the Grind

Summer is slipping away and fall is creeping in, both weather and activity wise. Cole began his first week of preschool this past week at a new school in Reston. All seems to be going well and i am relieved to have a few hours together alone with Brooks during the week. The boys and I have also been taking advantage of the cooler days, taking walks and even making a trip to the zoo. Aside from the constant unpacking, organizing and pure chaos (still!) of our move, I am busy trying to plan Brooks' first birthday party. It is so hard to believe he is nearly a year old. He is cruising everywhere these days and will even stand unsupported for a few seconds. I think he may beat his brother on the walking timeline. Daily I am so thankful that Cole and Brooks have each other. What a beautiful relationship siblings can have at this stage. Today they were in the wagon together and although it wasn't always friendly, it did always warm my heart to watch them interact. Priceless, as they say :)

Fun at Last

After all the hard work that the move has entailed it was high time we got away for the weekend and had a little fun so off to the beach we headed for Labor day weekend. We spent a chill weekend down in Virginia Beach as guests of Scott, Allison and Baby Quinn's, while heading to the beach, visiting the Norfolk Botanic Garden and the Aquarium. We had a blast!

the BIG move!

With a few tears...well a lot actually...we have finally relocated to the 'burbs. Last Thursday was a busy day of signatures and childcare arrangements as we signed away our first home and bought the next adventure. This past week has been a blur of activities as our families have swarmed in to help (thank you all so much!). A week in, we are nearly unpacked, but still have lots of organizing to do. I cannot believe how much stuff we have :) The boys' rooms are both nearly complete and they are so cute. I am thrilled for Brooks to finally have his own room. He made the transition to crib without much trouble and seems to generally relish in the spaciousness of this house. Both Cole and Brooks love the playroom (and I do too!).
If you are reading this and still have no paid a visit....come on over :)

On the Move

At Brooks' 9 month check up this past week we discovered that he has fallen way off his weight growth curve. Could it be a problem with my milk supply? Regardless we are now supplementing with formula which adds yet another thing to my daily routine! Of course, since it is his well being we are speaking of, I'll do it without a fuss but blah! right in the middle of our move!

Speaking of move...we have created a disaster area of the house this weekend in preparation for the big move. This past week was a blur of home inspections, paperwork and signatures all while Craig was working himself to death at his job! Calgon take me away! I look forward to a day when things get a little slower and easier but for now this is our new grind.

Brooks has taken it upon himself to begin crawling through all of this! It's a labored movement right now...looks like he needs a good ole spray of WD-40 to his joints... but it fascinates me to watch him. He is equally interested in pulling up on everything so I am curious to see how quickly cruising around the furniture happens. For once I will be happy when we have carpet in the new house...I am sure there will be fewer big bumps. For now we deal with several a day from falling on the hardwood floors :( Brooks also got his second tooth recently!

Nine Months

We have been quite busy the last few weeks dealing with house stuff. So much so that I totally missed the emergence of Brook's second tooth! He developed a runny nose last Thursday, which I attributed to a summer cold, and then I noticed the tooth on Friday. We have a doc appt on Wednesday so I'll post his stats then, for now it's off to furniture shop for our NEW house!

Family.Fun.Food.Fireworks!

Our Fourth was a weekend full of fun this year. It began with the annual fourth of July parade in Fairfax city, attended this year by ourselves, special guests Chris and Mason, and Tiff, Chloe, Emory and Breon-Leigh. We stuck it out not only for the entire parade but for the fireman’s day water battle afterward too. The kids (well the adults too!) loved it! This was the first year sine Cole has been along that we attempted to stay for all of the events. In past years we’ve escaped to return home for naps , etc. Poor Brooks, being the second child and all, was forced to hang in there but in his usual manner he stuck it out and was in pretty good spirits despite the loud noise, lack of naps, and the heat!

Sunday offered lots of fun too. We had a casual morning followed by a day at Lake Fairfax in Reston. We met up with Pap, Susan and Lily, rode the carousel, played on the playground and ate lots of food. Cole was super excited about the firework portion and had no problem staying up in anticipation of the show. Brooks even managed to stay awake for the display!

Since the Fourth was on a Sunday this year, Monday was a holiday too! We spent our bonus day at the pool with Shea, Chris, Mason, Kriste and Autumn. We are so lucky to have such wonderful folks in our lives....good times!

