k-c,we have a problem!!

dear huggies:

we love you. this house is a huggies house because you rarely leak and hold the equivalent of niagara falls. your wipes aren't bad either- yes, we are huggies fans. sadly, today you let us down. no, you didn't leak; you wouldn't do that! today, you were only half a friend. you see, with mr cole completely out of his trusty huggies, we made the trip to get another big box, but when we got home, we were shocked to find only one bag of diapers instead of the usual two. it's a very sad day indeed... if the receipt weren't tucked in my husband's coat pocket and on it's way to oklahoma, i might have half a chance at going back to walmart and getting a different box (still huggies, of course). but that's not the case, and with no other diapers in the house we have no choice but to open that one single bag. as much as we love you, dear huggies, we're not happy about having paid $21 for only 38 diapers. not when we have to buy diapers for two kids.

listen, we know you're not in on the weekends, so on monday i will give you a jingle so we can discuss the issue and maybe, hopefully, can get the other half of you back because we need you desperately! we've been loyal to you for so long- please don't let us down now! we still love you, of course... we're just a wee bit unhappy about this little problem. so it's a date- i'll call you monday. talk to you soon!

love without leaks,

lindsay

ps- don't worry, we're not mad, just a little disappointed. we couldn't be mad at you, dear huggies! not unless you somehow turned into luvs... then we might be a little upset.

(pps- everyone else seems to write letters to inanimate objects, so i figured i'd hop on the bandwagon and try it. besides, kelvin left for his 5-week job in tulsa tonight, so i need something to keep me occupied before i start bawling again. ooops. too late.)

the kind of mom i want to be...

One day a mother

Come to a prison

To see an erring

But precious son

She told the warden

How much she loved him

It did not matter

What he had done

~

Chorus:She did not bring to him

Parole or pardon

She brought no silver

No pomp nor style

It was a halo

Sent down from heaven

The sweetest gift

A mother's smile

~

Her boy had wandered

Far from the far side

Though she had pleaded

With him each night

But not a word did

She ever utter

That told her heartaches

Her smile was bright

(Repeat Chorus)

She left a smile

You can remember

She's gone to heaven

From heartache's free

Them bars around you

Will never change her

He was her baby

And er'e will be

(Repeat Chorus)

It was a halo bright

Sent down from heaven's light

The sweetest gift

A mother's smile

that's the kind of mommy i want to be, now and 50 years from now. as kids, we know that our parents love us no matter what, but it's not until we have our own that we fully understand the unconditional love of a parent for child. sure, it's easy to love our little ones when everything is going smoothly, but it's when things get rough that we see just how much we love them- it's overwhelming. as we enter the terrible two's our patience is about to be tested to the limit, and once we hit the teen years, we'll be tested again. looking back at my teen years, i don't think i could have given me the kind of love that my parents did, and now i understand how they could. i'd do anything for my babies and i hope that i can be the kind of mommy that will leave a good impression on their lives. sometimes i really doubt my abilities as a parent (don't we all?) and i wonder just how the mom in the song did it, what she went through... and then i realize that even as she looks at her grown son from the other side of those bars that she still sees that tiny innocent baby she held so many years ago and she still feels that overwhelming love for him.
so, here's to my babies: cole, you're funny, sweet, sometimes too smart for your own good and even downright squirrelly, but you're my baby boy and i couldn't love you more! madison: my daughter, my baby- i'm still getting to know you and i love you oh so much.

