Big Fat Lip

One Sunday evening in early March we were all enjoying a nice game of 'Ticket to Ride' when Afton suddenly slipped of a chair and fell to the ground causing her teeth to cut her lip. It was pretty bloody and there were quite a few tears... there was even a little talk about if it was big enough to go for stitches. We decide to just let it heal on its own. These pictures were taken a day or two later... pretty gross!

Annie Oakley

Abby did a biography book report on Annie Oakley. As part of the report she had to bring in a little side project about her person and give an oral presentation. She decided to do a giant cookie and decorate it. I thought it turned out pretty cute and it was a big hit with her class. Abby does such a great job remembering what she learns about people from history and relating and applying it to her life. I hope she always has this love of history and the people who have shaped the world we live in today.

More Coleman

Coleman learned how to roll over exactly on his 4 month birthday! We were shocked... and very scared for what this kid may have in store for us. I have no good pictures of him actually rolling, but this was taken immediately post roll:

He started crawling very soon after. He had the funniest crawl. Most babies I have seen seem to start with a "GI Joe" type of crawl... you know, where they stay on their bellies and use their arms to get around. Well, Cole's was more like an inchworm. 

Here's how it went: up onto hands and knees...

straighten legs to push upper body forward...

Drop!! So funny... and quite effective!

Cole also discovered the piano. He loves to listen to Max practice and loves it even more when he lets him sit up on his lap to play along.

Favorite discovery at 5 months? Definitely the dog. He has always loved to look at her, but now he can try to chase her, pet her, climb on her... you name it. These 2 are becoming fast friends!

Max wrote a story for school about a little dog and the baby who loved her. He used Roxy and Cole for his phootgraphs. It turned out so cute and now we have it to treasure forever. Even now (4 months later) we look through the book with Cole and he loves it. Any way, while taking the pictures we got a few really cute ones with Cole and Roxy together... here are 2 of my favorites: Cole loves to let Roxy lick his hands.

And this little gem is definitely a keeper! 

It was actually my screen saver for a while!!

Doesn't that just make you want to go brush your teeth?!?

More Singing...

Look out 'American Idol'... this girl can't stop!! I couldn't pick just one... so I posted all three. Mostly for the grandparents to enjoy. There were just little things I loved about each one.

What I love about this one:

That she is trying to sign some of the words as she plays the piano. I didn't tell her to do this and we have never signed this song with her. I love that they are just there in the back of her mind and that even though she doesn't sign as much as she used to she can still pull them out some times.

What I love about this one:

It's the same song as the above video, but because she doesn't try to sign you can understand her cute lyrics a little better... like "I am a child of God and Jesus sent me here" (for those of you unfamiliar with the song it goes "I am a child of God and He has sent me here". I love the way toddlers make up lyrics based on what they think they hear.

What I love about this one:

I didn't film this, Max did. I love his comments to her, her runny nose, and the lyrics speak for themselves.

Good Morning, Sunshine

How Lucky Am I?

This is what greets me every morning.

It's hard not to feel grateful and happy
when this starts your day.

(Cole, 5 1/2 months)

He likes it!!

When Cole was 5 months old we decided to venture into the world of solid foods. We started with plain old basic rice cereal. He was very excited for this new step! He loved sitting in his big chair and all the attention everyone was putting on this new activity. We literally had the whole family sitting around with eyes on Cole to see how he would respond.

First bite... not so sure about the texture...

...or what to do with the strange substance in his mouth.

But he new this was a good thing and smiled for more. He really did like it and would smile as we were feeding him, but the minute it hit his mouth...

... he would gag. He just wasn't sure what to do with it!

While he liked the food, he did NOT like the gagging. Hard to feel sorry for someone with eyelashes like that!!

In the end it was a very successful first attempt at feeding and he hasn't slowed down. He is now (4 months later) eating fruits and vegetables, finger foods and pretty much anything we're eating that we feel save sharing with him. This kids does love to eat!!

This video was taken of his first couple bites... I love that the minute it goes in it comes right back out. Took him a while to get the whole swallowing thing mastered.

Patriotic Program

The kids participated in the schools annual patriotic program again this year. It is my favorite program each year and this year definitely didn't disappoint. Abby was in the 1st-3rd grade choir and Max was in the 4th-6th grade choir. They both sang beautifully. These aren't the greatest pictures... but I wanted to include them anyway for the grandparents.

Look Mom!!

Remember this?

Well, she finally mastered the 2-wheeler

 with no training wheels!! 

Almost...

There's no stopping her now!

Poser

Lately Afton has been all about posing for pictures. Rarely can I get her to just let me take a normal picture. She is also very fond of jumping in when I am taking someone else's pictures and asking me to take picture of certain things... yeah maybe I take too many pictures... I've created a monster. The last one is my favorite... look out America's Next Top Model!!

