Cole turned two!

Here's the birthday boy:

At his two year check up, Cole moved himself up into the 14th percentile in weight, and 77th percentile in height. Because he has moved up, there are no worries according to the pediatrician, and he looks like a healthy, skinny boy.

He got a Hot Wheels trike for his birthday, which he calls his motorcycle and thoroughly enjoys pushing the buttons on it. He loves cars, robots ("robop" is what he calls his new R2D2 toy), and sword fights. He talks more and more every day and has really exploded in personality. He and his sister alternately love each other and fight like the siblings they are. The best is when they are making each other laugh.

Tessa wasn't going to have the camera out without getting in on the action. Plus, I wanted to get her in her Vacation Bible School shirt. She attended the week long camp at a local church with a couple of friends and had a fantastic time. They did a lot of crafts --which is right up her alley.
We invited a couple of friend families over for birthday dessert and had a nice, low key celebration. Cole had a good time chasing people with his foam sword.

Yum! Chocolate birthday dessert and Cheetos with friends. Seriously, what else do you need?
Happy Birthday, Bubby. Oh, the joy you've added to our lives! Love you so much.

At the Car Wash, yeah.

That's right! Scrub that tailpipe!A couple of Saturdays ago we went for a morning bike ride and then washed both our cars. The kids were awesome helpers.

We blasted music, sprayed ourselves once in a while to stay cool, and quickly worked.

Cole looks like a trucker to me in this outfit. 10-4.

In the Summertime...

...we got sprinklers, we got sprinklers on our mind.

Lesson learned: If I want to turn on the sprinklers when the kids are outside with me, they will run straight into them. Can't say I blame them.

We invited friends over on another evening to play in the sprinklers. It's the only way to be outside and comfortable AND I can water my lawn at the same time.

Fourth of July

The morning of the fourth, we headed over to what had to be the busiest church flag raising/pancake breakfast I've ever been to. And, no I didn't make it to the first five minutes of the event, which means I'm pretty sure I've never been to the most important part of these events. Jake was back in the kitchen helping to flip pancakes like a mad man.

We attending a fantastic BBQ with friends that afternoon. That evening the four of us found a grassy area to join some other randoms who had parked and set up a place to watch the city fireworks. We brought treats and water with us to beat the heat and waited for it to get dark --while we listened to the parked ice cream man's van play "Pop Goes the Weasel" for an hour. Everybody cheered when he finally left.
The fireworks were fantastic. Tessa shouted out as they started, "This is the best day ever!" The people next to us gave the kids a couple of glow toys since we must have looked like the only sad family not to have bought any. :) We were treated to some great dancing light shows from both kids prior to the fireworks.

It was a wonderfully festive (and hot, of course) day.

iPhone April - July Photo Dump

Courtesy of Jake's phone:The following is what happens when Mom isn't around and Dad is left to his own hair combing ideas.....

Fishing in Utah! This was from our May trip. And can I tell you that we had some seriously yummy onion rings for lunch on the way back? I love small town hamburger joints.

Back to the fishing... Tessa caught her first fish! She ended up catching three on the fantastic Dora the Explorer pole. Cole caught one too. The weather was cold, slightly rainy, and windy, but we were done in about half an hour. Hungry fish, I guess.





I can't seem to get the video at the end of the post moved up, but it obviously goes with this picture, which makes me smile. It's very "my dad".
My paternal grandparents and family:
Grandma R and Tessa touring the high school/work:
While staying with my mom, we bought a couple of foam swords at King's and had a blast beating each other up with them.
Dad's doing, unsurprisingly:
At the cabin/mountain villa:
Check that place out!!!
Playing with Mama (we make quite the totem):
Erica came to town! We met for dinner and went for a stroll in Grapevine:

Fourth of July --waiting for the sun to go down:

So I Don't Forget

Instead of a "yes" or "no", Cole's responses are "I doooooooo" and "no way".
Every time.
It won't last, but I sure love it.