8 months and counting

you are eight months now and you just got your first tooth. even though you are still so little, you are growing too quickly. I love to hear you laugh and you laugh at the little things. when i brush my hair against your face or nuzzle your neck. when i lift you into the air like you are flying. teeth are painful and this one was no exception but i still don't mind getting up with you at night. if i can ease the pain by being there, i will. you are so precious to me. today we read books and played on the floor together. we find so much fun in the little things.

the Impossible project

I knew it from the minute he was born...one good picture of the two boys together was going to be impossible! I will keep trying!

As the house continues to be on the market (sell already!) we are spending our weekends hanging out with the boys and doing a little of nothing. I have to say though, our best times are really when we have nothing planned and we throw together a simple picnic, an outing to the park or an evening walk.

All grown up

you are four now and you seem so grown up. you love to color and to paint. you love videos and fruit snacks. you make your brother laugh like no one else can. i cherish the times when you still remind me that you love me. best of all i love it when you smile. your smile warms my heart.

Let the games begin...

Memoral Day weekend is complete (and we made it to the Beach!...more about that later) so its time to start summer activity planning. As the second summer of being home with the kids begins, I am on the hunt for fun, and hopefully educational, things for the boys and I to do. On the fun side would definitely be the pool and what better way than for FREE! Our Kids, a local blog for activities, is giving away a family 4 pass to Cameron Run! This is a pool we have frequented in the past and I just know that Cole would love it. Hopefully he'll be brave enough to attempt the slides but if not, the kid area alone will definitely consume him...and maybe momma can get a moment to soak in a few rays too.

Bittersweet endings...and some fun too!

Cole's last day of preschool was this week. I am terribly sad about this. That's not to say that I am not looking forward to our move ~ whenever that happens ~ but I am not sure that we'll EVER find a preschool that will ever be as wonderful. Their focus is just right ~ play. The staff is wonderful. They are there because they want to be and there is very little turnover. The director herself, Chris, sent her children to this school. Alas, all good things come to an end and to end the year there was a traveling petting zoo with the cutest baby bunnies I have ever seen.
We've also spent some time recently meeting new baby girl Autumn Le, the precious package of our dear friends Shea, Chris and Mason, as well as, attempting a family outing to go strawberry picking. I grew up going on adventures to pick fruit and I thought the boys (well one of them at this point) would enjoy this....guess Cole is a little too young to appreciate it yet! There were farm animals there too so I suppose he enjoyed that part. Cole's school also celebrated his birthday complete with cookie monster cupcakes. I had a lot of fun making them :)

May Daze

I'm feeling the pressure lately that I haven't been writing here consistently...or doing Cole's 4 year old photo album or Brooks' baby album. How are moms supposed to keep up with it all? I haven't even mentioned that I have yet to take either of their pictures for the birthday milestones! That's a big one for me. I want so badly to hold on to this cute age that each of them is at because truthfully they aren't so cute to me when they get to be 12...15....maybe I'll change my mind later.

The amazing thing is that when I tally up what we've been doing it's a little bit of nothing. We've been enjoying the spring weather~yesterday we had to be out of the house for an open house so we went to Old Town for lunch (yummo burger and fries at the Burger Joint) then had a leisurely walk down King Street to the waterfront, where we sat on the dock and admired the amazing view and considered how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful place. Cole and Craig went on a ship docked there called the Peacemaker...pretty neat, which reminds me I need to look up whether that ship does a Pirate lunch or something similar. Pap and Grandma came to visit on Saturday and Grammie came the previous week, all to present Cole with his birthday gifts. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family in our lives.

Brooks has been battling a fever over the past few days and yesterday a rash appeared. Could this be the all too familiar Roseola that plagued us about this time during Cole's first half of life? Looks awfully similar. Brooks continues to do his flip trick...not to be confused with Cole's flip trick, the one where he puts on his own jacket...but the one where Brooks goes from his back to his front to his back :) He is also working really hard on sitting up all by himself...nearly there. It is crazy for me to think that only a month of so from now he could be crawling! All of this makes me want invent a pill, a machine, SOMETHING that can slow time down a little...just a little. Really. Couldn't we all use a little of that?

Four is Fabulous!

Oh my....four years old! I think from here on out I'm going to name EVERY post "Where has the time gone?" because isn't that all I write about anyway? We are keeping Cole's birthday low key this year. A small celebration at Nanny's and cupcakes at school. I think tonight we'll go to First Thursdays in Delray and treat Cole to some frozen custard from The Dairy Godmother. Four years has gone by so quickly and when I look at Cole from day to day I can hardly believe just how big and mature he is. Every once in a while I'm able to step away from a situation and try to see it from the outside and only then does he seem little to me. I cherish those times because it gives me a different view of him.

