First Week...

We are just LOVING our new little man! Cole has been such a sweet, laid-back baby so far, and we feel so blessed. Chapman has been a great brother...we are very proud of him!

A few things from this week...

We had to say "bye" to Grammy...sad!! She was SUCH a huge help, and we were so grateful for all that she did for us this week!!


Cole's first bath...pretty successful!


We are looking forward to week 2...I can't believe how fast the time is already flying by!!

Friday's Hospital Visitors

We've already had some really fun visits today! The highlight was Chapman meeting his little brother for the first time. He was so sweet! He brought him a balloon and when he saw Cole getting cold, shared his blankie with him. They're going to get along just fine!

First Meeting
Chapman Holding Cole
Brittney Poe
Amy Hulme
William West
Russ Hulme
Cole with Chapman's Blankie
Aunt Cynthia
Cousin Lynn
Cousins Claire, Maddie, and Jack
Lindsay Gray and Heather Adams
Megan McCurry
Ana Rincon

Thursday's Hospital Visitors

We had a great night last night! Cole spent most of the night in the nursery and mom and dad got some much needed sleep. We're so filled with joy and gratitude as we reflect on the last 24 hours. Here are some of Cole's family and friends that came to see him yesterday. He's looking forward to meeting many more today!

Cole Phillip Penuel
Grammy & Poppi
Uncle Jeff
Aunt Jen
Marmi
Aunt Julie (Buggie)
Bennett Parker
Jeff, Dayton, & Stacey Parker
Clint Miller
Lisa Miller

Labor & Delivery "Play by Play"

1:52pm - The Penuels are pleased to introduce you to Cole Phillip Penuel. He was born at 1:06pm (after only 6 minutes of pushing!) and came out weighing 7lbs 4oz. Looks a lot like his big brother did when he was born (but without the wild hair)!

12:58pm - It's on. We're pushing!


12:29pm - Anesthesia kicking in. Everything is chill. Just noticed this bracelet that Alli has to wear because her lower half is numb. Thought it was funny.

12:19pm - Check out our smokin' hot cheerleaders! Just got some extra anesthesia. We're going fast...May not be back on the blog before baby comes. Best guess...2 or 3 more hours!

12:00pm - Dilated to 8cm. The goal is 10cm. We're moving right along! Looks like this guy is a little more eager to meet us than Chapman was!

11:45am - Just checked Facebook and got some encouragement from our friends, the Petersons (pictured above), down in College Station. Thanks for all the comments, we're reading them all and are grateful to have loved ones to share this day with!

11:15am - Dilated to 5+ cm. Progressing right along. Flipping channels in hospital room. Randomly, it is our first time seeing Jonas Brothers: 3D Concert Experience is on TV. Super fun feeling seeing yourself on TV. Reconsidering naming the baby Jonas instead of Cole (not true).

10:20am - Contractions starting to get painful. More epidural, more better. We're enjoying chatting with our nurse and our first visitor has arrived! Welcome Aunt Jen!

9:30am - Epidural is in. Administering minimal doses. Contractions getting stronger. Watching the Today Show. All good.

8:30am - Water Broken. 3 cm dilated. No picture available.

7:49am - Battle Stations Ready (See Picture Above). Alli's in her spot and I'm manning my post behind the laptop. Our nurse is Amanda and she already seems great! We're both excited and expectant for a day filled with joy!

7:30am - Check-In

6:30am - Call Labor & Delivery to confirm bed availability

Midnight Wednesday - Nothing to eat or drink (including water, ice chips, mints, and gum)

A few Christmas Snapshots...

I would love to do a blog post highlighting ALL of our Christmas fun. BUT in hopes of saving time before sweet baby Cole arrives, I thought I would just post a few pics from the entire break...Merry Christmas!!


new Nativity from Grammy!!



decorating Christmas cookies...



our Christmas tree



Christmas with the Penuels at our house...Wonder Pets!



Daddy & Chap



LOTS of presents...



cousins in Wichita Falls



playing outside before the blizzard!



playing outside after the blizzard!


Christmas Eve cookies for Santa!



Christmas Eve Jammies!



Christmas morning!!



new baby Jaguar (for all those Diego fans out there)


We had SUCH a wonderful Christmas!! Now, we are excited about our new year with our new addition!

Twilight...

For all of you Twilight fans out there, enjoy this video that David & Bode made for the Watermark Sr. High Ski Trip :) Hilarious!!

Twilight Video

Community Group Christmas!

Our community group had our Christmas party over at the Parkers this year. Everyone brought yummy soups, and the kids all wore their snuggly Christmas jammies! It is crazy to think there were 2 kids at our party last year, and now we have 6!! What a difference a year makes :)

Stacey had cookies for everyone to decorate, but I think Chapman & Bennett had the most fun icing & tasting their treats! After our yummy soup dinner, we attempted a group shot of the kids & then sipped apple cider & had a gift exchange-white elephant style!!


