Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, geez...

Not being able to blog at work is just a bit annoying...I am so very behind...as I type this, Molly is shrieking and laughing as she bounces up and down on Kip's bed. Who needs a bouncy when she can generate a bounce all on her own!?! She is just silly with glee.
Cole is still napping - a busy day going for a haircut with Kip!
As for the Christmas tree story, we had it up November 29th because I knew, just knew, school would start and I wouldn't get to put it up until the weekend...so, there we were, Cole helping me with the "decarayyytions" - periodically announcing "my did it, Mommy, my did it". Important to note here that unlike almost all other things, I do not have a "way" Christmas trees are supposed to be. I love the mix-matching of ornaments and could not, would not be able to handle a themed tree or a tree of one particular color...that being said, I was not prepared, however, for the clump of plastic cookie cutters that now hang on the bottom of our tree. But I can tell you, the placement of said "ornaments" involved the clapping of cute little two-year-old hands and the best smile as he proudly looked at what he accomplished. A new family tradition is born!
Now, two weeks later, he continues to rearrange those ornaments proudly and Molly is content to roll underneath the tree and swat at the branches she can reach. This is the good life!

SeeSee's OUT!

Since it has been a while since I posted - darn district blocks - I almost forgot about Cole's new baseball skills - he is quick to tell me to keep my eye on the ball and is collecting gloves and mitts at a startling pace. I have to admit buying the latest one, though! Saturday morning, he was playing ball and grabbed the ball, ran over to SeeSee and tagged her back with the ball and said "SeeSee's out" - made us laugh since Molly was happily playing on her tummy with another toy and didn't appear to be the least bit interested in the ball game around her.
She was also in the middle of the living room as Cole ran circles around her - stopping only to try to kick her feet with his...it was one of those moments when you can't stop laughing but are trying to correct him, too. While it wasn't nice to try to kick his little sister, his uncoordinated attempts as he ran by were just too amusing! She'll get him back before too long!

I guess so....

Cole's latest and cutest response to most questions these days is "I guess so" or, of course, "naw tank you." He has also added "I'm sorry" to his vocabulary and my favorite continues to be "where is...daddy?" or "where is....blankie, seesee, etc") It's just the way he pauses between words to put the sentence together that is just too cute. He also has mixed feelings toward "SeeSee" these days. In the morning he is very sweet, even concerned when he went into their room and she wasn't in her crib..."lost seesee" he told me but Seesee wasn't lost, she was asleep on the couch about two feet from him. In the mornings, he wants to give her kisses and love on her...but when she's after his cup, toes, or blankie, it's a completely different story. Even told Mimi to "take away SeeSee" when they were both on the bed and she was a bit too close to his "breakfast" and milk (he LOVES his carnation vanilla instant breakfast - originally "prescribed" to get him to pack on some lbs but that has yet to work!)
Molly is almost sitting up - can balance for a while before falling over if you set her up. She also does a movie star pose on her side with one leg up a bit as she rests on her elbow and she is just trying to get up all the way...she no longer rolls to get to where she wants to be and is doing her army crawl to get everywhere. Daddy had her try pumpkin pie last night but that was met with one of the strangest faces ever and she promptly spit it out...maybe later since Cole loves pumpkin pie!

Where to start?!

This will be the most poorly organized post ever - here's just a stream of thoughts, etc. from the past week...Cole had the runniest nose I'd ever seen and after fun at the deer lease Sunday, it went from bad to worse. He had a blast, though, riding on the four-wheeler and riding snuggled in his daddy's arms in the back corner of the bed of the pick-up truck. He loved the great outdoors but had to go to the doctor Monday morning - I couldn't miss any more school after Granny's funeral last week and feeling puny Friday so Keith took him.
I did go to the doctor's office, though, and he was thrilled to see me there...looked around for a moment, though, and said "Cici's gone, where is Cici" - very cute since he knew something wasn't quite right if he was there, daddy was there, and mommy was there but we didn't have his baby sister!
Yesterday morning, Keith had Cole dressed but then he got back into bed, took off his shoes and socks, and told me "not right now...sleeping" when I told him he had to get up and go to Kip and Maggie's house while Mommy and Daddy went to work. "Not right now" is heard almost as often, these days, as "be right back." One of my favorites, though, is "nawtankyou" followed almost immediately by "ur welcome."
Little Miss Molly is working on her second, maybe third tooth so she had me up at 2:00 for a feeding/comforting session and again a little before six. Can't complain though when I get to snuggle on the couch with the cutest little girl I know! Makes for a late arrival to school and a trip into town for Daddy..
Which leads me to the last of the funny things about the day - when I called this morning to check on the kids, Cole heard the phone ring, and said "ask for blankie" - seems that, despite being reminded by Cole to get the blankie when he went back in, Keith forgot the blankie.
Hope Cole survived the blankie-less day!

