Happy Half Birthday, Baby Boy!

Coley,

You turned 6 months old on Saturday, and I can't believe it has been half a year already. You are such a joy. Here are some recent discoveries:

1. You have started blowing raspberries, and you think you are pretty funny. You especially like to blow them when you have a mouthful of peas or carrots.
2. You have eaten a variety of veggies (green beans, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes) and desperately want to drink from a cup! If you see one, you start wriggling around and reaching our for it.
3. You laugh and smile all the time, and your favorite person is still your big sister.
4. You spend time in your saucer and your jumper. Those chunky legs will slim down in no time at the rate you jump!
5. You weigh 17 pounds, 3 ounces. Mia, at her 1 year check-up, weighed 18 pounds. :)
6. You roll quickly and are trying to crawl. Oftentimes, I find you under Mia's play-room table or under your jumper.
7. You are sensitive. When Mia's upset and crying, you start to cry. When you hear a loud noise, you pout that lower lip and the tears start to fall.
8. You are still a cuddle bug and I love it!

I love you more than I could ever explain. You are my precious son, and I thank God for you every single day.

Over the Hump

There are a few events in my life that, after the fact, I can't imagine going through them again. And all of them are happenings that I would not trade for anything, but I am just glad to be through them...you know? Some of those events include (but are not limited to):
1 - My freshman year at Kilgore
2 - Moving - each and every time I do it
3 - The first few weeks at home with a new baby
4 - The latest home rennovations at the Posey household
We are FINISHED! Well, we have been finished with our part for awhile, but the floors are not completed and all is back to normal. Well, except for the fact that I have to call Lowe's on Monday due to the carpet in our closet that is coming up. If I can just ignore that fact, then I can pretend that we are finished.

And a recent Mia-ism...
Mommy: Mia, please do not take off your shoes in the middle of the store.
Mia: Mommy, don't get fustrated!
Yep, she knows the context of frustrated.

The Happy Dance

So, we entered Mia in the So You Think You Can Dance Happy Dance contest. However, she is not 18, which is one of the stipulations. But she is pretty darn cute, so maybe they'll ignore the rules. Ha!

Miss Chatty

Some funny, recent conversations with the 2 year old...

Mia: Mommy, you have a bar?
Mommy: Yes, do you want a bite of my (granola) bar?
Mia: No, I'm good with my muffins.

Mommy: What's Mommy's name?
Mia: Kristi.
Mommy: What's Daddy's name?
Mia: Father.

Mia (on the 4th of July - much later than she is usually up): The fireworks are making me so HAPPY!

Mommy: Mia, do you want to talk to Momo (on the phone)?
Mia: No, I'm busy.

Happy Days!

Well, we had a wonderful July 4th. We traveled to see Chris's brother, his wife, and his daughter. Mimi went with us, which pleased Mia immensely. We had a great time and Mia LOVED the fireworks!!! Here are some highlights...

* She played with some "poppers" during the day. Cole enjoyed watching her. :)

* We all watched Daddy and Uncle Tim set off big fireworks that night.

* She was up later than she had ever been before...and bouncing off the walls!

* Cole slept through all the fireworks like a champ.

* Mia shared a bed with me and Chris for the first time. She, having never slept in anything other than her crib, does not know bed-etiquette. She ended up pushing her feet into Daddy's back on the first night and kicking him out of the bed completely on the second night. Her feet ended the night where her head began. It was actually pretty funny!

* We did some outlet mall shopping, and everyone behaved. :)

We came home, hoping to have our new flooring installed this week. Chris hurried to get the kids' bathroom ready to tile...

but of course, the installation has been delayed until next week. I am beginning to think we will have to live forever with this nasty, now-painted carpet.

Yesterday, the kids, Momo, and I went swimming at Uncle Kenny's house. It was Cole's first time to get in the water. Look at this picture of Mia (left) compared to him at about the same age. Although I think Coley looks so much like Chris, he also looks like a boy Mia. Oh, and yes, I know he is wearing a girly hat. I just wanted something to cover his little bald head in the sun!