C & B decorating their cookies...



so happy!!



cookies are pretty awesome!



the big boys joined in on the fun!



Luke



Bennett



the kiddos (Luke, Jack, Dayton, Bennett, Chapman, Jackson)


a quick family pic


Such a fun party...we are so thankful for our sweet friends!!

Christmas Celebration!

This year, Watermark Building Blocks Ministry hosted their first annual Family Christmas Brunch. It was for families who have toddler/preschool age kids, and it was so much fun!! The brunch was on the 2nd floor of our brand new lobby/town center which is just beautiful. Chapman LOVED the huge Christmas tree and big fireplace. We started off with yummy brunch, followed by singing Christmas songs, watching a play of the Christmas story and finally singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus & chowing down on birthday cake! What a fun, fun tradition to start with our family!

the new town center


nothing beats a donut w/sprinkles!


hanging with Daddy


we got to sit w/our buddies, Wyatt & Stacey


Chapman had to try out the stage before the show!


sitting w/some of our friends...


watching the show!


so precious...


time for cake!


first candy cane!


hanging outside by the new part of the church...so beautiful!

It's Officially Time for...

...Christmas Jammies!!

Soup & Cider Party!!

I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!! My sweet friends, Becca & Joanna threw me a precious baby shower last weekend. Here is what the invitation said:


Another boy for the Penuel crew
David & Alli will be parents of two!

Let's celebrate this exceptional group
with warm apple cider and yummy Fall soup!

Please bring a gift card to hang on the tree
for groceries, diapers, or a "date night to be"!


How fun is that?!! We got to enjoy a gorgeous Fall night with family & friends at the Zafar's cute house, and the Penuels got a ton of gift cards both for baby Cole AND his mommy & daddy!!

Baby Cole's banner...


a little gift from the hostesses



can't wait to take this picture!



the "fixin's for the soups"



there was chili, corn chowder, chicken tortilla & butternut squash...YUM!!!



the Parker family...love them so much!!



the "little ones" having a deep conversation outside...does Claire look bored??



Mom & Maddie



the Penuel gals & Chap



more girls :)



Lam family picture attempt!



Chapman enjoying his "pumpkin-shaped" sandwich!


Sad I didn't get pictures of the cider or the YUMMY dessert parfaits! But like I said, the shower was precious with so much thought & detail in every part. We are truly blessed!! Thank you Jo & Becca!!

Bubble Gum & Fancy Toes!!

This weekend, my precious friends Amy & Brittney threw me the CUTEST baby shower for our new little addition! Did I mention we have decided on our name...Cole Phillip Penuel! He still has some growing to do before he is ready to come into the world, but we sure had fun celebrating him!

The shower was at Envy Nail Salon, and everyone enjoyed relaxing & getting fun manicures & pedicures while chatting & eating yummy snacks! The theme was "Bubble Gum", so it was SO bright & colorful, and the food was just wonderful!!

I had so much fun opening some new things for our baby boy, and I also enjoyed getting pampered in my massage chair! Here are some pictures...thanks to Brittney & Amy for such a FUN, FUN time!!


each girl got a nail file with a specific date to pray for baby Cole!


Chapman's special gumball machine...


precious hostesses


my sweet friend, Caryn


playgroup mommy friends :)


Marcia & Julie...


Mom, Jen & Maddie


Maddie's first manicure!


opening lots of cute presents!



So much fun!! I am blessed by the sweetest friends & family!! Stay tuned for pictures from another sweet baby shower...

Finally!!!

We got some pretty weather!!

Remember all of those rainy, dreary days at the beginning of October?? I had all of these brilliant plans to get cute pumpkin pictures, go to the arboretum, etc, and it seemed like it would never get pretty. Luckily, you can still have some indoor fun with your cousin when it's yucky outside...





Well, finally, we got some beautiful days, and I took full advantage. Here are some pictures of my cutie at the pumpkin patch & then at the arboretum with our community group friends.


this is when David & I took Chap to the pumpkin patch by our house...





I love this smile...


at the arboretum with community group AND all of Dallas, it seemed :)

Chap & Bennett


Jack


Dayton


Amy & Luke


Chapman


Jackson


and finally, our attempt at a group pic!!

Go Leopards!!

A few weeks ago, we headed out to the Lovejoy Leopard stadium to watch my sweet nephew play some football. Chapman had a blast cheering for Jack, and I loved getting to see the stadium. I used to teach in Lovejoy ISD, and the High School & the stadium were just getting finished when I left. Here are some cute pics...


Go Jack!!



Aunt Jen & Maddie



Claire



Chap loves his big cousin!!

Chapman's Birthday Part 3!

