They're getting MARRIED!!!!!

FINALLY... right?!?! We now have an answer to the age-old question of when in the world Scott & Valera are getting married. He popped the question & I don't think she remembers anything after that, but she managed to say YES! Yippee!!!!

As long as we've waited for this moment, we were all still shocked when we got the call from Scott Sunday morning after he proposed... of course he didn't tell anyone in advance, in true Scott fashion! ;)

No real details yet, but they are shooting for April 2012 somewhere in Buckhead, most likely.

We are SO EXCITED for all of the celebrations to begin!!!

The picture above was taken this past Friday night - us & my parents met up with them and Valera's mom to celebrate over some margaritas!!! CHEERS!

Sweet Baby Coleman - 6 month update

My sweet, sweet baby is 6 months old! I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the "baby" stage, so I am more and more excited every day at how much he is growing & learning. Here's the "technical" stuff:

~Weight = 19lbs 6oz (75 - 90%)

~Height = 26 3/4" (75%)

*The funny thing is at Caleb's 6 month check up he was 19lbs 7oz... how crazy is that, that they are off by just 1 oz!?! I didn't dig out his height, but I know it's close b/c it was in the 75% too!

Coleman is really such a great baby... I can't complain! He's been sitting up for almost a month now, which he loves! He still loves is jumperoo's & goes to town on them... Caleb never was a jumper, but he definitely is! We also just got Caleb's walker down from the attic, because it seems like Coleman is just ready to move (just like his big brother). It took him a day - maybe 2 - to figure out how to walk around in it & now, he's already all over the place!

As far as food goes, he's a great eater so far... loves all his cereal, fruits & veggies.

Still no teeth, but he's chewing, drooling, and pooping like a maniac! I actually feel his top teeth at the surface, but who knows what will actually cut through first. I just want something to happen to give him some relief!

He's a great sleeper... we cut out his 3rd nap & that really helped make his morning nap a lot longer. So now he sleeps about 1.5 hrs in the morning & 2 hrs in the afternoon. Then he goes to bed about 8:00 and wakes around 7am. He was a champ sleeper at night, but the teething thing messed that all up. The biggest problem being... he's a tummy sleeper...his teeth wake him up & he rolls to his back. Sometimes he'll just sleep on his back, but usually he wakes up at some point & cries for us to roll him back to his belly so he can continue sleeping. Can't say I blame him... but come on! I'm so ready for this phase to pass! He actually just started rolling over from back to belly, but still doens't quite remember that in the middle of the night!!! - Boo!

My favorite thing about this little guy - his SMILE! He is the happiest little thing & everytime we get him out of bed, he just smiles...and everytime he sees me, John or Caleb - he instantly smiles. It's SO cute & I just hope that he's always a happy kid!!!

~Caleb Update~

"Big brudder" has been a busy boy & I thought he needed a post all his own - since it's been a while! ;) Caleb started Karate in January. It started out as a "6-week trial" John got him & his cousins (Steven and Eric) for Chistmas...BUT... they talked us into joining, so now the boys all are committed for a year. They have to go at least 2 times a week! Caleb seems to enjoy it, but who really knows...somedays he's happy to go & others he doesn't want to. It has really has done a lot for his eye/hand coordination, but has also taught him so much more about respect, chores, and listening... we're quite impressed.

He also had a BIG FIRST in early March... Caleb and Daddy went on their 1st big trip together to Breckenridge, Colorado. Not only was it the first trip with Daddy & time to Colorado, but it was Caleb's 1st ski experience! He did SO AWESOME! John was so proud of him! By the 2nd day Caleb was going down the mountain all by himself without the training lines...turning and everything! He had a blast - and was exhausted! I think it took him & daddy both a week to recover! John said his legs have never hurt so bad - after following Caleb snow-plowing all day! Definitely sounds like we'll have annual family ski trips from now on!

Besides that, Caleb is doing great in pre-school. Going into the school year he was really good with his shapes, colors & counting, but now I can really see how far he's come this year with learning... he knows most of his numbers (0-9) and many letters he can identify. AND the biggest thing is he can spell his name & now they are starting to write it! He stuggles in that department - mostly (I think) because he's a boy & he has no care in the world to sit down & color or write with paper & crayons... he is outside running & playing constantly. He's all BOY!

We've already started talking a little about his birthday party (in August)... right now, he wants a pirate party & he wants to dress up as Captain Hook (loves to dress up - he has such an imagination) THEN we are going to have another party & it's going to be Scooby Doo & he wants some "scooby scare van" to come just like a fire truck did last year. He cracks me up!

WOW...my 4 month update (that is almost 5 months!)...

Okay, so January completely got away from me... we had so much going on after the holidays between more "funks" and me going back into the office, I feel like I'm constantly playing catch-up rather than getting ahead of the game.

...Anyway, update on Coleman... he is a happy & healthy almost 5-month old! I can hardly believe it! It's going much quicker this time around than with Caleb. His 4 month check-up went well...

16lbs 9.5oz (about a half pound less than Caleb was at this age) - 75%

25.5" - 75%

He has since started cereal for breakfast & dinner. He didn't get the hang of it at first, but in the last week has really gotten the hang of it & seams to like it. We'll start veggies at lunch in the next week or two! Yummy!

He's such a happy boy... and very strong... he loves his exersaucer & jummy that hangs from the door frame. He also doesn't care for the infant seats that lean back anymore - he wants to be sitting up straight & checking everything out. And he LOVES his big brother... he just laughs everytime Caleb talks to him & enjoys just watching him run around & play.

