Florida Trip Part 3

We took one day and went to Orlando to Disney.  We went to the Magic Kingdom and I will say that I went more for me because I had never been than for Caitlyn or Cole.  And I kind of wished I would have waited a few more years before going.  Caitlyn had a good time for the most part.  The worst part was the automatic flushing toilets (which a girlfriend of mine mentioned putting a sticker or post-it note over the sensor…wish I would have thought of that before the trip!).  Caitlyn was so afraid of them and all of them were automatic except for the bathroom in the castle.  Thankfully she went to the bathroom at lunch without a fuss.  We did lunch with the princesses.  That was a lot of fun!  It took her a little while to warm up to them and be comfortable around them to get her picture taken with them but she did and they turned out great!  

Snow White and Cole flirted - this is one of my favorite pictures of him from the trip!  

Caitlyn loved all the rides!  Even the teacups which she did with uncle Josh because they make Jared and I sick to our stomachs!  

Cole was even great and was so content in his stroller most of the day.  

While waiting for the light parade to start that night we were in a store and Jared and I were discussing which doll to get for Caitlyn.  All of a sudden I hear "mommy I'm peeing".  I look down and there she is with her legs spread and her dress pulled up in a puddle of pee.  I was mortified!  The store employee wasn't phased at all.  They had extra underwear still in the packaging just for this type of thing.  I was expecting to have to pay for a package of underwear but they just gave me a pair.  I was so thankful.  We watched the parade and headed back home.  It's unfortunate that I keep focusing on the negative of this day because now remembering back and writing it out it was actually a really fun day!  Sure she had her terrible 3 moments and the bathroom fiasco's but overall we all had a great time!

Cole: 9 Months

I can't believe we're so close to Cole turning One.  It's craziness!!!  Last week I took him to Dr. W for his 9 month appointment.  I thought we were going to get to skip shots for that appointment but somehow we had missed one of his Hep B shots so he got one anyway.  Poor guy.  He currently weighs 19lbs 6oz.  He's 27 1/4 in long and his head circumference is 17 3/4.  His head didn't grow any since his 6 month appt but she thought the measurements just weren't taken correctly at his last appt.  We'll see how the number goes at his one year appt.  I am still calling him my lazy baby.  He has started to hold his bottle if we put his hands on it but he won't do it unassisted.  He's rolling around to get places.  I talked to Dr. W about my concerns with him not crawling but she said as long as he can get from point A to point B there isn't anything to worry about.  He may not crawl at all and just go straight to walking.  Although even that seems so far away.  He has no desire to even stand on his own or put weight on his legs for more than a minute at a time.  I've said it before but he is so different from Caitlyn.  And it's hard for me to not compare them!  He doesn't have any teeth yet although she said they were close.  He doesn't want to eat actual food yet.  We just got him eating his baby food on a consistent basis.  He does love the yogurt bites though and will pick those up and put them in his mouth and eat them.  Any other solids that we give him he just spits back out.  He doesn't even try to chew and eat it.  I'm going to try to use the mesh feeder with him more to see if that helps to teach him to actually chew his food.  We'll see how that goes.   Caitlyn can make him laugh like no one else can and it's music to my ears!  I could listen to the 2 of them go back and forth all day long!  He also loves to cuddle and I could kiss on him forever and a day!  Seriously love this little boy!!!   

Florida Vacation Part Two

We spent the majority of our days in Florida either at the pool or at the beach.  The best way to show this is by pictures…enjoy!!! 

Florida Vacation 2012 Part One

I'm thinking day one needs a post of its own. It was a long one!

