Highlights and Lowlights

Recent Highlights

• Max has been sleeping a good 6 hours straight at night!
• I managed to clean our house this week with Cole's help.
• Cole and I hung up his "Moon in my Room" today.  He's crazy about the moon, so for Christmas he received a remote controlled moon, complete with all the lunar phases.  It's really cool!
• Cole has been eating vegetables just to hear the crunching or squishing sounds they make in his mouth.

Recent Lowlights

• Cole threw his lunch on the floor yesterday and proceeded to climb a bookshelf that is not attached to the wall...yet.  
• Cole, Max, and I all have drippy colds this week.  You can see Max's cold in the picture! 
• Random trash was left in our front yard yesterday...ug.
• It's either so cold or rainy outside, which means I'm having a hard time keeping Cole entertained.   Our house is only so big, you know?  Thankfully yesterday it was warm enough for a walk around the neighborhood!  Cole loved running and picking up as many sticks as he could carry. 

Cole knows his ABCs

Pretty amazing, for 22 months old, I say. No matter what, it's cute. You might have to turn the volume up.

Muddy ColeMan

Cole loves everything musical and the "marhonica" is one of the latest favorites. This time, we were listening to Muddy Waters and he was playing along.

Quotable Cole

The other day we were playing with a shape sorting toy Cole received for Christmas.    As if it were just part of the conversation, Cole says, "this is grown up work, Mommy," and kept on playing.  

On Sunday during lunch time, Chris asked Cole how old he is.  Cole responded, "25! and Daddy is 6!"  Hmm...  

The Magic Bite

The magic bite is Chris's latest invention.  Since Cole is getting less messy while eating with a spoon, he's started to notice that it's difficult to scoop out every last bite of ice cream, applesauce, yogurt, etc.  A couple weeks ago, Chris said, "Cole, do you want a magic bite?"  Chris proceeded to create another bite or two when Cole thought there was no hope!  Cole has learned to ask for a magic bite now, and it's pretty cute.  Just yesterday he learned how to make a magic brownie bite by smushing together the leftover crumbs on his tray.  It's a great way to make dinner time a little more fun! 

Strong!

Max has strong neck muscles!  I've put him on his tummy a few times on the floor, and he liked it a lot.  So today I decided to try the boppy pillow.   Wow!   

The Weekend

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, although we did experience a few firsts.  Cole took a nap in his big boy bed on Saturday.  Max had his first real bath, complete with his Little Laker Fan towel.  Max also made his first trip to church, and he slept through the whole thing.   Cole actually initiated playing Legos with Max, too, but Max preferred to just watch.   It's been so nice having Chris home for a few days after my first week home alone with the boys! 

Homemade Car Wash

A Rare Moment

Max hardly ever keeps his eyes open long enough for a picture, but something about me folding laundry and Stevie Wonder in the background kept his attention tonight!  Also, Max received three pieces of mail today.  More than the rest of us...lucky boy!

Tips

Tip #1: DumDum lollipops are a perfect toddler distraction. They're super tiny, yet very appealing!  I took the boys to Target this morning.  Cole happily sucked on his green lollipop while we shopped, and Max slept.  No DumDums for Max yet. 

Tip #2: "Special drink from Starbucks" is a GREAT motivator.  Cole was protesting getting back in the car after our trip to Target.  So I bribed him with a "special drink from Starbucks" and he immediately sat still in his car seat.  We stopped at the drive-up window on our way home for an iced chai latte (my favorite!).  I drank it and then gave Cole his "special drink" for lunch: water in my Starbucks cup with leftover ice.   The result: I made lunch and ate in peace.  Cole didn't touch a bit of his lunch.  Go figure! 

First Solo Day

I'm happy to report that my first day solo with the boys at home has been much better than I imagined...or dreaded!  I had nightmares of waking up late, only to find both boys screaming and hungry.  I imagined a toy (and other various kitchen utensils) eruption in my living room and kitchen, and being so exhausted that I'd fall asleep while nursing Max and Cole throwing his lunch all over the walls.  It's a good thing none of those things happened...not yet anyway!

