Coles Family Blog

Final Destination.... Tucson Arizona!!!

2012-01-15T23:19:00.006-06:00

The count down is on! Five months left until we move. Nick joined a group practice in Tucson Arizona. It took me a while to warm up to the idea of Arizona but after living in Memphis for nearly 4 years, anywhere was starting to look good! After a few visits to Arizona over the past couple years, I really started feeling like this was somewhere I could live. To be honest I have never been there during summer. Each time I have been there has happened to be in October. So of course the weather was perfect and sunny as opposed to scorching hot. Memphis summers are pretty miserable too though, especially with the humidity down here in the south. People tell me the dry heat is much better. I will let you know when we move in June! There is a natural beauty down there that surprised me. While phoenix is very flat and artificially landscaped, Tucson is surrounded by mountains and is covered with desert plant life. I wouldn't mind a little artificial landscaping though, especially for neighborhoods and shopping centers etc.. If only they had a good balance of both it would be perfect! It is always around ten degrees cooler than Phoenix so I am excited about that. I was surprised to know they have a mountain called Mt. Lemmon that gets snow and you can ski in the winter. I have talked to a few people who have lived there or knew people who had lived there and the reviews have been very positive. I am a little nervous to move to a brand new area and know we will be there for the long run. This was a great opportunity and I am relieved he won't be starting up his own practice though... I am ready to have a husband that is actually around and earning some more money as opposed to getting in more debt sounds nice too! Last time I blogged I said I would blog more regularly and I am really committing to that now. There are going to be so many changes in our lives, I need to get better at documenting it all!

Since there is no way I can catch up to a year of no blogging... Here is an update!

2011-02-01T21:58:00.008-06:00

Halle in September (almost 6 months)

Family picture taken at Gulf Shores AL Sept 2010

The 3 kiddos October 2010

Halle in her pumpkin jammies

I don't know why I haven't blogged in a year. Probably a combination of laziness and using facebook much more often. Actually I am pretty sure that nobody reads my blog anymore so I will most likely be starting from scratch! I have decided I should at least blog for journal purposes and I miss reading other people's blogs as well. I also don't know how to arrange my pictures in cute ways or do anything fancy with my blog (like many of my friends do) so that has had me in an unmotivated state! Maybe someone can teach me :) As I stated above I will just provide a quick update of where we are in our lives as of right now. I also still need to upload some more current pictures, so these are just some cute ones taken in the past few months.

We are in our third year of oral surgery residency! Only about a year and a half left and it will be time for real life. I must say, I have gotten rather used to living the student life and moving around. I don't know what it will be like to settle in a final location and actually have a husband that has a REAL job and a REAL salary. So far we do not know where we are going for sure yet. Nick has really been focusing on Arizona and I am just starting to get used to the idea. I just don't know about living somewhere with extremely hot summers and not having the normal 4 seasons. I do like snow sometimes and I am having a hard time thinking I will spend the rest of my life living in the desert. But... So many people love Arizona so maybe there is something too it! Still, nothing is for sure. Nick still has to visit places and explore other options before the decision is made!

Ok Now about me. I am still just staying home and feeling rather busy with 3 kids. I just got a gym membership to Lifetime Fitness which I love. Seriously it is the best gym ever. I just hope I can find one when we move! I needed this membership so I can get back in shape. I have never had too much of a problem losing the baby weight, but I have problems with postpartum flab and feeling tired a lot. I think hoping for a bikini body is beyond my capabilities but if I can look good in my clothes I will take it! Besides that I have been participating in card club which is fun and reminds me of card club from Omaha! Oh and I also have a sewing machine that I need to use more often! I still barely know how to work it, but with the help of friends I have made some amazing projects. I need to get better at organizing my life so I have time to do fun things and not just things I have to do.

Dylan is in the first grade and attending a new school this year. They finished building it this summer so it is very nice. He is also in an optional program they offer which focuses on science/the environment. He really likes it and I am impressed with how much he has learned. My only complaint is that school starts at 7:15 am. The bus comes at six something every morning and it has been so hard on us both! Dylan is not an early riser. He must take after his mother and father! The nice thing is that the school provided breakfast free of charge, so I don't have to worry about that. I really feel like elementary students should not have to go to school so early, and hopefully when we move we will not encounter this problem again!

Jaxson turned 3 years old in December. He will be starting preschool next year and I can't wait! We started potty training a couple weeks ago and he has been so much easier than Dylan. Pretty much had it down in a week and he has had a couple random accidents but he is doing very well. Those couple accidents have been with #2 which seems to be harder for my boys to get the hang of. I really don't get it, but changing a couple messes is so much better than changing daily dirty diapers. Jaxson loves pretty much all things Dylan loves so there has been a little fighting. He also adores Halle but now that she is mobile and goes after his stuff he gets mad at her. Ahhh the middle child syndrome...

Halle is ten months old. She has been crawling all over the place. She loves to put everything and anything in her mouth and it is a little scary. Not to mention she doesn't spit stuff out she really tries to eat whatever she gets her hands on. She has been teething the past couple weeks which has not been fun. She got her lower teeth 2 months ago and has been trying to cut the top teeth which is taking forever. She hasn't been loving her bottles lately but will at least eat her baby food and loves real food too. Despite the teething she usually sleeps through the night. She was such a hard baby up to six months that the fact that she will now take decent naps and sleep at night amazes me. I thought we would never get there! She is a happy girl but can definitely throw a tantrum if she is really upset. Usually she reserves her screaming fits for times she wakes up at night and don't get her fast enough, or wakes up but is so tired and cranky she just doesn't know what to do with herself. This behavior has been new to me since my boys were a little more easy going. I can't complain to0 much she really does sleep well and likes to sleep in or just hang out in her crib for a long time each morning.

This concludes my update and hopefully a year won't go by before I post again. I am actually going to make it a priority to blog regularly from now on so that won't happen again! More current pictures will be coming soon!

Keep scrolling down!

2009-12-14T22:19:00.016-06:00

Happy 2nd birthday Jaxson!!!

Thomas the train cake

Not sure what is going on with all of us singing happy birthday to him!

Excited now to try and blow out his candles!

examining his presents!

We threw a birthday party for Jaxson on Sunday December 14th even though his real birthday is December 20th. Since we will be out of town for the holidays this was the best time to do it. I didn't get to do a real party for his 1st birthday since Nick was really busy during residency and I felt kind of bad about that. Dylan has had a party every single year. We decided to invite our friends over that have little ones close to Jaxson's age and who Jaxson spends a lot of time with. He likes to give my friends hugs and kisses and they are kind of like his second family so I am glad we had them to help us celebrate! We had pizza for the kids and Nick and I made chinese burritos for the adults. We also had some sides people brought to make for a delicious meal! Jaxson loves having kids over and was really happy the whole time. When he saw his cake he kept trying to grab the train off. He has gotten really into Thomas the train lately so I just had to get that cake! Dylan was really excited for Jaxson's party. He took it upon himself to open all of Jaxson's presents for him. I barely even got a chance to get pictures because I didn't know Dylan had started opening gifts! It was so funny to see Jaxson sitting on the couch surrounded by kids and having all the presents dumped on his lap! We also had balloons and treat bags for the kids, but half the balloons popped thanks to my popcorn ceilings! I don't think they cared too much most of the time they were all just running around being crazy. I am so glad we did this party for him and everything went smoothly! I am now wondering what I am going to do for Dylan when he has his birthday in February!

Happy Halloween!!!

Before Halloween a few friends and I got together and spray painted pumpkins. My friend and I got this idea from a magazine and it turned out to be pretty cute!

The girls. From left to right: Melanie, Angel, Jodi, me, Kara, and Erin

The guys. From left to right Greg, Nick, James, Zack, and Eric

Dylan showing off his ninja skills

My little pumpkin

Excited to go trick or treating!

Nick and some friends took the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood

Jaxson taking a little break to see what he got. He walked the entire time without being carried!

Some of our delicious treats for the party

We had a chance to have a little Halloween get together at our house this year. We had been planning on going to the big Halloween carnival at the Baptist church down the street but unfortunately it was canceled! We had originally planned to meet at my house since I live closest to the church, but since it wasn't happening anymore we decided the party must go on! The kids got a lot of candy going around the neighborhood, and we had a fun time hanging out and eating what everyone made! A lot of the food came from the same magazine as the pumpkin idea. We had a meeting before Halloween to decide what everyone was making. I made "the cheese ball" which was actually more of a dessert served with ginger snaps. Of course it wouldn't have been complete without the googly eyes you put all over it! I wish I had a close up picture since it was a fun thing to make for Halloween. Everything was really good and our friends brought stuff to make italian sodas which are always good! Our kids loved getting to dress up and even Jaxson got the hang of things pretty quickly. He loved getting candy and that was all he wanted to eat after Halloween. I put his basket on top of our fridge so he couldn't grab the candy out but every morning he would point to it and beg me for candy. He loves chocolate especially. He would seriously only eat candy all day if I let him! I wonder where he got his sweet tooth from? :)

An update.. FInally!