We got up at 3:30 so we could be at the airport by 5:30 as our flight was supposed to leave at 7:00 Saturday morning. Beth and I had checked in online Friday night and paid for our luggage at that time as well. My check in with bags went smoothly but Beth had a problem with seating because Harrison was going to be sitting on her lap. Apparently that didn't transfer through when she checked in online. That took about 40 min to straighten out. We then go through security with no problems and are waiting for our plane to board at our gate. We can see the plane there but it's after 7:00 and they haven't started boarding. They announce that there is a mechanical issue and are waiting on the mechanic. About 10 minutes later they start calling people one by one up to the desk. They have to re-route the entire flight onto other flights because the mechanic isn't even on site yet. So they switch our flight and give us food vouchers only good that day at any airport. We are now going through Atlanta instead of Memphis (no big deal…just a much bigger airport to navigate). We go across the terminal to the gate we are now flying out of and it's packed and pure mayhem! Beth and Josh get upgraded to first class….Jared and I get split up with me sitting in row 10 with Cole and Jared sitting in row 36 with Caitlyn over the engines which are loud and no windows. Really disappointing for Caitlyn's first flight ever. During the flight a woman started having seizures at the front of the plane, someone started yelling for a Dr. and it was a little crazy for awhile. But the kids did really well and we survived the first flight of the day!


The Atlanta airport and our layover was uneventful. We had to eat pretty fast to make our next flight but nothing earth shattering happened.


We land in Tampa at about 12:30 and let the kids play in the play area for a little while. We go get our luggage and head to the car rental area. Only to find that our rental company isn't located at the airport but we have to take a shuttle to get there. We go back over to baggage claim and just miss the first shuttle. We had to wait about 20 min for the next one. We get to the rental place and it's a tiny place in a strip mall with only room inside for people who are signing in. So we wait outside in the heat with the kids while Beth goes inside. Next thing I know she comes out and says they didn't have a mini-van available but were going to upgrade us to an Acadia. Yes, the Acadia has a 3rd row seat but with 4 adults and 3 car seats it was not going to work. There was no way we'd all fit comfortably. We weren't going to fit super comfortably in the minivan as it was. Beth told them that the Acadia may be an upgrade for some, but not for everyone. They were not accommodating at all. Then we find out that they wanted to charge an additional $10 a day for any additional drivers. Well Beth didn't want to drive all week so we changed the primary driver to Jared. While he was in there making that change a minivan came back and was available. So we got what we reserved in the end. The car seats were another debacle. During all this Caitlyn had to go to the bathroom and the rental place didn't have one. So I took her over to the Marriott to use their restroom. When we walked in I asked where the restroom was. They then asked if we were from the rental place and I said yes. Then they informed me that we couldn't use their bathrooms but that the Hilton across the street would allow it. I will never use Marriott again due to that. Are you freaking kidding me? I have a 3 year old with me who needs to go potty and you're going to make us go somewhere else? I was completely in tears at this point. It took about 2 hours at the rental place to get everything set up and car seats in the car and on our way to Christy's.

The rest of the day was glorious! We got to Christy's and got ready to go out for dinner. Jenna was a doll and babysat the kids so we could go out just us adults (and Cole tagged along with us). We went to a restaurant called Banana Cabana and it was wonderful! Christy says they have new owners and it wasn't as good as normal but since I have nothing to compare it to it was wonderful! So good. Then we went across the street to the beach with the sunset. It was beautiful! We even waded out a ways into the water. It was a perfect night to start out the vacation!

Kitchen Remodel

Back in February Jared sends me this picture while I'm at work. 

I freaked a little but he had a guy who came out and gave us a bid and Jared was ready to do the demolition while he was slow with work.  We're taking out a load bearing wall and this guy wouldn't put in the beam that we want.  He wanted to put something in that hung down 24 inches.  And since then it's been a roller coaster ride.  Jared has done a lot of research on this.  Calculating the slope of the roof and what would hold that weight.  Since we live in a snowy climate  in the winter we have to factor in what a foot of snow weighs on the roof as well.  It hasn't been easy.  He found that the steel beams which will only hang down 12 inches is what we want to do.  But apparently 2 places in Omaha sell these beams but we can't find anyone to install them.  It's so frustrating!  We had another guy come in but he wasn't comfortable with the steal beams so his bid was different from the first guy but the beam would still hang down 18 inches.  If we're spending this kind of money we want to do this right.  But I'm getting inpatient.  Cole is going to be crawling within a month and I don't want the studs from the wall still there when that happens.  It would be a disaster trying to keep him away from that once he's mobile!  We had a 3rd contractor out yesterday and Jared was really impressed with him.  Hopeful that his bid is reasonable and we can move forward soon!

