weekend with grandpa and grandma

kelvin stayed out west this past weekend instead of coming home between "weeks".

he had a great time staying with friends and making things go "boom" at the gun shop.

it was great to hear him happy and relaxed!

(but we still missed him!)

so, with daddy gone for the weekend, the kids and i went to my parents'...

the gerberas we got mom last weekend were still in full-bloom a week later.

LOVE these flowers; and the color was still so vivid, i couldn't resist.

they just made everything cheery.

before getting to mom and dad's on friday, we detoured over to goodwill in waupaca to see if we could scare up any irrisistable deals.

we caught one...

a pair of boots for cole.

cowboy boots, to be exact.

"mama! daddy... boots... feet... coley!"

i couldn't very well resist that enthusiasm, now, could i?

so we spent the $5 on the obviously never-worn boots.

by the time the weekend was over, i knew i'd gotten my money's-worth.

he didn't take them off.
for anything.
(not without a mighty good fight, anyway)

first thing in the morning?
boots.
never mind grandma, grandpa, toys, pancakes or even mama...
it was the boots.
(and speaking of pancakes, mom made her first-class buttermilk pancakes. madi ate three. they're good-sized pancakes, i might add.)

cole learned how to use the egg beater.
notice his boots were m.i.a.?
i'm not sure what happened to them either... one of the few shots from the weekend without the boots.

the kids helped grandma play the piano...

and cole was thoroughly convinced that the metronome was the ideal stand-in for a camera.
"cheese!"

cole did quite well going potty.
the boots seemed to help (at least, in his mind they did).
getting to read "once upon a potty" with grandma was pretty neat, too.

(later, i heard cole saying, "hat? no-ah hat. bird blath? no-ah bird blath. bowl? kitty? no-ah bowl." anyone that knows the book knows what he's referring to!!)

saturday night was the madrigals dinner at the high school, so mom had to go into work for that. the kids got to spend an evening with grandpa.
they took advantage of the time!!
madison thought it was pretty neat that she could stand unsupported for awhile.
(she took her first steps friday the 19th... just a few, but they were solo!).
i LOVE this shot... it looks like she's convinced that holding on to her little legs will keep her upright.
i chortle out loud every time i see it.
or laugh.
it cracks me up!

cole had a game going with george: george would 'walk' around the living room...

... go for a 'drive', take a 'walk', 'drive' some more, etc., etc.

it was pretty cute; somebody's started using his imagination!

madi wasn't about to be lefi out of the game-playing either.

she played peek-a-boo behind the rocker.

seriously.

(hey- who said they have to play together? as long as they play nice, it doesn't matter, eh?)

and of course, they BOTH had to have grandpa's complete attention.

speaking of grandpa, cole no longer says "bapa". now he says "gappa".

is it weird that i find that sad?

it means he's growing up...

~

in other happenings, events, hoopla and ado:

the week sailed by. well, it didn't at the time, but now that it's the weekend and kelvin's home for two short days, it seems to have blown past rather quickly.

madison went in for her second blood and urine test today. i picked up her u-bag yesterday so we could collect her urine sample at home; both times we've used the u-bag, it's been tears, leaks and mess. next time (if there is a next time), i'm going to ask them to catheterize her. more involved and uncomfortable, yes, but quicker, and therefore less traumatizing in the long run, i'd think.

we got our tax refund... thanks to my wonderful, hard-working husband, we are able to use some of it for a new fridge. this is BIG... we've been needing one for years. finally, a freezer that keeps ice-cream cold (as in, not half-soupy). we stopped and looked at lowe's, discovered they had the one kelvin had seen out in south dakota at the lowe's there, and even better, it was in stock, which means we could get next-day shipping. it'll be here tomorrow. i may not sleep tonight. yay!!!

eh, there's more, but i can't remember off-hand. and they don't involve photos, so i'll skip it.

*~*

happy weekend, everyone!

(edit: madi also had a weight-check after her blood-draw: she gained almost a pound (16 lbs, 10 oz WITH a wet diaper and pj's on, so now she's where she should have been at 6 months... yay!!)