2009-10-05T21:13:00.015-05:00

Dylan's last day of preschool

T-ball game

Trying to play tennis after swimming

Jaxson loves swimming!

Gulf shores Alabama

Playing in the sand

Dylan like to use his spider-man goggles and flippers at Lake powell

Jaxson on the boat

Nick showing off his skills

Dylan and his cousin loved tubing

First day of kindergarten!

I'm not sure if anyone still reads my blog anymore since I fell off the face of the earth for five months, but I decided to update anyways! I will try and sum up the past few months without making this post too long. We had a great summer and it went by really fast. Dylan went to a couple of bible camps, sports camp, basketball camp, and got a chance to play T-ball for the first time. He also went to an all day karate camp. Needless to say I was trying to keep him busy when preschool was over! Jaxson loves the water and has no fear when it comes to jumping in a pool (a little scary)... Nick had a great schedule since he was on an a nice rotation. He was done early every day, off on weekends, and took no call! It has been really nice. I went and bought a sewing machine this summer and made a couple projects. Never thought I would take up sewing but it I had to keep up with all the girls around here that sew for fun! We took a trip to gulf shores in August and we all loved the beach! There was white sand and the water was great! We hope to make some more beach trips while we are out here! We also flew out to Utah and made a trip to Lake powell for a few days. Dylan impressed us all by water skiing behind the jet ski like a pro! I was able to get up on the wake board even though it had been a long time since trying it. Dylan is also in kindergarten this year! He had been doing really well and enjoys it even though it is a long day for him. He leaves at 8:30 and comes home at 4:30 so it is a long day for him. The only other update I have is that I am pregnant! I am fourteen weeks along right now and it started off as a great pregnancy but then the morning sickness hit me strong when I was almost 11 weeks. I hope it all goes away soon! Besides that my only other complaint would be the extreme fatigue which has let up this past week. I am hoping this last baby is a girl but if not, I will just have to adjust to the idea of having three boys. I need to also adjust to the idea that Jaxson and this baby will be a little under 2 1/2 years apart yikes!!!

Nashville, Easter, check ups, and soccer!

2009-05-15T21:45:00.043-05:00

Us at the museum of country music

A really pretty park our tour bus stopped at

monument

A picture of the capital

Grandpa and the boys

Cool bar

Us at the grand ole opry

Graceland

When we got back to Memphis we saw Graceland

Nick's parents came out for a visit so we headed down to Nashville for the weekend. It was really fun and I thought it was a nice city and really pretty. We did a lot while we were there and I hope we can go back more often just for a change of scenery. When we got back we went to Graceland which I really liked. There was a lot of Elvis history there and surprisingly Dylan was really into it too. Everyone always asks us if we have been there when we travel and people know we are living in Memphis. Now we can say we have been!

Easter Sunday

Easter was pretty good this year. After Church I wanted to get some pictures but Jaxson fell asleep on the way home. He didn't even wake up when I put him on the coach for a picture! Unfortunately after Jaxson's nap I didn't get any nice pictures since it started pouring rain outside. My friend Starla invited us over as well as a few other families for easter dinner. It was fun spending easter with all of our friends and playing games afterwards!

Easter Egg hunt at Dylan's preschool

Ready to collect some eggs!

Jaxson figures out what to do pretty fast

Jaxson was scared of the easter bunny but Dylan was willing to let me get a picture!

Easter Egg Decorating

Dylan showing off his finished Easter eggs!

Dylan had fun coloring Easter eggs. Unfortunately I thought it might be a dangerous idea for Jaxson to participate. I actually got some dye on myself trying to help Dylan. Maybe Jaxson can get his chance next year!

Doctor check up and shots!

Hiding from the doctor

Playing around

Happy to get some stickers and a pencil after the dreaded shots!

Bowling that evening as promised for cooperating at the doctor!

Dylan and Jaxson were both due for check ups and immunizations. I was really nervous for this visit. The last time Dylan needed a flu shot we had to hold him down and he freaked out big time. I mean he was screaming like the nurse was cutting off his leg. So I knew this time he needed like four or five shots and I didn't know how to get him to be good. I heard a couple horror stories from friends which made me even more nervous. One friend had her little girl try to grab the needle which cause the needle to slice her and she needed stitches. Another friend's daughter actually kicked the nurse in the stomach! I decided to warn Dylan this day was coming a couple months in advance. I told him if he was good which meant we didn't have to hold him down and if he didn't start screaming we would take him bowling that evening. We talked about this a lot and he was excited for his shots until it was time of course. I reminded him he was allowed to cry but that was all. To my surprise he sat still and allowed the nurse to give him his shots and he was upset of course but I didn't have to restrain him or make him or worry about screaming. Jaxson did really good too. The funny thing is in addition to the shots he needed a finger prick which he was not prepared for. I had to sweeten the deal by throwing in a milk shake after the visit. I guess bribery is necessary sometimes! I plan on doing this next time he needs shots!

Go Hawks!!!

Dylan excited to play

Jaxson on his "leash" is the only way to get through a game

Dylan and his buddy insisted I get a picture of the back of their shirts!

Spring soccer has been going on since March and Dylan's team is called "The Hawks" I love their uniforms and we actually had to buy Dylan new cleets cause his feet grew a couple sizes since last year! The problem with spring soccer is nearly every game gets rained out! Practices have been rained out too! I guess that just goes with spring time. At least there are make up games!

PS: I can't believe I slacked on my blog so bad. I mean my last post was two months ago! I felt like we have had a pretty busy past couple months so that will be my excuse! I now need to check everyone elses blogs and see what I have missed. I can't believe we have been here a year already it has gone by so fast!

Who are you and what have you done with my child?

2009-03-20T16:30:00.004-05:00

Dylan has not liked any green vegetables since he hit the toddler stage (except for peas which he barely tolerates) and he is usually pretty outspoken about it too. We have tried to get him to eat salad before but he usually gets a repulsed look on his face and then spits it all out. Well today I was eating a bowl of salad for lunch and he suddenly began asking me if he could have some too. I sprinkled some cheese on there and poured on some ranch dressing (his request) and gave it to him. I have to admit I was skeptical. I thought he might try and find a way to eat the ranch but not the salad. To my surprise he took a big bite and said "I love it!!!" Besides the green veggies he has always disliked eggs, any kind of melon, and peanut butter. In the past few months he has decided he loves eggs. So now we are just down to melon and peanut butter. Maybe there is hope for him after all!

Quick Recaps

2009-03-18T21:23:00.013-05:00

Snow Day!

A couple weeks ago it actually snowed quite a bit here in Memphis. When I say quite a bit that means a few inches that actually stuck around for a day instead of melting instantly. Dylan really wanted to make a snow man and luckily Nick was home to help him out. I didn't buy Dylan any snow boots so I put my boots on him. He was wearing so many layers of pants the boots didn't fall off when I zipped them up! Dylan was so proud of his snow man but it unfortunately melted away by then next day! I'm glad we got at least one good snow day here in Memphis, so he could play in it!

Bowling

A couple weekends ago we went bowling with our friends James and Kara. We hadn't been bowling in a long time. Besides the fact I sucked worse than normal it was still a fun time. Nick took a bowling class at Utah state so he is decent at bowling. I really need to learn how to bowl so I don't embarrass myself next time we go with other people!

Party!

A couple weeks ago we planned a birthday party for my friend Whitney. It was supposed to be a surprise but that morning Whitney went over to Emily's house and she was in the process of baking her cake. Whitney smelled it and knew what was up. We had a great cake and played a few rounds of a game called Spoons. Her and Emily's sue dates are a day apart and we were trying to figure out who has the bigger belly. Those things on their chest are Survivor buffs (from the show) and no I am not sure why they are around their chests lol. Anyways just thought I should explain that picture! We had a fun night!

LOSER!!!!!!!

2009-03-03T20:43:00.003-06:00

Jason Mesnick (total jerk)

Wow I was really disappointed by this season of the bachelor. I really liked this guy when he was on last season and felt so bad for him when Deanna dumped him. Who would have thought he could turn everyone against him overnight? First off I feel really bad for Melissa and I was rooting for her after Jillian got axed. I can't really understand why he would choose Melissa, and then dump her and hook up with Molly all at the same time!?! And where is Molly's pride? She just takes him back and they are all over each other when he barely broke off his engagement to Melissa. The entire "after the rose" show was staged. The only one being real on there was Melissa. Jason is a terrible actor and Molly did a better job at acting surprised but it was obvious they had this thing planned with abc. Shame on abc for allowing this to go down for ratings! I have been watching the bachelor with friends every week at my house and we were all so unhappy last night! We all had some choice words for Jason after that! I need to watch the final "after the rose" tonight even though I can't stand this guy now!

