oh, and...

... i'm anxious to see what will take place the next few days. convention is going to be pretty interesting, since cole is most happy when he's moving around and playing with toys that make noise. i can bet that i won't be doing a whole lot of sitting! and on a "new baby" note, the braxton-hicks are now in full-swing. i've had them here and there for about a month now, but just in the last two days or so, they've become a bit more regular. i remember them being that way with cole too- regular for a few months before he was born. it's kind of reassuring, in a sense- my body's working the way it should. the way i see it, it's a good thing... i can practice imagery and relaxation for labor. gotta get a head start on that- i don't want a repeat of the last labor and delivery (in ANY way... not that it was bad, just that there were WAY too many people there and with the pitocin and everything, well, it was the complete opposite of what i'd hoped). anyway, i'm so glad convention is here... which means i probably won't post again for a few days, so until next time, adios!

while you're waiting...

...maybe you can catch a good giggle from these photos, auntie elissa! the first two are for aunt mary in montana- i promised to post pictures of cole opening the present she sent for him and it totally slipped my mind, with everything that's been going on. so, sorry, aunt mary! here they are, better late than never!mommy got the package opened, and cole did the rest...
he loves his stuffed monkey- they have matching mischievious faces, i think. the only difference is that only one of them really gets into trouble--- bet you can't guess who! (haha)

carhartt butt- a very small one! elissa, you can't begin to imagine how hilariously cute coy's little behind will be when he's cruising around in his carhartts... cole's is just adorable!

i love the expression- sheer joy!

and... daddy and grandpa already have cole started on the fourwheeling thing! for now, he likes it better when they're not running- i think the noise of the engine gets the same reaction as the vacuum... a blank look, followed by what can be most closely described as confusion, then comes the closed-mouth whine, and finally the burst of tears. the first three happen pretty fast... the tears tend to last a little longer. but as long as the beast with four wheels is quiet, cole is more than pleased to sit on it and pretend to drive. same goes for the lawn tractor- grandpa got him started on that! (thanks dad- now we know what to do when the crankies are almost unbearable... out to the garage we'll go!). as long as it has wheels, handlebars and/or steering wheel and isn't presently running, cole gets quite a kick out of it. he is SUCH a little boy.

unpleasant tenants

so, i thought i should post this quick... amber, you'll appreciate this, i think! we still have mice. for some stupid reason, i had hoped that while we were gone and there was no food or anything in the house, they'd get hungry and leave. this is not the case, apparently, so i've come to these amazing conclusions:
* mice get take-out too. i'm guessing there are several miniscule chains devoted to fast-food and delivery, mousey-style. i'd like to see one of those...
* there are 'motivational squeakers' that come and give presentations on personal empowerment... judging by the fact that there was one rooting around not 10 feet from me (but just out of sight, in the basement), it works.
* they are NOT good housekeepers. i mean, they leave poo in plain sight. gross.
which leaves me to wonder, do those electronic rodent repellents really work? you can find one in almost any price range, so i'd guess that the cheap ones are more for decoration, or to make you think you're humanely getting rid of the furry little buggers, while in reality they sit from some unseen perch and giggle at your futile attempts. but, if you shell out $30+ for one, does it actually do the job? i know that cats are usually a good bet at getting rid of mice, but since we live in town, any outdoor cat will automatically win a one-way ticket to the pound (or more likely, have an unpleasant little run-in with a big, round rubber object), so that's out. and the traps? we've tried them in the past- we were successful once. must've been the dimwitted cousin from the hills that wandered into that little mess, since the rest seem to have no problem avoiding them. and of course poisons aren't an option, for obvious reasons... and for the simple fact that if they happen to get into the pellets and don't wait till they get outside to kick the bucket, we will have one smelly house. so- if anyone knows if those plug-in thingies work, please let me know! i'd just ask them to leave, but for being so smart, they just can't take a hint...

haircut- again.

cole got a haircut again! the back was the first thing to get long, so this summer i had done a trim on it... it was kind of choppy, but not too bad. it was cute, since the top was longer yet and he gets this little curly mohawk 'do after his bath; but, the top was just getting too long. not that there's a lot of it there, but it was starting to look a little stringy. so- out came the razor this morning! of course, he had his breakfast first... i mean, would it really be fair to torture him with a haircut while he's still hungry? i didn't think so either...

he looks more like a little boy now. i was really worried that it would get too short and look like a buzz, which would make him look bald, since he's got light, fine hair. fortunately, i guessed right and picked an attachment that wasn't TOO short...