I did wake up early enough to shower before the boys woke up, and managed to get Max fed and asleep in his bassinet so I could play with Cole uninterrupted for a little while. Cole only watched 1 episode of Caillou (his FAVORITE show), and we took a walk to visit the bunnies and the ferrets at the pet store close to our neighborhood.   I had some uninterrupted time with Max this afternoon, too, while he was awake and staring out our bedroom window.  That seems to be very entertaining these days!   

As I type both kids are sleeping, so I need to switch the laundry and sit down for a second! Chris comes home in a couple hours, and I'm beginning to think that this 2 kid life may not take me under after all! 

Family Weekend

We spent Saturday in Indianapolis visiting family and introducing them to Max.  Max slept through his first car trip, AND he smiled with Grandma Gynie!  My mom made a fabulous birthday cake for me...I ate 2 pieces!  We're going to watch the NFL playoffs today, too.  Go Colts! 

New Ride

The UPS man delivered our new double ride in the mail yesterday!  Chris assembled it last night, and we tried it out today. My mom and I took the boys on a walk before lunch.  Max was snuggled in his cocoon below Cole, almost invisible unless you look closely!  In a few months when Max can sit up on his own, a second seat attaches to the back instead of the cocoon, so we're planning on getting lots of mileage out of this stroller.  

Thanks Gammy, Bubba, Omi, & Grandbob! 

Sleepy Max...Busy Cole

We've been home for a few days now, and life is definitely crazy with 2 kids!  Max sleeps a lot, and Cole is busy, busy, busy.  During the last few days, Cole and I baked chocolate chocolate chip cookies and have built many a Lego block tower.   Oh, life without Legos!  Chris went back to work today, and thankfully my mom is here for the rest of this week to help me with the boys.   I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to handle this when I'm going solo next week!   

Max is doing great, too. He is eating well and sleeping well, except that he seems to like being awake most nights between 10 p.m. and 1 or 2 a.m.   I've had to take him back to the doctor three times, too, since we left the hospital because his bilirubin levels were too high, which indicates jaundice.   Today, the doctor finally gave us good news!  Max has a normal bilirubin level and his weight is just 1 oz shy of his birth weight.   

P.S. Notice Cole's pajamas. Thomas the Train. Size 2T.  He's not going to be 2 until March, but these jammies need to be retired for Max.  This kid is HUGE.  And since bringing Max home, Cole seems even bigger to me.   It's amazing the development that happens when kids are young.  SO much in so little time.  Wow!

   

Max

He's here!!

All of the info is in the video. Watch and enjoy!

And the answer is...

I am now dilated 3 centimeters, and we are scheduled for an induction tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Yay!  Cole came with me to the doctor today, too, and he was fabulous!  He sucked on a lollipop and held my hand while standing on a chair next to the examining table.   He listened intently to the baby's heartbeat and whispered (after he took the lollipop out of his mouth), "mommy's sound."  Stay tuned!

Her Town Too

My brother Mike (left) and his friend Ryan played at a local coffee place in Indianapolis while Mike was home for Christmas. Enjoy!

Anne is...

officially 2 days overdue with Baby Frank the Second.  Ug!

Here's the deal.  I'm going back to the doctor on Thursday to check my progress, unless this baby comes sooner.  I will then have the option to induce on Friday of this week or wait until the baby wants to come on his own.  We'll see!

My friend Naomi said that there's no such thing as a perpetually pregnant woman, which I'm thankful for!  She's a testament to this because she was 8 days overdue and had her little boy, Brennan, last Thursday. 

My friend Betsy had her little girl last week, too, on Wednesday. It's my turn, now! 

I'm beginning to wonder, though, does this baby really wants to meet US or not?