we're home!

just a really quick update, since it might be a few days or so before we get photos posted and stuff- we are HOME!! we got to mom and dad's around noon on friday- cole did very well on the trip, better than we expected. that said, he was SO happy to be out of the truck and crawling around, he forgot all about being hungry! we also went over to the house to unload the trailer (everything is still in boxes, piled in the living room and dining room) with a little help from kelvin's parents, and then we went to tigerton to have supper with them. we're staying at mom and dad's for a few days, and kelvin's taking vacation this upcoming week so that the unpacking and cleaning won't be such a chore... he will have the chance to spend some one-on-one time with cole so i can get things done! we're so happy to see everyone, but are still missing our friends back in arizona... so to all our new friends out there, we miss you and are thinking of you! i've discovered that sometimes it's the small things that you miss the most- good beef, my kwik trip milk-in-a-bag, cool nights, the list is a bit longer, but it's almost time for lunch and i'm too tired to think, so that will have to be all... and i'd better run! all for now, but be assured that photos are coming. eventually.

out last arizona post!

sorry, folks, this one is posed! amazingly, cole never really attempted to climb into the empty cabinets. so- i had to put him in one to get a picture... after which, he promptly took a nosedive onto the linoleum while trying to get at the camera. he was fine- the tears stopped the second he saw his sippy cup, so there weren't any devastating injuries!

the last bath in arizona... love the classic cole-face.

cole ALMOST fell asleep with daddy! his eyelids were having some trouble staying propped open and he was playing with his ears- so off to bed he went. of course, since it was mommy who took him, it took longer for him to go to sleep. stinker!

during meeting yesterday, i discovered that the crankies that come with roseola is an understatement... cole's "crab level" was off the charts! he was out pretty much the whole meeting, with kelvin and i taking turns. but, when we went to olive garden with brad, angela and the girls, he did reasonably well. the service was REALLY slow (why are we surprised....)- we were told it would be a 25-minute wait for a table, since sunday is more busy. fine- no problem, except that we waited for at least half an hour, only to find that the table we were seated at was one of the ones that had been prepped and empty for the last 20 minutes. hmmm. then, it took about 10 minutes for our waitress to bring our drinks out, and we'd been seated for over an hour by the time we finally got our food. not like it was anything complicate- kid's mac-n-cheese, kid's pizza and a few simple pasta dishes, and a bowl of soup for angela. oh well- after all the frustration, we realized that it was a good thing after all, since it gave us more time together... lots of laughs around that table! of course, we were too full for supper so cole had his, then n his bath... and he was asleep around 8.30. perfect! ....not... he woke up at midnight, cried and fussed and refused to sleep, until i finally thought to get him a sippy-cup of warm milk. i'd have thought of it sooner, but between the packing, getting very little sleep the rest of the week and getting about 2 hours last night, my thought process was rather foggy and delayed. so- neither kelvin nor i got much sleep at all... he's working a half-day today, so if i were him, i'd just skip it altogether and sleep. but whatever. hopefully he'll get a good night tonight. we're travelling with nate as far as las cruces, new mexico- we'll all spend the night there and then we're taking a different route home, so we'll part ways in the morning. depending on how cole is taking the travel, kelvin might want to spend the night in nate's room so he can get a decent night's sleep... one of us has to, so it should be him. i can always sleep while he's driving. anyway, this will be our last post for a while- we have somebody buying our modem today (again, thanks to craigslist- where else can you sell a used modem so easily?) and he's coming at about 9.30... i have to get cole's breakfast and take a quick bath (showered last night, smart!) and there's the last-minute stuff to do and get rounded up. we are SO sad to be leaving our friends here, but words can't describe how anxious we are to be getting home again... wisconsin, here we come!!!

finally, an explanation!

i just had to post this- cole slept all the way home and into the house last night. he didn't even wake up when we turned on the light! he did, however, wake fully upon an attempted diaper change! so, normal bedtime routing ensued... we can't even get away with cheating on THAT!
it doesn't show up very well here, but our little guy has a rash all over his back and tummy, and a little near his hairline. i noticed it when we got home from phoenix, and it kind of worried me, so i called mom, thinking that if she got worried about it, then i could call a doctor. so- i ran through the runny nose and 2-day fever that he'd had recently, and mom asked if he was crankier than usual. OH YEAH! he's been a total bear! he's the definition of crabby, personified. mom's diagnosis is roseola; she told me that i'd had it when i was little and was pretty crabby... i looked it up on the mayo clinic website and sure enough, all his symptoms fit! apparently it's most common between the ages of 9 and 21 months, but it can still affect older kids and adults. we'll have to mention it tomorrow after meeting so that the other families can be on the lookout, just in case! according to mayo clinic, the symptoms disappear within a week of the onset of the fever (tuesday) so i'm expecting the first day or two of travel to be a bit scary, but by the time we are home, he should be back to normal. i just have to say, i am SO relieved to know that he's being cranky for a good reason- i was really getting stressed, having to pack and listen to constant screaming and crying for no apparent reason. once again, mom to the rescue! thanks mom...

adios...

first, thank you TONS to sandy for sharing pictures of the party last night! i forgot the camera, even though it was pretty much first on my list... ah, blame it on the hormones. anyway, we are so fortunate to have made some very wonderful friends down here, who were kind enough to have a little goodbye potluck! the pictures on the cake were courtesy of the renteria family... SO cute!
kelvin and cole with cory and kyla.

we enjoyed spending some time with the people we meet with, and sandy sent more photos, but i've only got time for a small post... one guess as to why, lol! kelvin was getting a major guilt-trip from the smit boys- they told him that if he would get a job working for their dad, we wouldn't have to move, and we could stay here. that's about the cutest thing we've heard! we are really going to miss everyone- they've become almost like family. it's harder leaving here, because when we left home, we knew that it was only temporary and that we'd be coming back eventually... it's not that way this time around. we won't be moving back in a little while, so the goodbyes are a bit more definite; but, we have people to come visit someday. so, while we're really anxious to get back home, we're dreading saying farewell to everyone down here... arizona friends, we love you and will really miss you!!!

mommy's little "helper"

with my little "helper", things are going more smoothly than i thought they would! i'm really glad that cole's able to play with his toys by himself for a significant amount of time- he's super good at keeping himself entertained! of course, when he's had enough of playing by himself, he lets me know. loudly. and that's my signal to take a break... lol!caught red-handed! he was attemtping to unpack the box for the third time... unfortunately for him, it's all taped up now, so it's no longer an irresistable attraction.

cole's trying to figure out just why in the world mommy would put everything in boxes...

anyway, like i said, things are going really well, even though a sick little boy kinda put things on hold for a day or two. today, i got the laundry room partially cleaned, the fridge emptied and cleaned, the bathroom is DEEP- cleaned... almost everything is in boxes. so- all that's left is vacuuming, spot-cleaning, packing up our clothes and last minute laundry. and a few other odds-n-ends, little piddly stuff. tonight there is a get-together at philip and jeanette's; it's a much-needed distraction for me, and cole will (hopefully) have fun playing with the big kids. and of course, there's the weekly friday grocery shopping, which will mostly consist of baby food, juice and snacks for cole for the rest of our time here and for our trip, more packing tape, oven cleaner, stuff like that. tomorrow we head to up to the phoenix area with nate- we're going to meet his cousin, jason, and his family for lunch. also, we sold the futon on craigslist, so we're dropping that off and then we'll swing over to glendale (a suburb of phoenix, not too far away) to pick up a crib and mattress i found (also on craigslist... thank you, craigslist!!!). it's white, a simple design, converts to toddler bed and full headboard, just over a year old, used twice... the lady is asking $75 for the whole thing. can't go wrong there! so- we'll have one crib down, one to go. i'm thinking we'll just get another one new, closer to when the baby is due or when we have the extra cash, whichever comes first. i scouted them out at walmart yesterday, and they have a really nice simplicity 4-in-1 for under $200, so i think we'll get that for cole later down the road. i thought about getting two white cribs, but since we don't want to have to buy another bed for when he gets older, we'll just do natural wood. more boyish, anyway. so- knowing that both our babies will have beds really puts my mind at ease! and now, since i've rambled enough, i am off to take a much-needed shower... me-time!!

on the mend again...

our silly little boy- his fever was about 103, but he was still goofing off, making faces... this one looks kind of like he's angry, but really, he was just letting out one of those from-the-bottom-of-his-toes happy screeches. love the expression!

"hey mom, didjya see that face? huh? didjya? mom? mom?"

and, back to his into-everything little self today... actually, that's a cd that got messed up when i tried to copy photos onto it... since he likes to get into everything that mommy and daddy "play" with, we decided that he could have his own cd to do what he wants with; we were just going to toss it anyway.

so serious... the way he studies things, we often wonder if he'll someday become an engineer. cole is so curious about everything, the way things work, all that... he really gets into trying to figure everything out. speaking of trying to figure things out, i would love any suggestions or tips on battling raunchy baby breath- this kid's breath is out of control... we brush his teeth every night, and he gets a little water after his milk, but nothing we do seems to make a difference. it's not pleasant, especially since he's still got teeth coming in and chews on his fingers... they smell pretty putrid too, and short of giving him a bath three times a day, i have no clue how to tame this situation! so- anyone have any ideas?

sick little peanut...

poor baby! cole woke up feeling slightly warm yesterday, and by the time he'd had lunch, he had a low-grade fever of 100.3. i gave him motrin, but it didn't seem to do a whole lot for the fever... made him a bit perkier though! it amazes me, how much energy kids have even when they're not feeling the best. of course, i remember when i was little (like, elementary school age), i still had enough perk to want to play when i had a fever. it seems that as we get older, the more awful we feel with even the low-grade fevers- i mean, if i get above 99, i feel positively awful... aches, chills, the whole shebang. man, kids are resilient!cole wanted to play with his ball AND rehydrate... he discovered that he only needs one hand for each! his eyes are kinda glazed and red... that would be the fever. he's less perky today- his temp this morning was 101.1, and that was with an armpit reading, so if i'm remembering correctly, you add a degree... making it 102.1. my baby is baking!!! he did eat a whole bowl of oatmeal, though, and he's already gone through an entire sippy cup of juice. normally, i limit his juice intake (sugar, yikes), but this is an exception. besides, milk is not very appealing when you're sick... juice is MUCH better! so- he's had a normal breakfast, but now would rather cuddle than anything. his little forehead and little neck are SO hot... and yes, he's had more motrin! at least he got a decent night's sleep- he was a bit restless, but i didn't have to get up with him, so hopefully that will get him on the mend a little sooner.

despite not feeling 100% yesterday, cole still had enough get-up-and-go to wait at the gate for daddy to get done in the shower. it's so funny- he will wait at the baby gate the ENTIRE time kelvin is in the bathroom- talk about the patience of a saint! if only he'd do that for me.... he gets so excited when kelvin gets home- it's so cute! that's the one time of the day that he'll stay in one place for more than a minute or so- when daddy's in the shower. and it's cute- he'll stand SO still, almost like he's afraid to move, but once that water stops running, he gets all excited and starts doing his little boogie-thing (he does a few squats and then wiggles from side to side... hard to explain, but way funny!), like he can hardly contain himself. what a daddy's boy...

first birthday party!

yesterday was cole's first birthday party- it was pretty small, just nate, andy and us. which was ok... cole was a little confused, i think, and he wasn't feeling the best. he started out the day feeling fine, he was happy and more content than he's been in awhile, but by the afternoon, his nose was a little drippy and by supper, he was getting cranky. so- mommy gave him motrin and he perked right up!

the cake, courtesy of walmart

too bad this one turned out kinda blurry, because his face is hilarious! that's tomato sauce on his face- he had cheese ravioli, peas, and applesauce, his favorites. the 'big kids' had ravioli, salad and garlic bread.

mommy made sure the birthday boy got his supper while daddy 'played' with the rest of the 'big kids'... lol.

oooooh... pretty! of course, the first thing that caught cole's eye was the flame on his candle. we avoided burns, though, and mommy helped him blow it out.

digging in- he was so hesitant and delicate about it! it was funny- he started gently scraping the frosting with one finger, then two fingers, then kind of poked at it, but never went in at it with both hands. oh well- it made the cleanup easier!

cole with mommy and daddy... one year later and mommy is still wearing maternity clothes.

i can't tell who's having more fun- daddy or cole!

see, the mess was pretty minimal...

... and cole got his very own piece to destroy as he pleased. little stinker- for not having had sugar until now, he sure knew what to do with his cake!

i though i'd share this one, just because the shutter went at just the right moment... he looks like he's entering a sugar-induced coma.

opening presents- mommy and daddy did most of it, since he thought it was more fun to bang on the boxes than it was to rip them open!

cole's present from daddy- it's a cop car that has lights and sirens... once he saw how it worked, he was hooked, and all he was interested in was making it work and pushing it around. i say, he's 100% boy- give him a car, especially one with lights and noise, and he's off in his own little world for quite some time!

but, we were finally able to distract him so that he could "open" the present mommy picked out for him... a tree that plays music when the balls are pushed through the top. he had fun with it for a little while and then he was back to the cop car!

poor kid- between not feeling very well and not really knowing what was going on, we didn't get many pictures of him smiling... he was pretty sober, trying to figure everything out! but- he had cake and got some toys, and that's what birthdays are all about! i wish i could have posted all the pics we took, but it would take forever and a day... not that there's a TON of them, it just takes a long time to download. beside, they're eventually going into his scrapbook, so we have to save SOME of them for that! cole would like to say thank you to everyone that wished him a happy birthday, and to his grandma k, auntie sarah and auntie elissa for telling him on the phone! auntie elissa sang happy birthday to him, which he thought was pretty neat... happy birthday again, my one-year-old little man!

happy birthday!!

18th august, 2007

7 pounds, 13 ounces; 20 inches

18th august, 2008

21 pounds, 8 ounces; 29 1/4 inches

happy first birthday to our beautiful little boy! the past 366 days have been filled to the brim with love, wonder, amazement, amusement and we wouldn't want it any other way. the day you were born, it rained. it's funny, the things i remember, but it had been hot and sunny for days and days, but the morning you were born was the beginning of an entire week of rain. seems fitting, since you were such a refreshing event! we'll never forget your first cries, that sweet little face... those first days with you were utter bliss. since then, you've grown and learned so much! now you are crawling everywhere and almost ready to walk, you have learned to give yourself a sippy cup (sometimes it just doesn't want to cooperate with you...), you LOVE peas, make a goofy squishy face when you go out in the sun, have developed quite an attitude, have already lived in two states and the list goes on and on. what a miracle and a joy you've been- here's to you, cole ryan... happy first birthday!

mommy's on the losing end!

the monkey,,,,

begging for some of daddy's icecream (he tried SO hard, but didn't pull it off)

passed out after our quick run to target; we went after supper to get a tray for his bumbo seat, which came in VERY handy for the potluck today! yeah... target is about a 5 minute drive from the apartment- he was asleep before we left the parking lot. my question is, if he was SO tired, why didn't he sleep all night??? what a goober.

cole's last sunday meeting as an 11-month old... i know corduroy is a bit heavy for arizona in the summer, but it was light-weight and looked pretty cute with his white babygap onesie!

