Shane and Crystal

Harper Cole is just blooming by the day! He’s such a little sponge right now, soaking in this great big world of sights and sounds around him! He loves to swim and swing (”whim” and “whing”) while we are at the pool. So many mornings, when he wakes up…his first word is “pool”! He’s so comical, keeping us in stitches so much of the time!

He went to Vacation Bible School (nursery) this week while Mommy taught the 5-year olds…he enjoyed himself so much! The ladies said he was a hoot, and when they would ask him who he is, he would reply, “I dude”. He had the most precious little crafts each day…they brought tears to my eyes, because these were his first bring-home crafts! I’m keeping them ALL!!!

He loves to sing and dance…our latest thing we do is when I sing, “Praise ye the Lord…”, he raises his sweet little hands in the air and says “luu-ah” (hallelujah)…It’s just awesome! (Video below) He also loves the “Hot Dog!” song on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…so much that now he doesn’t ever refer to Mickey as Mickey, he actually calls him “Dot-Dog”! It’s so funny!

The word “no” has officially entered his vocabulary (yippee), and is used on a regular basis. I know this is incredibly typical of a child his age, and it doesn’t really bother me until he attempts to tell ME no…when he points to things that he knows are “no-nos” and he says “no”, I like that! Ha! He’s understanding!

This morning, we were all outside and a cat jumped out of the bushes and he pointed to it and said, “Mow (meow), GO!” in a very stern manner….ahhhhahahaha!!! He meant business, I tell ya!

“Whoa” and “Wheeee” are used often to and in the correct context…going over a bump, railroad tracks, and so on…and whee when he’s having fun. Those little expressions are just too sweet. I could just eat him up, sometimes.

Just so I can share some things that Harper is saying (and get a list going for those of you who aren’t able to see him as much as others), I’m making a little list of things he’s saying a doing. Enjoy!

Words Harper Cole will *attempt* to repeat just about anything you ask him to, but these are words that are at least somewhat close to the real thing. Some sound just like they are supposed to, while others are his version of that word! Haha! These are just the ones I can think of right now…

Mama or Ma, Dada, Jesus (Jeesi), Cole, me, Mammy, Granddaddy (Gadada), Patrick (Pappy or Dude), Papaw, Gigi, Ganna, yes, yesmam (yimam), yeah, no-no, amen (mamen!), up, down, love you (la-yoo), please (peas), thank you (sort of…), more (and signs it), all done (and signs it), choochoo, car, eat, boodin-boodin, tractor (titor), cookie, yum, Elmo (melmo), ball, dog, tree, pool, teeth, hello, hey, hi, byebye, pretty (prewy), bath, boat, play, fan, book, toe, eye (and pokes it), baby, blue, cheese, swing, peepee and poopoo, Mickey, Pooh, go

Skills
-He loves to dance and shake his booty!
-Helps to sing “Jesus Loves Me” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
-Can repeat over 1/2 of the letter sounds in the alphabet (Yeah, Letter Factory!)
-Knows the animals sounds of cow, lion, monkey, dog, cat, birdie, and elephant
-Cleans up with a wet wipe
-Throws things away in the trashcan when asked to
-Has mimic “conversations: on the phone
-Gives great “kisses and love”
-Loves to push or ride things
-Enjoys going for walks with Mommy
-Will jump (fall) right into the pool- and let’s me dunk him (I blow on his face first)
-Plays really well independently- very curious and inquisitive
-Makes the funniest faces and expressions
-Eats beautifully…he loves avacados, tomatoes, cottage cheese, yogurt, ham, cheese, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, mangos, watermelon, popsicles, Goldfish, oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, pancakes, muffins, pasta pick-ups, baby food, bread, green beans, sweet potatoes, chicken nuggets, french fries, fish, cabbage, some soups, spaghetto o’s, carrots, and soooo much more!
-He really loves books (hooray!!!). He will get a book and back his hiney right up to you to read it to him.
-His favorite shows are Backyardigans, Elmo’s World, Blue’s Clues, Pooh and Friends, Handy Manny, Curious George, Letter Factory, Finding Nemo, and Cars.
-Outside is his most favorite, favorite place to be- no matter what!
-He loves to play chase and rough house with his Daddy.
-He sleeps 12 hours at night and still takes one long nap and sometimes another short nap during the day.

