The rest of Christmas 2009

I know that is not a very exciting title but Christmas was kinda bittersweet as Cole got his first cold a few days before his first Christmas. The cough was horrible but evidently good because he was getting crud out but would gag on what came out and cry. It made me cry too:( Luckily he never had a fever though and was only seemed to feel blah between coughs on Christmas day. The time spent in the steamy bathroom, humidifier, and baby vick's has helped but he still has a little cough left. I have been apprehensive about getting further vaccines (want to spread them out some more than the recommended schedule) but will definitely be getting pertussis/whooping cough since it is worse than what he has now. Ok, back to Christmas. Christmas number 4 was with Russell's family on Christmas Eve. Since Cole was under the weather, we didn't go to church and just relaxed at home that evening. The next morning we did Christmas here with our little family and Santa came! My parents brought some breakfast over and after eating, we headed to do Christmas with Russell's dad's side of the family. Then our sort of last Christmas (still need to reschedule with my grandparents) was with my family on the 26th. Here are some pictures from those gatherings below. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a fun and safe New Year's Eve as I probably won't blog again until next year!

Here is our niece Makayla shaking her groove thang!

I love the next series of photos. 1 of 3: Cole "let me have that sock"

2 of 3: "And chew on it"

3 of 3: Makayla, "Hey, I got my sock/chew toy back! It's ok Cole"; Cole "What happened to my new toy?!"

My handsome boys:)

My mom taking cover from the wrapping paper ball fight!

Christmas numero dos, postponed tres

Our second Christmas this year was with Russell's mom's side of the family at his parents house in the 'ville. This was the first time for alot of that family to meet Cole so it was fun, even though he was a little cranky. Christmas number three was going to be at my Mom-ma and Pop-pa's but unfortunately my Pop-pa has bronchitis so we decided to postpone (did not want to expose Cole or my sister who had hip surgery yesterday and is doing really well today!) I will blog on 4-7 and on our milestone from yesterday soon!

Cole and Grandpa (we were actually the first ones there which never happens!)

Cole eating the paper with Russell's cousin's daughter who is so stinkin' cute in the background.

Two of Russell's other cousin's kids who are also super cute and like to ham it up for the camera like Cole!

Christmas numero uno

Here are some pictures from Christmas one of six at my grandparents in Magnolia. My cousins were still there that morning from having their Christmas the night before so we were able to visit with them which was really nice. Plus it gave us the opportunity to photograph Cole and has fellow 6 month old today cousin Holden!

Can you tell my child hams it up for the camera?

"Ok, we are tired of pictures"

His first wrapped Christmas present (my mom already let him play with the one's she bought!). Thanks for the tasty cd Aunt Susan and Uncle Larry!

And here we are playing with our toolbench from my Grandma and Grandpa. Did I mention that he hams it up for the camera?

I know why the caged dog whines...

Saturday evening we had to take our beloved dog child to A&M's small animal emergency clinic because he was lethargic, walking very little and yelped when he jumped. Weinie dogs forget they are prone to back problems and try to bounce around on furniture like cats and jump in the air after birds (I know, it's weird). Well he stayed overnight and got doped up and seems to be better even though he was pretty stiff again this morning before his pain meds (he hadn't any since Saturday because they gave him a little too much and didn't want him to get any more Sunday). He has to rest in his kennel (hence the title of this post) and he hates it but we are hoping rest and pain meds will make him good as new (could be just a pulled muscle) and no back surgery will be needed (vets like to try this treatment first before MRI's and surgery). I will post about Christmas number 1 later when I get time to upload the photos. If you want a sneak peek, visit my cousin Krystal's blog on the right (Garza Gazette).

FYI

If you receive a present from us this year (and if you don't, we still love ya but are just trying to cut back a little!), the bag/wrapping may be a. wrinkled, b. torn, c. drooled on, d. all of the above because of my little elf assistant adding his personal touch!

"Mom, I don't know where this bag came from..."

A few minutes before...

"Ooohhh, boxes! Let me get out of this boppy..."

Pause for photo op....

"Much better! On my tummy, I can reach a lot more goodies!"

Christmas pictures

Well, we haven't had time to take a family picture yet because we are weirdos and want both of our furry children in the picture which requires a trip to the 'ville with a baby and weinie dog. I did manage to get Cole dressed up last week and take a few pictures of him in his Christmas outfit which turned out well so I don't have to go back to Sears (1. I am cheap; 2. he cried his fool head off last time). Here are a few silly pictures as the good ones will go in Christmas cards!

"Ooh, what are these shiny things...they are my Terget shoes!" (anyone watch SNL and the Target lady??!)

The joys of taking pictures with a curious weinie dog

My photo studio...trying to experiment with natural light from sky light in bathroom...

I had this brilliant idea to put him in his Boppy in front of the tree for a more festive picture and this yoga move was the result!

