Cole's 10 month Checkup!

Last Thursday, we had our appointment for Cole's 10 month check-up. He did wonderfully and is staying consistant on the height/weight charts. Here are his current stats:

Height: 29 1/4 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 24 1/2 lbs. (95th percentile)
Head: 19 inches (95th percentile)

Thankfully, everything checked out well and Cole wasn't due for any vaccinations, but we went ahead and got him and Eve their flu shots while we were there. Eve was such a trooper and didn't cry at all for hers, but Cole screamed his little head off! Both kids are doing great and most definitely keeping me busy!

Eve and Cole

I've been writing so much about the new house that I've neglected to update on the namesakes of this blog. Life has been a bit of a blur lately with the two little ones. They are both at stages in their tiny lives where they are needing lots of one-on-one attention. So my days are spent best trying to balance my time between them and meet all their needs while still trying to preserve my sanity! Some days I feel as though I am moving non-stop from 6:30 am (when Cole wakes up) until 7:30 pm (when Eve goes to bed). Of course it is all worth it. I am so blessed to have the family that I do, and I thank God each and every day.

Let's start with little Miss Eve. Baby girl seems to think she is 2 going on 10 lately with the way she thinks she can do everything by herself. And I mean everything! This includes putting her shoes on, getting into her booster seat, turning on and off the lights, putting in her DVDs, picking out her clothes, etc. I'll admit it can be a bit frustrating when I know I can do everything twice as fast for her, but alas I'm trying to encourage her independence so I let her at least attempt to do most things herself. She is currently obsessed with the movie "Wall-E" and the TV show "Yo Gabba Gabba". And she is going through one of her many "I'd rather do anything but eat" phases.

Onto Mister Cole who has really been quite the handful lately. He turned 9 months old last week. Hard to believe my little guy will be one in less than 3 months! For reasons unknown to me, he has turned into quite the cranky baby as of lately. I'm hoping its just teething (he still has zero teeth!) and that it passes soon. If I'm not holding him and walking around, he is either crying or throwing a tantrum. It can make every day feel like the longest day ever when you spend every minute of it trying to soothe a grumpy baby. At the same time, I know how quickly the first year goes by, and that I probably won't even remember this in a few months. Cole is doing great with eating, and we are finally starting to get into eating some table foods. So far he's had yogurt, crackers, cheerios, bread, peas, and carrots...and he loves it all! I will be so happy when we are done with baby food and we can all sit down and enjoy the same meal together!

Both kids are due for check-ups and flu shots in the next month so I'll be updating again then. God bless!

Kitchen

When we first moved in this lovely house of ours, I was on a non-stop mission to get as much painting and decorating done as quickly as possible. Then life got in the way and I began slacking. But for some unknown reason, the bug has bit me again and I'm back to painting and decorating. So get ready for some more house makeover pictures in the coming weeks. I'm starting with some before/after pictures of our kitchen. Really all I did was paint it, but I think it makes a huge difference. Since we could not afford to replace the strange aqua-colored tile, I had to find a wall color that complemented it which left me with few choices. The previous owner had painted the walls nearly the same color as the tile, which I thought looked weird and blended too much. I wanted something with a lot more contrast. So we went with a deep chocolate brown, and I love it! The contrast between it and the white cupboards and the blue floors makes the room feel so much more inviting. See for yourself!


BEFORE:


AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Busy Week

Busy, busy, busy...story of my life...LOL. This past week has been a fun one, as we got to see my sister Allyson and my nephews, Patrick and Harrison. The last time we saw them was back in April, and it is just crazy how quickly kids change and grow even in the span of a few short months. Eve was in absolute heaven being around other kids close to her age! It makes me excited for the future once Cole is old enough to run around, and they can play with together. Fun times!

In other news, we are gearing up for a trip back to Ohio next week! It will be a short one, as we are leaving Thursday morning and coming back home on Sunday morning. We are having a get-together at my grandparent's house on Saturday and it will be the first time I've seen all the extended family in a long time! And the first time most of them will get to meet Mister Cole! It sounds crazy, but I'm already packing certain things and making my check-lists of what to bring along. Once I'm completely packed, a normal person would think we were going on at least a week-long trip! I'd much rather be over-prepared than need something and not have it. I'm sure we'll be taking lots of pictures so be sure to check back soon!

Thankful

My two sick babies are finally all better...hallelujah! Cole just got over a terrible ear infection and Eve is recovering from a tonsil infection. It has been a rough few weeks and I am so very thankful to say that we are all healthy now!

Painting, painting, painting!

I feel like all I've been doing these last few weeks is painting! I am the type of person who won't be able to even begin to enjoy this house until I feel like we've got a pretty decent start on making it our own...and a huge part of that for me is painting the entire house. Unfortunately, there is not a single room here that does not need a fresh coat of paint. The previous owner had a penchant for red and did a quick paint job before putting the house on the market. This means most rooms in the house were white with tiny streaks of red popping thru here and there....ugh! We are getting so close to being done though. We've completed painting the foyer, living room, dining room, family room, and our master bedroom. All that is left is the kitchen, kid's bedrooms, and bathrooms. The bathrooms are going to be a nightmare because we have to strip a ton of horrendous wallpaper off the walls first...fun stuff! Note to all those considering wallpaper in the future: DON'T!

