Life is Good!

Wow, what a crazy two months! We traveled a ton, and in between, moved the rest of our stuff from Christiansburg, and the stuff from our apartment into our new house. In July we spent almost two weeks in Buffalo, came back to SC for 5 days, drove to Christiansburg stayed over night, and then went to Pigeon Forge, TN for a week. We've been living in our new home for a full three weeks now and I am definitely feeling more settled than I've felt in the past 5 months! We had a ton of help moving and unpacking thanks to our families, and I don't know what we would have done without them!
I think everyone has adjusted well, and I am so proud of all my boys! Luke, like always, has been great with the change. The only down side is that he tells me he misses his friends... (so do I) I enrolled him in a gym class and he loves it, but we had to miss today because Luke, Cole and myself all have colds :0( He'll go again on Thursday. Luke is so full of personality, he is smart, witty, and extremely athletic, I'm not biased at all :0) Unfortnately you have to be 3 by Sept. 1 to play soccer, I think they should have try outs, haha :0) Luke is a great big brother, he has his moments now that Cole wants everything that Luke plays with. But for the most part he is gentle and kind.

Cole loves having his own room, as do I! The second night we stayed in our home he slept through the night for the first time in his life! He's been doing so since then! It's been amazing :0) Cole has been crawling, and walking along furniture. He likes to walk with his push toys as well, and pretty much tries to stand up all the time. He has started letting go for a few seconds when he is standing. His favorite thing to say is da, da, da, da, although he babbles all the time. I know he's going to be interrupting his brother in no time. Cole adores Luke! He laughs at him all the time, and again, wants to be doing whatever Luke does. Cole is a cuddler, and loves to give hugs and kisses. He waves, and loves to dance. It is hilarious when music is playing, because he just starts bee-bopping.

Ben and I both are doing well! He is my best friend and I wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else. I'm blessed in so many ways! I will post pictures soon :0)

Oh, I forgot to mention, I haven't been able to use my computer for almost three weeks because my power cord broke. So that is partly why I haven't updated the blog in so long :0)

Pictures!

Luke and Ben went on their first golf outing on Father's Day!

Luke had a blast!  They played nine holes and Ben said he didn't want to stop!

Of course he loved playing in the sand!

Luke took this picture!  He loves taking pictures!

Another picture from Luke, we just woke up :0)

Brothers! 

Summerville

We are officially no longer home owners in VA.  The closing went surprisingly smooth!  This past Tuesday we put a contract on a house down here.  It's in Summerville, SC and is about a 15 minute drive from Ben's work.  The schools are good and the house sits in a golf course community (Ben is ecstatic).  We have the inspection next Wednesday and a close date of July 29th!  I pray that the closing of this home goes as smoothly as the VA house!  Here is the link to our new home for those of you who are interested http://www.century21properties.idxco.com/idx/8809/details.php?idxID=146&listingID=1105982

Cole is so close to crawling.  He will reach forward towards a toy get on all fours and then sit back down.  I love watching him explore.  Of course he has a lot more bumps on his head now that he thinks he can lunge at things.  He is babbling like crazy with his favorite syllables being "da da da" haha!  He is still not sleeping well, but I don't plan on doing anything until he has his own room.  Only a few more weeks!

I'm watching Luke and Ben build a castle right now.  I love the weekends when we are all together!  Luke continues to be a sponge and soaks up everything.  He loves counting things, reading books, and asking Why!  haha... "why do we have hands, why do we have feet, why do we have mouths" you get the picture.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Quick Update turned Long

I started writing this post 2 weeks ago, then tried to finish it a week ago, and am just now working on it again. 
Cole had his 6 month check up on Tuesday, May 23 and he is doing great!  He weighs 19.8 lbs and is 27.75 inches long.  Luke was the exact same height at Cole's age :0)  Cole continues to get more and more mobile and rolls all over the floor like a champ.  I'm starting to feed him solids and he seems to be enjoying it.  Luke also enjoys feeding Cole, he is very patient and sweet.  I can not believe that Cole is already 6 months (almost 7 months now), he is getting so big, and is constantly smiling and laughing.  The past few days Cole has started pushing himself up on all fours, with space between his belly and floor, so probably only a few more weeks and he'll be crawling!  Luke is a fantastic big brother!

Luke is doing great and continues to make me laugh all the time.  He is a great problem solver and always thinks of solutions.  For example, the other day I was holding Cole, Luke said "he wants to roll around mom" I told him he didn't because he was fussy and wanted to sit up, Luke walks out of the room saying "I'll be right back, I'm getting his bumbo chair".  Haha, he is so smart!  Today I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I could see in the mirror that he was trying to get something off the dresser.  He stood on his tippy toes, then tried to pull himself up, he then walked out and came back with his stool.  He stood on the stool and got the golf tees he was trying to reach, and proudly stated "it worked"!  haha!  I need to start writing down all the funny things that he says, he is hilarious!  He will tell you "I crack myself up"!

We had a great visit with Josh and Kim, and then an great trip to Hilton Head for a few days for our friends wedding.  Luke and Cole got to spend some time with Nannie and Pop, which they also enjoyed!  Hilton Head is beautiful and I would definitely suggest it as a vacation spot. 

