So I haven't been taking pictures lately which means I don't post. They just kind of go hand in hand. I've not been carrying my camera around and all the pics on my iphone are blurry or off color now for some reason. But it is what it is.
Last weekend we went to Burnet, TX for a "Day Out with Thomas". It was so much fun with lots to do and the weather was perfect. Lyla loved the coloring. She really does enjoy drawing and coloring. Much more so than Cole does, but she is messy and crazy with the colors. So unless I can sit right beside her we don't do it. She spent a lot of time with daddy at the coloring table.
Cole went to play with all the trains on the huge train table multiple times. We would leave when he would get frustrated with the amount of children at the table (because then he couldn't actually drive the train anywhere) and then come back later.
Cole played in the train bounce house once. He wanted us to come in but it was too small.
So he moved on to miniature golf with Lyla (and she and daddy made that lovely necklace she is wearing too).
They got balloons from conductor clowns and we saw Sir Topham Hatt. Cole really couldn't wait to see him. He even stood patiently in line just for the chance to touch him. He is holding his hand in the picture.
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the actual Thomas train but here is Lyla standing outside the gate right in front.
When Cole first heard Thomas blow his horn and then drive around the bend he started pointing and saying Thomas. I was fortunate to have the video on. And for those that know Cole, he is NOT dramatic and doesn't show a lot of emotion. THIS is a genuinely very excited Cole. Trust me. I was so happy for him I was fighting back tears. I'm such a blubbering mommy. But he was very interested to get back to the small trains too.
The REAL train was on the other end pulling and then pushing "Annie and Clarabell" (aka. the passenger cars). It was loud when the horn blew and Cole didn't like that very much so by the time it was our turn to ride he actually didn't want to. But by the time we got on, made silly faces at the camera,
and realized it was much more quiet INSIDE the passenger car, he was all smiles and excited to be on the train. The ride was only 20 minutes but perfect for two little tots who were hungry by then and ready for naps. It was really a great time for everyone!
So we again took separate flights to New York. This time it was because originally Rick was going by himself. Then he was going to bring Lyla, but when the cheapest tickets he could get meant staying 5 days, that was just too long without daddy and Lyla, so Cole and I got tickets too. It was another long day of flying with already tired children but overall it was pleasant.
The very first thing Cole and Lyla did was ride on Great Papa Solotes' tractor. Cole asked to ride it every day and got very adept at it. Lyla even loved to ride it too. So Skip and Papa Solotes would take turns taking the kids for rides.
I was a little concerned with the tight sleeping conditions in George & Yvette's two bedroom home, but it all worked out wonderfully. The kids shared a room with Rick's parents. Cole slept on a twin air mattress on the floor. Lyla had a pack n play. Rick slept on the couch or floor and I slept on another air mattress or couch in the living room. Kaitlyn and Jillian either slept on the air mattress, at a friend's house or Natalie's apartment.
While Rick and I were at the wedding, Cole and Lyla went with the family to a party celebrating a cousin's graduation. They loved it and now Cole gets very excited at the mention of a party. After all, there was a lot to do in their backyard! We later joined them at the festivities.
We went to Darien Lake (an amusement park) one day thanks to Natalie who got free tickets for us from her work. Cole had a terrible allergy attack the night prior and was up until midnight, but we decided to go anyway. He was pretty good considering the circumstances. He rode many rides and enjoyed them but was also very scared in many too...notice the grip he has on Rick's shirt.
He got to ride his very own train! It was man powered so when it would run out of oomph from the initial push they would have to go push him again, but I thought he did great for never having "pedaled" with his hands (wait, or feet for that matter).
There was a mighty breakdown at one point that was finally resolved with daddy beating out little seven or eight year olds to win a cookie monster. Cole went on to ride the bumper carswith Cookie Monster. He did really well for never having driven by himself or pushed a pedal to drive!
All I have to say is "Thank Goodness for Cookie Monster!" I think he just needed a lovey and we hadn't brought his blanket. Since coming home he hasn't been all that thrilled with him other than to sing "C is for Cookie" and push a magnet shaped "C" into his mouth. Lyla finds him adorable and cuddles and lays with him, but calls him "Elmo" no matter how many times I correct her.
Cole got to see a Thomas & Friends show while Rick and I went on a roller coaster. He even participated which was rather shocking to me. (He is behind the "INA" sign.)
And even as tired as he was he wanted to ride motorcycles. I could tell he was afraid, but he held on and didn't get upset. That was a huge leap for him.
Little Princess was such a trooper too. She loved all the things to see and enjoyed the rides right along with Cole.
