They are doing what now?!!!!

Thought I would just jot down a few things that both kids are up to these days.....things change so fast!

Lil C:

• such my sleeper - don't try to keep this one up late or skip a nap, she just melts down (and then becomes what I call the drama queen - flipping around, throwing herself backwards, arching her back - I then frantically search for the paci, close the blinds and lay her down. Works like a charm!)
• When I put her to bed, she loves to play with my hair when I sing her lullaby to her....
• Then when I lay her down, she plays with her own hair - too cute!
• Loves the bath - loves to get on her belly and kick her legs. Also likes flip flop around. She also loves the pool!
• Eats just about anything - no more baby food in our house (once Tucker ate it all we never bought/made anymore!) - she eats what we eat and loves it all. She especially loves whole wheat ritz crackers and grapes (peeled and quartered)
• Enjoys drinking out of cups - open top and sippy! Just gets water for now though.....maybe a drop of juice sometimes.....
• Loves going to Sharon's house everyday
• Cannot sleep without her paci
• Has great balance and is starting to take a few steps!
• Laughs at her brother all the time and loves to chase him around the house
• Wakes up too early for me - 5:30-6am each morning!
• If she wakes up in the middle of the night - gets mad that I won't get her up and throws her paci out of the crib, across the room, and yells (ooh - very indepedent like her brother!) while i sit next to her...
• Nurses every am and pm, takes a bottle in the afternoon at daycare after her nap
• says mamamamama, dadadad, babababa, and lots of other random things
• Loves to clap her hands and wave goodbye
• Thinks Tucker the dog is hilarious!
• Wants to be held most of the time when I am around.... :)
• Smiles at the world
• Loves her daddy so much! (Happy Birthday Daddy!)

B-man:

• Wants to listen to Raffi music in the car all the time
• Wishes I would let him watch Diego and Madagascar all the time (only sometimes, not daily!)
• Would eat a hot dog for every meal (to my dismay) if I let him (I do not!!!!)
• Eats a whole wheat waffle for breakfast every morning
• Loves to eat berries, bananas, yogurt and posicles!
• In the car, often tells Lil C that we are going fast
• Hates going to bed
• Loves playing outside - if anyone around us is mowing the lawn, he HAS to get out his mower and join the fun
• Strong willed little boy!
• Tells me that his phone is his Rescue Pack (from Diego)
• Likes to tell say, "Go Away Monsters"
• Likes to do everything for himself
• Is almost potty trained - yay! Wears a pull up at daycare and stays dry. Wears underwear at home and stays dry.....diapers at night and nap still
• Can't wait to start school - tells me all the time that he is going to school with his backpack like the little girls at day care (and he will in the fall - YAY!)
• Loves to sing songs with me - every night he sings Rock a Bye baby with me when I sing him his lullaby. Then tells me I need to sing it to lil C again (even though she is clearly sound asleep!)
• Loves to read Dr. Suess - and often fills in the words for me when I ask!
• Loves his daddy so much - Happy Birthday Daddy!

Together - the kids are great friends. They play and laugh, also fight and yell at each other. B-man loves to tell lil C, "no no no......that's mine. Don't do that!". To which she looks at me and bursts in to tears. On rainy weekends, they love to pull the cushions off the couch and jump around. In the bathtub the like to "swim" side by side. Weekend naps are a nightmare for me b/c they just talk and laugh with/at each other, even if I am sitting in between them!

Life is good!

Some more pics from our recent photo shoot!

In addition to the great shots below via the link, these are a two of my favorites from the entire album:

Lil C was obsessed with this bubble wand - I thought more pictures would include this bright pink gem! She was only happy when it was in her hands and mouth! Yum.

OMG - this makes me laugh and cry at the same time - how great is this shot? B-man at his finest!

Photo shoot!

Yesterday we met up with Holly from Blue Balloon Photography at the Indianapolis Art Center to take some pictures of the kids - check it out! We did have one small mishap when our balloons got loose and flew away, resulting in a total meltdown from b-man, but he bounced back. Can you belive my lil C is almost one???

http://blueballoonphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/b-two-little-cuties-indianapolis.html

Happy Mother's Day!

Of course, we couldn't have a patio party without celebrating Mother's Day  as well! So after we spent Saturday working hard and building a patio, trimming, mulching, planting, and cleaning/organizing, we enjoyed the sunny Sunday with a yummy brunch to celebrate our hardwork and of course, moms!

Sweet baby C. I never put her in dresses b/c well, they just don't seem convenient, but to the suprise of my family, I did today! Maybe now that it is warm we'll do more dresses. No promises. I just don't have a frilly baby girl (or maybe it is me!!!!)

Happy McCool's!

Hmm - is it possible to get everyone looking at smiling at once. Doubt it. Oh well, this is the beauty of it all and a glimspe into daily life!

Grandma and lil C

Grandpa loving on his grandbabies

Uncle A and lil C, eyeballin each other...

Aunt Nae Nae, Mema, Mama, and Lil C

Have to say, we are a good lookin group!

Mema, Lil C, B-man (refusing to look up) and Gpa R

A special moment.....

Gaga and PawPaw with the little ones.

Happy Mother's Day!

Aunt Nae Nae, Mema, Mama, Lil C, Grandma, Gaga, B-man

THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING!

We could not have done it without everyone pitching in! And of course, the best part was spending time together and enjoying a beautiful weekend (slightly cold, but beautiful).

smile

Patio Party

This weekend we had a patio party. It was great. All three sets of parents came up - Gma and Gpa H, Mema and Gpa R, and Gaga and PawPaw. We also had Aunt Nae Nae, Uncle B, and Uncle A join us in the fun festivities. We accomplished a lot and are so thankful that we have such great family that was willing to give up a weekend (Mother's Day weekend at that!) to spend time digging around and working hard.

To really see the full effect, I am going to post before/after pictures. The before pictures are from when we bought our house a few years back. Quite a change!

BEFORE

AFTER!

What a difference a few years can make! And some time and love!

Here is the front porch - BEFORE.

AFTER! I love having color!

Back yard BEFORE - BLAH.

BEFORE - yuck and overgrown!

BEFORE - whoa momma!

AFTER! So nice!

After - a beautiful place to sit!

After - the tree looks so nice landscaped!

AFTER. And the backyard is great too!

Now let's see this work in action!

Gearing up with lots of sand!

Lots of pavers......time and patience required.

The finished product...

Admiring their hard work.

The Patio Party Crew!

Uncle A, Paw Paw, Uncle B, Grandpa, Papa, Grandpa R

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Fun with our friend I!

Last weekend we had an opportunity to babysit our friend I all afternoon/evening. The boys had such a great time playing. I loves lil C too, and couldn't give her enough hugs. Too cute. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again!



I was crazy about this ball all day - was never out of his hands (as you will see below!)

The neighbors came out and the boys loved seeing Louie the dog.

Run Run Run! Chase me Chase me!

The lil girl was supposed to be asleep (despite how light it looks, it was afer 7pm, past her bedtime!)

But she would rather stay and play. Who wouldn't?

The crew - I have a feeling these three are going to be trouble!

And before I's mom and dad came to pick him up, we thought we would try to clean up a bit....

On Sunday we started prepping for the new patio. The kids snacked while we dug.

This is our yard pre-patio. Tucker is standing on our sandbox top. We got the area dug out and will start the actual process this weekend with sand and pavers! Woohoo- no more grilling on the driveway!

Wordless Wednesday

Water baby

Lil C sure loves her bath! Splashing and yelling and laughing and swimming!  Too funny when she lays down on her belly and sticks her face in the water. My lil water baby!