25 months old

Cole is now 25 months old.  1 month into his terrific two's!  He has his moments of sweetness and he has his moments of out-of-body-experience tantrums.  He is constantly on the go and if left to rest for to long he tends to get a bad case of cabin fever that usually turns into destruction (turning the entire house into a mess).

Every time Cole sees some thing that is broken or he breaks some thing he says "oh no!" in a very concerned voice.  He can be heard saying "Oh no!" probably 50 times a day.  He says "It's done" when the buzzer on the dryer goes off, the microwave or timer dings, and when his plate is empty.  He is able to repeat a lot of things we ask him to say like - I love you (I wuv ooo), all of our names except Siena (I think he is holding out on that one), Edward (eh wa), and arm (ahmmm).  His please has turned in to "please dow" and he attempts "thank you".  But like most toddlers he will only do it if he feels like it.  He tells people "bye" (dye) when they leave.  He is actually talking on the phone to grandma and Mike.  He thinks they can see what he is pointing too when he is on the phone so he is always asking them "What's that?"  If we are really bored we will let him answer the phone when telemarketers call and they can talk to him.  It is quite entertaining.  When the phone rings, Cole will run to find a cordless and answer it and then bring it to us.  

Cole's 2 year molars are almost fully in so he has a full set of chompers.  He is pretty tall and most people think he is 3 years old.  He is pretty coordinated and really seems to be taking an interest in sports.  He likes to kick a soccer ball around, play t-ball, use the croquet mallet as a putter, he pitches crushed soda cans to Grandpa Glenn and grandpa hits them back, he also shoots baskets pretty consistently into his basketball hoop.  Cole can also put together a 24 piece puzzle in about 10 minutes.  He has 5 puzzles and he knows if he picks up a piece and it does not belong to that puzzle.  He looks at it and then says "no" and sets it aside.  He will look at the box and hold up pieces to see where they go.  I am pretty impressed with his puzzle putting together skills.

Cole is very observant and so you have to be very careful what you do in front of him.  He will copy everything.  He knows how to use tools, how to turn them on, what they are used for, and he tries to use them if they aren't put away.  He has learned to unlock the front door so we had to get one of those security locks for the top of the door that he can't reach.  That hasn't gone over so well with him.  

Currently his favorite movie is Toy Story 2.  He gets super excited when it comes on.  His second favorite thing to watch is the TDX intro to the movies.  He picks up the DVD cases and points to the TDX logo on the box and then points to the t.v.  We have been ordering other Pixar and Disney movies from Netflix and he wants nothing to do with them.

Cole has been pretty controlling of Onyx lately.  He is always locking her in his room so she is forced to stay in there with him and play.  He tugs on her tail to get her to pull him or chase him.  Cole also stomps on her feet when she is sleeping.  Onyx has been spending a lot of time next door with Mike's brother.

Cole continues to eat anything with pesto on it.  He still loves humus.  His newest favorite thing is the fish sticks from Trader Joe's.  Pretty much a guarantee that he will eat those or Dino nuggets.  He eats any fruit but wont really drink smoothies at the moment.  

Cole is very protective of Siena and he always wants to know where she is when we put him in his car seat and she is not there in her seat yet.  Any time she is with in his reach he is hugging and kissing her.  However if he wants attention then he throws her to the wolves and she some times gets bitten.

Cole still  has no interest in potty training.  He really seems content with the cloth diapers.  When I do put him in a disposable he is always acting like it bothers him.

Cole has his 2 year check up next week so I will know his height and weight then.

Buddies

Cole loves being in control of Onyx.  We figured we could use this to our advantage and be able to get a couple of laps in at the park before he went toddler on us.  It lasted about 10 minutes.  Now if we give him the leash he walk two steps and then drops the leash and then gets mad when she walks away.

A good substitute

With the garden being a long ways away, I don't have a tomato supply to go to every time I was salsa.  So this is a great substitute until summer time.  You really can't go wrong with any of their salsas.  This was the most recent one I picked up.  It has kick to it but in a good way.  The chips are awesome!

7 weeks

Siena is 7 weeks old!  She is now "tracking" with her eyes when people move around the room.  She like to push off of our stomachs with her very strong legs.  She can even stand (assisted of course), but she doesn't flop over like spaghetti right away.  She has much better control of her head and enjoys getting a view better than the ceiling.  We have started to give her a pacifier (when she will keep it in) to help with her constant needing to nurse.  She still projectile vomits when she over eats.  She is pretty much sleeping though the night, only waking once to nurse but I have her in bed with us so we all sleep through it.  Thank goodness she will nurse in bed, otherwise I might be a walking zombie in the mornings.  Cole is doing less hitting and more hugging and kissing so she seems to appreciate the change of heart.  I guess he decided I am a better target.  I give better reactions.  She has grown out of her newborn diapers and is on to size ones.  We still use cloth the majority of the time but when out and about we use disposables for the sake of not collecting tons of poopy diapers and leaving them in the car to fumigate.  She is also starting to coo and smiling is occurring more than just with gas.

