{Christmas} Part II

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!

This was probably one of the busiest years we've had!  On Christmas Eve we had The Cole's over for dinner.  The highlight of the night was watching Camden go NUTS over all of the presents - his and other peoples!  Then on Christmas morning we had our own family Christmas!  We made the mistake of letting Camden open Santa's gift (best & biggest) 1st - so he was more interested in playing with it and had zero interest in opening more gifts.  After a big Christmas breakfast we drove to St. Louis to see the Hurst's!  We had an excellent time  - the kids were so good on the drive there and we only went through 1 blizzard.  In St. Louis we had fun visiting, bowling, & going to the zoo.  We love this time of year - it reminds us of how blessed we are to have wonderful friends and family!  We hope the year ahead is as great as 2009 and brings even more health & happiness!

{Christmas} Part I

We had a very busy week with holiday parties, seeing Santa and finished buying all of our gifts.  This year we went to the Graylyn Estate and had breakfast with Santa.  Camden did such a good job telling him what he wanted.  He's still a little afraid to sit on his lap, but had no problem standing in front of him or in the chair besides him.  Bexley was an angel too!   Camden is anxiously awaiting Christmas morning!

{Disney on Ice}

Scott & I thought it would be fun to take Camden & Bexley to see Disney on Ice.  Within the 1st 10 minutes we were there we managed to lose a sock, a pacifier, were told to move – that we were in the wrong seats and had Camden asking when the tractors were coming out.  It’s one of those things as a parent you think would just be a blast for your children, but it ends up being A LOT of work for the parents.  On a good note, the only time Bexley paid attention to the show was when they brought out all the Disney princesses – otherwise she just slept. And Camden really liked Nemo.  It was a lot of work to keep everyone happy, but we did have a fun time and we have many funny stories about it!

{Our Little Thanksgiving} and Birthday!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  This was probably one of the busiest years we've had!  On Christmas Eve we had The Cole's over for dinner.  The highlight of the night was watching Camden go NUTS over all of the presents - his and other peoples!  Then on Christmas morning we had our own family Christmas!  We made the mistake of letting Camden open Santa's gift (best & biggest) 1st - so he was more interested in playing with it and had zero interest in opening more gifts.  After a big Christmas breakfast we drove to St. Louis to see the Hurst's!  We had an excellent time  - the kids were so good on the drive there and we only went through 1 blizzard.  In St. Louis we had fun visiting, bowling, & going to the zoo.  We love this time of year - it reminds us of how blessed we are to have wonderful friends and family!  We hope the year ahead is as great as 2009 and brings even more health & happiness!

{Natural Science Center} with The Mickens Family

Last Saturday we met up with The Mickens and went to the Natural Science Museum!  Anyone here locally should defiantly check it out - it was so much fun!  We were there 3 hours and didn't even get to see much of the inside.  We were too busy seeing all of the animals outside!  We are excited to go back and spend some time inside checking out what they have to offer.  So much fun and so much to do!

{Happy Halloween} 2009

Camden had a lot of fun this year carving his pumpkin.  He helped clean it out and cut it!  He really liked taking the "guts" out and was sure to shout, "Oooohh, YUCK!  It's gooey and slimey!"  Camden's pumpkin was a dump truck and Bexley's was a ballerina.  We did something a little different this year and had a small get-together at our house, took Camden trick-or-treating, then went to our neighborhood party after that.  Camden loved every second of Halloween.  He didn't quite get the hang of saying "trick-or-treat" at the door, but instead rang the doorbell and then said, "thank you!"  Bexley slept through the whole thing.  We had a great halloween and are already thinking of next years costume!

{Fall Mountain Trip} Blowing Rock, NC

Well...we finally got to go to the mountains last Sunday.  The weather was absoulutely beautiful, however the trees were not.  It was a no-win situation - go the weekend before and have 40 degrees and fog/rain but pretty trees or last weekend 70 and sunny and the leaves falling off the trees.  Oh well, it was still fun!  The ride up there had some pretty trees to look at. We had a picnic lunch once we got there, took Camden to the city park in Blowing Rock, NC and took a small hike at the Moses Cone Manor House - oh...and of course I found some time for shopping.  Always have to go shopping!  Love the mountains - even Bexley liked looking around and hiking too!  Camden loves everything about being there because everything to do is outdoors!  The next time we'll be back will be after Thanksgiving to chop down our Christmas tree!  YAY!

{Happy Fall!} and Family Updates

Happy Fall everyone!  We are all festive here at the Cole household!  Today we were supposed to take our annual Fall Trip to the Mountains, but due to weather - we cancelled the trip. (it was rainy/snowy and 39 YUCK! - I know...even this Iowa girl has been spoiled by the NC weather and now thinks 39 is COLD!)  So instead we went to the Farmer's Market, got a pumpkin and our Fall/Winter flowers to plant around the house!  We are going to try to get to the pumpkin patch later this week when it's warmer - today was just too cold to go to pick out pumpkins.  Check back later this week for pumpkin patch pics! 

If you haven't heard by now we've been having some intestinal issues with Bexley.  She is doing about the same and will be going to see a Pediatric GI this Thursday (Oct 22).  Hopefully they will be able to help her!  I will try to keep everyone updated - thanks to everyone who has been keeping her in their prayers!

Hope everyone has a wonderful fall and a Happy Halloween!

