catch-up from the weekend

once again, we were on the road over the weekend! we went to my mom and dad's house for saturday afternoon through sunday. sarah had to work saturday evening, so we figured it would be easier for us to go there... the whole point of it was so that i'd have some help for meeting on sunday. plus, mom and dad's meeting is so small that we thought we'd add a few... :)

yes, squish, that's how travelling makes me feel too!!

cole found his grandpa's calculator and thought it would make a great cell phone. wonder if he can "hear you now"?? (ps- grandpa, he put it back right where he found it when he was done...!)

i packed this sweet little denim skirt from auntie elissa and a white velour top with snowflakes on it for madison's sunday outfit. didn't think to check and see if the skirt would actually fit... for being almost 3 months and the skirt being a 3-6 month size, i think our little girl has a LOT of filling out to do! we had a plan b, which was a cute little sleeper. unfortunately, plan b was also on the big side, so we stuck with the cute outfit.

awwww!

cole ate his sandwich "big boy style" yesterday... he didn't choke!! i wasn't too sure about how he'd do since he likes his mouth to be good and full. he did well and it got so that every time he took only one bite (or two, if they were small), he'd give himself a round of applause because i kept telling him he was doing a good job. that phrase seems to be his cue to clap!

squish in the sling

yesterday was a pretty good day- one of the better ones we've had in a while. that is, until the storm door got ahold of my favorite sweatshirt. grrrrr!! big rip, the size of a quarter (at least) in the middle of the sleeve. WONderful.

my mom came over last night to keep an eye on the kids for awhile so i could work on my dining room project without having to worry about interruptions. thanks again, mom!! she kept cole well-entertained... as you can see! after not seeing the kids for over a week, grandma was having withdrawals.

anyway, i finished texturing the dining room today... working around the chimney was the most difficult because it's close quarters where it happens to be situated. wish i could just take the thing out, but it's a brick chimney, original to the house. sometimes i wonder how it would look if the brick was bare instead of being plastered and painted over... i asked kelvin once and he said it would look pretty bad because it's not the "nice" brick. ok. whatever- now it's textured along with the rest of the walls! i also got about 1/3 of the priming done while the kids were napping (kind of- cole was sleeping and madison slept, ate and then watched from the swing). it's coming along rather nicely... my only real challenge is keeping cole out of the way. it could be worse- he's really good at entertaining himself for impressive periods of time. the only thing is, sometimes that entertainment consists of a strong urge to "help" mommy, and when we're talking joint compound and primer, it's not good entertainment. at least not for mommy! bless his little heart, though- always wanting to help!

other than the project, not much else to report here. i haven't talked to kelvin yet today, but yesterday he said it sounded like they might not come home this week. bummer... i was REALLY looking forward to the end of the week! it's one of those instances where they probably won't know when they're done until the day they get sent home; the day before, if they're lucky. that's what happens when you do work for a big corporation (read: kimberly-clark). we've managed quite well this far, so if he doesn't come home this week, we'll just roll with it. we're flexible!! and yes, even though we've learned to cope with daddy being gone, we still miss him terribly and can't wait till he comes home! we love you!!

madison's 2-month photos

it took two attempts (about a week apart) but i got madison's 2-month photos done. what with a cranky baby the first try, kelvin being gone, us bouncing around from place to place and having people over and other various projects, it just didn't happen all at once. eh, that's ok- she was MUCH happier today!!this is from the first try- one of the few that are post-worthy... what a goofy little girl!

this is one of my favorites (from earlier today). i got several of her from this angle and i just LOVE what it does for her lashes... daddy's in trouble! all she's gotta do is bat them things at him and he'll melt. uh-oh. anyway, i have yet to decide on one for prints... there are others on the photo blog, in case anyone has any input! :)

countdown!

daddy comes home in less than a week- we are beyond excited! rather, mommy is super relieved and the kids are clueless. either way you look at it, it's a good thing.cole got this barn from matt, ashley and ally (who are counting the minutes to their new little peanut's arrival at this very minute) for his birthday last fall. his toys get rotated to avoid boredom (and clutter) so even after a few weeks of not playing with it, he will immediately match up the shapes and letters to their respective places. he has no problem with the animals, but usually doesn't get the letters through the holes. he knows which one goes where but doesn't get them lined up just right. what a smarty!

eh, random pic- i feel like i'm being biased if i don't post photos of both kids...