We went and looked at cabinets at Home Depot with Darci last weekend.  Jared gave her all the measurements and she went to town.  Jared started getting a little sticker shock but felt much better after going to see her and seeing everything that was included in the price.  We've got most of it picked out including the facing and the color of the cabinets.  It made me even more anxious to get the beam in and the walls down! 

I'm so ready to have my kitchen done with all the bells and whistles! 

Poor Puppy

Two weeks ago Zeus hurt his back leg.  We let it go for a couple of days but it didn't seem to get any better like it usually does when he hurts himself.  So we  made an appt to take him to the vet.  Our vet was out of the office so I made an appt with another vet in his office.  I will never do this again.  I will be telling Dr. J that he's not allowed days off anymore.  Jared ended up taking him in because he was off early that day so I wouldn't have to take time off.  They thought maybe he had torn an ACL after taking an xray and gave him some morphine for the pain and an anti-inflammatory for the knee. 

He got better for a couple of days and then his leg started bothering him again.  And he started throwing up all over the house.  And he started having troubles pooping.  It was diarrhea like mixed with blood.  All. Over. Our. Carpet.  I was pissed because I thought he had ate something he shouldn't have and that was making him sick.    After 2 nights of no sleep because he kept getting up getting sick and wanting to go out I took him back to the vet.  What are the odds that my vet is out again and I have to see the same vet that Jared saw last week?  Pretty good apparently!  So he thinks maybe Zeus is having a liver reaction which can be a side effect of the anti-inflammatory he prescribes.  He was getting ready to take him for a blood panel and I'm not sure why but I asked to make sure that he knew that Zeus was taking Prednisone for his allergies.  He stopped in his tracks and I swear he went white.  He starts thumbing through the file.  He didn't know.  He didn't read the file prior to prescribing new meds.  It was on the first page after his notes from our previous visit.  Are you kidding me?  What Dr doesn't ready the file?  At least glance at it!  So he takes Zeus back and gives him a shot of prevacid and pumps him full of fluids.  He gives us 3 different meds to heal his tummy.  The anti-inflammatory mixed with the Prednisone gives blood stomach ulcers.  Great.  Needless to say I didn't pay for that visit or any of the stomach meds.  I also asked for a refund for the anti inflammatory he prescribed that shouldn't have been. 

Zeus didn't eat for 5 days.  He didn't take his Prednisone for about 4 days and because of that I'm pretty sure he got another staph infection.  He's feeling better now though.  He's not eating full meals like before but he is eating and he's not throwing up or having diarrhea issues any longer.  He's definitely back to his annoying self! 

He's also Cole's sidekick...much more than he ever was with Caitlyn.  He's in about 50% of the pictures I take of Cole at home! 

Opposites Part 2

I talked about how different Caitlyn and Cole were during pregnancy here.  Thought I should update how different they still are comparing them as babies. 

Caitlyn: Had colic and reflux as an infant.  She outgrew the colic by 3 months.
Cole: No colic but did also have reflux.  Most pictures of both of them as babies they have bibs on because they were/are constantly spitting up. 

Caitlyn: When eating would hold onto her bottle as if her life depended on it.  She wouldn't let go for anything!
Cole: Can hold his bottle but doesn't have any desire to do so.  Just very laid back. 

Caitlyn: Sucked her thumb...who am I kidding...she still does!  She refused the pacifier from the beginning!
Cole: Took a pacifier and so far hasn't shown too many signs that he'll switch to thumb sucking.  Every once in awhile I catch him with a thumb in his mouth but I don't think it means anything!

Caitlyn: Was taking 2 good naps (morning and afternoon) and sleeping through the night at 3 months.
Cole: takes an ok morning nap and usually a great afternoon nap and just started sleeping through the night (only in his carseat) at 5 1/2 months. 

Caitlyn: When we introduced baby food...ate it up from the first bite at 4 months!
Cole: Has been a little more reluctant to start baby food and refused cereal all together. 

I know there are more I'm not thinking of.  I'll have to write them down for part 3! 

Cole's 6 Month Stats

I'm posting this 2 days late as I wanted to include a 6 month picture!

