I love weekends!

Here are some pictures from our last 2 weekends... I'm a little behind on blogs. The first few pictures and video are from Cole's weekend with my family in Memphis while we get his room ready. As you can see, he was center of attention and didn't mind one bit!

This is gonna be a great weekend!

Checking out the pond by Aunt Kelsey & Uncle Smith's house...

Silly Aunt Kelsey!

Doing what they do best... cartoons!

All dressed up for church on Sunday!

Hanging out with Great Mimi & Papaw!

Great Papaw has always been so silly!

This is how you do it Uncle Smith...

Cheeeeeeese!

Rockin' out!

So nice to have Aunt Neesha to help him through the playground!

These cars are so fun!

So excited to spend an extra day with Nonny thanks to the snow!

Thanks for taking such good care of our boy Kels & Smith! & Neesh, Logan, Nonny, & Poppy! He (& we are) is so lucky to have you!

This past weekend we spent most of the time enjoying our own family & took advantage of Murray not being on call. We started out the day at a pet store. Not easy to find ones that still have pets inside anymore, but this one is great!
Do you see these puppies?!?!?

I want this one Dad!

These birds were so captivating to him... we could have watched them all day I think!

Waving hi to the turtles...

Kissing the puppies bye-bye!

Later that afternoon Cole got his 2nd big boy haircut! He did so great for Mallorie, and she has his hair looking so cute! Thanks Mal!!!

We celebrated by throwing pennies in the fountain at the mall. You know you are in trouble when your 18mo old is telling you "I need money, I need money!" Just a glimpse of years to come I'm sure!

And not as exciting, but we hit up the grocery store. Cole did get a giant chocolate chip cookie from the bakery though. Think he liked it?

I think so!

We probably overstayed our welcome at small group Sunday night... but after everyone else had headed home, Cole got fired up.
Kylie was a great horsie! Very calm as you can see by the fingers in the mouth. Haha.

First Will lost his clothes, soon followed by Cole...

And then it was Jackson...

Poor Murray! Haha... not really. He loves it!

All in all, it was a great weekend with our cute boy!

This is actually a picture from Monday, but I liked it. Boxes, laundry baskets, etc. can be so fun!

And for those of you wanting a recent belly picture... Here Jordan and I are at 23 weeks!

Roller Coaster Day!

So yesterday was a great day, but it had its ups and downs getting to the great parts. First we headed to Cole's 18mo. check-up. For those of you with kids, you realize that trips to the doctor are not always fun. He actually did remarkably well considering. They did a developmental test, and he passed with flying colors- especially on his language skills. The doctor was very impressed. =) Cole also has been a growing boy! His head is holding steady in the 95th percentile, his height is pretty consistent at 25th percentile (31 & 34in.), and his weight is climbing up to the 20th percentile (23lbs & 5.5oz). Plus there was only one shot!

So that was a good start... next came getting ready for our Guess Who's Coming to Dinner party. Murray and I were hosting a group of couples from our church last night so I was making a spaghetti pie for dinner. I did have a good helper!


I accidentally dumped the entire pot of noodles down the sink while I was trying to drain them. Didn't worry too much about it because luckily I had gotten a big box of noodles from the grocery and had plenty to make more. That was until I tried to wash dishes, and the sink wouldn't drain. In fact not only would it not drain, but when I tried to run the garbage disposal, water leaked from under the sink onto the floor.

What do I do? Call Murray who is in surgery and then call my dad who is in a meeting. Luckily Dad was able to step out and tried to help me. I actually think it would have worked too except that Drano doesn't dissolve noodles. Haha. So needless to say, after flooding our kitchen, I remembered one of our friends from church in the construction/plumbing business. Hallelujah! He was able to come over and fix our sink in time for the dinner party!

At the last minute, I realize I had forgotten the salad so I packed Cole up and headed to Kroger to make a quick salad. I also had to grab some salt to clear our sidewalk and on the way over to get it, Cole picked up the plastic container full of the salad and dropped it out of the cart. Oh my goodness! In his defense, he was trying to move it from the front of the cart into the main basket part where he was, but still! So I scraped up the salad, went and made a new one, and got home as quickly as I could before something else could happen.

Somehow despite it all, we managed to have the food ready, the sidewalk cleared, the house clean, and seem somewhat under control by the time the guests arrived. Thank goodness for my sweet husband who helped me remain calm through it all! We ended up having a great night and getting to know 2 couples from church that we didn't know well at all before. Funny how on even a stressful, up & down day, spending time with other people who share your faith can completely uplift your spirit and make it all ok.