...As for Caleb, he's such a fun little boy. He started Karate in January & has really learned a lot. He has his first belt test this week, so we'll see how that goes. It's definitely a character building experience for him, more so than just a physical activity...he learns a lot about respect, responsibility (chores at home), and self-confidence performing in front of the class, etc. Thanks to school, he's also had battles with strep & ear infections the past few months, but hopefully with spring around the corner we'll soon be done with that. He's VERY excited about the Easter bunny coming to bring him more toys! ;)

Tis the Season... for the "FUNK" that is!

Boo... The only part of parenthood I don't enjoy is when little kiddos get sick!... Rewind to December 4th... a memorable day not only because it's my dad's birthday, but it was the first day that I ever had to take Caleb to an "after hours" doctor's visit. I'm very thankful that we made it 3+ years without having to make a weekend visit, but it's still never fun. Here's the story...
Caleb was hit with a high fever (mid 102's) Saturday morning. After many questions & remembering some of his actions, I got the hunch that he had an ear infection. Rather than make him suffer til Monday morning, I took him to a Northside Hospital Urgent Care doctor's office in Cumming. We waited about 2 hours, but finally got confirmation that he did have an ear infection. The Dr. gave us the script for antibiotics at 6:42pm and we literally grabbed 2 stickers and a sucker and raced a mile down the road to Publix before the pharmacy closed at 7pm. I then quickly picked him up a happy meal (so he could get a toy for being so good at the Dr), and made it home where my mom was with Coleman. - John had already left for a friend's Christmas party - where I was about to join him.
After visiting with friends, I finally dragged my intoxicated husband (haha) out of the party & we came home at midnight to find poor Caleb burning up in my mom's lap on the couch. He was HOT...hotter than I'd ever felt him (mid 103's)! I freaked out & immediately gave him motrin & threw him in the bathtub to break the fever. As I was pouring water on his back, I noticed a crazy red rash all over his body... freak out again! So while he played in the tub for a good 30 mins, I was googling fever & rash on my laptop... some not so fun stuff to read, so I think I paniced more & just decided to call our ped office's after hours nurse line. After talking to a children's hospital nurse for at least 20 minutes at 1:00 in the morning, they decided he most likely had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. So first thing the next morning I called the Dr and they switched his meds. Luckily Caleb's fever had faded & he was already feeling better.
So now fast forward to this past Thursday... Caleb spikes a fever again! (he got off the meds on Tuesday). I thought there was no way he had another ear infection, but didn't know what it was. So Friday morning I took him to his Doctor where he confirmed Caleb now had strep throat (first time ever)...and probably thinks he had it all along! Boo!
We are all hoping he hasn't spread it to any of us (especially baby Coleman)... and are keeping our fingers crossed & saying prayers that we have a healthy Christmas! On a side note... me, John and Caleb all got our flu shots, so hopefully we don't have to worry about that this year!!!
Cheers!~

My sweet 8-week old!

Smiles & all!... There's something about his eyes that just melt my heart every time I look at him! He is the sweetest little guy & his smiles and coos just get me every time!

We had Coleman's 8 week visit today & he is just a strong & healthy little guy...

weight: 11lbs 11oz (50 -75%)

height: 22 5/8" (50-75%)

Not much else to report... he's still taking great naps during the day & I'm only getting up once a night to feed him (3 - 4am). Now that he's almost 12lbs I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a full-nights sleep is in my near future (thinking positive!)

He had to get 3 shots & 1 oral vaccine - boo! Those are never fun. But what made it even worse was that big brother had to get round 2 of his flu shot! I had 2 sreaming boys on my hands in the little exam room & all I could do was just laugh! Poor Caleb... he just freaks out now & there's no way around it anymore. It was so much easier when he didn't know what was going on! So of course, my little sugar baby, had to have a treat (skittles) and an icee on the way home to make his arm feel better!

DISNEY WORLD!!!

As many times as I told myself I was crazy for being at Disney with a newborn... I also had to sit back & relax and enjoy the exciting experience with Caleb. It was definitely challenging with a 6-week-old in tow, but Coleman is such a good baby that it made things relatively easy. Just as background, my dad had a sales conference in Orlando & invited us to join them. He had a big suite in the hotel that joined both our room & theirs, so it was nice to have "common" play/lounge area, along with a bottle washing station! ;)

Overall the boys did great! Coleman was a saint... pretty much slept the whole time either in the baby bjorn on me, or in the stroller. Caleb did well considering the amount of walking we did. He was definitely exhausted, but took advantage of stroller rides when he could. He was definitely a little young to grasp the full concept of what we were doing, so I'm excited to take him back in a few years when he really can appreciate & remember it!

Our park visits...

Day 1 - MAGIC KINGDOM - Caleb absolutely loved seeing Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, etc. from Toy Story. We also watched a street show with all the Disney characters as well as a Disney parade. We tried to hit up all of the "major" rides and things to see & ended up staying there all day. The funny thing is it hasn't changed much since I was a kid!

Day 2 - SEA WORLD - Always one of my favorites as a kid, we enjoyed checking out the shows, aquarium & all the other "sea-life" exhibits. Caleb actually really enjoyed Shamoo... which I was surprised about. That day was shorter so we could get Caleb back for a nap.

Day 3 - ANIMAL KINGDOM - A definite favorite! We saw a Lion King show, Finding Nemo show & took Caleb to his first 3D/4D experience (A Bug's Life)... which he DID NOT enjoy one bit... he spent the whole show on John's lap with his face burried in John's chest. Haha! We finnished up the day with an awesome safari trip through the African wilderness & saw some awesome animals! It was a great day.

We headed home the next day... about a 7 hour drive. Oh, and I forgot to mention another exciting part... our new vehicle! We are the proud owners of a minivan - haha! But, in my opinion, it's pretty amazing & is definitely smarter than I am - technology these days is amazing! The van definitely made the trip with our family of 4 much more comfortable!