this is cole's new favorite activity- the oceanwonders tunnel! he enjoyed it as a playmat and then a tummytime mat, now he's old enough to get the concept of crawling through it. the poor tunnel gets moved from room to room so he can play with it no matter what i'm doing. he's been getting a lot of use out of it!oh mom, this is SO cool...

cole has kind of rediscovered his paci's... which doesn't bother me much, if it keeps him quiet, especially during meeting. i figure that if i just leave them lying around he'll take to them if he wants, just like the sippy cup. he's getting the hang of it, reluctantly realizing that he's going to have to learn to manuever it by himself. just watching him, i think he'd do great with a straw...

my little ham, the portrait of mischief...

yes, our little boy is quite active these days, and he really likes to help out by emptying the laundry baskets, unfolding all the clothes within his reach,unplugging the printer cord (yes, he's figured out that if he reaches way under the "desk", he can pull it out), picking stuff out of the carpet that the vacuum missed (he thinks he's a vacuum too, apparently, since it all goes in his mouth), generally making my life sweetly chaotic. bless his little heart, he tries so hard- how can i get (or stay) mad when he looks at me with that look that says "how'd i do, mom?"! i'm thinking we're in for a real ride, the way he's so fascinated with how everything works. his curiosity is unbelievable... aren't kids funny??

and speaking of rides, i found a bunch of disney songs on limewire that i'm going to put on cd- stuff from the classics: mary poppins, jungle book, aladdin, beauty and the beast, the lion king, etc.; i figured that we could use it on long car-rides, which made kelvin groan. they'll grow on him... and mom reminded me of the tom pease tapes we used to get from the library for our family vacation trips, and i know i can order the cd's online, so i'll have to look into that. i told kelvin that he'll get used to it- they'll grow on him and before he knows it, he'll be able to rattle off "under the sea" and "supercalifragilistic" and "chitty chitty bang bang" with the best of them!

here is the "baby limo" we're going to get! yes, as fate would have it, through a small turn of events, the "limo" will be coming home with us after all. this is just a stock photo, and i didn't get one of the carseat since everyone knows what an infant seat looks like (it's the same color pattern). see? perfectly gender-neutral, just in case my intuition is correct... perfect for a boy AND a girl. no, we don't know yet... i have to make an appointment for when we get back to wisconsin, hopefully i can get in for an ultrasound quickly. anyhoo... just thought i'd post and share my excitement. i love that it has one of the best customer review ratings, and that really, it's relatively affordable. i mean, anyone who's priced out decent strollers lately, especially something for two or more, knows what i mean... lol! i don't know if i'll be able to wait until baby #2 is here to use it, i may have to take a few test-drives to the park or something! on the other hand, i'd hate to get TOO much use out of it before we have both seats occupied. but yeah- next week we can pick it up- yay!

(you know you're a mommy when the mere thought of a nice stroller sends you over the edge with excitement...)

we have a date...

so, we finally have a date for moving home. it seems like"finally" because by nature i am very impatient and it seems like the last week has just CRAWLED by in anticipation of knowing when we'll be on our way. kelvin's last day at the job here will be the 26th of august, so we'll leave the 27th. so- because we have to plan for travel expenses, my beautiful graco quattro tour duo and carseat are no longer an option. and whaddaya know- in all my research online, i couldn't find any discount companies that carry the french roast pattern. toys 'r' us has exactly what i'm looking for, but at the full msrp. bummer. albeebaby.com has the system in several patterns, just not the one we like. upon my emailing them and inquiring as to whether or not they plan on carrying the french roast pattern in the future, i got a curt reply: "we do not intend to stock the pattern you are looking for".... oh, ok. anyhoo, while i'm somewhat disappointed about not being able to purchase my incredible find, i AM excited to know that we'll be headed home in 4 weeks!