Dylan's Birthday Bash

2009-02-25T22:48:00.002-06:00

On Monday we had a birthday party for Dylan. Nick was on call all weekend so that is why we had it on Monday. There is a McDonald's near by that has a really good play place and plenty of tables in the play place. A couple of Dylan's friends couldn't make it, but other than that we had a good turn out. The kids had fun running around and Dylan loved all his presents (thanks everyone!) I put together some goody bags for the kids and got a bunch of balloons from a party store. When we got home Dylan told me "That was the best birthday party ever!!!" Dylan's cake caused some drama for me that night and I posted about it below. Good thing 5 year olds don't care how bad looking a cake is, and at least it didn't taste bad!

My Cake Rant

2009-02-25T22:05:00.003-06:00

Here is what Dylan's cake was SUPPOSED to look like

And here is what they gave me!!!

So I went to Walmart to pick up the cake right before the party. I have ordered cakes from Walmart before (in Omaha) and they have always turned out great. First off I waited at the bakery forever waiting for assistance. (welcome to Memphis customer service) and finally I made someone who worked in the Deli go find my cake. Besides the fact it looks like crap I couldn't even believe someone would write "Happy Dylan birthday". Obviously what happened was they forgot they had to write Dylan and when they realized the name needed to be put on there they just decided to write it in front of birthday. I worked in a bakery in high school and when an error is made on a cake it is really not difficult to scrape off the lettering and fix it. Seems like this person was too lazy to fix it! So here I had this screwed up cake and no way to have it corrected because Dylan's party was starting really soon. The cashier I vented to told me to go to customer service and they should give me my money back. Well here is the real kicker. A nice lady did refund me my money and then when the manager showed up she told me I could not leave with the cake since I got my money back. She said if I wanted the cake I could get $5.00 off and pay back the difference. More than anything I wanted to say keep your cake I don't want it. The only thing that kept me from saying that and few expletives was the fact Dylan was with me and had already seen the monster truck cake and I really did not have the time to get another one. The manger actually did not think the lettering was messed up and had the audacity to tell me to "calm down" when I was complaining. So I paid them, took the cake, and called corporate head quarters the next morning. They were very appologetic and the issue was resolved quickly. I received a full refund for the cake. I will never order another cake from Walmart as long as we are living in Memphis!!!

Dylan is 5 years old!!!

2009-02-19T22:48:00.010-06:00

Dylan Nicholas Coles was born February 19th 2004 in Logan Utah

This afternoon we went to "pump it up" so Dylan could play with his preschool buddies

Jaxson wanted to do what all the big kids were doing

Jaxson had a mouth full of animal crackers and couldn't give me a smile. If you look at Jaxson's shirt the monkey has one tooth just like Jaxson (Jaxson has his one tooth on the bottom though) I still need to get a picture of Jaxosn's snaggle tooth!

We went to Dinner at Red Robin

Great picture.. Notice the chocolate on his teeth!

The boys

How can I have a 5 year old???

Dylan had been so excited to turn five! This morning he woke up asking if it was his birthday yet. I let him open his presents since he had been patient and not opening them when they arrived in the mail this week. He got some good stuff and my mom sent him a remote control helicopter which I am hoping will last a while. My mom has sent Dylan two other remote control items which didn't last long. The first, I actually broke, and then the second... Dylan was upstairs playing with his remote control truck and he steered it too close to the stairs, and down it tumbled. So I am hoping for better luck this time or Dylan will be devastated. He also got a Nintendo DS for his birthday. We are suckers and caved. Our friends little boys have one and Dylan has been asking for one since. I didn't even know it is a real gaming system like the xbox or wii. At least he can take it wherever he goes and it doesn't need to be hooked up to our tv! We went to a place called "pump it up" today. It is like the kangaroo zoo in Utah except for this place is usually just for parties. Dylan has a classmate who's mom runs it, and she has a play group for the boys in his class to meet there once a week and play. This was the first time we went and it was great.. Especially cause Dylan and his preschool friends had the whole place to themselves and it was free of charge! Once Nick got home we had dinner at red robin. I am hoping to do a party for him on Monday since I couldn't do one this weekend like I had originally wanted to. Dylan actually got to dinner and was like "where are my friends???" He thought his birthday party was going to be at red robin! He is a funny kid.

I really can't believe he is five. I couldn't have asked for a better kid or big brother to Jaxson. He has always been such a good natured kid. He never hit or bit other kids or went through "the terrible twos" stage. As a baby he was content to just hang out in his car seat or swing forever and never woke up at night for anything other than his bottle and he would go right back to sleep as soon as he got it. When Jaxson came along he never even got jealous. He just loved him and would always look out for him. He always has an eye out for Jaxson and has saved him from falling off our bed, or any other potential hazards. He has been such a good helper and has such a fun personality. Of course he still has his "moments" in which he drives me crazy but that comes with the age ; ) Happy birthday Dylan we love you!

Catching up!!!

2009-02-19T15:53:00.014-06:00

Dylan's first time roller skating!

The gang!

Dylan and Boo concentrating on not falling!

Jaxson driving me crazy, running all over the place!

I took Dylan roller skating with some friends a few days ago. He had never been before and he improved a lot after spending a good amount of time falling. Luckily my friend's husband was there to take his hand and help him go around the rink until he felt comfortable to try himself. I would have like to help Dylan, but Jaxson was running all over the place and I had to keep getting him before someone ran over him! So now Dylan is pretty steady on his feet and can walk with the skates on. We still need to master the actual rolling part!

Valentines Festivities!

Dylan made valentines to give out in preschool

My mom mailed him a box of these Diego valentines which saved me a trip to the store!

Dylan showing off the cute card my mom sent him and Jax, and I got them this balloon.

Valentines day was fun for us. Dylan had his class party at preschool and we went to a Valentine's dance at church. It was actually pretty fun and Dylan and Jaxson liked dancing. The next day (which was valentines day for real) I gave Nick and the kids some chocolate and candy plus their balloon. That balloon is still going strong and seems to be Jaxson's favorite thing in the whole world. Since he got it, he walks around the house with it non stop. Anyways, Nick and I were actually able to go on a date that night since our friends Natalie and Brandon were babysitting. Nick wanted to take me to a restaurant called Houston's but they had a 2 1/2 hour wait! All of the restaurants had at least a 2 hour wait and we called a ton! So finally we settled for Pei Wei and it was still good food plus no wait! We attempted to see a movie after but the theater had a line of like a hundred people outside. It was CRAZINESS! So we decided to go home and watch a movie instead. Afterwards we went and picked up our kids. It was a fun night!

Happy Birthday!

Rebecca gettting ready to blow out the candles

Here she is showing off the master piece I created

It was my friend Rebecca's birthday a couple weeks ago so some of us girls got together for dinner at the Olive Graden and then headed back to my house for cake and ice cream and to watch the bachelor. This is the first cake I have ever baked in my life. It looks like Dylan made it but at least it tasted pretty good. I was kind of embarassed because I seem to know a lot of domestic divas who can make a far more attractive cake from scratch! Oh well, maybe one day but for now it is baby steps for me! We have actually started watching the bachelor at my house ever since this night and I am going to be sad when it ends! It is hilarious to watch a show like the bachelor with a bunch of girls, and is way more fun than watching it alone!

Update

2009-02-10T17:59:00.003-06:00

My brother was released from the hospital Sunday night. When I talked to him he said he was still pretty weak and tired so I had to remind him that it takes a while to recover from a serious illness. He also said he feels sore like he has been working out but he of course hasn't. It sounds like his muscles still need to recover as well. He will be on antibiotics for a couple more weeks and they want to draw blood again at the end of this week. So far it seems like he is going be fine and he probably just needs to take it easy for a while. Thanks so much for the prayers and kind words, I am very grateful. I have realized that it is easy to take people around you for granted and we never really know or even expect something bad to happen to someone you care about. It really makes me think about my kids and how lucky I am that they have never been seriously ill. With all the illnesses out there, good health really is a blessing!

My brother is in intensive care

2009-02-04T15:55:00.004-06:00

My brother David

I got a message on my answering machine today that was from my mom. She said my brother was in the hospital, and in intensive care due to a bad infection that was causing his muscles to deteriorate which can lead to damage of the kidneys. When I talked to her she explained that he had called her from his on campus housing telling her he felt really sick. He had a fever and his legs and back were killing him. She went to go pick him up and she said he could barely walk he was in so much pain and looked terrible. That is when she thought there was something really wrong. When they got back to my parents house she took his temperature and it was 104... That was when she took him in to the emergency room and they began running blood tests. At first the doctor thought it could be meningitis but that was not the case. They also did a flu test but that was negative. Finally they discovered it was a bacterial infection that probably started in his sinus cavity. They discovered that his muscles had begun to deteriorate by doing some kind of blood work which showed an enzyme elevated way beyond the range of normal. That was the reason he wound up in intensive care, because this could effect the kidneys and if the infection went untreated it could eventually result in kidney failure. He was in so much pain they had to give him shots of morphine. Fortunately he is doing much better now and he hasn't even been on the medication for a full 24 hours. His fever has gone down and he doesn't feel close to as bad as when he was brought in. I called the ICU and talked to him myself. He sounded tired and had a bad cough but said he was ready to get out of there because the nurses were bad and it was boring there! Unfortunately they won't be letting him go until another day or two and even then they may just move him to a regular hospital room before discharging him. I think they still need to make sure be is going to recover fully before letting him go. I told him I have never heard of a sinus infection leading to something so serious! He is a healthy 22 year old that works out and everything so I can't believe this happened to him. I am just glad he is getting better and not on his death bed. He is my only sibling so I need him to stay around for a while longer :) I will post an update when I find out anything new.