Thank you GOD for this amazing,loving, wonderful, smart little boy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuo6M576h_c

Our little boy is just that- all boy. He’s loving playing and just being outdoors- whether its just being in the new backyard area or getting together for playdates. We’ve met a couple of new buddies and Harper Cole seems to enjoy hangin’ out with some dudes! Haha…no offense ladies- he thoroughly enjoys your presence too! Thank you God for great friends and wonderful memories!

Harper Cole is really starting to repeat- he’ll give just about anything a try, and is developing a little vocabulary. It happened so quickly, too…it’s almost like he woke up one morning and thought to himself, “Hmmm, hello world, I think I’ll starting talking now!”

He’s also at that age where he’s starting to “test” us a little bit and if things don’t immediately go his way…uh,oh- he let’s you know really quickly that he’s upset. Soooo, Mommy is very, very interested in reading a book a friend recommend called “Raising Godly Tomatoes”. (Thank you Kelly’s friend, Bridget!) I’m ordering it TODAY and hopefully it will be beneficial for my little pickle (but still a sweet gherkin-hehe…), but soon to hopefully be a tomato!~HAHA! Never thought I’d be referring to my little angel using vegetables. Oh well.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Enjoy the Smilebox below…

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Harper Cole LOVES being outside. He would stay morning until night and until you could only see the blues of his eyes for all the dirt that would cover him. We’ve been working on our backyard to get it into good shape for Harper Cole to play. For the ones of you that have seen our house, the massive hill in the front yard is not at all acceptable for playing, so we need to make good use of the backyard for the little guy. The sod has been layed, Daddy’s working on the deck, and Granddaddy’s helped out a ton by putting up the picket fence for “Harper Cole’s Hilltop Hangout”. Harper Cole “helped” Granddaddy out when he was digging. He had his own little shovel and wheelbarrow and was just on cloud nine!

I look at my precious little boy with each and every day and I just thank the almighty God above for his health, his safety, his darling personality, his little mind, his curiousity, and his sweet spirit. It seems at this stage, each day brings a new word, a new expression, a new “funny”, a new “no-no” and so on! I am so humbled to be his Mommy and I will always and forever do anything I can for that little guy to lead, guide, direct, and protect him. This is just what is “built-in” the second you become a parent. He is such a blessing from above and words cannot express my love for him and my devotion to Jesus Christ for allowing little ol’ me to have such an awesome role…Thank you Lord! Again…God is SO good, ALL the time!!

Harper Cole had his very first surgery this morning at Children’s Healthcare- Scottish Rite. (He was re-circumcised, if you didn’t already know). Along with Shane and myself, Granna Tana, Mamaw and Papaw, and Grammy and Granddaddy were there with the little guy. That hospital is so neat- with everything revolving around children. There were toys everywhere, the nursing staff was amazing, and they really took care of my little sweetie. We arrived at 6:00 am (we’ve been up since 3:45am), did all the pre-op stuff, and then went to a pre-op room where there were toys and a television. A nurse brought a tiny little hospital gown for Harper Cole and an adult sized one for Mommy. She then let Harper go into a large, lit up cabinet to pick out a brand new toy. We waited there until 8:30 (Harper hadn’t eaten since last night, but he was such a trooper!).

At 8:30, Dr. Scherz (pediatric urologist) arrived and Mommy and Harper Cole went back to the operating room. I stayed while they put the mask on his face and he drifted off (that was a little difficult for me and I was emotional, but I knew God had the whole thing under control). I then joined Daddy in a post op room where we waited for about an hour for Harper Cole. He was rolled in a big hospital bed (he looked so tiny!), with his right hand draped across his face with a “Woe is me” look! He snoozed in my arms for about another hour while our fantastic nurse, Mrs. Nancy, took care of him- keeping his iv going.

We left the hospital and he had a rough ride home, getting sick a couple of times from the anesthesia- poor little guy! We got home, ate a little bite, then he laid down for close to 4 hours. He was given a “caudal” and is still numb “down there”. He has some good medicine to help him rest, also. He’s playing now and is in good spirits…

Thanks for all of your prayers and we all look forward to watching him re-coop!

