Tuesday, February 21, 2012

hmmmm

Every time this commercial comes on, both boys stop dead in their tracks (or run in from another room) to watch it. I hope it's the song and not the hot model.

http://www.5min.com/Video/Kia-Optima---Sandman---Sweet-Dreams---Super-Bowl-Commercial-517263698
commercial

The big 3-0

I'm just about there. I hit the big one in a couple of days. Just as he has the past 3 years, Chris will be in Cabo on my birthday, he left this morning actually. This year, I finally decided to join him. The first year, I had a newborn, last year, I went to Ghana to meet Coen, this year... I need a break! The boys will stay with Grandma and Papa which I'm a little nervous about as it will be Coen's first time without us (and I think Grandma is scared to death to have both of them), but the boys are very excited and keep talking about it.

So, this past weekend we celebrated my birthday a bit. It wasn't much of a surprise. Two years ago we celebrated my sister's at The Allison and decided right then and there to head back for my 30th (Ok, OK! We went for Lindsey's 31st too). Anyway, Mom and Lindsey picked me up and we ate at Mother's Bistro, YUM! We then did some shopping and headed to the spa for an amazing facial. It was heaven.

The restaurant was completely booked so we "settled" for room service and got the to-die-for-burger that we had planned to eat anyway. So good! One pay-per-view movie later and we were done for the day. We started the next with more room service since it would save us time and get us shopping sooner! We were at the stores by 9:30 and did not stop until 4.

I was beat. Seriously exhausted. I haven't had a day to shop without worrying about nap time in about 3 years. I don't think I've ever had a day when my husband said "You had better come back with a ton of bags!" so, yes, this was an exceptional day. So, exhausted, we stumbled into Macaroni Grill to grab an early dinner. I was shocked to see all of Chris' family and the majority of mine waiting for me. What a great way to end a fabulous weekend!


****FYI: 3 of the bags were full of stuff for Chris. He also never has a chance to shop so, it was great to freshen up his wardrobe!

Some sleep!

A few days in a row, Carter came to our room before 6 a.m. asking to watch a show. We convinced him it was too early and he climbed into bed with us where no one slept further. So, the other night I had a little talk with him. I explained that when he gets up really early, he can just turn on his bedroom light and read some of his books. I had to stress that this was NOT to take place in the middle of the night, but rather once there was some light outside.

We woke up the next morning to the sound of the light switch turning on (yes, I"m a light sleeper). We both had a little laugh as we watched him on the monitor gathering books and getting back into bed :)

He is such a big boy and such a great listener!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Coen's 2 year appointment

Coen had his 2 year appointment today and did... AMAZING! He usually freaks out and starts screaming about, oh, a minute into any doctor appointment (even Carter's appointments). Today, he did great! No crying at all until he got his two shots. He did everything Dr. V. asked him to do and even chose which ear to have checked first and walked back and forth between us when asked. It was like he was an entirely different child!

He is now at 25 lbs and 33 3/4 inches tall. Just like Chris and Carter, I'm having a hard time keeping weight on him. He is constantly on the go!

Dr. V. was amazing at his language skills. He asked if Coen was putting two words together yet.. um.. yeah. He speaks full sentences and could even tell me the other day that he was in time out " 'cause I locked the door" (yes, he locked me out of the house). It is hard to believe he is just over 2 and that 6 months ago he lived in Ghana and rarely heard English spoken. He is pretty amazing.

Things that make you go hmm...

So.. I take Carter and Coen all the way to Salmon Creek for Coen's doctor appointment today. As we leave, we hurry to the car because it is so stinking cold! I have Chris' truck so I unlock it, open the door and then lock it so that it will let me turn on the car with the remote to get it warmed up. I buckle Coen in as Carter gets into his seat. I shut the door and head to Carter's side to buckle him in.

Uh oh. The door is locked. OMG! I just locked my kids in the car!

I semi-paniced, but saw that I had my cell phone. THANK GOD! I called Chris' work line. No answer. I called his cell and as it rang, i realized that he has a keypad on the truck door. DOUBLE THANK GOD!!!! He can just give me the code!

He answers in typical fashion: I'm on a call is this important?
Me: YES, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! I LOCKED THE BOYS IN THE CAR!!!

He got off his call and came back to me. Turns out he doesn't know the code to his truck door. I told him to go give the keys to mom and have her get here ASAP! (So awesome that my mom is the receptionist at his office).

While I wait for someone to call me and be on their way, I walk around to Carter's side. He looks worried. Then it hits me. He's NOT buckled in!!!!!

Me: Carter, baby! Open the door for me! (lots of hand gestures)
He gets down and tries, but the back doors are child-locked.
Me: Go to the front seat and open the door.
He does and he-saves-the-day!

10 minutes ordeal that I do not need to go through again. If I had buckled him in he wouldn't have been able to get out to help me.

The rest of the morning he tells me, "Mommy, I saved the day" and all I can say is "yes, baby, you did!"

The kicker, when I called my mom back and told her that we were good to go and how it happened, she laughed and then said that she and Chris had come up with an idea - have Carter open the glove box so that I could see the code for the door. Ha ha! It made me feel less stupid to know they thought of him getting out of his seat, but not to open the door.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's!

Carter had fun at school today celebrating Valentine's Day. He decided
this morning that he HAD to wear a tie today. Ok :)

Just another day..

Ugh. Today is a hard one for me. Today would have been the first birthday for our third child. I'm not sure why it hits me so much harder on the due date than any other day of the year, but it does. I recently had some tests done and found out that I had low progesterone levels. Maybe this is why it hurts so much more this year? Knowing that our loss might have been prevented had we done some testing after losing our 2nd child. All the doctors insisted there was no reason to do anything, that it was likely a fluke. And so, we did nothing.

It is so not like me to do nothing.

I know God's will will always be done, but I can't help the guilt that comes with thinking I could have done something.

I took some comfort before in thinking that we lost our two babies so that our hearts and minds would be lead to adoption, to find Coen. While I feel extremely blessed to be his mother as well as Carter's, you just can't replace one child with another. I find myself greedily thinking: why couldn't I just have all four of them right now? A 3 year old, a two year old, 1 about to be 2 next month, and a one year old. Crazy, I know. That would be crazy. But really, wasn't there another way to lead us to Coen?

Ugh. Tough day.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Birthday photos finally!

I planned and planned and planned Coen's big birthday party and then... I didn't take a single photo. Grandma Cupcake came through and sent these along today.




We went with a construction theme and had fun with it. When guests arrived they were directed to grab their hat, tool belt, construction machine and get to work!








Ignore the hideous cupcakes. I had a Groupon and the lady tried to put construction cones on them... We decided they looked like a snowman's nose. We also had cups of dirt (chocolate pudding with cookie crumbs and a gummy worm) and stoplights (cream cheese on a crescent with red, yellow and green bell peppers shaped light a stoplight).



We didn't get a photo, but Chris did a great job with caution tape and saw horses out front. A few guests honestly thought that we were having some sort of work done outside. And of course, we had a "honey bucket" sign on the bathroom door.




I went out of my comfort zone and made the cake myself.


Our little party guests included: Henry Woodruff, Henry and Elliot Beagle, Will Bonner, Breyden Ruse, and Saiyna Gosalias (with all the craziness, it seems like there were more kids than that...)