We have a contract on our VA house with a close date of June 17th, which is only a week away!  We feel very blessed that our home sold quickly, a mortgage and a rent payment, along with two electric bills, and two water bills each month is no fun at all!  We are continuing to pray that things go smoothly and will feel both relieved and a bit sad to say goodbye to our first home.  But I've said it before, as long as I have my boys and Ben, we can make a home anywhere :0)  We are meeting with our realtor this evening to start the search for a home down here, with the hopes of moving into a house by early August.

We are planning on having a lot of visitors this summer.  Josh and Kim just left, Grandma Sko is coming this weekend, then Nannie, then Grandpa and Mar Mar, then we are going to Buffalo, then Tennessee.  I'm sure that Aunt B and Uncle Matt will both visit, and hope that Uncle Joe and Uncle Jamie will also come.  I'm sure the summer will move by quickly!  We can't wait to spend time with everyone!

Hopefully my next post will come sooner!  Love to all!

Some New Pictures!



Luke is so funny, he makes me laugh
all day!

Lately when I take his picture he has
been making funny faces, haha!

Kisses Kisses Kisses for everyone

Wearing his daddy's glasses

Another week or so and Cole will be
sitting up on his own!

He loved that blow up sword from Aunt Sandy, unfortunately
it popped :0(

Teething like crazy, poor guy!

Look at thos legs :0)

Best buddies!  Luke has really started interacting with Cole,
he loves to try and make him laugh, and Cole adors Luke!

At the park, Mother's Day!

At the pier at Folly Beach!

Birds, Bugs, and other God's Creatures!

It's amazing how different the terrain and world changes only 6 hours from our previous home.  For starters, everything here is flat!  It makes our walks a lot easier, but definitely not getting the same type of workout.   

Where there is water, which seems to be every mile or so, there are signs for Alligators.  We have not seen an alligator, but we will definitely not be feeding any ducks anytime soon :0)  I do think it would be pretty cool if we did see an alligator, but only if we are in the safety of a vehicle.

The trees are different, most obvious there are Palm trees, which we love!  Last night Ben told me that the first thing he is going to do when we purchase a new home is to plant a palm.  But there are also many other species of trees that I have not seen before.  There are a lot of trees that have moss hanging from them, and the Magnolia trees here are gorgeous!

The birds are amazing and beautiful.  I'm thinking of getting a bird book so I can look up the names of all the new birds we have seen.  In VA I could name 90% of the birds we saw, so far the only bird here that I know the name of is a seagul :0)  We went to an awesome park yesterday and saw birds with yellow feathers, and others with red... awesome!

In VA we had to contend with spiders, and sometimes field mice.  In SC we have palmetto bugs and lizards...  Last night Ben and I encountered a palmetto bug, these suckers are huge, the one we saw was literally 2 inches long.  After doing some research, even after being assured from the property manager that palmetto bugs are not cockroaches, my research said that they are also known as the American Cockroach, ahhh!  So needless to say I've been freaking out about this.  The only good thing, is they do not infest like typical cockroaches, but still freaking out!  The lizards are cool as are the dragon flies.  The dragon flies are everywhere and have taken the place of regular flies in VA.

Over all I am loving SC, with the exception of the palmetto bug!  I am enjoying exploring our new surroundings, and am looking forward to educating my self about these creatures so we can share with Luke and Cole!

Another update, with hopes of updating weekly :0)

We are officially living in North Charleston!  The move has gone relatively smoothly, with only a few hiccups, broken AC being the worst, it's fixed now!  Two weeks ago began our adventure.  We left VA on Thursday morning, anticipating a 6 hour trip, which turned into a 8.5 hour trip due to traffic.  We spent the night in a hotel Thursday night, and Friday moved what we brought with us in to our new apartment.  We are renting a 2 bedroom apt. for 6 months, hoping our house will sell within that time.  Saturday bright and early Luke, Cole and I headed to FL with Papa (Edgy) for a week vacation.  Ben stayed behind so he could start work on Monday.

Florida was a lot of fun!  The weather was gorgeous!  Luke loved playing in the sand and spending time with his Papa and Grandma.  Aunt Sue and Uncle Craig also joined us, and spoiled Luke rotten!  We went to see the dolphins at Marineland, Luke went putt putt golfing with Grandma and Papa, and we enjoyed spending time at the pool.  It was a great vacation! 

We headed back to Charleston on Friday, once again and 5 hour trip turned into a 7 hour trip due to traffic.  Ben was so excited to see the boys and we all felt the same way to see him.  We've spent the last 5 days getting the apartment feeling "cozy", exploring the area, and meeting some new people!

Unfortunately poor Cole has been battling a cold for the past 3 weeks, I took him to the dr. today and he has a mild ear infection :0(  On a positive note, we have a new pediatrician down here, who so far we like :0) 

Ben's job is going well.  He has met some great people and feels like he is going to enjoy what he will be doing.  It's very similar to what he did before but on a larger scale.  Everyone we've met has been so nice down here, which helps make the move easier!  As long as I have my boys, I can make my home anywhere :0)  We miss our friends, not a day goes by without Luke mentioning some of his friends names.  Hopefully we'll meet some new little ones for Luke to play with.

Cool tree at Caps Restaurant

Sweet baby Cole

Old City St. Augustine

Dinner on King St., Charleston

Easter

So cute!