4th of July - State Capital

After the Museum, we headed to the State Capital, which was just across the street. They had some bands, exhibits, people dressed in old timey clothes and all sorts of food so we strolled through to check it out.

Cole and Adison crawled through a helicopter they had on the grounds; then we listened to some of the band and toured the inside of the Capital. I'd never been, and it was neat to walk around the inside of the building.

Here are a few pictures. I took more and will upload them from the camera a bit later, I thought I'd downloaded more.


Everyone waiting for the band to start playing.



Cole and I took the stairs to the 3rd level of the Capital Building, Cole's checking out the view below.

4th of July - Museum of Science

Kevin had the great idea to head to some museums downtown this morning. We got there shortly after the Museum of Science opened and practically had the place to ourselves.
It was the perfect place to let the kids move and check stuff out, and we really had a lot of fun.

There was so much to see and Cole and Adison really enjoyed themselves and Cole was interested in the exhibits more than he had been in the past. We had a nice snack at the cafe before we walked across the street to the state capitol where they were having some 4th of July activities.

The Busy Girl


Wide Open Space


I love this picture, Cole is pushing some button that's making either an animal or nature sound....



Kevin reading about dinosaurs



Waiting for the butterfly room to open.

4th of July - Morning

For breakfast, donuts of course.

Cole and I got up and drove to Krispy Kreme to check out the donut-machine (it's working) and get some breakfast for everyone.

At 80% sugar, these donuts are a hit and it doesn't take long for the sugar to do it's work. Ten minutes into breakfast the kids were playing a hearty game of peek-a-boo.

$1.00 Worth of Fun

This week's trip to Target included a look at the $1.00 section where I happened to come upon a pack of flexible glo-sticks. I decided to get two, one for now and one for the evening of the 4th.

It was one of those nights that seemed really really long and everyone needed a distraction, so we pulled out the glo-sticks. We had a great time lighting them up, putting them together, and trying all sorts of things with them. It made a perfect night light at bed time.

Goodbye to a Good Friend

We had to say goodbye to our wonderful dog Irbe this weekend. We found out he had cancer a little over a month ago, and the time had come to finally let him go.
Irbe was a wonderful dog. He was our second boxer, we got him a year after we got Bou, thinking it would be a fabulous idea to get her a friend. They couldn't have been more different, but they tolerated each other wonderfully.

We joked that Irbe wasn't the smartest dog, but actually he was much more obedient, played harder, and was just an all around large, loveable dog. When the kids came around and he moved to 2nd fiddle, there was no difference in his character. Adison has shown the most interest in the dogs, literally laying all over them and petting them with vigor and Irbe would simply sit there and raise his head a little, proudly putting up with her.

These are some of our favorite things about Irbe:
He'd play catch until he passed out.
He thought he was a "lap dog" even though he was 80 pounds.
He loved chasing squirrels and rabbits, even though by the time he scrambled out the door he could only remember where he'd first seen it and therefore never got close.
He loved to lick anyone and everyone to death.
He would howl when the answering machine came on.

He was a wonderful dog, and we miss him.

*One week later Cole came to me this morning and asked where Irbe was. We'd been waiting for his conversation and knew it would eventually happen. Cole had gotten up before us, and had come downstairs to "keep an eye on Bou", which means follow her around. I told Cole Irbe was too sick, that the doctor couldn't fix him and that he had died. He told me we can save his leash until he comes back. When I told him that he wouldn't be coming back, my sweet, sweet boy broke down in tears and cried in my lap for 5 minutes. He also asked if we could pray to God to help Irbe get better. It was a somber time for Cole this morning, but it was so touching to be reminded of how tender his little heart is. We ended up praying that God would help us not to be sad, and to take extra special care of Bou.*

Lost

Yes. I took the wrong subway attempting to get back to the hotel by myself and ended up very far from the city...somewhere on 21st street. Here's what I learned:

1. If you tink you are close enough to walk to your hotel: do it.

2. If you take the wrong subway, stay in the subway and ask the irritated but helpful metro employee how to get back.

3. It only takes about 15 minutes to walk from 1 East 47th street to 248 West 47th street.

4. It doesn't matter how hard I try, I cannot hail a cab in New York City.
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Grand central station

Made a pit stop here on our last day. Haerd to believe this is it! Next: Brooklyn Bridge.
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Wicked

We went and saw the broadway show Wicked tonight which is meant to be a prequal to the Wizard of Oz. It really was a fantastic show and I'm a big time fan now. It was everything I hoped it would be. Here we are at the stage door with one of the main characters. The two girls we went with had already seen it several times, so they wanted to get some autographs and it was really fun to meet them.
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Times Square

We are staying 2 blocks from here.
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Times Square

We are staying 2 blocks from here.
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Cab for Four

Our dogs were barking after Central Park so we hailed a cab to thhe Apple Store. Tight squeeze.
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Subway

We ate lunch at Tom's Restaurant -- of Seinfeld fame -- and now headed to Central Park.