now he looks like a brand-new boy, haha! after all that sitting (breakfast, haircut... that's a lot for outside of meeting!), cole was pretty anxious to get at his toys. last night, kelvin emptied his tote of clothes into the closet- one of those things that just gets put off amid the chaos- so this morning, there was a nice big empty box for cole to play with! he promptly made quick work of my "toy pick-up" job and emptied his toy basket into the tote. at least they weren't all over the floor... not till later. and that's where the fun ended. cole wakes up happy and goofy 99.9% of the time, but once he's fed and the day is underway, that can sometimes change. like today, for instance. he still doesn't have the hang of dealing with hardwood floors, and the grippy things on the bottom of his socks only do so much (not enough, apparently). so, after the second tumble (he's managed to escape physical injury; his pride is another story, though), things went downhill. now he's cranky and whiny. i think it's partly the weather- still gray, damp and cold... so much for the "mostly sunny" and mid-70's forecast. i would like to be a weather-person, i think... you still get paid, even if you're way off! except in arizona, there you'd be right most of the time, unless you predicted something other than sun and heat. anyhoo, since cole's been sleeping between 10 and 11 hours each night, i don't push the morning nap now, but given that he's now on the floor with his face smashed into his grabby (that's what we call his green blanket), i think he may end up taking a snooze. i think he's still recovering from the weekend- last night, i ran out to mcdonald's to get a large drink (for $1, and i fill it up with ice and just enough diet coke to make it worth the trip... gotta have that ice!) and by the time i got back, he had fallen asleep on our bed. that was before he got his bath or bedtime snack! we sat him up to see if he'd wake up enough to have his bath and snack, but he just sat there with his eyes closed, so we knew it was straight to bed for mr cole! and amazingly, he slept all night... i was sure he'd wake up and want a snack before too long, but the kid was OUT... he opened his eyes a crack only twice while i changed his diaper and put on his pj's! i guess when it's time for bed, there's no doubting it with this kid! unfortunately, his little sister had other ideas about bedtime... she's in her "nocturnal stage, i think! oh, and she's not delicate about it either... haha!

cole's party!

way back when we thought we were going to be in arizona for awhile yet, we planned cole's (late) first birthday party. so, after the plans were made and the invitations mailed (way back in july), we found out we'd all be back in time to celebrate together! so- this weekend was cole's party. i must say, he did really well. of course, he's still too little to get what birthday parties are all about or what he should do to all those interesting and colorful packages, but he had a lot of fun playing with his little second cousins and his new toys. many thanks to everyone who made an effort to join us (mom, dad, sarah and ted, mary and dale, grandpa and grandma pheifer, sandy and shawna, janine and jennifer and sarah, stephen, kristian and erin) and thanks (from cole, of course) for the neat gifts! i wish i could post all the pictures we took, but a) there's a TON of them and b) this 'fast' internet connection isn't all that speedy, so it takes forever and a day to get 4 teeny photos loaded. nice. don't you love it when your expectations are met with disappointing results? anyway, that's beside the point... even with the rain and damp weather, i think that cole's very first birthday party was a success. he had fun, we had fun... it was great for him to get better acquainted with his little second cousins, and nice for us to be back with family again.

cole's cake- chocolate, of course. i debated doing the rainbow chip flavor instead, but then i thought that it might not "go well" with the brown frosting... i did a blue and brown theme to match his invitations, since he's too little for a character theme yet.

this was cole, trying to figure out why everyone was looking at him and singing. at least he didn't cry- i was a little nervous that he'd get scared and start bawling, but he just sat there and observed with that little scowl of his...

STILL not sure why all eyes were on him... i could almost read his mind: "uh, mom? what's going on...?"

but, he loved the frosting! he just kept sucking on his fingers while my mom cut the cake. amazingly, it only took one wipe and a quick trip to the sink (so we could rinse off his hands) to get the mess cleaned up. he did, however, have quite a few cake crumbs mashed into his socks. it boggles my mind, how babies can get food in the weirdest places... and i thought it was crazy when we had to get whole peas out of his diaper (they never made it into his mouth).

i'm not sure who's helping who here, but uncle ted and cole are both concentrating pretty hard on getting that toy out of the box!

the kids! jennifer, cole and erin... not sure where kristian was, but he WAS in attendance.

be prepared, anyone who celebrates a birthday on windy hill road- you WILL be wearing the birthday hat! so far, it's been on kristian, erin, ted, sarah and now cole... if i missed anyone, i'm sorry. in our defense, we've been a bit out of the loop lately!

second cousins kristian and cole- recapping photos on sarah's camera. i think cole was just as interested in kristian as he was with the camera... what a curious little boy!

thanks again to everyone who came to celebrate with us... and a special thanks to mom and dad for letting us use their house and yard. and thanks to levi and kayla as well- we are SO glad you guys stopped by! now it feels like cole is officially one... not that it makes much of a difference to him at this age, but first birthdays are a pretty big milestone, so to finally be able to celebrate with family and a few close friends makes it seem more real. or something like that... so, our little boy is really one year old and has survived his first birthday party. whew!

