good morning??

ah, yes... the morning started out pretty well; cole slept till 7.30, which is late for him. he was in a good mood, ate most of his breakfast and then set off to play and entertain mommy. he beat on daddy's lunchbox in the kitchen while i made a batch of chicken salad and then i went to throw in a load of laundry. this is where the morning took a slight turn...

since the washer and dryer are still in the basement, i have to run down and leave cole upstairs for a minute or two. of course, i always make sure that all necessary doorways are closed or gated and that there's nothing he can get into trouble with. he always waits in the kitchen for me and usually ends up throwing around our shoes. this is a constant source of entertainment for him... why, i don't know. the last thing i do as i go downstairs is to make sure that the kitchen door (the one by the stairs to the basement) is tightly latched. it was, i double-checked. so, i was quickly throwing everything into the washer when i heard a pretty big thump. the first thought that crossed my mind was that cole had gotten some record distance in shoe-tossing, until i heard screams that were NOT coming from the kitchen above me. seems our little einstein has figured out how to turn doorknobs, and there he was, sprawled on the landing on the basement stairs. no broken bones or anything, thank goodness.

but this is what the tumble did to his noggin... he's got the big owie on his head, with a small scrape running down to his nose, between his eyes. poor baby- i was in tears myself! it must have really shook him up, since all he wanted to do was sit in my lap and snuggle close. usually he's off and running after getting a bump or scrape...
... and it was an excuse to finally get "cool" bandaids! so we made a trip to pamida, where we had a choice of scooby-doo, diego, spongebob or pooh and tigger 'tattoo' bandaids. i showed him all four boxes and he picked out the spongebob ones all by himself. good thing daddy wasn't along, or we would have had to get the scooby doo ones, no questions asked. and so far, cole's acting ok, no whining or favoring anything, so other than the nasty boo-boo on his head, he seems to be ok. wow- it makes my heart stop just thinking about how much worse it could have been. i think we're going to have to invest in some childproof doorknob covers. although, who knows how long it will take him to figure out how to work those, too... for someone who can barely reach the doorknobs, he knows exactly what to do (i am sure of this, because i took him to another door and he managed to get it open too). this kid is amazing... nothing is safe anymore!!!

finally: part 2

for those of you who don't already know, the first picture of coy has been posted on logan and elissa's blog, so if you haven't seen it yet (or want to see it again because he's got the most precious cheekers), head on over and check it out!

in other news, cole had a nice nap this afternoon- much needed, but cut a little short, thanks to the homecoming parade. yay. i'm not that big on school spirit, so i don't see the need for three fire engines and several squad cars ALL blaring their sirens. maybe on main street, but not on a residential corner! at least he got most of his nap in. kelvin went to mom and dad's to bowhunt (or something), so he'll be there tonight. we though about going too, but cole needs as many full nights as he can get... we might hop over there tomorrow, though. i did the grocery shopping and spent less than $65... i even splurged a little! i got honeycrisp apples (oh so good for twice the price), i found a great deal on chicken (almost 6 lbs of boneless for just under $10) and then i saw that edy's holiday ice cream is out, so i just HAD to get some pumpkin ice cream. i'm proud of myself- i got a lot and then some for pretty cheap... it's amazing how one can budget when it's crucial to do so. since i'm doing a lot more baking and stuff now, i'm surprised at how much of a difference it makes, even right off the bat. speaking of baking, i finally turned off the oven after supper. it's been going all day: 2 butternut squashes, a package of chicken, and a batch of cookies. yes, one batch... i make a big recipe and then freeze it in ready-to-bake balls. really handy, since i don't have to worry about them getting stale, and i can make one or two at a time if i feel like a fresh cookie or two. the squash took the longest and i didn't get started till late morning, so that's why the poor oven has been going and going. i got 1 1/2 quarts of squash out of it though, and since kelvin refuses to touch the stuff, it will last cole and i quite awhile! now that cole's had his supper (like, an hour ago), i think it's MY time to eat and sit down for a bit before we start the nightly bath battle. bed will feel great tonight... especially since i've noticed it's starting to take a little more energy to run around. hmmm. wonder why... haha.

cute, but...

... there's a reason he's sitting in the chair.
cole earned himself his first time-out today. i don't think he really understood it, but i'd had enough of the fits and deliberate shenanigans this morning. it was kinda funny earlier... he closed the stairway door (it already had a gate across it) and couldn't get it back open, so he screeched really loudly, banged his head against the door several times, then finished off the tantrum by flopping on his belly on the floor and trying to bite the floor. mind you, he's pretty vocal this entire time. so yeah- the first tantrum was amusing, since after he wound up on the floor, he crawled away as if nothing had just happened. he was pretty content for awhile, then got an attitude... long story short, after his attempt to hit and bite mommy, he wound up getting a swat on the rear and a minute in the chair. i couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture, but i did wait until he'd been calm for a few moments. it didn't take long- maybe time-outs will work for him? at his 12-month visit, our dr said that he's old enough to start time-outs, so if it works, i'll try it!!

i know...