(bathtime the other night- don't ask, 'cause i haven't a clue! lol)

so... now that we have an eta, i have to get a list going of what all needs to be done in the house before we get back. mom and dad offered for us to stay with them for a few days, so at least we won't have to go back to a dusty, cobwebb-y, stuffy house... we'll have a day or two to get it aired out, the water running and pipes cleared out, dusted, etc.; i have a sketchy game-plan that also involves cleaning out the junk room and going through EVERY single item before we settle back in. kelvin plans on taking a few days off of work when we get home, so what we can't get done during the big full-day tackle, i can work on while he watches cole. or something... now i've learned my lesson the hard way- it's easier to weed out the junk the minute you first move in instead of waiting until you leave and then come back... yikes! anyhoo, it feels good to have a solid move date. watch out wisconsin, we're comin' home!!

home again...

sorry, no pics today! i could repost the ones from yesterday, but that would be a bit boring and quite silly, since one can just scroll down and see yesterday's pics. haha- ANYHOO... we aren't renewing our lease here at the apartment. august is our last month, so when we go to pay rent on friday, we will be giving our 30-day notice. kinda sad- while i'm anxious to get back home, i have to admit that i am still pretty bummed that we are leaving long before we thought we would. like, a whole 6 months or more sooner... i guess what i'm really saying is that i am in deep mourning over the loss of my dreams of a remodeled kitchen, a paid-off truck and the new piano i was promised. i'll get over it, but that's what made the move down here easier for me- the knowledge that it meant something better when we got back. someday... on the other hand, my new best friend by the name of craigslist has pointed me in the direction of a very nice stroller and carseat; the graco quattro tour dou and matching infant carseat in french roast. it retails for between $390 and $400, but there's a lady near phoenix that posted hers... she bought it new im march, used it a small handful of times and now is selling it because her older child refuses to ride in a stroller. and she's asking a fair amount less than retail. so- in a week or two, we may be able to go get it. double stroller down, crib to go. yay! so i'm not getting my piano or remodeled kitchen, but at least the kids will be able to ride- can you imagine a poor 18-month cole walking the mall half the day with mommy? i seriously doubt that would fly.

random weekend stuff...

we have had a very uneventful weekend... boring, but it's good to have a quiet one every now and again!yesterday cole decided to 'help' with the laundry.

"haha, i got the last clo!" there's a story behind that, which my mom is fully aware of... that one's for you, mom!

breakfast this morning- cole thought it was better to eat on the run. what a goofy little boy!

since his first birthday is less than a month away, and he's over the 20-pound mark, we thought it would be ok to move his carseat to face forward, just a very little bit early. he really likes it- it makes a big difference in how content he is in the truck.

i have no idea what he has to think about so hard, but it looks like he's really contemplating something! maybe it was something he heard in meeting? the expression is sweet anyway!

and, we'd like to give a shout out to little zayden- happy first birthday!! we hope it's a WONDERFUL first birthday!

blueberry pancakes this morning! i was craving them yesterday and so we had to have them for breakfast. needless to say, cole LOVED his pancake! he at the better part of a whole one by himself...
a bit of juice to wash it down...
blueberry face! to say he enjoyed it is a bit of an understatement.
making funny faces with daddy... that squishy face is his specialty... he does it to make us laugh, he does it when he's in the sun, pretty much any time. what a goof.

anyway, cole has another tooth- his right lateral incisor. now we're just waiting on the right front one... it may be awhile, seeing as how he slept all night the past two nights. apparently it's not bothering him enough to keep him up. yet. lucky- just as he starts sleeping again, i get the beginnings of a uti... yay. among the groceries yesterday were cranberry tablets and cranberry juice- if i can avoid a visit to the dr and the antibiotics that will most likely result, i will. cranberry is good for that, so we'll take that approach first. i'm already feeling a little more comfortable today. for anyone that would ever use azo cranberry tablets, a word of warning (it IS printed on the box, but i will stress it anyway): those tablets stain your pee! i've never seen that color come from any orifice... interesting! i know- tmi. at least it's going away!

hello monsoon season!

we've been told it's monsoon season here in arizona. that basically means lots of heat and sun with brief interruptions of wind, thundershowers or other random not-so-pleasant weather. last evening it was SO dark in all direction except a little spot to the west where the sun was setting- it was SO neat!the view to the west- pretty sunset! or so it would seem...

to the south, it gets a bit darker, no pretty colors...