On the kid front, both my babies are doing fabulously! Cole turns 8 months old today! Time is just flying by way too quickly. He is getting so big and more mobile by the second. Whereas Eve was a lazy baby and was content rolling around on the floor until she was 11 months, Mister Cole is already getting on his hands and knees like he is gearing up for crawling....eek! I'm not quite ready to have two kids running me in circles! He is also eating 3 meals a day now in addition to his bottles, and nearly sleeping through the night. We are down to about one night feeding around midnight now and then he gets up for the day around 7 am.

Miss Eve is also doing great. She will be 29 months old tomorrow. Sometimes I find it hard to believe she is only 2 1/2 years old...she is SO smart! And I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mom! She is still absolutely loving the freedom that our new house gives her. Her room is next up to be made over, and lately she has been absolutely resolute that her room will be pink! This, despite the fact that I already had a whole other color scheme in my head...oh well, it is her room. The only area where this little lady is giving us trouble right now is with eating. Nothing really new there though since she has been a picky bird eater since birth! I feel as though on some days, I'm practically begging her to just take one more bite of something so I can have a little peace of mind. But she is happy and healthy so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

No other news here, except we will be making a trip back to Ohio in a few weeks to visit family. I'm sure I will be taking a gazillion pictures and updating here, so check back soon!

Lots Going On!

Man have these past few weeks been a whirlwind of craziness! The biggest thing of all being that we are finally in our new house! We absolutely love, love, love our house...a 1940 bungalow with lots of character, a great yard for the kids, and way more room than we've ever had in a place. And yet there is SO much we want to do with it! The house was nicely upkept by the previous owners, but we have lots of redecorating and renovating plans to make it our own. We are taking it room by room, and are getting close to finishing the family room. Here's some before and afters:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We still need to get slipcovers for the furniture, a rug, and put some pictures on the wall; but overall, I'd say it already looks loads better. Our next area of attack is the foyer and dining room...pictures to come. The kids have settled in nicely. Eve looooves being able to run from room to room. She also loves getting in the pool with Chris whenever she can. And Cole finally has his own bedroom. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is not to have to sneak into our own bed anymore for fear of waking him up! So all is well and God is good!

Cole's Dr Appointment

Earlier this week, Mister Cole had his 6 month wellness check-up, although we are a bit behind because he is actually nearly 7 months old now. Anyways, he did great per usual and barely even cried for his shots! He is currently holding steady at 22.5 lbs and had grown 2 inches in the last few months putting him at 28 inches! He is currently in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. He has also finally started sitting up on his own in the past week or so! It is crazy how quickly both he and Eve are growing up.

Speaking of Eve, my little princess is doing great too! We have been taking full advantage of the summer heat and Eve requests to go in her baby pool at least once a day. Starting next week, we will be able to take her in our big pool at our new house! We are still set to close a week from today on 6/29. We are so excited! Plenty of pictures and a house update to come!

Sleep Deprivation!

I spent the first 5 months of Cole's life bragging to anyone and everyone about what an incredible sleeper he was, and about how he was such a happy baby. And all of it is coming back to bite me in the butt! Over the last few weeks, Cole has decided that sleep is for wimps. And of course I get dragged along for the ride! Somewhere around 1:00 am every night, my little mama's boy decides its playtime. He usually refuses to go back to sleep until around 4 am before waking up for the day at 5 am. I am somewhat of a walking zombie during the day, and pray every single night that this is a very short-lived phase! I'm thinking teething is playing a role in all this because he gnaws on whatever he can get into his chubby little hands.

On a side note, Cole now weighs a whopping 22.5 lbs!!!! For comparison, Eve did not hit 22 lbs. until she was nearly 2 years old! The funny thing is, he really doesn't eat that much more than your average baby. We started solids last month, and he is now eating 2 jars of baby food a day along with his bottles.

Eve is doing fantastic. Such a smart little girl...I like to think she gets it from her mommy! The tantrums are starting to wane a bit, and she is currently working on learning her alphabet. She is obsessed with Sesame Street (particularly Elmo), Barney, stickers, her stuffed lambie, gummy fruit snacks, and stealing her baby brother's toys.

And lastly, we bought a house!! With Chris going to school, we will likely be here in Illinois for at least the next 2 years. So we decided it was time to stop throwing away money in rent, and to have a place to call our own. Ironically enough, it will end up costing us less to have our own house with double the square footage of our current apartment. We are so excited! The house is 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms with a living room, dining room, big kitchen, and a family room. It also has a covered patio with a pool built into the deck, and a nice big yard for Eve to play in. I think it will make our lives here much happier for the whole family. All that needs to be done is for our appraisal and inspection to pass, and we will close on June 29th! In the meantime, my parents will be putting up with us for the next month. So that is all for now...I'm sure I will be updating with house pictures and such as soon as we move in. God bless!

On a Personal Note...

I started Weight Watchers today as I've been finding it impossible to lose the last of the weight from my pregnancy with Cole. I'd also like to lose another 15 or so pounds on top of that. Wish me luck!