Happy 30th birthday Mike!

Mike turns 30 today!  Now I am not alone!  Yay!!!  Here are 30 things you may or may not know about Mike.

1) The best lunch I’ve ever had was $1 tacos and Pacificos in Cabo San Lucas.
2) I don’t like butter on my pancakes, just syrup.
3) One of my favorite songs is Jolene by Cake.
4) I like Jägermeister but not black licorice.
5) I still play with Legos.
6) I have bought 3 boxes of cereal in the past month just because there were legos inside.
7) I haven’t paid for a haircut in about 4 years.
8) I know almost every word from the following Beastie Boys albums: License To Ill, Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head.
9) I have no view of the outside from my office at work. I’m trapped!
10) I have watched more episodes of The Bachelor than I’d like to admit.
11) My favorite color is blue.
12) My favorite number is 2.
13) I’ve seen my house from above in a 4-seater airplane.
14) I think my wife would choose me over Edward…I think.
15) My favorite skateboard company is Element.
16) I own a long board.
17) I’ve caught and eaten a 17” golden trout.
18) I’ve driven a 1928 Ford Roadster Pickup
19) I’ve seen the Grateful Dead in concert.
20) I’ve shaken M.C. Hammer’s manager’s hand.
21) I eat my steaks and hamburgers medium.
22) I was a high school football coach.
23) I not only know what a Pionjar is but I have used one.
24) I know how to saddle a horse.
25) I lived in Yosemite Nat’l Park for over15 summers.
26) I’ve stepped in both my dog’s puke and poo in the middle of the night.
27) I’ve bought & drank canned beer from an Italian vending machine in Florence.
28) Cow tongue tastes pretty good.
29) I enjoy cutting, splitting, chopping and stacking wood.
30) I have been to 10 US states.

Why this random pictures makes me smile.

6 1/2 weeks in

I have really been noticing a change in Siena this week.  It is the change where they go from really helpless infant to helpless infant who wants to see what's going on.  She is really working on holding her head up.  At the park she is starting to fight facing me in the sling.  I don't blame her.  She already looks at my chest for the better part of the day.  I would imagine she will be turned around soon.  She also is using her feet and legs to push off of me.  She is a strong one!  She will sleep through the night if she is on her side and in our bed.  She wont sleep in her crib for more than 2-3 hours at a time.  I have also been noticing that she doesn't unexpectedly  pee or poop every time I change her diaper.

I would say that she is more difficult of an infant than Cole was.  She will not sleep in the swing or her crib for too long.  She has found her voice and if you don't feed her when she wants it watch out because she will cry (LOUDLY) until she gets to eat.  She is so sweet but she sure is feisty.  Cole was an extremely mellow baby and I would say that compared to most babies Siena is also, however compared to Cole she is not so mellow.  I am hoping that this means as  toddler she will be a piece of cake!  I can wish right???  She is also getting chunky, as chunky as an 8 pound (that's my guess on her weight) 6 weeks old can be.  It is so adorable!

I have been able to give her a bottle once.  She was super hungry so I heated up some milk and gave it to her in the cheepo $.99 target bottle, she refused the nice Advent ones.  She started sucking on it like a pro and with in 5 minutes had drank about an ounce.  I stopped her from eating and burped her since it seemed like a lot of air got in to her.  I go to give her the bottle back and she acts like she has never seen it before.  She acted like she did not know how to use a bottle and choked every time she tried to drink from it.  I think she was playing around so I would let her nurse....

I think Cole is really trying to be a better brother.  He hasn't tried to bite in 2 days (this a big stuff!).  He really wants to be around her, but he still prefers if we ignore her.  He love to assist me in exercising at the house.  He brought me my hand weights today (6 pounds total.  That is 1/4 of his body weight) and then pointed to the tv.  He wanted me to turn on the video so he could exercise with me.  He likes anything involving jumping and then he likes to assist me with push ups (by crawling under me) and with crunches (by sitting on me).