annnnd.... to the east, where there was quite a bit of lightening. you can barely see it on the right edge of the photo, but there's a streak of lightening that happened to flash the same time i snapped the photo. wish i had been a little to the right... bummer! it's kind of unique weather, especially for us, being from wisconsin. as i was standing outside (about 7.30 pm), the wind was blowing, it was HOT, the sky was really dark but as you can see, the setting sun really lit up the houses, making everything kind of glow. not very often that we get to see this kind of thing! and yes, it thundered, rained, lighteninged (is that a word??) and carried on... for a little while.

gimme some sugar!

what a sweet boy- we knew it all along, but tonight, we have no doubt...

cole got ahold of daddy's oreo and the only reason we discovered it was because he was quiet and sitting still for more than 10 seconds...

oh yummmmm...



and, the aftermath! no, we didn't let him eat it! we just took advantage of the situation and snapped a few photos. we DO want him to sleep at least a little tonight!

aww! now this 'sugar' is pretty harmless- he can have all he wants!

daddy's turn!

yup- our little boy had some pretty sweet moments this evening! i took a lot more, because he was trying to figure out his sippy cup. until now, we never let him hold it because he would chew on it and then just whip it against the floor, wall, whatever happened to be closest, and that caused some problems (i.e.-leaking!!). plus, avent sippies are NOT cheap, so we don't want to have to replace them all the time! but, he's got to learn to use the sippy on his own... but instead of taking it like he does his bottle, he'll lean down and try to suck on it while it's on the floor. i'll post a few pics tomorrow- it's funny to watch him so very delicately bend over his cup, s-l-o-w-l-y bring his mouth to it and try to get something out... no hands! at least he doesn't throw it this way... lol!

nothing new...

not much new here today- but in the tradition of posting nearly every day, i feel i must still contribute... hahaha. anyway, it's a fairly normal day- hot, sunny, noisy. it's a bit louder today than normal- the people next door to us have been quiet as church mice until today. they've got some MAJOR bass going on with their stereo- it's been that way since about 9 am, which means we've spent the last 7 hours listening to it. seems the church mice are rebelling... (cole's waiting for daddy to get out of the shower... he's learned to play peek-a-boo around the door frame. it's pretty entertaining!)

so, with all that's been going on, or lack of it, it seems that i'm a little anxious to get home to wisconsin. despite the fact that our plans have seriously been disrupted, i am REALLY missing the privacy of our own house... looking forward to getting that back!

i got a call from aunt mary h today- it's so much fun to get an unexpected call from someone you miss! it was great to talk to her, and we can't wait to get home and see everyone again. no date yet- kelvin went to the job trailer today to talk to the 'head honchos' and they were both home for the weekend, so maybe next week we'll find out. in the meantime, i've been trying to think up ways to save a little money once we get back home- we're definitely going to miss the extra padding in the paychecks! so- we're looking into getting a natural gas furnace, since it's cheaper to use than oil (you do the math: drafty, poorly insulated house+ $4.50/gal. for oil = trouble), and then i came across this cool thing called a tankless water heater. i did a little research, found there are plenty of businesses in our area (in WI) that carry them, and kelvin said they're pretty easy to install so we could do it ourselves. the average savings is about 50% over a regular water heater... great! anything to save a little on expenses. i've also posted on craigslist (my new addiction) in the resumes section that i am available for typing reports or transcription on a telecommuting basis, so maybe i'll get lucky and someone will need a little extra help. i'm learning now, more than ever, that sometimes you just have to let go of the things you can't control, or they'll control you. it took a lot of faith to trust that coming out here was what was right, and now it's taking even more to accept the circumstances; maybe this whole experience was more about learning a faith lesson than anything else...

haha

in my attempt to get the laundry taken care of yesterday, i found i had a small person underfoot, severely hampering my efficiency... my solution? stick him on top of the laundry (clean, of course!) where he could be involved but out of the way for a few seconds...

need i add that he enjoyed his fluffy, warm ride?

yee-haw!

hey mom- do these toes smell funny to you??