We put the slow in motion...

So. This weekend. Wow. Halloween was funny - Molly as a boollerina and Cole as a box of Whataburger french fries. Molly wanted to touch the tulle tutu until she actually touched the tulle, then would let it go but then would touch it again. The ratio of time spent creating Cole's costume to time spent in the costume is just too funny...or two funny, perhaps! Cole ultimately went trick or treating as a two-year-old boy sans the costume and wasn't too exhausted after the blocks of walking since he rode on Daddy's shoulders between houses. There were frequent breaks in front of houses "Sit down, Daddy, Sit down, Mommy, Sit down, JD, Sit Down, Cat..." to marvel at all the candy in his ketchup trick or treat bag. He did learn to say thank you at each house...eventually! Molly was upset in the middle of the night so Daddy took care of her and let Mommy sleep - up at 5:20 for a Halloween costume will catch up with ya!
Saturday was spent preparing for the "happy-birthday-to-you" party for Aunt Cat - Cole saw balloons blown up for the first time and was very impressed by the "decrations, Mommy, decrations!" Saturday afternoon brought sadness, though, as Granny Marie passed away. We'll miss her and find peace knowing she is in Heaven with Grandpa - and singing!
Molly had another rough night Saturday night and then Sunday we visited with Granny and Grandpa Blohm. When Granny saw Molly knowcking her gums together she told Grandpa she must be cutting a tooth - sure enough, when I checked, there was the bottom left front tooth. It had already broken through which explains the rough nights...poor baby girl!
Oh, and the "slow in motion"...Keith decided that should be the Blohm family motto - I listened Sunday morning as he told Uncle Jimmy we could be ready and would meet them at Mi Reyna's in ten or fifteen minutes...which confused me since I know the big part of WE can't get the two little people dressed in half an hour much less half that time!!!

Well, that's one way to do it!

Cole is officially at the "me, too, me pee" stage so last night at Longhorn Cafe he had to go with Daddy when Daddy really did need to go to the bathroom. Keith faced a bit of a dilemma when Cole was finished and it was his "turn" since Cole cannot stand patiently without trying to touch everything. Being the quick-thinkin'-problem solver Daddy is, though, he just put Cole up on his shoulders and took care of things. Odd site for the other dad and older son who walked in, of course!!!
But, wait, there's more...(and yes, much of our world currently revolves around bodily functions!) Cole revisited his "kitchen" stall last night - this time, unfortunately, with one of the plastic popcorn buckets you may remember from his birthday party. After opening the cabinet doors to set the walls of his stall, he proceeded to remove his diaper and (impressively) peed right into the popcorn bucket.
Oh, the brains of little boys!

She's not broken!

A quick post - last night before bath time, Cole took one look at Molly without a diaper and said she was "broken Cici's broken"

Pinch Hittin' Daddy

So, after waking up late this morning (why didn't that little, hungry alarm clock wake me!?) and realizing it was a testing day I needed to be there early for...Keith agreed to take Cole and Molly this morning...the following is the e-mail exchange that resulted from the switch:
Dad: Some one forgot the bag of goodies needed each day
have maggie on way to walgreen for bottle
Me: It was in the bag! (thinking what was missing was just the little bag of bottle stuff)
Dad: but the bag did not get here just the two young'uns
Me: Ohhhhhhh! You made me laugh - was Molly still in pjs? Her change of clothes was in the bag, too!
Dad: yep her feet are hid; but she won't get cold toes

What a weekend...