anyway, we had a rough start to meeting this morning; since cole has been on a "nap strike" (like, ALL naps- the only time he can't hold out is when we go somewhere- although he usually stays awake when we drive somewhere, if he's truly tired, he'll nod off pretty quickly), he's been a bit intolerant, and sitting quietly really wasn't on his agenda for this morning. he was SO tired, fighting sleep, so i took him out, thinking he'd fall asleep right away and we could have a decent meeting. my bad... he screamed. at one point, i was getting it from all angles- cole was screaming and kicking (while still rubbing his eyes and trying to snuggle in) and baby #2 was jabbing me from the inside. wonderful. i felt slightly out-numbered. either the baby was protesting the noise from his/her big brother or they were in cahoots, i'm not sure which! so anyway, at one point, cole did fall asleep... until i tried to sneak back out, at which point the screaming started all over again. we finally got back out partway into testimony and he sat very well (not on his chair, though) and did real well through the potluck. he porked out on watermelon and cheerios- i forgot to bring his veggies, but he'll survive. most of his lunch and supper every other day of the week is made up of mostly veggies... the kid deserves a break! he fell asleep on the way home, but after 30 minutes, was wide awake. nothing is getting him back to sleep, so here i sit, desperate for a little time to myself, while he crawls around on a mission for destruction... and daddy happily naps in the living room. no rest for the desperate, i guess... *yawn*

in the last 24 hours...

... we've been grocery shopping, to walmart twice, out to dinner with friends, sat in the mcdonald's drivethru for about 15 minutes for just a vanilla cone and an iced coffee, sent cole back to bed with daddy after he woke up bright and early, weathered the thunder, rain and stuff that went on last night, went to get the 'new trailer, started cleaning the kitchen cabinets and packing, went to kohl's... huff, puff...cole found a new step-stool (his little john deere 'radio')... it also makes noise every time he moves his toes! it kept him fascinated for quite some time!

going for a ride in the (clean) laundry basket!

playing "empty the toy basket" with daddy...

...guess who won!

anyway, we've been a bit busy the last 24 hours; the whole coke incident turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since it pushed me to get started with the cleaning and packing. i have several boxes from the kitchen ready to go- after everything is packed, i'll label and tape the boxes, rather than have to unpack a box or two to get one little thing. i'm finding that the hardest part is meals and grocery... we have to eat, but it's got to be something that doesn't require half the utensils in the kitchen, something that doesn't make a huge batch or call for lots of ingredients. kelvin's solution? frozen pizza. which i have to agree with... i also got a package of frozen cheese ravioli and cheese tortellini, since we like pasta and cole REALLY likes pasta. so, hopefully there won't be too much left for us to toss (the cereal, crackers, bread... that can all be bagged and boxed and make the trip home with us). speaking of food, i got THE deal of the century at fry's- i've always wanted to try the caribou coffee granola bars but never really felt like shelling out $3 or $4 for one package, but yesterday, they were on sale, 4 boxes for $8. ok, maybe i can snag a box... until i saw the little sign next to them that said they were only $1 a box if you bought four boxes at once. so- i got four boxes and we paid $4 for them! awesome... you can't get a box of really bad, cheap granola bars for that! i have to say, they are delish. glad i tried them! in other shopping news, we had our first experience shopping for birthday presents for our own offspring. it's harder than i thought- is it age appropriate, will it hold his attention for long enough, will we pull our hair out if we have to listen to the song/noise one more time... yikes! so- kelvin and i each picked out something small that won't take up too much room on the trip home, so he has something to open on his real birthday... we plan to get something more when we get home. we also got a cake (yes, i cheated and went to the walmart bakery), a "1" candle, all that. so- the presents are wrapped, the cake is ready, all we need to do is wait till monday!

and so it goes....