It was so great to spend time with the family and enjoy some cooler weather. Although it was unusually hot for Western NY, it was cooler than Texas. We'll take 85 - 90 degrees any day! Cole and Lyla really enjoyed playing in the shaded yard, going for walks with Grandma, playing in the water or going to the playground.
I would often find Cole talking with Great Grandma Solotes in the kitchen. He would go on and on and on. It was sooo sweet. There is a little TV in the kitchen and they would watch it together and talk about it. Or she would ask him lots of questions and he would give her the most detailed answers. Lyla captured Great Papa Solotes' heart right away. Of course he also bribed her with M&M's to sit with him. After that she would always want to sit with him in hopes of getting some chocolate.
We also visited Lake Ontario and went swimming at a friend's home where the girls surprised Cole with some Thomas toys and swimming trunks. You can see from his face he was delighted.
We were able to do so much, but at the same time have such a relaxed and lazy vacation.Okay, at least I was lazy. With so much help around I totally chilled. It was awesome.
And of course Rick had to eat at all the old stomping grounds. We even stopped at a the classic "Reids" for lunch and ice cream with the kids.
Overall, it was fabulous and it felt like leaving home again when it came time to actually go home. The only regret was we didn't make it to Rochester or Palmyra. Just not enough time in five days for all that we would want to do there. Hopefully it isn't another three years before we are able to return and see the Solotes clan!
And THANK YOU to Jillian for the majority of these pictures. Once again, I was a total slacker with the camera.
Okay, time to catch up on the fun month we have had starting with our trip to Michigan. Rick and Cole flew together and Lyla and I took a separate flight. It was the only way we could use our frequent flier miles to go. Lyla was a nightmare on the first flight but an angel after that. I have to say that the Chicago Children's Museum inside the airport really, REALLY helped to make the trip pleasant and keep Lyla very entertained. Overall, the kids were pretty good travelers and Lyla was even better on the way back.
I have to say that I was very poor at taking any pictures at all while we were there. I took a few but I should have taken so many more. It was a beautiful week on the Lake with family. I was just too busy relaxing and enjoying the grandparents around to realize that I would want these pictures! Oh well. Here are some highlights though...
Cole played on this tractor multiple times. You can see it was definitely a thrill.
Cole and Lyla adored playing in the sand and in the water. Lyla is a little daredevil and kept trying to get you to let go of her. She would just step right in. That's fine on the beach area but by the cabins it is the dock. They would both lay in the sand, grab water in their buckets and pour it on the sand, dig it up and start all over again.
Grandpa Poling brought a fishing pole and a tractor for Cole to play with and boy did he love them both. At any given time you could see Cole outside driving the tractor through the dirt. He loved to roll it down the sidewalk until it hit the grass too.
We took a trip to the sand dunes on the side of the lake one day with the kids. Shockingly Cole wasn't afraid to climb it with Grandma Poling. (He usually is afraid of heights.) Even better was rolling down it again, and again, and again with daddy!
Cole can't even open his eyes when asked to smile for the camera. The combination of uncontrollable laughter, sand and sun didn't make it easy! Playing in the sand and in the dirt with his tractor might be some of the rare occasions that Cole didn't mind being dirty. I love this picture because the dirt is so out of character for him. However, the cupcake mouth is totally Cole. He loves cake!
Lyla on the other hand thinks dirt is her best friend. She bathes in the stuff. In fact, she thought she would try eating it too.
Hmmm...yeah, that didn't work out like she thought.
Although we were there for July 4th, we didn't play with them for days later. Cole really loves sparklers as we play with them at home, but the "Pop-its" were new and boy did he love throwing those at our feet! I totally lost track of time and he was up until almost 11:30pm! I had forgotten that dark doesn't even come until about 10pm there. That was hard for him the first night to get used to going to bed before the sun went down.
Ludington is a great place for young families to vacation. The beach off Lake Michigan is so clean - no rocks or dirt or anything. I think they comb through it every night. There is a beautiful lighthouse to walk to and a fun park right on the beach. We went there a couple of times and played on the swings, slides and in the sand.
Oh, and doesn't Rick look like a movie star or something here. Have to say I enjoy having the casual and scruffy Rick on our vacations! (Um, even though I think those were Yvonne's sunglasses. Hahah!)
We also went to a park on another end of Lake Michigan where most of the boat docks are and the steamboat to cross the Lake. This was an amazing playground - the largest and coolest I have ever seen. Rick and I loved playing on it. Lyla thought she was so cool running around on it with the big kids. Cole somehow forgot his fear of heights and tall slides in the chaos and enjoyed every second. The "bumpy" slide was definitely his favorite.