Monster Jam!!!

2009-01-16T22:56:00.011-06:00

Dylan in front of Grave Digger

Doesn't he look great on that four wheeler?

Britton, Dylan, and Devin

Dylan and Nick with one of the drivers

That is one huge wheel!

Grave Digger preparing to do some damage

Dylan and his friend Boo

Dylan and Nick

When I heard Monster Jam was coming to Memphis I knew that Dylan would love this! Plus what kind of southerners would we be if we missed this kind of event? I really wanted to go but I stayed home with Jaxson instead. I figured this event wouldn't be enjoyable with a one year old baby! Plus these things get so loud that you need ear plugs. Nick and Dylan came prepared with some thanks to a friend's warning. Well, as predicted Dylan had a blast. His favorite monster truck was Grave Digger. He couldn't stop talking about this when he came home that night. A couple of the other oral surgery residents took their kids, so it was even more fun for Dylan to see his friends there. Nick got there an hour early so he could go down in the pit. That's when you can get pictures with the trucks and meet the drivers. Nick said that was really cool. If Monster Jam comes back to Memphis I am so going! I don't know if that is kind of weird that I would want to go, but I have never been to anything like that so it would be an experience. Fun times here in Memphis!

Surprise Party For Me!

2009-01-14T21:58:00.004-06:00

My friend Whitney made a delicious cake!

From left to right: Starla, Flor, Emily, Whitney, Natalie, Me, Rebecca, Angel

My friend Emily was nice enough to throw me a birthday party at her house last Sunday. It was really fun to get together with friends and enjoy some good food plus a really good birthday cake! It was supposed to be a surprise but I knew something was up when Emily called asking me "um so, where's your favorite place to shop?" The girls put together some cash and a gift card for me which was awesome! I am still deciding on what to use it on and have made a vow not to spend it on my kids. I haven't had an a birthday cake in 4 years so I was really happy to have one this year! In dental school we always seemed to be traveling on the 2nd, or just going out to eat with friends so that is why I have not had a cake for so long! And this is kind of sad but I haven't had an actually party thrown for me since I turned 18. Nick isn't one to plan anything beyond going to a restaurant, so maybe I should start demanding a cake and party from here on out! Anyways, I just wanted to add a thank you to everyone who came over to celebrate my birthday with me :) I'm lucky to know such great people here in Memphis!

I am 26 years old

2009-01-04T00:48:00.008-06:00

I was born January 2, 1983 in Silver Spring Maryland

I was surprised to have flowers delivered to my door!

Nick and I at dinner

Besides the pretty flowers, Nick also surprised me by making dinner reservations to a fancy restaurant called "Folks Follys" which is a really good steak house. The food was really good, we loved it. After dinner we went to the movies to see "Valkyrie" which was pretty good. As if all of this wasn't enough Nick got me a box of chocolates and two DVDs! I don't know what I did to deserve all of this but I really enjoyed my birthday this year. For a while I felt apprehensive to the fact I was turning 26. I wasn't sure why for a while until a friend reminded me it was because I was now closer to thirty than I was to twenty. Yeah that was definitely what was bugging me, but I am ok now. I still have my youth for four more years. Ok I am joking, thirty is still young right? At least that's what I keep telling myself! Anyways thanks Nick for making my birthday so special. Oh and thanks to the Larsens too for watching our kids even though Friday was our weekend to babysit!

Christmas Day

2009-01-04T00:21:00.007-06:00

Dylan and Jax Christmas morning

Jaxson's new toy

Nick got guitar hero

Another exciting gift

The "man groomer" my favorite gift (yes there is a story behind this one)

Christmas morning was really great. The kids both woke up around the same time and the first thing Dylan did was run right past our bedroom and out to the living room to see if Santa came. He then came back for us to tell us the good news. Nick gave me the "man groomer" from bed bath and beyond as one of my gifts. No it is not for my use but his. My friend Dana from Omaha had told me about this product last spring and I had been telling Nick all year he needed to go get it. I almost went and got it myself a few times, but kept forgetting. So imagine my surprise when I opened it Christmas morning. Now Nick will be properly groomed and that makes me happy even if it is for his use. I am sure he will thank me for giving him the advice of purchasing it. I also got some really nice gifts that were for my use by the way :) Anyways after we opened presents we went over to the Larsens for Christmas dinner. We brought over home made stuffing (I had never made anything but stove top) so this was something new for me. It turned out pretty well. We played games after we ate and had a really fun time. Over all we had a very good first Christmas here in Memphis. Thanks again to the Larsens for having us over.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-03T23:58:00.007-06:00

Excited for Christmas!

Christmas stories

Gingerbread houses

The nativity scene acted out by the kids

Nick and Jaxson

My friend Angel was gracious enough to host a Christmas Eve party at her house. It was a fun night and the kids loved it. Dylan really liked decorating his gingerbread house and Jaxson had fun going after Angel's Christmas tree or playing with fridge magnets the whole time. He was a happy boy the whole time so we couldn't complain. I made my home made oreos and they were eaten up pretty quickly. It was nice to spend Christmas eve with friends. Thanks for having us again Angel!

Visitng Santa

2008-12-29T00:01:00.007-06:00

Santa and the boys

Jaxson and Dylan at the play place

Playing a wall puzzle

I took the kids to visit Santa at the mall, so Dylan could tell him what he wanted for Christmas and so I could get a cute picture. Luckily I got a picture where Jaxson wasn't crying. He was scared of Santa and was crying pretty much the whole time he was on Santa's lap except for this picture. Dylan told Santa he wanted three things.

1. A really awesome race track
2. An airplane
3. A yo-yo

After visiting Santa I took the kids to the play area so they could run around a bit. I think this was Jaxson's first time being in the mall play area and being old enough to actually play. They both had fun. When we were leaving Dylan said we had to look for the reindeer since I told him they were waiting for Santa on the roof. Luckily he let us drive off without searching the whole perimeter of the mall's roof for reindeer. I explained that the mall is too big and we can't see where they might be. I don't know if that will fly next year!

Ugly sweater/ornament exchange party

2008-12-28T23:45:00.005-06:00

Group Picture

Our festive hostess Emily

Me and my "ugly" ornament

So every year my friend Emily puts on a ugly sweater Christmas party and ornament exchange. The ornaments were supposed to be ones nobody would want but I think I got lucky with the one I ended up with. It was a fun night but I wish I came with a tackier sweater! Next year I am going to go all out like a couple people did at this party. It was a really fun night. hanging out and eating good food. There are some really funny pictures that I did not get on my camera and I am too lazy to get them from my friends so this is just a quick recap of that night.

Gingerbread Ornaments

2008-12-28T23:36:00.003-06:00

Dylan decorating his gingerbread man

The kiddos

My friend Rebecca called us over one night to have the kids decorate ginger bread men to hang on the tree. Dylan had a lot of fun decorating and was excited to hang them on the tree. The kids all ended up shirtless so we could keep their clothes paint free. It was a good thing too, because Dylan had paint all over his arms and chest!

Another special birthday!

2008-12-20T23:35:00.003-06:00

Jaxson Drew Coles was born December 20th 2007 in Omaha Nebraska

I can't believe my baby turned one today. I don't have a really dramatic birth story for him but I will do a recap anyways. I was scheduled for a cesarean a week before he was due. I was supposed to be the first cesarean of the day which meant we had to be there very early. Five something in the morning if I remember correctly. Our friends Marshall and Dana had Dylan spend the night over at their house the night before so we wouldn't have to wake Dylan up when we needed to leave. Well my delivery ended up being pushed back to nine in the morning so we did a lot of waiting. When Jaxson was finally delivered he weighed in at 8 lb 1 oz and was perfect in every way. I noticed those days in the hospital that he was going to be a clingy baby, since he preferred to sleep being held and would cry when he was laid down to be taken to the nursery. Let me tell you, my theory has proved true! We were lucky to escape colic or much fussiness, but he had his days and nights mixed up for the first two or three weeks which was nearly the end of me. I remember we celebrated my birthday shortly after he was born, and my birthday wish was that he would get his sleeping schedule corrected!

