Turtle Tuesday

First off... I want to know how my laptop just survived a 4 foot fall onto tile???
In less than a month, our first born will be starting Kindergarten. He CAN. NOT. WAIT. He is ready in more ways than one and we can't wait to see him with his backpack and little lunch box ready for big boy school. I get teary eyed just thinking about it. :-)

I feel like he has accomplished so much this summer. He is biking without training wheels like a pro. He is getting better and better with his swimming. He's still not 100% comfortable, but he is capable. He can get from point A to point B without problems. He is showing an incredible interest in reading lately.  He tries to read everything he sees when we are running the streets (hehe!). Tonight, he read an entire level 1 book. The words are simple (most are sight words) but he completed the book. So proud.
Cole is such an old soul. He has the energy of a group of children balled up into his little body, but he is old in many ways. He prefers to converse with older children and adults. He is facinated with countries and their language. If we left it up to him, he would ONLY watch ESPN. He doesn't just love sports. At times I wonder if he is a little obssessed... :)
So, Joe and I have this thing where we call each other names. Not in a bad way. Just names. I am Donna. Joe is Donnie. Reid's Spanish name is Juanacleto (I don't think it's a real name). His English name is Phil Nelson (as in the wrestling hold, "full nelson". We arent' wrestling fans but just think it's funny). Cole's Spanish name is Miguel. His English name is Rick O'Shay (Joe's friend that lives in the woods. Some of you golfing fans may get that one). We've been doing this for almost a year. The other day, I walked into class and Cole's teacher asked me "Does Cole go by another name at home?". All of a sudden- I knew what she was talking about and started laughing. Turns out, they spent 20 minutes trying to figure out who in the class had signed an assignment as "Rick". I tried so hard to explain, but all I could do was laugh. We finally had a talk with the boys and explained that at school, they can only be: Cole Joseph and Reid Clarke. This is the age where we have to *really* be careful with what we say and do. :)

The assignment, signed as "rick".

Cole, Reid and Cole Hastings. Playing on the golf course in our neighborhood.

In the soon to be bunker....

Finally. The front flip. Mommy made me wear my floaties for the flips.

Cole's new Tony Hawk bike. He loves it!!

Our Reid has become a pro with puzzles and memory games. We love to sit and watch him do puzzles. He focuses so hard. As soon as he finishes- and he does so, quickly, he wants to do another one. We love to play memory games with him in the evenings. He gets so excited and nervous when he realizes that he remembers where the pair is. He can barely contain himself. So much that he shakes a little. :)  It makes us crack up. Although Reid is constanly running and jumping, he can often times be seen coloring or doing a sit-down activity. The boys are signed up and ready for the Fall soccer season. It will be Reid's first season. When we told him, he asked 3 or 4 times: "I get to play soccer? With my cleats and my long socks? Will Cole go to my games?" The little look on his face was beautiful. It was the perfect example of the HUGE rewards our babies give us as parents.

I love to hear and watch Cole and Reid be the little people that they are. Their personalities are polar opposites and I love each and every difference.


Reid has been eating  a ton lately.................... :-)



I just think that this is the cutest thing. I love it.

Ps/. For those of you wondering about Reid and Shelby's love affair: it's still going strong. I still remember my little boyfriend in pre-k when I lived in Peru, so I think its funny that Reid could potentially remember Shelby when he is in his 30's. :)

Have a wonderful week! One week closer to the cool football season days. Spring and Summer are my favorites seasons but I'm really looking forward to Fall this year for some reason!

Father's Day

I know Father’s Day was 3 weeks ago, but these days it seems that’s how far behind I am when it comes to blogging. Father’s Day was great! Like always, we split our time between Joe’s parents and mine. My parents came over to have lunch on Sunday. We spent the day drinking mimosas and building and playing with the air hockey table that my sister bought Cole for his birthday. That thing is pretty entertaining, even for adults! :) Later, we went over to Mike and Tara’s for a Rentfro BBQ. We all played outside and surprisingly, we didn’t melt! :) It’s so hot here lately!
We are so blessed to have such amazing Dad’s in our family!
I can’t say enough good things about my Large Turtle (Joe, aka Donnie). I am seriously thankful each and every day for the man that I married. I am so proud that Cole and Reid have him as a Dad. <3

While Joe was opening presents, the boys were sitting next to him under each arm in order to help unwrap them. All of a sudden, we heard Cole say “You are the best Daddy in the world. And your armpits smell good!”. LOL!! Really? Cole says he loves the way the deodorant smells. That’s so funny to me!

Melissa, Lionel and Cole. Playing air hockey.

My 2 little Turtles.

My dad. Greatest Papi in the world. Being funny (as always) and pretending to drink out of a mini keg. He doesn't even drink beer...

Cole beat Mama... :)

After lunch. Full and happy!




Bruce, Matt, Joe, Reid, Mike, Will, Papa John and Cole. Four generations in one cute picture!





