lions, tigers and daddy, oh my!

yes, daddy's home!!!!daddy and madison on wednesday evening.

madison's been a bit colicky in the evenings- you should hear her roar (hence the "lions and tigers" part of the post title). how one tiny person can make such a racket, i have no idea. many times, holding her does nothing... although last night cole played with kelvin while i took her upstairs and rocked her; i stripped her down to her diaper and wrapped her in her fuzzy blanket and after awhile she was happy. ok, so we've found the solution: quiet time in the rocking chair with the blanket. BUT... when daddy's not home, it's not going to work because if we bring big brother with us, there will be no quiet. if we leave big brother downstairs, not only will there be a small child screaming at the bottom of the steps (not quiet either), it's not safe to leave him by himself. hmmmm. we have a dilemma. good thing daddy's home all next week! (that's right, no work... and travel work doesn't start for another 2 or 3 weeks, so he just might be home for awhile).

this is what daddy got for cole yesterday. yes, he got spoiled!! but hey- we don't do it every day, so we can justify it. the weight limit on the thing is up to 65 pounds, so he'll get years of use out of it! we went to appleton yesterday and picked it up then. i also got a new phone... almost 2 years coming!! i dropped it around the time cole was born and the faceplate cracked, so for this long, i've been waiting for it to fall to pieces. fortunately, it didn't happen... and since my contract was up for renewal we got a good deal. i got a pink lg rhythm... i'm lovin' it!

anyhoo, back to the tractor- cole's feet don't reach the pedals yet, but he thought it was more fun to stand next to the seat and push it all over the place. he even managed to steer it into the kitchen!

daddy and madison after a busy and exciting day...

...and she's been a daddy's girl ever since! no joke- she'll cry for mommy, but once daddy has her, she's all smiles (or at least no tears). you can't see it on the photo but there was a big alligator tear hanging on her bottom lashes on one eye. it was just SO sweet- the big tear, the reproachful look in mommy's direction, the way she was clinging to her daddy... made my heart melt!

i can't say enough how great it is to have kelvin back home- the kids are loving it, i'm happy to have someone else around so i can get things done (hahahahaha), and kelvin's thrilled to be back as well. he said that madison just got a little bigger, but cole's face changed a lot while he was gone. huh... i'd have never guessed that cole changed more than madison!

today we ordered some bumgenius cloth diapers... we're giving them a whirl. after reading several unbiased reviews, the pick was between them and fuzzi bunz. both had top raves and very few complaints, and since bumgenius had the best deal for one-size packages, we went with those. i also ordered some flushable liners and all natural stain soap. the liners will be nice for getting rid of the #2's... especially for madison, since her messes are pretty messy! and speaking of messes... cole had two "firsts" yesterday. not milestones, really, but "firsts" all the same. he had his first shower, which was REALLY interesting. he was fascinated but scared out of his wits at the same time. the reason for the shower? his first tub poo. yes, his first. until yesterday, he had never once made a mess in the tub, not even as a newborn. it took him almost 20 months, but he finally did it. not that i'm congratulating him, i'm just saying it took him that long! yes, an interesting start to the day!