It only took a year and a half to get around to it, but finally our balcony has railings on it again. Well, on part of it anyway. The easy part. 😉 12 feet down (front and back). 32 more feet to go (two more 16′ sections)… 😯

This is what happens when you’re playing around during the Super Bowl between commercials:

Here’s the kiddos showing off their Mom’s mad sewing skills. They showed their new threads off during our morning(ish) walk – you’d think we were having our very own St Patty’s Day parade or something.

In other news, McKenna got her first :quote:big girl:unquote: bike a couple weeks ago, and she’s really starting to get the hang of it. Cole’s now the owner of his very own bike helmet, so it’s just a matter of time before he’s tearing things up on the tricycle. Never a dull moment… 😀

Cole took his first un-aided steps about 3 weeks ago, but Tuesday night he decided this step or two at a time stuff was for wimps. 😉 Now he’s walking all over the place like it’s no big deal. Realizing, of course, that our lives are now officially over, we’re still just as jazzed about this as we were when his big sister did the same thing.

Here are some quick clips of the man about town in action, coming and going (you can see how well he listens to us…).

This weekend we got the bulk of the Christmas decorating done, and things are looking great. I put up the outside decorations and Jean and McKenna tackled the tree (after I managed to get it setup without it falling over on me like last year :O).

My two favorite moments from today:

– Cole coming into the den after his nap and seeing the tree for the first time (we kept him out of the room while setting up the tree and decorated it while he was snoozing). He was so surprised he went “Gah!” and just stared at it, eyes wide, with a grin on his face for a long time. Classic.

– After dinner, McKenna goes into the den while we’re cleaning up. The lights are low, the tree is on, and she’s sitting there quietly singing Christmas songs to herself. Awesome.

Life, as they say, is good. 😀

Trying to catch up on posting pictures to the site (then again, when am I not doing that?) so you should see some new stuff popping up over the next week or so. Keep an eye out for the “New” label on the pics – makes it a lot easier to sort out the old from the new.

So far I’ve posted new shots of McKenna and Cole as well as some more family shots. Good stuff.

Cole celebrated his first birthday today, and a great time was had by all. 😀

After opening his presents, and deciding the boxes were just as exciting as the toys that made all the cool noises, he sat down for his very first slice of birthday cake. At first he wasn’t so sure what to make of the choice treat, but after a small first bite he decided it was some kind of all right and crammed the rest of it in his mouth. Good stuff!

Hopefully all the excitment today will balance out the sugar high and he’ll still manage to have a good night’s sleep. We can dream, can’t we? 😉

McKenna’s first day of :quote:school:unquote: (okay, it was pre-kindergarten…) was today, and by all reports she had a great time. It was a bit tougher on Jean and I, but that’s to be expected.:?

The journey continues…

Hope everyone is having a fun and safe 4th. We’ve been taking it easy today – wondering if the rain will stop in time for the “Chevy’s Freedom Over Texas with fireworks presented by Shell” celebration. I think they need a couple more sponsors – don’t you? :rolleyes:

Had a chance to post a couple more pics of McKenna and Cole today. Now I’m only, like, 6 months behind… :blush: