Really long...but SO MUCH going on!

I haven't posted for a while, and do truly feel guilty about it. We've had a pretty interesting week or so. I will start at the beginning- so just bear with me. Shortly after my last post, Cole and I headed to Phoenix for a quick (very quick) over night stay for my brother's 18th birthday. I figured, including travel time, I wasn't even gone for 24 hours! We had fun all the same, and I'm glad I can still make quick little trips for events like that. Cole is still antagonizing Dozer as always-

Here he is baiting him with his cheese.

We spent last weekend driving around the pines of Prescott looking at rental homes available (we are currently renting due to the fact we were unable to sell our Phoenix home and don't want to be tied into two mortgages!). Our current lease is up at the end of May, and we were just curious at what was out there and what it was going for. I found a house on a website and we went by to check it out. We both loved it and decided we definitely wanted to pursue it. We met with the management company this past Saturday, got to finally walk through the house, and we loved it even more! We immediately filled out an application and are just waiting to hear back now. It is quite a bit smaller than the house we are currently in (about 800 sf smaller) but we should be able to live in it just fine, and have plenty of room in the garage and an additional building to store what won't fit in the house. It's on 3/4 acre, and just feet from national forest (Abe's absolute dream location), been totally remodeled, has a screened in porch, hot tub out back, a 100ft. Ponderosa that the back deck was built around, and the best part is its $500 less a month than the house we are currently in!!! We've totally got our fingers crossed (there's a few issues about when our lease is up and them holding the house, etc, etc.) but if it works out, we're even thinking about asking if they'd be interested in selling. We love it that much! So chances are we need to start packing, WOO HOO!!! (that was mildly sarcastic)

So we have had all that going on, and then we had some mildly upsetting news regarding Cole this week. When I took him in for his well check a few weeks back, the doc was concerned about his lack of progress in the talking arena. She suggested we contact the Arizona Early Intervention Program (a govt program aimed at helping delayed children from birth to 3 years). I called and did an over the phone screening (I answered a TON of questions regarding every area of Cole's development) and they decided they wanted to do an in house evaluation to determine eligibility for the program. So, this past Thursday (the 26th), 2 evaluators and an NAU student came to the house to watch/evaluate Cole. The motor skills evaluator was very impressed, but we weren't really concerned about that area. He even started showing off his monkey skills on his climber! The Communication evaluator wasn't nearly as impressed. She said that his receptive communication skills (what he hears, understands, and reacts to) are right on target. However, his expressive communication (what he says) is way off track. He currently is at a 12 month old level (he's nearly 22 months) and has been stuck there. She said she wouldn't be as concerned if he had just started his little 3 word vocabulary recently, but since he has been using these same 3 words for almost a year and doesn't seem to be trying to use any more words, there is need for concern. Plus, the fact that he's so on track or advanced with the rest of his development, and is only lagging in speech, is cause for concern, also. So, as it stands, they deemed him eligible for services and I am awaiting their official report. And then my understanding is that we will meet with a speech pathologist and begin treatment.

Now I know this isn't a life ending catastrophe. But I am amazed at how many people I talk to now that had their child evaluated for the same thing, and hearing the situations that had warranted evaluation in the first place, only to find out that they weren't eligible. For that reason alone I become more concerned daily! My mom pointed out one plus to all this- if he is still behind when he turns 3, he will be eligible for Head Start (govt preschool program for delayed children) and his preschool will be taken care of, and I believe even paid for until kindergarten, as long as he is still behind. I keep hoping that he is just a 'late bloomer', and he still may be, but like I said, the more I learn, the more concerned I become. Well, at least we're getting help early, and hopefully we will have it all straightened out by the time he does start school, so he doesn't have to do speech therapy then.

Regardless of all his newly founded struggles, he is still as curious and rambunctious as ever!

He is such a joy in our lives and I do get excited at the idea of someone being able to help him so he can finally share with us what he is struggling so hard to communicate.

Yesterday was a better day! We were fortunate enough to have Abe's parents and his almost-96-years-old grandfather spend the day with us.

We drove them out to see our hopefully-soon-to-be house (they too, suggested we look into a purchase option) and then went and had lunch at The Palace. It was the perfect place for this group of guys. We read on the menu that its AZ oldest restaurant, established in 1877. The building is no longer the original due to the Whiskey Row fire of 1900. However the bar is still original, because as the fire came through, the patrons picked up the bar, carried it across the street to the courthouse square, and continued to drink as they watched the town burn down. Totally the kind of crowd these men would want to hang with! The food was fantastic and the company even better! It was so good to have them visit, and we are so glad Cole got to meet his great grandfather!

Like I said, long post. I am going to do much better from now on!

Now that it's started... WHEN WILL IT END???

Cole has been exhibiting signs of having reached that "Terrible Two's" phase for a while (and sadly he's not even two), but lately its been exhausting! I try to help him pick up his toys somewhat before Abe gets home from work (then we pick them up again before bed). So, yesterday, we picked up his toys and I began dinner. Abe showed up literally 10 minutes later, and as he walked down the hall to go change, I heard him say "Cole, what happened in here? I've never seen it like this! Your room has never looked this bad!!" I asked what he was talking about, since I had just picked up the room after all, and he replied that Cole had dumped everything!

He even made sure to walk across the room and dump his ball bucket!

I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact he created such destruction in such a short amount of time, or that I was completely unaware and standing just 20 feet away!