{Introducing...} Bexley Brianna Cole

We would love to announce the arrival of Miss Bexley Brianna Cole!  She was born on 9.9.09 at 10:57am, weighing 7lbs, 2oz and was 19 1/2" long!  She is doing great!  We are all so happy and pink saying things constantly like, "She's just so cute!" and "We love her so much!"  She's a really good baby - sleeping all the time, eating good and hardly crying (unless she wants more milk or to be changed). Camden is warming up to her!  He still is adjusting - everyday he does something new with her or making comments.  It will be no time at all that he'll be her 24 hour security guard!  He did think it was pretty cool to go to the hospital to see her, even if it was to quickly say "hi" to her then pretend the bed was a forklift by making it go up and down or pretending to be a doctor. We are really blessed to have our newest addition home with us and doing well.  We want to thank everyone who called to wish us well prior to having Bexley and all the wishes after she was born!  We have the best friends and family!  We can't wait to share more pictures and stories throughout the year!

{Our Last Trip of the Summer} Myrtle Beach, SC

We took our last trip to the beach this summer last weekend!  Of all the times we had been to the beach, we have never stayed in Myrtle Beach!  We had a great time!  It was so much fun!  It was our last trip with just one child and also our 1st trip with Camden sleeping in a big boy bed.  Camden loves being so grown up! What an adventure!  But...it was the smallest packed trip we had ever taken!  We did a lot of relaxing on the beach, playing at the water park and eating a lot of great food!  Oh, and of course found some time for shopping!  We really enjoyed our last trip out for the summer and are already planning our 1st fall trip with our newest family member!

{Happy 34th Birthday} Scott!

Scott celebrated his 34th birthday last Saturday.  Biggs and Sarah came in to celebrate while on their way down to New Orleans for vacation!  We took Scott to Chapel Hill to Carolina Brewery for dinner.  Then on Sunday we celebrated at Longhorn with family. Happy Birthday Scott and welcome to your mid-30's! (He loves it!)

{Ocean Isle Beach} Trip!

We spent the last week at Ocean Isle Beach!  The first part of the week Sharon, Phillip, Kimberly and Nathan were there for our 1st annual Cole Family Beach Trip!  We had a lot of fun at the beach and playing mini golf.  Camden loved having everyone there.  He loves the ocean and loved driving his tractor through the sand.  The rest of the week we relaxed at the beach, shopped, ate and well...that's pretty much it!  We always love going to the NC beaches in the summertime.  Scott and I couldn't help, but talk about how things were going to be the next time we came to the beach and had 2 kids with us!

{Happy 1st Anniversary} Roanoke, VA

Scott and I celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary this Sunday!  We didn't want to go anywhere far or for too long so we decided on Roanoke, VA.  What a beautiful city!  It sits in a valley among the mountains.  Known as the "Star City of the South," the city constructed a giant star to sit up on the mountain!  We had a lot of fun walking around town shopping and visiting their Farmer's Market.  We also stayed at the Hotel Roanoke - so beautiful and full of history!  It was a perfect day and a perfect way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!

{Hurst/Ryan Beach Trip} Pawley's Island

Mom, June, Theresa and Sarah all came to North Carolina last week to visit!  We had so much fun!  We went to Pawley's Island (love it there) and Charleston - that was just for the weekend.  Once we got back to NC we drove down to Charlotte and then to the mountains!   Make sure to check out our pictures to see everything that we did!  It was a great visit - I can't wait for another one!

{Disney Trip + Mother's Day} Orlando

We went to Orlando for Mother's Day weekend!  We spent Sunday at Magic Kingdom.  Camden loved it!  We had a lot of fun seeing all of the characters, riding the rides and watching the fireworks!  Camden's favorite ride was either the Tea Cups or the Go-Carts.  He was crazy about both.  It was so priceless to see Camden's face when we walked into the park and he saw Mickey and Minnie for the 1st time - I couldn't think of a better gift than that for Mother's Day!

{NC Zoo}

We took a trip down to the zoo today.  Camden loved it...well actually he loved running around.  He was mostly interested in the birds, but liked the giraffes too!  It was a beautiful day and we were lucky enough to get there early that it wasn't crowded yet.  Grandma Sharon gave us the grand tour of the place!  We had lots of fun and always love going to the zoo!

{Let it Snow!}

Sunday night Greensboro got about 5" of snow!  I know...that's TONS for Greensboro!  Unfortunately due to the snow Camden didn't have school that day so we got to play outside!  Camden loved the snow and now wants to go out every second!  I've uploaded some pics so you can see how much fun we had!

{Happy Valentine's Day}

For Valentine's Day this year Scott and I decided to stay close and go to Pinehurst!  It was a lot of fun!  Although we didn't golf, we did do some shopping, took a carriage ride around the village and went out to dinner.  Wondering about Camden...he got to go to Grandma and Grandpa Cole's house!  He loved every minute of it and can't wait for another overnight!

{The Homestead Resort} Surprise!

Scott surprised Camden and me with a trip to The Homestead last Saturday!  The Homestead is a beautiful mountain resort in Hot Springs, VA.  They had skiing, ice skating, snow tubing, bowling, a movie theatre, live music and tons more!  It was really fun and relaxing!  We just wish we could've stayed longer!

{Happy 2nd Birthday} Camden!

Happy Birthday Camden!  Camden turned 2 this year!  He's getting to be such a big boy.  We had a birthday party at our house with some family!  We had a cow theme, since Camden loves cows!  He had a great time and loved his cake so much he even kissed it!