Messy face!

Usually Cole is a pretty clean kid (with the exception of puddles, either water or mud!) But the other night, he was so excited about his dinner that he dug right in, not caring about the mess at all! I took a cue from my sister that any time you serve spaghetti, you immediately strip your child down to their diaper and just let them have fun :) So here are some pics of Cole enjoying his "pasta" (as he calls it)...

Cole's first day of school

Yesterday, Cole and I went to our first day at school! When we arrived, Cole went straight for the balls and basketball hoop. I think he explored every inch of the place! He rode on a car, went down the slide, played with musical instruments, wore a fireman's hat, vacuumed, and played with vehicles. What a busy boy! I am also looking forward to getting to know the other parents in the class (there are 23 kids, so it may take a while :) Going to school will definitely be something we will look forward to every week!

(I didn't know if I was allowed to take pictures at the school, but if I can, I will take some to share next week :)

To LA or bust!

Last weekend, we went to LA to visit Caleb and Jill and Bella! Cole was a champ on the long ride down after work, only he didn't want to go back to sleep after we arrived. He was probably thinking, "Umm... I just took a 3.5 hour nap in the car. Then I get to see my uncle, aunt, and Bella and you expect me to sleep! haha!" So, lots of Friday was spent napping and relaxing. In the afternoon, we ended up at a local mall where they had lots of fun activities for kids (or the young at heart :)

Riding the "choo, choo"... Cole is seriously excited, but this is how his face looks anytime we are on something like this. He is so serious! Maybe just taking it all in?!?

There was also a fun kids play area where Cole enjoyed climbing!

Playing with Aunt Jill :)

Jesse and Caleb found the most southern game to play in the arcade!

On Saturday, everyone was up early to watch the Clemson game. That's right... kickoff 9am :) That's life on the west coast! It was so strange to be eating english muffins and drinking our coffee while watching the game. Very strange tailgating food! haha!

Even though we are grooming Cole to be a hard core Clemson fan, his attention span is not quite long enough to really watch a game. So Jill and I took him to a local park to do some playing of his own.

And then my camera battery died...

So I don't have any pics from our adventures at the Santa Monica Pier:( We enjoyed riding the carousel and taking in all the sights on the pier. We also got to eat pizza at Dagwoods on the way home. YUM!

On Sunday, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with Caleb and Jill before heading back north. Again, Cole was a champ in the car... slept 3 hours and then was entertained for the rest of the ride by DVDs and toys.

We had such a great time... thanks Caleb and Jill! We love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT SHAY SHAY!!

We want to give a great big birthday shout out to our blog's #1 commenter... Aunt Shay Shay! Happy Birthday and hope it is the best day ever! We love you!!

Just for laughs...

Jesse recorded this video a while ago, but I forgot to post it. He was doing something silly with his hands and Cole thought it was hilarious. It was a super hot day and I think Cole was a little delirious as well! :)

(Sorry the quality of this video is so poor... we just got our new camcorder and once I figure out how to download movies, the videos will be much clearer! :)

"Woah!"

We have been in CA for almost 4 months now and it has yet to rain... until today! It is such a change for us coming from SC, where almost every summer afternoon the sky opens up just long enough to create a thick layer of steam to mix with the 90% humidity... YUCK!

But the best part was that I was able to catch Cole's priceless reaction to this oddity. He must get his excitement for the rain from his Granny!

Bed Head Cole

One morning last week, I woke up to the usual "MAMA!" coming from Cole's room, but as I walked in to rescue him from his crib, I noticed something different. He must have slept with his forehead smashed into the mattress. Serious bed head!! HAHA! (Don't forget... you can click on the picture to see it up close!)

We had such a great time!

On Tuesday morning, we had to say a sad goodbye to Nana and Pop Pop. We had such a great time on their visit! Thanks so much for coming, Mom and Dad!

Chillin' on the sofa

Nana enjoyed giving Cole his milk :)

We love you Nana and Pop Pop!

A blustery day...

On Sunday, we decided to venture to the beach. We headed toward Santa Cruz and then turned north up Hwy 1 until we came upon this beautiful beach nestled between strawberry fields and pumpkin farms. It was extremely windy, so we found a less windy area to picnic next to the rock cliff.

Cole enjoyed climbing the rock near our picnic site!

Always on a mission to discover new things...

It was so windy by the water, so this is how Cole stayed most of the time. How sweet!!

A view of the beach and ocean... amazing!

Before heading over the windy mountain road back home, we stopped at a local bakery for a quick cookie snack. I love that we live so close to the ocean!

At the park with Nana and Pop Pop

There is a great park down the street from where my parents stayed while in town. It is actually the park (with renovations) that I used to play at when I was a kid. After dinner one night, we decided to stroll there and enjoy the cool California evenings.

Cole's favorite part of the playground was driving the "bus".

Cole can go down the slide all by himself now and Pop Pop seemed to enjoy it too!

Nana and Pop Pop come to town!

We are really enjoying our visit from Nana and Pop Pop this week! We have had great family time at parks all over the Peninsula, lots of time playing together at home, and getting out to see some sites! Last Monday, we drove into the city to visit the CA Academy of Sciences. It is a huge complex, but we spent the most time in the aquarium and the toddler play zone.

Cole and Pop Pop enjoying the fish and other sea animals in one of the many huge tanks!

It was so cool to see Cole's interest in looking at all the fish!

Nana and Cole!

Cole loved the hands on toddler zone. It was a great space filled with puzzles and toys (all science related). Also, there was a huge play boat where Cole pretended to wash dishes or look out the windows to the "sea".

Cole loved the tree house too!

We are looking forward to spending the Labor Day weekend with Nana and Pop Pop and it will be sad to see them go :( Every morning, Cole wakes up and says, "Nana? Pop Pop?" It is so neat to see him recognize them and so fun to watch them enjoy each other.

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!