We took a day trip this weekend and were able to spot bison, emu, horses, cows, and even camels along the way. We went to Chappell Hill's Scarecrow Festival Saturday - which is, I admit, much larger than I expected...and I won't even mention the price of tiny bows but the best part was visiting with James, Kristi, Kayci, and Noble! Noble is a wonderful little inch worm and Kayci was only mildly amused by the presence of a two-year old who wanted her toys and wasn't very good at listening! Oh, she has much to look forward to as Noble grows!
Now, the funniest things about the trip were apparent after we were home...Sunday night Cole went to the bathroom and got his potty, brought it to the kitchen where I was washing and putting away dishes, and placed it by one of the long cabinet doors that was open. He then took off his pj bottoms and diaper, sat down and pulled another cabinet door open next to him so that it was like a stall - just like the stall at Chili's in Brenham! Of course, I took pictures...he'll date one day!
Molly was also paying attention this weekend as Noble enjoyed food of a more substantial consistency. I was just telling Kristi how Molly refused to eat rice cereal and then when I tried AGAIN Sunday night she just couldn't get enough - almost ate an entire bowl before I stopped feeding her for fear she would explode! Very cute pictures of a silly little girl gnawing on a spoon!
Oh, and the trip also included a completely unofficial, unscientific election poll based entirely on the number of campaign signs we passed - unlike the other reports, Obama is not in the lead!!

No crying at the dinner table!

Cole has officially claimed the chair at the "head" of the dining room table which is good since abandoning the high chair now makes the Molly takeover an easier transition. So, last night, Keith went ahead and put the Kaboost! on the chair (have you seen these? genius!) and Cole happily was at table-level with us. I put Molly in the high chair - with some toys since she has no concept of food (solely the large buffet for her still!) - and watched as she quickly put her toes and feet on the table. It was at that moment...looking from Cole as a big boy to Molly in a high chair...that I started crying. My babies are getting big, so quickly and for a moment I understood why some people just seem to keep having babies. That understanding lasted all of a minute, though, because all babies grow up and one really can't just keep having babies!!!
The rest of the story - to explain the weepiness - involves going through Molly's clothes so we can start sending the stuff she outgrows to Lani who found out Friday she's expecting a girl!
I've heard it all my life, kids just grow up so quickly but for mommies, I think, it is just too quickly!!

Well, he has my...

mouth! I hear it all the time...Cole looks just like his daddy...and he is quite the little miniature version of Keith but when he talks these days, he definitely has my mouth. He likes to "watch. lion king" and when Zazoo makes the comment about hating to "burst your bubble", Cole laughs, really laughs and then proceeds to say "busububble" over and over again while cracking up...this leads to that dramatic, over-exaggerated laughter kids do - Cole adds slapping his knee while laughing very loudly - and then says "laughing." "butt off." like it is two separate sentences which, of course, leads me to laugh, well, my butt off! He also has a funny way of responding to questions with "yahhhhh" which does, I admit, sound so very familiar!

It's sausage!!!

It has felt like a really long week so I was happy, happy, happy to have dinner taken care of last night...no dishes, no cooking... - compliments of Kip and Cole participating in Jeannie's church fundraiser yesterday afternoon. I warmed up the green beans, German potato salad, and sausage. I happily got the mustard and wheat bread from Haby's in Castroville and sat down for a relaxing, practically effortless dinner. Cole had his grilled cheese sandwich and banana. As I put the fork up to my mouth, Cole said "big poop, Mommy, big poop."
Sigh.

How's that working for you?