ahhhh, kids are great. even if they DO decide to scream for an hour and a half because they think that 3 am is playtime... yeah. again. he's out of the habit of putting himself back to sleep, so we have to work on that again. he was doing pretty well for awhile. i predict the next few nights may get a little scary!

it sounds like we may be coming home soon. before i get a bunch of comments asking when, we don't have an exact date yet. seems that the promise of a year or more didn't pan out- we're hoping that we'll be lucky enough to be able to give our full 30-day notice to the apartment manager here- from what we gather, we might not have that much time. seems the crew is thinning out really fast. bummer- for those of you who know what travel work is like and what a difference it can make on your finances when it all works out well, you know how disappointing it is when it DOESN'T go according to plan. it's pretty frustrating, not having an exact date but knowing that it may be spur-of-the-moment... but on the bright side, i am SO looking forward to getting back into our own house, where there are no rude, loud people upstairs (this guy is a never-ending source of frustration... if he's SO aware of how thin the walls are here, why isn't he a bit more discrete when it comes to his body functions- turn down the volume on that too, pal...) and where there's more room. however, i WILL miss the pool and not having to do maintenance... that's a perk of apartment living! don't worry- we will keep everyone updated!

tantrums!!

cole's learning how to play catch- this is how he sits when he wants to play! it's so cute- his little back is just so straight, his legs are always crossed the same way...bummer that this one is a bit blurry, but i LOVE the expression on his face, it's priceless!!

cole's turn to throw the ball- he usually does pretty well! of course, he occassionally lets the ball go at the wrong time, resulting in it going behind him or bouncing off his forehead. all in all, he's getting the hang of tossing it in our direction and then waiting for us to 'throw' it back!

camera's a little off-center, but the grin...!

good thing i got pics of him smiling, because a few hours after this, things weren't so jolly. i was on the phone with mom, so i put cole in our room with kelvin so i could have a relatively undistracted conversation for once... as soon as i left the room, cole started getting pretty mad. i figured it would blow over soon, it always does. not this time! i thought for sure that something was seriously wrong because of the way he was crying; it was so intense, uncontrollable, and he kept flinging himself backward. i got a bit scared, thinking that maybe he was sick (ted's recent bout of appendicitis came to mind instantly), but i didn't want to rush him to the er after only 5 or 6 minutes of this. i gave him a dose of tummy soother, a dose of motrin (because i know his gums are really hurting him) and tried to make him comfortable. we took off his shirt, rubbed his tummy, sang to him... then, i had to pee desperately, so i had kelvin take over. by the time i was done, he was playing happily on the floor in the kitchen. seems that it was just a tantrum. interesting... i know he's recently started to have slight episodes when he thinks he should be able to play on the laptop or eat the random bug crawling on the floor, etc., but this blew my mind. anyway, i thought that was the end of it. not! he decided to wake up at 1 am, and when i took a very quick potty break instead of rushing to his side immediately, he threw another tantrum. yeah- at one in the morning. how nice. the teething doesn't help matters any, i know, and it's prefectly normal for babies to start expressing their frustration this way, but wow- he's really turned into mr attitude! from now on, i will be leaving him to his own screaming. as much as i would be inclined to stay and try to soothe him, he's gotta learn that this type of behavior is NOT ok... now, my big question is, why do the 'experts' call it the terrible two's, when in reality, it starts much earlier?? makes me want to check their "expert" credentials... lol!

cole's haircut!

i finally just got over it and made myself trim cole's hair. it was SO cute the way it would curl around behind his ears and the back of his head after his bath or when it got damp... i loved those little wispy curls! but, it was getting long enough to tangle up when i shampooed his hair and if he had a restless night or nap, sometimes it would get really roughed up in the back. so, it was time...i saved one of his little wisps. we didn't get any pics of the actual process- he's kinda afraid of loud things, so the razor we use for kelvin's hair was out (besides, i didn't think that the attachments would work on his fine thin hair). i was armed with a scissors and his baby comb, and kelvin kept him occupied long enough to get the back all nice and trimmed. it looks good- too grown up for my taste. i really miss those curls already! :(
the finished product- still thin and wispy but more grown up...

happy after a brief nap... he actually took one this a.m.!

good news- we have tentatively sold our old carseat and stroller! we are going to need a double stroller before too long, so there's no need for us to keep this one. i posted it on craigslist down here and got very few bites on it, until a few days ago when i saw an ad for someone looking for baby stuff because they were getting a foster baby and needed stuff asap. i emailed the lady, and she wants to meet in town tomorrow to pick it up! yay!

the great escape...

this was bathtime last night, and i couldn't resist grabbing the camera. in reality, bathtime was fine, but the pictures gave me a great storyline..."you want me to put my behind WHERE??"

