First day of Preschool

Today was Cole's first day of preschool at the Child Development Lab on the UCM campus. I got up and took a shower while he was watching Mickey and when I got out this is what I saw... He had gotten into the pantry and gotten out chili cheese Fritos. That is the breakfast of champions and I am sure it started his day off just right. :-) Funny thing is, I don't even eat these things, and never buy them, but Cole got to pick out a "treat" at the Wal-Mart checkout and this is what he got. I guess it is better than sugary candy. I did fix him a well balanced breakfast after that though!

Here is his "cheese" smile before heading out the door.

And a real smile.

Putting his stuff in his cubby when he got to school.

Getting ready to play.

They said he did good, but he had a couple of meltdowns. Surprise, surprise! He got up at the crack of dawn today (5:45am) and I could not get him to back to sleep despite my best efforts. So, he started the day off extremely tired. They said his meltdowns were when he realized I left and then again right after lunch. Not too bad for his first day I guess.

I did enjoy my time alone, but missed my lil' guy too. I was there to pick him up early, but they were in the car gym so I had to wait until he got back to the classroom to get him.

He said he had fun so I consider it a successful first day. Looking forward to what the rest of the school year holds in store!

Random Cuteness

Two weeks ago some of our best friends stopped in for an overnight visit. Val and Phil and their two little ones, Tyler and Mason are very dear to us. They lived just a few doors down from us for 3 years while in Oklahoma. It is always great to see them and catch up. Sadly, this is the only picture I have I took while they were here. :-( Luckily, I took lots of pictures when they came to visit last December so I don't feel as bad. While they were here, Val shared with us that they are expecting their third child in April. We are so excited for them and are keeping our fingers crossed that they get a little girl this time around.

Cole, Tyler and Mason

This morning Cole helped me do a little car washing. I actually just washed my car on Saturday, but last night we went to some church friends house and they live in the country. Picture miles of gravel roads and lots of dirt and you can envision what my car looked like when we got home. :-) Being the anal person I am it required another car wash. Luckily, I have a great helper and he did most or the work...or not.

Speaking of our church friends, here are a few pictures I snapped of our small group boys from our cookout last night. There are four of them and they are all pretty close in age. It is so fun to watch them play together and they do surprisingly well.

Rocking out on the guitar

Sammy and Cole

Sammy, Cole, Harrison and Isaiah

Zoo fun with friends

The weather has been so nice here this week that we have actually been able to get outdoors. What a nice change from having to find indoor activities. And, what better way to enjoy the nice weather than to visit the Kansas City Zoo. We have been to the zoo several times, but it never gets old. Cole would go daily if we would let him. We loaded up in Dani's car and headed down there with her and Kaden.

Heading into the zoo. I didn't get a picture, but the polar plunge finally opened. It was so neat to get up close and personal with the big bear.

You can also get pretty close to the kangaroos too. Watching them hop just fascinates me.

Cole and Kaden busting out some dance moves. These two are quite the characters. ;-)

Mommy and Cole waiting for the train. Dani has a membership to the zoo so we got to ride the trains, tram and carousel for free! Thanks for sharing with us, Dani!

Cole and Kaden riding together. My lil' guy is getting big enough to sit without me.

We even had the pleasure of riding a camel. Okay, maybe it wasn't a pleasure, but Cole had been begging to do it. Unfortunately, he is not big enough to ride alone, so alas, I got to enjoy the bumpy, stinky ride too. :-) Kaden was on the front, and us in the back.

Enjoying the world's largest and MESSIEST popsicle ever. Cole and Kaden were both stained red. Note to self: no more jolly rancher popsicles at the zoo!

Here they are giving a "toast" with their popsicles. Cheers!

What a fun day we had at the zoo. It was great spending time with Cole as well as a great friend. Dani and I can both talk non-stop so that makes it fun!

Preschool starts Tuesday so I will post Cole's first day of school picture after that!

Wedding pictures

These are the pictures that the photographer took at the wedding we attended back in July. I am guessing the bride and groom received a CD with all of the prints for them to print on their own. We were emailed all of the ones with us in them and then I was able to print them however I wanted. Pretty good deal if you ask me. :-)

I am in the process of arranging to have family pictures made before Jonathan leaves. We would love to get some outdoor pictures so this really eliminates getting anything taken in a studio.

