Gal Pals

Ellie has a new best friend! 

She asks every day if Hayley can come over and play. And they play so cute together! Ellie is a big goof and she loves that Hayley thinks she is funny. The only problem is that they are both girls so they are both bossy :) 

I'm so glad we have such great neighbors for my kids to play with!

1 week

Danna took some sweet pictures of my handsome baby boy:

Oh, I just can't get enough of this little guy!! I can't believe how fast he is growing. It makes me so sad that Ben is missing out on these precious first weeks of his life. We miss you Daddy!! 

Thanks Danna for taking the time to do this for us!

Goodbye Flarb!

Our resilient pet fish Flarb has passed away :( 

He was a good fish and we wanted to give him a proper burial at sea. Well, Cole did anyway. I tried to convince him that if we flushed him down the toilet he would go to the ocean like on "Finding Nemo" but he said that he wanted to take Flarb to Racoon River so that he can stay in Iowa so that when Jesus comes again he will be at home :) Isn't he such a sweet boy?!

I have to admit, it was kind of gross, but we put his remains in a bowl and took him to the dock at Racoon River...

 ...where Cole lovingly dumped him in the water.

Goodbye dear Flarb! We will miss you!!

Kindergarten

I can't believe my baby boy is all grown up and going off to school!

I had a really hard time deciding to send him, but he is so excited to go and I know that he is ready so I'm glad he is starting kindergarten with all of his friends here in Iowa.

There were 11 super excited 5 year olds waiting for the bus this morning...I'm glad that I'm not their teacher :)

Ellie was really sad to see Cole go, and Cole kept saying "You guys are going to miss me all day!"

We do miss you Cole :) But I am more excited for you than sad!

Are these kids big enough to be riding a bus?!

What an exciting day for my little man!!

Hide Your Keys!

So, my parents took Cole and Ellie to the zoo today. When they got home my Mom told me that Ellie hit her lip and had a big bruise. I wasn't too surprised, she's kind of accident prone and very adventurous which isn't a good combo for her :) Then, my Dad shamefully told me the real story and I had to share it because I couldn't stop laughing.
Ellie and my Dad were waiting outside the bathroom for Cole and my Mom. Ellie climbed up on a golf cart that was parked next to the fence where they were sitting. My Dad said "Ellie, I don't think you should be playing on that" while at the same time thinking "What could she do to a golf cart? She's too little to drive it so she can't really hurt it." Next thing he new she drove it into the wall and hit her face on the steering wheel! Who knew that a 2 year old could turn on a golf cart and put it in drive?! I think I am in trouble...better keep my keys out of reach :)

Big Brother

Cole is such a great big brother! He loves to hold and talk to Daxton. He is a big help to me in taking care of the baby and watching out for him. Ellie also can't get enough of him...but she loves him a little too much with her smothering hugs and trying to pick him up and carry him around :) Daxton sure gets a lot of attention at our house! Love you sweet little guy!!

Daxton G Coombs

Our sweet little Daxton was born today!! 

The hospital was able to get me in for an induction this morning before Ben leaves for rotations, and three hours later he was here! Everything went smooth and fast so I guess he was ready to come :)

Daxton G Coombs

Born Aug 9, 2012 at 10:23 AM

8 lbs 0 oz and 20 1\2 in long

The kids were so excited to see their baby brother! They absolutely adore him :) We are one happy family!!

GG and Grandpa Green came a few days ago to help out. They have been keeping Cole and Elise busy so they don't miss Ben and me too much. We all went to a baseball game yesterday, the kids have been spoiled with toys and eating out, and there are big plans for the next few days to go bowling and to the zoo and maybe even the Sweet Corn Festival! We are so glad to have them here!

Welcome to the world baby Dax!! We love you!!

Birthday Game

Grandpa Green and GG came to visit! They stopped by on their way home from their mission so they could help out when I have the baby. Grandpa's birthday is next week so we got him tickets to a baseball game while he is here, and since the baby hasn't come yet we all got to go!

We had a super fun day at Principal Park today. Ellie snuggled with GG and ate all the classic baseball snacks :) Cole explored the park and found the splash pad, the baseball ride, Cubbie and the games!

Cole wanted a picture with Cubbie. It turned out really blurry but I thought we better post it anyway. Ellie is terrified of Cubbie so she ran the other way when we went to see him :)

 Cole also got to try the "t-ball" game. The bat was way too big for him, but he hit all of the balls in!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Green!! Hope you had as much fun as we did :)

Brave

When Daddy is away the kids will play:

Ben left to take one of his board exams today. We don't like it when Daddy leaves so we always try to do something really fun so we don't have time to miss him.  We went to the movie theater and saw the movie "Brave" today!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

We finally made it to a cubs game!!

Going to baseball games is one of our favorite summertime activities. It's such a fun atmosphere, and the kids love the splash pad where we can cool off on the hot, muggy nights.

Go Cubbies!!