Well somehow I have managed to recover from surgery, sleepless nights, mastitis, recurrent blocked milk ducts, and I can say we survived the first year. The first year of having a baby is brutal. For those who say it is easy, well... I don't believe you. I felt this way after Dylan too. I have a hard time functioning without sleep and early mornings are the worst. Luckily now Jaxson sleeps through the night and rarely wakes up before seven. (yes seven is still too early but I can manage!)

Despite it all Jaxson has been a good baby. It doesn't take much to make him smile and he is very content when he is having things go his way. Which means Nick or I are holding him or at least with him at all times. When we are out and about he is always content and mellow. He loves his brother Dylan and tries to play with him all the time. Some of his other favorite things are pacifires, a blanket grandma made for him, a stuffed animal monkey, and he is already a sweet tooth. Even if he has NO TEETH! That's ok cause I love his gummy smile :) He is doing really well with cruisng along furniture, but he isn't walking unassisted just yet. I can't believe how much he has changed and grown in one year. I added a slide show below to see the difference a year makes!

Happy Birthday Jaxson we love you!!!

Jaxson's first year

2008-12-20T23:33:00.001-06:00

27 years ago today...

2008-12-19T21:05:00.011-06:00

Nicholas John Coles was born in Price, Utah December 19th 1981

27 things about Nick

Nick is very farsighted. He got glasses as a toddler, and they were those huge and thick old school type. Wish I had pictures to post!
When he was 14 he was rock climbing for a cub scouts trip, and a huge rock fell on his hand and crushed his fingers. He underwent surgery, which fixed his fingers, but a couple of his fingers on that hand are different than the others.
He was a smart kid! He was in gifted classes and skipped a grade. He went through school pretty quickly by testing out of classes.
He served a 2 year mission for the LDS church in Uruguay.
He doesn't have a bachelors degree, but since that was not a requirement for dental school he was accepted and now has the title of D.D.S
Nick is one of five children. Only one of his siblings did not pursue dentistry. (oh yeah and his dad is a dentist too!)
He underwent oral surgery after his first year of dental school, which made him begin to consider the profession seriously. He also had to drink all of his food straight from the blender after the procedure, for six weeks :(
Nick is a sports fanatic and has loves ESPN.
Nick is also an xbox fanatic but now oral surgery consumes too much of his time.
Nick is the true definition of a night owl and has had a hard time adjusting to the early bird mornings that his residency requires each morning.
He gets along with lots of different kinds of people and makes friends easily.
He hates the texture of velvet and he can't stand touching it. He says for him it is like nails on a chalkboard.
He has had allergies here in Memphis and has coined the nickname Jimmy sniffles by his chief resident.
He knows how to play the guitar and piano and can actually sing pretty well. Although you will probably never hear him try to sing well cause he exaggerates the song and gets silly if he has an audience.
He is really easy going and is happy to do whatever I want to do, or things that Dylan may want to go do.
He is a social butterfly and doesn't enjoy being alone. (his mom always says he had to always have a friend over as a kid.)
He is an optimist all the way. Sometimes I wish he would worry more!
He always comes home in a good mood and is rarely grouchy. I would say he is just a naturally happy person. I'm not sure how he does it when he spends all day doing what he does which I know is hard.
He has a major soft spot for our kids and is very sweet with them.
He loves going out to eat and has a weakness for unhealthy food. His favorite food is mexican food.
He is a pretty self confidant individual which will hopefully make him a successful oral surgeon.
He is a good friend and will always help someone out.
He is fun to be around and fun to talk to. He was the only guy who I could literally be on the phone for hours with when we were dating.
He tries his best to make me happy and looks out for my best interests.
He is a little bit of a spender and definitely not cheap which can be good and very bad at the same time.
He is really good at putting up with me and my bad moods. He can usually make me smile/laugh when I am trying really hard to be mad at him. It's so annoying!
He always makes me feel better when something is bothering me and does the same with other people.

WE LOVE YOU NICK! THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT HUSBAND AND DAD!

Our Holiday Dance

2008-12-12T00:34:00.005-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Pause my music playlist at the bottom of my blog to hear the music that accompanies the video. It just isn't the same without the Christmas Jingle!

Home Renovations

2008-12-05T21:59:00.004-06:00

We finally finished our Kitchen! Nick did the nicest thing for me ever! When I was in Utah with the kids he decided to paint the kitchen for me and kept it a surprise until I walked through the door when I got back! I had the paint picked out for a while, and I also had the pear oil painting sitting there waiting to be hung up for the longest time! We had a hard time getting this done since Nick is gone so much and we can't get a job like this done with the kids around. I should have taken a before picture, but basically the paint was just a light cream color and there was nothing on the wall. Nick also replaced the light fixture that was above our kitchen table and put this chandelier in instead. We also bought that kitchen table this summer after we moved here. My friend Angel sells vinyl lettering and designs so she provided the vinyl lettering in chocolate brown which matches perfectly. I kind of stole the idea/location for the lettering from my friend Janel. My friend Emily was at Target and discovered the wooden pear sitting on the table for me. I went and got the last one they had (thanks Emily!) I used flowers from Michael's to put the orange flower arrangement together, and that about covers it. We still have more painting/ decorating to do and I hope we can get those done. Anyways much thanks to my awesome husband for this unexpected surprise!

2008-12-02T23:01:00.002-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Since Nick was on call for Thanksgiving, and it was a trauma week (which means he will definitely get called in) I took the kids to Utah for Thanksgiving. Nick really wanted me to go since some of his family hadn't met Jaxson yet, and Dylan likes to see his cousins. We had a a good time and I put on a few pounds from all that great food we had :( Nick's parents rented out a vacation home up in park city since the family has outgrown their home. Everyone felt sorry for Nick since he was the ONLY one who couldn't make it there for Thanksgiving!

We were lucky enough to hang out with some Omaha friends while we were there! My good friend Janel came to visit me with her kids Jantsen and Kambryn. Jantsen is Dylan's age and they were best friends in Omaha. They had a good time hanging out before we drove up to Park City, and then later in the week we all went to the Kangaroo zoo. Basically it is a place full of moon bounces and slides, and it was funny seeing Dylan and Jantsen running around together as if they had never been apart! I am glad I remembered my camera this time so I could get some cute pictures from out trip!

End of the season soccer party

2008-11-13T23:06:00.017-06:00

Last Saturday Dylan had his soccer party marking the end of the season. We had Pizza and took some pictures with the team. Dylan was so excited to get a trophy and his certificate of completion. I wish we got him a trophy for when he played soccer last spring, and I guess I still can if I order one! I included a picture of Jaxson since he will hopefully be our next little soccer player. The funniest thing happened when we were driving home after the party. I asked Dylan "What does your trophy say?" He looked at his trophy and very seriously began "reading" and this is what he told us was written on the trophy...

"Dear Dylan,

you won lots and lots of goals, that's why you get a trophy. Next time win lots more goals and you will get another trophy."

Some of the things Dylan comes up with are just hilarious, and it makes me want to start documenting them on my blog so I don't forget. I actually wrote this down after he said it because I knew I would forget what he said if I didn't! We can't wait until spring so he can play soccer again. He loves it!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T23:03:00.021-06:00

Me and Emily

Tammy, Emily, me, and Starla

Our family

Dylan going down the moon bounce slides

Jaxson hanging out in his stroller

Nick and Steve

Me and Rebecca

Dylan bowling

Nick and the boys

Dylan with his glow stick

Lexi and Dylan

Little Pirate Tucker

Halloween weekend was crazy for us. Nick's friend Steve who went to dental school with him in Omaha flew out here and stayed with us for a couple days. He had an interview here in Memphis for a pediatric dentistry residency. We wish him the best of luck with the rest of his interviews! The day of Halloween Dylan went to preschool and had a great time with their Halloween festivities. After that my friend Emily was having a little bash at her house before the evening started. Nick was still stuck at his residency so Steve was my date ;) After that everyone headed to this huge baptist church that has a Halloween carnival every year. It was crazy!!! They had tons of moon bounces, rides, and were giving out candy to the kids. Best of all it was all free if you can believe that! I dressed up as a pirate and when Nick showed up he was still in his scrubs, so I guess you can say he went as himself, a resident!!! After the carnival we headed back to do some trick or treating. Emily's neighborhood had some trick or treaters still out so we took Dylan there. He was spider man of course. Jaxson was supposed to be a little devil but it was late and chilly so we kind of just didn't bother putting his costume on. It was such a fun night and I have to thank Emily for opening up her house to everyone. By the way in the top picture with me and Emily posing, we caught some perverted random guy taking our picture at the same time!!! I am still a little freaked out about that...

Happy Birthday Tami!

2008-11-02T22:42:00.003-06:00

Yesterday a few of us went out to lunch for our friend Tami's birthday. It was so much fun going out to lunch with just the girls (no kids!) Our server was awesome and seemed extra excited to pose with us in this picture! We went to a place called On The Border for lunch. It is pretty good and I have been there before since we have it in Maryland. I needed this day out since last night it was our turn to babysit. Did I mention we babysit 7 other kids besides our own once a month, in exchange for 3 dates a month. Did I also mention that all of the 9 kids are under the age of 4??? Are we crazy or what!?! Luckily the kids are all great as well as the parents who we are lucky to have as friends. So that's what we are up to the first weekend each month!