this is what cole did right after we got to my parents'. they're in north dakota until tomorrow, but sarah is home and since she's been our "designated meeting helper", we're here for the night and meeting tomorrow for a change. anyway, i was tending to madison and he was kinda quiet... i hadn't shut sarah's door because he wasn't showing any interest in her room, but maybe i should have, as this is what i found upon investigating the silence. he'd helped himself to auntie sarah's shoes and watch!! yup, that's my cole...

what did we do today?

well, what DIDN'T we do? auntie sarah spent the night and so this morning after breakfast, we all headed to appleton. i had all these projects that i wanted to do for when kelvin got home, but only some of them are getting done. i keep getting sidetracked by little tiny people who think they need my attention...cole and his frog from ikea- this thing has gotten so much use!
our new hand-towel bar...

...the new toilet seat....

... and the new shower curtain rod!

i put all these up all. by. myself. thank you very much!! the toilet seat was the worst. not the most involved, just the yuckiest. anyone who knows me well, knows i have issues with bathrooms. but- i did it!!!

miss squish at her best... hahahaha! she was SO mad that i wasn't paying attention to her while doing my little projects. sorry baby, but once that old toilet seat was off, the new one had to go on right away. so yeah- next project? texture and paint the dining room. it should go somewhat quickly because it's about the same size as the living room but with more windows and doorways. i plan to make it a BIG change, color-wise. don't worry- i WILL take before and after shots!!

what in interesting day... i'm ready to rip out my hair because the kids just won't stop whining and/or crying. argh! good thing i'm getting more company... auntie sarah to the rescue!! we had a visitor here today- wilda b came for awhile and we all had lunch at culver's. it was nice to have a little adult conversation...

cole has this irritating habit of unzipping his sweatshirt. not all the way, but just to the very bottom. yes, baby, i'm proud of you for learning how to use a zipper, now will you please leave your shirt zipped?! eh, makes for a cute picture tho...

miss squish, all freshly bathed... love the hair! so- the tongue hanging out... is that a sign that she loves the bath or hates it? she's not crying (at least not in the photo; you should hear her at this particular moment though. good set o' lungs, that girl!) so i assume she's enjoying the baths.

this is where she's at with her clothing- these little pants are a 3-6 month size... they're a tad long, but they practically fall off her! just in case we had any doubt about her being long and skinny...

cole's latest owie. there's a story here (obviously- most owies have stories). usually when i put cole to bed for the night, i rock him a little, just until he's drowsy or at least settled down and relaxed. well, last night madison was in her swing screaming mad because i wasn't holding her and cole was not about to give in to the sandman, so i rocked him just a little before being forced to go tend to the screamin' mimi on the first floor. of course, this didn't sit well with the man, so he joined in and made some noise of his own. this happens from time to time and usually lasts only a few minutes before he passes out in the corner of his crib. not last night... he continued to scream in what i thought was an attempt to gain my sympathy, so i didn't give him the satisfaction of a response. then the screams turned into panicky wails, so i decided to go see what the problem was. my personal fear was a puddle of puke somewhere but when i turned on the light i saw a very upset little boy laying right up against the side of the rail with his knee poking out of the slats. guess who got himself stuck! yup- and i almost busted the crib trying to get him un-stuck. the way he was jerking his leg around, i'm surprised there's not more bruising. poor kid- the way he clung to me once he was free, i'm guessing he's learned his lesson. and anyone who has a 19-month old will laugh right along with me on that because we all know the chances of it happening again aren't improbable!
anyway, he's fine today... seriously, though, i'm more than ready for kelvin to come home! i've had just about all i can take of the constant crying (it's always someone...)- just makes certain things worse. specifically, sensory things... and when those are heightened, it all spirals out of control. elissa, you know what i mean! honestly, though- it's just one of those days where if it's quiet for more than 30 seconds, it would be a small miracle.

*question: is it mean to stick both screaming kids in their respective beds, shut the doors and just let them scream from their room? cuz that's what we're doing right now...*

just curious...