"sugar and spice...

and everything nice; that's what little girls are made of! yes, it's a girl! i was right this time! of course, it's not really the truth to say that i was wrong last time... i knew deep down that cole would be a boy, but i was so sure i wanted a girl first. now, i can't imagine it any other way! so- technically i was right both times, just in denial the first time, haha. anyway, mom met me at the hospital for the ultrasound so that she could help out with cole- he'd had his 12-month well-baby visit earlier, which of course included shots. yipes. i think the county heard that one! anyway, he's doing great, his weight is in the 25th percentile, his height is in the 50th percentile and his head circumference is up at the 75th percentile.

so, back to the little girl we're over halfway to meeting... we got 4 great pictures off the 3-d ultrasound. it's funny, how before they start putting on fat, they look like skinny little monkeys, yet they're so cute! it's still blowing my mind that we get to see her face even before she arrives... i think it's just amazing. we JUST got internet here (literally- the guy left about 10 minutes ago), and the scanner/printer is still packed away, but as soon as that's all taken care of, i promise to post some ultrasound pics. and some of cole, too, of course- we can't forget him! anyway, it's great to have internet again, i feel more connected! funny thing about small towns, how your options for ip's are pretty limited... we had service through frontier once upon a time, long ago, and were so disappointed with it, so this time we went with charter. boy, do i feel weird- i kept hoping nobody from our meeting would drive by, see the charter communications truck and say "oh look- the brotzman's are getting cable".... awkward! since it's much faster and a bit more reliable than frontier, that's what we went with. anyhoo, it seems to be working, so that's all that matters. ta-tah for now!

photo-less update...

sorry, still no pics! we hope to get internet this week sometime, so once we do, i'll have to catch up a little on the posting. but, everything is going well with the moving-back-in process; slow, but well none-the-less. we discovered that in moving almost entirely across the nation and then back so soon, we have a lot of junk in the house. all this stuff that at one time seemed at least a little significant, but now it's just junk, junk, junk. before getting everything put away, we decided to go through every room and closet in the house and get rid of stuff that we wouldn't really miss or that wouldn't drastically change our lives if something happened to it... the first day of going through "the junk", we had about eight big black garbage bags full of stuff to toss. ahhhh, feels good... and we're not even done yet! there are some things we plan to donate or sell on craigslist, but the rest is just getting tossed. sure, i could have a rummage sale to TRY to get rid of all the little odds and ends and useless stuff, but i'd have to wait until next spring, and that would mean having to hang onto it all winter long, and then there's no guarantee that i'd even get my behind in gear enough to actually have a rummage sale. hmmm- i think it's easier just to toss it! this is one time that the "easy route" is the best route! it feels really good- i went in with a 'no regrets' attitude and just started bagging up stuff like a maniac- but hey, now we have more room and less stuff. i figure, with baby #2 halfway here, we could really use the extra space and the simplified household- it's great to not have to worry about where i'm going to move this box and how i'm going to fit everything into that closet; even though there are still half-packed boxes all over, i still feel more organized. the whole process is taking a wee bit longer than i'd planned, but hey- cole isn't exactly thrilled with the situation! he'd rather be crawling free, getting into all the stuff laying around! but, he's been sweet enough to take two naps a day, spend some quality time in his exersaucer (he's almost too big for it, but i have no other option!), and since he's slept all the way through the night every night since we moved back into our house, i have the energy to multitask (read: do stuff and still have the patience to entertain him). seriously- ever since we got back into the house and he's been sleeping in a regular crib, the nights have been sheer bliss! i probably just jinxed myself... who cares, though- i've had almost a week of regular nights. what more can i ask for! so yeah- that's the news here- rather droll, i know. it's more exciting for us, though... oh, and i had my prenatal exam on the 3rd with my wonderful dr here, and everything is great! i measured right at 20 weeks (good) and the baby's heartbeat was excellent (even better) and i have an ultrasound scheduled for tuesday afternoon (awesome!!). cole's late 12-month well baby visit is that day as well, so it's going to be a big afternoon. dr h said that they have 3-d ultrasound now, so that's super exciting! i've never had one myself, but have seen the ones that others have had, so this will be a first for us. hopefully the little one will cooperate so that we can plan on pink or blue. we'll definitely update as soon as we can!