Cole started gymnastics last week & loves it. His coordination is quite amazing. It’s cute to see him stretching, swinging, hanging, running, jumping, balancing, riding the pommel horse, doing somersaults, climbing, etc. The only part I hate is chasing him when he loses interest in whatever they are supposed to be doing. I keep having to remind myself that it’s good for him physically and good to learn to follow directions.

We went to Hee Haw farms today with Rylie and Brady’s preschool that Amy teaches at. It was fun, but exhausting. I didn’t have the energy to take any pictures, so you’ll have to see pictures on Amy’s, Val’s, or Julie’s blog. My normally daredevil of a child, Cole, wouldn’t go down the slide, but enjoyed climbing up the hay bails and stairs to climb back down again. He was so excited to see the cows, pigs, chickens, goats, bunnies, etc. He loves to name the animals and make their noises to them. The hay ride was cut short due to the tractor dying. He got to pick a “punkin” (pumpkin). He loved riding the little tractors, but when he started crying cuz a kid wouldn’t let him on the big one… it was time to go!

Cole is doing so well potty training. He’s hasn’t had an accident in a whole week. We still put a diaper on at night, but he does great during the day… even staying dry through his naps. He says his prayers almost all by himself… they sound something like this “Heavenly Father, Jackson & Heidi (from daycare), potty, mommy, daddy, Brighton, Hallie, Gramma, Papa, Jornan, Shellys, Rylie, Saige… and then names nearly every cousin, aunt, & uncle he has… toys, blanket, good boy, Jesus, Amen.

Brighton got a second tooth over the weekend. Hallie has her first tooth pushing up where we can see the corner of it. Brighton jabbers pretty much nonstop. Sometimes we make out “mama”, “baba”, “yeah yeah”… and sometimes there is no sound, just her mouth moving. It’s funny! Hallie can sit up now by herself for a few minutes at a time. Brighton sits too, her balance just isn’t as good so she topples over more often. They both laugh now and have cute little senses of humor. They are both ticklish, but I got both of them giggling so hard last Sunday at my moms just by laughing and talking to them. There is just something amazing about babies giggles that just tickles everyone in hearing range.

Okay, so Cole’s new favorite show is “Super Why!” also known as the super readers… so everything at our house is “SUPER” lately.

Goal: Open the front door and go outside!
Problem: Can’t reach the new lock daddy installed.
Solution: I’ll push the stool over and climb up on it, since it is my personal ladder
Problem: The rug is in the way, I can’t slide the stool over to the door.
Solution: I’ll just roll up the rug and push it out of the way.
Problem: While I was moving the rug, I knocked over the baby gate, which is now blocking my path
Solution: I’ll just pick it up and move it out of the way. Now I can get my stool over to the door.

This was the point that I took the following picture, which luckily distracted him from his ultimate goal… so he never actually opened the door. Okay, I’ll have to add the picture later as I don’t have my camera with me.

Jill: Cole, are you cute?
Cole: Yeah, duh
Jill (in her head): Did he just say “duh”?
Jill: Are you cute?
Cole: Duh!

He has been pretending he is a dog lately by crawling around on the floor, panting, barking, and asking for “dog” treats. He’ll even do tricks for his treats (turn around, sit, speak, etc). It’s pretty cute, except when he thinks it’s funny to lick you. I think he’s going to enjoy being a dalmation for Halloween. He pretends he is sleeping too and snores…. it’s hilarious.

He is doing really well with potty training at daycare, cuz his friend Jackson is potty trained. He does okay at home, but doesn’t get the same peer support at home so we have to work a little harder to keep it exciting. It’s amazing how he looks like such a little kid (instead of toddler) when he’s wearing big boy underwear instead of a diaper. They grow up so fast!

We went to the living planet aquarium on Tuesday when my sister was in town. He loved all the fish, sharks, rays, frogs, etc… but was extremely disappointed to not see a dolphin or a whale. I kept trying to tell him that it wasn’t big enough for dolphins and whales, but it didn’t sink in. Guess we’ll have to take him to Sea World.

Okay, so I’m sure every mother at one time or another is amazed at their children. Yesterday was one of those days for me. I think they are all so stinkin’ cute, even though they each make me crazy at times.

Cole has started picking up the girls and carrying them. YIKES! Luckily I was nearby all 3 times he succeeded in carrying them yesterday. He is trying to be so helpful and he loves them so much. He kisses them all the time, lays by them, wants to “take” (hold) them, and calls them both “Brighton”. He almost flipped Brighton out of the jumper yesterday by pushing the front if it down. Taylor and I both gasped, yelled at Cole, and then started giggling once we realized she had stayed in and was fine – she didn’t even cry or act scared. He is so smart. He is speaking lots more and even more clearly, he sings the alphabet and head/shoulders/knees/toes, he can dribble and pass a soccer ball, hit a baseball, he is learning to catch balls, loves to draw (he does slashes, dots, and circles now in addition to the scribbles), and plays memory with me (we call it match). He is a budding photographer – he loves to get out the camera and take pictures. He got Tay’s camera out yesterday, took off the lens cap, steadied it on the bed, and took a well focused picture of me getting the girls ready (too bad I wasn’t dressed so I deleted it). He tells us make believe stories usually in his made up language, but it’s fun to hear him speaking fast and rolling his eyes to the side as he tells you his nonsense. He says his prayers at night too.

Hallie is into this goo/raspberry/bubble blowing phase. She still will smile at almost anyone that talks to her, but instead of talking – she makes this “goo” sound as she blows raspberries, and bubbles/drools all over the place. She puts everything in her mouth. She can roll over both ways (even in a carseat or bouncer), turn herself, pulls her head up to do sit ups, sits and stands with someone nearby, and looks like she is going to try to crawl at any moment. She’s still weighs (14 lbs) a pound heavier than Brighton, but she’s losing some of her chubby cheeks and double chin.

Brighton has learned to smack her lips and has found her little tongue. She is super smiley, and loves to talk and make all sorts of noises. She makes the worst screachy noises though. She has the strongest little stomach muscles as she is constantly trying to sit up from a laying position, even when she is strapped in her carseat. She too can sit and stand if you are close – she topples to the side without warning. She is getting good at rolling all over the floor. She’s 13 lbs now, but still as skinny as ever. Her hair is growing really well – we love the blonde fuzz!