Note: due to technical difficulties this post is out of order.
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Central Park

We walked some of it. I hope to go back wednesday. This bridge was pretty.
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Subway guy with headphones

Wicked awesome.
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New York City

I've been in New York since saturday and having a great time. I'm trying out blogger on my phone. Saturday one of the things we did was go to the top of the rock at Rockefeller center. It was a beautiful day and we could see all of the city.
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First Hair Cut

Today Adison had her first real hair cut at 20 months. It was a decision I made on a whim; we had just dropped Cole off at VBS, and she'd pulled the clips out of her hair and looked like a lion on the back seat.

Her hair is so curly in the back, just super super tight. But in the front for some reason it's just kind of wavy straight.

So off we went to a kids hair salon and she was a champ! She sat there in awe and halfway through asked to get down, but never cried or put up a fuss.

I didn't have my "big" camera, so I took these with my phone.

I Finally Did It.

The I'm-Going-To-NY-In-June-Dress I wanted to make turned out to be a I'll-Just-Wear-It-Around-The-House-Dress.

Mom and I gave it our best effort, but it required so many alterations to get it to work on me, it ended up being kind of a traffic jam of seams and raw edges on the inside and it kind of showed.

Enter Kwik Sew 3599. First of all, I found Kwik Sew's pattern so MUCH easier to read and understand. I got a couple yards of fabric in a few weeks ago and I had two patterns on the list to try. I decided on the Kwik Sew because it really seemed easy.

And it was!!

I started it Sunday afternoon and finished it (minus the bottom hem) this morning during nap time. I am LOVING this dress. I need to tweak a few things next time I make one -- which will be soon, I assure you -- and make it just a tad longer, as it's not Playground with the kids material, but I am totally loving it and loving the fabric and feeling quite proud of myself for actually making an item of clothing for me.

Can't think of a great name for this dress right now but I'm working on it.

Wheeeeeeee!

Our church had a block party today to celebrate our move to the new building. Cole enjoyed this particular part of the party.

Cole-ism

Now that I've remembered to start writing these down, it seems they are a thousand of them.

The kids and I were sitting out on the deck late Monday afternoon, enjoying the fresh air and this is the conversation Cole and I had:

Cole: Phew....I'm taking the day off, Mama.

Me: (Incredulous) You're taking the day off?

Cole: Yep.

Me: From what?

Cole: From working. I can't work hard all the time, Mama!!

But he can still talk all the time....

Mother's Day

We had an unconventional Mother's Day here on Sunday. Our home seems to be a breeding ground for virus's this spring, and this weekend's target was Kevin. After he nursed me back to health last week, I had the opportunity to attempt to do the same for him. (update: he's still down and out with a horrible case of tonsilitis and ear infection).

So the kids and I tried to get out of his way and go to church so he could rest. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out together. The kids did some painting, we played soccer in the recently renovated and totally empty Living room. It was a busy day, but good family time. I had decided I would ask for just ONE thing on this Mother's Day: a picture with my children.

I gathered them up, sat at the fire place, instructed a weak but trying Kevin on where I wanted said photo. Adison was harder to hold than a greased pig; Cole gave me his very best 16-year-old-trapped-in-a-4-year-old-body impression, complete with a hearty slice of attitude, and after these two pictures I uttered the words "forget it" and announced it was bed time.




The wonderful thing is, it's not a mother's day I want to immediately erase from my memory. These are special days. Cole is exploding as a 4 year old and I find I enjoy so many things with him. He talks all day long, and just when I start to tune it out, he says something hilarious, or thought provoking or sweet. These days will not last forever, and I try to remember how wonderful it is to have that open-ness with him right now.

Adison seems to learn a new word every day, and has started to put words together. She loves to talk just as much as Cole, and will not be left out of the conversation. Recently, I'll hear them playing together, laughing, tickeling, chasing one another and their laughs are contageious. I just want to record it and play it back over and over.