...i'm kind of wondering if any fellow mommies out there still use cloth diapers. i'm debating making one or two to test and if they work i want to make more. i've found several one-size all-in-one designs that seem to have really good reviews, but they're NOT cheap, and it's the start-up cost of this possible venture that has me balking. anyhoo- i realized today that both kids are going to run out of diapers on approximately the same day which means dropping a small fortune (even with coupons) at one lucky walmart in order to keep my wee ones wee-free. i've also noticed the price of diapers s-l-o-w-l-y creeping up and the number of diapers in the packages inching it's way down... not cool. therefore, since i'm at home and doing laundry all day anyway, i'm starting to consider the cloth diaper thing. i know there are rectangular diapers and plastic pants (the old classic) but i also know that those are prone to leaks.

so- anyone have any input on this? have you tried them? did they work or not? maybe someone knows where to get the os-aio's on the cheap? any input would be super-dee-duper! thanks in advance... :)

untitled

sorry- i decided i should voluntarly title this post "untitled" since i completely forgot my witty idea for a title, and if i don't title my post, it'll just be called "untitled" anyway, except in fancy italics. one step ahead of you there, blogger! (heeheehee...)

kelvin's parents came by to check out cole and madison's new toy and to see the kids... cole was more than pleased to "cook" for grandpa b!

for having had shots the day before, madison was in a pretty good mood yesterday. she even giggled in the afternoon!! her first giggle- it was goofy. i was relaxing with her on our bed (cole was napping, therefore allowing for a little relaxing) and she was smiling away like nobody's business and i couldn't help but laugh because she was just so darn cute... and all of a sudden, she let out this belly chortle. she surprised herself- her eyes got really wide and her big smile started to turn into a pre-wail frown, but since i was laughing even more, she let out another. she hasn't done it since- the story continues in a minute.

i made a mini dishtowel for the new kitchen- i also plan to make a tiny hand towel and dish rag... grandpa b thought it would make a great cape. super chef!! there's a reason he's not soaring through the air to the rescue: his shoes are weighing him down.

anyway- madison giggled and hasn't done it since... the story continues now. seems that it takes a day or so before they get cranky from their vaccinations. cole was always really crabby a day or two after his... seems his little sis is the same way. last night was not fun. i think i got about an hour of sleep- madison just wasn't content no matter what. now i know full well i'm not getting any sympathy from other moms on this one, since she's been sleeping through the night for awhile- that's fine! but it DOES explain why i'm a bumbling idiot today... i should probably mention that i don't sleep the best when kelvin's gone, so add that into the equation. thank goodness for the new toy, because cole has been SO out of my hair all morning!!

now, if this is what it takes to make you sleep, dear little one, that's what we'll do. fyi: she's on the table with her paci stuck in her ear. and i thought i slept funny... no, tonight should be better. i would NEVER let my baby sleep on the table all night!

chef cole

as planned, we got the play kitchen today!! it was kind of a mad dash out the door- the ONE day cole decides to sleep late is that day we have to be in new london by 8.15 am. go figure. anyway, madison was fed, i was showered, the diaper bag was packed, so i woke cole up, dressed him and laughed as he waved and said "cah?" all bleary-eyed, because even with the sleepy stumbling and drowsy lids, he knew what was happening. poor kid- he so desperately wanted to be wide awake to enjoy going bye-bye. and he was, once he realized that breakfast was going to be on the run... i've never seen a kid SO excited to eat in the van!

first stop: dr h's office to get those stitches out. it went really well- everything's healed up nicely (although a firm bump could still split the incisions open... which shouldn't happen since i tend to make it a point to walk forwards, haha) and the kids were great. cole stayed on the chair in the exam room, which was super! yes, he's finally given in and started climbing off the furniture on his own, which has totally killed the time-out thing.

after the dr, we picked up cole's (and madison's) new favorite toy and mommy's new best friend! as soon as we got home and set it up, cole spent an entire hour playing with the new kitchen. an HOUR... that's a long time for a toddler! we had to get something yummy to make with it, so we also stopped at walmart and got some plastic food (not what i was looking for, but it works for now) so cole can "cook"!

flipping the phone?? (really- between our old cells, his john deere cell and now this play cordless, he's got about 4 phones. he has no excuse not to be in touch, eh?)

making something yummy... i think cole and elvis would get along great as it seems they both to fry weird things. elvis liked fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches and apparently cole likes fried ice-cream cones...

poor madison can't play with the kitchen until she gets older, so i got her some of those little wrist rattles. she's been holding out her fist and studying it pretty intently lately, so we might as well put something interesting on it! guess it wasn't interesting enough, since she immediately fell asleep...

and what did mommy get today? two very happy babies... i'd say i got the best deal! :)

2-month stats and fat lips...