Happy half-birthday

My littlest sweet pea is 6 months old already! At 6 months and 1 day, Brooksy decided he'd try out the ole' rollin' over trick...finally. He now seems to want to try it out incessantly. I suppose if I had such a neat, new trick that I'd try it out a lot too! Still no teeth on the horizon but a whole lot of slobberin' going on :) Brooks also had his 6 month check up today. Our little "porker" is 15 pounds! Oh how I love those chunky little thighs.

Bonding Time

I always find myself commenting how quickly time is flying and this spring is no different. Brooks is about to turn 6 months and Cole is almost 4 years old. Where has it gone? I am thankful daily to have this time with the two of them. Many days I am at my wits end by the time Craig is home from work but occasionally there is a day that I can truly enjoy the two of them. Today was one of them. We played, we laughed and we enjoyed being together.
Cole is saying the funniest things lately. This weekend he explained, while I was driving, that God had painted his fingernails pink. I thought he was trying to tell me that he and Emmy had gotten into nail polish and he was blaming it on God! Instead he was just telling me how the skin under his nails got to be pink :) Such innocence.

Brooks is the good, sweet-natured baby that Cole never was. I'm not saying Cole was bad...just difficult and I am so happy that Brooks is different. I love to hold him and hear him giggle, to caress his sweet features, and to kiss him. This past week he has started to babble a lot..."da da da" all the time! I am battling whether I am ready to give up the night time feedings. I think he is ready...but am I? You think I would do anything to get a full nights sleep but those late night sessions are so special and he is so sweet and innocent and beautiful when he is on the edge of sleeping. I ran into two women today that stopped me to ask how old he was. They too had sons, except they were now in college. Both said to enjoy the time...and I plan to, with both my boys :)

Happy Easter

Oh what fun we are going to have this year with two little men to dress up! Mommy is all ready....cute hats (who says girls are the only ones with cute hats for Easter!), bunny ears, and Cole's favorite, candy! Happy Easter everyone. We hope your day is as special as ours.

the Third wheel

I am constantly in amazement at just how much time these two love to spend together. No matter that they see each other 2 days a week at school...no matter that they spend the entire day together on Thursdays at maw-maw's house...and no matter that Cole and Emory see each other on Monday mornings (to catch up after the weekend away from each other)and Wednesday evenings for dinner at Nanny's, they just can't seem to get enough of one another. I'm just thankful that our move won't put them far from one another and hopeful that Brooks and Breon-Leigh will have a fraction of what Cole and Emmy have...now if those pesky siblings would just stay out of their way so they could play!

Big Boy Brooks

Brooksie is 5 months old! We've dabbled in rice cereal, we're attempting to perfect nap times but mostly we're having fun. Brooks is nearly 15 pounds now and has the cutest, chunky thighs I have ever seen. I'm mostly infatuated with his thighs because Cole never had an extra ounce on him. Personality wise, you just can't help falling in love with him. He's such a happy baby. I just love to hear him coo and giggle. The rougher Cole tends to be with him, the more he laughs and squeals. They are going to be great playmates, I can already tell.

In like a Lion..

Wow, March! Where did February go? Despite our lack of posting, we have had a busy month. Crazy winter weather...2 BIG snow storms this year and several smaller ones...have forced us inside, much more than we prefer to be. We've spent much of this time going to lots of playdates. Cole and Emory can't seem to get enough of one another. They also seem to pass every sniffle and sneeze back and forth to one another and that's on top of us passing it back and forth within our own house! I'm so tired of being sick :( Poor Brooks has slept more in his carseat carrier at night than he's slept in the Pack n Play.

All of that being said we have seen signs of Spring! Cole and I took a walk this past weekend and actually saw a crocus blooming and yesterday when we drove home after preschool there were a million (literally) Robins feasting in our neighbor's front yard. Sure signs that better weather is on the way...I hope!

