide. Haha.

Getting a little braver now... Just needed Daddy to tell him it was ok.

Here is a video of Cole and Murray walking through the fountains... (click on it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghQ7yX4QSro

As always, Cole has been learning and trying so many new things lately. I know I'm a broken record, but everyday brings something new. It's a challenge to catch a lot of it on video- especially since Cole just wants the camera when he sees it, but here are my best efforts to capture some of the latest things.

This is just one of him thinking that banging his head is funny... I know- not exactly genius, but it is cute and funny. Plus he shows off a couple other tricks in it too.

(click here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci5uE-ptGdM

Here he is making his car/truck noise.

(click here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3oJ19ca94

And here he is driving the truck & giving kisses.

(click here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg7uLm7bRvk

And finally, he is getting braver and braver about trying to walk. It won't be too long now I don't think.

(click here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBJNN4qBLSY