get lost, murphy

so far, today has been the personification of murphy's law. it started with supper last night- i spaced and made broccoli. yep- i've been regretting it ever since; it's come back to haunt me in the form of a tiny screaming person. although for the moment, she is quiet in her baby papasan surrounded by an assortment of every type of paci we have. none of them are in her mouth....so- the broccoli kicked off string of mishaps and unpleasantries. it was followed by the snowplows out at an unearthly hour. since then, it's been a blur. cole's fresh towel got dropped into the bathtub; the shower surround needs recaulking YET again; my feet got soaked when we ran to run an errand because the shovel is locked in the garage... after all this and other various things gone awry, i figured i'd treat myself to an iced coffee, since that always makes me feel better. through the drive-thru we went, cole whining and madison screaming, but i could handle it because my iced coffee was in hand (rather, in cup holder, but you get the picture). i even had a plan to get the kids in with minimal tracking of snow. could the day possibly be getting better? it was, for a few blocks. i brought madison, the coffee and my purse in first- i set my purse and coffee on the landing by the steps, and wouldn't you know, my purse toppled over and spilled my coffee. half of it (including most of the ice which in my personal book is the best part and thus, a huge loss) ran out before i could get to it... and with cole still in the van, i couldn't clean it up just then. after pausing to pull out my hair, i got cole in the house at which point he promptly picked up my keys and hit the panic button. as we all know, it's virtually impossible to shut the alarm off on the first try. cole's having a fit because i took the keys away, madison's crying (still), and my precious coffee is half-gone and i haven't even had a sip yet. by the time i grabbed a towel to clean up the spill, most of it had disappeared through the cracks in the landing, meaning that it's now in a puddle in the basement where we can't get at it to clean it up. if my house smells like sour milk, y'all will know why. unless, of course, there's a very quiet tribe of coffee-loving mice living in our basement. i'm guessing that's not the case, since i haven't heard any critters lately (score one for me, zip for murphy on that one!). and guess what- this is ALL BEFORE NOON!! sigh. i'm crossing my fingers that lunch will go smoothly, madison will settle down, cole will take a nice l-o-n-g nap and i can take a relaxing bath. since half my coffee disappeared, i guess i can justify a nice hot bath and if i'm really lucky, both kids will be asleep the entire time. the afternoon just HAS to be better. come on, say it with me: "get lost, murphy!!" (and take your stinky law with you... )

on the mend!

after having a fever for most of the day yesterday, cole seemed pretty perky at supper. we didn't push the food, since he still wasn't feeling the best, but he ate most of his green beans and mashed potatoes! when he got tired of eating, he decided to turn the tables on daddy...after refusing several bites, cole made the sign for "eat", so kelvin put some mashed potatoes on his fork, thinking that cole would eat it. well, he was half right- someone would be eating that bite; turns out it would be him! cole took his fork like he was going to feed himself and then as smooth as could be, turned it right around and tried to put it in his daddy's mouth. daddy so kindly obliged, and we had a pretty good laugh over it... which only encouraged cole to continue feeding daddy his potatoes!
"see daddy? they're good for you!"

i took madison to meeting last night- kelvin stayed home with cole. she did really well; she was awake the whole meeting, had to get up to stand/bounce a little at the very end, and then promptly fell asleep once i sat back down. silly baby! i'm a little unsure of how i'm going to manage a toddler and and infant myself on wednesday nights for awhile, but i guess we'll take the advice given us by one mommy who's been there and done that: take it one day at a time. (thanks- you know who you are!!). we'll certainly give it our best effort to get out- if we get out, we get out. if not, we'll try again next week. i'm trying not to stress about it...

