Daily Life - May

 Here is our month of May in cell phone pictures!

Cole being a good little shopping buddy and having a toe snack!

Sweet sleeping boy

Enjoying a day at the park

Girl time snuggles

Cole just loves Stormie these days!

He's always seeking her out and reaching for her if she's close by.

Another Mexican food lover in our family, shocker!

Poor baby got pooped on by a bird in a parking lot one day. Of course, he had no clue.... we couldn't decide if it was the funniest or saddest thing I'd ever seen! The big kids thought it was hilarious. And our bird enthusiast, Ella, wanted to know what kind of bird it was, if it was a mourning dove. HAHA!

Oh cutie! He loves his puffs!!

We love eating dinner outback, especially when it's messy!!

Posing for a picture one day before school in her cute new outfit from Nana!

Carter and Cole love their guy time after school.

He even lets him pull his hair :)

Cole has discovered trash cans :/

So much rain this month! This umbrella and those boots have gotten some good use recently!

And we've splashed in more than a few puddles.

The kids did go to the pool with Eric on a couple of our dry days.... but it was cold!

This little stinker just finding things to mess with

Ella was playing 'airplane' with her stuffed animals.

Getting in more trouble!

Cute little feet peeking out from under the hiney.

Awwww, poor baby got dressed up in his sisters apron!

I got a horrible stomach bug a few weekends ago (thank goodness it happened to be on a Sunday and Eric was home). I locked myself in my bedroom to keep away from everyone so I wouldn't spread it. But I still had to nurse Cole. So this is what I came up with. Eric brought him in to me, and Cole actually laughed out loud when he saw me with this on my face. HA! But it worked! Didn't spread it to anyone, thank goodness!

Relax, you're at Target!

:)

Sweet smile. He loves the door stop springs and the funny sound the make. :)

Obsessed with his school year book!

Ella had a play date with a school friend, and Cole enjoyed the trampolines, too.

He loves looking out this window and the back door.

The kids went up in Cole's room first thing one morning when he was awake, and he was so happy to see them! He laughed and cooed, it was so cute! See their heads hanging over the crib there? Loved watching them all interact on the monitor.

Carter hasn't napped in forever, and he actually fell asleep on Memorial Day when we were all having 'rest time'. A big storm came rolling through, and I guess he was pretty relaxed laying there watching it out the window :)

Had to sneak in for a pic

Pulling up on everything now!

Can't tell here, but he was pretty mad a me and Ella for trying to stuff him into her baby stroller. HA!

He loves trying new foods! Veggie straws are a favorite right now.

With all this crazy rain, the lake near us has really started to rise. We drove around last weekend to take a look. This is at our old neighborhood. The lake is covering a lot of the walking bath back behind the houses on our old street.

 See those fences? Those are the backyards of our neighbors.....

 That is the back side of our old fence.... see the water back there?

 Water is approaching next door neighbors yard. So crazy!!

The we went to check out a local park by the lake. The amphitheater is mostly under water.

Bathrooms almost flooded. Those light poles stand on the boat ramp and in it's parking lot, which are both completely under water.

That's a restaurant with a big beach behind it, that is obviously fully submerged as well.

Back porch of the restaurant where the beach should be.

parking lot from the front porch of the restaurant

Just crazy! It's been more than 100 years that the lake has had this much water in it!

We went to a favorite park and spent the morning. We were so happy to have the sun out AND cooler temps!

 Chill baby

 Having fun!

 After playing at the parks, we walked down through the nature trails, and found a caterpillar on the way. (on Eric's middle finger.)

 We also found a family of snails! And one was crossing the sidewalk....very.....slowly...... :)

 Soooo tired, but still happy!

 Went to the car to feed him, and he passed out. I knew he would, it was way past his naptime!

 So I enjoyed some baby love for a good 20 minutes or so until it was over. What a little angel!