Cole's thought process seems to be developing more these days too.  The other day at the park I watched Cole pick up some bark and hold out his hand to an older girl.  I was walking by at the time (Mike was on Cole duty) and I heard him ask the girl "But what's that?" as he held out his hand.  The girl looked down at the bark and he threw it at her.  I don't think Cole has quite the thought process yet to have planned that out but it was sure funny.   It was like he had tricked her in to coming closer so he could throw the bark at her.

Waking the beast

Cole fell asleep in the car on the way home from grocery shopping.  When that happens then nap time is screwed.  Since it was so early (10:45am) when we got home, we woke him up and gave him lunch.  Then at 12:30 we put him down for his nap.....I guess I should of said we put him down for play time.  That kid did not sleep!  We went in there many times and put him in his bed and each time he would get up.  We removed toys, turned off lights, took away water, etc.. until we had finally had it with him not sleeping.  At 2:30 we let him out.  Hey if he isn't going to sleep, he has to at least rest in his room.  MOM NEEDS NAP TIMES TO RECOUP OR SHE GETS VERY UNHAPPY!!!!!!!!!

So we decided to go to the park.  It was little to windy and Siena wanted to eat the whole time so we packed it up and went home.  Well guess who fell asleep on the 10 minute ride home.  So it is now a quarter to 5 and if we let him sleep to long then it screws with bed time but he really seems tired.  So we opted for a 30 minute nap and that we would wake him up at 5:15pm.  

This kid would not budge from our tickles, pokes, calling his name, etc.. so we enlisted Onyx to help.  She started at the hands and then licked his face up and down.  He still didn't wake up!  I guess he really was tired.  About 5 minutes later we got him up.  He was cute at first but them he went into crazy mode where his is hungry, thirsty, crabby, hold me don't hold me, I didn't ask for food or a drink mood.  So I stuck him in his room because he was whining and screaming.  I held him down breifly since he was trying to hit me and told him if he didn't stop crying I was closing the door and he could stay by himself.  He responded with an "oh ya ya".  I got up, closed the door and walked out.  He continued screaming and I waited for the head butt on the door, but it never came.  Five minutes later Mike went in and he was still on his bed crying.  

It took another 30 minutes before he would not try to hit us.  He played alone and came out of his room when he was no longer grumpy.

Moral of the story:  Don't wake the sleeping beast unless you want to lose an eye.

Brotherly love

So he's not always mean to Siena.  He does like to hold her, squeeze her, and give her kisses.  I like how squished her little face gets.

Tired mom - life in a nutshell

Siena has been keeping me up the last few nights.  She won't go to sleep if the light is off.  She screams while nursing.  She has to nurse for HOURS....I think it is my fault.  I first stopped eating salad because I was having one for every dinner for the past week, still happened.  So tonight I did not have a diet cherry coke.  I don't even know why I am drinking them in the first place.  They are horrible for you, but I felt like I needed the extra boost or I'd fall asleep and then I'd wake up and find Cole cooking a meal or something and I don't want the extra calories.  So minus the diet chemical drink today and I can safely say I think it was the problem.  She is sound asleep in her crib (big shock since she has been refusing to sleep in her crib).  I should have known.  Diet drinks make me feel awful.  If my body would not freak out over espresso or tea I'd go that route but then I get sick.  Oh well.  The princess is sleeping and not being feisty.  That's all I can ask for!

Cole wants nothing to do with me unless I am the only option.  He has major fits when Mike's leaves for work and takes swipes at me.  Today he bit Siena on the cheek. twice.  I was so mad at him.  I was trying to cook dinner (It was 3 pm and you guys wonder why I start dinner so early) and I look over to the swing and Cole is leaning in to kiss her cheek and I see her flinch as he is coming back up.  And then the crying begins.  Cole walks away smugly.  Now what, let ground turkey burn, comfort Siena or punish Cole.  I push the pan off the burner, grab Cole, put him in a time out, kiss Siena,  put Cole back in time out, go to kitchen make sure nothing fell on hot burner, put Cole back in time out, debate whether to get Siena out of swing, put Cole back in time out, turn off burner and give up on dinner for awhile, retrieve Cole from time out circle, discuss why he can not bite Siena, go get a drink of water, see Cole biting her again, repeat time outs for the next 10 minutes, and then I ran away.  Ok kidding on the last part, but oh how I dreamed of locking myself in the bathroom, filling up the tub, and reading the entire twilight saga again.  That should be enough time to recoup, right?  But no, I still had an hour to go before Mike was home from work.  Oh and this entire time Onyx was trying to get me to feed her dinner so I had a 60 pound Lab under foot the entire time.  She has yet to realize that her meals are no longer my first priority.