"ha- that's what you think. i'm outta here!"

"ah, well, i tried- guess it's kinda fun, really!"

cheesy, i know, but that's what came to mind when i was reviewing my card...

today, we were ready for meeting early so we decided to catch ihop for breakfast, seeing as we haven't been there in awhile. everything was going great- cole was wearing the onesie his daddy HAD to get him yesterday from the oshkosh b'gosh outlet, he was sitting so well, keeping everything clean, and then mommy knocked her oj over... it went all over the table and got cole pretty good. poor little guy- it went all over his lap, shirt and the side of his face, but he didn't cry! he just looked really surprised, than a little indignant; of course, it was oj with pulp, so you can imagine just how well that wiped off. he had fun picking at the stubborn bits of pulp that stayed on his arm... cute! so, we had to go back home quick and get him changed before meeting- good thing we had plenty of time!

our oj-covered monkey... the only place it shows up in the photo is on his shorts, but it was all over his shirt too.

cole has another tooth- his front left top one! i noticed it this morning during our second trip out of meeting... he wasn't too happy to sit still this morning, and i don't blame him; that's two teeth in less than a week!

one more thing- cole's learned to play "catch"... as kelvin says, it's more like playing fetch, cole's aim isn't the greatest, but he usually tosses the ball in our direction. he thinks it's THE coolest thing to do- he is full of giggles when we play catch with him! it's pretty funny when he lets it go too late and it bounces off his head and rolls behind him... babies are so amazing!

silly faces

my son, it seems, really enjoys making silly faces. the goofier, the better. maybe that's my 'punishment' for having the camera in his face all the time. i can imagine a few years down the road, his school pictures will be funny faces, year after year... oh no, what have i done!! (joke...)

"heeeeeeeeere's trouble!"
yesterday- cole and the computer. i think he can see his reflection on the screen... fascinating! sometimes, though, he just wants to chase the cursor.

silly little boy... the slight mark on his right cheek is from tuesday afternoon... we went to pick up a few things and cole got his cheek pinched in the chest latch on his carseat. he has this thing where he wants to lean WAAAAY forward while we're strapping him in... he only cried for a minute. the bruise was at it's worst on wednesday, but it's almost faded completely now.

anyway... i had to post something... i'm bored. kelvin is working overtime again today- he worked last saturday too- so it's just another day of cole and i. from the word on the jobsite, it sounds like the opportunity for overtime is picking up, and he's excited to get some in, since we won't be here nearly as long as they originally said. at least, that's the last that we heard... so, to make up for what he could have made, he's eager to get all the o/t he can. i'm really lucky to have such a hard-working man... thanks, babe!

got 'em- i am victorious!

older babies and toddlers have so much expression that's fun to get on film, but wow- getting them to sit still is like pulling teeth! i got three decent ones to pick from, this is one. that look means "ha- i am about to MOVE, mom!"
lately i've notice that cole has stopped swinging his feet all through his meal and now props his toes neatly against the edge of his tray. it's so cute- his toes clinging there as he diligently pops pea after pea after pea in his mouth... the peas get polished off one by one, then the sweet potatoes. then whatever else, and he always finishes one food completely before starting the next. he's very particular about it- wonder how long that will last??
annnnnd- going after the peas! they seem to be his favorite, although he likes his sweet potato cubes and really enjoys zucchini! my little veggie-man....

* i also feel the need to clarify the weight gain thing: those five pounds are total gain for the last 13 weeks... i know, i am obsessing over it, but hey- woman + weight x hormones= a bit obsessed. thanks for bearing with me... lol!