Have a great week. I promise to try to post more often!  



Mostly Big Turtle Stuff

(WARNING: Not as many pictures as I intended to get and LOTS of reading.)

Today, Cole took a field trip to the Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin, Texas. This means that my 5 year old baby was in a bus with his baby friends and his teachers for at least an hour and a half. Not a single part of me wanted him to go. Not because I don’t trust his teachers, but because I don’t trust drivers on the road. We let him go because he was SO EXCITED about going and we didn’t want him to stay behind while all of his friends got to go and have fun. The vision of my Turtle Head in a bus for that long made me want to drive up to the school this morning, and hand them his car seat and a helmet…..haha! I know we can’t keep them in bubbles forever, but “Cole the Bubble Boy” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

On a different note, Cole had a blast at his birthday party. This year, he picked to have his party at Shankz in the Woodlands (Black Light Miniature Golf). It was perfect place to have a KID party because the kids loved that everything was glow in the dark, they got to play golf and eat pizza and cake. Oh and it was indoors. We decided after last year’s party, that it was too hot to be outside for a long period of time in June. Cole has already asked to have a pool party one year, so that will be an exception since we can cool off with water. I love that he loves his birthday parties and that he knows exactly what he wants and where he wants to celebrate! I wasn’t able to get many pictures because of the lighting (dark/black lights). Thank you to all that helped him celebrate his birthday for almost a week. Two Saturdays ago, he got to go to Patti and Travis’ lake house to fish (see previous entry for pictures). On his actual Birthday, I took him to the pool with Tara and my nephews, Matt and Will. They ate lunch at the pool and swam. Later, we went to get frozen yogurt (with a million toppings) at this place called Orange Leaf. Thursday, we had his birthday party at school with a Harley Davidson Motorcycle cake. This past Saturday was the party at Shankz, where he also got to pick out the cake (Iron Man). He got to do every single thing he asked to do. We got him “red New Balance running shoes” (per his request), a helmet for skating/biking, goggles for the water and several water toys. My in laws got him a bunch of Ben10 stuff, which he is really into lately. My parents got him a 2 wheel Razor scooter (he’s wanted one since Christmas but we didn’t think he was old enough), a spy watch and a harmonica. He *LOVES* the Razor. He is already a pro on it. Some of the other stuff he got: clothes, a wooden baseball bat that he’s been begging for, a remote control truck, Sketcher light up shoes, money, a Nerf gun, 2 Super Water Soakers, a Hot Wheel ramp, Green Lantern stuff and some super hero dress up stuff (cant’ remember the hero’s name right now), a personalized lunchbox for school, and a couple of other toys. Oh and my sister and her boyfriend, got him a 6 ft air hockey table! It hasn’t been delivered yet, but it should be by next week. He will more than likely freak out when he sees it. Can’t wait to see the look on his face!
Thank you SO MUCH to all who showed my baby love on his day! He is one happy boy with all the gifts and Little Turtle is reaping the benefits!  :)

At Shankz. Cole insisted on wearing the shirt that they gave him. :)

Perfect place for a little boy's party.

Picture taken with the flash.

Cutest little glow worm (Brooklyn). All light colors lit up like her shirt!

Matt with his glow in the dark mustache. All my pictures were blurry like this. :(

Cole’s 5 year well visit went very well. Thankfully, Dr. Pope found him in “excellent shape developmentally, physically and intellectually”. Sight and hearing are good and he didn’t need any vaccinations. As a matter of fact, he won’t until his 11th birthday. Cole was very happy about that… He is in the 80 percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height. They no longer make measuring tape long enough to measure his head. ;-)

Cole has his last t-ball game this Saturday. Last night, the league had a “trophy party” at a restaurants so that we could eat dinner, cupcakes and distribute trophy’s and medals. The coach was sweet to call up each kid, say something nice about them and hand them the trophy and medal. Cole was the last one to be called. The coach said “and this award is for my little slugger”. Without hesitation, Cole got up to accept his award. He is good and he knows it! J The coach went on to say other sweet things and told Joe that it was obvious he worked very hard with him. Funny, how something so simple made me SO proud. We thought we would take a sports break over the summer, but when we asked Cole, he said “NO WAY. I want to play basketball now”. I hope we can find a league close by.

My Reid has had a girlfriend for a couple of months now. Her name is Shelby and he LOVVVVVES Shelby. Thankfully for him, Shelby loves him too. He tells her he loves her and they are stuck at the hip at school. Every single day when I get to his classroom to pick him up, he runs up to me, gives me a hug and a kiss and then (with biggest enthusiasm) tells me ALL about Shelby as if it’s the first time he’s ever told me about her. Very loving relationship but it can get volatile from time to time. Last week, Reid bit Shelby’s leg. Fortunately, he didn’t leave a mark, but still. The week before that, Shelby slapped Reid. He still won’t tell me what he did to deserve a slap… Yesterday, Reid mentioned his “girlfriend Abby”. I wonder if that had something to do with it???

