The Coates Family

Movin' on Up!

2009-01-01T21:26:00.003-05:00

Hello friends and family. We love to share pictures and stories of our family with you. However, we will no longer be doing that on this site (I know this is what our Christmas cards said to check....but things change!). Instead, please visit our new blog at:

coatesblog.com

You can bookmark the new address as that will be where we post everything from now on. Stop by and let us know what you think!

First Solids

2008-12-18T13:33:00.003-05:00

It's been a few weeks now but I'm trying to catch up on some long-overdue posts......so, above you will see pictures of Levi as he tried his first solid food -- rice cereal. So far he isn't the best eater (of solids). It can take me quite a while to get just a tiny bit down. This past week I introduced him to sweet potatoes and squash and, while it still takes a while to make progress, it seems he likes those better than the cereal. :)

Christmas List

2008-12-16T21:16:00.003-05:00

So, over the past two days, Nathan took Chloe and Luke by themselves to the store to pick out a Christmas present for the other. Chloe went first to pick out Luke's present. So, having seen what the store had to offer, she decided it to make a list so that Luke would know what to get her when it was his turn to shop. Here it is. Can you figure out what she wrote?

Levi's Dedication

2008-12-07T19:08:00.003-05:00

This morning at church we dedicated Levi to the Lord. This means that Nathan and I pledged to raise Levi the best we can so that he will grow to know Jesus as his personal Savior one day. This is our strongest desire for all of our children. We are blessed with a wonderful church, wonderful family, and wonderful friends who will support us in this endeavor. Here are pictures from this morning.

Great Grandmas

2008-12-05T15:33:00.004-05:00

Our children are very blessed to have several great grandparents in their lives. Recently Levi got to meet his Great Grandma Louise (Nathan's Grandma) and then, while in Michigan, we got to visit with my Grandma, Levi's Great Grandma Hetzler.

Buddies

2008-12-02T13:50:00.002-05:00

Chloe and her cousin Jordan are best buddies. When we get together we hardly see the girls for the entire visit because they are off happily playing together. Here is a picture Nathan took of them as they helped Grandpa pick out a Christmas tree.

Michigan

2008-11-27T11:04:00.002-05:00

We are in Michigan celebrating Thanksgiving with my (Janna's) family. Yesterday the kids spent a long time outside building snowmen with Grandpa Goose. In the end, they built four snowmen.

Ezra, Jordan, Chloe, Miciah, Winfield, Eden

Contraband

2008-11-18T13:37:00.002-05:00

We have been having some issues lately with Luke and bedtime. We often will hear noises coming from his room after we've put him down and will go in to find him with a bulldozer toy in bed, out of bed playing at his tool bench, opening the window blinds, turning on and off his nightlight, etc. Here is a picture of how I found him one night when I checked on him before heading off to bed. He is sound asleep in this picture.

4 Months

2008-11-16T15:21:00.002-05:00

This past week Levi turned 4 months old. At his check-up we learned that he is 15 pounds 4 ounces and 25 inches long. So he gained four pounds and four inches in two months! He continues to be a happy, content baby. He loves his brother and sister, turning his head to look for them when he hears their voices. He smiles and coos and is beginning to show signs of wanting to roll over. He is holding toys and brings everything that is put in his hands directly to his mouth. He is sleeping an 8 hour stretch at night (but it starts around 8 pm so I am still getting up around 4 to feed him each night), then he eats and goes back to bed for another four hours or so. His favorite things are chewing on his fingers, his piano toy (that he can lay under and play with the dangling toys while watching lights flash to Mozart tunes), and being held. We love him!

