The Next Adventure

It's time for our next adventure. Drew will be deploying to Afghanistan in the February timeframe. The saying that there's never a dull moment could not be more true. While we are absolutely sad that Drew has to leave our growing little family, we also feel prepared and ready to go. This is something we have discussed over and over again as this was the real 'kicker' in our discussion of when the best time would be to have a baby. We knew he would deploy again so it's the discussion of now Drew has to leave not only me but his son. Obviously, we decided we were ready to have a baby and fortunately we've had a plan on how we would handle the situation before he even knew he was deploying. We're ready to follow that plan and get the job done. I'll be heading back to St. Louis with Cole which brings a silver lining to the situation in that our family will be closer. It will be a much different mission and experience than when he was in Iraq. We are just going to have to be flexible and steal conversations and moments when we can. The coming weeks will be a little insane but we are looking forward to spending time together over the holidays and relaxing when we can. I love Mack's face in this picture. Sums it up nicely. Here we go again... Here's to round 2!

In Cole news, we have started introducing real food which he loves. We have only done rice cereal which is a big hit, squash which is so-so, and peas which he did not like AT ALL! It was hilarious because he was literally cringing at the peas. Too cute. We had him in his bumbo seat for the first couple of times just to see if he was ready to try eating which he definitely is so we now have him in the high chair.


Drew loves coordinating their man time. Here's a picture of all the Harris boys.

Cole LOVES his daddy! Drew is like his personal jungle gym.


So everyone has said how much Cole looks like me and I can kind of see it. Then our nanny sent us this picture while she was watching him and I was like WOAH! This looks exactly like me when I was little!! I need to find the exact picture and do a side by side. It's nuts.

Merry Christmas, baby!

Happy Thanksgiving and Baptism

I don't know where to begin. This past weekend was filled with family, friends, food and fun. Wow. (Insert deep breath here.) Loved every minute but man we need another vacation! :) It was soooo fun to introduce Cole to our St. Louis clan. Thursday we enjoyed a low-key Thanksgiving then Friday was the baptism. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it. It was a short, sweet ceremony and Cole was his calm, happy self throughout. I was guessing he wouldn't mind the water on his head since he loves bath time and sure enough he could care less. Super cute.
Here's a picture of his first plane ride. Luckily he was really good on the way there. It wasn't until the way home when we had to de-board the plane twice and didn't get home until 2am that he was fussy. Can't blame the poor guy. That's another story though.

Ready to head to the church.

It's official!

Proud Godparents.

Love this pic of Cole and Uncle Pete.

In Drew's words, 'Getting Cole out of his dress.' It's neat that both Drew and Pete were baptized in this baptismal gown that their Grandma Unverferth made. Cole's name will be monogrammed on the gown along with the date under Drew's name. As Jeannie pointed out there is plenty of space for many more grand babies under Drew and Pete's names. ;)

Cole meeting his Great Gram Unverferth (the baptismal gown maker). So special to see numerous generations.

We then changed into casual clothes and did the Brophy Ranch hangout thing while we visited with lots of family. Again, so nice to see everyone!
Kylee's first horseback ride.

Everyone helping with the horse. :)

The bonfire was the local hot spot. Pun intended...

Saturday we were able to see a few of our good friends. Brian stopped by as well as Christina and her husband John with their two girls. Natalie and Josie are the cutest things ever.
Natalie at almost 9 months and Cole at 4 months. I sounded like a broken record but I can't believe how cute and dainty Natalie is compared to our big bruiser. :) Clearly Natalie is watching her figure while our little man is out to win a weight competition! So thankful for happy, healthy babies!

Can't take his eyes off her already! Thank you Gigi (Jeannie) for the outfit!

Then there is Miss Josie at 2 1/2 years who is quite the entertainer. Her personality is second to none. We took her down to see Scarlett the horse which she loved.

Cole and Brian. I can't put into words how insane it is to introduce my son to someone I have been good friends with since 4th grade. Seriously where does the time go?!

So blessed.

4 Month Stats

Cole had his 4 month well baby appointment on Friday even though he technically isn't 4 months until this coming Friday, the 25th. Cole now weighs 16lbs 1oz and is 26 inches long! That places him in the 93 percentile for length and 86% for weight. I am not surprised considering he wears anything from 6-9 months in clothes and he isn't even four months yet. He received a healthy report which we are always grateful for. Here's Cole waiting at the doctor's office.

And later that night at the bonfire. Still loving it.

Then he was OUT at the bonfire. Please excuse my half normal clothes half pajamas outfit.

Today we took Cole to this Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge by our house. He was ready to get out of the stroller but was sooo happy when Drew picked him up.

Can't wait to see family and friends this weekend!

Birthday, Friends and Business

Last Thursday, November 10th, was Drew's birthday. We were planning on celebrating over the weekend but when I dropped Cole off at Tracy's (our nanny/friend) she offered to watch him that night so we could go out. We didn't turn that offer down! We went to Love's for dinner which is a seafood place right by our house then to Molly MacPherson's for a drink. It's always nice to have a date night. :) It was also a nice start to a four day weekend for Veteran's day for Drew.