the fat lip (and bloody nose) is how we started the day. shortly after breakfast and baths, cole was playing with a box, one of those that refill wipes come in. it's the perfect size for all sorts of things, even for standing in, which is what led to the owie. mr graceful kind of miscalculated things and ended up taking a spill... it was the kind of fall where your feet make a perfect arc upward, except that both his feet were in the box and he twisted sideways. don't ask me how he pulled this off when BOTH HIS FEET WERE IN THE BOX, but he did. he got a puffy lip (right smack in the center) and a slightly bloody nose, and after LOTS of tears and even more cuddles, he was fine.
you can't see it well in the photos, but the poor kid-it was definitely hurting!

madison's appointment went well- i used the sling for cole (he was contained and didn't even know it because he was enjoying it). worked well this time, but who knows about the next time.... eh, toddlers. anyway, madison was in a happy mood and was alert for the entire thing. her stats are:
24 1/2 inches (97th percentile)
12 pounds (75th percentile)
39 1/2 cm head circ. (60th percentile)
as far as weight-for-length she's in the 3rd percentile. long and skinny, but healthy as a horse! a very small horse. dr h said that we can start giving her a little cereal when she hits 3 months, but i'm going to hold off on that as long as she's satisfied with just nursing. seems that the "cereal age" still hasn't been settled on- back when our parents were babies, doctors started cereal at 6 weeks or so, then it went up to 6 months and everywhere in between. i figure that she'll let me know when she's ready for it... why rush? if she's gaining weight like she should and is healthy, i don't see any reason to jump the gun. (i'm not being insensitive to those who start cereal before 6 months... every baby, parent and situation is different and everyone does what's right for them!). so- two healthy kids; what more could i want?? oh, on a side note- i found a super deal on a play kitchen on craigslist, so we're going to go pick it up tomorrow after i have my stitches removed. i figure we'll eventually get one for madison, but cole can use it now, since he loves to "help" in the kitchen. maybe this will keep him a little less underfoot while still satisfying and encouraging his need to learn...

sunday

i'm sad to say that we didn't make it out sunday morning... we tried, we really did. it just doesn't always happen when mommy's by herself. but we made it out to gospel mtg (barely- we were cutting it a little close) and cole sat really well!! let me rephrase that- he didn't have to go out. anyway, afterwards we went to dale and mary's, along with mom and dad, ted, sarah, ste and their kids to have supper and cake for grandma pheifer's birthday. cole's on a real "puppy kick"... people keep telling me that we need a dog, since cole likes them so much. HAHAHAHA!!!! not in this lifetime...

grandpa cal and his little princess...

cole learning the finer points of buyin real estate from uncle tedly... it was cute, the way they were reading the paper together!

i had to get a photo of madison in her little jumper... since she gets dressed up only once a week, she outgrows all these cute little dresses before she gets much use out of them! this was also the first time she wore tights. her feet and ankles are almost too small for them yet but at least they're not hanging off her anymore.

i realized when i got home that i didn't get any photos with all the little ones together... sorry, kristian and erin!! there was one i wish i could have gotten- cole gave erin kiss right on the mouth... it was sweet! especially afterward when erin put her hand up to her mouth and made a face like "oh my..."; too cute!!

our fun saturday

uncle duey was having what he called niece and nephew withdrawals, so he and auntie kandace can up to visit for a few hours on saturday! it was such a nice day that we ended up taking a walk/stroller ride to the park.but first, a little snuggle-time with madison while cole finished his nap!

this one is SO precious...

cole not only got to play with uncle duey's cell phone (he even got a call- his face was hilarious!!), he got to "play" with the camera.

heading out with uncle duey "driving"!

cole's first time on the slide! oh boy, did he have fun! uncle duey helped at the top and auntie kandace caught him at the bottom.

and this is what madison did the ENTIRE time!!

i wish i could post all the pictures, since there's more (like, cole trying to drink a can of energy drink; don't worry, it wasn't open!), but there's only one of me and more than one thing that needs my attention. besides, i have to post pictures from sunday and later, i'll post madison's two-month stats. her appointment is at 12:55, so once we get home and cole in bed for his nap, i'll do more, i promise!!

anyway, thanks again, kandace and duey! we enjoyed spending another fun saturday with you... now it's US with the withdrawals, hahaha!

post to daddy!

dear daddy,

we miss you!! since you've been away, we've been learning new things. we've been out and about quite a bit too (that's partly why mommy is so tired). we've been trying to be good and mommy says we are most of the time.

we can't wait for you to come home in two weeks! we love you and can't wait for you to see how we've grown and what we've learned.