Happy Valentine's Day

Wow, mid-Feb already! The last few weeks have been a blur. We've been in the midst of the most crazy weather pattern since I can remember in the DC area. We're up to 40+ inches of snow this year from 2 major storms. The latest of the two sent us packing for a no-snow zone, so we went to visit Scott and Allison in Chesapeake. Luckily when we headed back up to DC, the roads were clear and our wonderful neighbors had shoveled our driveway! Thanks Mike and Phuong :) A small snow, 5 or so inches, followed a day or two later but that seemed like a piece of cake after the big ones. Cole and Craig enjoyed going out to play in it, attempting to build a fort and a snowman (not wet snow so it wasn't successful). Cole missed an entire week of preschool as a result. All that being said we are more than anxious to get out of the house especially since we seem to be passing a winter cold back and forth to one another. I cannot wait till the spring in hopes that we will no longer be sick and we can get outside ~ sans jackets!

Losing Letters...Have you seen me?

I am specifically speaking of the letters "m-y" and "d-y", as in the ends of the words Mom and Dad. This past weekend Cole graduated to calling Craig and I "dad" and "mom". No more cutesy mommy or daddy business. He has no particular explanation as to why. It is what it is. I simply stare in amazement and as usual wonder where did my little man go? Is 3.5 the new 20? I'm not ready to be mom! I suppose MOMS simply have to live in the past.....he was (okay he still is) so cute when he was little...........

A letter to Brooks

Dear Brooks,

I am very sorry for allowing you to fall off the bed today. There really is no excuse why I turned my back on you for even one second. I understand why you were so sensitive the rest of the day and needed to be held. I would have done anything just to make sure that you were alright. Your smiles and belly laughs at the end of the day made me know that you were alright and that you are still your jolly, happy self and I am so thankful. Good night sweet darling...may your dreams be filled with happy thoughts.

From the bottom of my heart,
Your Mommy Forever

All Smiles

Brooks has finally discovered that he can smile and coo and he seems to do them non-stop! The best morning so far has been one when he woke up and laid in the pack-n-play and talked to himself for over an hour (while Mommy and Daddy slept in a little!). What a good baby! I continue to attempt to capture just the right photo of him, and his adorable smile, but with the winter weather and the dark interior of our house, the right picture has escaped me thus far.

The last few days have been unseasonably warm. Since it was a gorgeous day, we took a really long walk into Old Town and packed our lunch to eat along the waterfront. Cole enjoyed feeding the ducks and seagulls his leftover PB&J and Craig and I sat and soaked in the warm sunshine.

Who is who?

as Brooks approaches 3 months old, I am continuously amazed about how similar he and Cole look! I decided to put 6 pics of each into a collage and see if even I could tell them apart. Let me say, even I question a couple of the photos and I am the one who took them (not to mention, the one who gave birth to them)! It's amazing how quickly you forget how "advanced" they are at just 3 months. Cole and Brooks' new cousin, Breon-Leigh, was born just a few days ago and Brooks looks like a giant next to her. He also holds his head up, smiles (oh so adorably )and is cooing. I'm not sure at what point babies exit the newborn stage but I feel like it has come and gone overnight.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Time continues to fly by as the holidays are over (I have to admit I'm a little happy to have them over) and the new year has begun. Two thousand and nine was a joyous year from the perspective of our second son's birth and a very sad year as we lost a very dear friend, Mark Papa, and a family member- my grandmother's brother, Aubrey Glass.

For the coming year we wish for the obvious things to be present in our lives such as health and happiness but honestly our biggest hope and prayer is to have a bigger house. Everything in our lives right now seems to revolve around the fact that our current house is TOO small (at 950 blessed square feet). There is no room for the ever expanding need for baby accessories despite Brooks being ready for them (~exersaucer). There is no room to hold on to toys that are outdated, although Brooks will need them eventually. There are a million other things that have now inhabited the living room, our bedroom, and Cole's room that I can't seem to find a place to put them away so I am left to feel as if the "stuff" is about to eat me alive! Not a good feeling...and so our wish...a bigger, better house where we can host family gatherings, have our parents sleep over when they visit, a place for the boys to play, closets to fit clothing-current and future, a kitchen where I can make cookies AND cook dinner at the same time, but mostly a home where we can be a family together and make LOTS of memories.

O where, O where...

…has my newborn gone? Time is a flyin lately. Brooks is already 8 weeks old and its nearly time for Tiff’s new little one, Breon-Leigh, to be here. We are anxiously awaiting her arrival and hoping that she’ll make her appearance before the end of the year.

Cole ended preschool for the year and so we have been at home filling our time with making holiday cookies, painting ornaments, and doing our holiday shopping. His preschool class put on one adorable show on the last day. Poor Emmy refused to even go up on the stage! Cole surprised us once again by not only participating but also belting out Christmas carols in the loudest voice he could muster.