Buddies

Despite Cole recently learning how grab and pull things (my hair, Baxter's skin, etc.), Cole and Baxter are still buddies. I would not leave the room with them like this, but it sure made for some cute photos. I think Baxter wanted the mobile like in one of my first posts! And then Baxter joined us for playtime on the boppy and found a whole new use for it:)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Christmas Carol

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,

How I'd love to chew on your branches!

I'll put that limb inside my mouth,

and watch my mom and dad freak out!

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree,

How I'd love to chew on your branches!

Me and Daddy

Many of my family and friends have had Thanksgiving blogs but a. I forgot my camera Thursday and b. my mom left hers in Houston so those pictures will come later. Here are two people I am extremely thankful for God blessing me with. I would list everyone/everything on my list of thanks but there is not enough space on this blog and some of ya'll might think I'm weird when I start listing birds, trees, clear streams and other environmental things (after family and friends of course!) Anyways, I would like to know how many people think this baby boy (minus the chipmunk cheeks that are cuter on a 5 1/2 month old than an almost 28 year old) looks more like me than his daddy after this picture....

Voices

I guess we are officially parents now as we have become the "voices in the background"! In case you wondering, he is making that squeaking noise by rubbing his gums over that toucan:)

5 months old

Wow, I can't believe how fast time flies! Before I know it, he will be going to college and getting married and...sniff, sniff....focus on the present and the handsome little cuddler that looks more like his daddy (I think) every day. He is getting so strong with his tummy time and reaches and grabs things in front of him. He rolls from side to side and doesn't get "stuck" on his tummy as much. He still likes to chew on his fingers but has found a new love, his feet, which makes diaper changes interesting. He really loves his entertainment center (thanks Auntie Em and Uncle Ryan). He giggled for the first time this past month and it was at a. Mommy, b. Daddy, c. Baxter...if you guessed c. then you are correct. He enjoys sitting and playing with his toys now but still needs support as he can be a leaning tower of baby . He even sits (instead of reclining) in his bath tub now and plays with all his rubber duckies (we have a blue one, a basketball one and a cow one). He likes our morning and evening walks with Baxter but only if he is facing out in his sling or stroller. He tries to feed himself rice cereal by grabbing the spoon which results in rice on the nose, high chair, pretty much everywhere but the mouth. We will venture into the world of vegetables next month. He likes our reading times but mainly to chew on the books:) He shows off for the camera and as soon as I can figure out how to clip a portion of our videos to a smaller size, I will post some. He babbles more everyday and usually very high pitched. For all those inquiring minds, he still does not sleep through the night but is only getting up 1-2 times now. He hates 1. sitting still, 2. sleeping in his crib (I think because it is stationary, unlike a swing, and no one to cuddle with!) and that is pretty much it. We feel very blessed to have such a healthy and happy baby! Happy 5 month birthday to cousin Holden too!

Our first baseball hat!

Feet:)

80 wonderful years

So my cousins have beat me in posting about my Grandma's 80th birthday party but here are some of my pics from Saturday (if you have time, you should visit my cousin Krystal's blog...Garza Gazette on the right of the page....because she captured her son, Holden, and Cole...who were born the same day...holding hands:)):

Mom's and Grandma's getting all the great grandkids organized for a photo.

"Look over here"

Cole: "Ooh, what is this green thing in her hair. Let me grab it!"The birthday girl with her 8 great grandkids.

Where are the men during this photography insanity? Watching Aggie football like you would expect of 3 former Aggies!

Miracle gro

Wow what a difference 3 months makes!

July 2009

October 2009

Supported sitter

That is the phrase used by manufacturers and experts for this stage. Cole really enjoys sitting and will look like he is doing crunches when he is on his back and wants to sit up (will hopefully capture pic of that soon). The second picture shows our object of fascination (aka Baxter the weinie dog) and the third picture shows our new favorite toy (aka feet)! Sorry the pictures are so dark but I am experimenting with natural light when using my camera.

Freebirds

Cole: "Hmm, what is this shiny thing..."

"This smells way better than rice cereal. Let me see if I can get this in my mouth..."

"Wait a minute, Mom. I wanted that!"

Happy Halloween:)

Old Macdonald had a farm,

Ee i ee i oh!

And on that farm he had some cows,

Ee i ee i oh!

With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there,

Here a moo, there a moo

Everywhere a moo moo

Old Macdonald had a farm,
Ee i ee i oh!

Rice cereal

Cole had his first taste of something other than breastmilk on Saturday when we gave him rice cereal. I say taste and not meal because I think most of it ended up on his shirt and on his face:) We tried again last night and he swallowed alot more and opens up really well for the spoon. I fell bad feeding this to him though because it tastes disgusting to me but Russell thought it tasted like cream of wheat and was tasty (note: he likes cream of wheat and I don't...). I think Baxter will be excited when Cole gets more solid foods in the future like tiny pieces of fruit, chicken, etc. because it will be like treats falling from heaven:)

Cole: "No pictures while I'm eating"

This picture makes him looked like he is stuffed but he still nursed afterwards! Hungry boys...if anyone would like to start making donations for our food fund for when this one is a teenager, I accept cash, checks, and grocery store gift cards!