Cole is 3 (well...almost)

Although it feels like 3 years since I've updated the blog, I *really* can't believe Cole is almost 3 years old! His actual birthday is June 25, but his Aunt Lara (my sister) is in town for a visit and we decided to have a little party while she was here! Cole is facinated with fire trucks and per his request, we took him to the fire station for a tour, then headed to the park for pizza and cake. He loved visiting with the firemen and sitting in the fire truck- he constantly reminded me that he did not want the sirens to come on. This was such a special day for us! We are so blessed and truly can't believe he is turning 3.

We're back!

...not that we've been anywhere interesting...but we've definitely taken a break from blogging! I don't even know where to begin with catching you up on happenings over the past 3 months.. I can say, we enjoyed a fabulous day playing outside in over 70 degree weather today! What a treat! Cole is also doing an amazing job @ potty training! He went to school today in "big boy" underwear and stayed dry for the 2nd consecutive day- we are so excited! We've been busy with the normal rhythm of life and are enjoying the fact that Spring is around the corner (hopefully).. Look back soon for more updates and photos (huge sigh...)

Christmas tid-bits

On Monday, Cole's Mother's Day Out had a Christmas program..it was absolutely hilarious! He's been practicing- singing, dancing and all, around the house, giving us a snip-it of what to expect. We laughed so hard watching all the kids as they entertained us with "Jingle Bells"
and some "Santa" song. Later that evening (after his nap) I asked him a question, our conversation went a little like this:

me: I really enjoyed your Christmas program today..
Cole: OHH YEAH! Now, I'm Soooo tired (huge sigh..)
me: Do you need to go to bed early tonight?
Cole: I think so!
It's tiring when you're on stage!

We were hanging out in the living room the other night and Cole says,"Get out your camera and take a cheese (picture) of me"..how could I resist that? He's just getting the concept of smiling at the camera..not just saying "cheese", which was a brief phase...I just love this photo..too bad he doesn't have pants on!!

I asked Cole the other night what he wanted for Christmas, he said "a kitchen sink"..Good thing I put in a good word with Santa, I think he's bringing a kitchen, depends on if he stays on the good list.

West Coast and more

We just returned from a fabulous trip to California! My dear sister, Lara, was married which was fun time...we had so much fun preparing for the big day and got to spend a lot of sisterly time together. Here are a few photos from our trip (and some before the trip-because it's been so long since I last posted).
I realized when we got back that when you're in a wedding, it's harder to snap photos! I had so many "Matron of Honor" duties (not to mention following a 2 year old around). Now we're back, we all have colds and are enjoying settling back into our routine. There's nothing like home!


After the wedding, we drove north to stay with some friends and explore a bit. We made it to Santa Barbara for a day of great food, neat scenery, wonderful time with friends, and a little shopping!

If you're ever in Santa Barbara, they have the neatest little zoo! Because we are members of the Nashville zoo, we didn't even have to purchase tickets which was an added bonus. Marc and I giggled so much at the giraffe, we bought him a biscuit and fed him..it was truly priceless!

On a train ride around the zoo.

Lara, the bride with Cole, the ring bearer.

Mommy and Cole, thankfully, I brought a sweater to wear over my dress, the evening of the wedding, it was so cold!

Mema and Cole. Mema traveled to CA from Florida and she got a bad bought of stomach flu which kept her in the hotel for an extra 5 days! Poor Mema, we're glad you're all better now!

One of my favorite memories of this trip, Marc, Cole and I got up and drove to Laguna Beach (which was about 5 miles from where we were staying). We relaxed and had family time before the day got super busy!

Cole wasn't so sure about the sand...

We went hiking the weekend before the wedding at one of our favorite Nashville spots. It was really cold and Cole insisted on walking the whole time.

Happy Halloween

We had a fun night filled with friends, family and good food! Cole had a fantastic time trick-or-treating and exhausted himself by running up and down driveways..Marc was quite pleased with his candy accumulation. Although he doesn't look like he had fun in this photo, our little cowboy was all wrangled up and "yee-haw'd" the night away! Hope yours was memorable!

Imagine That

This morning, like every morning, I poured a cup of coffee for myself and watched Cole play for a while after he had his breakfast. Still sleepy eyed, I heard the familiar sound of Cole's *play* cell phone, ringing. He answered the phone and proceeded to order a pizza, then handed me the See and Say. Cole then took a bite out of the toy and said, "mmmm, Cole loves pizza"! I love watching this imaginary play! He's just started really using his imagination while playing and it is wonderful to watch.. Do you have any fun memories of watching kids as they use their imagination?

It's Fall-Ya'll

We love everything about fall- weather, food, being outside.. here we are at the local pumpkin patch which Cole's *school* had a night reserved so it wasn't quite busy as the weekends! He loved it this year!

The day of Cole's school picture..(I know this isn't the cutest photo, but I had to show you his cute outfit) Oh- he's holding a weed out of the yard, too!

Cole had his first Krispy Kreme and you can tell by the look on his face that he was quite satisfied! Unfortunately, they were sold out of their pumpkin spice ones this day, I was very bummed!

Ok, ok..

SO, it's been an incredibly long time since my last post..
every time I sit at the computer, I think about posting and my brain is so full I can't settle on what to tell you all about (or what's interesting enough to share)!