... three posts in one day... but this is a special day! two of those posts are for coy, so i guess we can let it fly this once, hahaha.

so, the biggest thing here, of course, has been our new nephew/cousin, which is pretty obvious! other than that, today has had it's share of interesting events. for starters, cole greeted me with his usual smile, hug AND a kiss! and he only bit a little, which was a major thing for me. he skipped his morning nap, since the afternoon ones seem to be the most crucial; he didn't want much to do with lunch (homemade mac n cheese) so i figure he's started the toddler appetite swings. he usually eats pretty well for breakfast, gets a small snack (only if he's acting like he wants one) and eats fairly well for supper, so i'm not too worried. as long as he doesn't start losing weight, i guess he knows what he feels like, so i'll let him be the boss. lunch was cranky time for mr cole, too- he screamed a little, threw his cup, dumped his spoon, and then fell asleep in his highchair. he couldn't even keep his eyes open while i changed him (clothes and diaper, since he leaked). he fell asleep in record time, needless to say. which gave me the chance to get my shower in before we had to leave for my ob/gyn appointment. the shower was extra nice, since i spent a good 15 minutes going through a very full garbage can looking for my engagement and wedding bands. i took them off yesterday to make bread and forgot to put them back on, and somehow over the course of the day and evening, they wound up in the trash. nice. which meant that i had to dig through old pear peels, cold oatmeal, quite a bit of cole's uneaten lunches, and other miscellaneous cold, slimy gross stuff, but i found both of them. they were promptly scrubbed and put on my finger where they belong. i blame the hormones- first for forgetting to put them back on and second, for allowing them to slip into the trash un-noticed. but, good news- we're almost 25 weeks, so the hormone thing will be coming to an end seemingly before we know it. at least, the worst part of it will be over... i'm measuring at 25 weeks (good) and baby's heartbeat is in the mid 140's (also good), and there were no concerns or anything. my next visit will be the glucose test. yay. so- that's that for our end of things... and like everyone else, i'm just as anxious to see photos of coy. can't wait! keep checking elissa and logan's blog, because i'm sure they'll have some posted before too long. they'd better... !

coy aaron braaten

8 lbs, 8 oz.

21 inches

born at 3.11 (mst) on 10.02.08

congrats again, logan and elissa!

ps- when i was talking to elissa i could hear him squeaking- WAY too precious!

finally!!!!

i don't haver permission to post any stats yet, but.......this is what cole thinks about having a new cousin!!

once i talk to elissa, i'll post more info. i have NO idea when that will be, since i'm sure she's pretty tired and elated... i called around 8 or so and left a message, so now we wait until she calls back! i'm super anxious to see pictures, whenever that might be... and yes, my mom is on her way out. she flew out of appleton around 6 this morning, and she'll get in sometime tonight. good- i'm glad she'll get to see the baby right away. so- wait patiently (or not) and i'll dish more info as soon as i can!

congratulations, elissa and logan!! we love all three of you!

busy busy boy

cole's taken it upon himself to "help" unpack all the toys that i put away... the ones that he's outgrown. considering how much stuff we still haven't unpacked or put away yet, it's not really setting me back any, and he's having a blast! it keeps him occupied and out of the way, which is good since i've been busy making bread, cutting up pears for his snacks, stuff like that.

multitasking; he's eating a chunk of pear AND unpacking the box of baby toys!

this was only the beginning! now, if we could teach him to put stuff away as well, we'd have it made, hahaha! actually, i'm pretty lucky; he's got such an imagination in that little head of his that he'll play by himself for quite awhile. as long as i'm not moving around from room to room or anything, he's more than happy to occupy himself in his own little world. hopefully this will continue once the baby is born, since it would make juggling two small children a tad bit easier!

oh, and we got to run an errand this morning in the new van! we had to get milk before breakfast; cole was a pretty good sport about not having his oatmeal right away after getting up and being changed. i think he likes riding in it- he can see out the window a LOT better, so that's cool for him. it was weird, looking out the window and seeing a van in the driveway; the first thing that crossed my mind was "who in the world is here at 6 in the morning?". give it a week and i'll get used to it... i won't be able to remember what it was like to have the car parked there. which is a good thing- makes my back ache just thinking of how i had to move to get cole in and out!