California Trip!!!

2008-11-02T22:28:00.002-06:00

We got back from California last week and it was a fun trip. We had a chance to visit my brother and sister in law and Dylan got a chance to hang out with his cousins Quincey and Presley. While we were there we got to visit Lego Land and Disney Land. I didn't get a ton of pictures while we were at Disney Land since the camera ran out of battery. The only down side to our trip was Nick came down with the stomach flu and then gave it to Maren after we left. Sorry about that!!! Dylan and Quincey are the same age and played great together. He misses her already! Thanks for everything Barry and Maren!

Tom's Farm

2008-11-02T21:27:00.009-06:00

Me and the kids in the corn maze

All the kids excited to enter the corn maze

Lexi, Jaxson, and Dylan

Posing on pumpkins

Digging through lots of corn

Cheese!

Picnic Lunch

A couple Saturdays ago we went to Tom's farm with some of our friends. I went with the kids since Nick was at the hospital that day. We went right after Dylan's soccer game. There was a really great corn maze, a little pumpkin patch, hay rides ect.. The kids had a blast and I got some good exercise trying to find my way out of the corn maze. Still doesn't compare to Valla's pumpkin patch in Omaha but I think that was our first time going through a corn maze and it was worth the trip!

Football Game

2008-11-02T21:18:00.006-06:00

Me and Nick

Matt and Katie

Nick and I went to the Memphis vs Louisville football game. This is the first football game I have been to since high school I think. October has been great here in Memphis so we had perfect weather. We went with Nick's other first year resident Matt and his wife Katie. It was a great night!

Go McCain!

2008-10-12T21:58:00.002-05:00

This is Nick, I thought I would Hi-jack Jeannette's Blog for a day to give a plug for the McCain-Palin ticket. Go McCain!

I got tagged!

2008-10-11T21:08:00.004-05:00

Eight...Eight...Eight...

Eight TV shows I love to watch

Heroes
So you think you can dance
America's got talent
The office
House
24
The soup
Bachelor/Bachelorette

Eight things that happened to me yesterday

Got a phone call from Midas saying the Maxima will be 1000 bucks to repair and not finished until Monday
Got Dylan ready for preschool
Spent the entire duration of Jaxson's second nap holding him since he would instantly wake when I layed him down
Got a phone call from Starla asking if we wanted free tickets/parking pass to the Louisville vs Memphis football game
Got kids stuff all packed and ready to go so Brandon and Natalie could babysit
Wait for Nick to get home, then dropped the kids off at sitters
Went to the game with a couple from Nick's residency
Got back to the sitters close to midnight to get our kids (thanks Brandon and Natalie!)

Eight favorite places to eat

Cafe 61
Pei Wei
Central BBQ
Bon Thai
El Napal
Chilis
Chick-Fila
Sonic

Eight things I am looking forward to

Date night this weekend
California trip... Disney Land!
Halloween activities
Halloween
Cooler weather
December (Jaxson's first birthday/Christmas)
A real vacation (cruise this spring?)
Nick's first year of residency to end

Eight things on my wish list

Jaxson will sleep through the night
Getting in shape
Completing home renovations
A bigger car eventually
Having a baby girl (eventually! Not soon!)
Having more energy to get things done like keep the house sparkling clean
Having kids see my side of the family more often
Nick enjoying helping out with the housework and waking up with Jaxson ;)

Eight people I tag

Maren
Janel
Dana
Tiff
Angel
Amanda
Carolyn
Michelle

Pumpkin Project

2008-10-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day for us. Dylan had his soccer game at 9:00 am and we are proud to announce he scored two goals! After that my friend Whitney suggested we decorate pumpkins at her house since our our husbands were either away or busy all day. This idea came from a magazine and it was a fun project. We used spray paint to color the pumpkins and cut Halloween fabric for the eyes, nose, and mouth and pasted it on the pumpkin. Our kids just painted whatever they wanted on the pumpkins and added pipe cleaners for hair and glued some other decorations on the pumpkins. It was really fun and we were also pretty exhausted by the end of the afternoon. (note my grunge appearance.) I still plan on carving pumpkins but will save that until Halloween comes closer. I am lucky to have some crafty friends so I can do some of this stuff more often!

Go Shockers!!!

2008-09-24T22:11:00.008-05:00

has the ball

On the sidelines

Being the goalie

Team spirit

Post game dinner

Last night Dylan had his first soccer game of the season. I am glad he had a chance to play in the spring when we were living in Omaha so he knows what hes is doing now. He is always excited to go to practice and doesn't cry when he is knocked down. I think he is a good player but he is so methodical and over thinks his moves when he plays. It is pretty funny to watch him concentrating so hard. I have been telling him to just go for it and run fast! Dylan got a chance to play goalie and he prevented the other team from scoring! I think the final score was one to zero and we won. Dylan loves his shirt and we think it is cool that it has his name on it. After the game we went to dinner with some of our friends who have kids on Dylan's team. So I guess I really am a soccer mom minus the mini van. Most of our friends are mini van lovers and we have yet to join the club. I am too young to be driving a mini van aren't I?

Jaxson can finally crawl!

2008-09-24T21:56:00.005-05:00

He's coming for my camera here

A cute picture of the boys

After a month of trying really hard to crawl Jaxson is finally doing it. Tonight was the first time he actually crawled for real, as opposed to pushing himself around with his arms or just scooting. He just turned 9 months old so he is crawling a month sooner than Dylan did. I am surprised by those babies crawling around by 6 months, maybe I just didn't put my kids on their stomachs enough. I can't believe how big both the boys are getting. I predict Jaxson to be walking at 12 months also a month earlier than Dylan did. So far he is doing everything a month sooner than Dylan so we will see if I am right. Dylan hit a major growth spurt this summer and suddenly he has needed new socks and shoes but his clothes still seem to fit. I am not sure if it is really just his feet that got huge but it seems like it! They are growing up too fast!

Dylan's First Day Of Preschool!!!

2008-09-06T13:06:00.003-05:00

Preschool couldn't come soon enough for both Dylan and I. He was so bored this summer we were both going a little crazy. He really loved going to preschool in Omaha and was asking me when he could go back all summer! Well we found a great preschool that is only five minutes away from our house and we were able to get him registered last minute! He was originally going to do preschool with someone from church, but we decided it might be better if he had a real classroom experience, especially since he did last year. He will be going 3 days a week for 5 hours each day (a definite plus!) Since they have all day kindergarten here they like to prepare the kids with longer preschool which is fine by me. My mom bought Dylan a spider man lunch box so I went and got him a matching back pack! He loves spider man these days and also power rangers. (I hate power rangers DUMBEST SHOW EVER!) Anyways, he really enjoyed his first day there, and I hope he has a great school year.

2008-08-26T22:34:00.003-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I just got back from Maryland on Sunday. I took the kids there for a couple weeks, since Nick has been pretty busy with his residency. I also hadn't been home in a year and a half so I definitely needed to visit! We all had a blast. I won't bother typing everything we did, since you can watch the slide show. My mom was a huge help and provided me a much needed break. I was kind of spoiled actually. I took a nap everyday and she pretty much took over my job as mom while we were there. The kids loved it and she enjoyed spoiling them! I was lucky enough to hang out with some friends and even went to the movies twice! I saw the Batman movie and Pineapple Express. Batman was really good, and I recommend watching it, if you haven't seen it. We also had unusually nice weather while we were there. Usually it is hot and humid in August but we lucked out. I really didn't want to leave but Nick said we had to come back! Dylan was really attached to my brother and wanted to hang out with him all the time, it was really cute. In a way it has been good to get back home and fall back into a routine. I miss the east coast like crazy, and I wish we were living there. The summer has really flown by, I can't believe it is nearly September!

Chickasaw State Park

2008-08-08T22:34:00.008-05:00

Dylan building a sand castle

Jaxson hanging out on the beach

Nick and the boys

Collin, Boo, Dylan, Lexi

This past weekend we went to Chickasaw State Park with some friends of ours. Basically it is a large lake with a swimming beach. It was only an hour drive from where we live. It was a gorgeous drive and the lake was located in a beautiful area. It was very hot that day and I spent a lot of time trying to make sure Jaxson didn't over heat! Sometimes hot day trips are not the easiest with babies, but we made it work and had fun anyways. Dylan didn't want to leave! Hopefully we can make it back there again. I wish we had a real beach but you have to make due with what you have!

