Spring Wheat Harvest

Tonight after church, Cole and I put on our crocs and headed out to the garden. We didn't get too much accomplished until Cole noticed the hum of two large combines in the field south of our property.
The wheat is golden and ready to be harvested. I knew it would be anytime now. It just so happened we caught them at exactly the right time for Cole to get a show!!

I drove the Ranger through a break in the brush at the edge of their field just large enough for us to fit. Cole had a perfect view of the wheat, the "tac TORs" and the sunset! He was in heaven!

After several minutes of bliss, he'd had enough and we went in for bath. A stow-away had latched on to Cole's diaper; a tick! After I stripped his entire body and searched it in 2.5 seconds, I whipped out a lighter and promptly burnt the pest.

If that wasn't enough, while disposing of the tick, Cole left his second surprise waiting under the bubbles in the bath. This Mommy has had enough excitement for one evening. :)

All in all, lots of fun was had at the Wiles this evening, regardless of the tick! Cole is already fast asleep mumbling about tac-TORs and his papi (pacifier). Nite all...

How does your garden grow?

This year we chose to try raising a garden organically. While we arent 100% sure we are doing it correctly, the garden seems to be growing by leaps and bounds!

This season our seeds were purchased from rareseeds.com and they have produced great seedlings. The young plants were transplanted at various times over the past few weeks. After our long busy weekend, Cole and I went to check on the garden this morning. It has been unusually hot this spring with temps reaching as high as 100 degrees, so I was concerned some of the tomatoes and melons would be wilted. Much to our surprise, the veggies are loving the heat!

Cole just loves the chance to be outdoors and ride the ranger. Here's hoping he's learning to love the garden as much as his Momma does!

Memorial Day Trio

Ah!!! What could be more relaxing and enjoyable than a day on the lake with good friends? This morning we packed suits, trunks, floaties, snacks, and ourselves up make a fun day on the lake with The Meadors and The Gills.

Cole had been to the lake last year, but this year he was ready to wear his puddle jumper and dip into the water with Mommy! Daddy even got in this time. It took a few minutes for him to feel comfortable, but soon Cole was splashing and laughing with the best of them. We foresee lots more trips to the lake with our little water dog.

Always be my baby...

This weekend isn't over quite yet, and already it seems so perfect.

Clint was honored to be Best Man in Andy and Lindsay Jolly's wedding. It always takes me back to that day we both said "I do."

It seemed almost as perfect that day as it is remembered now. The only extra in our family now, Cole, sat in my lap as Andy danced with his Momma, Reta. I couldn't help but tear up. One day that will be our boy. But tonight I'll just rock him a little closer and whisper in his ear yet again, you'll always be my baby. Just like my Momma did with me.

2/3 of a year old!

Today marks Cole's 8 month birthday! He is already 2/3 of a year old. He has learned so much in the past month, so I wanted to take a moment and update our friends and family.

Cole can roll, scoot, and crawl (forwards and backwards). It seemed to happen overnight! One minute he was just sitting on his own, and the next thing we knew he was sitting up by hisself, rolling to get to his toys, crawling backwards, scotting with one leg tucked under his bottom, and eventually crawling forward! He is such a smart boy!

In the past 1.5 weeks, Cole has cut TWO teeth! At 4 months Cole cut his first bottom tooth, then at 5 months his second bottom tooth. He cut his first "fang" around 6.5 months and here recently he got his second "fang". Yesterday, he cut his first top middle tooth. Five teeth folks! He'll be shining his pearly whites at you very soon, I'm sure!

Cole ate his first raw veggies straight from the garden this last month. He loved the carrots and yellow squash. Daddy built Cole his first swing set and put it up by the garden so we could all have something fun to do while we are playing at the garden.

Dinner time is so much fun. In addition to his normal dinner foods, COle has begun to self feed with peas, carrots, green beans, bread, and some soft fruits. Its amazing to watch his little brain work. His hand-eye coordination is spot-on!