From Harper Cole 15 months

From Harper Cole 15 months

We made a trip to the Georgia Aquarium this past Saturday with Papaw and Gina. Harper Cole had never been before so we were all very excited to see his first impressions. When we arrived and went into the first big tank of mixed tropical fish, he was immediately interested, saying “fiss, fiss!”. When we moved onto larger sea creatures like sharks and beluga whales, he said “ooh!” in his little deep voice. We had a wonderful time and hope to take him back again!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Easter was a time of lots of great memories for us. We started our day by getting up to see what the Easter Bunny brought Harper Cole. He had a basket filled with a bubble maker, a book, Little People Eggs, a frog lunchbag, and an Elmo movie. EB also went to Grammy and Granddaddy’s house and left a new outfit, an Elmo book and Elmo plush, and other sweet things.

We got everyone dressed in our Easter clothes and went to celebrate Christ’s resurrection with our church at Cartersville High School stadium! Harper Cole looooved the music! He sang and danced and had a great time! Daddy took him to the nursery during the sermon.

We went home and had a little egg hunt for HC at Grammy and Granddaddy’s house. Uncle Patrick (a.k.a. “Dude” as HC calls him) helped Granddaddy “hide” (a.k.a. put in the grass) a few eggs. HC was interested briefly, but was mostly only interested in eggs that had something inside. Mommy didn’t think he would care, but he did! He put an egg in the basket, shook them, and then tried to take eggs out.

We went to Uncle Steve’s house for lunch and had another egg hunt with cousins Gabe and Audrey Kate.

It was a a wonderful day!

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

From Harper 13 & 14 Months

Since last Saturday was such a nice, warm, DRY spring day (we haven’t had very many of those lately!), we decided to load up the bikes and the baby and go for a ride at Berry College. The Viking Trail is our favorite place to ride. It’s so beautiful out there and there’s a great place to stop half-way into it for a nice break to play. We rode 7 miles and we all had a great time!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Harper Cole is such an inquisitive little fellow! He loves to take things apart, *attempt* to put them back, crawl through, into, or under things,push anything that will push (especially his strollers) and just try to figure out this great big world surrounding him.

“He’s into everything” was an expression that I never completely understood until now. We literally can’t turn our head for a second because if we do…Harper Cole will be in a cabinet, under a table, pulling drawers out, hiding our little things, unrolling the toilet paper, pulling on the blinds, trying to get in the toilet, unorganizing anything Mommy has organized, putting anything and everything that is small enough into his mouth, and so on and so on!

He’s finally learned how to actually ride his ride-on toys. For the longest time, he’s just pushed them, put things in them, or sat on them. He’s realized he can push himself forward with his feet, so now he’s scooting around. It really is so cute! He also had a big time last night in the the big boxes that Guitar Hero was shipping in. He thought he was big stuff in that big ol’ box.

I love watching my little guy learn and grow with each and every day. What an amazing little gift from God he is!

It’s hard to believe Harper Cole is 14 months old already! He’s really just turning into a little man right before our eyes. His personality is hilarious…witty, smart, and sweet…but he definitely has a tiny bit of a temper from time to time. He just can’t stand for anyone to take anything away from him- it just breaks his little heart. He’s walking around like a champ, even picking up some speed from time to time! He’s added a few words: “hi” (and still “hey”), “Momo” (for Elmo), doggie (says dogga in a whisper), “shhh” (and points), “bite-bite”, and this morning I think he said “car”. He says his blessing by putting his little hands together and shaking. When we say “amen”, he tucks his little head down. Absolutely darling! He loves trucks and things that roll around. Outside is his absolute favorite place to be, so I’m looking forward to more nice spring days to play outside with him.

We went to TN this past weekend and he had a good time seeing all of our family and friends from up there. We don’t get to see them enough, so everyone (including us) really enjoys the visits!

Today was such a nice, warm day- I just couldn’t stay inside when Harper Cole and I came home after I got off work. We took our shoes off (well, I took our shoes off!), grabbed the big red ball and the squishy Tonka truck with the big wheels and headed outside. Harper Cole was too tiny to “play” outside much last year, but this year is a whole different story. He went straight for the grass, starting walking and crawling around in it, and even attempted to eat some sticks, blades of grass, flowers, and maybe a bug or two…he’s all boy! I put him in his swing and he just laughed and had the best time. Daddy is going to get the backyard a little more “Harper Cole friendly” here soon, because THAT is where our little guy wants to be and is sooooo happy about it!