Iron Man cake for his party at Shankz.

Harley Davidson cake for his party at school.

Where we've been.

It's been a while since my last post. We've been doing a couple of things since then. On May 20th, Cole graduated from Pre-K. My mom, dad, Joe, Reid and I were in all in attendance. I must have cried 2 or 3 times. He played one of the main roles in one of their end of year songs/shows. He led the class singing in Spanish and we were so proud. We are working on getting a video of the show from the school, because the batteries on my video camera were dead. I thought I had charged it- but I guess not! I didn't get very many good pictures either because someone either had their eyes closed or was looking away, during the family pictures. Later, the 4 of us went and played putt putt golf and rode go carts. Reid didn't get to ride on the carts because he's still not tall enough, so he and I played at the arcade.

I think he was a little nervous when he saw the crowd. :)

Just a *little* happy.

Singing and dancing.

:)

Singing away.

His head is still huge. The cap fell off half way through the ceremony. ;-)

Joe and I went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with our friends Adam and Tiffany. A couple hours after being at the resort, we were surprised by our friends Kevin and Lisa! We were SO HAPPY that they decided to lie to us for the months leading up to the trip and tell us that they couldn't go. It was the best surprise, ever! The 6 days with some of our best friends, were beautiful and so much fun!
Thank you Mami, Papi, Bruce and Carrie for keeping our babies while we were gone. We are so lucky to have such awesome parents! The boys had so much fun slumber partying with the grandparents!

Can this be my front yard, PLEASE!????

We just got back from Patti and Travis' lake house in Lake Livingston. It was so relaxing and fun! Cole asked them in December, if he could go fishing at their lake house for his birthday. Yes, he invited himself and the rest of his family to spend the night at their house. :) Patti and Travis were so sweet and bought Cole a "big boy" fishing pole. Patti called me to find out what his favorite foods are and they made him hamburgers, cookies and ice cream. They also got them those cute fishing hats! Cole's birthday isn't until Wednesday but the celebrations started this past weekend. He is waking up every morning and singing "Happy Birthday to me!". He can't wait. I took the day off Wednesday so that I could take them swimming and to eat ice cream. He specifically asked for Matt and Will to go with us, so that is what we are doing. I know the 4 cousins will have fun on Wednesday. Thursday, we'll have his party at school and Saturday we will have the party at Shankz (black light miniature golf). I can't believe he will be 5 years old in 3 days.



Have a wonderful week. I'll be posting pictures after Cole's party. 

Recent Happenings

Last Saturday, Adam, Tiffany and I ran our first 10K! This was something on my "Life To-Do's" and I finally marked it off. I ran it in 59:47. It wasn't fast, but I ran the entire time and I finished- which was my goal. It felt so great!

Mother's Day was perfect. Joe and the kids bought me a gold watch that I've been wanting for months. The cards that Joe gets always bring tears to my eyes. He writes the sweetest stuff and I keep them forever. I love to go back and re-read them. Kind a cool to see the progression of our relationship and events that were going on in our lives at the time. :) We had a yummy early lunch with my in-laws and the kids played with their cousins until they were sweating. Then, we headed to my parents for an early dinner. My mom makes the AWESOMEST desserts! Yes, I know that's not a real world, but in my mom's kitchen it is. :) I love spending holidays with family!

We said farewell to Reid's paci the Monday after his 3rd birthday. He decided he wanted to give his paci to the nursery babies in Miss Rene's class. Miss Rene was Cole and Reid's 1st teacher and my angel at school. That woman is the one that made me feel at ease leaving my babies while I worked. Although a little hesitant, Reid handed his paci to Miss Rene and told her it was for the babies because "I'm a big boy now". The next day, Miss Rene had 2 gifts for Reid. One from herself and one from the babies. The card from the babies read "thank you for your yummy paci Reid. We love it". :) She gave him a Nerf football and a huge Toy Story sticker book. Since then, the bedtime routine has gotten a little longer with Reid. Before, we would read Bible stories and they would both pass out. Now, we read Bible stories and Reid wants me to lay with him for 10-15 minutes or he whines. Luckily, Cole doesn't seem too bothered. He asked for the paci once the first 2 nights but hasn't brought it up since. I have to admit, I'm sad to know that we no longer need pacifiers or diapers in the house. Those things are symbolic of having babies and now we won't need them. :(

Cole started t-ball a couple of weeks ago and he is loving it. He is such a little athlete. The boy LOVES sports. He was a little bothered at first because they didn't offer baseball for his age group (instead of t-ball "because that's for babies" according to Cole) but he's over it now. :)

Here are some pictures from today. The weather was PERFECT.

the. cutest. baseball player. ever.
I'm a bit biased, but my opinion still counts. ;-)

My loves.

a little windy. :)

Cole's pony had a BAD bleach job.

They were pretending to be cowboys.

Have an awesome week!