A few of these turned out really well...the color is amazing!

Crown Center

On Saturday we ventured out to Crown Center in downtown Kansas City. We visited here years ago when we lived in Oklahoma, but haven't been back since. Little did we know that we would be living just an hour from there in a few short years from when we visited. :-)

Cole and Jonathan by the fountains before heading into Crown Center.

A family self-portrait. Of course Cole wouldn't look at the camera. It seems I can NEVER get him to look at the camera these days.

Coloring in the Crayola Store. As the store is appropriately named they had all things Crayola! I could have bought lots in this store, but I instead used some self-control and let Cole get one thing. He got a cool little chalkboard book that he can color in and then erase and reuse. Pretty ingenious idea.

At the Clifford exhibit.

This was one big Clifford!

We ate lunch at the Crayola Cafe where Cole was able to color while waiting for our food.

After that it was straight to the fountains for some water fun! He had a blast!

I love this picture of my two guys! I think it is so sweet and you can tell how much these two love each other!

Thankful for yet another fun family weekend. Things are about to get crazy around here so we are trying to enjoy all the family time we can!

Meet the Teachers Night

On Thursday night we had Meet the Teachers Night at Cole's preschool, the Child Development Lab. The CDL is located on the University of Central Missouri campus and is for children ages 2-5. He be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-1:30. He will be the youngest one in his class so I am a little apprehensive, but he interacts well with older children so I think it will be a great time of learning and growth for him.

Here we are before heading out:

Cole was very excited to go and check out his new school.

It took him no time at all to warm up and start playing with the toys.

He even got to visit with his buddy (and neighbor) Kaden who will be in his class.

He checked out the kitchen and ate a snack. They serve the meals "family style", meaning the food will all be on the table and he will serve himself. That will be interesting I am sure...

Coloring...

And more coloring...

He didn't want to leave when it was time to go so we practically had to drag him out of there. I hope this is a good sign and come next Tuesday, the 31st, he will be all smiles when I go to leave him.

Water Party

Cole had a blast at our church back to school water party this morning. The party was actually scheduled for Tuesday, but due to the rain and cool temps that day (it was in the 70's) they moved it to today. They had two huge blow up slides set up as well as a slip n slide and sprinklers. They served yummy watermelon and lemonade too. Cole was not the least bit timid (imagine that!) and headed right up the slide. I am think I am as tired as him now and will be sore after helping lift his 33 pound self to the top of the ladder so he could slide. He had fun though so it makes it all worth it!

Ready, set,

Wee!

This was on the other slide. He came down pretty good!

Watching

Thinking about what to do next...

One more week of summer and then preschool and other fall activities begin! I have so enjoyed my summer with Cole, but am looking forward to a routine again soon.

Family Fun

We had a great family weekend together that started out by going to the Butterfly Festival at Powell Gardens. Jonathan had to stay home and work on tiling the downstairs bathroom so Cole, Kaitlyn and I headed to the gardens. It has been so hot here so we went early so it wouldn't be too bad. There were lots of activities for the kids to do since they were having the festival.

Cole and Kaitlyn inside the butterfly exhibit

Painting a flower pot

On Saturday we headed to the Kansas City Zoo. We have been there many times and Cole just loves it! He is constantly asking to go to the zoo. If only it were closer we could go far more often.

Riding the carousel

Naptime! He looks huge in this stroller!

After nap it was time for a big ole' messy popsicle.

We were all pretty worn out from our day at the zoo and being in the heat, but I guess we weren't worn out enough because Sunday after church we headed to the Missouri State Fair. We just love going to fairs (I think we have been to one every place we have lived). Cole was so small last year that he couldn't do much, but he had a blast this year. There is livestock galore there so he was in heaven. :-) We took our "little brother" Matthew with us also.

Cole wanted to pet the horse and the owner was nice enough to let him do so.

My favorite (and Cole's)- Cotton Candy!

I did learn a valuable lesson at the fair though (one that I really already knew) and that is that my poor, disfunctioning stomach can NOT handle fair food! I do okay with a little cotton candy, but I crossed the line with the funnel cake. Needless to say, I was sick as a dog last night. Thank goodness Jonathan was home to take care of Cole and get him bathed and in bed. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He really is the best!

Fun weekends like this just really make me so thankful for my little family. We are so blessed and love nothing more than just hanging out and spending time together.