Cole still loves bath time and gets the biggest laughs when playing in the tub at night. He is extremely ticklish and knows to hold Mommy's hand when its time to stop. Too funny.

He gives GREAT kisses, they are the sweetest ever. He likes to grab onto my face and pull me into them. We call them "killer kisses!"

Summer is going by so fast. I definately think our little man enjoys the outdoors. He even understands the importance of sweet tea in a southern family! He also understands that Daddy will give it to him when Mommy isn't looking. That silly Daddy...

Cole fills each day with sunshine and happiness. He is the most awesome blessing, and we feel incredible grateful for the opportunity to be his parents!

Introducing "Chubby Cheeks"

Hello Friends! I am VERY excited to announce that my mother-in-law Debi and I will be opening a complimentary business within Wiles Signs called Chubby Cheeks. We will be selling specialty, personalized and embroidered gifts; however, our focus will be on children's personalized items, hence the name!

We recently purchased our embroidery machine, and let me tell you... I am in LOVE! We have only had it a short time, and almost everything I own has a monogram, or our name on it!

Debi and I will be heading to market in Atlanta in July to purchase LOTS of lovelies to personalize for our friends and family. Get ready ladies, I have just received the preview catalog for market, and we can't WAIT to show you all that we can do.

Here is a preview of some of the goodies we plan to offer. In the children's embroidery and applique line we will have a clothing line, diaper bags, totes, personalized wipes containers & toy storage, wall decor (just to name a few). We also plan on offering some items for Mom! Some of you may have seen the cake carriers I have posted on facebook. Also, fun items like dish towels, purses, totes for busy ladies, aprons... quite literally anything we can get our hands on that we can personalize will be available to you!

I would love LOVE for you to send me a list of things you'd like us to look for at market. I need all the suggestions you can muster! I would love to be prepared with a shopping list for market, so comment away!

We are already embroidering items so message me if you'd like a quote. The answer is YES! (I know you were thinking it). We can embroider your items, just bring them in or send me a picture for a quote. Pricing for embroidery starts at $5. I know you have something you want to personalize...

Its time to GET CHEEKY, with your uniquely personalized items from CHUBBY CHEEKS!!

Our Inspiration!

Adventures in Dreamland

Memorial Day brought with it a new challenge for our sweet Cole. Not only had Cole begun to wein himself from Mommy, but his pack and play was becoming a uncomfortable, cramped place for him to sleep at the foot of Mommy and Daddy's bed. So, on Monday night, Cole attempted his first night upstairs in the nursery, by himself.

It was fun playing in the nursery after bedtime, and rocking upstairs in the rocker I had been passed down through my family. Cole and I said our prayers, he had a bottle, and then I waited...

He fell asleep and his little paci fell out of his mouth; a sure sign he is fast asleep. I placed him in his crib and tip toed out around 8:00, Cole's normal bedtime. Clint has mounted a video monitor above Cole crib so we would have a full view of the entire crib. I highly recommend a video monitor to parent's looking into them. It is so reassuring knowing that we can see his every move, especially when our little one is upstairs. I can litterally see his eyes flutter, all on a 2x3" screen!

The night began well enough; however, Cole woke and I was up and down the stairs EIGHT yes EIGHT times. Whew!

I was dragiing the nest morning as was Cole, but I was determined to keep on my plan. Every time he woke up, I would cuddle him or offer a smaller bottle. He fell asleep quickly. I think he wasn't used to being in his crib yet, and away from Mommy and Daddy.

Night number two was much better. I think I was up and down 5 times. Night number three, I decided to try to let him "cry it out" after the third trip up the stairs for a few minutes. I went up to reassure him Mommy was close by, I cuddled him for a moment, then laid him down; however, this time when he woke back up I let him wimper for about 20 minutes. He fell asleep and slept the rest of the night. I was harder to watch him wimper, but I know getting him on a good sleep schedule will only help him to be independent and a good sleeper in hte future.

Cole is now sleeping from 8-12ish and then until around 5:00 am. Not the best, but OHHH! such an upgrade from 8 trips up and down the stairs.