Ella's Last Day of School

 Ella wrapped up her first year of pre-school this past week. What a great year she had!!

Last day pictures!!

 Her class had a pizza party that we were invited to.

 Eric made it back from out of town in time to go with us. She was happy to have him!

Ella with her sweet teachers! For an end of the year gift, they made each child the most amazing keepsake blanket (with handprint and footprint art) and an impressive scrapbook that pieced together her whole year. What wonderful ladies they are, and we'll miss them this summer!

Just 2 short years until Cole will be in this very classroom with his fellow 2 year old friends :) Ella loved showing him off and he loved scooting all over that room!

And for fun, take a look back at her first day of preschool, and see how much she's changed!

Cole's First Swim

 The kids have been to the pool a few times already this season, but I've felt like it's been a little too cold for Cole. It really warmed up today, so we thought we'd give it a try. 

He looks excited!

 Started slow.... with toes. He loved kicking his feet around

 Then we sat. He still seemed unphased. And the water was definitely chilly!

 Then he figured out that he could splash, which he loves to do in the bath tub.

Finally got all the way into the float, and this is where he stayed for the next 45 minutes, happy as a little clam!! :)

 Loving it!

 

 

He loved just laying back and watching the big kids, and also kicking his feet in the water. He did accidentally get splashed in the face once (not by a kid but by daddy, oops!) and that nearly did him in. But he recovered and got happy again for a while!

 Worst part was getting out and getting dry and changed. He hated that! And it didn't help that it was dinner time and he was hungry!

 Not thrilled with this part, but I guess I'll give a little smile.

The big kids were so happy to have Cole in the pool with them. And it was nice to have it all to ourselves for Cole's first swim. I'm thinking that when we have tons of other kids splashing about in the pool this summer, Cole won't be as relaxed. We went home after this and those 3 kids gobbled their dinner! I love that they always eat sooooo good after a swim! And they sleep good, too! :)

Kindergarten Goes to Safety Town

 Like I said in my previous post, they're really packing it all in here at the end of the school year! Carter had his 2nd semester field trip with his class this week, and I met them there for the fun. They got to go to Safety Town, which is at our town's central fire station. It's designed specifically for field trips, and teaching children of all ages about safety and the services of fire, ambulance, police, and 911. It's a pretty awesome place. We've been a few times before, but they really did a lot more with the kids this time, so that was nice.

First up was a safety talk about how and why to dial 911. Carter got to be the guinea pig... she selected him because he knew his home address :) He got to act out a 911 call, and he did great!

His call was that there was a fire in the kitchen. She (acting as the dispatcher) asked him all kinds of questions and gave him directions, and he did just what he said! Made me proud! :) She also said that just a few weeks ago in a neighboring city, a 4 year old saved their mother's life by knowing how to dial 911. Isn't that amazing?!

 Then they got to hear all about the fire dept., what they do, and what tools they use.

Next up was the jeeps outside! They have about 20 or so mini 4 wheelers that the kids get to drive all around a miniature city. There are stop lights, stop signs, cross walks, school zones, and railroad crossings. They are supposed to pay attention to and obey traffic signals.

 Carter picked up a passenger at one point :)

 I have to say, the first 5 minutes was a little crazy! These 6 year olds obviously don't know how to drive, stay in their own lanes on the right side of the road, or pay attention to traffic signals and signs..... but it was so, so funny to watch!

 After a few minutes, they all started to get the hang of it, and things got a little more orderly.

And, I'm not just saying it because he's my kid, but Carter was probably the best driver! He was very focused on the signals and signs and making sure he was going the right way. He also didn't take off crazy or get going too fast. He was very cautious. And if you know him, then you know that's true! Several of the other parents really got a kick out of him and how serious he was taking it, and how focused he was! Haha! That's our boy! I can only hope he'll be that way at 16!

 So funny!! 

Here is the whole class at the end of the trip. I know they had fun!! And I loved being there to watch them!