You Know You Need a Hair Cut When.....

A Day at the Beach

Mom and Dad took a little mini-vacation to the beach recently and were sweet enough to invite me and the kids up during the week. We just stayed one night, but it was such a wonderful time. Something about the beach is so soothing and relaxing. You're just forced to do nothing, in a wonderful way.

Dad spent HOURS with Cole, in the frigid water, building sandcastles, taking him for walks and ice cream, and most importantly listening to all the things Cole has to say.

Mom had food stocked for our visit, all our favorites and helped me make the dress I've been wanting to attempt for so long, and wrangled Adison on the beach so I could play with Cole a little.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Cole wanted to be splashing in the water all the time...and it was cold! Adison was fearless, running into the water, falling face first, coming up gasping for air and then heading right back in. I remember Cole doing the same thing at about that age.

We came back refreshed and ready for more beach time!

Ba-Pa

Adison just LOVES her Grandpa. It seemed like from very early on (before 1 even), she decided that she would just be attached to him.

She loves to talk about him, and in fact we have a little game we play usually at least once during the day:

Adison: "Ba-Pa?"

Me: "Grandpa's at work"

Adison: "Mimi?"

Me: "Grammy's at work too"

Repeat.

At least 100 times.

Here are some pictures of the two of them having fun making bzzzzzzzzzz sounds at each other.

Soccer

It's no secret we're hockey fans here, but we give equal opportunities to other sports. I signed up Cole for a soccer class through the Parks and Recreation system here in town. He really has enjoyed it quite a bit. His Coach, "Coach K" has been great with the kids; I'm not sure how she wrangles 7 3-4 year olds, but she does so very well.

The first class he was totally enamoured with everything going on. If there's one thing about Cole, he listens intently to the instructions (mostly so he can spit them back out to you in a tricky student-becomes-the-teacher type of way.)

Mid way through the first class he turns to me in the stands and whisper-yells excitedly: "Mama! she has a WHISTLE!!"

(Note to self: go buy whistle)

It finished up this week, but it was fun watching him participate and just get right in there and try, and also encourage his other team mates.

A Moment in the Day

New Window Seat. Why sit on top of it when the inside is just your size?

Adored

One thing I love about Cole is his sweet spirit. He is all boy, rough and tumble, but his heart is very soft and tender. Here, Celetese and Emily were visiting and he rarely left her side, talking softly about her, or to her, explaining whatever it is that was on his mind. I just love the way he is looking at her.

Flirt

Adison has started using this move recently. You wouldn't believe how effective it is.

Snack Time

A few weeks ago while Cole was at preschool, Adison was enjoying her snack. I always try to have her sit down, usually on the stairs for her snack. Not that she stays put...

This day I realized she was really plowing through the graham cracker sticks while I was cleaning the kitchen. But when I stopped and took in what was happening, I realized I was taking part in a little Adison game.

1. Ask for a snack ("Peee! Peeee!") Point at exactly what you want.


2. Wait for that snack patiently, but also make sure the snack-giver knows how incredibly patient you are waiting. This is best acheived through some serious non-verbal eye-work.


3. Eat your snack


4. Correction: eat HALF your snack, and put the rest of it safely in the play kitchen.
For later. Or maybe, for one of the doggies to stumble upon.

ABC's

Cole tends to focus in one on thing at a time, usually, but REALLY focus in on it. These days, it's counting....to one hundred. And he can pretty much do it alone.

But lately it's also very much about letters and what things start with. Probably because it's so much of what they are doing at preschool this year. But all throughout the day you will hear him say:

"aaa! aaa! A starts with Apple"

Our good friend Lizzie had a birthday recently, and we made a card for her. I wrote out "Happy Birthday Lizzie" for Cole, and he copied it all by himself.

I've Been Tagged

I've read on a lot of blogs about people getting "tagged" to share radom facts or information about themselves, and my friend Brandy tagged me. I'm very excited since this is my first one. Here are the answers to the tag:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Lifeguard
2. Teacher Assistant
3. Administrative Assistant
4. Summer Camp Counselor

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Miss Congeniality
2. When Harry Met Sally
3. Cars (kind of forced to...Cole's favorite movie)
4. Singin' in the Rain

Four places I've lived:
1. Edmonds, WA
2. Satellite Beach, FL
3. Jonesboro, AR
5. Raleigh, NC
(and in that order!)

Three TV Shows I watch:
1. House Hunters
2. Dancing with the Stars
3. American Idol (this is my and Kevin's first time watching it, we're the last to start popular stuff like this)
4. The Office

Four places I've been:
1. Paris
2. Switzerland
3. Canada
4. Chicago

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Diane
2. Dana
3. Old Navy, Pottery Barn, etc....
4. Emily

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Fondue.
2. Most cheesy italian dishes
3. Salmon
4. Chocolate

Four places I would like to visit:
1. Austin, TX
2. Italy
3. Portland, OR
4. any Carribean beach...

Five things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1. A trip to NY with some girlfriends
2. Any getaway trip with Kevin
3. Summer at the Pool with Kevin & Kids
4. Any project that involves giving our house the finishing touches we like
5. I'm having trouble with number five...spending one holiday this year with just Kevin and the kids.

Easter Sunday

This easter I found particularly special for a few reasons. First, Cole is old enough to begin grasping our reason for the celebration of Easter and his Bible Story book does a beautiful job of explaining the ressurection in a way that is easy for him to understand. So he was excited as we talked about it on the way to church. Second, Adison got to wear the dress I made for her for the first time, along with a little sweater Carine knitted for her. I am not a great seamstress, but this is one dress that I will always remember because the fabric is so unique and I really like the shape. I hope one day she'll appreciate that her mother made a dress for her.

