Convos With A 2 Year Old

Case: It sure is a nice day today.
Me: I agree. It is a nice day.
Case: The sky is pretty.
Me: Yup. It is pretty.
Case: And the wind feels good too.
…….Am I having a conversation with a 2 year old or a 10 year old?

Me: (Waking Case up from a nap) Good afternoon honey. Do you know mommy loves you? I think you are pretty great.
Case: Don’t forget I’m smart too.
.......Modesty has obviously not developed yet.

Wonder woman

The AC has been repaired, completed a dr appt, went to sams AND wal-mart, both boys have been fed (sort of), bathed and dressed all before noon. Now, looking back on my morning, I wonder….how and the heck did I do all that?! Sometimes I amaze myself.

9 Months Already!

Cole is 9 months old. He is an army crawler, jabber box, loves his paci and weighs 15.40 lbs and is 26 inches long. Despite the use of his legs while crawling I am amazed at how quickly he can get from pint A to point B. Actually his little crawl is pretty funny to watch. Crawling down the hallway dragging his legs behind, drooling and hollering at the top of his lungs always reminds me of a teeny tiny wounded war victim.

Cole likes to eat Cheeto’s, cereal, watermelon, vanilla wafers, crackers and pudding but has little interest in actual baby food. Just recently Cole decided he could feed himself with a spoon which makes mealtime even messier than before (how is that possible)! I have to use 2 spoons during meal time. Here is the routine: I fill one with food and hand it off to him to put in his own mouth. Then I load up the second one because he won't relinquish the first spoon until I hand him another food filled utensil to grab and shove in his mouth. Repeat. Notice how EVERY inch of his face is shiny. That shine is from pudding, not the flash of the camera.

Cole likes taking a bath with his brother, playing catch/ball and loves the swing in the backyard. He is an outdoor kind of guy and can spend all morning outside on the lawn watching the dogs or playing with Case and mom. Despite loving his brother jealousy has begun to show its face in our home. Of course we deal with each boy wanting the same toy or wanting to swing in the same swing on a daily basis. But just recently whenever I am holding Case or pick Case up for a hug, if Cole witnesses the affection, he quickly shoots a disgruntled shout my way. And not surprisingly if I am holding Cole, Case more often than not suddenly needs to be held at that exact same moment as well. Mommy is currently in high demand. I love it!

Cole can clap his hands and wave hello and good bye. His wave looks more like a hail to Hitler, but mama knows what he is trying to do. Maybe my ears are anxious for additional communication, but I swear he has even said mama (ahhhhh, sweet music). He is still a lover and prefers to be held over anything else, which is my favorite trait about him.

Cole has 2 bottom teeth. Funny story about teeth. Shortly after Cole uncovered his first bottom tooth he decided to test out his new chomper on dear old mom while nursing. He was holding on for life and after my scream he not only held his grip but added a little tooth grinding action to the bite. Mom had to bop him on his ear to break his bite. As comical as this situation may sound, what was really funny is that immediately after the bop, he turned to look at me, opened his little mouth and yelled at me! Cole was disciplined for the first time and then he talked back all in one experience. Oh lordy, I am going to have my hands full! If you look really hard in this picture you can see his little teeth nubs.

I love him more and more each day and am so blessed to be the one who gets to love this little guy every day of my life.

But Mooooom!

Hello 3 going on 13. My guess is that 3 years old is going to be a tough year. Case’s little attitude has come out of nowhere and is packing a big punch. So far some of Case's new large and in charge statements are:

‘but moooom!',
'I said yes.'
'I have to ' and
'Right now'

He will also combine 2 or 3 of these for a maximum punch such as, ‘But mooooom, I said yes, right now!’ Imagine each of these statements being said with as much attitude and hostility as a 3 year old can muster. Funny for about a second and then they lose their charm, quickly. Trying to be macho is making mama mucho loco!

Yankie Doodle

The other night I was giving the boys a bath when I noticed that and all my little men were playing yankie doodle dandy with their twigs and berries while bathing. I have never felt more out of place and more aware that the world of boys is something totally different that the world of a girl in my entire life. Whether he is messing with his bathtime books or his business, Cole sure is cute.

Camping 2011

Are we crazy or hard core for family time? I will let you be the judge, but this past weekend we went camping with a 2 year old and 9 month old baby. We spent a grand total of 14 hours in the great outdoors and....well Cody and I agreed the experience wasn't a total loss. After driving around for 2 hours, mama and Cole were ready to get out of the truck and Cody was ready to get away from us. So here was were we landed. Finally, camp!

Home sweet home. A cot for Cody. Air mattress for Case and mama. Pack and play for Cole. The sleeping arrangements were the most challenging part of the entire trip. Getting 2 babies to sleep in a strange environment was...well, exhausting. After whispering with Case for at least an hour, I finally cracked up at his little conversations and couldn't stop laughing. The laughter was contagious and soon everyone was trying to stop the giggles before we woke up baby Cole.


We didn't do anything too extravagant for our first cookout. Hot dogs and chips were our camp fire dinner. Even Cole ate a hotdog bun.

It wouldn't be a camping trip without smores. Actually we are a strictly marshmallow family. No graham crackers for us. Needless to say, we knocked back a few marshmallows that evening.


Daddy helped Case out with his bites because they were fresh off the fire, hot and sticky. Cody is a blue ribbon marshmallow roaster. Every marshmallow comes out golden brown on the outside and liquid perfection on the inside. Fabulous.

Maybe Cody should have blown on his marshmallow a bit more. Watch out babe, they are hot!

Cole felt it was unfair he didn't get any marshmallows for dessert so he helped himself to some mud pie while we weren't looking.

In the morning the boys took a nature hike and came back with breakfast. Wild raspberries freshly picked. Yum-o!

The trip gave us confidence that we can do this. Once we are able to recouperate from this trip we might even brave the outdoors again. Maybe.

Summer Time

Summer time 2011 and Case has been enjoying his first pool. Filling up the pool with the hose is half the fun because he is allowed to splash as much as he wants.

Showing off Daddy's new ride.

Since the water is still a bit cool, Cole sits in the stroller and watches.

Case has really been enjoying playing in the backyard with the dogs. Every night he is outside for at least an hour after dinner playing with the pups till dark. His zest for chase, fetch and exploring the yard make bringing him in for bath time difficult because I enjoy watching him play so much. However after seeing him play in the dog pen, a little soap might be necessary.

Watermelon is in season and cool fresh fruit is always the perfect tasty treat after playing outside.

Of course summer time can not be all fun and games. Sometimes we have to stop playing and clean up a bit. I know Cole is little, but everyone has to earn their keep in this house. :)

Don't forget the corners Cole. Someone call child labor quick.