ANYhoo... i'm running on very little sleep today. i wasn't able to fall asleep right away after madison went down, and then she fussed a little with some gas around midnight (an hour after i last looked at the clock). she tooted (after about an hour of trying to work out the bubble) and all was well, until about 3, when cole started making a little noise. i thought he'd just jabber to himself for a minute or two and then be out again, like normal. i was wrong- he kept on making noise so i went in to check on him... he was scorching!! so i took him downstairs, grabbed our new thermometer and stuck it in his ear (he was feeling too lousy to protest this time) and it came back with a little sad face (there's a happy face that shows up in the display if the reading is below 100.4; it turns into a sad face if it's higher). no wonder- the read-out was at 103.5! i peeled off his pj's and took him into the bathroom to try to give him a cool spongebath. he started screaming when i stuck the cool washcloth on this forehead- same result with his cheeks and the back of his neck. so much for that- but he got tylenol and a sippycup of cold (diluted) juice, and after about an hour, he started feeling a little cooler. i figured i'd let him sleep in bed with me until i realized that he wasn't going to sleep, he was going to use mommy and the big bed for his personal playground. once kelvin got up at 5, cole went back to his crib... he protested for a few minutes, then slept until about 9.30. now his temp is pretty much back to normal, he's had milk and cheerios and is now watching out the window saying "cah, cah" everytime anything with wheels goes past. to him, everything's a car- even trucks, tractors, busses, you name it... if it's got tires and is on the road, it's a car. he seems perkier, but to be on the safe side, we're keeping the activity level really low, and he's still in pj's. i'm hoping that's the end of it, and that madison won't get it. so far so good...

on a dreary day...

...cole was sick. poor baby- last night as i was getting him ready for bed i noticed he felt a little warm, so i (tried) to take his temp. there's NO way this kid will sit still for a rectal reading, and he's too little for an oral reading so i tried an axillary reading. seems he doesn't particularily care for having a thermometer tucked up into his armpit either... he screamed bloody murder! anyway, we made it to the 'beep' and it came back that he had a temp of about 99.5, so i gave him some motrin and off to bed he went. he wasn't feeling too perky, i guess, because usually he's awake enough when i lay him down to roll over, sit up, babble to himself for awhile, etc.; instead, he just laid there, didn't even roll over. he looked at me, let out a very tiny "nigh-nigh" and that was that. i thought maybe he had a slight fever due to teething (those nasty molars!!), but when i got him up this morning, he was burning up. it's pretty standard for him to get excited when i come in to get him, and to try to run around in his crib so i'll "chase" him. great fun, apparently. that wasn't the case this time- he just laid there with bright red cheeks and glazed eyes...

(my baby with a fever... and completely dazed)

...and the screaming ensued when i tried taking his temp again. this time, it was 102; more motrin on the spot. i know this is mean, since we all know how it feels to try to navigate yourself around when you have a high fever, but i couldn't help giggling when he stumbled around then eventually gave up trying to get to where he was going and just laid down on the floor. i called mom- i know the basics, but was curious as to if there were any secrets or little tricks she learned from having four kids about how to reduce a fever. not really, she said. he had a pretty low-key breakfast of dry cheerios and diluted juice, which he seemed to enjoy. mid-morning, i wanted to see how his fever was doing, since he felt a little cooler, but there was NO way i was going to fight tooth-and-nail with this little man (who is quite a bit stronger than he looks, btw) every time we had to take his temp, so i bundled up the kids and headed to pamida to see if they had any tympanic (ear) thermometers. they did... normally i wouldn't spend over $25 on a gadget that can be concealed in my palm unless it did everything, including grow money on trees, but this was a special situation. one to three seconds for a reading, in the ear, no disposable sheaths required, lighted screen for nighttime readings... should be a piece of cake. kind of. oh, the thing works wonderfully, but even after playing with the buttons and getting demos on madison and mommy, cole still had a fit when i took his temp. a much shorter fit, but there was still plenty of struggling and screaming. and whadaya know- it really DOES take three seconds or less! this was about 2 hours after his motrin and his fever was still at 100. he had a light lunch (read: snack) and is now sacked out in his crib. so far, it's only the fever, nothing else except a very slight runny nose, which may or may not be the side effects of the crying from his run-ins with the thermometer. oh, this is sad- i hate how his tiny little body is so hot. mom, i now understand how you might have felt when we were sick as kids! i'd do anything to make it better in the blink of an eye... if it were possible. i'm hoping he takes an extra long nap to fight whatever bug he's got. i don't think he's sleeping very deeply, since while i was rocking him he said "please" in his sleep and every now and again i hear him mumbling who-knows-what in his sleep.


hopefully madison doesn't get whatever he has... she's finally over the yucky stuffy nose she had for awhile. whew.

this may be why she wakes up at night- the paci's always falling out. actually, she'll half suck on it this way until it eventually tumbles out of her mouth. silly girl- she looks like the godfather enjoying a stogie. at least, that's what comes to mind!
anyway, hope everyone is enjoying the gray, rainy day (unless you're somewhere other than wisconsin, in which case your weather might possibly be a bit more cheery). at least it's rain and not more snow!