I am learning, oh, so quickly, that for better or worse, your children are little reflections of you. I know I am blessed to have fun and silly children who are quick to smile and laugh...and usually make everyone around them smile, too. As a baby, Cole smiled a lot and instantly whenever he established eye contact with someone, well, anyone! Molly, now, has the sweetest smiles - even sacrificing sucking on her pacifier - and if you watch closely, you can see the smile reach her eyes and raise her teeny, almost invisible eyebrows. I smile every time I look at them!
Sunday night I took advantage of Molly cat-napping and Cole watching a new "kids" movie - The Sandlot - with Daddy. I put toys away and actually gave the Dyson a whirl around the living room and kids' room. (I have to admit, I am still in LOVE with the sucking ability of the Dyson, by the way, and am both disgusted and awestruck every time I vaccuum...what a nerd!) When Cole did go into the living room and noticed - immediately - the cleaning, he said "good job, Mommy, good job." Here's to hoping he picks up on all the other ways we encourage and guide him...with Maggie and Kip's help, he is currently working on using"thank you" and "you're welcome"!
I have friends (Salwa...and others, I know!!) who would be shocked and appalled to hear the sound of Cole's laughter past ten o'clock at night! I, however, would be sad and miserable if I put Cole to bed two hours after I got home with him after a long day away at school. Oh, I know, one day I will be a fierce proponent of early bed times so they are ready for school the next morning but for now, I wouldn't trade the fun of nighttime pillow fights, books, snuggling, and silly voices for anything in the world.

How sweet is that?

I might have the sweetest son - and cutest daughter - in the world! Last week, I was crying and thinking about Granny McDonald...how she gleefully says "oh, look, she (or he!) is laughing at me!" whenever one of her grandbabies is smiling at her sweetly. (Granny McDonald is still in Oklahoma, hanging in there, and enduring the necessary surgeries.) Cole looked at me and started saying some word we couldn't understand so I asked him to take daddy to help him. As it turned out, he took Keith to the FREEZEE to get Elmo, his little freezer pack for boo-boos. He brought it back to the bedroom, climbed into bed next to me, and placed Elmo on my forehead. His sweet, concerned little face was inches from mine as he said "feel better" over an over again as he moved it from one cheek to another. Of course, more tears!
I had to laugh the next day when I realized Cole thinks crying = head injury! Too many falls for Cole!
Last night, I resisted the urge to quickly protect my little sitting duck when her big brother plopped down next to her as she played on her blanket on the floor. I watched from the kitchen as he took her hand so they could "hold hands, seesee" and then he put his arm across her tummy as he put his nose near her nose and talked to her. Such a special moment - and, of course, I thought that image could be used for protesting one-child policies!
Ah, what a wonderful world!

What time is it?

Time. Punctuality. I have been forced to turn over a new tree - not just a leaf - to address the matter of arriving on time, having everyone dressed, packing bottle and pumping necessities, extra clothes, and remembering a special blankie, DVDs, and food. Despite my mastery of being late, I do not like being late. I am not late because I don't have much regard for such matters, I just always seem to have one more thing to do.
This leads me to my three-little-bears-moment this morning...you know, too soft, too hard, too hot, too cold, etc. since my baby bear was wearing the wrong diaper when we left the house. Since Keith was in Oklahoma, I was on my own this morning (which explains why the kids left the house in pjs) but was doing great. After Molly ate and played, I changed her diaper one more time and put her in her carrier. I then needed to change Cole's diaper but couldn't find the diaper...it had just been on the bed. Not on the floor...oh, yeah, Molly was in the carrier, in footed pjs so correcting the big diaper switcheeroo was not going to happen but I did warn Kip about Molly wearing a "big girl diaper"! As a side note, Cole LOVES long pjs - since it was going to be just, plain chilly this morning (60s!), I put Cole in fun pjs and put Molly in footed pjs. Cole thought it was so silly... "SeeSee, toes hiding, other one, toes hiding." Pjs are a big hit!
Cole's newest hilarious word is snickeedoodoo. (Snickerdoodle to you and me, but again with the "er" sound!) Yesterday, Cole did not want a snickeedoodoo, "Maggie, gingerbread man." You would think Maggie's willingness to supply such treats would keep him from saying "dock your pay, Maggie!" Silly boy!

Ah, who needs "er"?!

My thoughts this morning involve Ike and praying my friends in Houston are ready to weather the storm. I truly appreciate Kristi's blog to let me know her parents are safe with them in Brenham and they are prepared.