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

Coleman LOVES to play. He is always on the go... doing something... into something. He definitely keeps us on our toes. He usually plays until he crashes and has been known to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. He's like the Energizer Bunny... he goes and goes, full force, until he just suddenly stops and falls fast asleep. He even follows this routine at night when I nurse him... he'll flip this way and that, he's up he's down... and then suddenly he's out! Poor kids just doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun, I guess.
Cole loves to sit in his mega saucer and bounce... and bounce... and bounce. Good thing, too... it's the only way I can keep him contained in one spot (he doesn't like his swing anymore) so I can get anything done.
This picture is here only to show you those crazy eyelashes again... can you believe them?!?
Just how I like them... sound asleep =)

Syd Riggs Scholarship Showcase

Back in February Chris and I had the opportunity to participate in the Syd Riggs Scholarship Showcase in honor of a dear friend of ours who passed away a few years ago. She was a true lover of the arts and a mentor to many many performers... including Chris and I. We both new her before we new each other and she was always a huge part of our lives. It was great to be a part of this event. Basically, we had a few rehearsals the week leading up to the performance and then an all day Saturday marathon rehearsal followed by 2 sold out show that raised over $7,000 for a scholarship in her name. I took over 200 pictures that day and don't want to leave any out because we were able to see so many old friends, students, cast members, voice teachers, etc... that was the best part of the day... it was one giant reunion. It was a thrill for me to see and hear Chris singing the part of Jean Valjean in the 'Les Miserables' section of the show as well as well as a few other big solos. He was great and I've missed seeing him perform. Some other highlights:

This beautiful lady was the host and headline performer. We love her! She is a great friend and it was awesome to spend the day catching up with her. She also has the most amazing voice and is super funny... she rocked the show!
Performing with these two punks!! They are our nephews and also former students of ours... they are also both CRAZY talented. Even though we have all worked on a ton of projects together we have never actually all been on stage together. It was an honor and so much fun to be on stage with them. (Edit: I just remembered that we were both in 'The Gift of Christmas' in SLC with Zack back in 1995 and I was in 'Tommy' with Zack in 1996... no wonder I forgot. But it was the first time with Jaremy)

All of these wonderful people that we love! It was wonderful to spend the day together and be onstage with you again. We can't wait to do it again next year!
By the end of the day we were exhausted... it took us a full week to recover (we are definitely not as young as we used to be). Thanks to all of you who came to support us and this great cause and to those of you who helped out with our kidlets for the day... we had a blast!

Remember this little guy?

I don't think I have posted about Cole since those pictures I took of him when he was about 2 1/2 weeks old... other than things where he was part of a family post. So, here are some random pictures along with some random facts to help you get to know him a little better. The facts may or may not go along with the picture. Adding Cole to our family has felt a little like having twins. I have never had 2 babies this close together and it's a whole new ball game!! 2 in diapers, 2 binkies, 2 different nap schedules, 2 babies waking up at night (yes, Afton still wakes up at least once each night). It is a lot of fun and has made this a fun adventure... even though it is exhausting at times. Don't they look so cute swinging next to each other? Afton loves to be right there with me all the time and doing what Cole is doing... she even tries to cry like him. (about 2 mos. old in picture)
Cole has the longest, most beautiful eyelashes ever!! We are constantly getting comments on them. They really are unusually long and thick. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.  (3 mos.)
This is his first smile ever caught on camera! Seriously. It was taken Dec. 5th when he was almost 3 months old. So cute!
Cole LOVES his Dad!! He could sit with him for hours. (4 months old)
Cole is an absolute flirt. Just look at the way he is looking at me. He does that with everyone... How could you not fall in love with this little guy! (4 1/2 mos.)Just a cute pic I like... no particular reason.
I love this picture. This is what Cole looks like most of the time. He is really a happy and pleasant little guy... so much fun to be around. (4 1/2 mos.)
Look at those big blue eyes. He has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen. Sometimes I would sit and nurse him and just stare into his big deep blue eyes in amazement at how clear they are. They haven't changed much at all so I think they might be here to stay *fingers crossed*. (almost 5 months)
Cole is very pretty. People are always telling us how pretty he is and he is often mistaken for a girl. One morning I was in a hurry to get everyone ready and put Afton's headband on Cole, locked him in his swing until I had everyone else ready, and didn't notice my error for about 10 minutes. I must admit, I finally saw what everyone was saying... he really is a very pretty little guy!

Here are a couple of videos of Cole: this first one is of him laughing at the kids. They made up this funny song that made him laugh every time they sang it. Unfortunately the kids are so loud it's hard to hear him... but it's still cute:

This is another laughing video. Pay attention to what happens mid-laugh. He does that a lot... and I mean A LOT!

He finally grew out of the constant spitting up stage a couple months ago... I was soooo happy. 

So that's it. He is an absolute joy... the perfect addition to our family. We have loved  having him here and getting to know him. I updated the thing about him in the right hand column a couple months ago so be sure to read it to learn even more about him. (The picture is new...I just took it last week.)