The Big 3-0!

Yesterday was the big day...I turned 30!  I remember thinking when I was a kid that 30 was sooo old.  But now that I've hit that milestone I don't feel the same way.  I am really looking forward to my 30's.  I think a lot of good things are in store for my family and I can't wait to experience new milestones.

I had a great day celebrating!  Lots of well wishes from friends and family to start the day off right.  I only worked a half day, and my mom came over and took me to lunch and we shopped around a little bit.  We picked Cole up early from daycare and did a lot of playing once we got home.  My dad and Matt joined us after work and we had take-out from Olive Garden, an apple pie, and presents to celebrate.  It was the perfect night.

I love seeing my parents interact with Cole.  Having him here this year to celebrate my birthday made it really special.  Cole entertained Grandma and Grandpa by showing them his toys and crawling around everywhere.  His giggles are the best sound to hear in the evenings.

Thanks mom, dad, Matt and Cole for making my day extra special!!!  (We missed seeing you Kate & Kyle).

Prayer Request

My sister was admitted to the hospital today because her cervix has funneled and shortened.  If you remember my pregnancies, this is what happened to me.  Luckily she has a cerclage and it's doing it's job.  She was released this afternoon after some careful monitoring, but she is to remain on strict bed rest the rest of her pregnancy.  Please say a few prayers that these sweet little babies stay put for several more weeks!  We love them all so much and they are already a big part of our family.  I would trade places with my sister in a heartbeat b/c I would never want her to be in the same situation I was in...but since that isn't possible, I'm doing the next best thing-- asking you all to pray for their family!

Crafty

When my mom found out we were going to North Carolina she gave me a craft article out of one of her magazines.  It was a way to commemorate your child's first trip to the beach.  I had saved it away and pulled it out the other day.  Luckily I remembered to get sand and some shells while we were in NC.  Actually, Matt being the good daddy that he is went back to the beach on our last day to gather sand for this project.

I did tweak the magazine project a bit.  It said to glue a photo to cardboard and cut around it and then put a stick on it and put it inside of the jar.  Instead of doing that, I opted for a much easier photo tag on the jar.

Here is the finished product!

New Toy!

I'm turning 30 in a couple of weeks.  I'm not like a lot of people who are skeptical of turing 30.  My 20's were a pretty good decade overall.  I met my husband, got married, had a daughter and a son, and so many more great things that I can think of.  My 20's had some down times, but I appreciate the lessons I've learned about life. I'm trying my best to turn the bad times into something good.

I'm really looking forward to my 30's.  I just know that we have so many fun times ahead of us.  I can't wait to watch Cole grow and learn new things.  I hope both personally and professionally my life gets even better in the next decade.

Over the weekend we went to Chicago for a birthday party for our friends' daughter.  On the way back, Matt asked me if I wanted to stop at Best Buy.  I was really confused as to why we would need to stop there.  He told me that he wanted to pick up my birthday present.  One thing about us is that we are always looking for a good sale...  He said he needed to get my gift early b/c it was on sale.  :o)  And he wanted me to pick it out.  Then he told me that he was going to buy me a DSLR camera that I had been dying to have for the last few years.  My sister has one and I LOVE to borrow it.  But with her twins soon to arrive I doubt I'll get my hands on it much.  Matt said he knew how much I had been wanting one and even though it was pricy he wanted me to have it for my birthday.  I tried to talk him out of it (what was I thinking?!?!), but he insisted that I get it.

I am so appreciative of the gift he gave me.  I absolutely love my camera and I can't wait to learn more about how to use it.  I have already been watching a DVD that came with it to learn new things as well as practicing.  I'm sure I'm not that great yet, but I know that with the millions of pictures that I'll be taking I am bound to get better each time I use it.  And truth be told, Matt has even been getting into the photography thing!  Poor Cole better get some sunglasses on b/c this flash is going to blind him!!

Here are some lovely photos that I've taken in the last few days...

Cole is 10 Months Old!

Cole is 10 months old now!  He is a very busy boy and hardly sits still.  So hard to believe only 2 more months until my little man turns one!  He is growing and changing every day.  It's so fun to interact with him now.  He definitely has a strong willed personality and it shows!  But that's okay...he keeps life interesting and I wouldn't have it any other way!  I love my Cole man!!!!

(The blanket this month looks kind of girly with the purple, but I wanted to use it b/c it was given to us when we had Braelyn)

Diaper Project Update

Well, we have certainly been caught up in the diaper making madness!  I posted some pictures a few weeks ago of the progress we were making: we had most of the fabric cut out and had started to do some of the stitching.  But now, we have over 200 diapers finished and in the basket ready for delivery.  I feel like we are worlds away from seeing a light at the end of a tunnel...but don't get me wrong, that's a good problem to have with this project.  I'm so glad we have a ton of them to make. 

I have estimated that there are another 350ish to be completed :o)

Just wanted to say thank you again to all who have helped with my project.  I am really excited to go and deliver these in December.

Again, if you are working on diapers for me please make sure you have them to me no later than December 1.

Vacation 2012

Cole had his very first vacation!  Last week we drove to Wilmington, NC to visit Matt's dad and step-mom for the week.  It's a 15 hour trip one way.  You may ask us if we were crazy thinking an almost 10 month old would ride in the car for 30+ hours in one week and be fine with it.  But actually, little man did wonderful!  He really only cried for the last 30 miles on the way there, and who could blame him, he was tired of sitting!

Since we were so busy on our trip to D.C. last month, we decided ahead of time this would be a relaxing vacation.  We stayed in a condo in Matt's dads neighborhood.  It was great to have our own space where Cole could move around and we could spread out our stuff and relax.  I am a huge germ-a-phobe, so staying at a hotel with a baby who is crawling would have seriously grossed me out!  (Plus the thought of having to give him a bath in a hotel shower would probably put me over the edge).

We spent most of the week taking long naps, going to the beach, walking on the boardwalk, eating good food, and visiting with family.  We love going to NC, and hopefully we can continue to make it an annual trip for Cole.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip (sorry if you already saw these on Facebook).

Cole and his cousins, Kennedy & Gabe

Mailbox on Wrightsville Beach 

The note we left in the mailbox

Love the dunes at the beach

Frozen Yogurt-- YUM

Fun with the Cousins

Get this sand off of my hands!!

Baby in the hole

Grandpa & Cole

This is how we barricaded Cole in the condo

Cole and the USS North Carolina Battleship

We are so excited to go back to NC next year!