The absence of postings reflects the craziness of the week - Molly's four-month checkup Tuesday was three weeks late - eeekkk - but her sweet pediatrician assured me that I was not a failure but we will have to delay all checkups now to space out the vaccinations appropriately. She does not do well with shots and when my baby girls cries, things are bad, really bad. Crying for a couple of hours Tuesday night eventually woke her big brother and daddy (but, you know, must be a good time to make a sandwich and have a snack!) She is still off a bit and we are having one to two-hour sessions about four a.m. I do enjoy the special time with her and was thinking how beautiful she is by the light of the oven's little lamp...

As for Cole, he is hilarious. Just plain hilarious. Mimi and PawPaw gave him the movie Milo and Otis (pronounced together as milo-otis) for his birthday since it was a favorite of Hunter's- and Cole now LOVES milo-otis. When I called to check on them yesterday, I heard "hang up, Kip. milo-otis" and learned that Maggie had been sent to watch her shows in the other DVD-less room so as not to interrupt the repeated showings of milo-otis. The part of me that has reservations about young children watching TV is beaten down by how excited he is and how he talks about what is happening during the animals' journey...definitely better than the fascination he had a couple of weeks ag0 with "watch kids, daddy." which meant the kids in The Goonies and, as we figured out, the source of "sut up" since the kids use the expression A LOT!

One of the cutest things about Cole's pronunciation of words involves replacing "er" with "ee" so he says "my diapee" and "SeeSee's diapee", "my razee" and "daddy's razee" when it is time to shave, we have Alley Cat and Sneezee instead of Sneazer. The funniest one yesterday was opening the Hercules DVD case and finding the Blues Clues DVD. I said it was a switcharoo and Cole now has a new word: "switcheeroo"!

So, the things I cherish this Friday are tiny, dimpled hands that touch my face in the early morning hours and the sound of Cole's voice as he learns new things and makes connections. (Even when he says "listen" in a tone a small boy should not use with adults - add to that getting the stick and waving it a Maggie!!)

What a world!

How do parents survive "two"?

No, really, how do they survive? I teach and can work with a classroom full of ninth graders for ninety minutes at a time. So, how is it that one small, two-year-old boy can stir up crazy feelings in my world? In a word, it must be the "no"... as in "no, Mommy". Also heard in "no, Daddy", "no, Kip, "no, Maggie, no, Maggie, no." (In his defense, Maggie does say a lot more than others so more "no"s are required.) The word "no" is usually accompanied by a small hand being held up in a "stop" position to emphasize Cole's own position on the subject. We are starting to hear so many "no"s, in fact, that when he said "no, mommy" to his daddy this morning, his daddy replied "I am not your daddy, I am your mommy." Cole, though sleepy, found that to be hilarious!
It's time to find that issue of Growing Child - months ago I saw an article devoted to toddlers and the use of the word "no." In the meantime, I will try not to take his tiny words personally and will continue to remind him he is not the boss of me. Or, is he?

Is less always more?

People talk, I know...children learning to talk, though, is an amazing adventure parents get the privilege to witness and share with their children. Since becoming two, Cole's vocabulary grows daily. Sometimes in funny ways (pica de gallo is peekydado) and sometimes in frustrating ways (sut up!? How could a small boy tell his mommy to sut up first thing in the morning?!? More importantly, where in the world did he learn to say that at the appropriate time?!)
Yesterday he argued with Kip when he realized Kip was leaving for a haircut without him. His exact words were "my turn." When I have to leave in the morning, he touches my heart with "hold Cole" or "tay" (that "st" sound is a tricky one, isn't it?) And so I started thinking about how such short sentences can get him everything he needs, express his joy and pains (Cole sick, tummy hurt) and bring his mommy and daddy such happiness.
Meanwhile, it also only takes a toothless grin to make my day. Throw in a silly, giggle as Molly rolls over and over into a pile of Cole's cars and I couldn't ask for anything more.
Okay, throw in Kip being completely thrown off by Molly in a skort at diaper-changing time and my day is truly complete.

Can a talker become a blogger?!

Creating a blog is a bit intimidating. I am a talker, as you all well know, but not quite sure about the skills necessary for impressive and informative blogging. But I am inspired by James and Kristi and the idea of posting thoughts for family, friends, and perhaps my students.
Hello, World! comes from the daily ritual Cole and I have - when we walk outside every morning to go to Kip and Maggie's house, we greet the day. And so my blog begins. Hello, world!