*sigh*

super-cute little girl cuddling tight to her burp rag and look- she fits into her big brother's britches!!

alright- those of you with little boys (or big boys who were small once upon a time) know the kinds of things that happen when they're on the loose... this happens to be one of those particular incidents that make you cringe. cole was running around the side of the table as i was putting his plate by his chair for lunch and it seems he's discovered that once again, wood floors + socks + 'high gear' = trouble. he slipped and fell face-first into the corner of the folded-up pack-n-play. OUCH. the first photo was about 2 minutes after he stopped crying- there's a white welt across his eyebrow.

fast-forward to 20 minutes post-incident... it's now a bit red. at this point, i'm both amazed and mystified- amazed that his eyebrow didn't split wide open and bleed everywhere and mystified as to how there could be no black eye!! oh, and you can't see it, but his eye is slightly bloodshot (i'm guessing because he also poked his eye, eyelid shut of course).

and this is after his nap- you can't see it really well, but all he's got is this red stripe across his eyebrow and a small red mark under his eye... they're a bit puffy and tender, but he seems fine. poor kid really got clobbered! i'm kicking myself because taking the pack-n-play upstairs to his closet has been on my list of things to do for the past few days and i haven't gotten to it. if i'd moved it he'd have just hit the floor and there would be no owie!! bad mommy. and yeah- still no shiner. guess he got lucky there. i'm going to have kelvin weld him a small wearable roll-cage- this kid is a walking bump-magnet, i swear! earlier this morning, i was opening the fridge door and he just ran full-tilt into the thing, fell smack on his butt and then toppled over and hit the back of his head on the cupboard door behind him. that one got no tears, so it wasn't too serious. still... !! oh, and on top of that, one of his bottom molars has popped through and i can see another one ready to erupt on the other side. for how much that must hurt, i have to say that i'm proud of how well he behaves through it all!

yup- that's our boy.

goofy boys and single parents

yup- i'm going to be a "single parent" for about a month. i just heard you gasp, and it's not what you think! kelvin's going to be on a job in tulsa, and he's leaving really early next week monday. so- anyone who's been alone with the kids for an extended period of time: if you have any coping tips, i'd greatly appreciate it! yeah, i'm a little nervous about it, but it's better than kelvin being laid off. besides, it'll be a chance for me to learn a few lessons in patience. guess that could be a good thing!cole found a new playmate...

...who, unfortunately, is only interested in copying everything he does!
(it's SO cute, the way cole gets all excited to see "the other boy" doing exactly what he does)

i think we need to think about getting him something a little bigger to ride on...

then again, he looks more than happy to be sitting with a combine half up his heiny. hey- whatever! as long as he's content... with toddlers, you can't be choosy. i've discovered that; sometimes, if they're happy and not in any danger, it's wise to just let them be. man, it's like walking on eggshells sometimes, ain't it?!

completely obsessed!

ok, so i have gotten over being in denial about taking WAY too many pictures. but what can i say? i don't want to forget anything when it comes to the kids and family!! here are just a very few from this weekend at mom and dad's with elissa, logan, coy and the rest of the family in the area..