We also enjoyed the soft, green grass to play in. I miss soft grass. :-(
There was a little kiddie playground too. I took Lyla there and behold, she decided that steps were for sliding down (which I quickly put an end too) and slides were for climbing. Frankly, it shocked me. The girl is crazy.
It was a lovely trip and we can't wait to do it all again. We were home maybe four days when Rick up and found cheap tickets for us to go to Buffalo, New York to attend a friend's wedding, see his grandparents and spend time with his family that was visiting there too. We had not been there with the kids ever so we were very excited but details of that adventure to come in the next post.
Here's a video of Cole and Daddy on the dunes.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Lyla's first birthday came and went without a really big tadoo but we did have cake and presents with the kids. Cole vividly remembers presents from Christmas so he was VERY excited to open those gifts!
I really thought Lyla would be walking by her first birthday but she hasn't seemed very interested in it for the past couple of months, but boy was she into it yesterday. For literally an hour she ran back and forth through the house with any walker she could find.
My trip to Florida with Rick was so fun and SO NEEDED. We felt like newlyweds again without the kids to worry about. Knowing they were having a great time with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents definitely made things easier. I was thrilled to hear that they didn't even complain while we were away. When Rick left on Wednesday, I explained to Cole that dad was on a trip and he would come back. So the day before I left, I told him I was going on a trip to see dad and that I would be back too. My mother said Cole completely understood and would say, "Mom, trip, dad, come back." Awesome. I love that he didn't worry because he totally knew everything was fine. One thing we did do at Grandma's house is finally give this boy a haircut. Going from this:
to this:
He was a pretty good sport about it all considering he hates his hair cut which is why I had let it go so long. His reward was a piece of gum which he is chomping on in the pic above. (Although I hate giving him gum because he ALWAYS swallows it. His intestines must be full of the stuff by now.)
We mostly went out for dinners as Rick was in meetings on and off throughout the day. I enjoyed the time to read books and bask in the sun. I'm so glad it was warm and beautiful. We went to a Hibachi grill at the resort the first night, pirates adventure dinner the second night and a murder mystery dinner the final night. All dinners were good with the most fun being the mystery dinner. Rick actually was asked to take part in it which made it even more fun. The acting and quick improve of the group was outstanding.
Here are a few other shots. After the pirate dinner we walked around and found this massive carousel ride. I thought I was pretty good with scary rides and considering that this is swing carousel which I love (and is NOT scary), I was super excited. Let me tell you this was HIGH. I had to shut my eyes when it was at the very top but would open them if they dropped even a few feet from there. For some reason my eyes just would NOT open at the very top. It was thrilling.
It's good to be back home again too though. We are enjoying the warm weather and spending a lot of time outside. These videos are from before we left but we Rick took them to the park to fly a kite so I'll try to post those videos soon.
Cole is still very into animals. While we were outside he was so hyper that his animal sounds all came out as yells. I thought it was so funny.
Lyla officially loves slides now and both she and Cole prefer to do them on their tummy. She loves to explore the dirt and grass outside. She knows the sign for outside and uses it ALL THE TIME. The little thing could live outside and probably be very happy. I don't mind it except for the very dirty clothes and scruffed up shoes and knees in the pants. Learn to walk baby girl and you will love it even more!
Yesterday, it was rainy and gray all morning so I pulled out a pop-up tent I bought at Wal-mart after Christmas when they were on clearance. The kids LOVED it!
Cole does a lot of singing now too. I've got to get this on video. I don't know why I haven't yet really. He will start singing to most things he has heard before. He just makes noises and tries to follow along. It is so cute to hear him just start singing. I hope he always sings. It makes me happy. I feel so blessed to be his mother.
Little Princess went to her one-year checkup yesterday and weighed in at 19lb 5oz. That is actually 5 ounces less that Cole weighed at age 1, but she is 2 1/2 inches shorter than he was! Our little girl is still only 5th percentile for height and is 25th percentile for weight. The doctor said he thought I was rightly justified in taking her off whole milk and giving her 2% instead because her weight gain is still really good. She is just a shorty (27 inches to be exact). She is so much fun to be with. After her shots she was not very happy but she still seemed to make the best of it. I feel so blessed to be her mother.
The past few months Rick has been taking pictures and video with his iPhone. I haven't been able to get them easily since Rick is working in College Station. For the holidays, we traveled to North Carolina to visit Rick's family. We've all been a little sick but it hasn't stopped us from having a relaxing visit and it is so fun to watch Cole with his Grandma and Grandpa Solotes and his young Aunts. I thought I would take advantage of the time with Rick's iPhone and update the blog with some fun pics and video.