11 months!

cole is 11 months today... i haven't gotten around to taking his pictures yet, but i'm hoping to get it done today! we'll see....

anyway, here are his stats:

21 pounds (34th percentile)

29 inches (41st percentile)

181/2 inches head circumference (64th percentile)

i can't believe how much he's changed in the past few months! he's more tall than he is chubby, his face looks less baby-ish, he's almost walking... and he's starting to develop in imagination. to watch him when he's completely absorbed in his play, it's evident that there's some sort of pretend-play going on in the head of his. oh, how my baby's grown!

cards, bellies, heartbeats and five pounds is too much?!

i accidentally posted the end result of cole's cards first, but i don't have the patience to try to get it into order, so it's just going to have to stay out of order. but hey- this way you all can see HOW it got this way... in case you didn't already guess, cole got ahold of some playing cards. he's been dragging the box around for some time now, but today he managed to open it. lo and behold- cards all over! he had quite the time with it too- he was SO deep into what he was doing that i actually got an entire project done!! yippee! i don't mind that the cards are all over, some of them disappeared, only to be rediscovered another day... half of them are bent and wrinkled, but like i said, it's all ok, because there were 4 decks at home, and i only brought 2. i THOUGHT i broght 2- it appears that after playing hand and foot with sarah l. and bonita over a year ago, the cards didn't make it back into regular decks. so- they're all cole's now!he looks rather proud of himself, don't you think?? that's a look of self-satisfaction if i ever saw one...



great hand there, buddy!

in his jack, queen and king-induced bliss...

also, today was my prenatal check. 13 1/2 weeks, yay! baby's heartbeat was good, going strong at 164 bpm. i measured right on and then the doctor told me i've gained a grand total of 5 pounds. apparently that is FAR too much, in his opinion. oh. maybe i forgot to mention that I"M PREGNANT?? that would explain a lot... anyway, sarcasm aside, i really don't think that that's a ridiculously large amount for where i'm at now. like a very wise member of our family said to my sister, every woman's body responds to pregnancy differently (as far as weight gain- thank you audrey!!!). so far i've gained less than i did with cole at this point. hey- the baby is healthy and so am i, and as long as i don't become ginormous overnight, this dr should not worry so much. maybe next time i'll pretend to cry and get all hormonal and unconsolably upset, see how that trips his weight-gain trigger. actually, he's not that bad, just seems really particualar about that one area...

i've decided to post belly pics in conjunction with my appointments just to keep things easier. the awesome shirt is from mom- thank you!!! it's incredibly comfy, and amazingly there's enough room up top- enough that i have a little leeway for the later months. therefore, it is my new favorite shirt. it does make me look a little larger than i look in a tanktop, but hey- that means no more people looking at me for too long, trying to guess if there's a baby in there or if i'm just fat.

i better get going- cole is picking at the moles on my back (surprisingly VERY painful), he needs his baba so he can have his bath and my bladder is in dire need of emptying (also rather painful)... off to bed for my little munchkin!

poor uncle tedly...

cole wants to say "get well soon" to his wonderful uncle tedly... he went in to the er last night and this morning they took out his appendix. i talked to mom a little bit ago and they were discharging him already, which is good. so- we all hope you feel better soon and enjoy your time off of work!! we love you tedly...

li'l stinker

cole's quite the curious little guy these days! he's so inquisitive... but it sometimes gets him into trouble. typical little boy! yesterday he needed to know how the back of his daddy's hat worked, and sat and picked at the velcro for quite some time...

then decided that he should take it upon himself to rearrange the contents of the crate where we keep his extra blankets and stuff. in this case, rearranging meant pulling everything onto the floor- i guess it was more aesthetically pleasing to him... ?

and, he was back at the blanket thing again this afternoon. all this new activity is what prompted us to get the cute shirt we saw at target...

i do believe, the shirt says it all! target had some really cute disney onesie sets for $5, and we couldn't pass this one up. besides, he was SO good in the store while we got stuff to spoil his new cousin that we just had to get him something too. very appropriate purchase, i believe! my baby is on the go, near unstoppable these days!