We have also been to two breakfasts with Santa this season, one at Cole’s school and the other at DC’s Hard Rock Café. Both were chaotic but fun opportunities for Cole to tell the jolly ole’ guy what he wanted for Christmas, but Cole wouldn’t speak a word either time.

Six Weeks

Our little Brooksy hit the 6 week mark today! I'm amazed he has been in our lives for that long, it feels like yesterday that he was still in my belly :) Brooks is doing great and last week when I weighed him he was a whopping 9.5 lbs! Not that I want to make a habit of comparing our two boys but I don't remember Cole hitting the 10 lb mark until much much later! Brooks is much more awake to the world now, spending a lot of his time sitting or laying quietly and checking our his environment. He has a mellow, laid-back personality that I already love! I am hoping we can begin to space night time feedings apart a little but for now he's waking me up every 3 hours with a slight whimper (as if it were impolite to cry in the middle of the night!). Cole loves his little brother and is a huge help. He particularly likes to help with bath time, which Brooks seems to love. He lets out a big sigh everytime we put him in the water.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year. Family is the thing that sticks out most in my mind. I am thankful that everyone has been relatively healthy. I am thankful my dad has found happiness again. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful husband who has supported us financially for an entire year and although not by choice, that I have been able to stay home with Cole. I am thankful that Cole has loved preschool and has blossomed as a result of going. I am thankful to have experienced another pregnancy (with my sis at that!) and the end result was a beautiful, healthy little boy. I'm still not sure our family is complete but it sure feels good for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful day...with their family.

Better Late Than Never

Happy Halloween to all! I have the best intentions as far as the blog is concerned...well as far as everything is concerned...but it's been hard to get to it all lately. I cannot image why! What have we been up to? We spent half of our Halloween day standing in line to get the H1N1 vaccine and the other half decorating cookies, carving our pumpkin, and finally trick-or-treating. The weather didn't cooperate in the evening, so our door to door time was cut short but it was probably plenty for 3 year old Cole and honestly for me too!

Cole continues to be a good big brother. Last week was our first at home without Craig and Cole was a good helper...most of the time :) He had his fair share of tantrums as a result of not meeting his needs immediately!

Brooks seems to be growing by the second! He is slowly awakening out of his newborn slumber and testing out his lungs quite often now. Despite telling myself that its okay for him to cry, I run at every whimper. I think he's in the midst of his 3 week growth spurt because he seems to be doing nothing except eating! I'm wondering if he's going to be bigger than his big brother because he's already outgrown all of those newborn clothes (and I seem to remember Cole being in them for a long time!).

Lastly, we said a sad goodbye to our family pet, Flower, on Sunday. She took her last breath, or tweet, as we sat in the living room with her feeding Brooks. I cried as if she were my child (well she was!). We buried her in the backyard, under a stepping stone, so that she will always be with this house...a house where Craig and I began our family together. She's seen so much with me...college, grad school, marriage and the birth of both of my babies...I will miss her a lot.

Boys in my House

There are boys in my house – and Spiderman shoes
And 200 papers in various blues.
There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,
There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.
They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats
There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.
There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.
There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,
And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!
There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,
There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.
There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.
There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
There's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.
There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks
There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.
Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;
Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.
There are cute little vests and darling neckties
Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!
There's running and climbing and jumping and falling
And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling
And rolling and losing and finding and creeping
And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.
There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –
There's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

And Then There Were Two

Our family of three has officially expanded to a family of four! The birth of our second son, Brooks Logan, began on Saturday night shortly after Craig and I had finished watching a movie. In his usual fashion, the baby was very active that night and I wasn't quite sure if I was uncomfy due to his movement or something else! It became clearer as the night went on that although irregular, those were indeed contractions. I encouraged Craig to try and get some sleep, just in case! At about 3 a.m. the contractions got heavy enough to start breathing through them. I could still talk through them so I called the midwife on duty and she assured me that we still had lots of time and that I should try and get some rest until everything got really regular and really uncomfortable. It didn't take long! By 5 a.m. I was really sure "this was it" and called in my mom to care for Cole. Craig and I arrived at the hospital shortly after 6 a.m. and by that time contractions were every 2-3 minutes and intense. I think I had 5 while I tried to fill out the paperwork at the L&D counter! Once I finally got to a room, I was 8cm dilated and it was nearly showtime....too late for any Nubane and since I didn't want an epidural, things were only going to get more painful. Craig was a great coach and we found a position that got us both through the more painful contractions. Before I knew it, it was time to push and Brooks fought his way into the world in 10 minutes from the time I started pushing! He weighed a hefty 7lbs 7 oz and was 21" long. It was very surprising to me considering I only gained 15 lbs the entire pregnancy...where was he hiding?