These are a little late, but I wanted to post a few pics from Chapman's final birthday celebration!! We were hosting playgroup at our house the day after C's birthday, so we decided to celebrate with some yummy cupcakes, guitar bubble necklaces, and playing outside in the GORGEOUS weather!

Chapman had so much fun with his buddies Sutton, Tanner, Landon, Reid & Hudson! We missed Porter & Quinn for sure :)

Here are a few pics of our cute boys...

the party table w/special snacks...



Sutton & Tanner



sweet Landon at the water table



singing "Happy Birthday!"



birthday boy munching on his cupcake!



Reid & Hudson...lots of frosting!



Landon (I love the "one shoe" look!)

Big Boy Bed...

We worked all weekend, and we finally finished Chapman's big boy room!! It was so much fun to make the room fit his little personality, and I love how it all came together. Here are some pics from tonight...his first night to sleep in his bed :) I will post pictures of the rest of the room tomorrow!!

View of his newly painted dresser (thanks David...it looks so awesome!)



Winding down before bedtime :) ha ha


Ready for a sweet 2-year-old


So excited...


Laying down.



Fake sleeper!!


Praying for a great night of sweet dreams :)

Chapman's Birthday: Part 2

We continued celebrating Chapman's birthday on Saturday. He was awakened by singing & crazy hats (in Penuel family tradition) and enjoyed a cinnamon roll for breakfast. Marmi, Hoosier & Aunt Julie helped us celebrate with fun presents & a trip to Chuck E Cheese for lunch!! It was so much fun...Chapman gobbled up pizza, played games, & enjoyed a birthday cupcake! The theme for the birthday lunch was definitely rock-n-roll!

After a long nap, we headed up to Aunt Jen's house to celebrate with Grammy, Poppi, Aunt Jen, Uncle Bill, Maddie, Jack, Claire, Uncle, & Ana. Yummy enchiladas were perfect for dinner, and once again...cupcakes! Our birthday boy was so sweet to tell everyone thank you for such awesome presents!! Thanks to Aunt Jen for letting us celebrate at her house!

What a perfect day to celebrate our favorite 2-year old, Chapman!!

Here are some pics from the day...

getting busy opening presents



playing his new keyboard...so cool!



a short concert on his microphone :)



putting the token in...his favorite part :)



skee-ball (are you supposed to throw it??)



a little b-ball



birthday cupcake!



Happy Birthday to YOU!



at Aunt Jen's...MORE presents!



cousin Maddie made him a new personalized sippy!



new tools...



awesome electric guitar...what a rocker!



he is SO happy right now!!



a Jonas Brothers birthday dinner!



Happy, Happy Birthday to our precious Chapman! You are very LOVED!!!

Chapman's Birthday Weekend: Part 1

We had such a fun weekend celebrating Chapman's 2nd birthday. We started on Friday by taking a family trip to the Dallas Aquarium. It was amazing!! He LOVED seeing all of the animals...his favorite were all of the cool fish. Here are a few pictures from our trip...more birthday pics to come!!

heading to the Aquarium...he looks happy huh?



we think this bird was supposed to be in a cage...oh well!



Daddy & Chap by the bird



checking out the monkeys in the Rainforest!



another cool bird



by the waterfall w/Mommy



turtles & stingrays



in the fish tunnel



checking out the penguins...very cool!



last stop: flamingos

Happy Birthday Porter!

Chapman's buddy, Porter, celebrated his 2nd birthday & we had a fun playgroup get-together to celebrate! It was so nice to see all of Chapman's friends since we have been in and out of town all summer. Porter's mommy had lots of fun things for the boys including mac 'n cheese & fruit for lunch, cupcakes, balloons & lots of cool toys inside & out. Here are a few snapshots of the boys...we love our playgroup so much!!

Chapman LOVING his mac 'n cheese





hanging w/Quinn



mmmmm cupcakes!



Reid (the new big brother to Jace!!)



Tanner...love him!!



Sutton & Porter playing with a new present

Won't He Be the Cutest...

...BIG BROTHER??


The Penuels are SO EXCITED to announce that we are expecting another sweet baby in January 2010!! Right now, our expected due date is January 20...that's right, I am already 12 weeks :) We got to see our newest little addition in a sonogram at our 12 week appointment, and everything looks perfect!

Annual Fort Smith Visit!

A few weeks ago, Chapman & I loaded up in the car & headed to Fort Smith to visit my sweet friend Kat & her 2 little ones, Ellie & Sam. We visited last summer and had so much fun, so we had to go back this year!! I loved getting to see Sam all grown up, and Chapman & Ellie became fast friends. We went swimming, rode the train at the park, went out to eat, and just played in the Friddle's awesome playroom! Kat & I got lots of good time to visit & catch up :) We sure miss having them in Dallas & look forward to our next visit! (I hardly took ANY pictures, but here are the few I got!)


waiting for the train


precious Sam


my one attempt at a group shot!