My little guy is 6 months today and we celebrated with a visit to the dr and shots in his legs...poor little guy!  He's weighing 15 lbs and 13 oz now (up to the 25th percentile), he's 26 1/2 in long (35th percentile) and his head circumfernce is 17 in (35th percentile).  He's a healthy baby and got a clean bill of health! 

Things he's doing now: 

• Rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy.  Although a lot of times when he rolls from back to tummy he promptly forgets he can roll back to his back! 
• Grabs at toys and brings them to his mouth.
• Grabs his feet and almost has them in his mouth!
• Loves to be tickeled!  Not sure if this is a baby thing or what but Caitlyn always loved to be tickeled and still does at age 3! 
• Grabs his bottle but doesn't really hold on to it.  Not because he can't but because he doesn't care to. 
• Still doesn't really sit up on his own at all.  But we're practicing and we'll get there!  He does great in the bumbo although it looks like he's usually trying to climb out of the thing! 
• Loves bouncing in his jumperoo! 
• He's eating some baby food.  I tried for about 2 months to get him to eat cereal but he wasn't having it.  He'd gag and spit it out every time.  Even cereal with fruit mixed in.  So I finally started him on apples and he did better.  Then sweet potatoes which he loves and now banana's which he also seems to love!  Next up is squash! 
• He's drinking 4 or 5 6 oz bottles a day. 
• He usually takes a short morning nap and then a longer afternoon nap and is sleeping through the night....but only if he's in the carseat.  The pedi this morning said not to worry about that, the carseat isn't bad for him to be sleeping in and just try at least once a week to get him to sleep in his crib instead.  Last night did not go well in this endeavor!  He slept from 8:30 til 10 and then was up every 15 min until I put him in his carseat and he slept without a peep for the rest of the night!  Not a good habit to be in. 
• Caitlyn makes him laugh all the time!  It is so adorable and she just eats it up! 

Loving Two

LOVING TWO


I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship.


Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited.


And I wonder, how could I love another child as I love you?


Then he is born, and I watch you.


I watch as the pain you feel at having to share me as you have never shared me before.


I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me" and I hear myself telling you in mine "I can't".


Knowing in fact that I never can again.


You cry, I cry with you.


I almost see our baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared.


A relationship we can never have again.


But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty.


I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying him -- as though I am betraying you.


But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.


More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine.


The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.


But something is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just us two.


There are new times -- only now we are three.


I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.


I watch how he adores you, as I have for so long.


I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments.


I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you.


I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.


I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.


And my question is finally answered to my amazement.


Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you, only differently.


And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I know you'll never share my love.


There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.


I love you both and I thank you both for blessing my life.


---Author Unknown

Cole's Dedication

We had Cole dedicated Sunday February 12th.  I was really looking forward to this.  When Caitlyn got dedicated (you can ready that story here) I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect.  Growing up Catholic we were all baptized as babies, wore white, had Godparents, family gathering and everyone went on their merry way.  I felt stupid asking the organizer what Caitlyn should wear to the dedication...I just didn't want her to stick out!  At that time we weren't going to church regularly and were still spouting the "we pray at home in our own way" lines because that's what we believed.  We didn't think we needed any direction in our faith as long as we believed we'd go to heaven and that was that. 


This time I was much more at peace with our decision and the timing of it all.  Caitlyn was 18 months when we had her dedicated.  Cole was 5 months.  Usually they do the dedications in the spring and only once a year.  This year for whatever reason they decided to do it earlier in the year.  There were 9 babies being dedicated this year.  They called us up one couple at a time. 


Caitlyn was feeling a little overwhelmed.  After the first 2 she was insistent that she needed her hands washed after having a sucker from Sunday School.  Neither Jared or I could take her in case they called us up.  Thankfully Josh's sister Amy (Beth and Josh were having Harrison dedicated as well) took her for me.  Caitlyn had started to throw a fit on the floor and I was starting to panic!  And she made it back before Harrison or Cole were called and didn't miss anything! 


They called our name and we went up.  Caitlyn had another freak out moment and Jared had to hold her while I held Cole.  Pastor Murdoch (the same pastor who dedicated Caitlyn) said a prayer and then talked about what he felt the Lord's plan for Cole was.  He talked about Pastoral Care (which when he mentioned that I thought...I'm going to have to google that) and a few other things pertaining to this line of work and the Holy Spirit.  After the service we asked him to elaborate and he said this could mean that he would become a pastor or it could mean that he'll help the church in some way...maybe as an elder or in some other fashion.  That there were many ways he could be called to serve.  It was a little overwhelming listening to it all. 


