Graduation 2011

Jordan and I both graduated this weekend. Jordan graduated from UW-Stout with his Bachelors in Business Administration. I graduated from UW-LaCrosse with my Master of Education in Professional Development. We started the journey to the northwest at 4 am Saturday morning. We went to Jordan's ceremony and then out to lunch. We then headed to LaCrosse for fun sleeping at a hotel and doing a little shopping. Cole got to swim in the pool...wish I had pictures! I graduated this morning and then we were back home by 4:00pm. It was a whirlwind weekend but it was fun to celebrate with family. Proud of Jordan for finishing. Proud of Cole for being so good all weekend! :) And I am SO thankful to be done and to have went through this two years with Nikki!

Fun Fact: Only 1% of the population has their masters degree!
We learned that today! :)

New House Video

We are moved in! My parents and grandparents were here today and we now have pictures hung on the walls. It is really feeling like our house now. The video does not have all the pictures hung on the wall but I think you will get a good feel of the layout. Enjoy! If the Packers are in the Super Bowl...party can be here! :)

We Bought a House...

We are totally adults for real now! We have officially bought a house. Closing is November 30th, we are out of our apartment on December 4th. We are so thankful that we got someone to take our lease! PHEW! Thank you Jesus! Here are a two pictures for a sneak peek:

We probably should start packing! :)

Life...

Since I won't be doing monthly posts for Cole anymore, it is time for me to think of other things to write about....and it will still probably be ALL about Cole because he is tons of fun. This is life for us right now.

• We placed an offer on a house! It is a short-sale so there are many steps. The seller accepted our offer, the bank approved one of her loans, we are waiting for the next loan to be approved and than it is ours! Potential closing date is November 17.
• Praying Praying Praying to find a sub-letter for our apartment! If you know someone...tell them!
• School is very busy. My kids have great personalities!
• Grad school is oh so close to being complete! I can't wait! December 18th is graduation.
• Kyle finished a mini busy season. He is now enjoying a break in the madness until the real busy season begins. It always comes quicker than we expect!
• Next week we have a 5 day weekend, Kyle has a 4 day weekend. I am super excited to be mommy and wife and that is it! JK...I have to do report cards and grad school too! But it will nice to be home.
• Cole is still just fun! He is full of it! Always talking and running around. Dawn often mentions how he runs from room to room every day, he plays hard!
• I sometimes struggle with being a working mom. I choke back tears at least once a week but I know that God has me working in my students lives for a reason!
• We should probably start packing soon, searching for appliances, getting ready to do a MAJOR cleaning but I just feel the need to wait until it is for sure!
• The basement is going to be decorated with all the sports memorabilia that we have collected over our 7 years together. It is going to be fab! What color should we paint??

Hope you are enjoying the lovely fall day!

Big Mover...

My mom mentioned that my brothers wanted to see Cole in action. Here he is toddling around for 2minutes and 17 seconds! :)

 

So tough on his four wheeler!

Going for rides down the driveway in his new truck!

Last regular season Brewer's game...we were 13 rows up! :)

WHAT...a picture of just Kyle and I! Wierd! :)

Birthday Weekend

We had a great weekend celebrating Cole and his greatness! Not only were we all extremely blessed by the gifts he recieved but we loved that everyone took time out of their Saturday to celebrate with us. We spent Sunday going to the apple orchard, playing with toys, and baking cookies! We love our baby boy and he is getting SO BIG!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!!!

Cole's Birthday Morning Face! :)

Opening one of his presents from Mommy and Daddy!

Oh my, Oh my! Cole is 1! My little baby is getting bigger and bigger every day. A few days ago I went in to wake him up in the morning and I was taken aback as he was laying across the crib width and looked HUGE! Now, as you all know he is rather small for his age but it was a shocking moment for me!