Cole unfortunately had to meet his new brother the next day in the lobby of the hospital, due to very strict visitation policies caused by the H1N1 flu. In the car he commented how small his new brother was and how cute :) I think they got off to just the right start. Today, Tuesday, Cole got to tell his preschool class that he's a new big brother. We hear from his teacher that he told his friends with great enthusiasm and the typical Cole fluttering of hands and hopping up and down.

the Waiting Game

As we count down the days (wow!) until the next little man arrives, Cole and I have been hanging out and running last minute errands. He's asking some pretty funny questions lately about his little brother....like is he going to cry when I sleep and will he knock over my toys? We've also been painting pumpkins and attending as many fall festivals as we can. Cole is loving preschool and asks daily if it's a school day! I love to hear about his day, his snack and his new friends while there...even if I do miss him :) There isn't much on our future agenda, since we are waiting, but I'm sure it will be filled with fun, laughter and smiles as long as Cole is along.

Fall Fun

One of our fall activities so far has been a trip to Cox Farms in Centerville. This was our first trip there and boy was it worth it. It is still early fall so the weather is beautiful (actually hot!) but so nice to spend the day outdoors with the people you love. Erin, Carl and Ella accompanied us on our day of fun at the farm, where we rode the slides to our hearts content, went on a hayride and drank yummy apple cider. We are hoping that this is the first of many festivals that we will be attending this fall. With the upcoming arrival of the new little guy we are attempting to stay close to home...but just not too close.
Last weekend we hosted a party to welcome our new little guy, and aunt tiffy's new little girl. Our little pumpkin hasn't accepted the invite yet but he's still got another 2 weeks or so to "bake".

First day of Preschool

Cole's first day of preschool went without too much of a hitch. I was most concerned with getting him moving this morning but he seemed to understand that we had a place to be and that he would want to go to that place. I walked him into his class, after begging him to wear his backpack, and then he wouldn't take it off! He was quickly engrossed in playing and I was long forgotten. I stayed for a few minutes to watch him and when I decided to leave, I barely got a wave. It didn't hit me till after I left that this is the first time I've left him with a non-family member and I was a little afraid (for me and him).
At pick up time, one of his teachers let me know that he had a little collision on the playground and as a result cried. The first thing he said to me in the car was, "Mommy, I fell on the playground and I cried. Where were you?" I've never had to answer to him like that and I can't say that I liked it. Despite the minor incident, Cole told me he had lots of fun with storytime, where all the kids got in a circle and sat down to listen. They also had grapes, cookies and nice, cold water (according to Cole) for snack time. He was also excited to tell me that he sang the Happy Birthday song while he washed his hands and at the end he kissed his hands, just like the teacher told him to. I think Cole is going to learn lots of fun things at school.

Savoring the alone time

So this week, more than ever, it has hit me that the new one will be here very soon. While I am completely overjoyed by the prospect of another little boy in our home, I am so sad that Cole will no longer be an only child that I have begun to cry about it...on a daily basis! I'm sure he has no true idea of whats to come. Cole is merely excited at the prospect of having a friend to play with, watching movies with mommy and new baby on the couch, and running and jumping with his new brother, all things he has told me that he would like to do with the arrival of his baby brother.
While it has always been important to me to have quality time with Cole, at least as much as possible minus the cooking, cleaning, etc required to run a house, that quality time seems so much more important right now. Yesterday, we went to the library twice! Although there isn't much on our agenda today, I am going to be sure that we have lots of playtime, snuggling, and tickling before the day is over.