... when you allow your young child to play with full cans of soda, you should be prepared to pay the price. after all, this kind of entertainment usually comes with a price! here's the scoop:

i was fixing lunch for cole and i- his veggies were in the microwave and i was cutting up left over chicken to make chicken salad (yummmm...) when all of a sudden, i heard this "fzzzzzzzzzzz" coming from behind me and felt something on my legs and arm. when i turned around, i saw cole bent over his beloved coke can, sputtering, while soda sprayed everywhere. and i mean everywhere- i have yet to get all of it wiped up. so- i picked him up and just had to laugh (how else do we mommies stay sane? giggles are the cure...), then decided that despite the mess and tears, i should take full advantage of a photo opportunity when it presents itself. this was one of those moments...

the poor coke can just has had enough.

my tear-and-coke drenched son... poor kid! but it makes me laugh, it's just so stinkin' funny!

you would not believe where i am STILL finding coke splatters... the can was by the fridge, so of course, the fridge, laundry room door, and cabinets by the stove and sink got sprayed pretty well. imagine my shock, after i got done wiping up the floor, doors and fridge, when i saw coke all over the range, up in the range hood and on the side of the upper cabinets ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STOVE!!! it was pretty much a 360-degree mess... and it's still funny. i'm laughing right now, seriously.... can you hear me? needless to say, that's the end of playtime with soda cans. the mess on the upper cabinets and stove have yet to be cleaned- since i have to start deep-cleaning everything anyway, i am waiting till kelvin comes home so he can see for himself just what went on in this household today. as for cole, he's got a full tummy (last day of 1/4 formula and 3/4 milk- he's all milk now, YAY!!!), sticky hair and is very happily watching the rainbows on the wall (he's playing with a container of blank cd's and the sun is hitting them just right- am i a glutton for punishment or what??). what a day.

got coke: episode 2

this coke can thing is a really big deal, i think... he brought one into our bedroom!

he's taken to throwing this particular one around, so we'll have to keep it seperate from the rest. i'd hate for it to wind up in kelvin's lunchbox- i can just imagine the mess if he were to open it...

shake shake shake....

he's got the right idea! smarty-pants.

i don't know if he's more attached to me or the coke... he refused to put it down when he wanted to snuggle. i can honestly say, this is the first time i've ever snuggled a can of coke. maybe we should put him to bed with it, take it to meeting, etc.- it seems to be a security object for him. hey- who else would be so innovative as to attach themselves to a soda can? you see lots of kids with blankets, bottles, paci's, stuffed animals, and other various objects that they just can NOT live a moment without... who'd have thought my son would wind up with a can of coke?

got coke?

first time waving! cole decided to play on the totes (where he's not really supposed to play, but whatever) and kelvin was on the phone, not really paying attention... anyway, he looked over at cole, waved to him and got a big wave back! i SO have been waiting for him to finally wave- now, of course that he's done it, gotten a big reaction out of mommy and daddy and all, he won't really do it anymore. just like clapping- as soon as he learned to do it and showed off for us, he was done- no more clapping. what a funny little boy...

then, like the little monkey that he is, cole got into daddy's coke... actually, he got into the cupboard and attempted to empty it (flour and sugar bags were the most appealing); since we don't have any cabinet locks, i put the box of coke in front of the door...

which of course, made for a NEW plaything!



reaching DEEP...

and then he got frustrated because he couldn't get the cans out after awhile. it was bedtime, so that had a bit to do with his reaction! after bath, bed and a decent night's sleep, he was back at it again this morning!

back at the coke, bright and early!!

in other news, which is not much, we're getting closer to packing and move day... two weeks from now, we'll be on the road. the closer it gets, the more anxious i am to get home again! this sunday there's a potluck after meeting, kind of a goodbye thing i guess... it'll be a quick one since there's gospel meeting in tuscon at 3 pm. we usually don't make it, since morning meeting happens about the same time as cole's normal naptime, so he doesn't get a nap in, and after lunch, he usually starts to get pretty touchy... and if we went to tucson, we wouldn't get much in (since mr sunshine is NOT tolerant of anything when he's overtired), plus we'd still be on the way home when he's ready for supper. no nap+ sitting for two meetings+ hunger= one big disaster... lol!