Fun changes

So our little girl arrived on May 18 at 10:05 pm. Labor was pretty easy and fast once we got going and got the epidural. I was planning to go in on the 19th to be induced, but started having contractions about 3 on Monday afternoon. So Joshua and I headed for the hospital and they told us they were so busy that I needed to wait in the waiting room. So we were out there for about 1 1/2 hrs and finally, after Joshua went and had a chat with the nurses, they got me back there and I was dilated to a 7. So we were well on our way and got the epidural and everything went smoothly from there. She was 7 lbs. 15oz and 19 in long. We came home on Wednesday morning and have been adjusting since. She is such a sweet baby and the boys love her. Cole seems to be doing great, and Parker loves her but is having a little bit of adjusting to do. He is really doing pretty well. She is a really sweet baby and we are so glad she is here. We are enjoying the summer and are excited to have the pool up and going. Cole is doing swim team and seems to love it. He and Joshua went to his first meet on Sat. and seemed to have a great time. He and Luke swam kickboard together. They had a great time. Parker loves the water again this year, but thankfully so far is a little more cautious. He and Cole are getting to be good buddies. He's also doing a lot better in nursery. We had a stretch there when he was hitting quite a bit, but he seems to have calmed down and really loves when Sis. Rieske comes to do singing time. He went to Grandma and Grandpa Pierson's last night while I went running (Joshua had taken Cole to a Twisters game), and when I came back, he and Grandpa had the music blaring (I think it was fleetwood mac) and were dancing. What a fun life my kids have. Cole will start kindergarten in the fall, and they sent him a letter the other day about what supplies he will need and when his open house it. That night he slept with the letter and woke up around 3 am. I was out on the couch feeding Kate and he stumbled out with his letter in hand and said "Mom, what does it say I need to bring again?" He is pretty excited. He graduated from pre-k the week before we had Katelyn. Here are a couple of pics from his program. He was Humpty Dumpty. He had a great year and a great teacher, Ms. Melinda, in pre-K. Life is good here.

Our family

So we haven't been on here recently. Things have been pretty busy. We are gearing up for baby #3 anyday now, and everyone is excited and ready (especially me). We are down to the last couple of weeks now and are very excited to meet this little girl. The plan now is to name her Katelyn Wride. Should be a fun addition to our family! Joshua had a really busy week last week. He hosted a conference for all of the city clerks around the state, and everything went really well. Cole has been busy with school, soccer and now t-ball (Joshua is coaching) and is loving it all. He is definitely ready for kindergarten next year. Each Thursday Grandma takes him and Luke to Pine Forest to have lunch with Ana Grace and it is the highlight of their week. They always ask "When will it be Thursday?" What a great grandma they have. Cole is really a daddy's boy these days and will go anywhere with him, do anything he does, and wear anything he does. He got a new shirt and tie for Easter and had to have his Dad wear the same thing and they wore it the whole day. For any meal we are having and I ask him what he wants, he wants to know what his dad is having first. Cole and Parker are getting to be good buddies and they have a lot of fun playing together. Parker is growing fast. He will move into Cole's room as soon as Joshua gets the bunk beds built. Parker is loving books, especially the Dora books we got from a garage sale. He will sit and read them to himself over and over again. He has a very interesting way of learning things and it will be really interesting and fun to watch him keep growing and learning. He still gets kicked out of nursery every once in a while for hitting other kids, but he is so sweet I am sure he will grow out of it. He goes hard all day long and runs from one thing to the next, his favorite thing still being the dirt and playing outside. Everything in our life is great and we are looking forward to a great summer!!

FUTURE SO BRIGHT...

I dare somebody to say that I don't have the two cutest boys in the whole world! I love it when they come to see me at work--so does the whole office. I can hear them from the front door all the way to my office saying, "see daddy, see daddy, see daddy". It's the greatest thing ever. They come in, give me hugs and kisses, tear up the office and then they're gone. It's the best part of my day!

MORMON HELPING HANDS

Kept meaning to put these pics up and never did. We got to make another hurricane relief trip this year. Gustav wan't near as bad as Katrina, but don't tell that to the folks in this neighborhood. This is by far the hardest work I've ever done--but also some of the most fun and rewarding weekends I can remember. You forge such a great bond with the guys in your work crew. And this year we really roughed it--no Dan Stansel to rent a trail with AC for us to sleep in. Just a gym floor and a fan in the corner run off a generator--not to mention ice cold showers on the sidewalk which are always a blast.

Catchin up

So it has been awhile since I have posted, but I will try to catch up a little. Halloween was great. Cole dressed up as a cowboy for school, a crocodile wrestler with Joshua, and a blue clone trooper. Parker on the other hand was barely able to keep half of an elmo costume on. But we had fun. When Joshua took Parker trick-or-treating, he finally got the hang of saying trick or treat, then didn't stop. He would say trick or treat, or thank you all night long. It was pretty funny. This picture of Parker with his backpack is when we were on our way to church. He loves to wear his backpack anywhere we go, but especially when we take Cole to school and Co

le has his on. They are getting to be good friends and it is fun to see them go off together and play. Cole was making a thankful owl at school and his teacher asked him what he was thankful for. He said Parker. He adores him and I think the feeling is mutual. How fun it is to have two boys close enough that they can be this way. What fun ages these are!

Guess I'll give this a whirl.

Couldn't let Amanda have all the fun with this blogging thing. Have you ever seen something so cute in your whole life?! Parker is our Mr. Naked. Amanda is quick to point out that he is just like his daddy. This was his umpteenth time this day to strip down to his birthday suit. Luckily we ckecked on him on our way to bed--and this is what we found. He is a handful to say the least. He is either the happiest kid in the world, or he's letting you know that he's not. There is no inbetween with Parker. And Amanda lied. This is the picture of Cole on his first day of school. Look at that smile--that boy ought to be in magazines! (I'm not biased at all am I?) Both of my boys are in daddy's boys phases. I never thought that would happen, but they sure love to hang out with their dad. It's the greatest feeling in the world. Cole and I are going to the Travellers game tonight. Parker will be jealous. He'll cry when we leave and it will break my heart--but at least he's at a point where he cares enough to miss me.

Cole's first day of school, August 18, 2008 and Rainy Day Fun

And this is what we have been doing with our rainy days, trying on sunglasses and taking pictures. Aren't these boys so cute!

This is our sweet Cole on his first day of school a couple of week ago. I can't believe I have a child going to preschool, but as you can see, he is so excited.