Sadly, it still looks this way because this morning as we were rushing to get ready for our playgroup all the way out in Chino Valley, Cole was being "terrible" again! He completely unrolled the toilet paper (not uncommon), went through the bathroom garbage pulling out hair product (to "do" his hair) and old dental floss (to "floss" his teeth-again, not uncommon), also a discarded razor blade (WHAT!!??!!) and I found him with the entire cartridge in his mouth! Somehow he managed to not hurt himself (thank goodness) and yet he caused some serious damage to the blades!

He then slammed his fingers in my desk drawer (which he knows he's not supposed to be in) and then pulled out a pair of scissors, which I had to dodge to take them away! I know it doesn't sound like much, but it all occurred within about 5 minutes! He truly is a busy body and constantly keeps me on my toes (a razor blade in his mouth! SERIOUSLY!!). This "terrible two's" phase is surely going to keep life interesting!!!

The Weekend

So our weekend was fun yet ultimately uneventful. Friday, Cole and I went to a playgroup in PV (Prescott Valley) then he took a nap, and I made yummy cookies.

Saturday, we went and hung out at a park (a pretty lame one, no playground, but a lake and ducks, so Cole was still entertained) and then went to scope new cell phones for myself. I still haven't gotten one yet, but we are desperately working on it. We came home, ate lunch, Cole took a nap, and then our TV finally blew. We knew it was inevitable. We have a DLP TV and their lamps only have a 6000-8000 hour life. I heard the pop, and at first thought Cole had done something (poor kid always gets the blame now) until I realized that the screen was black. We have had a good run on the original bulb since the TV is almost 4 years old. So the rest of our TV watching this weekend took place in our room while we searched for a replacement bulb.

Sunday morning we met friends of Abe's from work at a park downtown. This park was a little better since it had a playground, all though not up to par with some of the parks Cole and I have been to with MOMS Club. Cole had a blast though, because there were 'big kids' for him to ogle and imitate (they were all 10-18 years old) and Dad was there to help him play basketball. He also did a little golfing...

though he used a foam baseball instead of a golf ball, and did go down the slides a couple of times

After the park we came home and ate lunch picnic-style in Cole's playroom. Abe took Cole for a walk and to the grocery store while I got to finally clean the house in peace. Then we made steak and chicken fajitas together. Overall, it was a great weekend, and Monday brought the pleasant surprise of finding a local TV repair store that had our lamp in stock, so we are now back up and running with as good a picture as ever! Hopefully next weekend we'll finally get Cole up to the airport to watch the planes (his latest obsession.)

Planes, Cranes, and Automobiles

I took Cole out to another job site today. Abe is working on a bridge, and they had the ginormous crane set up to place the 80,000 lb girders today. It's quite the project. They had the highway closed to one lane, DPS ready and waiting and 'Over sized Load' Trucks stationed allover town waiting for each girder to arrive on its own semi. Abe said the crane itself was a major undertaking yesterday, also. Each of the crane's counterweights came in on its own semi (due to weight restrictions) and the crane took about 6 hours to be assembled! Here's Cole in all his construction glory!

Cole was really more fascinated with this loader driving around behind us. It beeped!

Cole was waving at all the workers, trying to get their attention.

I don't know if you can tell, but there's little men standing at the furthest left girder, waiting for the next one (on the crane) to be placed. Just to kind of put the size in perspective.

We didn't get to stay too long, Abe was worried about safety (the wind was acting up), but Cole had a great time anyway! And I was relieved since our playgroup this morning was cancelled!

There are still honest people in the world- THANK GOODNESS!

So this weekend Cole and I were down in Phoenix for his well check, my hair appointment, and my Dad's birthday. Cole's well check went well, although we are currently following up on a few things, which I will update on later if necessary. We went to Butterfield's in Scottsdale for breakfast for my dad's birthday (so good!), and of course Cole and I made our traditional trips to Chik-fil-A and Freddy's, and even made a much craved stop at Chipotle (so so good!).

Friday afternoon was when things could have gone terribly wrong. I left Cole in the care of my Dad and grandparents while I went to get my hair done and have a few hours of peace and quiet. I got to that side of town a little faster than expected, so I drove by our house (looks good) and decided to make a quick trip into the Walmart there to get Cole a "prize" for getting his shot (its becoming a tradition). I bought him a book, and went on my way to grab a Dr. Pepper at Chik-fil-A (a different one) before my appointment. When I went to pay for my drink I realized my $161 was MISSING!!!!!! I started freaking out!!! That was the money to pay for my hair and all the money Abe had given me for the weekend. I frantically started walking back to Walmart hoping to find my wad of cash laying unnoticed in my wake. When that didn't happen, I thought maybe I left it at the register, since I remembered taking it out of my pocket and counting it while paying for the book. I ran up to the clerk and asked her, and to my immense surprise and relief, she said "No, but someone just turned in a bunch of money to customer service." Can you believe it? So I went to customer service and just broke down when they gave me back my money. I am so grateful for whoever the kind person was that turned it in! It still makes me ill to think that I could have lost it, but so relieved that someone- the person who found my money- was honest! I just knew for sure, in today's economy, in front of a Walmart, I would never see my money again. However, I was still able to get my hair done, go out to eat, and put gas in my car to get home, all thanks to the honesty of a total stranger! All I can figure is my money must have fallen out of my pocket when I took my car keys out. I have since started using my wallet again (its a lot harder to lose) and am trying to break my pocket jamming habit.