When it's cold outside...

I've got the month of May. Haha... not really. Sometimes life with an 18 month old is pretty tough during these bitter cold days! He is an active boy who loves being outside, and he definitely gets stir crazy when we have to stay inside the house. Luckily he has a fun daddy who comes up with new & exciting things to do.

"Look at this mom... WOW!!!"

Cole's first big tent!!!

Standing on top of the tent...

This is SO great!

Picnic in our tent... Nothing like cheeseballs!

As fun as the tent was, it might have been more fun tearing it down!


We also try to find fun, inside places to go too. Today we ventured to Chuck E Cheese with Liz, Davis, Jennifer, and Slade. Cole is getting more into the games, and he loves pulling the tickets he wins... until he drops them on the floor and runs to the next game. Here are a few pictures from our time there.
So sweet!

Hey- who's driving this thing?!?!?

Love my cute boy!

The mommies opted out of C.E.C. pizza today... The boys didn't mind too much once they got their Steak N Shake hats! (Thanks for the picture Liz!)


Finally, bible class is always something we look forward to. Friends, songs, coloring pages... what more does a boy need?

Reunited!

If you are wondering from Cole's 18 month post how we were able to paint his room and get his furniture put together and all arranged, it was thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law. Kelsey and Smith offered to give us a weekend to work on his room and to make up for a little of the fun we were supposed to have our anniversary weekend. They met me in Nashville on Friday and kept the boy for the whole weekend! I must say that they were brave, and Murray and I were excited. Haha.

Friday we got the first coat done, went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, saw a late movie, got dessert, and enjoyed hot chocolate on the porch watching the snow when we got home. We actually ended up staying up till 1:15 in the morning which hasn't happened in I have no idea how long. Wild and crazy without Cole around- I tell ya! I even took this picture of the clock when we got home for those who know us and therefore don't believe us.



Saturday, we finished the 2nd coat, grabbed lunch and shopped a little before coming home to put the furniture together. That night we went out with a fun couple from church and enjoyed some adult time! We didn't stay up as late again... we used up our wild and crazy on Friday. ;)

By Sunday we were really starting to miss Cole being around. Not that we hadn't thought of him all weekend and caught ourselves doing funny things like turning the tv down to not wake him up, but we had gotten our project done and had our couple time so it was time for him to be home! Luckily we had church and then small group at our house so the day went by pretty quickly. I was excited to meet Kels & Smith in Nashville again to get our little guy until I found out that night that TN was supposed to get covered in snow that night... and then KY was supposed to get it Mon.

Thank goodness for my generous parents and my dad's large amount of frequent flyer points! They arranged for me to fly home Monday night and back this morning so that none of us would have to attempt to drive in the snow, and Murray and I could get our much missed child back! I was a little nervous about taking Cole on the plane because even though he has flown before, he is a lot older and busier now. He did GREAT though! Everyone said he did so good and asked if he flew a lot. Makes a momma proud!

Anyway... enough of my blabbing away. Here are some cute pictures from our plane adventure today!

Watching the planes out the window and getting excited about getting on ours!


He even got his very own pair of airplane wings & needed to take a picture of them! Haha.


He loved the takeoff and going high up to the clouds, but he was even more excited about landing when I told him we were home because he immediately started saying "Daddy, see Daddy, Yay!" Murray was greeted by a full out run & a big hug and kiss. I'm so glad he had fun with Kels & Smith, but also glad to know we were missed- at least a little. =)

When he got to Murray he immediately told him "I ride airplane. I go high." It was so cute. Of course when I try to get him to say it on video, this is what I get...


We were so excited to get Cole home to show him his new room. I was a little afraid it would be anti-climatic because he is only 18 months old. He really didn't disappoint though. He seemed to really like it and had a blast playing. Here are some videos... please don't judge the lack of pants- they were covered in snow from the walk from the car to the house. Haha.

***Cole was not injured in this video although it was a close call... needless to say after his nap, we are going to buy a step for him.***


Liking the farm theme...


Finding all kinds of cool things in his room...


Bean Bags are so great...


The things kids find fun...


Think this will happen much?

This is more likely... playing with toys in his bed instead of sleeping.