Winding down

..as the number of days before Cole is no longer an only child wind down, we are trying to cram in as much fun as we can. Last weekend we went on a family outing to Annapolis, where Cole spent the entire day hunting for Captain Richard (a story for another blog post). This weekend we caught up with some friends of ours...twice...for a weekend full of fun. On Saturday, Cole and I began our day at the Farmer's Market. We then headed up to Bethesda to meet up with our friends Erin and Ella for an afternoon at the spray jets in downtown Silver Spring. Cole was disinterested in running through the water but he was a trooper at watching Ella play :) The two of them were so cute conversing about their Disney experiences like two big people.
In the evening, Craig, Cole and I threw together a picnic dinner and ate in down by the river. Cole wanted to bring the play-doh along and I figured what the heck...much easier to clean up the mess. It was actually a lot of fun. There is also a playground close to where we were sitting so Cole got to play for a little while with his dad.
On Sunday evening we met up with Erin, Ella and Carl for some fun at Gravelly point, where the planes come into National Airport. We love going there to watch the planes and it was even more fun to do it with good friends. Cole and Ella romped around and played with Cole's stomp rocket while the adults stuffed their faces :)

The littlest snitch

Cole has reached the age where I cannot tell him anything nor let him be a part of anything that shall remain a secret. When I asked whether he'd like to take cupcakes to Daddy at work for his birthday, of course he said yes, and then he told Craig! It's a good thing I did the present purchasing and dessert selection for tonight without him :)

Summer Adventures

Our final adventure of the summer took us to Ocean City to spend a few days at the beach with our friends Scott and Allison. Scott's aunt hooked us up with an awesome beach front condo, which was totally key with Cole in tow. The waves were a little rough for Cole to manage so we spent most of the time playing in the sand. I read a book and relaxed, hoping to capture one last image of the beach before the birth of baby #2 (a must for relaxing during labor sans drugs!). We also went to the boardwalk and Cole rode some of the kiddie rides. Another evening he was co-pilot to Craig during a go-cart ride. Of course, the highlight of that adventure was the trip to Candy Kitchen afterward where he picked lego shaped sweetarts and a candy necklace as treats.

Road Tripin'

What an adventure we just returned from! Tiff and I decided since we both had the summer off we would pack up the kids, sans husbands, and road trip to Michigan to visit our extended family. Surprisingly the kids handled the 10+ hour car trip very well and we arrived safely and in one piece to our destination outside of Detroit. We spent 3 days hanging out and letting the kids play with each other, which they did beatifully. We will miss all the playmates now that we are home. We also ventured to a spray park, a dairy farm (yummy ice cream) and attended Hannah's 2nd birthday party complete with pinata, pool, hot tub and marshmallow roasting by the fire pit. It was wonderful to see our family once again and we look forward to the next time that we can meet up.

Baby bumps

It somehow seems weird to take photos of just me and my belly bump so I asked Cole to join in and he happily obliged! I love this pic and will cherish it forever :) It's amazing to imagine that in 82 days our next little man will arrive. Cole has taken to my pregnancy better than I expected. I can't help but get a giggle out of his reaction to my ever increasing belly and inquiring how the baby is going to get out. He knows a doctor will do it (well actually a midwife but close enough) and that the baby will be messy when it arrives. He also thinks we should name the baby Clifford or Dumbo or something along those lines! The one thing that he has had difficulty with is my inability to hold him. He is a very loving little boy and likes to be held or carried places....both being difficult with a basketball attached to my front!

Just Beachy

We've had a busy end of June and early July, with Mommy and Daddy leaving Cole with Grandma and Pap while they attended Hollie and Sean's wedding in Dallas and then immediately after a trip to Virginia Beach to visit Scott and Allison for the Fourth of July. In his usual fashion, Cole took it all in stride and did amazingly well without us. I am also extremely happy and proud to announce that Cole is potty trained! We're working on the night time stuff right now but in most cases he wakes up dry. I just can't express how proud I am of him and how well he has done...now to get rid of the treats!

Happy Father's Day '09

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Every Father's Day we take a silly "impression" photo of our daddy. This year Cole actually wanted to wear Daddy's shoes and tie...but his expression wasn't nearly as cute as when i had to force him to do it. Happy Father's Day to all the "daddies" in our lives. To celebrate, we took our Daddy to see UP as our first family movie in the theater.

Mommy's too fat

....just thought I'd write a quickie for a "coleism" that I just loved! Today I was explaining to Cole that when the weather gets hot that we need to hurry and get him in his seat so that Mommy can get up to the front to put on the A/C as fast as possible (he is sooooo slow at not only getting in his seat but he doesn't help AT ALL with the straps or buckling). Sometimes, mostly when its raining, I will hop up to the front without getting out of the car (a real bonus to being a "small" person) but today Cole pointed out to me that, "Mommy is too fat to go to the front that way", as he pointed to the space between the front seats. Thanks pal for pointing that out...thanks!