(oops- these are from this morning.) cole reading the kohl's flyer- i asked him if he was taking mommy shopping and he just looked at me like i had two heads. madison's latest feat is taking her paci out of her mouth; if she could put it back in by herself, i'd be over the moon!



madison's first adventure with the oceanwonder's playmat... she actually tried talking to the bubbles on the arch, which made cole really excited, as you can see. seriously- he got this HUGE grin, pointed to the floor and said "na-na-na!" (cole-speak for madison).

sarah and sweet little coy...

uncle logan with TWO babies!!

cole trying to throw the ball for erin to chase! i think he figured that since gus would chase his toys when they're thrown that ANYONE will chase a toy... funny how their little minds work, eh? anyway, cole isn't used to interaction with kids his size, but he was SO sweet, trying to give erin a hug and kiss. his attempts were thwarted, however, since erin wasn't about to let him. it was pretty cute!

madison with her great-uncle dale... and just soaking up the attention!

cole learned to give gus a treat- he did amazing! i guess it impresses me more than normal because even in my adulthood, i can't stand my fingers getting that close to a dog's teeth, no matter how well i know them and how well-trained they are. so- i'm proud of cole for being able to hold still, wait and not get scared!

he's got some big shoes to fill! this child of ours is fascinated with shoes, especially his daddy's nice sunday shoes. he managed to take a few steps in them and got quite a work-out in the process because oh baby- those things are heavy!!

after a wonderful weekend with cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles, we're pretty tired today. low-key, for once! yesterday we went back over to mom and dad's for one last day with logan, elissa and coy before they headed home. we ended up going down to appleton with them all (ted and sarah too) for a bite at culver's before their plane left. it was great to see everyone and we miss them already! in other happenings and randoms, cole now tries to tie his shoes (he's trying to do so on the last "shoe" photo above)... last night when we got home, he noticed his tennis shoe was untied so he sat down and fiddled with the laces like he was trying to tie them. smartie! also, i've come to notice an oddly honky-tonk feel to the piano that just doesn't work with the hymns... honky-tonk hymns?? when i get the chance to sleep deeply enough to dream (a certain tiny person has been pretty restless the last two nights) i'll be dreaming of a new piano. oh, it would be nice, but dreams will do for now. in the meantime, i will try to avoid breaking into joplin-style versions of "tell me the story of jesus" otherwise cole will think it's perfectly normal to jive to the tunes in our hymnbook. try explaining that one some sunday... heehee.

life with the kiddos...

**warning: photo overload!!**cole likes to play the piano... if i had more space to post all the photos i took, you'd be able to see that he'll turn the pages of whatever music is in front of him. it's just so cute!

and he has this endearing little habit of sticking the tip of his tongue out when he's concentrating. sometimes he moves it from side to side, sometimes he doesn't. guess it depends on how hard he's thinking?

the babies with grandpa dan... last night he stopped over after work and we ended up going to culver's with him. grandma was home not feeling the best- hope you feel better soon!!

madison, happy to stretch out on the floor. last night was the first time she played on the floor (at our house). between a very curious and concerned toddler and chilly floors, she's never been down there till now. she did fine, and cole did too... as you can see, she seems happy to be there!

all i can say is "awwwww!!"

as big brother, cole has claimed "paci duty"... he's very good about putting it in madison's mouth, whether or not she's crying. he also takes it out when she's noshing away at it. not to be mean, just to be able to put it back in again. goofy little boy!!

monkey-pile!!

(notice how the littlest monkey is at the BOTTOM of the pile? she's gonna be one tough monkey...)

cole likes to "help" with diaper changes too. last night he was kissing her toes!! it was SO cute, but by the time i got the camera, he's stopped. we got him to try it again, but the photo ended up looking a lot like madison is kicking him in the face. fyi, i didn't leave her on the table and within reaching distance of cole unattended- kelvin was there too. i'm sure most of you have more faith in me than that, but you never know!!

anyway, we're off to mom and dad's today for family time while elissa, logan and coy are still here... but first it's baths for both kids, breakfast and a shower for me, so i've gotta get crackin'. can't wait to see our sweet little nephew again!