And the truth is, I couldn't be even a decent Mother without Kevin. I will never be Mother of the Year (I lost that trophy about 3 hours after I brought Cole home from the hospital). I will also never be Housekeeper, Chef, Daily Life Organizer or Laundry Person of the Year. Kevin is in it 100% with me, and picks up so much of the slack I seem to leave behind. If I'm a good mother, it's because I'm the wife of a great Father.

And I lied when I said I only wanted one thing on Mother's Day, I spied a necklace a few months ago that I thought was not only very pretty, but also special in that you could have your kids names put on it. I sent Kevin the link as a helpful hint not knowing if he'd think about it past my "isn't this pretty" comments. But as I drank my morning coffee, he popped a pretty pink and brown box in front of me and of course I knew what was inside....


I truly love it, because with all the ups and downs, I'm grateful to be mother to these two.

Just My Size

This is what happens when you leave any pillow or blanket on the floor at our house. Bou has managed to get on it and not touch the floor. Amazingly, the bigger and not as graceful Irbe can do the same.

But who could tell this face no? (not me. ever.)

Cole-ism

This isn't so much what he says, as what he does.

Every night Cole goes to sleep with a huge blue decorative pillow behind his regular blue-dotted pillow. At night when I go to check on him before I go to bed, he's either propped up high, or laying at some angle that I'm convinced is going to give him a horrible crick in his neck in the morning.

So every night I gently slip that large pillow out from under him and put it next to his bed. The funny thing is, Cole has made a little habit of putting toys underneath his pillows. I'm not sure why he started doing it. My guess is way back when we first moved him into the bed, the rule was no toys in the bed at night time since it was time to sleep.

I love looking underneath the pillow every night. It's such a wonderful, child-like thing to do, hiding your special things under your pillow.

Tonight it was:

A red foam finger from Carolina Hurricanes

3 wind up cards that connect

A measuring tape

Nana Knows Best

Cole is so into trains right now. Just fascinated by every part of them. A few months ago, Kevin's mom sent Cole a package and in it contained a train shirt. He immediately LOVED it and put it on. He wore it for 5 days straight (NOT kidding). I had to peel it off of him and convince him that it needed to be washed.

Not long after that Cole spent a few days with Nana and Grandaddy and they just know what little boys like (I'm sure it has nothing to do with raising 3 boys...), and they took him to a train museum.

Cole had a blast, and to this day has the map of the museum in his room and likes to pull it out occassionaly and talk about where they went -- and where the bathroom is.

A few days after he got home, another package came for Master Cole Spillman (as they are always addressed) and inside was another train shirt, identical to the first. And a brand new yellow one.

Rarely do more than 2 days go by without him asking me, "Is my train shirt dirty, mama?" And thanks to Nana, I can manage to keep one clean all the time.

Driving the Point Home...

Me: "Did you write No on the chalk board? Good job!"

Cole: "Yeah, because I don't want Adison to touch my toys."

Just a Moment (or two) in the day

Cole is FOUR

Cole turned 4 on April 20th, and this birthday was definately the most fun yet. First of all, he was really aware of his birthday, and aware that you will get a present for your birthday so anytime we were out and about, he'd often say "maybe I could have THAT for my birthday."

I decided to just let loose and let him plan the whole thing. This actually proved difficult because he'd change his mind about what plates he wanted, or what he wanted to do. So we went to a local party store and tried it that way.

It was a smashing sucess. Blue plates and napkins (no surprise there), he picked out metallic party hats, and then we hit the sticker section so the kids could decorate their own hat. He also saw some fake mustache's at the store, and since he had learned exactly what a mustache is at school the week before, he was very excited to see those. In the basket they go.

Finally, he picked out blue jelly beans, chocolate coins, and a toy for each person for party favors (mini soccer balls for the boys, sidewalk chalk for the girls).

I also let him choose who to invite. He pretty much stuck to family: his cousins and then our good friend Lizzie. Do you want to invite any other of your friends from school? No. Just Lizzie.

(fun fact: Lizzie has told me in DETAIL about her and Cole's wedding and I'm starting to be all for it. We love Lizzie)

We had his party at a park near our house, and it was just the perfect day. The kids played, decorated their hats, and a few even put on mustache's, although it was pretty much the adults who got in on the fun.







After that it was the biggest cookie cake you've ever seen with a train on it.

Presents.

Parting Gifts.



And the birthday boy looks pooped.