We managed to make it to church on time and I don't think we were too matchy-matchy for Kevin. I try to go for the blend approach.

Easter egg hunt to come, Cole really enjoyed that this year. I'm trying to figure out how to upload video....

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter Saturday in High Point visiting Nana and Grandaddy and the day could not have been more beautiful. It was one of those days that felt like it lasted a long time, in the best possible way. We celebrated a birthday, played outside in the beautiful, spring weather, had a nice visit and a delicious lunch and cake. I always enjoy our visits; partly because it's nice to get to a place where things are a little more spread out they have such a pretty piece of land there, with room for the kids to run and play. But for the record (Fletcher..I know you're reading this), you can always move to Raleigh any time....

The Biggest News

Easter and all of that to come....

but much more exciting than that is that Emily & Michael welcomed Celeste Marie into their family a few weeks ago. When they were in town the first time, we were all sick and I had to keep a distance. Now that they are back for all sorts of baby showers in Raleigh we've had plenty of opportunity to get up close and personal with her and basically none of us can get enough of her.

Adison is giving away kisses by the dozen to her, and is also Johnny-on-the-spot to make sure her passy is in. (I think she feels a connection since they use the same passy).

Cole keeps talking in a sweet, quiet voice about how cute Celeste is, and how small her feet are.

Cole: "I really love Celeste, Mama"

Me: "me too, Cole!"

Cole: "and maybe we could have another little baby too!"

Me: "would you like some chocolate? I bet Grammy has Chocolate here somewhere"

But in all seriousness it has been a wonderful thing to see how the Lord chose Celeste for Michael and Emily, and to see them overjoyed together in adding to their family. We are so happy for them, and this exciting time in their lives.

Cole-ism

I've been meaning to write these down when he says them. And every time I've forgotten, until tonight.

(Cole and Kevin on the phone)

Cole: Daddy, you need to turn around and come back!

Kevin: Why?

Cole: Because you forgot your work purse! (briefcase)

Under the Weather

Adison came down with Hand-Foot-Mouth disease this weekend; what a horrible name for a virus...but what it amounts to is very high fevers, and little sores inside her mouth and some on her hands and feet (hence the name....).

I think she's past it now for the most part, with only a few spots left on her hand. And her mood is in full swing, buzzing around the house. Unfortunately for Cole, he caught it yesterday and spent a miserable day on the couch, and had to put up with his parents trying to get his 103 fever down most of the night. Thankfully his fever is mostly gone, although is appetite is still meager. And he has to deal with a sister who is dying to play with "O!" A crazy couple of days that left us stuck at home while Dean and Chris were in town. But I think it's on the way out.

Neither of these kids is much of a snuggler, so here's a picture of Adison resting on Daddy's chest in the middle of her fever.

For the Show..

I'm setting up a table at a consignment show I first went to last fall. At that show, I got a lot of positive response for my stuff, but no actual sales so this time I decided to have some pre-made stuff ready to buy. We'll see how it pans out, but I sure had fun making these lounge sets. I am CRAZY over that lemon fabric right now.

I also made some magnets, coffee clutches and headbands...

Funny Faces

Cole is VERY into what's funny these days. If you laugh at anything....ANYTHING during the day he will immediately ask you, "What are you laughing at? What did you just laugh at Mama?" He loves any opportunity to laugh, and his laugh is contageous.

Kevin had control of the camera tonight while I was putting Adison to bed and clearly they were having a good time.

Little Boy

Cole just isn't a little boy anymore...he is, but I keep seeing snippits of someone who will soon be 4, then 5, and I can't think about it past that. :)

Here's a little shot I took in the elephant room at the zoo. It's using my Random Capturing technique (hold your camera out at some weird angle and start pushing the button). Laugh all you want, but I have gotten some of my favorite pictures this way.

Afternoon Adventure

Kevin was tied up all day monday, so the kids and I set out for a little day trip in D.C. Kevin was nice enough to help get me on the subway, I was nervous about finding the elevator and getting on the train, but once we saw how easy it was, we felt like natives.

Kevin read in the paper that the National Building Museum has a kids play room of just building toys. Legos, blocks, diggers, dump trucks....the stuff a Cole dream is made of.

We got there and it was almost empty (becasue it was beautiful outside) and we enjoyed it for an hour. Next we headed for the National Mall near all the museums. I stopped and bought lunch for us (although I was the only one interested in wolfing down my hot dog in record time.) We ate at the National Sculpture Gardens which has an ice rink in the middle. What a perfect spot. The kids stretched their legs and we watched ice skaters who were enjoying a beautiful day on their breaks, it was really great.

After that we just walked around -- well, I walked around. Cole didn't feel like walking, and if I had let Adison out of the stroller I would have been RUNNING around. We looked at a few monuments and then enjoyed a quiet subway ride home.

I didn't take many pictures, because I only have 2 hands, but it was such a fun afternoon and made me ready for another visit soon.

Washington, D.C. Family Trip

Kevin had some business in D.C. Monday and Tuesday, so we made it a family trip and went up Saturday through tuesday.

We hit some mild weather and really enjoyed our visit. Sunday we went to the National Zoo, which I had never been to before and really had a great time. You'd never know a Zoo was plopped in the middle of a nations captial, full of buildings and buzzing with activity.

We went straight to the Elephant room to watch an Elephant get his bath. Cole was really fascinated by it (although I don't know what was more interesting, the elephant or the watcr and hose). Adison was thrilled to be out of her stroller and immediately started making laps.






A lot of the animals were out and moving because the weather was so nice, sunny and just a tiny bit cool. It was neat to see the Pandas.



Cole was fascinated by the Meerkats. One was digging furiously right in front of him.