The girls all had fun swimming and eating.
And here's a view from the other side. :)

Home Invasion, I mean Rennovation 2008

Well, we have been mighty busy here at the house. Recently, we decided a few things about our home.

1 - I dislike the color of the walls in every room except our bedroom, our bathroom, the kids' bedrooms, and their bathroom.

2 - I really dislike the fact that there is carpet in the breakfast nook, the entryway from the backdoor (dogs?!?! wet paws?!?! carpet?!?!), and the kids' bathroom (really? potty-training with carpet?).

3 - I did NOT want Cole learning to crawl on the disgusting, old, stained carpet.

4 - Ultimately, before we move out (not that there are plans for that, but some day), we will have to change the flooring. Why wait and then let new people enjoy it? Why not change it for us to enjoy now?


So...the rennovations began. We planned ahead of time. We ordered the flooring, and Chris took last Friday and Monday off from work. We bought the paint (in total, we used 4 gallons of ceiling paint, almost 5 gallons of primer, and 10 gallons of colored paint) and prepared things. When Friday rolled around, Chris's first job was to paint the poorly-painted ceiling in the living room and kitchen. He did that in about 5 or 6 hours while I tried to entertain the kids while taping off the area to be painted throughout the rest of the weekend. On Friday night, we spent from 9 pm - 3 am Saturday morning priming and painting one coat in the living area, breakfast nook, and kitchen. I will save you the play-by-play of the rest of the weekend. It went pretty much like that.


Here are some things that I really don't love about any house project:

1 - The MESS! My husband knows this and really tries to minimize it, but it is inevitable.
2 - The stinking blue tape! It takes hours to put on and then I realize that I have not really started doing anything.

3 - Working into the late night hours - I like to go to bed at 10, thank you.

4 - Have I mentioned how the mess stresses me to the point of near insanity?

5 - Feeling like I am putting my life at risk - standing on the ladder in the tiny half bath trying to reach over and above the toilet cabinet is not fun.

6 - Trying to entertain a 2 year old and a 5 month old, while being productive at the same time. Honestly, it was often better for me to take them out of the house and just let Daddy work.

But I do love:

1 - Good friends and family members who help (thanks Momo and Mike) in some way, either painting or babysitting.

2 - Working into the late night hours, having hushed conversations with Chris (we didn't want to wake the kids), and watching Scrubs/The Office episodes.
3 - Putting it all back together at the end, and admiring the finished product.

So, now that the painting is done, we just have to wait until next Tuesday when the flooring is installed. Yea! :) Officially, every room except the laundry room has been painted in the one year we have lived here. And now, we have an organized playroom for the kids separate from our living room. With toddler and baby toys everywhere, it is nice to have it more contained. I will post after pics once we have the flooring.

After the long weekend of working, I felt like we needed to get out of the house! Yesterday, I took the kids swimming with some girls from our Life Group. They had a great time and Mia actually swam. I wanted Coley to swim, or at least let me hold him in the water, but he did not want it to touch him at all. He started huffing and sticking out his lip anytime his piggies touched. So, we sat on the edge of the baby pool and watched the girl "swim." Then, we met Zum the Mum, Karson, and Campbell at Pump it Up this morning. The big girls played, and Mia really enjoyed herself after getting used to it. She told Daddy on the phone "I was a little scared of the big slide, but I did jump!" After a wonderful lunch at Pei Wei, we are now home and both kids are napping - which is why I am finally blogging!!!

Some other recent highlights:

Cole and Campbell had another "date."
We attended Chris's 20 year Reunion and had a great time!!!

We celebrated Momo's birthday. As you can see, Mia loved the cake and Cole loved watching her!

Cole is now eating veggies. However, the green beans seem to make him a little constipated, so we are going to try a different veggie tonight.

Mia finished swimming lessons successfully. She was rewarded with a doll that actually pees. She picked it out.

Mia is peeing AND POOPING (the first time was today, after Pei Wei) in the potty much of the time. And wearing big girl panties.

We are heading to visit Chris's brother and his family tomorrow. Happy July 4th everyone!!!

P.S. I have a second interview for a Pre-School Director position on Tuesday, July 8. It will probably be about 6 pm. Please say prayers - it would allow me to be with the kids MUCH more!