• Cole is walking fully now! More walking than crawling! It is so cute!
• He fits best in 9 month clothing but it is now fall and all his warm clothing is 12 months so he is drowning in clothing now but will soon fit!
• His big check up is on Tuesday or Wednesday...percentiles to come soon!
• We are on our school schedule again and Cole has adjusted very well. He wakes at 7:00 am, has a bottle, eats breakfast, and leaves with Kyle around 7:45. I leave around 7:20 after giving Cole his bottle and breakfast.
• He naps once a day between 2 1/2 and 3 hours.
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been discovered...great for our morning routine! :)
• Pretty independent during play time ... if he wants you , he will let you know!
• He signs "all done" but the wrong way...but we know what it means so that works...right? We are working on more but he claps when that happens. Silly!
• He yells and cheers when we are watching football and baseball games.
• Throws a ball pretty well...just like daddy!
• Loves Loves Loves raspberries!
• We had a minor food aversion when he got the beginning of the school year cold. But his appetite is back in full force.
• He is loving the birthday presents and new toys he is getting!
• Climbs, crawls, jumps, dives, etc. My new favorite trick is standing up in the cart...NOT!
• He thinks it is really funny to take the barn animals off the fridge and carry them over to the garbage can and throw them away. We have lost quite a few before realizing what happened.
• Bath time still is a favorite part of the day.
• Clifford the Big Red Dog is a new favorite!
• He is finally wearing shoes! It took awhile for him to get used to but I think I was getting the wrong size! :)

Digging through Daddy's wallet again!

Cole and his girlfriends! Tailgating!

Gold is NOT my color!

We did  Briggs & Al's Run Walk - Cole got to ride the bus!

I am sure there are so many more things that he has done this month. I will be posting again in a few days ... the birthday extravaganza needs to be posted! :)

11 Months

Woweee! This month flew! Like I am having a hard time thinking of the new milestones because it went so fast. Here are a few of the big things:

• Cole is very active. Loves to run, walk, crawl fast, swim, piggy back, horsey rides, etc.
• Cole had surgery on his little bum this month. He was also the sickest he has ever been in our 11 months together.
• His two front bottom teeth are in! So cute!
• He now uses those teeth for biting...I just find these instincts that he has amazing!
• He is now climbing all over everything and can now climb into his cars.
• He loves lemon and lime yogurt...just like his mama!
• Went to the State Fair for the first time
• Said "Mama" and crawled to me! Melted my heart! :)
• Says Ba for ball, H for Hi, Dada, and Bubba for Bottle. He knows what a cracker is and is getting really good at looking at the person we are looking for.
• He enjoys eating pretty much everything but has only 2 "good" meals a day and than is kind of not interested.
• He also now plays the window washer and throws his food off his tray. Naughty habits.
• Sleeps like a little angel. Starting to transition to 1 nap a day. Just sometimes though. If we are out and about, he doesn't take a morning nap. When he doesn't take that nap, he goes down by 12:30 right after lunch and sleeps until about 3:00ish.
• He has quite the personality. Gives us a laughy face if he wants us to think he is funny.
• He loves to wrestle. Almost every day at 4:00 he is suddenly jumping all over me. It is fun!
• He dunks his head in the water on his own and blows bubbles. He thinks he is really funny when this happens.
• He is drinking all whole milk now.
• And it is time for a hair cut but I know he is going to look soo much older once it happens so I refuse!

Month 11 was wonderful and I think Cole and I are pretty attached to one another. He is such a blessing and makes every day a little brighter! :)

Cole loves wrestling on the bed!

Cole loves piggy back rides from Uncle Jordan. Here we are celebrating Jordan's birthday!

Peek!

In the cow barn driving the milk truck at the State Fair.

Cole LOVED this strawberry smoothie.

so much so that we had to put it in his sippy cup

we have a reader on our hands! Thank God!

Poor baby was sooooooo sick! He just layed on these pillows all day and watched TV and fell asleep.

Getting caught for the first time after he climbed into his car.

Cole loves Erika! She gave him a hug and he put his head on her shoulder.

Working on his multiplication facts! :)