The Memphis Children's Museum

2008-07-29T22:09:00.013-05:00

I took Dylan to visit the Memphis Children's museum a little while ago and here are the pictures. It was a fun place and he liked it a lot. I think it was pretty comparable to the Omaha museum just way more crowded! Unfortunately for us it is also a 20 minute drive from our house. The zoo is that far away too. That is one thing I miss about Omaha, we had that stuff 5 minutes away! It has been 100 degrees here in Memphis so we haven't been doing many outdoor activities. We had a play set installed in our backyard when we first moved in and Dylan has barely used it since he gets over heated after 5 minutes outside. We beat the heat by staying in the air conditioning and making runs to Sonic down the road. They have great drinks and if you go during happy hour they are 1/2 price! There are a group of girls that do pilates 3 mornings a week at the church. I have been trying to go even though it is at 9:00 am. That is really early for me especially with 2 kids. I mainly go so Dylan can run around with the other 15 kids in the church gym. I am not sure how much of a work out I get since Jaxson doesn't like sitting in his car seat the whole time. Nick has been busy as usual and I will have to post about him later. He has a much more exciting day than I do!

Catching Up (July pictures)

2008-07-13T20:59:00.025-05:00

These pictures are from the sprinkler park and pool we visited this month. The sprinkler park was kind of a drive, but Dylan had fun. The pool is in an apartment complex down the road. My friend sneaks in with her kids so I joined her. There aren't any public pools where we live so what else can we do? Jaxson likes the water and doesn't mind getting wet at all. I am hoping to enroll Dylan in swimming lessons this summer, when I get around to getting a gym membership. At least the gyms seem to have outdoor pools!

Utah Trip

2008-06-22T00:08:00.006-05:00

We are back from Utah. Have been back for a week actually, but since Jaxson wakes up several times a night, I tend to sleep instead of blog. We had a nice time in Utah. The weather was unusually chilly when we were there. I packed nothing but summer clothes, but we ended up needing warmer clothes a lot of time! Needless to say we didn't do a whole lot of swimming and boating like we anticipated. We did take the boat out once but it was 60 something degrees out! Nick was the only one crazy enough to put on a wet suit and go wake boarding. He was pretty desperate to go one last time before residency begins. Here are a few things we did while in Utah. We visited thanksgiving point, went to a really fun indoor/outdoor pool, saw the movie Iron Man, visited the salt lake children's museum, played mini golf, and ate out way too much. I also read the twilight series by stephanie Meyer, and stayed up until 2:00 am every night because I couldn't put those books down! I have more to blog about but I will update it tomorrow. I need to go to bed since I don't anticipate getting any sleep tonight. Gotta love babies!

New Toys!!!

2008-05-27T22:13:00.008-05:00

Testing out the pool

Getting ready to shoot a basket!

Finally entertained without being held!

Brotherly love

Sitting up (almost!)

Well the weather has really been heating up here in Tennessee, but it is not too bad yet. Since we are not going to have a pool we got the next best thing.. A fake one! I really wanted one of these in Omaha, but we didn't have any yard to put one on. Dylan tested it out today and enjoyed it. Next time we will have to invite his friends over and have a pool party. We also needed to find something to entertain Jaxson. The bouncer only keeps him happy for so long and he instantly fusses when placed in his swing. I found an exersaucer at Target which has lots of toys, lights, and music to keep in occupied. Nick didn't want me to buy it because it was expensive and said Jaxson probably won't even use it. Well we proved him wrong! Dylan and Jaxson have been bonding since he isn't playing with other kids a ton. it is really cute to see how he is with Jaxson. He pretty much just imitates the way Nick and I act with Jaxson, but it is cute to see a 4 year old do it. Jaxson is close to sitting up straight without using his hands to hold him up. He is growing up fast. Yesterday we had a barbecue at our house and imvited couple of the oral surgery residents that live by us. We had like ten kids running wild in our house, and surprisingly nothing ended up broken. Nick would be devestated if something had happened to his baby. And it's not Jaxson I am talking about... it's the big screen tv! Anways, we will be off to Utah for a couple weeks, so I won't be blogging for a while. I will hopefully have some new pictures and updates when I get back.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-19T21:36:00.001-05:00

Moved to memphis

2008-05-17T23:14:00.002-05:00

Well we are finally here. Actually we arrived Sunday night, but I have been slacking with the blog. We are pretty much completely unpacked which is a major accomplishment for us! So far we have just been running around buying stuff. I didn't think moving would be nearly as expensive as it has been! A lot of that is due to the fact we have a yard to maintain now, and we had no lawn mower or gardening tools before. We plan on not letting our flowers die (like we did in village green!) I love having a house with lots of space! I also love that every store I can possibly think of is 5 minutes away! The mall is that close too! I don't know if I am ever going to have to drive further than that the whole 4 years we are here! It is crazy how much shopping there is all around us. Actually memphis is the only place I know of that puts churches in shopping centers! I found that rather strange. Dylan loves it here but is not used to being on his own so much. In Omaha he played with friends 24/7. Now it is really different and when he brings up his Omaha friends it makes my heart ache for him. I think I am going to buy him some fish or something cause I feel bad for him! Hopefully when he starts preschool this year, he will have a chance to be more social. We are going to Utah for a couple weeks at the end of May so hopefully it will be a little bit of a vacation. Nick promises we will do fun things instead of sitting around his parents house, so we'll see. I wanted to post pictures of our last events in Omaha but I can't find the cord to upload our pictures so that will have to wait. Hopefully soon though!

Updates

2008-04-25T19:00:00.013-05:00

Nick is finished with all of his requirements!!!

Dylan had pajama day at preschool

Jaxson had his 4 month appointment

Well Nick is jumping for joy since he doesn't have to go to school anymore! His last day of school was two days ago. He saw his last patient and completed his last fillings ever! Now he just needs to go to graduation and then on to bigger and better things. He tells me you couldn't pay him a million dollars to go back and do dental school over again. Hopefully oral surgery is more enjoyable for him. Dylan had pajama day at preschool today and was thrilled to go and show Ms. Trudy his cool spider pajamas. They had crazy hair day on Wednesday, but he missed it because he had an appointment with the ENT. We found out his tubes are functioning fine now (the left tube was blocked) and we are so relieved that we won't have to have the tube in his left ear replaced. And last but not least Jaxson had his 4 month appointment. He is growing like a weed. He has just about doubled his birth weight, weighing in at almost 16 pounds. I am always worried he doesn't eat enough so maybe I should relax. He had his immunizations and did so much better this time. He only cried for the fourth shot and then calmed down when I picked him up. His measurements are as follows: height- 92nd percentile, weight- 66th percentile, and head circumference- 95th percentile. What can I say, my kids have big heads. They gave him a cute sticker for being such a good baby. I don't have much to say about me except for I am stressed out because my house is a mess and we are waiting for our boxes so we can begin packing. Oh and we are desperately trying to sell our junk on craigs list. To make matters worse I think Dylan really is going to miss his friends when we leave. He has started getting kind of teary eyed about it. I thought he would be fine and be excited to move to Memphis and meet his new friends, but this may be harder than I thought. He is even saying he is going to miss his preschool teacher "so so much." I still think once we leave he will adjust fine, as most kids his age do quickly. I can't believe we are down to two weeks left!

December Moms Reunion

2008-04-17T14:07:00.009-05:00

From left to right: Naomi, Nona, Me, Tammy, Camille (December 2007)

Here we are with all the babies (April 2008)Babies in moms' arms from left to right: Bridget Huddleston, Lia Durham, Jaxson Coles, Holly Kreutz, Hudson Himmerich, Ashley Gordon

Jaxson is sandwiched in the middle

Funny Picture

Tummy Time!

A couple days ago I got a phone call saying we were taking pictures of the babies at Naomi's house. The problem was it was 10:00 am and anyone who knows me can be sure that we are not ready for the day unless I have something planned ahead of time. So when I was told to come over right then I was scrambling! I basically threw on some clothes and brought my kids in their PJs. Just wanted to explain why I have no make up on and my hair is a mess in this picture! I just think we live in such a unique place. There are always waves of pregnancies and I know this wasn't even all the moms who had babies in December! How funny we were all due within a week of each other!

Story Time

2008-04-13T21:11:00.009-05:00

That's a heating pad on Dylan's leg (he complains of growing pains) incase you were wondering.

Dylan and Jaxson enjoying their story

Nick has decided to make the commitment to read to the boys every night before bed. Dylan absolutely loves books, and would have you read him every book we have before bed if he had his way. So far he will have to settle for two books. Jaxson actually likes being read to, even if he has no clue as to what is going on. I am sure if this becomes a habit, Dylan won't let us stop, so I hope we can keep this going. I know when Nick begins his residency in oral surgery I will have to take over. Not that I don't want to, but I tend to get lazy toward the end of the day! I am lucky to have a husband who loves his kids so much! He is always saying he is excited to teach the boys to play sports once Jaxson gets older. Dylan has been into any sport that involves a ball since he could walk, and his eager to teach his little brother how to do everything. Everyday he asks me if Jaxson has teeth yet.. (because getting teeth magically makes him older!) I just love my 3 boys :)

Jaxson's 3 month pictures

2008-04-10T21:36:00.007-05:00

We had our friend Kellie take some pictures of Jaxson when he turned three months old. She also did our other family pictures which we love! I have been trying to decide which ones I want to order. I think these two are my favorite. We had a hard time the day of his pictures. He ended up being pretty tired the whole time and wasn't too smiley. His eyes aren't opened very wide in a lot of the pictures since he was so tired. He was still a good boy for us and managed to cooperate. For the last shots we laid the green background on our kitchen table, and he fell asleep right there after Kellie took his last picture. Poor little guy! I wish we could take Kellie with us to Memphis, since she does such a great job with pictures! Thanks again Kellie!