Here he is in his raccoon hat and his cup of milk. And on the slide at the park Grandpa Poling came to visit before Christmas. We were so happy that Cole warmed up to him very quickly. Cole playing at Daddy's desk Cole and Grandpa Solotes Cute pics of Cole and Daddy
Videos:
This is Cole and Cannon "playing" while we were babysitting for Ryan and Jefra. Cole was being pretty possessive with his toys and attempted to push Cannon away twice. What is so funny to us is he is trying to play AND watch his Baby Signing Time Video. He is a man of many talents!
Rick has a new administrative assistant at Miramont, we don't think he will last long though and he may be needing a new keyboard soon.
Cole is starting to push things to walk and he loves pushing this ottoman that is in the room Rick is staying in at one of the suites at Miramont. (And you can see I'm very pregnant.)
Cole loves the playground. He loves the swings - especially if you stand close where his feet will hit you and he likes to go down the slide but also tries to climb up it. He gets very upset if you don't let him crawl around in the wood chips or small rocks depending on which park we go to. He prefers the rocks and throws them up onto the slide and always attempts to put them in his mouth but gives mom a look before doing so, then slowly drops them as I shake my head no. What a character!
So what has been going on the past two weeks? In short, packing for a short trip to Utah to attend the Rees Family Reunion, the trip, then the recovery, then the realization that I haven't touched the camera in over two weeks. Eeek! The photos from this post are from two weeks ago when I was attempting to finish doing laundry before heading out. I was moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer and had another basket of clothes to put in the washer. I set Cole down beside the basket while I transferred clothes. It took all of about 1 minute. When I turned around to get Cole again, this is what I found!
I about died. He was so stinking cute! He obviously can pull himself up to standing and then proceed to pull himself into the basket. He thought it was great fun and frankly so did mom.
In other news, as of this past Friday, Cole learned how to stand in his crib. It was pretty funny because the first thing he did was pull the animals down from the mobile, which I then proceeded to remove. However it has taken him three days to realize he can reach the humidifier on a table beside his bed. Personally, I didn't realize he could. So this morning after his morning nap, I found a pool of water on the table and the top pulled off the humidifier. As I was in a rush to leave after getting him from his nap I was a little frustrated, but honestly, more proud that my son had such guts to attempt to pull this thing off the table. I thought his mattress was pretty low already but maybe not.
Our trip to Utah was fun. Cole was such an excellent traveler. He didn't mind the plane at all and in fact, fell asleep on the the way there and back. We were glad to have a nonstop flight though. I'm not sure we, the parents, could have handled a layover and second flight. We flew in on Thursday and went straight to the Reunion at the Lodge at Camelot. He doesn't sleep well outside of his crib so each day he was more and more tired as well. I was grateful that my parents had him in their room. I get so stressed out when he wakes up and cries because he doesn't like the Pack N' Play. I was surprised to hear he actually slept a couple of hours in bed with Grandma and Grandpa though. He doesn't normally like sleeping in beds.
Friday night we headed back to Provo and visited with some friends on Saturday and finally were able to meet up with Jeff and Kylene. I wish we'd been able to stay longer but it really would have been impossible because Cole was wiped. After being there Thursday and Friday, I think Cole had really had enough of being passed around to a ton of strangers. He wouldn't go to anyone but Mom and Dad after that. He kind of stayed that way much of last week too. Thankfully, he accepts Grandma and Grandpa and warms up to his aunts and uncles quickly. I can't say the same for others. We saw one of my favorite people in the entire world that Saturday in Provo, Marilyn Huntsman, and he absolutely would NOT let her hold him. I felt so bad! By the time we got home both baby and momma took a few days to recover on lost sleep and now we're back on track. He did pick up the sniffles though and a little cough.
And because I was a total slacker and didn't take any pictures (and still haven't since the aforementioned shots) here are pics from the Reunion from Kylene. (Thanks Sis for letting me steal!)
Grandpa Rees and Cole
My cutie Grandpa!
and super Grandma!
I don't really know who this is.
But this is my hunky husband and darling baby-daddy.
Chillin' on the Swing
Cole LOVES to swing. We took him for the first time right before we left for Utah. There wasn't a toddler swing at Camelot but he enjoyed swinging with Grandpa just the same.
He loved the tire swing too.
Cole was SOOoooo tired at this point but was still managing (barely) with Aunt Kylene and Uncle Jeff. (Aren't they cute!)