Friday night Kyle and Ellie arrived and were so excited to meet Cole. We had a great weekend with them. We took them to Crystal Beer Parlor on Friday and Sunbury Crab Co on Saturday... two of our favorites. We were laughing because our latest night was 10:30. Such a nice, relaxing weekend and so good to see them!


Saturday we had a bonfire and Cole was completely mesmerized. He loved it. I have a ton of pictures like this where I couldn't get him to look away for the picture.

Here's one where he is looking. :)

Then Monday it was a business trip to IN for me. Thank GOD for Tracy because Drew ended up having a day and night range on Tuesday so Cole was at her house from 5am until 10:30pm. I don't know what we would have done without her! Needless to say I'm happy to be back home and missed my big man and little man. When I was on the plane I was just getting excited to be on a plane again next week to head home for Thanksgiving. It'll be Cole's first plane ride so hopefully it goes smoothly. Looking forward to coming home!!
He is losing all of his dark hair and it is coming in super light.

Think these pictures are funny because all he wanted to do was eat the flowers.



He is four months old on the 25th but tomorrow we go for his well baby appointment. Looking forward to knowing his new stats.

November Already?

It's hard to believe it is already November. A year ago this Veteran's day we found out we were pregnant. Crazy. Anyway, we are glad it is November since we will be coming home in a few short weeks! We are looking forward to introducing Cole to our family and friends. He is growing so quickly. He has his 4 month check up in a few weeks so we'll get the official stats then but he is much longer and heavier. He is wearing size six month clothes and depending on the brand can wear up to size 9 months. He is super long through his waist but doesn't quite fill it out sideways.
Here he is in his fall gear. We get excited when it gets a little cooler because we love fall weather. But as you can see I'm still wearing shorts and a t-shirt to run so it isn't that cold yet. :)

His eyes are still blue. I read it can take up to 9 months for babies to lock in their eye color so we'll see.

This year Drew was busy holding sniper team tryouts so we didn't do too much on Halloween night since he had to work late and get up early. He wasn't trying out but guys were trying out for two spots on their nine man team so Drew had to lead them on their ruck, score their PT test, watch them on land navigation..etc. Drew is happy with the two new guys which is great. Anyway, Cole just wore his little skeleton outfit for Halloween. Next year will be much more 'Halloweeny' I'm sure. :)

Love when he smiles which luckily is all the time!

And he loves to sleep with his hands above his head.

He is also getting really active. He rolls from back to front and front to back and is mastering his jumperoo. He can also sit up in his bumbo seat.

Jake checking out Cole's toy. The dogs are sooo good with him.

This Saturday our friend/nanny watched Cole so we could go on a hunting date. We didn't see anything but we had a great time. :)

Looking forward to Kyle and Ellie visiting this weekend!

Deer Hunting and Diapers

Well Drew has successfully found the balance between deer hunting and diapers. He is super helpful with Cole (hence the title with changing diapers) but also politely asks if he can sneak away to go hunting sometimes. And on Saturday morning his hard work paid off with his first GA buck! We were sooo excited. I was dying to be with him when he called with the news because it is sooo fun when we get one but I was just as thrilled when he brought him home to show me. I think I actually may be more excited about all the lean, fresh venison we have now instead of the actual hunt! I plan to go soon with Drew but it'll have to be an afternoon hunt. The sitter doesn't wake up when it is still dark out on the weekends. :) We are mounting this deer's antlers to put in the nursery. (Sorry non-hunting friends but have to put this picture on here.) It was neat too because Drew's brother Pete got a nice 8 point at the farm Saturday morning too. Can't wait until we can all hunt together again.

In other news, Cole is now 3 months old (as of yesterday). I can't believe the transformation we have witnessed. I can only imagine what is to come. It is unbelievable to see how quickly he is growing and learning. He now wears 3-6 month clothes, rolls over, picks things up, follows you across the room with his eyes, scoots on his back on his mat, smiles, laughs, tries to talk to you with baby noises... it's crazy. Drew got out his jumperoo this weekend to see if he was big enough for it and he absolutely is. He sits upright and bounces all around. It's crazy that not too long ago he couldn't hold his head up. He can't sit up all the way on his own yet but I have a feeling it is coming soon.

Loves those daddy kisses!


Go Cards!

First Beach Trip

This past Sunday Drew and I took Cole to Jekyll Island for his first beach trip. It was 75 and sunny with no humidity so we couldn't resist. He loved it! It was so cute because he sat so calmly and happily in his little beach chair. We had dolphins surrounding us the entire time. I've never had them that close where you hear them breathing all around you. It was really neat but hurt our fishing chances.




And with the first game of the World Series tonight, I have to say Go Cards! We have been sporting our Cardinals gear in GA.

He doesn't always make it past the first or second inning but it's the thought that counts right? And hey, the games start an hour later Eastern Time!