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!

Happy 30th Birthday Ben!

Today is Ben's birthday, it's hard to believe that he is 30... because that means I am also turning 30 this year!  Luke made Ben some big poster boards saying Happy Birthday Daddy, We Love You!  Luke also helped make Ben his birthday cake, and picked out the flavor, strawberry.  We went to Ben's work today to have lunch with him, and also brought him a yummy Edible Arrangement.  Ben has the day off tomorrow and I'm looking forward to some family time!

Luke is sick, once again!  This is the 6th time in three months and I feel so bad for him.  This latest illness came with congestion, and a cough, which Luke is not used to.  He keeps walking around stating "poor Luke" and "I don't feel good"...  It appears that his fever has finally broken, he's had one since Monday night, now we just need the runny nose and cough to go away.  Luke has started singing a lot more, and loves to sing the alphabet song.  I'm really looking forward to spending more time outside now that the weather is warming up.

Cole laughed for the first time yesterday.  I was dancing and singing to him, and after Luke stated "you dance good mom" Cole laughed.  So he was either laughing at my moves, or Luke's comment, either way it was awesome!  Nothing beats seeing your babies smile and hearing them laugh.  Knowing that they are healthy and happy gives me strength and motivates me in so many way!

Happy Birthday to my husband!  I couldn't ask for a better partner and feel very blessed to have him in my life!