Or worse... pulling all his clothes out of his drawers, tearing up the blinds, etc... We aren't actually moving him into this room to sleep until March so that gives all of you a month and a half to be praying hard that my fears aren't realized. I'm gonna blame you guys if we have problems! Haha!
***Don't miss Cole's 18 month post or the post with ultrasound pictures below!***

18 Months Old!

My baby is a year and a half! So crazy! Cole is getting to be such a big boy. Everyday he does things that blow my mind. It really is amazing how much his little brain is learning and taking in all the time!



He has really started talking so much- in phrases now... so funny! His current favorite is "No, I don't." Guess which one is Momma's least favorite. Haha. He also likes- I get down, I jump high, I poopoo (if only this was before instead of after!), I run fast, I play, I eat, and I drive car. The other day he blew bubbles in the water while he was "swimming." I wasn't paying complete attention to him so he said "Momma, I blow bubbles." Even better... he has started telling the servers at restaurants when they come up to our table that he wants coke. I mean seriously- how can he be saying things like that? (Don't worry... he doesn't get it.)

He recognizes things all the time now too. It makes car rides much more interesting because he is always pointing out airplanes, big trucks, lights, dogs, etc. My current favorite is when he recognizes places. For example, when we pull up to turn into the church parking lot, he yells "Yay, class!" I love it! It is bad sometimes too though because if we don't turn into a McDonalds, he gets really upset that we aren't going to slide.

He can name so many people now and really makes connections with them. We were talking about how he had a guitar on his shirt the other day, and he went on to say Poppy over and over because Poppy plays the guitar. I love showing him pictures of family and friends and hearing him say their names.

His also has gotten really into playing with his new toys. I love watching how he plays. With his new barn he loves to make the farmer ride the horse. He loves his Thomas the Train toys and really any kind of car/truck/train! He drives them all over our house. He has gotten really good with his shape sorter too, and he is getting better and better at puzzles. He always finds the right spot... just has trouble getting the pieces lined up just right sometimes. Here is a video of him playing with the shape sorter. Of course he did all the pieces perfectly the time before I videoed and was getting kinda tired of playing with it by the time I got the camera out. You get the idea though.



He also really likes to color and draw. He mostly "draws" Elmo or writes his name. It is so cute to hear him saying "O-E-O-E." Maybe one day Cole will be spelled with a C and an L, but I figure at 18 months 2 out of 4 letters isn't too shabby! He is great at pretending, and I am very often attacked by a dinosaur or a lion or a snake. He is also a very cute bird running around flapping his wings and tweeting! ;) He loves to hide and play peekaboo or pretend like we are eating or sleeping. I like the last one best. Haha.

He is also definitely growing too. A lot of his pants that were too long, fit now and some he has outgrown lately. Even his feet look bigger to me lately, and his cute little tennis shoes don't fit anymore. Guess we have hit a growth spurt. We have his 18 mo. appt. on Thursday, and I can't wait to see exactly how much he weighs and how tall he is.

As far as foods go, he usually isn't that picky *if he is in the mood to eat.* He loves tacos, nuggets, hotdogs, green beans, FRUIT, cheesy noodles (macaroni), ravioli, peanut butter, and he should have the strongest bones ever with the amount of milk he goes through! He loves to poke things himself with a fork and is so proud of his big boy sippy cups!

I guess we will soon see just how big he really is because we are moving him into his big boy room and bed in just a little over a month. We repainted the guest bedroom this weekend, and set up his furniture. We still have to add curtains and a bookcase along with hanging pictures on the walls, but I am so excited about his new room. I really hope he likes it, but, more than that, I really hope he sleeps! Here are pictures of what we have so far...

Sweet Baby Girl!

Just wanted to share some of the pictures of our new addition. We are so excited about this baby girl! And for those of you wondering- her name is...

JORDAN KELSEY BUTLER

Her cute profile...

With her hand up by her face...

Look at that long leg!

3d picture of her all curled up...

3d closeup of her face...

Watching her move all around on the screen makes me all the more ready to hold her and kiss on her, but considering they estimated her to be about 1 lb, I can wait a while longer. ;)

Life is good...

UT jammies, elmo couch, fingers, Thomas the train on tv... life is good!

I am not gonna go into a lot of details because Cole's 18 month post is coming up, and I don't want to spoil it. BUT... Cole is seriously changing and growing so fast. I don't know if it is the pregnancy hormones coming out in me or what, but I have been so emotional about it lately. I am so proud of the little boy he is becoming, but where is my baby going? He is less than a week shy of a year and a half. In the words of my dad... Un-Be-Liev-A-Ble!

To not leave you on too teary of a note... watch this video- so funny!