I am sorry to say, I haven't been very good lately about taking pictures and because I got complusive one evening and put my computer desk on the front lawn with a "free-take me" sign on it (i've hated that thing for 4 years)- Marc and I are stuck with sharing a computer (thanks honey). With that being said, all of my photos and my pic program are on MY computer which is currently nestled in a basket underneath my bed. I've had a bug the past month to do a lot of redecorating and cleaning-out, can you tell?
Here's a snip of whats been going on with the Tepner's:
- Cole started Mothers Day out- he loves it and so do I!
- We got new carpet-it's a beautiful caramel frize
- I painted the whole upstairs (in a crazy short period of time before the carpet was installed)
It's amazing how time is flying by. Even though we've done a whole lot more than the 3 things I just listed, life has been so busy for us..wether we've been meeting with friends or catching up with family, we've been on the go! We're going to try and change gears and slow down a bit..
Having a 2 year old contributes to the busy factor but he is so much fun!
Look for photos soon- i'll try to figure out how to post some :)

Do Re Mi

Singing is habitual at nap time and bedtime around our house. The other night, I was singing to Cole (we have a strict play list which he has compiled) and began singing "You are My Sunshine" and right into the song, he nodded his head and said, "No, no, no, that's what Nana sings". He would not let me continue singing! Looks like he's got that territory established.

Today, before nap time, we were singing "Jesus Loves Me" and when I sang the line "For the Bible tells me so" he took out his passy (I know, we're going to give it up soon, waiting on the 2 year molars) and he put his passy up to his eye and sang "for this eyeball tells me so".

Thought these were too funny not to share! Hope you're enjoying the Olympics as much as we are (which explains my lack in posting lately).

Going to the Fair

We ventured to the Williamson County Fair this weekend and had a wonderful time! There was a pretty large animal exhibit that we spent a lot of time exploring. Cole loved the animals and riding the big tractors. I remember going to the fair when I was a child and really enjoying it, not to mention the rickety rides & junk food. We had fun reminiscing as well as watching Cole's reaction to all the excitement!

Summer Days

After running downstairs for a brief moment and returning upstairs, this is what I saw! My heart skipped a beat! Don't worry, we moved the table away from the window. We're also working on not climbing on furniture..what's with boys and climbing?

Cole loves going "jumping"! We love to meet friends at Jump Zone or Pump It Up for good play (and a fabulous nap afterward).

I can officially admit my lack in dedication to posting on here! I often think about sitting down to tell you what we've been doing or Cole's latest antics, but we've been quite busy the past month! We've been enjoying the pool and playing outside when it hasn't been miserably hot (the irony is right after nap-time is when Cole loves going outside, which is usually the hottest time of day!). Marc and I are both amazed how much Cole is talking and communicating~ his vocabulary seems to grow daily. He doesn't miss a word we say and now Marc and I have to pay particular attention to our word choices :) The photos above help show what we've been up to.

New Pictures

My personal favorite.

Here are the promised pictures from our photo session. We are so happy with them! If you want any information about the photographer, let me know, she's wonderful! She spent over an hour with us and as you might observe, Cole was so serious. He didn't crack many smiles. These truly capture his personality (he does smile though, he's just pretty serious, too).

Here are some pictures from Cole's party! We had a great time, the weather held out (it was supposed to rain and instead, turned out to be very windy). Cole loved eating food we don't normally eat (pizza, juice boxes, cake)- he's still talking about his "monkey party"!

Don't worry, we didn't let him eat his whole cake.

Friends from the neighborhood. We couldn't go to the park without sidewalk chalk!

Love my new truck Daddy got me! By the end of the party, Cole was riding in the truck and everyone had to take turns pushing him around. He took a 3 hour nap that day.

Like the monkey cake? We thought it turned out pretty cute, it tasted very dreamy (Mommy's favorite, almond, yumm).

Happy 2nd Birthday, Cole!

Cole is 2 today! He knows today is his birthday and is constantly reminding me that he is 2! He often says "3, no, 2" because for about 4 months, he's been saying he was about to turn 3! We corrected him frequently, can you tell? We had a wonderful day, not that he'll remember, but I will! It surely seems like yesterday, this little tiny peanut came into the world...I pray the next year will be as awesome as the first 2!

Sneak Peek

Ok, so it's a little small, but I wanted to give you all a preview of our pictures! We had our family pictures done by a friend and amazing photographer and I am happy with every one of them! When I get the disc, I will put up more for your viewing pleasure!

This is what we've been doing....

I got my hair cut!

Went to the zoo... Managed to throw a few tantrums here and there.

Went to the zoo again with my buddy, Brady.

Had a dinner date with Mom.

Took off my diaper, played a little, pee'd a little.

We've been busy, how about you?

Just wanted you to know that we're still here! Seems like summer time has kept us busy and outside, reflecting my poor commitment to blogging..

Except for it being so hot already, we're enjoying being outside a lot! Cole is doing super and it seems like he's talking more and more everyday. Promise to put some new photos up the week so make sure to check back!

Fun Day

This morning, Cole was insistent on eating breakfast at the coffee table. Guess we're at the age when opinions are starting to matter. Wonder if we'll ever be able to eat breakfast at the kitchen table again?


Later this morning, our neighbors came over and played in this nifty sprinkler thing~ C thought it was pretty cool.


Love the surfer look.. thanks to my GAS (great aunt sally) I now have something neat to wear out in the sun.

It has been absolutely amazing weather here the past few days- which is a great excuse to spend time outside! We've been doing that a whole lot..