CoCo Key Water Park

2008-04-06T16:53:00.003-05:00

On Friday we went to an indoor water park here in Omaha. They just built it and we decided to try it out since we used to have to drive to Kansas City to go to Great Wolf Lodge for an indoor water park. We went with our friends the Griggs and the Smiths. Dylan had a blast, especially since he had his friends with him. I mostly held Jaxson and tried to keep him from getting wet. I thought the water was a bit cold for him, and everyone else was shivering when they got out, so I thought it would be better to keep him out. I did take him in the hot tub, which he loved, until we had to get out (no kids under 5 allowed). Don't worry the water wasn't nearly as hot as a real hot tub is! He was a good and happy baby the whole time so bringing him along was fine. Dylan's favorite thing to do was go down the water slides with his arms up in the air. I am glad he could function without his glasses since water was always splashing in his eyes. I really want to go here again or even great wolf lodge one more time! Kansas City is a fun place to visit just to kind of get away. Unfortunately there are no water parks in Memphis! I am going to miss that when we move there!

Fun Weekend

2008-03-31T20:14:00.007-05:00

Banana Republic's Newest Models

The Whole Gang

Good Friends!

This weekend Cameron and Tiffany Egbert came back in town for a visit. They used to live here before they moved to Wisconsin for oral surgery. The kids played all day everyday, and we all got a chance to hang out. We went to our favorite restaurant Johnny's Italian Steakhouse and left the kids with a sitter. I still brought Jaxson though since he isn't much of a disruption yet! I am going to miss this place when we leave, the food is great! We did a little shopping afterwards and had a good laugh when the guys put on hats and sunglasses and struck a pose! I can't believe we are leaving in 6 weeks! I guess we need to make the most of it before it's over!

Dylan's Soccer Team

2008-03-27T09:35:00.004-05:00

We received an email about a little soccer team that was being put together for 3 and 4 year olds in Village Green. Knowing Dylan is a sports fanatic we couldn't pass up the chance! They play at the YMCA and the team consists of Dylan, Jantsen, Lexi, and Sadie. I guess Janel was the coach for their game, which is perfect since Janel has been an avid soccer player for years. I missed the game since Jaxson had received his immunization shots earlier in the day and was not a happy baby :( Luckily Nick could go and give me all the details. From what I hear it was a lot of fun and a few tears were shed when the ball was taken from Dylan and others. They haven't quite learned how the game goes yet! It is so cute to see Dylan's in his soccer gear (thanks Janel for getting Dylan's stuff!) I can't wait to go see his next game. Nick says Dylan is pretty good, but what dad wouldn't say that right?

Sweet Moves...

2008-03-21T03:52:00.004-05:00

Dylan was showing off some of his dance moves the other day. We have a better video but it was too big to upload. He can break it down with his moves!

Visiting The Easter Bunny

2008-03-19T22:32:00.009-05:00

Last night we went to the mall to get some pictures of the kids with the easter bunny. Our friends the Smiths came too. Dylan and Jantsen were so excited to see the easter bunny and we almost missed him. They had actually closed down, and the guy was out of his costume. Luckily Janel was with us since she kind of convinced him to get back in his costume for our kids! I'm not that assertive, and probably would have turned around and gone back home! After we got some pictures, the boys were dancing with easter bunny. See Janel's blog for the video, it is hilarious! We gave the guy a ten dollar tip for being such a good sport and getting back in his costume. I am glad Jaxson is too young to be afraid of the easter bunny. Janel's little girl shrieked when they tried to hand her over to him! I never thought these kinds of activities would still be fun as an adult, but I love taking Dylan and Jaxson to do kiddie things!

Wii Night

2008-03-16T21:15:00.006-05:00

Playing the boxing game (blocking punches here I think)

Don't ask me how their moves are so synchronized!

Jaxson and Bridget

Cute Couple

Tonight we were invited over for dinner at Chris and Naomi's house. We have been friends with them for a while and they are so fun to hang out with. They have a Wii, which I think everybody but me has played before. I think I tried it once at the mall when it first came out but thats it. It was fun to play with and even more fun watching Chris and Nick give it a go. Guys are so competitive! Besides Wii the only other games I enjoy playing are dance dance revolution and we just got American Idol revolution the other day. Just for the record I cannot dance or sing but sometimes it is fun to make a fool out of myself trying. But anyways... Naomi and I had jaxson and bridget one day apart from each other. It is fun to compare sizes ect.. I am pretty sure Bridget has Jaxson beat in weight (you should see those legs!) I guess Nick and I don't get to have chubby babies which is sad because I think they are so cute! I also forgot to mention they have a little boy who is 3 that Dylan likes to play with. We had a fun playing!!!

House Hunting in Memphis

2008-03-08T10:39:00.008-06:00

Well, after 3 frantic days in Memphis, we finally found a house that Nick & I both agreed upon. I wanted a house that was a little bit different but it didn't have a yard, and Nick insisted on having at least somewhat of a yard, so we found a house that had a pretty big yard and a floor plan that I liked. It has 4 bedrooms (although we'll use one as a bonus room), 2 baths and an expandable area. It's in a really pretty neighborhood and we are just down the road from two other oral surgery residents. I met their wives & really liked them! Also, they both have 4 year old boys, so Dylan will have playmates when we move there. It's in a nice area close to a lot of shopping. We won't even have to go on the freeway to get to anything. But it is a little bit of a commute for Nick (like 20-25 min.). We'll be moving out there in May later this year. We're sad to be leaving all our friends in Village Green, but excited at the same time to start something new. Hopefully someone will come and visit us sometime!

Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban Concert!!!!!!!!

2008-03-08T10:20:00.004-06:00

Last night Nick and I went to the Keith Urban/Carrie Underwood concert. It was AWESOME!!! Our seats were actually really high up but we just decided to sit in the seats right behind the stage to the right and we were actually really close to the performers (although we couldn't see the screen behind them!) There was a lady with binoculars in front of us and she kept insisting that we used them. It's actually pretty cool to see with binoculars! It was cool to see what the performers did backstage, Carrie Underwood puts on fresh makeup during every break she has!! It was kind of funny. We were in such a frantic rush to get the kids to the babysitters (thanks Joanna & Paul & Julee!) that we forgot our camera, but I'm sure Dana & Janel took lots so if you want to see live pictures, see their blogs!

A day at the Children's Museum

2008-02-29T19:15:00.028-06:00

Today we went to the Children's Museum with a couple friends. We ended up missing the last outing to the museum so Dylan was really excited to go today. I love how they are always changing it and adding new activities for the kids. The best part is that it's free, so I feel we can go whenever we want. I am going to miss going when we move, but we found out there is one in Memphis too! It ended up being a great time until we were on our way out. They have a cool funnel type thing, where you drop coins in and they circle all the way down into a hole. I guess the proceeds go to the museum. Unfortunately Dylan thought it would be cool to let his hot wheel car go in it. Well it went through the hole and was gone for good. I tried explaining to him that we couldn't get it out, but it didn't matter he cried for it the whole way home. Gotta love four year olds huh?

The Circus Comes to Omaha!

2008-02-23T10:07:00.007-06:00

Cotton Candy!

Elephant Act

Cool Clown!

Motorcycle globe

Me and Jaxson

Me, Dylan, Jaxson

Me, Jaxson, Janel, Cambryn

Dylan's Preschool gave each kid and a parent a ticket to go to the circus here in Omaha. Dylan was super excited to see the show, I think his favorite part was the motorcycles inside the cages. He had a great time especially because he was with his best friend Jantsen. The only thing missing was his other best friend Lexi Griggs who was out of town! We're gonna miss the good times in Omaha and Dylan will miss his friends when we move! We'll have to find ways to keep in touch!

Dylan's first sleep over!

2008-02-16T14:07:00.004-06:00

Last night Dylan's best buddy Jantsen came over to spend the night. We ordered pizza for the boys and Nick went to blockbuster to get them a movie. He came back with "Under Dog". I expected something more animated, but the boys were excited and seemed to enjoy it. We even popped some popcorn. It was fun to watch the boys sitting on the couch with their bowls of popcorn watching the movie! After the movie we got their PJs on and put them to bed. They each selected a few hot wheel cars to take to bed with them first! To our surprise they went to sleep immediately and slept through the night without incident. We are so glad Dylan has a good friend like Jantsen to play with. I don't know what we will do when we move away! It will be hard for all of us to leave our good friends behind.