lots of love,

cole and madison

~in the photo, cole is signing "love you"! he learned that this morning... it's so funny to watch toddlers sign, because they don't always get the signs right on and often don't get the concept of placement (where your hands go), but for them, it's a wonderful communication tool. after breakfast, cole took an empty mint tin off the table, knowing that usually he's not supposed to take stuff off the table since usually it's mail or something he shouldn't play with. but, he knew it was ok to play with the mint tin- just in case, though, he walked over to me, held it up and signed "please". what a sweetie!! now, why can't he be that pleasant all the time (i.e. during meeting)? eh, it's probably teething... i'm pretty sure those eye teeth will be making an appearance before too long. combine that with the terrible two's stage and it's a recipe for chaos, courtesy of one very small individual. amazing. anyway, we like the signing since it tends to cut back on a bit of the frustration!!

yesterday was my first appointment at n.e.w. rehab... the occupational therapist that works with adults with sensory processing issues is really nice! she actually has processing issues too so she has a personal understanding of the whole thing. this time was just more of an interview and evaluation and next time we'll start working on auditory therapy. she asked me which one i'd like to tackle first (auditory, touch and vestibular stimuli are the three that bother me most) and i said auditory. she told me that was probably the best place to start since it's the one that affects me the most, and once that area has been worked on and improved, it'll be easier to deal with the other two. good- just in time, since the birds have been chirping that last few mornings. i felt comfortable sharing with her how i'd reacted to the birds when i was pregnant with cole... laugh if you want, i would too! anyway, the spring i was expecting cole, the birds bothered me WAY more than normal (hormones). no joke, i would get up, get the broom from the kitchen (or an old curtain rod since it could extend) and go out and whack the tree branches to try to get the birds to fly away and pester someone else. i know how silly it must have looked and that it really didn't do any good, but it was either that or melt into tears because i just couldn't take it anymore. for those who don't have sensory processing issues, it might seem crazy; for those who do, you'll understand!! a little out of my comfort zone sharing that, by the way. go ahead and get a little chuckle out of it, i don't mind. back on track... i'm anxious for the next session and to get started on sound therapy. this is such a relief for me, knowing that i'm not crazy or being too picky after all these years!

*whew*

just thought i'd mention that the clinic just called- the pathology report on the mole dr h was concerned about came back negative... good! i figured it would but it's nice to know for certain!

what we've done the last few days:

quite a bit, actually!! for example...

we've 'burped' the 'baby'...

...walked in grandpa's boots...

...helped grandma make salad...

...and been oh, so cuddly!

spending a few days away from home is harder, yet easier... anyone else get what i mean? it's nice to be around other people and have a little assistance with the kids but at the same time, it's harder because it's not YOUR house and the routine is usually a little off. anyway, we had fun and it was nice to spend a little time with my mom and dad, especially for meeting wednesday night. their meeting was very brief, and do you think both cole and madison could manage to sit quietly the whole short time? not a chance. this little boy has become a bit scary at times... toddlerhood has hit us full-blast!

cole now signs "please" (he also says it verbally, kind of)

"thank you"

and "all done". this one he does kind of backwards, but we know what he means!! he also about bowled sarah and i over yesterday when we were at dsw in appleton and he said "see car" as he was looking out the window! he hasn't said it again since, but it was most definitely two words put together to express his thought! the kids and i picked up sarah after school and met mom down in appleton for a quick shopping trip. i snuck into world market and got some sugar-free torani syrup to brighten up my plain water a little bit, and found a small plastic cup with a dog on it for cole. it's not very big, so maybe it'll be easier for him to get the hang of using a "big boy" cup. i also made a mental note to keep an eye on their clearance racks, because i found (replicas of) vintage planes, bikes, motorcycles, fire engines and a pickup truck there! i'd like to do his room in vintage transportation (when he gets his own room) because it's something he won't outgrow in a year or two, and want to decorate it with replicas of old toys. i'm not that willing to shell out $20 or more a piece for them, but once they get moved to the clearance racks, i'll be there to take advantage of the deal! we also hit the mall and target, where after supper cole was willing to sit in the stroller... we found a few things at target (like, bubble bath, toothpaste and toothbrushes for cole) before heading home. both kids cried the whole way, but managed to quiet down by the last stoplight before our turn... typical. today we have a bit of a cranky boy, but madison's ok. they've both had baths and now it's lunch, then naps. yay! after that we're heading to new london for my first session at n.e.w. rehab... mom will meet us there so she can watch cole. thanks again, mom!! oh, and i have ALL my bandaids off today... i'm moving very carefully so no stitches get ripped. gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about that.