le musings contest

this is my opportunity to get another entry into a fantastic give-away contest over at "le musings of moi". this has got to be one of the best blogs ever... i love it! anyway. yes, i have ulterior motives in posting about the contest because like i said, it gets me another entry, but hey- i wouldn't do it if i didn't like the blog! y'all should check it out, if you haven't already! *grin*

18 months!

cole turned 18 months yesterday (madison turned one month on sunday... ooops) so he had his well-child visit today. he did REALLY well...this morning, he was positively thrilled to be wearing his boots!

miss squish after her daily clothing change... she almost always goes through two outfits a day. it's either poop or spit-up. i think the real reason is that she's a typical girl- can't stay in one outfit for the whole day! actually, this little girl is far messier than her brother ever was- spits up more, constantly pooping out of her diaper, and believe it or not, she's beyond surpassed cole with the number of surprise showers (well, in her case it's like a mini bubbler...). i kid you not- in the past three days, she's decided to pee during her diaper change at least 10 times... it never fails! i take my sweet time because i know the possibility of her leaving a puddle is pretty certain, and just when i think she's not going to, she lets loose (always mid-switch), and we wind up with a puddle after all. i started out thinking my timing was off, but now, not so much. i have no idea what to think about this one!!

good thing she's so cute, it makes up for the mess. yes, she's wearing a "boy" bib. we haven't gotten her any girly drool bibs, but cole's old ones work fine. besides, blue is fine for girls too! although it seems to really confuse people... several people at the clinic today asked how far apart in age my little boys were, completely overlooking the BIG fluffy P-I-N-K blanket covering madison. oh well... people used to tell me my little girl had such big eyes when i was out and about with cole. sensing a pattern here...

here are cole's stickers... which led to him learning a new word. "ka-ka" is what he says for sticker! he got four of them since he was good (and got shots, poor kid!). he's doing fine- no concerns developmentally, physically or nutritionally. he's 33 inches (72nd percentile) and 26 pounds (53rd percentile), so he's right on track. and here, they consider signs part of his vocabulary (some don't, it just depends on the doctor i guess). AND, cole walked all the way across the parking lot going in and coming out while holding my hand! this is somewhat of a milestone for us, since he's always been so independent- he used to get so mad when we tried to take his hand and walk or do hand-over-hand to help him color or use his spoon. he's growing up so fast- he's still a baby, but sometimes he seems so wise. despite the normal toddler "acting up", i think he's a pretty well-behaved kid. i guess i'm not really sure at what age they start understanding different things, but dr h said that at 18 months, kids still haven't learned right from wrong. i think that's just one of those individual things, though... cole is starting to understand a few rights from wrongs. it's that toddler impulse that gets in the way sometimes... heehee. it's all such an amazing process, they way they learn and understand; even though he's really hitting the "terrible twos", i can't complain. he really does try to be good and for that, i'm very proud of him. my little big boy...

cousins!!

alright, so this isn't coy, but i'm a bit anal retentive about posting my photos in chronological order. so i happen to be a high-strung nut case- who isn't, these days! (*lol*) anyway, madison was SO cute in her bouncy seat on monday... i couldn't resist.

and cole, well, he was busy watching out the window. he can now say "car"... which makes me VERY happy, since his 18-month check up is tomorrow, and apparently by 18 months, kids should be able to say a minimum of 5 words. our son happens to be a man of few words, so i was a bit concerned about what the doctor would think (silly me, since dr h is pretty easy going...). he now says mama, da, ball, book, please, cheese, and car... and he signs milk, more and eat/food. oh, and he says night-night and madison, which are pretty much the same except for an extra syllable in madison. and to think i was concerned...

here's cole greeting his adorable cousin coy! he was so gentle (for the most part) and expressed a certain measure of concern when he'd cry, as he does with madison. the kids and i went to mom and dad's yesterday and ended up staying overnight... it's not every day that elissa and coy come to visit, so we want to get as much time in as we can! logan flies in late tomorrow, so we are excited to see him too!