Before Pastor Murdoch started speaking I had this overwhelming feeling that he was going to say that Cole was going to be a healer.  I didn't know how, but that was the feeling I got.  Which is why when he started talking about pastoral care I thought I needed to google it because I wasn't sure if that would be the same as a healer. 


When Pastor Murdoch finished we were getting ready to sit down and one of the Elders stopped him and started speaking with him.  He said he was getting a message from God that Cole was going to be a healer....EXACTLY the feeling I got!  I've copied and pasted a message from David (the elder) here because I want this documented as closely as possible.

God really moved upon Cole as Pastor was laying his hands on the child. As he was prophesying that Cole would be a pastor, and elaborated somewhat on that pastoral call, I received a word of knowledge from the Lord that said that “in his pastoral ministry, sign and wonders would follow him and he would receive the gift of healing.” The timing is up to the Lord, but it is very unusual that the Lord would call someone to the pastoral ministry as an infant. Obviously, Samuel was so called as a young boy; David was called as a leader as a young boy, and I am sure others since have been called at an early age. But when Pastor Murdoch prophesied of a pastoral call I knew this was something special. And suddenly, when the word of Knowledge came to me it was like “this will not be a usual pastoral call, but a special call of healing.”


My thought is that Cole should be nurtured to know that he has this call on his life. Not heavy, just make him aware of it. Then let the Holy Spirit do the work. You never know what will happen or when, but it sounds exciting!


Blessings,
David

Its still a little overwhelming to me when I think about and remember the feelings during the service.  I've been praying more lately and really talking to the Lord and asking for his help and I can feel him changing me and leading me.  I honestly thought people who talked about this kind of praying and feeling were a little over the top before.  I grew up with our structured prayers and rarely really talked to God.  It's an awesome feeling to talk to God and to feel his presence and really feel him making a difference in my life and our family's lives. 

Caitlyn Cuteness

We were driving in the car and Caitlyn yells at Jared "Daddy...the sun made sky blue just for you!!!  Its your favorite color!" 

She's been noticing the colors in the sky lately.  Its been staying lighter longer at night and so we usually see the beautiful sunsets on our way home from daycare.  She loves all the colors and is really noticing things happening around her. 

Another cute quote from her..."Daddy you're really good at taking walls down"

We're remodeling and taking 2 walls down so we have one big great room instead of the kitchen/dining/livingroom. 

What My Nights Look Like

This was from Monday night.

• 8:00PM - Caitlyn is in bed for the night
• 9:00PM - I'm in bed for the night
• 10:00PM - Jared brings Cole in and wakes me up because he thinks he'll be too hot in his sleep sack...because Jared has a hoodie on and has been sitting in front of the space heater and is hot. 
• 10:05PM - Jared puts Cole in the pack & play for bed
• 11:00PM - I put Cole's Paci in
• 12:00AM - Caitlyn comes in and wants to sleep in our bed.  I get Jared up and he takes Caitlyn back to her bed and gets her back to sleep.
• 1:00AM to 4:00AM - I fight with Cole to keep the paci in. 
• 4:00AM - I finally give up and feed Cole a bottle. 
• 4:30AM - Cole is back to sleep & I change the alarm from 5:30AM to 6:00AM
• 6:00AM - alarm goes off & Jared gets out of bed
• 6:20AM - Jared is coming back in our room to get me out of bed

I am one exhausted momma!  Cole has a cold so he's been up more than normal.  I've been joking that the kids tag team the night before which one is going to get up early the next morning.  It seems like one of them is always up between 4 and 5 in the mornings. 

Recognition

Yesterday as we were driving home at a stop light Caitlyn see's a sign for Camelot Cleaners and she says "mommy...is that my name?"  She obviously is starting to recognize letters and is becoming more aware of letters and words.  I thought that was so cool!  Yea for my little girl learning and growing and becoming her own person.  Even when she's driving me crazy with always wanting to be independent!