Superhero

A conversation I had with Jude last week:

"Where Daddy?"

"He went to the gym."

"The gym? He walk?"

"Yes, he walked to the gym. He went to the gym to exercise so he can get big and strong."

"Big and strong?"

"Uh huh."

"Like superhero?" 

(he raises his little arm above his head like superman)

(snickering to myself) 

"Yeah, like a superhero!"

"Me?"

"Are you a superhero, Jude?"

"No. Daddy."

"Daddy's a superhero?"

"Uh huh."

Love it!

Blessing Cole + Birthday Celebrations

Last Sunday, March 18th, we blessed baby Cole. It also happened to be the weekend after Laura's Birthday and before mine, so we had a lot to celebrate!

The morning was spent preparing for the party. George made me a carrot cake (my favorite) and carrot cake ice cream for my Birthday.

The ice cream machine stopped before the ice cream was thick enough, so George put on the hand crank and kept it going.

Lance put his muscles to work and helped out a bit.

It was hard work! Totally worth it, though, because the ice cream was amazing!

It was a beautiful day--so beautiful we couldn't keep the kids inside.

Lance liked to climb Grandmom and Pop Pop's trees.

Callie and Jude in the front yard.

George tried to show the kids how to whistle on a piece of grass.

Bryce, Jude, Callie and Lance

That afternoon, after grabbing the cake and ice cream from George's parents' house, we ran over to my mom's house to help get everything ready for the party.

When everyone arrived, George blessed little Cole. It is a tradition in our family and our Church. A baby blessing is basically a chance for a dad to bless his child with health and happiness and also give him a name that will then go on the records of the Church. It was neat because we had so many family members that got to come. George's family was there with mine, as was my Aunt Linda and Uncle Rob and their two girls.

Sweet Cole dressed in white. He's actually wearing the same outfit Lance did when he was blessed.

See those cute booties? Grandma Brewer got those for Cole. Her neighbor crocheted them. I'm glad Cole got to have something special from his Gi Gi. :)

And of course we had to take lots and lots of pictures!

I can't decide which family picture I like the best, so you get to see three!

Proud parents.

Cole with his mom and Great-Grandma. This is my Grandma Brewer--my mother's mother.

My cousin Kailey was there, too! She's attending Southern Virginia University, so it was really nice she got to be there for the party.

Jude with Aunt Jen (George's sister) and Grandmom.

George and Uncle Rob talking "keto" diets and exercise plans.

Jason with Kailey and Bethany (and Cole)

George's mom, Jen, Jude, Glenn and George's dad

The whole group.

Grandma Brewer (the great grandkids caller her Gi Gi) and George's mom

With my mom and Glenn

With the Grandmas

With George's parents

The men who participated in giving the blessing (Tyler, Glenn, George and Uncle Rob).

George and his dad--three generations!

Four generations!

Cole is starting to smile and couldn't stop smiling at Grandma.

Sweet baby!

My mom and Glenn hosted the whole group and after the blessing, we had dinner (pulled pork sandwiches, egg rolls courtesy of George's mom, and potato salad).

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the potato salad. Grandma Brewer has been making this salad for as long as I can remember. It is famous in our family.

Lance, Callie and Bryce were there but spent most of their time hanging out on the computer watching funny cat videos. Probably why they don't show up in too many pictures. :)

Then it was time for the Birthday cake!

 

This is the cake George made me. Thanks, Love!

Uh... why is the cake eating Cole?

Okay, that's better!

Growing up, Laura and I often got to celebrate our Birthdays on the same day. This year was no exception.

Laura, Tyler and Mason with the red velvet cake Tyler made.

Lighting the candles...

Singing to Laura...

Singing to me. Lance got excited and blew out a few candles before the end of the song. Oops!

Almost time to blow the rest of the candles...

Blow! Thanks for the help, boys!

Serving the cake and ice cream. The ice cream especially was a huge hit.

Enjoying the cakes.

So full. So, so full...

Lance and Jude LOVE being with the big kids!

It was a great day full of family, fun and cake. We are so happy that baby Cole is part of our family. He adds such a sweet little spirit in our home. We couldn't love him more!

Soccer

After fighting Lance tooth and nail to participate in soccer, I think he's finally starting to like it.

He's still doing his indoor soccer league and has one game left for that season, but has since started another league with Killian. He's one of the youngest on his team, but he's making strides and I can already tell a huge improvement in his skills. 

Last Saturday was their first game of the season.

Killian throwing in an "out-of-bounds" ball.

Lance with the ball.

He's making friends and seems to be having a good time--quite the relief to his anxious mother who keeps wondering if I'm doing the right thing in making him play.

Killian is very fast and played a great game.

Lance was even starting to be aggressive in trying to get to the ball. Good job, Lance!

It's fun Lance and Killian are playing together because that means we get to sit with the Elmers during the game. 

George and Aric had a good time doing a running commentary on the boys' playing.

Jude loved it because he got to share Kendall's popcorn. This kid has a bottomless pit for a stomach.

And of course, Cole just hung out in his little seat, napping his way through all the action and the cheers.

It's not a flattering picture of the coach, but I like the boys together. We love Lance's coach. He's really good with the boys and seems fun, but still pushes them to be better. I couldn't have asked for a better person for Lance to learn soccer from.

The popcorn held Jude for only so long before he had to get up and run around. He wanted to join the big kids out on the field, so in an attempt to distract him, George took him to the neighboring field to kick the ball around.

He had a blast!

I love his little karate moves when he tries to kick the ball.

George tried to teach him how to head-butt the ball. Jude thought it was pretty funny.

It was a great first game! Afterwards, we drove up to Northern Virginia to visit with my Grandma who was in town. It was a busy weekend with Cole's blessing on Sunday and celebrating my Birthday as well as Laura's. Stay tuned for pictures!