Conversations with Toddlers

2008-11-12T20:51:00.002-05:00

On the way to church tonight we had a conversation that amused Nathan and me....it went something like this:

Luke: da pwesents in da whyt ouch
Me: The presents in the white couch?
Daddy: The presidents in the White House?....
Chloe: Yeah, the president is in the White House!
Daddy: Chloe, do you know who the president it?
Chloe: Barack Obama?
Mommy: No
Chloe: John McCain?
Mommy: No, they were both trying to be the new president and Barack Obama won. But who is the president now?
Chloe: Hillary Clinton? ... I dont' know...
Mommy: George.....
Chloe: George Washington!!!
Mommy: No, he was our first president. The president right now is George Bush.
Luke: We hab a George mooobeee at home!!!! (meaning a Curious George movie)

:)

Coates Kids

2008-11-11T14:55:00.015-05:00

Learning Curve

2008-11-07T13:56:00.003-05:00

Chloe wanted to take a picture the other day so we posed for her. She was very excited about the first shot. Her only comment was "I didn't get all of your head Mommy." Then she took one more :)

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:10:00.002-04:00

Answer to the previous post: Left to right -- Luke, Chloe, Levi :)

Here are a few pictures from our activities today.

Can you guess?

2008-10-30T15:43:00.003-04:00

Though I've been made fun of by one certain person (you know who you are!) for making these comparisons, I enjoy them. So, here are our children each at their first Halloween. Can you guess who is who?

Little Man

2008-10-26T22:01:00.002-04:00

Fall Leaves

2008-10-20T14:46:00.004-04:00

We were having some fun outside today and I got some good pictures of the kids so I thought I'd share.

Iron's Fruit Farm

2008-10-15T13:54:00.005-04:00

This past Saturday we headed to a local farm we love for many fall activities. We looked at some farm animals, went on a hayride, walked through the pumpkin patch, and got cider and donuts and cookies. The weather was warm and sunny and we had a great time.

Quick Comparison

2008-10-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

Today Levi had his three month pictures taken at Sears. If you click here you can see Chloe, Luke, and Levi's three month pictures from Sears.

3 Months

2008-10-11T14:52:00.003-04:00

Today Levi is three months old. Three months with a baby inside the womb seems to go so slowly, three months after birth goes so fast! Levi is a chubby, smiley guy. He's a very easy baby who goes with the flow with little or no complaints (unless he's hungry!). He is also very good at finding his fingers and sucking on his hands. We love him so much! Here's a recent picture of the little guy.

Bus Fun

2008-10-09T21:32:00.004-04:00

This morning I took the kids to visit their Grandma Coates who is the principal at an elementary school nearby. While there, the kids got to get on a school bus. Both Chloe and Luke have gone through a bus stage. Since Chloe turned two she's been excited about when the time will come for her to ride the bus to school. Currently, Luke points out every bus he sees every time we're driving. Needless to say, they were excited for this adventure today.

Chloe's Dancing, Part II

2008-10-02T14:57:00.003-04:00

If you don't remember part one, click here.

The boys

2008-09-27T21:50:00.001-04:00

Trouble in the making...

Aunt Rachel's Pictures

2008-09-23T14:31:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law Rachel is an AMAZING photographer. While we were in Michigan together this summer she did a photoshoot of Levi and our family. He was three weeks old when these were taken. Here are a few of my favorites that Rachel took.

Some Random Pictures

2008-09-22T13:39:00.010-04:00

We're back :)

2008-09-19T13:51:00.004-04:00

Sunday, September 14, hurricane force winds came through the Cincinnati area. Close to us, the strongest winds registered at 76 mph. They were up to 82 mph in Cincinnati. Power was knocked out to over 700,000 customers. Our power was not turned back on until this morning. Thanks to some good friends nearby and Nathan's parents whose power came back on after one day, we were able to keep on with life as normal as possible for the week. So, now I'm back in action and will begin posting again :)

I was actually attempting to post on this blog when the power went out. And here's what I had to say. At Levi's two month check-up we found out he is 11 pounds 9 ounces (50%) and 21 3/4 inches (15%). He is reaching all his milestones right on target. Some include the social smile, eye contact, lifting his head, and clasping his hands together. When Luke was about this age, we got a few pictures of him that we thought were really cute. One is just a fun baseball picture. The other two were of him in clothes that had been Nathan's as a baby. So now we've recreated these with Levi as the model. Below you can see the comparisons. Levi is on the left and Luke is on the right.