Boot Camp

...potty training boot camp to be more specific. Yesterday Cole and I began what I hope to be the beginning of the end...of diapers! We had a couple of errands to run in the morning so the start of boot camp was to begin post naptime. One of our stops was Target to choose a prize for the end of the week, if and only if it proves to be a successful week. We also bought a book about going to the potty, some new improved treats (jelly beans weren't enticing enough anymore)and lastly, a potty timer. Who knew there was such a thing (there really isn't but Cole believed me). A good ole kitchen timer to count down the minutes when we HAD to try to go potty again. Our 1/2 day start was a good one with no accidents up to bedtime. Today is a different story. I am truly understanding that if there is no timer he will just pee (or worse) on himself. I know that its nonsense to think that we will get through the training exercise accident free but I know now why I've put this off for so long...it is no fun. Cole is already anti-timer, hiding it at every chance he gets, and he sat beside the potty today and did #2...BESIDE it! Why couldn't he have just moved over 12 inches and pulled down his pants? Shortly after that I decided to let him tell me when he had to go....accident again. Ugh!

Brothers

Our biggest news of the Spring didn't even make it to the blog yet! As most of you already know, Cole is going to be a big brother in October. Our family is anxiously (but patiently) awaiting the arrival of Baby Boy #2. Although slightly bummed that a little girl didn't complete our family this time around, I am thrilled that Cole will have a brother to play with, pick on, or otherwise torture for the rest of his life. But really....I know what the bond of sisters feels like and I can only imagine that brothers are no different and for that I am so thankful.

Birthday Boy

It's so hard to believe that 3 years ago today Cole came into our lives. Now that his big day is here, there will be one last celebration of the Big 3 with pizza and cake at Nanny's tonight but the real festivities were over the weekend with a pinata, cake, and unending presents with our family and friends. Leading up to his birthday, Cole would always say, "Mommy, this is going to be the best birthday ever". I just hope it was...for this year.

Say What?

Easter Egg Excitement

Cole couldn't wait for the official Easter Egg Hunt at Nanny's on Easter Day. We've been practicing for weeks now but the "real" day was finally here and Cole was prepared with basket in hand. The first excitement of the day was an Easter basket full of bouncing balls, marbles and oh yea, candy! The Easter Egg hunt began after our midday meal and the kids couldn't wait to hunt the over 200+ eggs that Maw-Maw filled and hid for them. What a great grandma!

My gifted child

On the way to Nanny's house we pass a major construction site, where Cole is always interested to see what the workers are up to. If they aren't on the job he wants to know why and if they are, he wants to know what they are doing. On this particular day, there were several men on the job site and most were gathered around the footings of what appears to be an upcoming sound wall. As usual Cole wanted to know what they were doing so I put it simply, "they are building a wall". He replied, "For Humpty Dumpty?" and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. I later shared this story with Cole's Aunty Tiffy and she said that his connection was very good and was a actually a sign of giftedness. I'm not sure where he's getting that from since I am more than positive that there is at least one (or more likely several) improper uses of English in this post as well as a non-existent word or two!

Growing Hearts

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and while that may be true, I have lately found that the more time I spend with our little man, the bigger my heart grows for him. I am so happy at the little person that he is turned into (not that there aren't bad days!) Here is a pic of our cutie at the St. Patty's Day festivities in Old Town. His favorite part of the parade were the dancing ladies :) (not those kind but the Irish dancing kind!)

Oh Man

Cole has really enjoyed playing trains recently. He loves, most of all, the battery operated Thomas and James engines that he received for Christmas. He loves to load them up and make them really work for their loads...today there was a little accident as he was helping one of them up the incline and he pushed a little too hard. "Oh man," he said. It's one of his favorite phrases right now so I was happy to capture it :)

Hockey Time

Cole, Craig, Scott, Allison and I all went to Cole's first hockey game on Sunday. We had lots of fun while Scott and Allison stayed for the weekend and we finally had a place for visitors to sleep...in Cole's big boy bed. Sadly for most of our crew, the Pens lost, but I was happy that the Caps won!

Happy Times....Sad Times

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Cole and I have been making the best of my layoff by scheduling lots of playdates and other activities at home. Play-doh and painting are our favorite pastimes. Beautiful weather has set in the last few days so we've headed outside to enjoy the 60 degree days. On the other end of the spectrum, we were very sad to say our goodbyes to our beloved family dog, Toni, last Friday night. Toni lived a long and happy life and I've loved her like no other dog. While it was a difficult decision for my dad to make, I am sure sure that Toni is in heaven with Nancy and they're having a grand ole' time.