hahahaha! chase happened to be visiting as well, so he got baby duty for a little while! i think it's sweet... and madison sure likes him. so does cole.

the littlest cousins chilling on the floor... i can hardly believe that these two are only 3 months apart! coy has grown SO much since thanksgiving!

oh, he's got the cutest smile and the most squeezable cheekers... nah, i'm not over the moon about my nephew at all, i swear ! *wink*

cole had his first solo experience with a glass of water, which resulted in his mommy and aunties dissolving into a fit of laughter and his shirt needing a spin in the dryer, so he was shirtless for awhile... the fact that he chose to play with auntie sarah's shoes while waiting for his shirt to dry was kinda funny to me. oh, and auntie elissa successfully got him to drink from a cup! now as soon as we can be sure he won't whip it at the table, floor or whomever he happens to be frustrated with at the moment, maybe we can get him some "big boy" cups!

anyhoo- now we're back home and i still have to unpack. my least favorite part... ugh. cole napped until 5, but he got to sleep late and was pretty exhausted. elissa and i went to culver's for lunch and then took all three of the kids to see mom at work. in the words of marlene (the head cook and a complete sweetheart), "today's got to be the best day in lunchlady-land!" awww! glad we could help with that. in other news, we FINALLY have kelvin's w-2's, are still waiting on madi's ss card, discovered that switching to natural gas costs us almost half as much as fuel (YAY!) and liberty mutual insurance is not on our side. yea- long story involving our van not being covered (even though they swore they switched coverage from the car to the van), "losing" our deer claim and trying to lower the estimate for repairs. we are definitely switching agencies once this is done- we hear state farm is a good neighbor... kudos to everyone who got the ad references. but hey- we can handle it, because our family is all in the same state and we have our adorable nephew here and elissa, you're right. i'm getting vitamin d asap because i REALLY need to stabilize (it's like mood swings in fast-forward... updownupdownup... right now were up, in case you were wondering). thanks for that little bit of info! :) and one last thing- we can't wait till saturday since we're all going to be together at mom and dad's!

his favorite things...

as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. well, this stuff isn't really trash, just ordinary stuff that cole finds fascinating. like, my water bottle...

i thought i'd gone nuts, since i was SURE i hadn't finished it; i found it on cole's cart in the kitchen.

and my oven mitt wound up there, too.

honestly, he's like a tiny pirate, just nabbing things he sees that he likes and stashing them on his trusty cart. really, it gets me giggling like crazy when i stumble over that dumb cart and see something besides his normal toys on it. kinda makes me wonder what he's thinking!

yesterday we went to mom and dad's for the day, as kelvin and dad had plans to go to weyauwega to some snowmobile thing. they had fun, and we had fun hanging with mom and sarah. cole had a good nap and grandma pheifer stopped over for a little while to help make cut-out cookies for valentine's day. needless to say, by the time we left, cole was beyond tired and slept really well! madison, not so much- friday night was NOT good (i think i got 2 solid hours, the rest i dozed lightly on and off) because she was really congested, poor baby. last night was a little better, and this evening she's breathing easier. thank goodness for bulb syringes- babies hate them, but man, can they clear out those tiny sinuses!! i'm hoping she'll be able to sleep even better tonight...

and tomorrow, elissa and coy will be here! i can't wait to see them- yay!! :)

ps- thanks to all the mommies who lent their advice on cole's screaming issue- since it's been pretty much an entire year that we've been dealing with it, i can honestly say we tried everything humane that we could think of... back to a light flick on the mouth and a stern "naughty, we don't scream". it seems to be making a small difference, so since that's what we're both comfortable with and it's actually doing something this time around, well, i'm hoping we've found our solution. thanks again, mommies!! ah, there's no commoraderie like that among mothers...